Menu
Market Perspective
Option Writing Premiums Were a Bright Spot in a Dark Year for Investors
The Federal Reserve’s (the Fed) monetary policy transition from accommodative to tightening was sudden – asset purchases to support the economy ended in March 2022, …
Away from Zero1 – The Not So Mysterious Case of Higher Interest Rates
If the story of 2022 stock and bond market returns was written as a whodunit, the crack detective protagonist would have a primary suspect list …
Is the Index Option Market Creating Volatility?
Trading volume in S&P 500® Index option contracts set a record in October 2022. As Figure 1 shows, trading volume in options on the bellwether …
Are Equities On Sale?
Savvy shoppers know a “25% Off” sale is not necessarily a good deal. Is the item discounted from a fair price or did the retailer …
Monetary Policy Outlook Shifts Volatility Expectations Higher
Daily closing values for the Cboe® Volatility Index (the VIX®) have been below its long-term average of 19.61 less than 10% of the time so …
Try Not to Think About Elephants
Recession. The “Big R” of economics. One of the more confounding aspects of the word is that just hearing it can cause people to behave …
A New Era?
Wall Street has no shortage of adages and catch phrases. When the equity market hits the skids, old saws such as “be fearful when others …
Insights from a Rare Trend in the VIX®
Pandemic. War. Record inflation. Tightening monetary policy. Broken supply chains. Bellwether company earnings misses. Investors have faced a frightening litany of risks in 2022, and …
Volatility and Fashion Trends: What Comes Around Goes Around
Flannel shirts. Ripped jeans. Vintage sneakers. Denim skirts. If you spend any time with teenagers, you know these fashion markers of the 1990s and 2000s …
Is the Bond Market Broken?
A once-reliable asset class for yield, low-volatility total return, diversification and risk reduction, bonds have struggled to deliver on any of these measures recently. Real yields on …
