If you’ve been following implied volatility as long as I have then you know that backwardation is incredibly uncommon in the VIX futures curve. For the uninitiated amongst you, a futures curve or futures term structure is produced by drawing a graph comprised of a time window snapshot of two or more futures contracts of an underlying asset, e.g. crude, gold, pork-bellies, or in this case the VIX.
I’m still split on whether I prefer winter over summer. Sure, summer brings you hot temperatures and pretty girls prancing around in skimpy skirts (and now Luis Vuitton face masks). But at the same time it’s the worst season by far for any financial analyst or blogger. Winter on the other hand equals earnings season with a bullish bias, the Santa Rally, holidays full of delicious goodies, plus it promises you skiing in powder filled alpine resorts. What’s not to like? Yes, I know – it’s so bloody cold!
All the civic chaos and social brinksmanship notwithstanding U.S. equities have brazenly continued to march higher and higher since the activation of the riot brigade. Much to the chagrin of a legion of political arsonists who would love nothing more than to see our entire nation go up in flames. Continue reading
A day or two ago I was cruising around on reddit as I am subscribed to a few hobby related groups as well as some related to crypto currencies. To be honest I haven’t been dabbling much in crypto since early last year but it’s always good to keep one’s ear to the ground, as they say.
I have always refrained from commenting about politics as there are a myriad of sources out there plus I generally deem it to be counter productive to our mission at hand. Which of course is to succeed as traders in the financial markets – period. As such today will be no exception. But watching events in Minneapolis and other U.S. cities unfold over the weekend I could not help but feel a growing sense of surrealism above anything else.
If there was ever a valuable lesson to be learned about the utility of the mainstream media in the context of trading the financial markets, then the global Corona train wreck will undoubtedly be recognized by future generations of traders as a textbook example.
In German we have an expression: ‘Vom Regen in die Traufe’, which loosely translates as ‘from the frying pan into the fire’ – you get the idea. Looking at the insanity we just left behind and exchanged for a prolonged sideways churn across almost every market vertical I’d say either expression applies.
Unbeknownst to most retail rats a fight is taking place in the equities market, and it revolves around an exotic concept only known to a select few in the options trading world. I’m speaking of course about the weekly expected move, and what makes it so important is the fact that much of what drives stock markets these days is driven by the options market. How so? Let me explain.
Imagine my surprise when equities melted higher throughout yesterday’s session, then sold off most of it in the last 30 minutes, only to gain it all back overnight? No you’re right – it wasn’t much of a surprise, especially after the big players showed their hands late last week by seeding the financial MSM with bearish opinion pieces. That’s how the game is being played – and it’s got a name: the good ole’ rope-a-dope.
Everything I touch today seems to either be out of commission, requires maintenance, or repeatedly crashes. One of those U2 Mondays I guess, so after burning through two frustrating hours this going to be a pretty snappy post. That said – the two charts I was able to scrape together should be raising your eyebrows, especially if you’re bearish.