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Thanks guys for all of your input. Very insightful. This concept of price correlation dependent upon the "path" of the particular underlying instrument is quite interesting. I will have to look into this more. AZD

So are you saying that the double short ETFs not only do NOT underperform on a daily basis, but they also do NOT underperform on a long-term basis? In other words shorting 1 SDS and 2 SPY would not be a profitable venture? AZD

If a double short ETF underperforms, wouldn't a strategy of shorting x shares of the short etf and 2x shares of the "underlying" be profitable? For example, sell short 100 SDS / sell short 200 SPY. AZD

Hello Everyone. I was just wondering about the limited partnerships, USO and UNG. I often trade these animals in conjunction with various options positions with an average holding time of one to six weeks. My question for you to ponder is this: How safe are they really? I am not talking...

The decline is not as large as it appears. 12/29/08 (today) is the ex-dividend (.75) date. AZD

Folks: I don't think there is anything sinister going on with these funds. It looks like capital gains distributions. The QID alone has 9.49928 in short term gains. http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/081222/20081222005889.html?.v=1 AZD

Spin, Good to see you are still around. How have you described these spreads in the past? "Grand Canyon" size spreads if my memory does not deceive me. I hope you have been bringing in some pizza money with all this volatility. :) AZD

Hi Mark, Yes, I've seen that happen from time to time. :D What was interesting today is how difficult it was to determine where the "true" market was. Spreads 40 points wide, 12 points wide, sometimes 6 or 5.80 or 5.00. It kept changing, keeping me on my toes. And if one were to average...

Did anyone notice the huge spread on the SPX options this morning? Unbelievable. We're talking 40+ point spreads. For example, the Nov 800 call was bid 80 ask 120. It may have been even wider at times. This is a new world. Good luck to all. AZD

They made millions by intentionally loading up on OTMs? Or did they just let existing positions go to settlement and get a nice surprise? AZD

And this 72+ point gap up to 1279 is much higher than the actual high of the day to this point (1265). With the SPX at 1133 yesterday, who would have thought this was possible? AZD

You can purchase a put spread. For example, if stock is $100, instead of just buying the 90 puts you can buy the 90 puts and sell the 80s or 70s, etc. It won't give you the full protection of an outright put purchase but it will give you some protection and reduce your cost of protecting the...

I believe you can make a request for the new strikes to be added. AZD

Yes. Not one of my best decisions of the year. LOL

Yes, I would be careful with this strategy. One look at an October 1987 VIX chart will give you nightmares. AZD

I was looking at the Decembers. You are probably not going to be able to arb anything with the spreads so wide. AZD

UPDATE: 6 months later and nothing has changed. Unless there is another retail order out there, it seems you almost have to sell at the bid and buy at the offer. This wouldn't be all that bad if the spreads were not "Grand Canyon" wide. AZD

Not for the faint of heart, but LDK is scheduled to report after the close. I believe IV is over 200. Good luck. AZD

I believe Business Week Online has searchable historical options data. You will have to do some digging. The site has changed and I haven't visited it for a while. AZD

It seems that some people want her to get more than 40 lashes. Read on: By MOHAMED OSMAN, Associated Press Writer 37 minutes ago Thousands of Sudanese, many armed with clubs and knives, rallied Friday in a central square and demanded the execution of a British teacher convicted of...