The fear gauge

摘要

Following the world's stockmarkets recently has been a bit like watching an act of levitation. They are serenely calm, they rise gently, and it takes faith not to worry they'll come down with a bump. This week, markets hit record highs, as measured by Morgan Stanley Capital International's broadest global index. But they did so without the stomach-churning lurches that usually characterise over-exuberance. Volatility, which measures how much asset prices fluctuate in either direction, is abnormally low. And yet, a return to the ground looks overdue.