Blog Archives
In The Dark
September 12, 2011
Good morning. Last week, in a holiday-shortened week, the market experienced heightened volatility on both an inter-day and intra-day basis and closed lower on the week. The SPY was down 1.93 to close at 115.92 (1.6%), and had a low of 114.38 on Tuesday and a high of 120.94 (5.7% spread) on Thursday, before selling off solidly on Friday. The weakness was due to several factors, mainly news from Europe suggesting (due to local election results) that the party of Angela Merkel (strong supporters of European unity and help for struggling countries) was losing support.
Political Economics
August 15, 2011
Good morning. I think the term wild week for last week would be a solid understatement, although in the aggregate the movement on the week was fairly muted considering the intra-weekly swings. Two days of rally mode on Thursday and Friday had the SPY closing down only 1.6% on the week at 118.12, after trading as low as110.27 on Tuesday. For the last two weeks, however, Friday’s close was off a very somber 11+ points, or 14.8%. That is a rough ten trading days by anyone’s measure.
Floating Them Trillions
April 11, 2011
Good morning. The market was slow and virtually unchanged last week, with the SPY closing down a scant .28 at 132.86. The VIX was up slightly (.48) to close at a still relatively low 17.39. There was a little more movement in interest rates, with the 30-year bond rate up.15% to close at 4.63%.
State of Denial
January 24, 2011
Good morning. It was somewhat of a mixed week for the market last week, with the SPY down .7% to close at 128.37, the Dow Industrials up .7%, and the Russell down a significant 4.3%. It seemed like the news on Apple (Steve Jobs taking the medical leave, stock down 6.2% on the week) weighed more on the small cap stocks than on the more multi-national Dow stocks. Thrown into that mix was the State visit of the Chinese President and the resultant announcements of purchases of planes from Boeing and equipment from GE and others.
Crisis of Competence
September 20, 2010
Good morning. Firstly, I extend an invitation to all of you: If you are interested in learning more about my managed money program, the Protected Index Program (PIP), PTI Securities & Futures is hosting a no obligation, no-pressure, complimentary In-Office Protected Index Program Seminar on Saturday, October 2nd, 2010, in a classroom overlooking the CBOE at PTI’s Chicago Loop Office from 9:00am to noon. A continental breakfast, coffee bar and classroom materials will be provided. Topics covered include: review of option basics, investment program objectives, diversification solutions, SPY basics, index portfolio examples, option time decay and PIP portfolio example, strategy expectations and objectives and longer-term fixed income products. Space is limited and all attendees must register at www.PTISecurities.com/Education.htm – Come out, have a cup of coffee with me, and meet some of PTI Securities’ experts.
It was another positive week for the overall market last week, as the SPY finished up 1.01 points to finish at 112.49 (1.1%). This level, roughly 112.50 to 113, was reached both in late June and early August, only to fall back. Will the third time be the charm for the bulls? The VIX was essentially flat on the week, hovering right around 22, and interest rates inched up a very small amount (TYX up .04%).