Topics this week include: Crude/WTI Gold Indices Winners: Heating Oil, WTI Losers: Oats, KC Wheat Futures Options Feedback: Listeners have their say Question from Anders - Can we get some Ags on the TWIFO show this week? Question from Neil Brennan - Nick has ATM implieds for #crypto can he also interpolate skews?

Volatility Review Segment: A look back at the week from a volatility perspective The market in tanking on trade war concerns. Steel tariffs - officials are not loving it. VIX cash is back in the 20's this week. VVIX - 122; VIX Options: ADV - 1M, VIX call/put - 2.4/1, Total 7.26m (5.11m Calls, 2.15m Puts) How's the VIX July 10-75 strangle? Volatility Voicemail: Listeners weigh in Question from BTBurg - What is the best way to trade these inverse VIX ETFs going forward? If I'm long XIV does it make sense to always have some VIX calls in my back pocket just in case? Doesn't that get expensive really quick? What about spy puts? Or should I just have puts on the inverse ETF in case the counterparties get cold feet? Question from JelloFan - VXX 1-yr 50% OTM puts plus VIX 3 month 15% OTM call verticals - 5 or 10 handles wide. Is that the secret sauce? Question from LNC -$SVXY calls suck now. What about selling the puts? Is there any juice in those or have they been drained as well by the bid redo last week? Question from Oswald -Are you part of the SVXY class action? Crystal Ball: Your prognostication headquarters Last week Mark L. - 15.15 Andrew - 14.75 This week Mark L. - 16.85 Mark S. - 17.76 Euan - 19.50

In this episode, Mark is joined by Yuriy Shterk, the Head of Product Management for Derivatives - Americas at Fidessa. They discuss: Is there a particular product the are focusing on these days? How has the increase in volatility impacted their clients? Volatility is bringing in new participants to the market Where is the biggest up-tick in activity? Any plans to enter the crypto space? Fidessa's options trading tools Post-trade work flow optimization Fighting for screen real estate And more...

Trading Block: The market is tanking on trade war concerns: Trump is at it again. Volatility returns - VIX back in the 20s. The tech selloff continues - FB closed $185 on 3/16 - traded as low as $163.72 today, down nearly 12%. Fed hikes rates as expected. US weekly jobless claims total 226,000, in line with expectations Earnings: NKE: $65.30, ATM straddle - $3.60, approx. 5.5% Odd Block: Calls trade in Deere & Company (DE), puts trade in CNH Industrial NV (CNHI) and split ticket calls in TC Pipelines LP (TRP). Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses selling naked puts Mail Block: Listener questions and comments Question from Ed Bankert - Debating on using covered calls or short puts. Which is better for a less experienced options trader who wants to make money? Question from Scott Somer‏ - WMT now below 100 premarket @Options @OptionPit @OptionVol How is that proposed @CBOE premarket earnings related equity options pilot going? Around the Block/Economic Reports Mar 23: Durable Goods, New Home Sales

Options news you can use for Friday, March 23, 2018

In this episode, Mark is joined by Tony Saliba, author and CEO of Matrix Holdings. They discuss: The book on the Chinese options market and resulting educational tour Is there another book in the works? Updates on the ChiX deal What is Matrix Holdings? Why get back into financial technology? Potential partnerships with futures and options users Bots with persona Potential in cryptos The crypto / options time line comparison When might there be crypto options? And more

As we approach the end of earnings season, there are still a few names left to announce. Last week we talked about a FedEx butterfly. Let's revisit what has happened since. You can find more in The Options Playbook, which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: A review of last week's FDX butterfly What has happened to FDX since the paper trade? What is happening in Nike? How about a back spread? Looking for volatiilty Hoping the stock will move more than the expected move Selecting expiration Selecting strikes What is the maximum gain? Loss? Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at [email protected], or to the Options Insider at [email protected].

Options news you can use for Thursday, March 22, 2018

In this episode, Mark is joined by Geoff Sharp, Managing Director and Head of Sales for the Eris Exchange. They discuss: What is Eris Exchange What are the benefits of using Eris Exchange? What are Eris swap futures? Growth in open interest Challenges they have faced bringing transparency to the swaps market Building the ecosystem Their patent award How the return of volatility impacted activity And more...

In this episode, Mark is joined by Sean Smith, Managing Director of Derivatives Licensing & Exchange Data, and Ron Bundy, Global Head of Strategic Accounts at FTSE Russell. They discuss: What are some highlights from the past month from FTSE Russell? The return of volatility Where have volumes grown? What brought them to FIA Boca? A check in on RVX And more

Options news you can use for Wednesday, March 21, 2018

Trading Block: VIX is back in the 20's. Facebook is taking it on the chin as Russia fallout continues - down 7% and leading other tech stocks into the toilet. Fed Meeting with New Chairman on Wednesday. Earnings: Oracle - ATM straddle - $2.75, over 100k contracts on the tape. Odd Block: Call palooza in Olin Corporation (OLN), put palooza in UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH), split ticket puts in Criteo SA (CRTO). Mail Block: Vote in our Options Broker Madness competition each day by going to @Options on Twitter. Results: Interactive Brokers vs. Sogo - Interative Brokers TDAmeritrade (TOS) v. Choice Trade - TD Ameritrade Schwab (OptionsXpress) v. Tastyworks- Tastyworks Fidelity v. RobinHood- RobinHood Lightspeed v. eOption- Lightspeed E-Trade (OptionsHouse) v. TradeHawk- E-Trade Listener questions and comments: Question from Malthe Have Musaeus:If I buy a call option and afterwards sell it for a profit, I'm not the one obligated to sell 100 shares if that option is exercised later right? How do I close my call option position completely and take my profit/loss? Question from The Chazz - What do the option block all-stars think the skew will look like in bitcoin options? Question from Jack K. -How do people afford to sell puts in TSLA? In order to do any size (like a 10 lot) you have to be able to put up the cash to buy 330k worth of stock. Even a one lot costs 33k. Maybe we need some minis on TSLA? Around the Block/Economic Reports: Mar 21 - Existing Home Sales, FOMC Meeting Mar 22 - Jobless Claims Mar 23 - Durable Goods, New Home Sales

Options news you can use for Tuesday, March 20, 2018

Topics this week include: Oil/WTI Gold Bitcoin Winners: RBOB, Soybean Oil Losers: Oats, Wheat Futures Options Feedback: Options Flash Poll Which would you rather see first? Would you rather see Options finally listed on Bitcoin futures? Or would you prefer to have more Cryptocurrency futures (Litecoin, Ethereum, etc.) launched instead? Gimme Bitcoin Options More Crypto Futures Save Me from More Crypto Listener questions and comments: Question from HFL9 -Would you rather see options on bitcoin futures or more futures listed on more crypto products first? Question from RevTimTom - What's your favorite way to trade skew? Question from Da Cheese - Still waiting for my big dairy options rundown on the show. Luv ya! Question from Allen -Nick going to make a QuikStrike for crypto someday?

Volatility Review: A look back at the week from a volatility perspective VIX cash back in the 15 handle VIX Options: ADV - 1M, VIX call/put: - 1.9/1, Total 13.9m (9.16m Calls, 4.76m Puts) Weird iron fly with crazy call kicker VXX - 38.89 Volatility Voicemail: Options Flash Poll Which would you rather see first? Would you rather see Options finally listed on Bitcoin futures? Or would you prefer to have more Cryptocurrency futures (Litecoin, Ethereum, etc.) launched instead? Gimme Bitcoin Options More Crypto Futures Save Me from More Crypto Last week's Volatility Flash Poll: VIX is off the board and SVXY is a pale shadow of its former self. So how are you getting your "short Vol" fix these days? Reply/DM with alternative suggestions. 20% - Short VIX Futures 22% - Long VIX Puts/Spreads 32% - Short VIX Call/Spreads 26% - Short SPX/SPY Volatility Listener questions and comments: Question from Big Blanc -I'm liking the VXX erosion play. Question though - Why does everyone talk puts on this trade? Why not selling calls or call spreads? Or maybe the combo - buying puts and selling calls or call spreads? Any backtests on that? Question from Jack K. -How is Mark's SVXY call vertical holding up? Comment from Brian Collamer -Hey Mark, You been talking off and on about seeing how the straddles performed vs actual moves around the earnings. Check the Analyze>Earnings tab in Thinkorswim sometime and let us know what you think! Comment from Brian Collamer:Also thought you might get a kick out of this. Question from Liam - Any cool takeaways from Mark's trip to RMC or FIA? Question from Leo -I have a bunch of VXX Jan 2019 puts. Should I be concerned about the issuer pulling an SVXY and suddenly rendering those puts irrelevant? Crystal Ball: Wild and reckless prognostication Last week: Mark L. - 14.75 Mark S. - 13.15 Russell - 14 This week: Mark L. - 15.15 Andrew - 14.75

Options news you can use for Monday, March 19, 2018

In this episode, Mark is joined by John Deters Chief Strategy Officer and Head of Multi Asset Solutions, Cboe Global Markets. They discuss: John's background in financial services What are multi asset solutions? How is the integration with BATS unfolding? The VIX manipulation study Will they bring back VXO? Thoughts about XIV and SVXY Responsible use of volatility products The possibility of options on crypto currencies And more...

Trading Block: Looking back at the week's news: US weekly jobless claims total 226,000, in line with expectations Dow up more than 200 points, attempts to snap 3-session skid, as Boeing's stock rises ToysRUs closing all stores. iHeartMedia files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. SNAP tanks due to controversial Rihanna ad on platform. Spotify says it will begin trading shares April 3. Strategy Block: Uncle Mike Tosaw discusses limit orders Mail Block: Listener questions and comments Question from Matt M. - Why does Mark always say that Andrew doesn't understand expiration of vertical spreads in SPX? Is that true or some inside joke I missed? Question from Jello Fan - VXX 1-yr 50% OTM puts plus VIX 3 month 15% OTM call verticals - 5 or 10 handles wide. Is that the secret sauce? Around the Block/Economic Reports: Mar 16: Housing Starts, Consumer Sentiment, JOLTS

Options news you can use for Friday, March 16, 2018

In this episode, Mark is joined by Derek Sammann, Global Head of Commodities and Options Products and Blu Putnam Chief Economist at CME Group. They discuss: Looking at options at the FIA conference Volatility spike is a great opportunity to use options Interesting move in the flight to quality The global use for options Globalizing participation Re-defining who CME Group is and who they want to be And more... Some of the stats Derek and Blu mentioned:    

Options news you can use for Thursday, March 15, 2018

Last week we talked about a Costco butterfly. Let's revisit what has happened since. You can find more on page 102 (butterfly) and page 126 (iron condor) of The Options Playbook, which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: A review of last week's comparison of the butterfly vs. iron condor in COST Breaking down the butterfly What about the iron condor? What happened after COST announced earnings? Implied volatility and time decay as factors Moving on to FedEx, which reports earnings on 3/20 How to set up a trade to contain the earnings Selecting strikes What is the cost? What is the maximum risk? Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at [email protected], or to the Options Insider at [email protected].

Options news you can use for Wednesday, March 14, 2018

Trading Block: Discovering the plight of liquidity providers at CBOE RMC today. It's ironic timing since Spot Trading just shut down. Potentially changing tick sizes in VIX futures and options. VIX options breakdown is 90/10 standard vs weekly volume. Odd Block: Line in the sand puts in Dick's Sporting Goods Inc (DKS). Buying more Tim in Johnson Controls International (JCI). Size put/call kickers in The Western Union Co (WU) Mail Block: It's madness! The Options Insider: It's time for our annual Options Broker Madness Tournament! Reply/DM to nominate your broker to compete in this year's BrokerBattle. 16 firms can enter....but in the end there can be only one. Get your nominations in now & prepare to battle. Broker Madness starts 3/12. Question from Scott Somer -VolView The $VIX Apr 29-35 call spread is going for about 40 cents, are you more willing to buy or sell it to open? Comment from Oscar Stanko:Hi Mark. I am an avid listener to your options podcasts and wanted to sincerely thank you for your time and energy you've put into creating this valuable (and often humorous) content! Question from BigBlanc -I'm liking the VXX erosion play. Question though - Why does everyone talk puts on this trade? Why not selling calls or call spreads? Or maybe the combo - buying puts and selling calls or call spreads? Any back tests on that? Around the Block: What's coming up this week?

Options news you can use for Tuesday, March 13, 2018

Topics this week include: EuroDollars Oil/WTI E-mini Metals/Gold Winners: E-mini Russell, Nasdaq E-mini Losers: Iron Ore, Soybean Meal Futures Option Feedback: Listeners have their say Question from NOZ3T: Is it possible to hedge some of these aggregate commodity ETFs with puts in their underlying itself - so hedge USO with WTI puts, Corn with corn puts - you get the idea? Question from Tom B.:Is it the same cost over time to buy calls in ags or metals where the premium is to the upside as it is to hedge the index with downside puts? Just trying to figure out my skews. Keep the show coming!

Volatility Review: A look back at the week from a volatility perspective. Cboe RMC: What are our favorite presentations? Interesting discussions/topics? Tariffs, Trump & VIX: It has been another volatile week. VIX Cash - 16.54 VIX Futures - "Super meltyF and delicious Russell's Weekly Rundown: VIX Options: ADV - 1M VIX call/put: 2/1 Total 12.6m (8.45m Calls, 4.16m Puts) Volatility Voicemail: Volatility Flash Poll XIV is off the board and SVXY is a pale shadow of its former self. So how are you getting your "short vol" fix these days? Reply/DM with alternative suggestions. Short VIX Futures Long VIX Puts/Spreads Short VIX Calls/Spreads Short SPX/SPY Volatility Listener questions and comments Question from Bixby -Do you think there will be an XIV 2 anytime soon? Crystal Ball: Wild and reckless prognostication Last week: Mark L. - 17.75 Mark S. - 28 Next week: Mark L. - 14.75 Mark S. - 13.15 Russell - 14.00

Options news you can use for Monday, March 12, 2018

In this episode, Mark is joined by Jon Cherry, Head of U.S. Options at Northern Trust Capital Markets. They discuss: What does Northern Trust do in options? Who are their clients? What services do they provide? What are the most common uses of options for Northern Trust clients? How have clients responded to the recent changes in the market? The benefits of the consultative approach What products do they use most often? The explosion and implosion of inverse volatility products What's to come from Northern Trust in options?  

Trading Block: Markets unchanged mid-day. VIX back around the 17-handle. A rundown of CBOE RMC. Earnings: Highlights: Friday- Revlon, Big Lots A lot of big box retail this week, too - Costco, Target, Kroger, etc. Odd Block: More Jan 2019 50 "Catastrophe" puts in Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA). Line in the sand puts in Victoria's Secret (LB). Size call fly/roll in Electronic Arts (EA). Strategy Block: Mike Tosaw discusses rolling SPY puts. Mail Block: Are you ready for Broker Madness? The Options Insider: It's almost time for our annual Options Broker Madness Tournament! Nominate your broker to compete in this year's #BrokerBattle. 16 firms can enter....but in the end there can be only one. Get your nominations in now & prepare to battle. #BrokerMadness starts 3/12. Question from CVT -The Rock Lobster suggested other ways to play VXX erosion other than buying puts. What was he talking about? Around the Block/Economic Reports: Mar 9: Unemployment

Options news you can use for Friday, March 9, 2018

Last week we talked about a Costco butterfly. Let's revisit what has happened since. You can find more on page 102 of The Options Playbook, which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition. Specifically: A review of last week Where is Costco trading now? Setting up the trade Why timing matters Comparing this to an iron condor Why timing matters, part two More risk, more reward? Selecting strikes What is the desired outcome Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at [email protected], or to the Options Insider at [email protected].

Options news you can use for Thursday, March 8, 2018

Options news you can use for Wednesday, March 7, 2018

Trading Block: Today we feature special guest host Lex Luthringshausen founder and CEO of Tradehawk, powered by Option Eyes. Headlines of the day: What trade war? SPX up over 1% intraday. VIX is back into the teens. Earnings Highlights: Tuesday - Target Wednesday - Dollar Tree, Costco Thursday - Kroger Friday - Revlon, Big Lots Odd Block: More JAN 2019 50 "Catastrophe" puts in Tesla Motors Inc (TSLA). Trade war sparks put roll in Materials Select Sector SPDR (XLB). Long-term call action in Ultra Petroleum Corp (UPL). Mail Block: Listeners have their say It's almost time for our annual Options BrokerMadness Tournament! Reply/DM to nominate your broker to compete in this year's BrokerBattle. 16 firms can enter....but in the end there can be only one. Get your nominations in now & prepare to battle. BrokerMadness starts 3/12. Comment from AlphamakerChris - A lot of people were robbed in their sleep, it's absolutely disgraceful. They should've given several weeks notice, not 1 day. People lost fortunes overnight for reasons not of their own doing. Comment from Scott Somer - NO fun if you were long anything accept deep ITM Options on SVXY or UVXY. Highlights unexpected danger of trading options on leveraged products.  TVIX TVIZ...Would have caused disorderly option markets if they did during the trading day. SVXY UVXY Shot across the bow if you are trading options on VolocityShare products as well....Wonder how many of them took people to "The Horse"? Question from Stifl - Great show. Agree with Mark about the OI change graph in LiveVol it's very useful. Only problem is that it only goes back a few months. Any tools out there that go back farther? Comment from DannyBzak - These funds are tracking an index. The index itself was down 96% on 2/5. This is a flaw in index design, not a fund problem. ETP's just can't decide to suddenly not track the index they are mandated to track. Someone needs a better mousetrap to track short vol in index form….Or a more realistic conclusion is that short vol is not a realistically scalable concept in index/ETP form. IMO short vol is something that is better served by active management, not a passive index...Which is the design flaw of thinking one should make an index designed to replicate a short position on anything. In reality someone who is smart enough to be short is smart enough to manage the risks of being short. These indexes have zero risk management built in. Around the Block/Economic Reports This Week Mar 6: Factory Orders Mar 7: International Trade, Productivity and Costs, Beige Book Mar 8: Jobless Claims Mar 9: Unemployment

Options news you can use for Tuesday, March 6, 2018

Topics this week include: Emini Energy/Oil Gold Bitcoin Winners: KC Wheat, Soybean Meal Losers: Lumber, Lean Hogs Futures Options Feedback: Listeners have their say Comment from MJobain - Tell Erik he needs to do some research on bitcoin volatility. Comment from Luis J -Good show. Caught it on podcast. Checked out the VIX/Yield curve chart on CME website. I have to admit that looks like nonsense to me. Question from Scott Somer -Which products are closest to their 52 week highs in implied volatility? Question from Phil Bremer -Does Nick have any thoughts on the inverse volatility craziness? Comment from Patricky -Any more research notes for the show? Question from Revert -What's historical AVG for Nat Gas skew? Is it typically bid to the calls?

Volatility Review: A look back on the week from a volatility perspective A weird day in the markets, started with a massive selloff then ended unchanged. VIX cash - 22.5 VIX futures - super backward again VIX options: ADV - 1.05M, VIX call/put: 2.1 - Total 12.0m (8.15m Calls, 3.87m Puts) Goldman says options-market activity suggests pain ahead in these sectors Nearly half of 2017's Cryptocurrency 'ICO' Projects Have Already Died Volatility Voicemail: Options question of the week There's much debate about SVXY these days. Will it survive 2018? Is it poised for serious upside? We'll table those questions for now and instead ask all of you out there slinging SVXY. What is your weapon of choice? 63% - Naked Long SVXY 20% - Long SVXY Calls/Spreads 10% - Long SVXY Puts/Spreads 8% - Long SVXY w/ Put Hedge Listener questions and comments: Comment from Boris Ilyevsky - Maybe their FCM partners didn't give them a choice. SVXY UVXY Question from J3dingle - Hi Mark, Given that both RexxShares and ProShares have re-jiggered their Volatility ETPs, what are the odds that VXX does too? Thanks, Joseph Question from Tills - Any chance the recent changeup with SVXY is just to appease regulators. Maybe it will switch back later in the year? Comment from Volatility Analytics - SPX 37% of days this year have had a 1% change in SPX. Last year we had 8 total days. Comment from Ragin1234 - (RE: SVXY) XIV SVXY uneducated customers are to blame for not doing their due diligence. Comment from LLLC1 - I think the world just woke up to a new risk for vol products - "issuer panic risk". We all knew it was in the prospectus but now we've seen it materialize. I wonder how this will affect risk premiums in these products going forward. Comment from John Schryber - Those stocks got sold to cover the inverse leveraged trade. It's all connected. Passive funds are...passive. Crystal Ball: Wild and reckless prognostication Last week: Mark L. - 16.75 Bill - 14 Mark S - 15 This week: Mark L. - 17.75 Mark S. - 28

Options news you can use for Monday, March 5, 2018

Trading Block: Trump's trade war is spooking the market. SPX off nearly 2%. VIX is back into the 20s. Equity Markets: It's worth noting that at a forward P/E ratio of just over 17x for the S&P 500, valuations do not appear to be stretched. The great SVXY debacle. The numbers are in for February, and they were good (surprise). Odd Block: More Jan 2019 50 "Catastrophe" puts in Tesla Motors Inc. Puts roll in iShares S&P 500 Index Fund (XSP). Bullish call love in Salesforce (CRM). Mail Block: Options question of the week. There's much debate about SVXY these days. Will it survive 2018? Is it poised for serious upside? We'll table those questions for now and instead ask all of you out there slinging SVXY - what is your weapon of choice? Reply/DM with other suggestions. 59% - Naked Long SVXY 22% - Long SVXY Calls/Spreads 10% - Long SVXY Puts/Spreads 9% - Long SVXY w/ Put Hedge Volatility FlashPoll. Three weeks ago out audience was evenly split on whether SVXY would survive 2018. But the recent changes to its investment objectives have us asking once more - Do you think SVXY will survive 2018? 50% - Yes 24% - No 26% - I'm done with inverse VIX Comment from Matt Thompson - Everyone say thank you to ProShares for de-levering SVXY for a day like today. Around the Block/Economic Reports: Mar 1: Jobless Claims, Personal Income Mar 2: Consumer Sentiment

Options news you can use for Friday, March 2, 2018

Let's review the skip-strike butterfly in PCLN from last week. You can find more on page 108 of The Options Playbook, which is always available on OptionsPlaybook.com, in on the Amazon Kindle edition. The long butterfly (used on the Costco paper trade) is on page 102. Specifically: A review of last week A change of name Did you adjust? Was time on your side? Who is up next? Costco Holdings! What are we looking for? Putting on an at-the-money butterfly Selecting strikes What is the break even? Avoiding the "stupid award" Do you have a question that you want answered on a future episode? Send them to Brian at [email protected], or to the Options Insider at [email protected].

Options news you can use for Thursday, March 1, 2018

Options news you can use for Wednesday, February 28, 2018

Trading Block: Earnings Highlights Monday - Fitbit Tuesday - Macy's, Lumber Liquidators, Priceline.com, Weight Watchers, Papa John's Wednesday - Valeant, Lowe's, Mylan, Crocs Thursday - Best Buy, Kohl's, AMC Entertainment, Barnes & Noble, Nordstrom Friday - JCPenney, Foot Locker In other news: Warren Buffett: 'We've bought more Apple than anything else' in the last year Nearly half of 2017's Cryptocurrency 'ICO' Projects Have Already Died Odd Block: More Jan 2019 50 "Catastrophe" puts in Tesla Motors Inc. (TSLA), size "line in the sand" in Dicks Sporting Goods Inc. (DKS), bullish risk reversals in American International Group Inc. (AIG), and size calls in Regions Financial Corp. (RF) Mail Block: Options question of the week There's much debate about SVXY these days. Will it survive 2018? Is it poised for serious upside? We'll table those questions for now and instead ask all of you out there slinging SVXY. What is your weapon of choice? Reply/DM with other suggestions. Naked Long SVXY Long SVXY Calls/Spreads Long SVXY Puts/Spreads Long SVXY w/ Put Hedge Comment from Vixland‏ - Tight Covered Calls !!!!!!!!!!!! Listener questions and comments: Question from Mark Brandt - Has OIR discussed Peter Thiel buying $240M of SVXY puts days before the vol spike? He is smart but that smells fishy. Comment from Matt Williamson - @OptionVol $431 outlay ($430 for the covered spread, $1 for the put) to make $69.69/431 = 16% less assignment fees (likely just a few in large blocks) and commissions. Comment from CheeButter - We've been waiting for this day - RE: VIX EXPLOSION LAST WEEK Question from Allanc - What are the odds of a reverse split for SVXY? Around the Block/Economic Reports: Feb 26: New Home Sales Feb 27: Durable Goods, International Trade, Consumer Confidence Feb 28: GDP Mar 1: Jobless Claims, Personal Income Mar 2: Consumer Sentiment

Options news you can use for Tuesday, February 27

Topics this week include: Metals/Gold Ags Oil Rates/VIX Futures Options Feedback: Options question of the week People are spooked about this market. Hedges are flying left and right. So the question remains: How are you hedging your portfolio right now? Metals: Gold, Silver, etc. VIX Calls / Volatility Index Puts (SPY, etc.) Bitcoin / Crypto Listener questions and comments: Comment from Scott Somer: Inverse leveraged commodity there are two, one on WTI DWT which ADV of 4.4 million shares, the other on Brent DBRT ADV of 600 shares. Both Triple Bear.

Volatility Review: A look back at the week from a volatility perspective VIX Cash - 18.75 VIX Futures - The March future is very stubborn. VIX Options: ADV - 1.05M, VIX call/put: 2.3, Total 11.3m (7.76m Calls, 3.52m Puts) Goldman says options-market activity suggests pain ahead in these sectors Earnings: INTU, GDDY Volatility Voicemail: Options question of the week People are spooked about this market. Hedges are flying left and right. So the question remains: How are you hedging your portfolio right now? Metals: Gold, Silver, etc. VIX Calls / Volatility Index Puts (SPY, etc.) Bitcoin / Crypto Listener questions and comments: Comment from The Blacklist Blockchain Trader‏ - The uncorrelated one known as bitcoin Comment from Mark Clyde Brant - Palladium ITM calls! Comment from StockMarket Blue - Hedging strategies are actually unwinding in the bond market, causing turbulence in equities markets. Those "trading" in the stock market are flying blind without understanding the carry trade/currency hedging or oversupply of tender re system liquidity. Or the short-VIX unwind. Question from J3dingle - Hi Mark, VXX is delisting in January 2019 (with the new Barclay's ETN VXXB to take its place). What will happen to the Jan 2020 VXX options? Thanks, Joseph Question from Harryhood - @Options Are the $VXX puts premium dropping with the underlying because the VIX futures term structure is backward? Thanks Mark. Just heard "Mr Umbrage" discuss it on the last OB show. I'm the guy who sent you the Vermont umbrage license pic btw. Crystal Ball: Wild and reckless prognostication Last week: Mark L. - 17.55 Mark S. - 16.00 Kevin - 19.00 This week: Mark L. - 16.75 Mark S. - 15.00 Bill - 14.00