Today there was a great deal of trader chat on the floors in New York and Chicago about institutions buying call options on the volatility index (The VIX).  Essentially, this is a short-term bet that that the VIX will rise which means they are concerned about stocks becoming more volatility (which is another way to say they are concerned about stocks going down).

As we can see in the two charts above, the VIX is at a relatively low level compared to where it has been over the past year and over the past seven years.  In fact, 2013 and the start into 2014 has been eerily quiet in terms of volatility in equities.  Maybe this is enough to spook those institutions to look for some cover.

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