Financials
FIA Expo 2021 Video: ‘Everyone is Threatened’ by Disintermediation
Robert Fitzsimmons, executive vice president at Wedbush Securities, spoke with John Lothian News at FIA Expo 2021 about his observations, insights and opinions on everything from the conference itself to the state of cryptocurrency today. As executive vice president, Fitzsimmons manages futures, fixed income groups, and securities lending.
Among the talking points from the conference, one topic of concern was the notion of disintermediation, which essentially cuts out the middle men — removing banks, brokers, or other third parties — allowing individuals to invest directly.
FIA Expo 2021: Exegy Merger Seen as Solid Marriage of Products, Businesses
Why bring Exegy Inc. and Vela Trading Systems together? The firms combined forces last May and two of their executives talked to JLN about the reason behind their merger at the FIA Expo 2021 in November.
David Taylor, Exegy’s chief technology officer and co-president, said the combination allows the companies to have more scale in the marketplace and gives them more opportunities to invest in the expansion of the company’s offerings. “Growing organically and inorganically was always part of our agenda,” he said.
FIA Expo 2021 Video: Greenwood Project Takes Off Like a Rocket
Bevon Joseph, executive director and co-founder of the Greenwood Project — along with his wife, Elois Joseph — is a victim of his own success. The program has boomed, and he is thrilled.
“The impact has been crazy,” he said. “We didn’t see this coming, but we are happy.”
In a video interview with John Lothian News at FIA Expo 2021, Joseph said the program, which introduces high school and college students in underserved communities to the financial services industry, has seen especially dramatic expansion in 2020 and 2021 with the attraction of new talent and the extension of the project to new cities.
The History of Financial Futures: Lee Oliver’s Journey Back to His Beginnings, Part 2
The most recent chapter of Lee Oliver’s career took him back into the world of banking and FX trading.
In the second of a two-part video interview with John Lothian, Oliver talked about his transition from a busy career as a freelance writer for Euromoney to a job writing and editing for Cititbank’s wire service.
Tesla Trade Spurs Early-Week Stock Selling; Inflation Index Jumps; Options Volume Continues to Set Records – The Spread – November 12, 2021
– Tesla CEO Elon Musk sells shares, briefly captivates the equity market; Higher inflation news chills Treasury trading; Options volume continues to set records;
– John’s Take profiles Stable, the winning innovator of the year at FIA Expo 2021;
– EQDerivatives’ Russell Rhoads explains the Nasdaq-100 Volatility Index in the Term of the Week.
FIA Expo 2021: Crypto – An Evolving Regulatory Landscape
Cryptocurrencies are often viewed as the Wild West with very little in the way of law or regulations. If there was one thing the Thursday FIA panel on crypto wanted everyone to know, that is far from the current reality. Significant regulatory obligations exist for those trading cryptocurrencies.
FIA Expo: Sustainability Markets Growing, But Participants Search for Clarity of Its Parameters
Although the five speakers at a Thursday FIA Expo panel titled “Sustainability/ESG and Markets” agreed that the ESG sector is one of the biggest growth areas in the marketplace, they said it can be difficult to define exactly what ESG encompasses.
The “E” (for environmental) is self-evident, but the “social and governance components are much more challenging,” said Elizabeth Turner, Qontigo’s director of index product management.
FIA Expo: CFTC’s Dawn Stump Urges Return to Basics When Regulating Crypto, Carbon Markets
In a keynote address at the FIA Expo on Wednesday, CFTC Commissioner Dawn Stump urged the industry, and regulators, to go back to the basics in their discussions of who should oversee digital assets and how they should be overseen before “engaging in a jurisdictional power-grab.”
FIA Expo 2021: Post-COVID, Industry Returns En Force, Looking For Synergies
It’s been two years since an in-person FIA Expo in Chicago and judging from the effusive mood of the crowd, there was a lot of pent-up demand.
Kicking off two days of panels and fireside chats on Wednesday was FIA President and CEO Walt Lukken, who noted that while the industry adapted and was highly productive during those gap years, “there are certain synergies and intangibles that can’t be replicated.”
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: Lee Oliver’s Career Turns Led Him From Brokering to Reporting, Part 1
Lee Oliver grew up in South London and in 1981 left school for a temporary stint at brokering — a prospect that seemed more financially appealing at the time than getting a university degree in German or history.
In this video interview with John Lothian, Oliver talks about his career as a market maker and FX trader for several banks, beginning with Midland and continuing at Continental and Nomura Banks.
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.
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.
Trillions Is a History Lesson for Anyone Involved in the Markets
Robin Wigglesworth loves history. He is the author of a new book on the history of passive investing titled, “Trillions; How A Band Of Wall Street Renegades Invented The Index Fund And Changed Finance Forever.”
Wigglesworth spoke to John Lothian News over Zoom from Oslo, Norway where he is stationed as a correspondent with the Financial Times. We interviewed him about this first book he has written and why he wrote it.
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.
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19-Hour VIX Options Trade Surges as Stock Market Resumes Swoon
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