With the US financial markets worried about several key economic matters—oil price, OPEC decision, Fed policy, and whether or not the debt ceiling will be raised—there seems to be a new trade emerging: buy puts.
In recent days, put activity on the S&P 500 ETF (SPY) has been through the roof. A full hour after market open, investors have taken an interest in September dated options. Of the most popular are the 90, 94, and $95 strikes. These strike prices correspond with an S&P500 value of 900, 940, and 950, respectively.
Why buy puts?
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Futures and Commodities, Investing, Stocks
ETF, hedging, put options, sp500, SPY
Charles Schwab (SCHW), one of the leading brokerage firms in the United States, today announced that it would take on exchange-traded funds for its asset management business. The recent pivot would mean that investors would be able to buy and sell exchange-traded funds through their 401ks, reducing their overall annual fees.
Never has a company been so aggressive with exchange-traded funds.
Why Asset Managers Hate ETFs
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Stocks
401k, Charles Schwab, ETF, SCHW
Oil has dropped like a rock and is out of the discussion for this article. The market still needs to settle out the speculation and digest much of the speculative supply that is rushing into the markets. Other commodities such as silver are now on the radar with a rapidly expanding money supply and a heavily deflated price per ounce. Read more…
Futures and Commodities, Investing
ETF, silver
