Why people call vega?

tomtom · July 12th, 2007, 7:28 am

Guys,If anyone knows, why people call vol sensitivity vega, please let me know why.I would like to know where it comes from and why people are using a non-Greek, unlike delta, gamma and rho.I know some call it kappa though... Thanks in advance,

Tadragh1 · July 12th, 2007, 8:17 am

Because it starts with a "v" and sounds Greek enough for some people...

tomtom · July 12th, 2007, 10:05 am

Aha! Thanks a lot!

shettydiwakar · July 12th, 2007, 4:47 pm

Similarly, to remember easily, Theta starts with 'T' and relates to Time.

Gmike2000 · July 12th, 2007, 8:19 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: tomtomGuys,If anyone knows, why people call vol sensitivity vega, please let me know why.I would like to know where it comes from and why people are using a non-Greek, unlike delta, gamma and rho.I know some call it kappa though... Thanks in advance,The term was invented by Americans...

SydneyQuant · July 12th, 2007, 9:23 pm

Am I right in assuming that there's no Greek letter for "v"?I think I read somewhere that it started being used during the junk bond boom in the eighties by American traders on the floor...

Traden4Alpha · July 12th, 2007, 10:06 pm

There's no "v"-sounding letter, but there is a letter than looks like a "v" but is called nu. The greek "t"-sound is the letter tau, whereas theta is a "th"-sound.

quantmeh · July 12th, 2007, 10:57 pm

i think that Beta would have been the closest to letter latin V

Tadragh1 · July 13th, 2007, 6:29 am

QuoteOriginally posted by: jawabeani think that Beta would have been the closest to letter latin VYes, indeed. The Greek letter β is actually "vita" not "beta". There is no Greek letter for "b" though, a combinations is used: "μπ".

Wibble · July 13th, 2007, 7:12 am

the modern pronunciation is vita but the historical pronunciation is beta and i don't think that the world of mathematics uses greek letters because of the relevence of articles in the athens news

Tadragh1 · July 13th, 2007, 8:23 am

Of course you are right, not many people are particularly excited by Athens news these days Anyway, for all people interested in the fascinating subject of Greek pronunciation, check out:this article.

Grisha · July 13th, 2007, 12:03 pm

I once saw an article saying that one of the creators of B-S model (Merton) was riding Chevrolet Vega (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chevrolet_Vega) and, since "vega" sounded Greek-like, humorously proposed the name for the sensitivity to vol.

ppauper · July 13th, 2007, 12:15 pm

QuoteOriginally posted by: jawabeani think that Beta would have been the closest to letter latin Vindeed, when I was in grad school, a greek once told us how it was supposed to be pronounced.BBC pronunciation guidethey list the greek pronunciation of β as "veeta"

quantmeh · July 13th, 2007, 12:48 pm

my Peruvian friends told me that they dont have a sound "V", so Vaya con Dias is actually pronanunced "Baya con Dias"