The military tension between Russia and Ukraine will certainly cause volatility in stock and commodities markets over the next few weeks. Russian forces have seized Crimea and no one knows whether this is just the beginning of a long military conflict. US and EU have ruled out military action for now but this will not stop financial markets from reacting strongly to every piece of positive and negative news on the conflict. However, military conflicts usually do not have long-term effect on international economies and stock markets unless its escalates to a long-drawn war between economic powers.

I sincerely hope that the situation can be resolved peacefully without any bloodshed. In the meantime, monitor the news and make contingency plans for the worst case scenario. I am holding on to my positions for now and monitoring the volatility index of stock options for trading ideas.