For ordinary stocks, large enough, with legitimate earnings and somewhat predictable prospects, the size of the bid - ask spread reflects the short -
run volatility of price.
Not exact matches
Where these balance sheet improvements are most advanced, future financial distress will look more like what we typically see in instances
of financial stress in the major economies — substantial asset
price volatility and the potential for substantial financial losses, but less in the way
of a significant disruption to either short -
run or long -
run real economic growth.
Whether through options or variance swaps, if
volatility is sold, the reward is more income in the short
run, at the cost
of possible capital losses in asset classes one is forced to buy or sell at disadvantageous
prices later.
That increased value might not always be exactly recognized the market at all times (leading to the aforementioned
volatility), but the
price of your stocks (and thus the market value
of your assets / portfolio) should increase over the long
run.
Energy is an interesting one, has been a difficult sector to participate in given the
volatility of the underlying commodity, but our work currently shows that with this fairly significant
run up in oil
prices up until recently, the energy stocks themselves, have not reflected it.