Volatility

Is Micron Set For a Big Move?

Is Micron Set For a Big Move?

Making directional trades in this market isn’t easy. On the one hand, you have high flying stocks that are trading well above reasonable valuations. Trading those types of stocks can be dangerous since they can reverse on a dime. On the other hand, value stocks are dead. Stocks trading below reasonable valuations just seem to […]

Trade of the Week: Volatility

Trade of the Week: Volatility

The market finally saw some active selling last week, with volatility climbing quite a bit higher.  The iPath VIX Short-term Futures ETN (VXX) is one of the most popular ways to trade volatility.  It covers the first two VIX futures contracts and tends to go up sharply when the market sells off.  As you may […]

Make 9.7% On America’s Most Notorious Bank

Make 9.7% On America’s Most Notorious Bank

Despite plenty of volatility in the market, it hasn’t been any easier to generate income for your portfolio. Yields are still ultra-low for most fixed income instruments. Moreover, many high-yield dividend stocks have slashed their dividend payments. Regarding dividend stocks, buying and holding them is certainly not an unreasonable way to generate yield. The best […]

Trade of the Week: Facebook

Trade of the Week: Facebook

The market is experiencing a resurgence of volatility, adding to the already very active options market. Last week, the bears finally caught up to Facebook (FB). The social media platform’s share price dropped 8% in one day, with options trading over 1 million contracts. The selloff came courtesy of Verizon (VZ), which decided to pull […]

A Brand New Way To Trade Volatility

A Brand New Way To Trade Volatility

Over the last two decades, the investment landscape has been dramatically altered by two trends. The first is the shift from single stock and mutual fund investing into exchange-traded products (primarily ETFs). The second is the emergence of volatility as an asset class. First off, ETFs opened the door for the average investor to trade […]

Trade of the Week: Small Caps

Trade of the Week: Small Caps

Options trading continues to be very active in this market, even though daily volatility of stocks moves has dropped in recent weeks. Index and ETF options remain popular methods for trading market direction. They are also very useful instruments for hedging long stock portfolios. For instance, iShares Russell 2000 ETF (IWM) can be used as […]

How To Generate Income While Owning Stocks

How To Generate Income While Owning Stocks

Although the market has been extremely volatile, it doesn’t mean investors are only looking at directional trades in which they try to make money on big market moves. There are plenty who are still want to generate a regular income from their investments. Of course, dividend stocks are the primary form of income generation through […]

Is This Volatility Trade Crazy Or Brilliant?

Is This Volatility Trade Crazy Or Brilliant?

As the reality of COVID-19 sets in, many nations around the globe are digging in for a prolonged battle against the virus. Of course, this isn’t a traditional fight: it involves quarantines, social distancing, and significant disruptions to our usual way of life. Even as many companies and schools temporarily close, it’s been business as […]