The Lion & The Lamb
Hey Traders, With February rolling off Wednesday morning, March is now the front month future … And it is trading at an out-of-world premium to the cash. The VIX closed 21.5 Wednesday. Check out the VIX curve: There is an INSANELY wide premium between the March future and VIX. A two-point spread is about normal. […]
Big Call Energy
Hey Traders, While it was a pretty “meh” Tuesday for the VIX, one VIX index DID heat up. This particular index was up and the stocks in it had a pretty nice day. Which one am I talking about? It’s VXXLE … the VIX index for the Energy Select Sector SPDR Fund ETF (Ticker: XLE). […]
Penny VIX Options Signal Extreme Bearish Attitude
Hey Traders, With the VIX sub-20 for the first time in almost a year on Friday, I came into Monday expecting bearish trading. However, there is a trader who is AGGRESSIVELY trading March to drop. What is interesting is that he or she is doing it in size, using penny options. So far on the […]
At Long Last, VIX Is Under 20
Hey Traders, No one would argue that the past year has been normal for markets. (Or anything else, really.) In the last 12 months, we’ve had multiple all time-highs AND the largest sell off since 2008. The crazy part is, the stratospheric highs sandwich the giant sell-off. Weird. Now, though, after 246 trading days, the […]
After 245 Days, Is It Finally Here?
Hey Traders, We’ve been waiting for months for the VIX to finally admit defeat. The index has been holding above 20 for 245 straight days … To put it in context of Valentine’s Day (ahem, reminder!), this run has lasted longer than the majority of my relationships! Anyway, not a record, […]
There’s a VIX for That
Hey Traders, This afternoon, I’m doing a live event with Option Pit’s Head Income Trader Bill Griffo, a brilliant bond trader and someone I am absolutely stoked to have working with me. During the presentation, we’re going to be talking about Oil and Gold (which, somewhat surprisingly, is not the name of a […]
GIANT Trade Pushes VIX Futures
The Option Pit VIX Light is RED, and I like short volatility plays. Hey Traders, The VIX was bid today. VIX futures went slightly up even as the S&P 500 spun in place. Why? One HUGE trade in VIX. A trader bought 80,000 April 20 puts, then sold 80,000 April 55 calls. It looks like […]
And Just Like That, the Silver Rush Never Happened?
Hey Traders, Last week I pointed out how high VXSLV, the VIX of SLV options, was trading. At over 78, VXSLV was at its highest level since March of last year. I told you that VXSLV was going to drop quickly … And, well, take a look at the chart: VXSLV is down almost 30 […]
Sub-20 VIX on the Horizon?
Hey Traders, While the VIX opened marginally higher on Monday, don’t be fooled! It’s just an illusion. The concept is known as “weekend effect,” and it causes the VIX to tend to be up on Mondays, due to the fact that option decay is continuous and trading days are not. Essentially, most of the weekend […]
Was It All A Dream?
The VIX has gone for a wild ride over the past three weeks. You remember them, right? They included an inauguration, an impeachment, the GameStop Saga of ‘21 and much, much more. Anyway, during that time, the “fear index” went from 22 to 37 … and back to 22. Take a look at the price […]