Do traders expect more volatility in the longer term than they do in the short term? The one-month volatility (VIX) is almost always lower than the (three-month volatility (VXV), but sometimes it soars higher.

For the expected downside, or to hedge existing long positions, we think an interesting idea is to employ debit bear put spreads and credit call spreads.

Trade selection using volatility as the primary criteria. Different trades for different volatility opportunities.

In theory, a more volatile market in the next 30 days would justify higher options prices today, but does the VIX usually get it right in practice? Does today's VIX have any correlation with actual volatility over the next 30 days?

I’m not that enthusiastic about the benefits of managed futures, at least in their current form.

After a substantial rally that took the index past the overhead resistance at 1040.78 look for a minor trend change indicator for clues that this run could be about over.

From "Risk Off" last week it was "Risk On" once again with an oversold rally taking the S&P 500 Index 5.4% higher. Now traders and investors want to know if the bottom has been made, or should we expect to see lower lows?

The trend is your friend – until it ends. How can you determine when a change in trend is likely?

One of the basic directional spreads in trading options is that of the vertical spread. It is extremely versatile and represents a major building block of more complex spreads.

Equity investors who want a broad-based hedge have essentially three vehicles from which to choose: equity index options (SPY, SPX, ES, etc.), VIX futures (or their ETF permutations), and VIX options.

Now the best plan is conditioned on the behavior of the SPX in the next few days. If a solid oversold rally develops then we suggest long call spread positions with defined risk in the previous strong sectors. Here are a few ideas.

The markets appear bewildered switching back and forth from "risk on" to "risk off" as if there is nothing in between. Now equities are in the risk off position as they accelerated to the downside creating a dramatic change in the technical condition.