The controversial financial product known as XIV is shouldering a lot of the blame for the recent flash crash that saw the Dow slump more than 6% in a span of six minutes. Dave Mazza, Head of ETF Investment Strategy at OppenheimerFunds, was with us to break down the theory that volatility-based products fueled the market meltdown.
The XIV is meant to produce the opposite returns of the volatility index, which spiked 118% Monday. Mazza explained that 2017 was a great year for stocks with record-low volatility. Due to this low volatility, many investors were feasting on these financial products, looking to benefit from volatility going lower. When the exact opposite happened, those investors dealt with the consequences.
"A lot of people like to point the finger at computerized trading for sharp movements in stocks," said Mazza. He said it's only one piece of the story. Mazza highlighted that fundamentals are important to watch and there are many variables that influence stock movement.
Microsoft has announced that it's hired Sam Altman and another co-founder of ChatGPT maker OpenAI after they unexpectedly departed the company days earlier in a corporate shakeup that shocked the artificial intelligence world.
Many factors lie behind the disconnect, but economists increasingly point to one in particular: The lingering financial and psychological effects of the worst bout of inflation in four decades.
Advertisers are fleeing social media platform X over concerns about their ads showing up next to pro-Nazi content, hate speech on the site in general or billionaire owner Elon Musk’s own posts endorsing an antisemitic conspiracy theory.
Big Business This Week is a guided tour through the biggest market stories of the week, from winning stocks to brutal dips to the facts and forecasts generating buzz on Wall Street.
The board of ChatGPT-maker Open AI said Friday it has pushed out its co-founder and CEO Sam Altman after a review found he was “not consistently candid in his communications” with the board.
