The CBOE Market Volatility index, also known as the fear index, rose sharply at the beginning of the week to 20.20 points, up by 15.8 percent, on concerns over the Europe’s debt crisis, as well as by the changes to the political landscape now taking place in Western Europe. Investors have been disturbed by the news coming from France with the surprising result of the first round of the presidential elections, as well as by the dissolution of Netherland’s government, after negotiations on the austerity program collapsed. The concerns grew also after US biggest groceries producer Kellogg lowered its forecast for 2012 profit, following a fall in sales for the first three months of the year.
