Wall Street ‘Fear Gauge’ Jumps to Highest Since Lehman Collapse and Pandemic Crash

A measure of stock market volatility dubbed the Wall Street “fear gauge” jumped to its highest level since the Lehman Brothers collapse and the COVID-19 pandemic, as stocks around the world resumed their slide on Aug. 5 amid economic fears fanned by last week’s disappointing U.S. jobs report. The VIX volatility measure surged above the 65 mark after opening bell Monday, a level seen only twice before in history: once during the financial crisis of 2008–09 and again during the pandemic-related market panic in 2020. Officially called the CBOE Volatility Index, the VIX tracks the 30-day implied volatility of the benchmark S&P 500 Index and is seen as a measure of investor fear. After the initial Monday morning surge, the VIX retreated by late morning and was trading at around the 40 mark at the time of reporting....