Investing & Trading
Yra Harris – Open Outcry Traders History Project – Part 2
In the early days of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, economic opportunity was phenomenal, said CME currency trader Yra Harris. ”I used to say it was like Jed Clampett [the character in old TV series “The Beverly Hillbillies” who struck it rich] shooting at the ground and hitting oil.” It was a booming business.
Yra Harris – Open Outcry Traders History Project – Part 1
Yra Harris was on a career track to become a college professor in the 1970s, earning a master’s degree in economics. But when he came home from school his parents gave him $250 for a suit and told him to go look for a job. He did, interviewing at Continental Bank, First Chicago and other banks, but he said he had “broader expectations,” as well as aspirations to go to Washington to work for a congressional committee. A family friend suggested he get an IMM (International Monetary Market) seat at the CME for $10,000, but it wasn’t until May 1977 that he got a membership.
Larry Abrams – Open Outcry Traders History Project – Part 1
Larry Abrams’ career started with a chance encounter on a ski lift which was prompted by a good deed. He and some friends helped to push a stranded car that was stuck during a blizzard in Park City, Utah. The next day on the lift line he was paired with the man whose car he had helped push out the night before, who happened to be an options market maker at the Cboe. By the time he got off the lift line, he knew that was what he wanted to do.
The Spread – July 23, 2021
Volatility makes a return appearance as the Delta variant jangles nerves; Treasury bond yields perk up; July options expire; John Lothian chats with Cboe’s Ed Tilly about a World of Opportunity; UBS and SEC reach a settlement; FIA Tech expands; and the Options Institute’s Kevin Davitt explains why contract size matters in the “Term of the Week.”
‘Weed Out the Dreamers’ to Make Hemp Sustainable
In a midyear update with JLN, PanXchange CEO Julie Lerner says the hemp industry needs to turn its focus to farm economics; sees continued promise in carbon credits.
The Spread – July 16, 2021
Options traders torn between higher Inflation and steady Fed policy; June market share up at MIAX; John Lothian talks about a World of Opportunity; SEC charges binary options shop with fraud; Moscow Exchange set to offer quarterly options on U.S. stock index futures; and the Options Institute’s Kevin Davitt talks about implied volatility in the “Term of the Week.”
Meaghan Dugan Cooks Up a Stellar Path to Electronic Trading
NYSE executive Meaghan Dugan always worked in kitchens as a youth and had dreams of becoming a famous chef. She even earned a degree in culinary science. However, instead of donning a poofy cap for a career as a chef, she pursued a career in the markets at the Pacific Stock Exchange and wore a colorful jacket.
Tim Brennan Took the Leap to a New Frontier of Trading
Tim Brennan did not know what he wanted to do after graduating from a small liberal arts college with a degree in psychology. As with many other traders from this era, his mom had a friend who could get him a job as a runner at the Chicago Board Options Exchange.
Alex Lamb Always Landed Amid Opportunity in Early Years of European Futures Trading – Part 1
Alex Lamb wanted to be a helicopter pilot in the U.K. Royal Airforce. He never had the chance, but he strategically landed opportunity after opportunity in the banking, trading and related technology businesses during his long and varied career.
Lamb even helped launch the firm Trading Technologies, outlining to then contractor Gary Kemp what he wanted for a new electronic trading screen that would allow brokers to enter orders for multiple accounts and be able to track them more efficiently. That was the genesis of the screen that became Trading Technologies’ desktop offering.
Look! Something New To Spoof
Every month PanXchange publishes some of the summary data they have calculated from hemp trading, collected from their trading platform and reported to them by market contacts. In addition to the indications of the ongoing weakness in many hemp prices, the June Benchmark & Analysis carried a report about what can be taken as a sign of the growing sophistication of the hemp marketplace: Hemp traders are spoofing! (Maybe not a good thing.)
The Innovator’s Dilemma Meets Fertik’s Law
The late author and Harvard professor Clayton Christensen coined the phrase “the innovator’s dilemma” in his popular book by the same name. In the book he describes why some well-run companies lose their dominant market position through the entrance of a competitor with a disruptive technology.
He uses as an example the personal computer and its smaller, slower disc drives, which disrupted “big iron” mainframe computers by offering a cheaper solution that was good enough.
The CME Group’s dominant market position in the U.S. futures market, which some classify as a monopoly, has spawned two separate challengers built on the model of the innovator’s dilemma. The Small Exchange and the Fair Exchange are seeking to disrupt the CME’s dominant position, or at least carve out a place of their own in the U.S. futures market landscape.
THE SPREAD – JUNE 25, 2021
No summer doldrums this year; Volatility and volume surge; More (single stock) options to choose from; John Lothian weighs in with his take; and Jermal Chandler explains extrinsic value in this week’s options “Term of the Week.”
Looking for ‘the Right Type of Disruption’ in the Wild West of Hemp
After a long career in exchange-traded derivatives, Jack Bouroudjian, chairman of the Global Smart Commodity Group, is doing an about-face, turning to blockchain technology and tokenized settlement to facilitate trading.
The Small Exchange Scores a First With Cannabis Equity Index Futures Contract
The Small Exchange is known for its bite-size futures products aimed at retail customers, including the Small U.S. Dollar, Small Stocks 75 and Small Precious Metals contracts. Its latest product, which was launched on Monday, fits that bill, but Small Cannabis Equity Index futures also make their mark in another way — as the first cannabis-related futures to trade in the U.S.
The Spread – June 18, 2021
Inflation really is a thing; Small traders are still big; John Lothian weighs in on the current trading landscape; and Nasdaq wins the May options market share race. All in this and the debut of the options “Term of the Week” in The Spread.
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Libor’s Final Days Begin With Push to Shake Up Swaps Market
First Read $51,906/$300,000 (17.3%) ++++ Hits & Takes John Lothian & JLN Staff The SEC issued an "Opinion of the Commission" on Monday in a case between ABN AMRO Chicago LLC and Chicago Board Options Exchange, Inc. and C2 Options Exchange, Inc. Here is a...
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Some of DeFi’s Leading Investors Are Backing a New Options Protocol
Observations & Insight The SEC issued an "Opinion of the Commission" on Monday in a case between ABN AMRO Chicago LLC and Chicago Board Options Exchange, Inc. and C2 Options Exchange, Inc. Here is a summary of the opinion: "ABN AMRO Clearing Chicago LLC petitions...
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