VIX is now trading with a 15 handle - at its lowest since early April. At current levels of exuberant complacency, the S&P 500 should be trading over 1400 and HY credit spreads back at 500bps. The volatility term structure has collapsed in the last month or two as it appears that there remains an extremely well-capitalized vol-seller at the front-end of the curve - unafraid of risk flares as they pick up those nickels in front of the European steam-roller. We can see two reasons for this compression (from a fundamental perspective): extreme confidence in NEW QE appearing shortly (and suppressing vol as it does) or more likely a vol steepener out beyond the German judge's decision on Spain's bailout constitutionality - or just call-writing retail monkeys following TD Ameritrade's CEO's advice - what could go wrong.
VIX remains a 'little' ahead of credit and equity markets...
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Vol term structure collapsing...
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