Asia/Pacific
JLN Video Interview: Step by Step, HKEx’s Kevin Rideout Builds Interest in China A 50
China’s new economy — and markets — appear to have found a new hedging tool.
In an interview with John Lothian News, Kevin Rideout, managing director, global client development at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx), talked about the launch and reception for MSCI China A 50 Connect Index Futures, launched on October 18.
JPMorgan fights Tesla over warrants; Consumers worried, but in a buy-now mood; CME micro minis, MIAX SPIKES futures set records – The Spread – November 19, 2021
— Tesla continues to grab headlines, options trading mostly remains brisk;
— John’s Take: Private equity plays the industry name game;
— Russell Rhoads broadens ‘Terms’ with a China A 50 Index comparison.
Trading Technologies to Be Acquired by 7RIDGE
Press release from Trading Technologies: Trading Technologies International, Inc., (TT), a global provider of high-performance professional trading software, infrastructure and data solutions, today announced that the company has agreed to be acquired by 7RIDGE, a specialized growth equity firm invested in transformative technologies. 7RIDGE will fuel Trading Technologies’ organic growth and enable the firm to make targeted strategic acquisitions in the future. Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE) and Singapore Exchange (SGX), who are among the limited partners of the fund managed by 7RIDGE, have voiced their support of the transaction. Terms of the transaction, expected to close before year-end subject to regulatory approvals, were not disclosed.
The History of Financial Futures: Doug Harris Provides an Insider’s Look at Industry Innovation
Douglas E. Harris not only can talk about the History of Financial Futures, he was a part of its development.
In this video interview with John Lothian, Harris traces his beginnings in the industry back to 1975, when he began work as an associate for the then-small law firm Baer Marks & Upham and was assigned helping exchanges including Comex determine what rules it would need to file to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, then in its infancy.
Cboe’s Dave Howson Details His ‘Once in a Career’ Mission in Europe, Asia – Part 2
Cboe Global Markets’ Dave Howson took over as EVP and president, Europe and Asia Pacific in January 2020, a time marked by the challenges of Brexit and shutdowns related to the global pandemic.
In the second part of a two-part video interview, Howson talks about the timing of the September 2021 debut of Cboe Europe Derivatives, Cboe’s EU-based derivatives exchange. Customers had been requesting that Cboe start one for years, especially after its acquisition of Bats in 2017, he said, but the pieces finally aligned this year with Cboe’s purchase of EuroCCP, its clearing house in Amsterdam.
Cboe’s Global Reach Into EU and Asia Gets Ready Assist From EVP Dave Howson – Part 1
When Dave Howson took on the role of EVP and president, Europe and Asia Pacific at Cboe Global Markets in January 2020, two major external events — the U.K.’s transition away from the EU and the global pandemic — threw him some immediate curve balls.
In a video interview, his first for John Lothian News since taking over his current role, Howson talks about the challenges he faced and the ones he has overcome. Among the immediate goals was the plan to shepherd the launch of Cboe Europe Derivatives, the EU-based derivatives exchange that debuted September 6, 2021.
FIA Tech’s Atlantis Ready for More Options Brokers
FIA Tech is trying to solve a problem for options brokers with a solution that’s worked for futures brokers and exchange-traded derivatives. That problem is improving the efficiency of give-ups and take-ins reconciliation, settlement and payments.
In July, FIA Tech announced the expansion of its Atlantis service to help options brokers settle give-up trades faster and get paid sooner, while freeing up human resources thrown at this complex problem. One hundred million contracts a month are processed via Atlantis, which is expanding into options in a two-part process.
Morningstar Scaling Up Against Industry Dominators
The index business is dominated by three big companies: Dow Jones Indexes, FTSE Russell, and MSCI; but there is a Chicago index company that has big plans to advance and scale up its business to bring more value to index clients and leave more money in the pockets of investors. Former FTSE Russell executive and now Morningstar Indexes Managing Director Ron Bundy is charged with the evolution and growth of Morningstar Indexes.
SGX Looks To Expand A50, Grow China-Centric Risk Management Business
SGX learned much from the experience a year ago when their equity index products switched from MSCI to FTSE Russell. Those lessons are being utilized as they contemplate growing their equity index offerings by increasing the number of stocks in the A50.
Options volatility bounces back on Evergrande, Fed taper talk; John’s Take previews FIA’s IDX; How does the VIX calculate vol? – The Spread – September 24, 2021
– Options markets see spike in volatility, but ride out China Evergrande Group’s troubles, Federal Reserve taper expectations;
– John’s Take gives a sneak peek at the FIA IDX 2021 conference and talks about Bryan Harkins and Wall Street Rides FAR;
– What does the VIX Index measure? A tutorial by Russell Rhoads, head of research at EQDerivatives, in the Term of the Week.
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.


NYSE Mayhem Traced to a Staffer Who Left a Backup System Running
First Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff One of my former Eagle Scouts, who attended the World Scout Jamboree in Japan in 2015 with help from readers of this newsletter, was laid off from his consulting firm job on the West Coast at the end of 2022 and...
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The Spread
BEAR CALL AND PUT SPREADS; FORMER CBOE TRADER AND LEAD EDUCATOR AT OPTIONTHINKER.COM, DAN KEEGAN, TALKS SPREAD TRADING AND OPTIONS EDUCATION WITH JLN’S ALEX TENG
In this Options Discovery full interview, Dan Keegan, lead educator of Optionthinker.com, dives deep into the mechanics of bear call and put spreads with a live demonstration.
Genesis Says ‘Bitcoin Jesus’ Owes Millions From Trades
Observations & Insight Lead Stories Genesis Says 'Bitcoin Jesus' Owes Millions From Trades; Bankrupt lender is seeking $20.9 million from Roger Ver; Long-time crypto advocate said failed to settle transactions Emily Nicolle - Bloomberg A Genesis unit is...