"The stock market is near record highs, and optimism abounds. Coronavirus vaccines are finally getting jabbed into arms. Interest rates are at historic lows. And the Democrats who control Washington are expected to pour another trillion dollars or so into the still-struggling economy.
But it’s getting increasingly difficult to overlook signs that investors are taking things too far, too fast.
The latest signal is from the somewhat obscure market for stock options, where traders can place bets with brokers that a stock will rise or fall. Speculation has reached a frenzied level not seen since the tail end of the dot-com boom two decades ago. That enthusiasm is having a growing influence over the regular stock market itself.
“If you’re betting on sports, the amount of people on one side of the bet or another can only influence the odds, not the outcome,” said Steve Sosnick, chief strategist at Interactive Brokers in Greenwich, Conn., a major options brokerage. “In the case of options, it can actually change the outcome.”"
NY Times Article by Matt Phillips
