- 53 minutes 44 secondsTWIFO 516: Ag Meltdown, Equity Whipsaws and Crude Oil Skullduggery
What's driving the selloff in agricultural futures—and what are equity and energy options traders positioning for next?
Mark Longo and guest Kevin Green of the Schwab Network explore the latest futures options trades, volatility shifts and market developments across CME Group markets.
In this episode: • Equity whipsaws: E-mini S&P 500 options activity, short-dated expirations and weak market breadth beneath the mega-cap rally. • Corn selloff: USDA grain stocks data, harvest pressure and increased options volume. • Soybeans and soybean meal: Supply concerns, export demand, changing skew and active downside puts. • Crude oil skullduggery: WTI put spreads, shipping incentives and Kevin's questions about reported Strait of Hormuz oil flows. • Natural gas: A sharp weekly decline, winter demand and the potential for weather-driven volatility. • Copper: Production disruptions, supply constraints and the risks posed by rising yields.
2 October 2026, 2:24 am - 54 minutes 36 secondsTWIFO 515: Tech Explodes and Crude Sinks While the 10-Yr Yield Soars
What happens in futures options when Treasury yields climb, technology stocks rally and crude oil falls? Mark Longo and Mike Tosaw of St. Charles Wealth Management dig into the activity across CME Group markets. They examine the surge in 10-year Treasury yield and a sizable roll in 10-year note puts, then turn to options activity in the S&P 500 and Nasdaq-100. In energy, they break down WTI crude's decline, the interest in crude puts and calls, and a sharp move higher in natural gas. Mike also looks at the technology rally through Meta, AMD and Micron.
25 September 2026, 3:33 am - 49 minutes 45 secondsTWIFO 514: Fed Frenzy, Crude Concerns and Copper Craziness
The futures options markets are digesting a turbulent Fed week, and there's no shortage of action across equities, energy and metals.
On this episode of This Week in Futures Options, host Mark Longo is joined by Scott Bauer of Prosper Trading Academy to break down the latest activity across CME Group's futures options markets. They examine the post-Fed swings in Nasdaq and E-mini S&P 500 options, including the continued dominance of short-dated trading and unusually heavy put activity across the equity index complex.
Then it's off to crude oil, where elevated volatility, changing skew and active downside strikes are creating some intriguing setups. The conversation also turns to copper's continued rally and growing upside options interest, plus the latest action in gold following the Fed decision.
Along the way, Mark and Scott discuss gamma exposure and dealer positioning, the popularity of 0DTE options, futures trading in the CME Challenge, and whether traditional relationships between gold, equities and crypto are beginning to shift.
17 September 2026, 10:03 pm - 44 minutes 13 secondsTWIFO 513: The Revenge of Single Stock Futures
Single stock futures are back—and this time the market may be ready for them.
On this episode of This Week in Futures Options, Mark Longo welcomes Tim McCourt, Senior Managing Director and Global Head of Equity, FX and Alternative Products at CME Group, for a deep dive into the return of single stock futures.
They discuss what makes this new generation of single stock futures different, the role of the Magnificent Seven, growing retail participation, cash settlement, capital efficiency and the push toward nearly around-the-clock equity trading. Tim also breaks down the early response to CME Group's standard and micro single stock futures, how traders are using them around earnings, and whether options on single stock futures could eventually be next.
Plus, we analyze the latest action across the futures options markets, including energy, metals, crypto and a closer look at some interesting Nasdaq options activity.
11 September 2026, 2:27 am - 1 hour 4 minutesThis Week in Futures Options 512: Equities Don't Care About Skyrocketing Energy
Crude oil is skyrocketing, equities are ripping higher...and apparently the stock market just doesn't care.
On this episode of This Week in Futures Options, host Mark Longo is joined by Dan Gramza of Gramza Capital Management to break down a wild week across the futures options markets.
They discuss the surprising disconnect between surging WTI crude oil and bullish equity markets, what's really driving the move in energy, and whether anxiety surrounding the Middle East is more important than actual supply concerns.
They also explore the latest options activity across the E-mini S&P 500, WTI crude oil, soybeans, silver and gold, including unusual upside call activity, changing volatility and skew, soybean strength, and some eye-opening trades in the precious metals markets.
Plus, Dan shares his outlook for equities, crude oil, agriculture and metals as traders head into a critical stretch for the markets.
3 September 2026, 8:55 pm - 28 minutes 58 secondsTWIFO 511: Nasdaq Rocks as the Ags Roll
On this episode of This Week in Futures Options, Mark Longo breaks down a surprisingly active week across the CME Group markets, with the Nasdaq and agricultural products taking center stage.
We kick things off with the Movers & Shakers Report, including big moves in wheat, corn, natural gas and Bitcoin, along with weakness across crude oil, heating oil and platinum.
Then we turn to the Nasdaq following NVIDIA earnings, where options activity is heating up across short-dated strikes as traders position for the next move in tech. We examine the most active calls and puts, zero-day activity, downside positioning and some intriguing longer-dated upside action.
From there, it's time to get our hands dirty in the ag markets, where corn is coming off three-year highs amid massive options volume. We break down what's driving the move, the dramatic upside skew, volatility across the term structure and the strikes attracting the most attention.
Finally, we head into Chicago wheat, where another strong rally is generating interesting options activity, aggressive call skew and some notable call spreads and ratio spreads.
27 August 2026, 9:34 pm - 50 minutes 7 secondsTWIFO 510: Intervention Week!
It's Intervention Week on This Week in Futures Options as markets react to a wild mix of policy moves, geopolitical risk and shifting expectations across the futures landscape.
Host Mark Longo is joined by Bobby Iaccino, Co-Founder and Chief Market Strategist at Path Trading Partners, to break down the latest action in futures and options across gold, silver, equities, crude oil, natural gas and more.
On this episode, we discuss:
- The intervention-fueled moves shaking up markets
- Gold's latest rally and heavy call activity
- Whether gold could have significantly more upside ahead
- Why silver remains one of the trickiest markets to trade
- Growing downside hedging in the S&P 500
- Whether "buy the dip" has fundamentally changed bear markets
- AI spending, the Fed and geopolitical risk as market catalysts
- Why crude oil may not be the biggest problem in energy right now
- The growing importance of diesel and refinery capacity
- What the options market is signaling about WTI crude
- Natural gas seasonality and a surge in options activity
- The Nasdaq selloff and whether traders are already positioning for more downside
- Why Jackson Hole could provide the market's next major catalyst
Plus, we examine the hottest options activity across CME Group's futures markets and discuss where volatility and skew may be pointing next.
20 August 2026, 11:13 pm - 56 minutes 59 secondsTWIFO 509: The Mother of All Dead Cat Bounces
On this episode of This Week in Futures Options, host Mark Longo is joined by Carley Garner of DeCarley Trading for a trip through a futures market full of rallies that may not be quite as bullish as they appear.
Carley makes the case that some of the biggest moves in crude oil, silver and other markets may be little more than dead cat bounces. We dig into the latest futures options activity across metals, energy and equities, including the unusual positioning showing traders heavily short natural gas while asset managers are historically long S&P futures.
We also break down:
- Why Carley remains skeptical of the rallies in silver and gold
- The latest options activity and volatility in crude oil
- Why extreme short positioning in natural gas has Carley looking at calls
- What record-long positioning could mean for the S&P
- More unusual vertical spreads popping up in equity index options
- Why grain rallies may still be opportunities for the bears
- The latest options flow in corn following the crop report
14 August 2026, 3:01 am - 51 minutes 13 secondsTWIFO 508: It's All About Weird Verticals
Weird vertical spreads are popping up all over the futures options markets this week!
Host Mark Longo is joined by Scott Bauer of Prosper Trading Academy to break down the latest options activity across the CME Group markets, including some unusual 500-point Nasdaq verticals, massive put activity in WTI crude oil, strange spreads in silver and gold, and the latest action in natural gas.
They also discuss the surge in out-of-the-money Nasdaq calls, whether crude oil volatility may be getting too cheap, the renewed strength in precious metals, CME Group's return to single stock futures, and much more.
7 August 2026, 3:20 am - 1 hour 2 minutesTWIFO 507: Crude and Equities Roar and Whimper
Crude oil takes another wild ride while equities whipsaw around earnings, the Fed, and geopolitical uncertainty on this episode of This Week in Futures Options.
Mark Longo is joined by Dan Gramza of Gramza Capital Management to break down the latest action across the futures and futures options markets. They discuss the dramatic reversal in crude oil, the outlook for the major equity indices following a volatile week for tech, unusual December upside options activity in the Nasdaq-100, and what the options market is signaling in natural gas.
Plus, single stock futures are back! Mark and Dan discuss CME Group's new single stock futures on names including NVIDIA, Tesla, and Apple, why previous attempts at SSFs struggled in the U.S., and whether this new generation of products could finally catch on.
They also examine the big move in the Japanese yen, central bank intervention, and the latest options activity across FX.
It's another packed tour of the movers, volatility, skew, and unusual options activity lighting up the futures markets this week.
30 July 2026, 11:25 pm - 51 minutes 5 secondsTWIFO 506: Feeling Apocalyptic
Are markets starting to price in the unthinkable?
This week on This Week in Futures Options (TWIFO), Mark Longo and Russell Rhoads dive into one of the most fascinating weeks we've seen across the futures options landscape. Energy markets continue their explosive rally as crude oil surges back above $90, equity markets stumble, volatility begins to stir, and traders place some of the most unusual gold options trades we've ever seen.
The hosts analyze massive WTI crude oil put spreads, aggressive call buying, downside hedging in the S&P 500, the evolving relationship between VIX and equity volatility, and the extraordinary December gold option structures featuring 10,000, 15,000 and even 20,000 strike calls.
In this episode:
- Movers & Shakers across CME Group markets
- Why energy continues to dominate futures trading
- Unusual WTI crude oil options activity
- S&P 500 downside hedging and volatility positioning
- Is VIX sending the right signal?
- The most bizarre gold options trades of the year
- What extreme options positioning may be telling traders
24 July 2026, 1:36 am - More Episodes? Get the App