When VIX (12.22), the S&P 500 Volatility Index, spiked past 20 nine sessions ago, there was a lot of chatter as to if this time the breakout was real. It was not. In the subsequent eight sessions since that peak, … Continued
Hindsight is always 20/20. Back on June 1 when I hypothetically wrote a June 5th weekly 76.50 naked call on the SPDR Consumer Discretionary ETF (XLY), it turned out to be a dud trade. The idea was to generate income, … Continued
The yellow metal cannot catch a break. GLD, the SPDR Gold ETF, broke down last week, losing eight-month support at $110. The corresponding support on spot gold lies around $1,140. Friday, gold closed at $1,132.20 and GLD at $108.65. The … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of July 14, 2015. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: Fed Chair Janet Yellen during her mid-week Humphrey-Hawkins testimony reiterated her desire to hike interest rates later this year, if data cooperate. On … Continued
Looking around, there is no lack of things for investors to worry about. Although that is not the impression one gets looking at how gold is trading. After an incessant rally, Chinese stocks are in the midst of a sharp … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of June 30, 2015. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: Non-commercials continue to reduce net shorts – currently lowest since September 23rd last year. They have reduced net shorts by 98 percent in … Continued
The SPDR Consumer Discretionary ETF (XLY) is primed for another short put options strategy. Last week, the ETF went on to rally 0.6 percent. Thus, the premium earned selling weekly June 26th 77 puts was kept. Could this work again … Continued
Last week, IWM, the iShares Russell 2000 ETF, dropped 0.3 percent, to $127.50, but not before scoring another intra-day high of $129.10. There is both good and bad in how the ETF traded during the week. First, it sold off … Continued
The following are futures positions of non-commercials as of June 23, 2015. Change is week-over-week. 10-year note: Yields pushed up nearly 21 basis points for the week. Sales of both new and existing homes did well in May (even though … Continued
Over the past couple of days, U.S. housing produced two good reports for the month of May. Monday, existing home sales were published, coming in at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.35 million units – up 5.1 percent month-over-month … Continued