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Category Archives: Options

Options news updates from John Lothian News.

No, Not the VIX – the VSTOXX Standard

Even your dog has heard of the VIX, the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s benchmark volatility index, but the VSTOXX, the benchmark for volatility in European stocks, is less of a household name in the U.S. Eurex has been trying to change that by adding more and more functionality to their VSTOXX products, starting out with spot prices and futures contracts on the index and then more recently moving into options on futures and ETNs. Yesterday, Eurex and Rival teamed up for a meetup in Chicago at a popular Randolph Street restaurant to share the latest about VSTOXX and  Rival Systems’…

Big FX bets bunched around Jackson Hole meeting; Options trader gets 1.5 years in prison; VIX Options Volume Record Standard

Observations & Insight No, Not the VIX – the VSTOXX Sarah Rudolph – JLN Even your dog has heard of the VIX, the Chicago Board Options Exchange‘s benchmark volatility index, but the VSTOXX, the benchmark for volatility in European stocks, is less of a household name in the U.S. Eurex has been trying to change that by adding more and more functionality to their VSTOXX products, starting out with spot prices and futures contracts on the index and then more recently moving into options on futures and ETNs. Yesterday, Eurex and Rival teamed up for a meetup in Chicago at…

DRW to Buy HFTer RGM; Tabb Options LiquidityMatrix; Investors remain bearish on volatility Standard

Observations & Insight Why You Should Bet Your Career on Chicago FinTech – Michael Kraines Education.MarketsWiki.com “Twenty years ago it was about consolidation. It was about exchanges being smashed together and brokerages being smashed together. Now it’s going to be about technology being added to these traditional, old school businesses.” In this video from MarketsWiki Education’s World of Opportunity event in Chicago, Michael Kraines, chief financial officer and chief commercial officer of Trading Technologies, discusses the growing Chicago fintech landscape and why the field can be a solid career choice. Kraines points out investment in Chicago fintech in the first…

Plummeting Volatility Gauges Mask Lingering Fears in Options; Some Soros Fund holdings may profit if stocks fall – SEC filings; Massachusetts regulator investigates trade order ‘kickbacks’ Standard

Lead Stories Plummeting Volatility Gauges Mask Lingering Fears in Options Luke Kawa – Bloomberg The sharp drop in volatility may hide the extent to which U.S. stock market fears still persist. So says Macro Risk Advisors head of derivatives strategy Pravit Chintawongvanich, who has zeroed in on September VIX call options with a strike price of 20 to show that there are still concerns about a sharp selloff in the near future. jlne.ws/2w6J83j ***JB: Bloomberg chart suggesting something similar. Some Soros Fund holdings may profit if stocks fall: SEC filings Trevor Hunnicut – Reuters Soros Fund Management LLC, whose billionaire…

Mystery trader ’50 Cent’ made $21 million from stock market meltdown Standard

Observations & Insight Change the Game – Tom Sosnoff Education.MarketsWiki.com “The U.S markets are the global hub of liquidity. That’s why they’re so wonderful. So when you get truly liquid markets, you have very accurate expected value.” In this video from MarketsWiki Education’s World of Opportunity event in Chicago, Tom Sosnoff, co-CEO of tastytrade, maps out the importance of decision making. Trading is one of the few industries where you have the ability to make an unlimited number of decisions with both emotional and monetary outcomes. Sosnoff says the most important thing you can do as a recent graduate is…

VIX’s Highest Close Since Election Sparks Record Rush to Protect; Investors ponder further shocks after North Korea jolt Standard

Observations & Insight Seeking Opportunity Everywhere in the Market – JJ Kinahan Education.MarketsWiki.com “The greatest expression I’ve ever heard is, ‘The harder I work, the more opportunity I get.’” In this video from MarketsWiki Education’s World of Opportunity event in New York, JJ Kinahan, managing director and chief market strategist at TD Ameritrade, talks about seizing opportunity in every corner of the markets. Kinahan grew up in a large Irish-American family, and figured he would become a carpenter or an electrician. Instead, he landed a job at the CBOE one summer and never looked back. Kinahan says in the early…

Vela vs. Trading Technologies; Witching days not so scary; OCC to work with SEC Standard

Lead Stories Trading Technologies International sues Vela Trading Technologies over trademark infringement Maria Nikolova – FinanceFeeds Trading Technologies International accuses Vela Trading Technologies of infringement of its registered trademarks, including TRADING TECHNOLOGIES and TT. jlne.ws/2vSNk6B ****SD: The recent acquisitions of OptionsCity and Object Trading by Vela were the tipping point. TT’s general counsel is Mike Ryan. Filing attorneys for TT are from Pattishall, McAuliffe, Newbury, Hilliard & Geraldson, a widely recognized law firm focused on intellectual property. One of the attorneys on the filing, Paul Borovay, has a random tidbit on his bio page – “Before returning to law school,…

SEC “Abdicated Responsibility” Regarding OCC Capital Plan; tastytrade buys Seed Futures; Gundlach’s Options Bet Standard

Observations & Insight Seed Futures Acquired by tastytrade GlobeNewswire Seed Futures LLC (“Seed Futures”) today announced that its business has been acquired by dough, Inc. (d/b/a tastytrade). jlne.ws/2vPldoL ****SD: This is a development worth following. The tastytrade/dough team and their new(ish) brokerage tastyworks continue to disrupt business. Seed Futures is a subsidiary of Seed CX, the SEF started two years ago (SEF designation came in August 2016) to initially trade forwards and options on industrial hemp products. Geared to all “emerging commodities,” as they phrase it, the exchange now has tradeable products like Hass avocados, organic soybeans and Persian limes….

Will Options Trading Bring Institutional Investors to Bitcoin?; Nevermind the VIX – Stock Volatility Is Rising in Subtle Ways; Volatility Gauges Tumble to New Lows Amid Complacency Fears Standard

Observations & Insight Learning to live with low vol Jean Boivin and Ed Fishwick – BlackRock Investment Institute Digging into U.S. equity volatility patterns dating back more than a century, we find low market vol can last for years and tends to overlap with subdued macroeconomic vol. Combined with our view that the U.S. economic cycle has room to turn, we believe this environment helps foster risk-taking. jlne.ws/2vLZiij ****SD: I missed this when it came out at the end of July. Here is a link to the full PDF – the above is a synopsis. From the report: “Running a…