Asia/Pacific
FEX Global Makes Its First Trade
The first power trade on the Australian start-up exchange FEX Global was made Friday, September 10, and it was truly a global story. The trade was made using a Chicago-based Trading Technologies trading screen, cleared on the Chicago-based CME Group’s clearinghouse and traded on the FEX Global match engine in Sydney.
Buy the Sharks, Sell the Bait
Cboe and its CEO Are Now in a Different Boat
In January of 2014, after hearing CBOE executives crow at an annual Chicago press lunch about how great their publicly traded company and its products performed in 2013, I wrote a commentary titled “The CME Should Buy the CBOE Soon.” There have been many on and off discussions about just that for many years. And yesterday for just a short period of time it seemed like it was happening, as the Financial Times reported that CME Group had approached Cboe to acquire it in a $16 billion deal that CME Group later strongly denied.
CME Group Flatly Denies It’s In Talks With Cboe Global Markets
The CME Group Wednesday issued a firm denial that it was in talks to acquire Cboe Global Markets, a clear attempt to squash a story published by the Financial Times earlier in the day.
FIA Reports July Exchange-Traded Derivatives Post 26.9% Volume Gain from a Year Ago; Dip vs. June
The Futures Industry Association released its July 2021 report on worldwide volume and open interest for exchange-traded derivatives on Tuesday, and it shows a volume gain of 26.9% compared with July 2020 for a combined total of 4.91 billion contracts. However, trading slowed down from its torrid pace of early summer — July volume was down 2.4% from the month earlier.
Charles Farra – The Path to Electronic Trading Has Many Steps and Flights
For Charles Farra, there were many steps on the path to electronic trading that saw him start as a runner for Cargill Investor Services in 1981 and work his way up in the organization. He would serve the firm in Chicago, London and Tokyo during a time when new products and big markets led to incredible growth in the futures industry.
Options Continue to Lead Derivatives Volume Uptrend, but Q2 Lags, FIA Data Show
Global futures and options volumes continued to trend higher in the first half of 2021 compared to both 2020 and 2019, with growth largely driven by options trading, according to Futures Industry Association data released late Tuesday. Exchange-traded futures and options volume was up 32.1% compared with the total logged in the first six months of 2020, with 28.9 billion contracts traded in the first half of 2021.
The Spread – July 9, 2021
Chicago, a data destination; SEC, Robinhood and payment for order flow; John Lothian weighs in with his take; Retail trading continues to percolate; and Cboe’s Kevin Davitt explains the differences between equity and index options in the “Term of the Week.”
The Spread – July 2, 2021
Finra socks Robinhood with its biggest-ever fine; Cboe acquires Chi-X Asia Pacific; OCC reports another volume gain; NIO takes its cue from options; John Lothian weighs in with his take; Looking for volatility; and Jermal Chandler explains hedging in the options “Term of the Week.”
Hang Seng Index
The Hang Seng Index will add three companies in June: Xinyi Solar Holdings Ltd., BYD Co. Ltd. and Country Garden Services Holdings, expanding the index to 58. The additions reflect the growing prominence of Chinese IT firms.
Leo Melamed Is ‘Man of the Futures’
Leo Melamed has lived a life worthy of multiple autobiographies. And he now has written his latest, “The Man of the Futures.” The book encompasses all that occurred in his life and work since 1996, when he published “Escape to the Futures.” A lot has happened in that quarter of a century, and many of Melamed’s dreams and the predictions he made have been realized.
Catching up with Sterling Trading Tech on “Unprecedented” Trading
Sterling Trading Tech is one of the firms in the eye of the storm for the rise of retail equity and option traders. John Lothian News caught up with their president and head of risk management to talk about how they fared and how they continue to deal with the influx of retail customers and resulting trading activity in 2020 and 2021.
JLN Regions Summary: European Investors Crowd Into Nordic Junk Bonds; Nigeria to Register Brokers Selling Foreign Stocks; Investors Short Bunds as Germany Struggles to Recover
With Nordic high-yield borrowing costs about 200 basis points higher than in the euro market, investors from Europe are crowding into Nordic junk bonds. Issuance of Nordic high-yield corporate bonds soared 122% in the first quarter from a year earlier to $7.6 billion....
JLN Regions Summary: Vickers Venture Partners Falls Prey to Nickel Scam in Singapore; Chinese-Australian Dialogue Suspended; Argentina Adopts Meatless Mondays
Vickers Venture Partners, a technology startup investor founded by Finian Tan, has fallen victim to an alleged nickel trading scheme fronted by Singaporean company Envy Global Trading. Ng Yu Zhi, the businessman at the head of this scheme, has been charged with faking...
JLN Regions Summary: Pandemic Disrupts Hajj Pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia; Silver Lake’s Talks With New Zealand Rugby League Spark Debate; Cigarettes Disguise Currency Exchange in Caracas
Japanese online brokerage company SBI has ended a long venture with Chinese insurance company Ping An due to high fintech development costs and an increased concern with data security. (Finews) Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. is in a strong position to...
JLN Regions Summary: EU Investors Pulled Between the US and China; Australian Companies Get a Second Wind with IPOs; Mexico’s Shadow Banks Worry Investors
In light of China’s recent political moves (its assertiveness over Taiwan, tighter controls over Hong Kong and alleged mistreatment of Muslim Uyghurs) many European nations have either joined with the Biden Administration to further sanction China, or continued to...
John Lothian Newsletter
Today's Newsletter
London Stock Exchange to abandon lossmaking derivatives venture
First Read $53,406/$300,000 (17.8%) ++++ Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff The London Stock Exchange has given notice that CurveGlobal is to be closed effective Friday, the 28th of January, 2022. CurveGlobal's CEO Andy Ross had this to say on LinkedIn...
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JLN Options Newsletter
Today’s Newsletter
The founder of a volatility-hedging program that gained over 3,700% in March 2020 says the stock market could fall another 10% to 20% and the VIX could spike to 125
Lead Stories The founder of a volatility-hedging program that gained over 3,700% in March 2020 says the stock market could fall another 10% to 20% and the VIX could spike to 125. He breaks down his strategy and shares 2 other trading ideas. Vicky Ge Huang - Business...
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