On October 26, 2008, Porsche announced a largely unexpected domination plan for Volkswagen. The resulting short squeeze in Volkswagen's stock briefly made it the most valuable listed company in the world. We argue that this was a manipulation designed to save Porsche from insolvency and the...

Volatility trading is in vogue. Launched in January 2009, exchange-traded products (ETPs) linked to the CBOE Market Volatility Index (VIX) have enamored no small number of traders judging by the billions of dollars invested in these new products. Why exactly is unclear. The most popular VIX ETPs...