The VIX Index, officially known as the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, is calculated using the prices of near-term and next-month options with expiration dates ranging from 23 to 37 days. It measures the expected 30-day annualized volatility of the S&P 500 Index.Simply put, the VIX measures the implied volatility of the S&P 500 Index. A higher VIX value indicates greater expected market volatility. Given the importance of the S&P 500 Index, the VIX is often referred to as the "fear gauge" of the market, signaling potential risks.The "Rule of 16" for VolatilityInvestors can trade VIX futures and options directly. Despite its popularity, many investors do not fully understand how the VIX measures option volatility, its implications, and how to estimate its most a

On Wednesday, the Federal Reserve lowered the federal funds rate target range by 25 basis points to 4.25%-4.50%. This marks the third consecutive rate cut following the initiation of an easing cycle in September. After a cumulative hike of 525 basis points from March 2022 to July last year, the Fed has now cut rates by a total of 100 basis points over these three instances.Since U.S. President Donald Trump secured his second term, Tesla has been riding a wave of positive sentiment, with its stock price surging over 90%. On Tuesday, Tesla closed at an all-time high for the fifth consecutive trading day, gaining 3.64% to finish at $479.86.However, on Wednesday, Tesla’s stock price dropped over 8% at market open, wiping out $131.5 billion in market value (approximately ¥962.5 billion). By the

Starting a Rate-Cut Cycle: Strategies for a Steady Long Position in U.S. TreasuriesDespite a strong economy, bond investors are steering clear of long-term Treasuries as the Federal Reserve begins cutting interest rates.In the traditional stock and bond markets, recent performance has been lackluster compared to the more attractive returns in cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin. For instance, the Dow Jones has posted seven consecutive losing sessions, and U.S. Treasuries experienced a five-day losing streak last week.The 10-year U.S. Treasury yield rose sharply for five consecutive days last week, cooling off some of the post-election stock market rally. Yields surged by 24 basis points—the largest weekly gain this year—without discouraging speculative activity.The poor performance in traditiona

On Wednesday, Tesla ($TSLA) surged 5.93%, reaching a new all-time high and topping the U.S. stock market with a trading volume of $42.676 billion. CEO Elon Musk became the first person in the world to achieve a net worth exceeding $400 billion, marking a significant milestone as the world’s richest individual.Key Catalysts Driving Tesla’s PerformanceSpaceX Internal Stock Sale: An internal stock transaction at SpaceX contributed significantly to Musk’s net worth, increasing it by approximately $50 billion, pushing his total to $439.2 billion.Tesla’s Cybertruck Potential Entry into China: Tesla’s Cybertruck was recently listed on China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT) energy consumption query website. Although passing the energy consumption declaration is just one of

Over the past week, traders have accumulated large amounts of call options on leveraged ETFs tracking Chinese indices. Following China's signals of increased economic support next year, stock prices soared, yielding unrealized gains of over $130 million.Option Buying Spree on Leveraged ETFsThe focus has been on two ETFs: Direxion Daily CSI 300 China A Bull 2x Shares (CHAU) and Direxion Daily FTSE China Bull 3x Shares (YINN). These ETFs, with a combined market cap of around $2.5 billion, trail larger funds like iShares China Large-Cap ETF (FXI), which boasts an $8 billion market cap.From November 29 to last Friday, traders purchased nearly 180,000 call options on YINN with a strike price of $27 expiring in January 2026, at an average cost of $9.35 per share. On December 2, traders bought ap

On Friday, Tesla's stock surged more than 5%, bringing its year-to-date gain to over 56% and pushing its market cap to $1.25 trillion. As Tesla’s stock price soars, Elon Musk’s net worth has reached a new milestone. According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk's net worth hit approximately $362 billion at Friday’s close, a $133 billion increase year-to-date, making him the wealthiest person with the greatest wealth gain this year.One notable factor behind Musk’s skyrocketing wealth is the connection to Donald Trump’s election victory. Since Trump’s win, Tesla’s stock has risen nearly 55%, adding over $440 billion in market value. According to filings released by the U.S. Federal Election Commission on the evening of December 5, Musk donated $259 million (approximately RMB 1.883 bill

The leader of American retail investors, Roaring Kitty, is back with a post! He shared an image inspired by the cover of Time magazine, featuring a blank computer screen resembling a YouTube media player. This seems to be a modified version of Time's December 25, 2006, cover, when "You" (the American public) was named Person of the Year.Since the post didn’t include any explanatory text, day traders quickly began speculating. For example:Unity Software (ticker: U) surged by as much as 8.2% intraday before closing up 4.9%.Clear Secure (ticker: YOU) reversed its earlier 4.6% decline but ultimately fell 1.1%.As a classic meme stock, GameStop (ticker: GME) soared 14% at one point before giving up most gains, closing up 5.9%. Another popular meme stock from the same era, AMC Entertainment (tick

Although a special independent committee appointed by Super Micro Computer's (SMCI) board found no misconduct, JPMorgan remains cautious. The investment firm stated it would maintain a "neutral" stance on SMCI until compliance issues are better understood. Analyst Samik Chatterjee upheld the "underweight" rating on the stock.Chatterjee noted, "Key issues investors should focus on include whether the new independent auditor, BDO, accepts the findings of the special committee or opts to conduct its own review, and whether Nasdaq supports SMCI's request for an extension to regain compliance with listing requirements. SMCI has outlined plans to file its 10-K and 10-Q reports within the compliance deadline."On Monday, SMCI stated that the independent committee found no evidence of misconduct by

South Korean Market in Turmoil! What Happened?South Korea trended on social media last night following a sudden political shift. Though the initial drama has subsided, aftershocks persist. A short while ago, the Chief of Staff and Senior Secretary of the Presidential Office collectively resigned. Meanwhile, at a private meeting of the ruling People Power Party, some consensus emerged regarding demands for President Yoon Suk-yeol to resign from the party, call for the cabinet’s collective resignation, and dismiss the defense minister.The Korean Confederation of Trade Unions (KCTU) has announced an indefinite strike until President Yoon steps down, as reported by The Korea Herald and CNN on December 4.Impact on the MarketSouth Korea’s financial markets are reeling from these developments. Th

Super Micro Computer, Inc. (SMCI) surged nearly 29% after the company announced it would replace its Chief Financial Officer (CFO), David Weigand.On Monday, December 2 (ET), SMCI issued a statement saying it is actively seeking a new CFO, Chief Compliance Officer (CCO), and General Counsel. Kenneth Cheung, previously Vice President of Finance, will now serve as the company's new Chief Accounting Officer.Meanwhile, following an external review by the company’s Special Committee of the Board and outside legal counsel, no misconduct was found. Specifically, the investigation by the Independent Special Committee concluded that the resignation of Ernst & Young (EY) as SMCI's auditor, and the claims mentioned in their resignation letter, were not substantiated.On November 5, SMCI had previou

When investors believe a stock's price will remain neutral or bearish in the short term but bullish in the long term, the diagonal bull spread strategy can be an effective choice. Compared to a traditional bull call spread, a diagonal bull spread can better reduce upfront costs when the stock price is stable or declining in the short term. In some cases, it may even allow investors to effectively obtain a call option "for free."What is a Diagonal Spread?A diagonal spread is an options strategy that uses options with different strike prices and expiration dates. Typically, the long leg (buy) of the spread has a longer time to expiration than the short leg (sell). Diagonal spreads include both diagonal bull spreads and diagonal bear spreads. Today, we'll focus on the diagonal bull spread.Und

NVIDIA’s stock price has been declining since its earnings report release. Over the past five trading days, it has dropped approximately 7%, losing around $250 billion in market value.On November 26 (Eastern Time), NVIDIA options were actively traded, with a total trading volume of 3.3673 million contracts. Among them, 33.47% were put options, and 66.53% were call options.Noteworthy Option TradeA significant unusual bullish options trade occurred when NVIDIA was priced at $136.97. A call option with a strike price of $146.00, expiring on November 29, 2024, saw a trading volume of 46,500 contracts, involving $558,500 in total.NVIDIA's Low Implied Volatility (IV)Currently, NVIDIA's implied volatility (IV) is at 38.0, ranking at the 15th percentile over the past year. This means IV has been l

November 26: Market Sentiment Retreats as Bitcoin Pulls BackThe cryptocurrency market experienced a notable pullback on November 26, with Bitcoin retreating after reaching its recent high of $99,588. In intraday trading, Bitcoin briefly fell below $93,000, marking a nearly 4% decline within 24 hours.MicroStrategy's Aggressive Bitcoin AcquisitionBetween November 18 and 24, $MicroStrategy(MSTR)$ purchased 55,500 bitcoins for approximately $5.4 billion, at an average price of $97,862 per bitcoin. For the entire month of November so far, the company has acquired 134,480 bitcoins, worth $12 billion.Bernstein analysts predict that MicroStrategy’s share of Bitcoin's circulating supply could rise from 1.7% to 4% within the next decade. Consequently, they

After Trump’s election, Bitcoin surged, making publicly traded companies heavily invested in Bitcoin—becoming "Bitcoin whales"—the most prominent "Bitcoin proxy stocks." Among them, MicroStrategy (MSTR) has drawn significant investor attention. How much do investors favor MSTR? Even leveraged ETFs tied to this stock have faced trading restrictions.Background on MSTR-Linked Leveraged ETFsFor example, a 2x long ETF for MSTR recently hit trading limits. According to Bloomberg, last month, Tuttle Capital Management CEO Matt Tuttle received bad news: the swaps exposure limit set by its prime broker was reached for their MSTR 2x ETF, MSTU.In simpler terms, barely a month after MSTU's launch, the prime brokers facilitating securities lending had to restrict its swaps trading.Indicators show MSTU

The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has escalated its antitrust case against Google. Recently, the DOJ submitted a request to the court, proposing that Google divest its Chrome browser and Android operating system while imposing restrictions on the company’s ability to train AI models.DOJ’s ProposalAccording to a report by the Financial Times on November 21, the DOJ believes that separating Chrome and Android from Google’s control could weaken the company’s dominance in the online search market. If the proposal is accepted:Google will no longer own a browser and will be barred from re-entering the browser market for five years.Google must divest investments related to search engines, query-based AI products, and advertising technologies within six months.Competitors must be allowed to acc