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Fed CruciVIXion Sends S&P To New Record Highs

Tyler Durden's picture




 

Having been told that there's no bubble in low quality credit, valuations are 'normal' in stocks, low volatility does not mean complacency, and there's no inflation (it's all noise you idiot); VIX was monkey-hammered to new cycle lows back to a 10-handle (lowest since Feb 2007). This smashing of vol led to a surging of "most shorted" stocks with the S&P hitting new all-time record highs. Post-FOMC, the S&P 500 rose 10 points, 10Y -4bps, 2Y unch, gold was unch, and the USD was -0.1%.

 

The CrucuiVIXion...

 

The short-squeeze...

 

The S&P surge...

 

tick for tick with VIX...

 

The broad stock market reaction...

 

The bond market reaction... (2Y unch)

 

The Gold reaction...

 

The USD reaction...

 

 

It is clear - The Fed would rather clean up the total disaster than attempt to avert it...

Charts: Bloomberg

Bonus Chart: WTF

 

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Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:02 | 4870863 flacon
flacon's picture

Piece of shit market. You too Yellen!

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:03 | 4870866 NotApplicable
NotApplicable's picture

LOL, I see that Snarky Tyler is in da house today.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:04 | 4870874 flacon
flacon's picture

Yeah that's the highlight of my day, reading the snarky commentary. God I need a beer!

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:07 | 4870886 Say What Again
Say What Again's picture

After listening to the Bernank for years, I never thought it could get any worse.  Yellen just showed that it can, and will, get much worse.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:10 | 4870897 SheepDog-One
SheepDog-One's picture

I wrote a comment that after just a short while of Yellen, we'd be pining for the good ol days of Bernank.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:14 | 4870914 Say What Again
Say What Again's picture

There is one thing I find puzzling about the low values on the VIX lately.

The VIX is an index derived from the actual prices of options being sold -- and includes PUTs as well as CALLs.

I would think that the people writing the PUT contracts would be just a little bit concerned about the market going against them now, which should lead to a higher premium on the contract.

The only explanation I have is that the Int Rate component in the function is so low now that it is dominating the equation more than in the past.  Similar in nature to when a value in a denominator approaches ZERO, the model becomes unstable.

Any comments?

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:15 | 4870927 fonzannoon
fonzannoon's picture

who cares

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:22 | 4870957 flacon
flacon's picture

You've gotta wonder, how much of this nonesense is just the powers that be pushing levers vs. the real market? That's an honest question. Is there someone LITTERALY sitting there all day ramping things up on their terminal or is this just total manipulation of the minds of the market players?

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:27 | 4870984 fonzannoon
fonzannoon's picture

when you say real market....i mean look at today. The 10yr was around 2.64% pre announcement and 2.60% post fed announcement. If those 4bps represent a real market, then so be it. There is your real market. Everything is predicated on the bullshit data put out and HFT's to constantly buy in, and of course Zirp...always Zirp. 

Throw out an accurate measure of GDP and incorpoate food and energy prices etc into the data and take away the fed backstop and you get higher rates, insolvent government, stock market crash, bond market collapse and currency collapse. That would be the "real market". The alternative to that is calling a move from 2.64 to 2.6 a real market. 

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:29 | 4870972 HardlyZero
HardlyZero's picture

Dam't Janet, keeps taking off my shorts. 

Stay away from these Zimbabwe markets.

The banks are using their available funds to push this market higher.

and now EU/ECB <--> FED tautology is stronger than ever.

Eventually this thing could double before it cracks.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:31 | 4870994 WmMcK
WmMcK's picture

Dam't Janet -- and take a step to the left.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:18 | 4870941 LawsofPhysics
LawsofPhysics's picture

A fair analysis.  At some point there will be a recoupling with reality/fundermentals. 

But I digress, how much is your time worth to you in the meantime?

There is no "market" for true price discovery, who fucking knows how long this can continue.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:18 | 4870942 pods
pods's picture

My 2c:

We are all stuck in a power plant where the machines are harnessing our biochemical processes to generate energy while we are sleeping in a made up dream world.

Makes about as much sense as trying to figure out the world today.

pods

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:22 | 4870960 Say What Again
Say What Again's picture

Time to que some Rage Against the Machine

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJbqKLcCjp4

I feel the rage today!

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:19 | 4870945 flacon
flacon's picture

That's an interesting idea. I don't think I know enough about VIX but your idea sounds plausable. 

On another note, if anyone is buying SPY calls, it might be more profitable to buy VXX puts - some were up 600% today, vs. about 200% SPY calls. 

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:22 | 4870958 fonzannoon
fonzannoon's picture

Why not just buy and hold the XIV? This is not an investment rec just an open question. 

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:26 | 4870971 NotApplicable
NotApplicable's picture

Zeros in a denominator opens up infinite possibilities.

I think they call that a win-win.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 17:19 | 4871149 Squid Viscous
Squid Viscous's picture

i'm no expert but seems like Vol is crushed via the Vix ETF's to ramp the ES, in a perverse way .... but almost every fucking day?

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 20:43 | 4871793 Say What Again
Say What Again's picture

The ETN, VXX, is derived from the value of futures contracts on the $VIX.X.  There may be a small arb opportunity between the VXX and $VIX, but not enough to matter.

Here is the Prospectu for VXX & VXZ: http://www.ipathetn.com/static/pdf/vix-prospectus.pdf

Some key lines from that document are;

The return on each series of ETNs is linked to the performance of the relevant Index. Each Index seeks to provide investors with exposure to one or more maturities of futures contracts on the VIX Index, which reflect implied volatility of the S&P 500 at various points along the volatility forward curve. The calculation of the spot level of the VIX Index is based on prices of put and call options on the S&P 500.

Futures on the VIX Index allow investors the ability to invest in forward volatility based on their view of the future direction of movement of the VIX Index. Each index is intended to reflect the returns that are potentially available through an unleveraged investment in the futures contract or contracts on the VIX index plus the rate of interest that could be earned on reinvestment into the Index of the return on the notional value of the Index based on the 3-month U.S. Treasury rate. The S&P500 VIX Short-Term Futures™ Index TR targets a constant weighted average futures maturity of 1 month. The S&P 500 VIX Mid-Term Futures™ Index TR targets a constant weighted average futures maturity of 5 months.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 19:40 | 4871634 theyellowking
theyellowking's picture

VIX is a measure of 30d implied vol of put and call options.

Imp. Vol of an option is essentially the demand for that option, so while you are somewhat correct, if theres no one out there who wants to buy them then how the hell are the put sellers supposed to jack the prices up?

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 20:50 | 4871820 Say What Again
Say What Again's picture

You offered a conditional statement; "if theres no one out there who wants to buy them then..." [sic]

I don't believe that your premise is true, therefore we can not make any logical conclusions.

Q.E.D.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 22:28 | 4872018 Cthonic
Cthonic's picture

http://www.cboe.com/micro/vix/vixwhite.pdf

If there is low premia for options for the near and next spx contract months (or next and third if within a week of expiry), and the risk free interest rate (bond-equivalent yield of the t-bill maturing closest to the expiry dates) is low, then VIX will be low. While I agree the negligible t-bill rates bring down the VIX index some, they have been this low all year, aside for a tiny blip back in February.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:29 | 4870988 Squid Viscous
Squid Viscous's picture

Brave New World... zero volatilty, and risky asset prices go up 1-2 % per month, pass the SOMA

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:04 | 4870869 canonball
canonball's picture

Belgium will buy our debt and in doing so will help the +26 week unemployed worker re-train for a new job selling waffles

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:03 | 4870870 canonball
canonball's picture

Belgium will buy our debt and in doing so will help the +26 week unemployed worker re-train for a new job selling waffles

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:05 | 4870880 Rainman
Rainman's picture

you're a clever and devious one, Master Henry

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:12 | 4870908 GolfHatesMe
GolfHatesMe's picture

Jedi Henry

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:06 | 4870888 Wait What
Wait What's picture

Fuck you Yellen! You ignorant whore!

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:06 | 4870889 101 years and c...
101 years and counting's picture

downgrading growth is great for moar money printing.  it truly is the only thing that matters.  until the entire system implodes.  one day, everyone will wake up and there will be nothing left.  your "savings", stocks, bonds, etc.....vaporized.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:07 | 4870890 thismarketisrigged
thismarketisrigged's picture

this shit is so insane,

 

every time this cunt talks, we all know what is going to happen. stocks go green, its not even a question, it will always happen.

 

she will never say anything to piss the market off, never ever ever, that is all she is worried about, she will continue to lie through her fucking teeth as long as she can just to pump the market up and enrich her asshole banker cronies.

 

some guy on cnbc just put it best.

 

it should scare us how janet yellen knows just as much as we do, or at least she acts that way.

 

this is not a fucking leader, this is a fucking cunt who needs to be taken care of.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:13 | 4870892 SheepDog-One
SheepDog-One's picture

'Its clear, the Fed would rather clean up the total disaster than try to avert it'
Nah, the total disaster has been the entire point all along, then the lunatics can proceed wit 1 global central bank with their real goal of 1 global currency, etc.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:12 | 4870907 asteroids
asteroids's picture

It's fucking groundhog day. Remember the market NEVER falls on a FED day. Today's ramp will last a week or so and the market will fall back down again. Since you can't short this market, your best bet is to stay away.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:13 | 4870915 TheRideNeverEnds
TheRideNeverEnds's picture

VIX trading over 5 is expensive, ALL OTM index puts with bids need to be sold with reckless abandon; its free money.  Any idiot that wants to buy a put come take a fill and then enjoy your loss. 

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:13 | 4870916 disabledvet
disabledvet's picture

Crazy Talk!

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:15 | 4870925 LawsofPhysics
LawsofPhysics's picture

Now let's see what happens when everyone around the world with a paper claim on a real asset demands delivery.

Bring it!

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:19 | 4870947 Inthemix96
Inthemix96's picture

Roll the mother fucking guillotines my friend.

Cunts.

;-)

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:23 | 4870963 LawsofPhysics
LawsofPhysics's picture

nothing changes otherwise.  digital "paper" can be "created" forever...

 

cunts indeed...

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:16 | 4870931 ptoemmes
ptoemmes's picture

Guess I need to rummage through my sock drawer and find where I stashed the DOW 17,000 and S&P 500 2,000 hats two weeks ago.

And, yeah, I am doing my best to jinx it.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:15 | 4870932 nosoeawe
nosoeawe's picture

Herod in-chief simply can't allow this market to dump. his ratings are already lower than yellens titties

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:25 | 4870969 BobTheSlob
BobTheSlob's picture

I figure it's going to tank on Mon. November 10.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:33 | 4871005 Squid Viscous
Squid Viscous's picture

Is that Veterans Day? A final F.U. to all the dumb fucks that "served" our great nation?

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:23 | 4870962 BobTheSlob
BobTheSlob's picture

I have an S&P fever, and the only cure is MOAR COW BELL!

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:30 | 4870986 Hongcha
Hongcha's picture

I like how gold acted - long UGLD now in a big way, content to hold for a while.

I think Asia has made their move re the USD.

Covered another losing short ... before the ramp, thankfully.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:34 | 4871014 Ivanof
Ivanof's picture

More the yield will come down, more the Index will go UP. That's easy, so I don't understand all this WTF if the two charts are diverging...

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:36 | 4871016 BullyBearish
BullyBearish's picture

The Old Testament 7-year cycles WILL have an impact on this market:

2000(-47%)------->2007(-57%)--------->2014(??)

 

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:47 | 4871051 kevinearick
kevinearick's picture

Clothing the Emperor / Empress

Opportunity cost is the implicit foundation.

The American Dream, trading off natural resources to the global cities in return for toys built by their slaves, like all empire operations, is war, over artificially scarce resources. Clothed by empire, the majority simply remanufactures itself, in civil marriage, enslaving its children to debt as a shock absorber, for when the book busts, as it always does.

Civil marriage, a blood knot among enemies and mercenaries, power couples consuming theoretical NPV with laws of succession, merely creates the illusion of peace and economic mobility, while the surplus lasts. History is not the story of peace; it is the story of mythology, propaganda and war.

Built on political fiat, the proprietary market can only print until it can’t, to create the illusion of authority, to feed its consumption, which is always a false sense of security. Whether crowned by lords, senators, cardinals or commoners, the monarch plays the lead fool, in temporary alliances built for the purpose.

Because feudalism incorporates an increasing number of layers does not make the verticals more democratic. Empire education can only become a lottery in a casino; the civil unions can only consume their own markets, to the end of cartel. Because the Bay Area is growing control over more slave populations globally does not make its outcomes more democratic.

A promise in a contract, built to be broken by a duration mismatch, employing a third party to confirm the ceremony, is not consideration. Empires are silly things, taken seriously only by fools paid in debt, to cast their family’s wealth into the fire of stupidity. “Blood is our only strength. Blood is your only weakness…”

Legacy can only efficiently consolidate the middle, which can only feed upon surplus, with arbitrary distribution. Effectively discounting the edifice, peer pressure competition for resulting scarce resources, is the path to prosperity. nR compilation presents a false opportunity, a threat, or an opportunity, depending upon perspective.

The idea that you are any less a child of God than any other character presented by History is nonsense. Do you really think Kissinger & Kids could have employed China as a lever without the Corporate Captains of the US Navy, or the consumer addicts in the drive-by Christian middle class? Why do you suppose they have a higher divorce rate than their predecessors in mythology?

Perspective is lost in the middle, with knowledge built upon expedient assumptions, and grown at the end, which becomes the beginning. The tree, the apple and the seed do not exist separate from their environment. It is not the fruit that you are harvesting, but the seed, and where you sow is not necessarily where you shall reap. Labor recognizes labor.

The rulers apply an arbitrary order on a fulcrum of fulcrums, already ordered, until buffer threshold, when they plead Act of God. They think they have power until they realize they do not, when it is far too late. Deferring short term consumption to improve quality of long term production, in a world ordered by the booms and busts of conspicuous consumption, is the NPV of labor, love as an offering.

You are not limited by the sides of the trash container, and there may be parts inside the container that are useful beyond the container. Only by wiring through and around gravity do you see it for what it is, the past.

You can grow together as a couple, to cantilever the fulcrum, or apart and watch the fulcrum collapse. In any case, the critters on the other side are going to believe in their self-delusions.

Love, making your spouse a priority above all others, against all forces brought to bear against it, requires practice. Take heart, for you are no less than any other. Raising children in the midst of empire appears to be a miracle, but it happens every day, all over the planet, new world same as the old world.

The critical path to the future is any path that widens your perspective to envelop the empire’s city. Inflation is not it. Negative interest rates, like all the bank’s arrows, simply translates the baseline under already self-serving political considerations creating the data. Debt simply serves to separate the cause from the effect, until it can’t.

Let’s say you have that job, supporting the majority that cannot help itself for lack of perspective. Investing in a reliable used car to grow your radius, to grow your business, home and family, is one decision. Taking out a college loan and a new car mortgage, on the promise of forgiveness, to step up a middle class layer on debt as credit, only to be collapsed later, is another.

Opportunity cost is a function of coupling for life, to move forward, as the foundation of economic NPV, which is why so many must bond together against it. The majority always votes to live in a cave, transaction by expedient transaction, which is why the empire always builds on sand. Empire is the history of failure.

Legacy can only employ technology to add layers of extortion. You can wire your life through and around it to make the process transparent, but leaving a derivative technology behind for legacy to steal and strangle itself with is simpler.

Value depends entirely upon perspective. Funny, how your position only changes with a change in perspective, to see what others cannot.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 17:11 | 4871130 LawsofPhysics
LawsofPhysics's picture

You forgot the most important "truth" or sentiment...

That which cannot be sustained, won't be, regardless of what people "think" or believe"...

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:48 | 4871054 J J Pettigrew
J J Pettigrew's picture

Everythings is okay....that is why we are holding the beach ball under water some more..

there is no inflation...unless you want to eat, move, heat your home, have health insurance or care, need a plumber or an electrician, have your car repaired.

T shirts from Vietnam and gym shoes from China are cheap, however...

 

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:57 | 4871082 techstrategy
techstrategy's picture

There is only 1 semi stable path out of this mess.  The one thing the Fed didn't do that it needs to do is make IOER negative.  Make banks lend to businesses to invest in productive assets rather than give to hedgies to speculate in financial assets...  Change will come when everyone dumps (and I mean exits) all the bubblicious momentum stocks splits the proceeds 50% FRN and 50% gold.  That happens and it is game over for the Fed and TBTF banks who rely upon control of money supply.  It is ultimately what China and strategic international creditors are doing...  They are letting our TBTJ hang themselves...  

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 16:56 | 4871083 techstrategy
techstrategy's picture

There is only 1 semi stable path out of this mess.  The one thing the Fed didn't do that it needs to do is make IOER negative.  Make banks lend to businesses to invest in productive assets rather than give to hedgies to speculate in financial assets...  Change will come when everyone dumps (and I mean exits) all the bubblicious momentum stocks splits the proceeds 50% FRN and 50% gold.  That happens and it is game over for the Fed and TBTF banks who rely upon control of money supply.  It is ultimately what China and strategic international creditors are doing...  They are letting our TBTJ hang themselves...  

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 17:13 | 4871137 LawsofPhysics
LawsofPhysics's picture

China invented paper money, paper promises, please, they know how to really crush a "revolution".

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 19:06 | 4871507 techstrategy
techstrategy's picture

Yet China has physical in its possession.  You think they are gonna send that back here rather than the fiat USD which they knows is going to be worth less (though likely not worthless)?

 

No.  China will be one of the few with the option of partial gold backing...  we'll have the promises of the Fed and its owners...   

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 19:34 | 4871611 GrinandBearit
GrinandBearit's picture

A literal Punch and Judy puppet show.

At least PMs were up today.

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 22:11 | 4872079 AdvancingTime
AdvancingTime's picture

Today we saw another planned rally. It seems no suggestion of weakness no matter how subtle can exist because it may begin to unravel the already fragile consumer confidence. Also remember they don't want to enter the weekend or a holiday with a bad market. While I think the market is way to high and distorted it is difficult to time a top. More on the reason for bears to be cautious in the article below.

http://brucewilds.blogspot.com/2014/04/bears-have-little-reason-for-conf...

Wed, 06/18/2014 - 22:14 | 4872084 AdvancingTime
AdvancingTime's picture

 What do stock markets around the world have in common with "girls gone wild" the video of college girls on spring break? The answer is both are crazy out of control. We have grown very complacent as money around the world has continued to flow into intangibles and promises.

Currently the market is all a twitter and locked in a "greed and stupidity loop." The loop can be explained as follows, stocks are rising so why get out, not getting out is causing the stocks to rise. When stocks do pullback it is a buying opportunity. Yes, we are indeed experiencing a double down and let it ride mentality. I don't have to explain the greed part. More about this subject in the article below.

http://brucewilds.blogspot.com/2014/06/stock-markets-and-girls-gone-wild...

 

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