The surprising day-to-day correlation between SPY in 2004 and SPY in 2010 continues. The 21-September closing values were 112.96 (2004), and 113.98 (2010)—not exactly a rousing endorsement of buy-and-hold strategies. This year’s SPY has traded below the old SPY line since mid August, but it just crossed over, challenging the top 2004 trendline (see below). It appears that the scary months of September and …
You can find Barclays’ VXX prospectus here. The prospectus covers both the short term VXX, and the medium term VXZ. This post discusses going long on VXX. This post discusses some choices if you think VXX is going to go down. For an estimated date for VXX’s next reverse split see this post. For an overview of how VXX works, see “How Does VXX Work?” …
USO continues to bounce around in its trading range. I bought USO at 32.40, and sold-to-open S33 24-Sept expiration calls at .26. Break even i s 32.14, best case profit is $0.86 / share.
Update: I do not believe XXV is a good way to short VXX, or volatility in general. It has very little upside remaining (maximum value will be $40/share), see this post for more details. ********************************************************** With the recent action in the VIX and VXX I thought it would be good time to go back and check the performance of Barclays’ new ETN product XXV to see …
What if I’m short a security when it goes ex-dividend? You are on the hook for the dividend if you are short the stock/ETF when it goes ex-dividend. It will be subtracted from your brokerage account on the distribution date. You borrowed the stock, you are responsible for paying the owner of the security the dividend. More questions on dividends? See Top 10 questions about dividends.
