'Fear' index jumps 10% on New Year volatility

Still below Black Monday highs

The VIX index, a key measure of global volatility levels, has risen 10% over the past month as many markets record their worst start to the year in decades.

The VIX, which measures implied volatility on S&P 500 stock options, closed at 27 on Wednesday, as markets responded to concerns over a slowdown in China, tumbling oil prices, geopolitical tensions, overvalued assets and an end to fiscal stimuli. However, the index remains well below the mid-40s peaks seen around last summer's Black Monday sell-off. 2016 been difficult for world markets so far, with the S&P 500 losing 9.5% year to date, while both the Japanese and UK markets entered bear market territory yesterday. The Dow Jones is also down 9.5% since the beginning of the year, is it...