Volatility Views 171: Breaking Down an Absolutely Crazy Week

Volatility Review: Black Monday Redux The Dow Jones Industrial Average briefly slumped more than 1,000 points, its biggest point-drop ever. VIX Cash hit 53.29 at 10am and VIX did not update for 30 Minutes as options quotes got erratic. AAPL hit low of $92 before rebounding. VVIX: Hit a high of 212 on Monday 8/24. VXUP/VXDN: VXUP did 813k shares on Monday - VXDN 650k. Crude Oil: OVX - 51.80, OIV - 51.12 Volatility Voicemail: Listener questions and comments Question from Inchon55 - Was this the week that VIX traders have been waiting for? It seems like they have been buying calls in the 20-strike range all summer with no payoff. Now we finally got the pop they needed. Will this lead to a flurry of more call buying in the months to come? Question from Jim J - Question for Volatility Views - This was a crazy week for Vol traders. What was the craziest thing that jumped out at you? Comment from JoeJoe: Why is everyone making such a big deal about the selloff on Monday? Flash crash? Market manipulation? That is BS! It is August. Everyone knows the market is thin in August. Does this really come as a surprise to anyone?