Thursday, June 4, 2020
Just when it started to look like the stock market was ready to let go of volatility for the typically slow summer months, we got yet another spike in the VIX. Keep in mind, the VIX is the most commonly used gauge of investor concern and measures expected volatility in the S&P 500 index (via […]
One of the questions I get a lot when I speak at events like the MoneyShow and TradersExpo is about the benefits of looking at large options trades. Large trades using options, typically called block trades, are often executed by big firms with a lot of capital and resources. As such, block trades can be […]
The days of sub-10 VIX may be gone for the foreseeable future, but that doesn’t mean traders have stopped betting against higher volatility. In fact, the short volatility trade seems like it may be returning with a vengeance. Well, let me step back a bit. The short volatility trade may be returning on the professional […]
The video gaming industry is extremely competitive, but can also be immensely profitable if a developer hits big on a certain game or franchise. Success stories in video games range from relatively simple mobile apps to massive projects with huge development costs. Much like a movie, production costs for video games are mostly upfront. A […]
Earlier this week I had the opportunity to give a couple presentations at the Las Vegas MoneyShow. If you aren’t familiar, the MoneyShow is a very popular conference held all over the country where you can learn about all types of investing and meet with all sorts of investment professionals. As you may imagine, the […]
After over a year of basically no volatility in the stock market, we had something of a volatility revelation which began on February 5th. The selloff that day and the subsequent implosion of certain volatility products (like XIV) created a major jump in market volatility. As you can see from the chart, iPath S&P 500 […]
High yield bonds, often known as junk bonds, have been very popular investments since the financial crisis of 2008. The high yield market took a nosedive around the time of the crisis, but bounced back pretty quickly, and has been stable ever since. As interest rates have started going higher, so too have the yields […]
The tech sector can be very unforgiving. A tech product is generally only good until the crowd finds more interesting technology to buy or obsess over. Think of how often Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) releases new iPhones. Sometimes, there isn’t a substantial difference between iPhone models, but the company is constantly pushing its latest tech. That’s […]
I don’t want to take anything away from Intel (NASDAQ: INTC). It’s been a good, stable company for a long time now. The stock pays a reasonable, consistent dividend. The company has massive market share. It’s not a bad stock to stash away in your retirement portfolio. But when’s the last time the company has […]
Perhaps no company has gotten more press lately than Facebook (NASDAQ: FB). The social media giant has mostly been in the limelight for negative reasons… namely the Cambridge Analytica scandal and data privacy concerns. Investors were quick to jump ship when concerns over FB’s policies became headline news. The stock dropped from $180 to $150 […]
