OVER THE next few weeks and probably months, all eyes in the financial markets will be on something called the Vix. It is a sign of the turmoil over the last 10 days that this hitherto little-known measurement has suddenly popped into prominence. Screen jockeys, sweating over the prospect of further mayhem, know the Vix as the "fear gauge".
A tool launched in 1993 by the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), it is regarded as one of the most reliable barometers of market volatility and investors' appetite for risk. When the Vix is rising, it means the market is running scared.
And lately, the Vix has just about jumped off the charts. Just over a week ago, it broke the 29-point barrier before retreating to 26.57 by midweek, still frighteningly high by the standards of most of this century.
