Things Are Bad Out There

“I don’t like this market one bit, but we have to endure. Markets will rise again, but there will be a lot more pain to come in the near term. We think the base case is that we get a very bad recession in 2023. We’ve yet to pull the trigger on put option ideas in the simulated newsletter portfolios, but we expect things to get worse before they get better. For readers seeking ongoing option ideas each month, please consider subscribing to our options commentary here.” – Brian Nelson, CFA By Brian Nelson, CFA Things are bad out there, and there’s probably no better way to say it. On September 28, Bloomberg reported that Apple Inc. (AAPL) is now … Read more

2018 Starts Out with a Bang!


Image Shown: An ETF that measures momentum (MTUM) has done considerably better than the S&P 500 since the beginning of 2017. Among its top 5 holdings are Microsoft (MSFT), Apple (AAPL), Boeing (BA)—newsletter holdings that have had excellent value characteristics along the way. Visa (V) is also included in its top 10 holdings.

Even some the most bullish and optimistic investors have been surprised by the resiliency of today’s market environment. Why does it seem appropriate to remind members that the stock market doesn’t always go straight up with almost no volatility?

Volatility Spikes, Oh Cisco, the Mighty US Dollar, and More

Image Source: CBOE Let’s talk about recent market events May 17. There’s a lot going on. By Brian Nelson, CFA It looks like volatility is back in a big way, with “all 29 volatility indexes at the CBOE ris(ing) today,” one more-than-doubling, the CBOE Short-Term Volatility Index (VXST). The ridiculously-named “fear gauge” or “fear index” or the CBOE Volatility Index, the VIX (VIX) leapt nearly 50%. On May 17, we effectively bought volatility intraday by adding put options to the newsletter portfolios, both on the S&P 500 SPDR (SPY) and Netflix, a company whose valuation we think remains ridiculous. We may continue to add put options on entities whose equity prices we believe have become too stretched, positions that may … Read more