Someone bought $1,200,000 worth of $VIX 70 calls today
For reference the $VIX has hit 70+ two times since its creation…
2008 & 2020 pic.twitter.com/9TvJ3Gs5CF
— John Trades MBA (@JPATrades) February 19, 2026
Listen, I get a lot of you think stocks only go up, but when the VIX1D is acting like this, it means a major VIX spike is on the immediate horizon. This is a giant caution sign. pic.twitter.com/knX40Gy26Y
— Michael Bento (@MichaelPBento) February 18, 2026
Some Fed officials are open to rate hike if inflation persists 😐
— TT3 (@TradingThomas3) February 18, 2026
Divided Federal Reserve officials at their January meeting indicated that further interest rate cuts should be paused for now and could resume later in the year only if inflation cooperates.
While the decision to hold the central bank’s benchmark rate steady mostly was met with approval, the path ahead appeared less certain, with members conflicted between fighting inflation and supporting the labor market, according to minutes released Wednesday from the Jan. 27-28 Federal Open Market Committee meeting.
“In considering the outlook for monetary policy, several participants commented that further downward adjustments to the target range for the federal funds rate would likely be appropriate if inflation were to decline in line with their expectations,” the meeting summary said.
https://www.cnbc.com/2026/02/18/fed-minutes-january-2026.html