^VIX - CBOE Volatility Index
| Previous Close | 14.80 |
| Open | 14.37 |
| Volume | 0 |
| Day's Range | 13.19 - 14.47 |
| 52 Week Range | 11.03 - 36.20 |
| Avg. Volume | 0 |
- Yahoo Finance
Why America's small manufacturers are becoming more pessimistic
Confidence is soaring among small business owners. But one group of small business owners is becoming more pessimistic about America’s economy — small business manufacturers.
- Reuters
Graphic: Wall Street's high-stake bets on calm less risky than they seem
Elevated net short positions in Cboe Volatility Index futures are reminiscent of a similar spike in 2017, when prolonged calm in U.S. stocks prompted a rush into short-volatility exchange-traded products. The index has risen past 14.
- Yahoo Finance
Trump uses flamethrower on bullish investors again and serves up one valuable investing lesson
President Trump's latest comments on the trade war front should serve up a valuable lesson to investors.
- Investing.com
3 Things Under the Radar This Week
Investing.com - Here are three things that flew under the radar this week
- Yahoo Finance
Food inflation has spared Thanksgiving dinner, thanks to the trade war
No fowl play here. The cost of your Thanksgiving dinner will only cost one penny more than last year.
- Bloomberg
It’s Time to Hedge as VIX Nears 2019 ‘Floor’, Macro Risk Says
(Bloomberg) -- The rally in U.S. stocks may have waned, but equities are still near record highs amid subdued volatility. For some strategists, that may be the perfect time to seek protection.Macro Risk Advisors suggests a trade that involves selling a put option on the Cboe Volatility Index with a strike of 12, while buying a 20 call and selling a 22 call. Derivatives strategist Maxwell Grinacoff wrote in a note Tuesday that he backtested the strategy, both unconditionally and when VIX was below 13, and found it has performed relatively well since the beginning of 2018.“We believe VIX has neared its theoretical floor for the year,” Grinacoff wrote. In addition, historical correlation trends in the S&P 500 around earnings season imply “a higher level of realized volatility going forward.”These calls for vigilance are already bearing fruit. The VIX touched its highest level in nearly a month on Wednesday after a report that the U.S. and China are unlikely to reach a trade deal this year.Read: ‘Giant Risk Event’ Makes Hedging a Good Bet in 2020, TD SaysEurope long volatility looks relatively attractive with the VStoxx Index so low, UBS Group AG strategist Stuart Kaiser wrote in a note Nov. 17. The European volatility gauge fell to 11.54 on Nov. 15, compared with this year’s mean of about 15.3. Kaiser also likes the iShares Russell 2000 ETF as a preferred medium-term growth-sensitive hedge.Put-option strategies on the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust are seen as the most attractive hedge by Credit Suisse Group AG.Evercore ISI agrees with that. The firm’s options team recommends buying SPY February $304 puts and selling $287 puts, strategist Dennis DeBusschere wrote in a note Tuesday, citing weakness in U.S. growth data, a slowdown in China and defensiveness showing up in VIX futures. The February expiry includes the U.S.’s advance fourth-quarter gross-domestic-product report on Jan. 30, he said.“Since the S&P is making new all-time highs, now is an opportune time to hedge,” DeBusschere said.(Adds VIX trading on Wednesday.)\--With assistance from Luke Kawa, Rita Nazareth and Dave Liedtka.To contact the reporter on this story: Joanna Ossinger in Singapore at jossinger@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Christopher Anstey at canstey@bloomberg.net, Ravil Shirodkar, Yakob PeterseilFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Yahoo Finance
Investors are ignoring Trump impeachment proceedings
What Trump impeachment proceedings? That's the message from the stock market.
- Bloomberg
Trump’s Big Reveal on Trade Is a Big Letdown
(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Markets were widely anticipating that President Donald Trump would use his speech to the Economic Club of New York on Tuesday to trumpet progress on reaching the first phase of a trade deal with China. Instead, all he said was that an agreement “could happen soon.” That’s not exactly the language markets wanted to hear, which helps explain why equity markets spent much of the rest of the day erasing the bulk of their gains.The S&P 500 Index is now up 23.3% for the year, and whether the rally extends or not is largely dependent on the U.S. and China showing progress in trade talks. But astute market watchers such as Medley Global Macro Managing Director Ben Emons note that Trump’s language toward the talks has become more cautious of late. He’s gone from describing them as “going very well” to saying they are “moving along” to Tuesday’s “could happen soon.” As linguists know, “could” is one of the weaker verbs in the English language because theoretically anything “could” happen. It’s certainly no match for “may.” Emons pointed out in a research note that there was also a softening in Trump’s tone toward the trade talks in April, when the trade hawks gained his ear. The S&P 500 tumbled 6.58% the next month. Some would say this is just semantics, but the ebb and flow of the trade war is the primary driver of markets. The latest monthly survey of global fund managers by Bank of America released on Tuesday showed that 39% of respondents said it’s the biggest risk facing markets, followed by 16% who fear a bond bubble, 12% who cite monetary policy impotence and 11% who said a slowdown in China is the biggest worry.So, does Trump’s language suggest there will a repeat of the May episode for stocks? It’s impossible to know, but the stakes are higher. The Bank of America survey shows that allocations to global equities are higher and average cash holdings are lower, falling to the lowest since June 2013 at 4.2% of assets.NEGATIVE RATES? NO THANKSTrump also took a shot at the Federal Reserve, saying it was hurting the U.S. by not copying other central banks in deploying negative interest rates. On the face of it, getting paid to borrow seems appealing. But that ignores the fact that countries with negative rates have deep economic problems, and many central bankers are finding that they do more harm than good. One of those countries is Japan. Its central bank is actively trying to steepen its yield curve, pushing yields on long-term government bonds back above zero. But instead of worrying what this might do to Japan’s economy, the country’s stock market has been on a tear. The benchmark Topix index is up 15.7% since late August, outperforming the MSCI All-Country World Index, which is up just 8.06% in the same period. The biggest beneficiary of positive rates is the banking system, which is why the Topix bank index has done better, surging 19%. More economists say negative rates don’t really increase borrowing and certainly don’t promote lending. The International Monetary Fund forecast last month that Japan’s economy will expand just 0.9% this year, compared with 2.4% for the U.S. This change in sentiment toward negative rates by central banks is one reason the global government bond market has softened, with yields as measured by the Bloomberg Barclays Global Aggregate Treasuries Index having risen from a three-year low of 1.17% on average in early September to 1.48% as of Monday.COMPLACENCY IS IN THE EYE OF THE BEHOLDERAnother revelation from the Bank of America survey is that fears of a looming global recession have largely vanished. A net 6% of those polled expect a strong economy next year, an increase of 43 percentage points from the October survey and the biggest monthly jump on record. Combine that with the largest allocations toward equities in a year and the declining cash balances, and it’s logical to ask whether investors have become too complacent. The CBOE Volatility Index, commonly known as the VIX, is back down to some of its lowest levels of the year, which is to say it’s not far from its record lows. Nicknamed “the fear gauge,” the measure tracks implied volatility in the stock market. The lower it goes, the less “fear” there is perceived to be among investors. But those who say this is a sure sign of complacency fail to acknowledge the expanded role of central banks in markets. It’s no coincidence that the rally in equities that gathered steam in October came as the collective balance-sheet assets of the Fed, European Central Bank, Bank of Japan and Bank of England rose by 0.6 percentage point to 35.7% of their countries’ total gross domestic product in October, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The increase from September was the most for any month since March 2017. At the same time, a custom index measuring M2 figures for 12 major economies including the U.S., China, euro zone and Japan shows their aggregate money supply surged by $846.1 billion in October, the most since June. Central banks clearly have put a floor under markets, which should reduce volatility. LATIN AMERICA IS DOWNLatin America is quickly turning into the sick man of emerging markets. The economic problems in Venezuela and Argentina were already well known when protests swept Chile last month. Now there’s strife in Bolivia, resulting in violence, military intervention and the resignation of President Evo Morales, who was granted asylum in Mexico. But that move has caused friction between the U.S. and Mexico, which reversed a pledge not to intervene in affairs of other countries. That may have been a big reason Mexico’s peso sank the most in three months Tuesday, along with a Fox Business report that the U.S. may impose tariffs on autos and auto parts from Mexico. The Bloomberg JPMorgan Latin America Currency Index is down 2.84% since Nov. 1, sliding much further than the 0.43% drop in the MSCI EM Currency Index. On top of that, dollar-denominated bonds issued by borrowers in Latin America have lost 3.25% of their value since early August, according to Bloomberg News’s Paul Wallace. That’s the worst performance among emerging markets, according to JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s indexes. Of 10 emerging markets with the worst-performing dollar debt in November, half are from Latin America. The IMF last month said it expected the region’s economy to rebound next year, expanding by 1.8% compared with 0.2% this year, but the latest developments rightly have investors questioning whether those forecasts need to be downgraded significantly.TOO LITTLE TOO LATEThe optimism in recent weeks that perhaps the U.S. and China were on the cusp of some trade detente has provided some support to the long-suffering agriculture market. One raw material that has done especially well is milk. Class III futures, which represent milk used to make cheddar cheese, are up about 45% in 2019 and heading for the best year since 2007. Prices are already the highest since 2014. Alas, the rally wasn’t enough to save top U.S. milk processor Dean Foods Co., which has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. Dean says it’s the largest U.S. processor of fresh fluid milk and other dairy products, but the company has been squeezed by fierce competition and shrinking profit margins, according to Bloomberg News’s Lydia Mulvany and Katherine Doherty. This is potentially significant from a political standpoint. Dairy is especially important to Wisconsin, where Dean Foods has operations. It’s a state Trump narrowly won in the last election and one many political scientists say he needs to hold on to if he hopes to win a second term in 2020. But the struggles of such a high-profile agriculture company could have a large number of those voters questioning whether Trump’s trade strategy is the right one for their industry.TEA LEAVESNow on to Jerome Powell. The Federal Reserve chair begins two days of Congressional testimony on Wednesday, providing lawmakers with an update on where the central bank sees the economy going. It won’t be an easy discussion. Although the U.S. stock market continues to set records, the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s widely followed GDPNow index, which aims to track the economy in real time, suggests growth of just 1% this quarter. The markets and the economy have clearly diverged. And while there is always the chance for a surprise, Powell will most likely repeat what he said on Oct. 30 after the Fed cut interest rates for the third time since July, which is that monetary policy and the economy are in a good place and that it would require a “material reassessment” of the outlook to justify additional monetary easing.DON’T MISS Even the Fed's Own Research Shows Rates Are Too High: Tim Duy Low Returns Stoke Investor Appetite for Risk: Barry Ritholtz Nobel Winners Offer an Antidote to Donald Trump: Mark Whitehouse Millennials on Cusp of Middle Age Missed Their Boom: Noah Smith Matt Levine’s Money Stuff: If You Own Everything, Why Merge?To contact the author of this story: Robert Burgess at bburgess@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Daniel Niemi at dniemi1@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Robert Burgess is an editor for Bloomberg Opinion. He is the former global executive editor in charge of financial markets for Bloomberg News. As managing editor, he led the company’s news coverage of credit markets during the global financial crisis.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- FX Empire
When the Market Volcano Erupts?
Global markets traded almost unchanged on Tuesday morning. US indices have managed to pull through the corrective moods, and futures for the S&P500; index have returned to historical highs. Asian indices traded almost flat.
- FX Empire
COT: Trade Hopes Cut Demand for Gold; Oil Bought Again.
COT on commodities in week to November 5 showed how trade hopes and weather developments drove position changes from oil and natural gas to gold and coffee
- Bloomberg
Morgan Stanley Goes Cold on European Stocks
(Bloomberg) -- Want the lowdown on European markets? In your inbox before the open, every day. Sign up here.After sending European stocks surging to multi-year highs on trade optimism, investors may hit the brakes on the rally, according to Morgan Stanley.Optimism about a U.S.-China trade deal and receding risks of no-deal Brexit have boosted shares in recent weeks, with the Stoxx Europe 600 Index now less than 2% away from a record high reached in 2015.“With European equities now up over 10% from their August lows, there is a case to be made that equity markets may be due a pause,” Morgan Stanley strategist Graham Secker wrote in a note to clients after the close of trading Friday. “We doubt that we are on the cusp of a meaningful rebound in corporate profits either here in Europe or in the U.S.”Technical indicators including relative strength are also “looking elevated,” according to Secker. The Stoxx 600 this week crossed above the overbought threshold, only to fall below it on Friday, signaling stocks may have rallied too much too soon.The RSI’s recent move above 70, along with the VStoxx Index of euro-area swings and the the CBOE Volatility Index dropping below 13, “highlight that the risk-reward profile is no longer as enticing,” Secker said.While valuations don’t look too stretched in Europe compared with global peers, the current extent of equities’ outperformance relative to bund yields has historically been difficult to sustain, according to the strategist.The pan-European Stoxx 600 benchmark closed up 1.5% last week after news that Washington and Beijing had agreed to remove tariffs on goods and services passing between the two countries. There was some confusion on Friday, however, after President Donald Trump told reporters he hadn’t agreed to anything.\--With assistance from Lisa Pham.To contact the reporter on this story: Joe Easton in London at jeaston7@bloomberg.netTo contact the editors responsible for this story: Beth Mellor at bmellor@bloomberg.net, Namitha Jagadeesh, Marion DakersFor more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com©2019 Bloomberg L.P.
- Yahoo Finance
Blackouts and wildfires are our life for the next 10 years: California mayor
Melanie Bagby, mayor of Cloverdale, California, talks about the wildfires and blackouts.
- Yahoo Finance
Deepak Chopra on market volatility: Take advantage of panicky investors
“Good investors take advantage of exactly what’s happening right now… over other people’s anxiety," the wellness guru told Yahoo Finance.
- Yahoo Finance
Investors are 'due for a very big wake-up call': top money manager
Why this influential money manager thinks investors are in for a rude awakening very soon.
- Yahoo Finance
Scaramucci to Republicans: Take Trump out 'and put a relief pitcher in'
Outspoken former White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci claims the president is 'unhinged' and in 'steady decline.'
- Yahoo Finance
Why negative interest rates are 'seriously dangerous': strategist
President Trump’s latest Twitter escapade against the Fed calls for negative interest rates to jump-start the slowing economy. But the prospect of using a monetary tool usually reserved for deeply-troubled economies has many strategists on Wall Street seriously worried. Butcher Joseph Asset Management Chief Investment Strategist Nancy Tengler believes the practice of implementing negative interest rates is “seriously dangerous.” The “$16 trillion in negative yielding debt around the globe - I don't understand how you account for it as an investor,” Tengler said in an interview on Yahoo Finance’s The Final Round.
- Investing.com
Comic: Markets Brace For A Volatile September As Traders Return From Vacation
By Jesse Cohen
- Yahoo Finance
Here's what Trump really wants from the Fed when he calls for a 100 basis-point rate cut
The relationship between President Trump and Fed Chairman, Jerome Powell has been a contentious one the past few months.
- Yahoo Finance
Political unrest in Hong Kong isn't likely to result in capital flight: expert
Hong Kong’s tumbling equity market is stoking fears for the economy, as well as the stability of the capital markets.
- Yahoo Finance
'Derisk portfolios now': Expert warns of market volatility ahead
Correlations between S&P 500 sectors and the S&P 500 index are back near their late 2018 highs.
- Reuters
US STOCKS-Wall St dragged down by Trump trade tweet
Wall Street fell again on Thursday, abruptly reversing early gains after U.S. President Donald Trump put concerns about the U.S.-China trade war back in the spotlight, tweeting that he would impose an additional 10% tariff on $300 billion in Chinese imports. Having spent most of the session on track for their best day since June, all three major U.S. stock indices took sudden U-turns as investors quickly turned into sellers after the tweet.
- Reuters
US STOCKS-Wall St gives up gains following Trump trade tweet
Wall Street abruptly reversed its gains on Thursday as U.S. President Donald Trump tweeted that he would impose an additional 10% tariffs on $300 billion in Chinese imports, sending the long-running U.S. China trade war that has rattled markets for months back to center stage. Trump's remarks also sent U.S. Treasury yields lower, with the 10-year yield dropping to its lowest level since November 2016.
- Yahoo Finance
The global space business is worth $415 billion
In the 50 years since we first walked on the moon, space travel technology has come a long way.
