Breaking News

Category Archives: Options

Options news updates from John Lothian News.

Kessler Topaz, Quinn Emanuel To Lead VIX MDL; Goodbye MANA Partners Standard

Lead Stories Kessler Topaz, Quinn Emanuel To Lead Volatility Index MDL John Petrick – Law360 (SUBSCRIPTION) An Illinois federal judge on Thursday appointed Kimberly A. Justice of Kessler Topaz Meltzer & Check LLP and Jonathan C. Bunge of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan LLP as lead co-counsel in multidistrict litigation over alleged Chicago Board Options Exchange’s volatility index manipulation. /goo.gl/yHqLZu Good-bye MANA Partners Volatility Futures and Options MANA Partners, a much-hyped trading firm founded by Manoj Narang (ex-Tradeworx) is in a total tailspin after launching trading in January 2017. bit.ly/2MUQuvq Trump asks SEC to mull half-year corporate filings vs. quarterly…

Tradeweb Adds Options RFQ Functionality; Volcker Rule Revision Update Standard

Observations & Insight Thursday’s Grab Bag Spencer Doar – JLN Remember how that LJM fund went kaput in epic fashion in February? Remember how the gargantuan loss prompted a whole bunch of investor lawsuits? Well, here’s the update: the lead plaintiffs need to file their class action complaint today. (As of publishing time, it does not appear available.) The defendants need to respond to that complaint by October 1. If defendants move to dismiss, then the ball is back in the plaintiffs’ court to respond by November 5. The OCC will be performing system maintenance on Sunday – MyOCC and…

July Options Market Quality Best in 5 Years; Cboe delays FLEX rule Standard

Observations & Insight Significant short-term market impact to no-deal Brexit – Hunt Gederts Gelzis – Reuters The short-term market impact will be significant if Britain leaves the European Union without a deal, Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt said during a visit to Latvia on Wednesday. /reut.rs/2PbRigX ****SD: Not that this isn’t important to note, but I wouldn’t have this as high up if it weren’t for the great picture of Jeremy Hunt that accompanies the story. Lead Stories July Options Market Quality Best in Almost 5 Years TABB Forum Options LiquidityMatrix The average bid/ask spread in July narrowed, from 0.26 in…

Controversial US derivatives rules resurface; Options transparency problems Standard

Observations & Insight Tuesday’s Miscellany Spencer Doar – JLN Via Jim Kharouf – Longtime options industry executive Kevin Murphy has written a new book, The Three Rooms, which focuses on helping increase awareness of your own thoughts and emotions. Can’t wait to read it. E*TRADE reported its July activity. DARTs were down 8 percent from June but up 20 percent from a year ago. Derivatives represented 34 percent of DARTs. A PowerPoint presentation from the CAT NMS, LLC Operating Committee covering recent Consolidated Audit Trail updates can be found here. Employee stock options are not normal fodder for this newsletter,…

OCC’s move to ‘Cover 2’ won’t cost members more, CRO says Standard

Observations & Insight The Spread – 8/10 – Pump up the Vol(ume) JohnLothianNews.com In this week’s recap of happenings in the options world we delve into some confusing terms, Spinal Tap and Recep Erdogan’s plight. Watch the video and see the stories referenced here » ++++ Turkey’s Collapse Sinks Emerging Markets on ‘Manic Monday’ Rita Nazareth and Ben Bartenstein – Bloomberg (SUBSCRIPTION) Turkish measures could be too little, too late, analysts say; Argentine century bond yield surges to 10% as peso tumbles Turkey’s market carnage rippled across emerging markets, sending both stocks and currencies toward their lowest levels in a…

US Options Volume on Pace for Record Year; Canadian Pension Fund Leverage Standard

Lead Stories US Options Volume on Pace for Record Year Despite Drop Off, Lower Volatility in Q2 Russell Rhoads – TABB Forum (Free Subscription w/ Registration) US options volume remains on track for a record year, despite a volume drop off from the first quarter to Q2 2018. Volatility was lower compared to Q1, but still was elevated relative to the past couple of years. Average bid/ask spreads narrowed from month to month, with June posting the narrowest spreads in 2018. TABB Group’s exclusive US Options Market Review examines market trends in US-listed options markets, including detailed insight into volume…

Brexit, Brexit, Brexit, plus, Legacy Hedging Problems Standard

Lead Stories How Oil Producers Can Go Broke When The Price Of Oil Soars Ed Hirs – Forbes It is earnings season, and oil producers are not all putting out good earnings reports, despite a rise in the price of West Texas Intermediate (WTI) from $40 per barrel just two years ago to $70 per barrel today. You would think that companies that barely survived two years ago would now be flush with earnings, but for some companies, the opposite is true, as financial contracts from a year or so ago are now coming back to bite. /jlne.ws/2MybLuE ****SD: You…

Trader’s Pile Into Bullish Bets; Tesla options action; Summer vol Standard

Observations & Insight Wednesday’s Miscellany JLN Staff MLex has a (paywalled) story titled CFTC’s Giancarlo cites threat from China futures markets in bid for more money. Obviously it is a futures story, but I see it as indicative of the overall “threat” posed by the ongoing development of Chinese derivatives markets. Check out this Bloomberg/Saxo Bank chart of yuan denominated oil futures trading and you’ll see why Giancarlo said what he did. (Besides, the usual rhetoric about needing money to protect investors hasn’t worked for the CFTC’s budget so maybe some fear-mongering will.) Also see this Reuters story from May…

Traders to get VIX advisory notices; Exchange stats; More liquidity concerns Standard

Observations & Insight Joe O’Neill, New York Commodity Exchange(s) Executive, Passes Away By John Lothian Longtime New York commodity exchange executive Joe O’Neill passed away on August 4, 2018 at the age of 74. This plain statement tells little of a life lived in the most colorful of times in New York commodity exchange history or a career that included launching the first financial futures (before CME/IMM by 2 years), the creation of the Dollar Index Contract (with the help of Paul Tudor Jones) and being the consultant for the futures trading aspects of the script of the hit movie…