Blog
Internal Memo
February 22, 2010
Good morning. While I am having an extremely busy morning, I have resolved to begin writing these posts on Sunday night so come Monday, we’re ready to hit the ground running. This morning on my “Stocks and Jocks” show, my guest Kevin Riordan (MF Global) and I discussed Toyota’s internal memo, the Olympics and municipal bonds as well as the companies that insure them.
Asia, Greece and More
February 16, 2010
Good morning. It was a very interesting week for the market last week. The SPY advanced 1.38 (or .9%) on the week to close at 108.66, after actually trading lower on last Friday than the close of the week before. It was actually a fairly impressive rally off the lows last Friday, as the low opening was associated with negative market news from both Europe and Asia.
Back on the Air
February 1, 2010
Good morning. I am happy to announce that the “Stocks and Jocks” show is back on the Chicago airwaves. We are also working to set up archives online for those not in our range. Yes, from 5:30am – 7:00am CST on 1240AM, Jon “Dr. J” Najarian and I can be heard on our show, “Stocks and Jocks”. This show can be heard streaming live online at our usual site, www.StocksAndJocks.net. We are still working out the kinks and bugs and hope to have the show in MP3 (or podcast-like) format in an archive on our website as well as in iTunes very soon. Stay tuned!
So, while I’ve been at the office all weekend working to set up our equipment and work with our new producer, I hope to return next week with a “real” blog post for you. In the mean time, please check us out – “friend me” on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and, as before, you can send an e-mail to StocksAndJocks@Live.com with your market questions.
Banking Industry Backlash
January 25, 2010
Good afternoon. Last week was the worst week in the market since last March, with the SPY down over 4% to close at 109.21. That closing number is also lower than the 111.44 closing number from last year, wiping out all of the early January gains. The VIX was up a dramatic 52% for the week to close at 27.30, and erased a lot of the upward sloping volatility skew we talked about last week.
To Effect Change
January 20, 2010
Good morning. A fairly heavy down day last Friday, on option expiration Friday, took the SPY down .87 (or 1%) for the week. The VIX continued its move down, slightly, to finish the week down .2 at 17.9. You would have to go back over 18 months to find the VIX closing under 18; it appears that the market has become quite comfortable. One flaw in this comfort argument, however, is the continual upward sloping volatility curve as you go out in time.