Record volatility week

Last week was another rough week featuring very wild swings in stock prices. Markets are trying adjust to the Dow having a daily range of 500+ points. As a result, volatility keeps setting new records. The VIX topped 80 at one point but ended closing at 70, more than triple what used to be considered very high!

The Alerian MLP index did well, pretty much recovering in the Mon rally a large loss from the prior week. By way of comparison, it took a 9 month rally from late 2007 into 2008 to achieve a 60 point rise from a higher base:


Alerian MLP Index -- 2 weeks




However, REITs had another particularly brutal week. A very strong rally in Mon-Tues pretty much recovered the large loss in the prior week. However, the last 3 days got ugly again, featuring an almost 50 point drop from Hi to Lo:


Dow Jones REITs -- 2 weeks





Meanwhile, junk bonds had a nice recovery last week. Of course, they were coming off prices approaching zero with never before seen dividend yields over 25%. Most were up 25+%. One of my very low priced ones was up 1 last week. Wow!

All yield related securities are in the doghouse as they remain under suspicion. In the 3 groups mentioned here, many offer double digit yields worth checking out for the very brave. I still like them because their high income is important while trying to ride out the savage storm securities are in. This storm shows every sign of lasting for months while trying to build a base, making current income so significant.