The Volatility Course Hardcover - 2002

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From the jacket flap

As a trader or investor, you want to make money regardless of market conditions. Unfortunately, most techniques available won't allow you to do this. That is why George Fontanills, one of the world's most respected traders, and his partner Tom Gentile have written The Volatility Course. This unique book will teach you the secrets of market volatility and show you how to use it to attain financial success during periods of extreme market turbulence, when the market appears to be moving nowhere, and anytime in between.

When speaking in terms of trading and investments, volatility is a word few like to hear. But if understood and used properly, volatility is a market tool that can increase your profits and reduce risks. This book focuses on the relationship of volatility within the stock market. The Volatility Course first introduces you to the basics of the stock market-equities, indexes, exchange-traded funds, interpreting price quotes, price charts, and, most importantly, options-and quickly moves on to demystify volatility.

Through expert advice and in-depth examples, this book examines and explains every aspect of volatility and the important role of options within this framework. Topics covered include:

• Historical volatility and implied volatility
• The world of stock options
• VIX and other sentiment indicators
• The volatility of option premiums
• And much more

Once you have mastered the concept of volatility and have learned how to accurately identify current market conditions, The Volatility Course gives you the strategies and guidance to trade under a variety of situations. You'll learn how to use protective puts, debit spreads, ratio backspreads, and straddles in a low-volatility environment as well as how to use tactics such as the covered call and butterfly spreads in a high-volatility environment. You'll also learn how to take advantage of price and time volatility skews by applying options strategies that capture price disparities between different options on the same stock.

The Volatility Course provides you with all the information you need to successfully trade volatility. By identifying some of the daily risks traders face and arming you with an arsenal of trading tools to assure your survival in any market environment, this book will enable you to find terrific trading opportunities.