The VIX: Upside Potential?
Given the significantly increased tensions due to the war in the Middle East and its unexpected nature, the reaction of the VIX has been muted, ...
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Blogs
Regional Banking Sector Jitters: PACW Volatility Surges, Highlighting Risk and Amplifying Short Squeeze Potential
May 22, 2023Regional bank stocks have experienced a significant decline in response to a series of recent failures, which has understandably raised concerns about the industry’s stability. This downward trend has been further fueled by substantial short selling pressures. Consequently, contagion fears ...
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Commodities on the Defensive
May 5, 2023Since commodities are essential industrial inputs, they are sometimes used as an indicator to gauge future economic conditions. Although not as widely reported as developments in the equity and fixed income markets, recent price action in certain commodity markets may ...
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Agricultural Futures: Not As Predicted
May 2, 2023In the early days of the war in Ukraine, commodities in the energy and agriculture sectors displayed the most significant shocks. This was not surprising: Ukraine is a major global supplier of wheat, corn, soybeans, and barley, with an estimated ...
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SVB Failure and Market Stability: Examining the Response of Bond Spreads to Treasury Volatility
April 3, 2023The uncertain outlook for inflation and Fed policy has caused Treasury yields to fluctuate significantly in 2023. The Fed’s tightening has exposed weaknesses in the banking sector, as evidenced by the failure of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which has resulted ...
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SVB: Commodity Side Effects
March 29, 2023The recent spikes in implied volatility due to the fallout from SVB were not just confined to equity and fixed income. Less reported on and less appreciated, commodities were affected as well. Although their movements in price and implied volatility ...
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0DTE Options: Institutions Get Short
February 22, 20230DTE options are the latest novelty in derivative markets. These options are listed daily and expire at market close on the same day. Since their inception last year, the popularity of this product among investors has skyrocketed, peaking at over ...
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The War in Ukraine: Commodities Adapted
February 22, 2023Last week marked the one year anniversary of the start of the war in Ukraine, and the ultimate outcome is as unclear as it was a year ago. War is never predictable (as Mike Tyson put it, “Everybody has a ...
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A Year in Volatility Across US and Europe
January 18, 2023From the War in Ukraine, to supply chain issues, rising energy prices and inflation, and Fed rate hikes, 2022 was an eventful year, to say the least. It was also characterized by heightened volatility in the US and Europe, as ...
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Mega Tech Crash Risk Outpaces Index
January 13, 2023One investing theme in 2022 was the failure of tail-risk hedges amid a grinding bear market. The performance of protective put strategies, an oft touted hedge to down markets, was suboptimal. As a baseline example, the CBOE 5% Put Protection ...
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