Volatility Views 85: Responding to Great Listener Questions

Volatility Views 85:  Responding to Great Listener Questions Volatility Review: It is somewhat surprising to see how little the recent European crisis has impacted the VIX. Perhaps the market over-reacted to the news in Cypress. NASDAQ 21-day realized volatility is below that of the S&P. Listener Mail: Keep those questions coming in. Question from Jim Petchi: I have been listening to Volatility Views for a while, but I still do not understand how the volatility of a specific option relates to the probability of the change in stock price. Does the implied vol of a specific option (like AAPL today at 443, with a April vol of 29%) mean that AAPL has a 29% chance of making a one standard day deviation move, which is 67%, in that time frame? If not, is there some way of relating the implied vol with probability? Question from A Heiner: (in reference to "Risk Reversals Trade BPI" an unusual activity article) What does this mean? I apologize but I do not understand the market and what this says about the future of BPI and its price. Can you break it down for me? The Crystal Ball: The crisis in the Mediterranean will likely get resolved soon, and in a way the market finds favorable. Happy Holidays everyone! We will be back in two weeks.