I’m taking a two-week hiatus as it is time to contemplate the massive volatility we have experienced during the past three months. The rise in vol was no surprise as the world financial and political landscape has been rife with uncertainty for several years. Central bank actions have lulled financial markets into complacency, though turbulence underlies the surface of calm. In the past three weeks we have experienced the Swiss National Bank removing its EUR/CHF PEG and sending currency markets into a whirl of uncertainty. (Plus, the generation of huge losses on long-held short Swiss franc positions.) More importantly, the SNB decision wreaked havoc on European banks that had financed loans in Swiss francs because of the ultra-low interest rates.