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Even though the equity markets are in low volume uptrends, now may be the time to add a hedge strategy for some downside protection. Read >

Just when the market thought it was safe to come out of the woodshed the uncertainty of Greece beats all the volatility players right back in. Read >

Today I noticed that the VIX was creeping up, and the market was creeping up last week at the same time. Read >

Last week we wrote a post on how AAPL implied volatility was in the toilet. At that point in time AAPL was at its lowest level since the early 2000's. Well, AAPL did one better late last week as the IV fell to the lowest level I have on record. Read >

Volatility Review: How low can vol continue to go? Dancing around 17 in VIX cash. We have finally reached perfect equilibrium. The last 22 trading days of realized volatiity was 6.73 for the S&P, the lowest Don has remembered since 1994. Lofty numbers have skewed people's ideas of "normal," and it's time to reassess the definition of it. Expiration day for the February Euro VolContract. Volatility Viewpoint: Mark, Mark, and Don discuss volatility correlation, overlays for equity portfolios, and several other uses for volatility products with Simon Acomb, from Acomb Financial Research, Ltd. Crystal Ball: Dipping into the murky depths of volatility. Mark S. sees a flattening of the VIX yield curve, and thinks it makes sense to isolate gamma and short VIX using S&P versus VIX futures. Don provides insightful Euro vol picks. Read >

Traders, something HAS to give in this marketplace. Read >

Volatility is often discussed as a single number. In the real world, the volatility of each strike price and in each month is different than the neighboring one. Read >

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

Volatility Review: Might we see VIX below 20 for some time to come? Euro vol up slightly since last week -- Bob Krause called it correctly. Two weeks to go in the Feb VolContract. Volatility Viewpoint: Don gets a chance to give his views on last week's topics and talking points from Nikunj Kapadia, Associate Professor at the UMass Eisenberg School of Management. Mailbag: VolContracts on the NASDAQ!!! Crystal Ball: Vol could stay below 20 for a while, VIX futures are even on sale. Is volatility at 12 realistic for the Euro going forward? Read >

Last week we mentioned the seasonal January tailwind that was expected to continue through the end of the month unless interrupted by another negative European event. Read >

Volatility Review: Another interesting week in general volatility. Although predicted to settle around the new mean of 23-25, VIX is down to 19. Where will it go next? CBOE has finally put out an adjustment to their settlement process. Euro VolContract review. Volatility Viewpoint: This week's guest, Nikunj Kapadia from UMass, sits down with Mark and Bob to discuss Black Swans, volatility pricing, tail risk, and buy-writes. Crystal Ball: VIX may be headed towards 19 from heavy pressure on VIX Jan and Feb futures. Could we really see an explosion to the upside? Big news at VolX! Read >