If the stock market plunged on Thursday afternoon because of a technical glitch, you wouldn't know it from the behaviour of the CBOE VIX volatility index . Everyone's favourite fear gauge has been in a deep slumber throughout most of this year, but it spiked up by about 50 per cent on Thursday, hitting a high of nearly 41.
That's its highest level since April, 2009, soon after North American stock markets began to recover from multi-year lows in the wake of the devastating financial crisis and ensuing recession.
David Berman