Markets

Risk-on, risk-off behavior persists in financial markets but volatility has eased dramatically. Few traders trust the new normal — which is probably its defining feature.

Academics say there’s no evidence that exchange-traded funds are driving recent market volatility. But don’t tell that to buy-side traders.

The continuing chaos in the markets has left Barack Obama with a limited menu of options — begin an austerity campaign to please the ratings agencies, or make a concerted effort to kick-start economic growth.

Cisco’s shares have declined almost 80 percent from their high to $17. Most investors who bought the stock during the past decade have either lost or made no money. But quarter-by-quarter analysts have ignored the longtime horizon necessary when analyzing companies like Cisco.

The partial meltdown at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station has aroused new fears about the safety of atomic energy.