Option Block 340: Revenge of the Guts Strangle

Trading Block: What will bring back volatility? A black swan event? Russell Rhoads said via MarketWatch that investors are showing a “justified complacency” given that recent VIX jumps don't stay at those levels for long. "One-off events," such as the Ukraine, get investors' attention for a while and then wanes. It's enough for a VIX spike but not enough to sustain it. From a black swan event in the economy and markets, it would have a greater, deeper effect.

Odd Block: Calls buyers trade in Oncothyreon Inc. (ONTY), closing call buyers and put buyers trade in Gastar Exploration Inc (GST) - a closing guts strangle? Closing call sellers trade in Chemtura Corp (CHMT), and calls roll in iShares MSCI Brazil Index (EWZ).

Xpress Block: Alex talks recent news from Charles Schwab (CEO suggests regulators require brokerage firms to disclose payment for order flow), as well as VIX ETNs.

Around the Block: Is the housing market really coming back? The National Association of Realtors will release April existing home sales data Thursday and the U.S. Census Bureau reports sales numbers for newly constructed homes is out Friday. Earnings this week include Home Depot, Lowe's, Campbell Soup and Hewlett-Packard.