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Showing posts from January, 2016

REVISITED: Trading in a High Volatility Environment

THOSE WHO FORGET HISTORY ARE BOUND TO REPEAT IT Last August, markets experienced a fairly robust selloff that spiked volatility to levels not seen since 2011.  On September 7th of last year, I posted a blog titled "Trading in a High Volatility Environment..."   http://tancockstradingblog.blogspot.com/2015/09/trading-in-high-volatility-environment.html It now seems like a good time to revisit this subject. The post discussed the factors that I saw, at the time, contributing to the move; namely a China correction that still feels reminiscent of the 2001 tech bubble pop, and the prospect of rising domestic interest rates (now a quarter point reality). With the benefit of hindsight, I now add the impact that falling energy prices have had on the high yield debt market.  Larry Fink of BlackRock recently said that as many as 400 energy companies may default this year because they won't be able to meet their onerous credit obligations... to say nothing of the perpetual plunge in