Business

Authored by Ron Paul via The Ron Paul Institute for Peace & Prosperity,

Federal Reserve Chair Janet Yellen recently predicted that, thanks to the regulations implemented after the 2008 market meltdown, America would not experience another economic crisis “in our lifetimes.” Yellen’s statement should send shivers down our spines, as there are few more reliable signals of an impending recession, or worse, than when so-called "experts" proclaim that we are in an era of unending prosperity.

It shouldn't be too surprising that the XIV exchange-traded note - which is designed to deliver the inverse performance of the well-known CBOE Volatility Index (or the VIX) on a daily basis - is attracting fresh attention after surging as much as 87 percent this year.

http://player.cnbc.com/p/gZWlPC/cnbc_global

But, as CNBC notes, some caution that investing in the exchange-traded product now could be deeply risky.

During Ethereum’s big rally last month, when the price of a single coin went from $220 to just shy of $400 in the span of two weeks, one trader turned $55 million of paper wealth into more than $398 million.  And nobody knows who they are, or – more importantly – who to tax.

Well that escalated quickly...

Just 4 months after its magnificently-lauded IPO - proving to every Bob, Dick, and Mary on business media that this time is different and everything's awesome - Snap has collapsed back to below its IPO price and down 42% from its post-IPO highs.

SNAP IPO'd at $17 and opened at $24, trading up to $29.44. Today it traded down to $16.95...

We are reminded of Dennis Gartman's recent epic rant against the company he calls "a time sapping hobby; a diversion."

Ignore the rout in retail, focus on FANG... and hope for some dovish cooing from Yellen...

Expectations for higher VIX uncertainty (VVIX - VIX of VIX) are at their highest relative to VIX since Dec 2006...