Blog Archives
Escalating Fear
August 22, 2011
Good morning. It was yet another week of selling in the market, with the SPY finishing at its lowest level since Sep. 17, 2010 at 112.64, down 4% on the week. That number also represents a yearly decline of 10.4%, and at this point (based on Friday’s closing action) the market is not showing much sign of an impending bottom.
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%.
Efficient Market
February 14, 2011
Good morning. We had another quiet but positive week for the broad market last week, with the SPY quietly advancing 2.04 to finish at 133.11 (1.5%). The VIX, mainly due to the very quiet week, was down to 15.68, a drop of another 1.8%, and a level that we reached last April before the market underwent a roughly 15% correction. For whatever reason market advances have been associated with the significant decrease in market fear, so that virtually all market corrections or sell-offs have been associated with low implied volatilities at the start.
About That “Flash Crash”…
May 24, 2010
Good morning. Wild and down market last week, despite the late day rally on Friday. For the week the SPY was down 4.78 (or 4.2%) to close at 109.11.The low on Friday of 105.36 was only slightly above the so-called flash crash low of 105, not a pretty site if you were in the camp that the “flash crash” was just an anomaly.
Monday Rant
August 17, 2009
Good morning. First down week in a while for the market, but only a little, with Friday’s late rally almost pulling the SPY even for the week. The SPY closed at 100.79, down from 101.20, or .4%. The VIX was actually down for the week, closing at 24.27, down from last week’s close of 24.76. The little damage that was done to the market was generally attributed to the surprise Consumer Confidence reading of 63.2 versus forecast of 69.