Your guide to the happenings in derivatives markets and trading since 2000
John Lothian Newsletter
Today's Newsletter
Wall Street Backlash Sinks Plan to Transform Swaps Market
Get a FREE 90 day trial of John Lothian Newsletter First Read Hits & Takes JLN Staff JLN Managing Editor Sarah Rudolph and I will be in New York for the Rates Evolved event by Viable Markets on Thursday. We will arrive on Wednesday for...
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JLN Options Newsletter
Today's Newsletter
U.S. Option Market Makers Cite Exchange Risk Protections As Critical Industry Improvement
Get a FREE 90 day trial of John Lothian Newsletter Lead Stories U.S. Option Market Makers Cite Exchange Risk Protections As Critical Industry Improvement PRNewswire Market makers believe the U.S. listed options industry has seen significant...
Everything you need to know about Options Today
Lead Stories
The Spread – Closing Props – 1/18
Give ‘em their props - they gave it a go. (Plus, the OCC’s big decision was revealed. The following are links to stories referenced in this week's episode: -> The Trade - OCC overhauls legacy clearing system with Cinnober-> Reuters -...
Crypto cybercrime crosses into the physical world
Last week, the alleged kidnappers of Anne-Elisabeth Hagen, the wife of the Norwegian multi-millionaire real estate investor Tom Hagen, demanded a ransom of €9 million worth of Monero (XMR), a cryptocurrency known for allowing blockchain...
MarketsWiki
Page of the day
Oslo Børs
Nasdaq, which owns stock exchanges in several Nordic countries, is discussing a possible purchase of Oslo Børs, the Financial Times reported, citing people familiar with the matter. Euronext had earlier bid to buy all shares of Oslo Børs in a deal valuing the Norwegian market at 625 million euros.
CryptoMarketsWiki
Page of the day
Blockstream
Blockstream’s Liquid sidechain has been approved by Japanese regulators for use with local Crypto Garage’s SettleNet platform. In a pilot program SettleNet will be used to facilitate issuance of stablecoins and settlements on Japanese cryptocurrency exchanges.
Lead Stories
The Spread – Closing Props – 1/18
Give ‘em their props - they gave it a go. (Plus, the OCC’s big decision was revealed. The following are links to stories referenced in this week's episode: -> The Trade - OCC overhauls legacy clearing system with Cinnober-> Reuters -...
Crypto cybercrime crosses into the physical world
Last week, the alleged kidnappers of Anne-Elisabeth Hagen, the wife of the Norwegian multi-millionaire real estate investor Tom Hagen, demanded a ransom of €9 million worth of Monero (XMR), a cryptocurrency known for allowing blockchain...
“Not Your Keys, Not Your Bitcoin”
Thom Thompson is a derivatives specialist who has worked in product design, business development and regulatory roles for the CFTC, the Chicago Board of Trade, The Clearing Corporation, Swiss Exchange, Eurex and Eurex Clearing. Much of the...
The Spread – Transitions – 1/11
In this episode of "The Spread" we deal with a number of transitions. Below are stories referenced this week: -Bloomberg -> MarketAxess Hires Cboe's Chris Concannon as President, COO -Financial Times -> Wall Street battles for...
What’s In Style? Member’s Exchange Brings Together Wall Street Behemoths To Take On Nasdaq, NYSE and Cboe Global Markets
So many marketing opportunities, so little time for the latest US stock exchange called the Members Exchange (MEMX). The newest stock exchange, with its nine behemoth investor banks, brokers and market makers, could get a good deal at the...
The Spread – A New Year – 1/4
It's hard to believe 2018 is in the rear-view mirror, but markets stop for no one. So without further ado, enjoy the first episode of "The Spread" in 2019. Below are the stories referenced in this week's episode: -Youtube -> Up, Down, Touch...
The Spread – Vol Strikes Back: Top Stories of 2018
Did it feel like 2018 was a whirlwind? Did it just whiz by? If so, here's a brief recap of the year's big options stories. Produced by Mike Forrester John Lothian Newsletter Today's Newsletter We visit more than 100 websites daily for...
Crypto: The Good the Bad and the Ugly…
The price action of most crypto-assets over the past year and, in particular, the last quarter, has been downright ugly, and a great many ICOs launched earlier have been exposed as either frauds or very bad investments. The good, however,...
Scott Gordon: In being acquired by Marex Spectron, RCG retains name, management, and gains global reach
The Rosenthal Collins (RCG) name has been around for 95 years, so the news that it is being acquired is big…but the name will live on, as will much of the management and staff of the company.
Bitmain – What’s Happening to the Billion Dollar IPO?
For the first three quarters of 2018, investors and analysts speculated about when, then if, Bitmain would go public. During a pre-IPO private fund raising, reports leaked out that Bitmain was valuing itself at $15 billion or maybe even $18 billion. During the third quarter bitcoin, which drives industry development, traded at around $6,500, shooting up briefly to the $8,000 range.
Those summer 2018 bitcoin prices were $3,000 higher than current ones. Is it any surprise that Bitmain’s IPO may not launch after all?
Bob Cox On The Birth Of Simex and Growth Of Asia’s Futures Markets
Bob Cox sat down with Jim Kharouf of John Lothian News in 2014 to speak about his experience in helping start Simex in Singapore in 1984. As the only CME floor trader with experience in Southeast Asia, having grown up in Manilla, Philippines,...
The Spread – Hiring Notices – 12/14
According to Trade Alert's Henry Schwartz, the week of December 17 - 21 will likely see the five billionth option of 2018 change hands. But while we all wait with bated breath for that milestone, JLN has you covered with a recap of some of the...
“Not Your Keys, Not Your Bitcoin”
Thom Thompson is a derivatives specialist who has worked in product design, business development and regulatory roles for the CFTC, the Chicago Board of Trade, The Clearing Corporation, Swiss Exchange, Eurex and Eurex Clearing. Much of the...
The Spread – Transitions – 1/11
In this episode of "The Spread" we deal with a number of transitions. Below are stories referenced this week: -Bloomberg -> MarketAxess Hires Cboe's Chris Concannon as President, COO -Financial Times -> Wall Street battles for...
What’s In Style? Member’s Exchange Brings Together Wall Street Behemoths To Take On Nasdaq, NYSE and Cboe Global Markets
So many marketing opportunities, so little time for the latest US stock exchange called the Members Exchange (MEMX). The newest stock exchange, with its nine behemoth investor banks, brokers and market makers, could get a good deal at the...
The Spread – A New Year – 1/4
It's hard to believe 2018 is in the rear-view mirror, but markets stop for no one. So without further ado, enjoy the first episode of "The Spread" in 2019. Below are the stories referenced in this week's episode: -Youtube -> Up, Down, Touch...
The Spread – Vol Strikes Back: Top Stories of 2018
Did it feel like 2018 was a whirlwind? Did it just whiz by? If so, here's a brief recap of the year's big options stories. Produced by Mike Forrester John Lothian Newsletter Today's Newsletter We visit more than 100 websites daily for...
Crypto: The Good the Bad and the Ugly…
The price action of most crypto-assets over the past year and, in particular, the last quarter, has been downright ugly, and a great many ICOs launched earlier have been exposed as either frauds or very bad investments. The good, however,...
Scott Gordon: In being acquired by Marex Spectron, RCG retains name, management, and gains global reach
The Rosenthal Collins (RCG) name has been around for 95 years, so the news that it is being acquired is big…but the name will live on, as will much of the management and staff of the company.
Bitmain – What’s Happening to the Billion Dollar IPO?
For the first three quarters of 2018, investors and analysts speculated about when, then if, Bitmain would go public. During a pre-IPO private fund raising, reports leaked out that Bitmain was valuing itself at $15 billion or maybe even $18 billion. During the third quarter bitcoin, which drives industry development, traded at around $6,500, shooting up briefly to the $8,000 range.
Those summer 2018 bitcoin prices were $3,000 higher than current ones. Is it any surprise that Bitmain’s IPO may not launch after all?
Bob Cox On The Birth Of Simex and Growth Of Asia’s Futures Markets
Bob Cox sat down with Jim Kharouf of John Lothian News in 2014 to speak about his experience in helping start Simex in Singapore in 1984. As the only CME floor trader with experience in Southeast Asia, having grown up in Manilla, Philippines,...
The Spread – Hiring Notices – 12/14
According to Trade Alert's Henry Schwartz, the week of December 17 - 21 will likely see the five billionth option of 2018 change hands. But while we all wait with bated breath for that milestone, JLN has you covered with a recap of some of the...
Bob Cox Remembrances
I believe I first met Bob Cox sometime in 1975. He was a trainee rotating within various departments of the Continental Bank.
A Look at Nascent Chinese Commodity Options
Big numbers for white sugar, soybean meal and copper options volumes It’s already a record year for U.S. listed options volumes and there are still two weeks of trading left to go. The OCC isn’t the only clearing house with volumes surging -...
The Spread – A “Complete Guide” – 12/7/18
JLN discovered a copy of “The Complete Guide to Options Selling,” authored by the guys behind the now defunct “hedge fund” OptionSellers. It’s interesting to read in hindsight.
Market Outlook with Cboe’s Ed Tilly: Regs, Crypto and Liquidity
In this video, Cboe Chairman and CEO Ed Tilly addresses the SEC’s commentary on market data offerings, what’s next for crypto products, and the need to alter regulations that are hindering index options liquidity.
2018 MarketsWiki Education Series
our series of talks featuring top professionals from the financial industry aimed at students, interns and first year professionals.
The Chicago Ecosystem For Crypto Assets And Blockchain Technology – Colleen Sullivan, CMT Digital
"In order to have a healthy ecosystem for a new industry you really need four components. One is government involvement/regulatory clarity, two is academic institution involvement, three is trade associations and other advocacy groups and the...
Rules for CEOs, Senior Managers, Interns and Bob’s Kids – Bob Fitzsimmons, Wedbush
"Understand the implications, the ramifications of what you do - what it does downstream and what it does upstream. Understand the whole process." What do "Patton," "The Right Stuff" and "Goodfellas" have in common? They're all used by Bob...
The Growing Value of Data – Oliver Albers, Nasdaq
"When I started in this business, data was very, very uncool. Trust me." Data is not uncool any longer. Consider that every minute there are more than 12 million texts sent and more than 4.3 million YouTube videos watched. It is estimated...
Lessons from My Crypto Career Risk – Tim McCourt, CME Group
"[In July 2000, my boss] said, 'Tim, tomorrow, you're going to start on the equity derivatives desk at JP Morgan.' I was like, 'Fantastic. I'm super excited.' I go home, no one really has a laptop, I got my first cell phone two weeks before -...
Avoiding Spoofing Shortfalls – Renato Mariotti, Thompson Coburn
Renato Mariotti prosecuted Michael Coscia for spoofing as a federal prosecutor, ran for Illinois attorney general and can frequently be seen on cable television commenting on current events. So when he talks about spoofing and markets, as...
Cognitive Flexibility in Finance – Kevin Darby, Blue Trading Systems
"Don't over-engineer it. There's a huge tendency, especially for technical people, to make up complexity." The problems Kevin Darby, managing partner at Blue Trading Systems, encounters as a fintech vendor are very different from those he...
Discussing “InfoSec” – Mike Phillips, VSEC
"How many small or medium business can survive a $3.5 million hit? When small and medium business get hit, they typically go out of business. When the big ones get hit, know what they do? They change their names." If it is connected then it...
