Commentary
THE JOHN LOTHIAN NEWS DAILY UPDATE – 4/12/2022
John’s Take: Four New Women CFTC Commissioners Was More Historic Than I Thought
When four women were confirmed by the U.S. Senate for the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission and it was heralded as a historic event, I decided to look into the history of the commission and the number of women who have served and who they served with. At no...
John’s Take: Why I hate Chuck Mackie and Thoughts on FTX’s CFTC Request
I have a love/hate relationship with Chuck Mackie. I love him because he is a great guy, good citizen and cheerful practitioner of solving the world’s problems with market based solutions. I hate him because he really knows how to make me work, and work hard. Don’t worry, there are others on this list too (Hello Barbara).
On Thursday Chuck emailed me and asked when I was going to write a comment letter for the FTX request to the CFTC for LedgerX LLC, doing business as FTX US Derivatives, “to amend its order of registration as a DCO to allow it to modify its existing non-intermediated model.”
John’s Take – Hitesh Mittal of BestEx Research on Payment for Order Flow
This week comedian and TV star Jon Stewart shined a big bright light on the subject of payment for order flow in equities trading on an episode of his show, The Problem with Jon Stewart. While his take is always entertaining and sometimes impactful, I wanted to share with you another source that has also looked at the subject.
Hitesh Mittal and Kathryn Berkow of BestEx Research released a paper last year titled “The Good, The Bad & The Ugly of Payment for Order Flow” that looked at the impact of the practice on institutional investors.
New Non-Price Oriented Risks to Manage: Covid and Cancer
This newsletter is all about managing non-price oriented risks. I used to have a lot of trading related risks when I was an online futures broker and actively managing money as a Commodity Trading Advisor. Today I have different kinds of non-price oriented risks to manage, ones that would fall into our Wellness Exchange section: COVID-19 and cancer.
Suzanne Cosgrove Accepts New Role, Leaves JLN for PR Agency; Alex Perry Promoted from Intern to Associate Editor
JLN Deputy Managing Editor Suzanne Cosgrove gave her notice to John Lothian News and accepted a position with Purpose Brand, a woman-run, Chicago-based PR, brand, and digital marketing company that’s all about diversity and inclusion and seeks to expand its coverage of financial firms. She leaves JLN at the end of the year and starts her new position on January 3, 2022.
U.S. Growth Slows, But Tesla Options Rev Up; Cboe Goes Nanos For Retail; John’s Take Previews Expo; Strategizing with Butterfly Spreads – The Spread – October 29, 2021
– The U.S. economy sputtered to a 2% growth rate in Q3, but Tesla traders are unfazed; Cboe expands S&P 500 Index options offerings for retail with smaller options; ethereum gets a boost from new ETF expectations;
– John’s Take previews next week’s in-person return of FIA Expo;
– Catching up with long butterfly spreads in the Term of the Week with Jermal Chandler.
Crypto Steals Headlines With Cboe-ErisX Deal, U.S. Bitcoin ETF; John’s Take Connects With ICE Mortgage Tech; A Look at Cash-Secured Puts – The Spread – October 22, 2021
– Crypto edges into the mainstream with Cboe-ErisX acquisition announcement, first-ever bitcoin U.S. ETF debut; SEC’s GameStop study a reflection without regulation;
– John’s Take reviews the data-driven mortgage experience with ICE Mortgage Technology;
– Are you bullish on a stock? The Term of the Week looks at a cash-secured put strategy with Jermal Chandler.
Stock Rally Resumes Despite Mixed Bag of Data; John’s Take Dives Into FIA Tech’s Atlantis; Covered Calls Unmasked – The Spread – October 15, 2021
– Equity options volatility ebbs as markets resume rally, fixated on upbeat earnings;
– John’s Take looks at FIA Tech’s expanded Atlantis service for options brokers;
– Why use Covered Calls? The options Term of the Week with Jermal Chandler.
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.
Analysis: What Can We Learn From the DOJ’s Latest Spoofing Conviction?
“I know how to game this stuff.” “One can definitely manipulate if you’re aggressive.” “If you spoof this it really moves.” These excerpts from online chats among traders and hedge fund managers more than a decade ago played a key role in the Justice Department’s successful prosecution of two Wall Street traders in the latest trial to take on ”spoofing,” a form of market manipulation that was criminalized in the 2010 Dodd-Frank Act.
Higher Bond Yields, Energy Fuel Continued Market Volatility at Quarter End; John’s Take Looks at Recent CFTC Action; Why VVIX Matters – The Spread – October 1, 2021
– Stock market volatility continues to chug higher; Energy prices are hot;
– John’s Take walks us through the CFTC’s filing against 14 crypto options businesses;
– A timely look at the VVIX, the volatility of volatility with Russell Rhoads in the Term of the Week.
Fed’s Powell Takes Center Stage; New Company Offers Options Solutions; Explaining Volatility Skew – The Spread – August 27, 2021
In this week’s options news, the Fed’s Jackson Hole pronouncements placate the markets; meme stocks take off on a lark; volatility skew rises as traders remain divided; bitcoin and ethereum options hunker down ahead of expiration and Eurex plans to launch a first; John’s Take looks at a new options business with seasoned players; And Jermal Chandler kicks off this week’s options “Term of the Week” with the important concept of volatility skew.
CME Buying Cboe? Options News, John’s Take and Term of the Week in The Spread – August 20, 2021
— Will CME Group finally buy Cboe Global Markets?; Options volume outpaces exchange-traded derivatives action; Will the Fed taper sooner or later?; Volatility comes back as August options expire;
— John Lothian talks about Cboe sharks, MIAX SPIKES and remembers Philip McBride Johnson;
— Tastytrade’s Jermal Chandler explains why you need to keep a close watch on gamma in the “Term of the Week.”
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.
Will the crypto crash derail the next web revolution? Advocates argue that the blockchain technology that underpins digital assets will withstand the recent fall in values
First Read Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff Don't forget to sign up for FIA Forum: Frankfurt 2022, to be held on July 12 at the Hilton Hotel in the City Centre from 9 a.m to 5 p.m. CEST. Abaxx Technologies Inc. has seen tremendous interest in their...
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The Spread
Options Discovery – Intro to risk with Tony McCormick
This week's episode of Options Discovery discusses risk and what it means in the world of options. Alex Teng sits down with Tony McCormick, the CEO of BOX Exchange - the self regulatory arm of Box Options - to discuss that topic.
Nodal Exchange And Incubex Collaborate To Launch First-of-their-kind Environmental Futures & Options
Lead Stories Nodal Exchange And Incubex Collaborate To Launch First-of-their-kind Environmental Futures & Options The IncubEx Nodal Exchange and IncubEx announced today the planned launch of new environmental products including several first-of-their-kind futures...
