Susan - I'd never want to bypass your posts...

Regarding VXX, Richard Croft (a pretty sharp options guy) recommended this on BNN a little while back. The double bear ETFs are disasterous to hold for the long term, so this may be a better way to play a declining market. Somebody is buying this - the last 2 days had tremendous up volume, so they are expecting a sharp market decline very soon. I happen to agree with this view, but I think it will be short-lived.

1) Overall market is extremely overbought.

2) The Grinch typically steals half of Santa's gifts (Due to arrive Jan 7, but may be early this year).

3) Sentiment among individuals is extremely bullish - contrary indicator.

4) Most important - a lot of people had gains in 09, so they may be waiting for Jan to sell in order to delay capital gains taxes for a year.

The reason I think a decline will be short-lived is because these are all one-time or short-term items.