What you need to know on Wall Street today
Don't be lulled to sleep by near-record low stock market price swings. Before you know it, shares will be getting whipsawed around, just like the good ol' days.
At least that's what official measures of volatility are suggesting.
The CBOE 3-Month Volatility Index, or VXV, is trading close to its highest in five years versus its 30-day counterpart, known as the VIX - the ultra-popular and widely followed instrument frequently referred to as the equity market "fear gauge."
In other words, traders are bracing for equity turbulence sometime in one to three months but no earlier.
In Wall Street news, bankers at Jefferies are crushing it - but prospects for traders remain bleak. The average British banker got almost £15,000 in bonuses last year. And an insider-trading convict from Steve Cohen's shuttered hedge fund says he's remembered details that should liberate him.
People thought they caught JPMorgan buying bitcoin after Jamie Dimon called it a "fraud" - but that's not what happened. Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater, says "bitcoin is a bubble." Meanwhile, the creator of Ethereum thinks blockchain tech could steal business from Visa in a "couple of years."
In other news, toy retailer Toys R Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Monday. T-Mobile and Sprint are spiking following reports they're discussing a merger. And the Amazon juggernaut has traders making record bets against America's largest grocer.
Here's what Wall Street analysts are saying:
- The iPhone could eventually lose its place as our primary digital hub
- MORGAN STANLEY: A weaker US dollar will help new iPhone sales
- Airlines could cash in on a $30 billion opportunity that would make pilots obsolete
- WELLS FARGO: The athletic apparel boom is over - here's who will be hit hardest
- JEFFERIES: Tesla won't turn a profit until 2020 - initiate underperform with a "heavy heart"
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