 | August 20, 2021 | | | |  | Jeff Bergstrom
Editor
John Lothian News | |
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| | | | Observations & Insight | | | Buy the Sharks, Sell the Bait
John Lothian - John Lothian News
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.
The premise of my 2014 story was that the premium in the CBOE's stock at the time reflected a takeover premium. The CBOE had a new, inexperienced CEO (hello Ed!) running the company who could easily be moved aside by a deal. However, I warned that the CME had better act fast so that the CEO could get his feet wet and lead the CBOE to become a shark rather than bait.
Well, Ed Tilly and Cboe Global Markets have become sharks. And he has a school of aggressive, flesh-eating, highly-competitive colleagues working behind him at Cboe on his staff. And they keep adding to that team and depth of bench and brainpower with each new deal they close.
Read more HERE.
| | | | | | Lead Stories | | | Analysts say CME-Cboe deal 'still possible' after proposal is denied; The options exchange altered its 'change in control' clauses in February to compensate executives in case of takeover
Philip Stafford in London and James Fontanella-Khan - FT
Analysts expect CME Group may still bid for Cboe Global Markets despite a statement that the exchange has not held talks with its fellow Chicago rival. The Financial Times reported on Wednesday that CME had approached Cboe about a potential $16bn takeover. CME later responded to the report saying it was not "in conversations" and had "not had any discussions". Cboe declined to comment.
/on.ft.com/3mhUlqM
Bearish Bets on Stocks Outside the U.S. Emerge Timed to Fed
Joanna Ossinger - Bloomberg
Some investors appear to be hedging against a slump in stocks outside the U.S., given prospects for a potential stronger dollar should the Federal Reserve announce plans to taper stimulus at its September meeting.
New bearish bets with Sept. 24 expiries are evident on the iShares MSCI EAFE (ticker EFA) and iShares MSCI Emerging Markets (ticker EEM) ETFs. The trades appear to be targeting the September FOMC meeting, according to Susquehanna derivatives strategist Chris Murphy.
/bloom.bg/3ke8lPE
Robinhood Is Running Out of Investment Manias to Ride
Avi Salzman - Barron's
Robinhood Markets has repeatedly said that its users are becoming the kind of prudent investors who buy and hold stocks. But so far the company's growth has been fueled by frenzies, with wild cryptocurrency trading dominating the second quarter results that the broker released on Wednesday. Options and crypto are a much more important part of Robinhood's business model than stocks, and it is not clear if that will change in the months ahead.
/bit.ly/3B0CZCP
Charles Schwab survey sees 'astounding' influx of new traders, finds tech top pick in reopening
Christine Idzelis - MarketWatch
A surge of new traders entered the market during the pandemic, with many feeling bullish about U.S. stocks in the second half of 2021, a new Charles Schwab survey found.
"We've seen such an influx of new traders in the last year and a half," Barry Metzger, head of trading and education at Charles Schwab, said Thursday during a call with media on the firm's latest active trader pulse survey. "It's really astounding."
/on.mktw.net/3y72ReB
What's Scaring Traders? Depends on Who You Ask
Vildana Hajric - Bloomberg (Video)
With the S&P 500 Index dropping as much as 0.7% Thursday, putting it on course for its worst three-day drop in a month, investors had a plethora of explanations to review, ranging from concern over Federal Reserve tapering to a resurgent virus to worries about the supply chain and volatility born of the expiration of equity options. Vildana Hajric is on Quicktake "Take Stock."
/bloom.bg/3krZMRJ
August is usually volatile for the market, but the Fed is a wild card and could agitate things further
Bob Pisani - CNBC
The markets: It's August, but it's also Covid. Normal August trading flows are being greatly complicated by the delta variant.
A third but still important complication â increasingly authoritarian action in China is causing some to reprice China's demand for commodities, and the valuation of its entire market.
/cnb.cx/3APMHbk
| | | | | | Exchanges | | | Cboe Global Markets Declares Increased Third-Quarter 2021 Dividend
Cboe Global Markets
Quarterly cash dividend increased 14 percent to $0.48 per share
11th consecutive year Cboe has increased its dividend
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), a leading provider of global market infrastructure and tradable products, today announced its Board of Directors has declared an increased quarterly cash dividend of $0.48 per share of common stock for the third quarter of 2021, representing a 14 percent increase from the prior quarter's dividend of $0.42 per share.
/bit.ly/3CWKNaC
Nasdaq Announces Launch of Three New Indexes Effective Monday, August 23, 2021
Nasdaq
What you need to know:
Effective Monday, August 23, 2021, Nasdaq will begin disseminating the following new indexes on the Nasdaq Global Index Data ServiceSM (GIDS).
What are the new Indexes?
The Nasdaq-100 Quarterly Collar 95-110 Index tracks the performance of a systematic rolling collar options strategy. At any point in time the strategy references the Nasdaq 100 Total Return Index, long put options and short call options on the Nasdaq 100 Index, which form a collar exposure, and a collateral account. The options are notionally held to expiry, and new long put and short call options are notionally entered into on the same day. The put options are selected to be 5% out-of-the-money and call options are selected to 10% out-of-the-money.
/bit.ly/3ghDr7O
HKEX to Launch Derivatives Product on New MSCI China A 50 Connect Index
HKEX via Markets Insider
Key step in HKEX's plans to build offshore Mainland China equities derivatives suite in Hong Kong
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEX) today is pleased to announce the launch of its first A-share derivatives product. This new contract will provide international investors with a new and effective risk management tool to manage their portfolios of Stock Connect eligible A-shares, reflecting the increasing global reliance on Stock Connect to access Mainland China's burgeoning equity markets.
/bit.ly/2WboLA2
Moscow Exchange Announces Results For The Second Quarter Of 2021
MOEX via MondoVisione
Moscow Exchange (MOEX) today announces its financial results in accordance with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for Q2 2021. Record fee income from the Money Market as well as strong performance by Depository & Settlement Services and the Derivatives Market helped MOEX sustain solid double-digit growth of F&C income and approach the all-time high quarterly fee income.
Unless stated otherwise, all figures below refer to performance in Q2 2021 and all comparisons are with the corresponding period last year.
/bit.ly/3y4f7MX
Yet another freak trade in NSE derivatives segment
Palak Shah - The Hindu Business Line
3rd incident since July; frequency more than just a coincidence: Brokers
Price manipulators in the derivative segment seem to be having a field day with incidents of unusual or freak trades in the equity futures and options becoming more frequent on the National Stock Exchange. On Friday, derivative traders witnessed a sharp spike in some options contracts on the NSE.
/bit.ly/2UADlkh
| | | | | | Regulation & Enforcement | | | CFTC Commissioner Quintenz to Step Down; Departure will leave Democrats with a 2-1 majority on the commission
Paul Kiernan - WSJ
Democrats are set to gain control over the nation's derivatives-market regulator after one of the two Republicans on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission departs at the end of this month.
/on.wsj.com/3y6twbr
Statement of Commissioner Brian D. Quintenz on the End of His Term and Future Plans
CFTC
I am deeply honored to have served as a Commissioner of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission over the last four years. My statutory term expired in April of 2020. At that point, I announced I would not seek re-nomination to another five-year term. I originally anticipated stepping down from my role by either October-end of last year or once my replacement had been confirmed. Without a successfully appointed replacement, I decided to remain in my role this year to ensure my voice was heard as important derivatives market and financial innovation issues were raised during the administration's transition.
/bit.ly/3z5Crv8
SGX-ST Listings Disciplinary Committee reprimands Astaka Holdings Limited, its present Executive Director and former CEO Zamani Bin Kasim, and its former CFO Lee Shih Yi
SGX
Public Reprimand: Breaches of Listing Rules
1. The SGX-ST Listings Disciplinary Committee (the "LDC") reprimands Astaka Holdings Limited (the "Company") for breaching Catalist Rule 703(1)(a) by failing to promptly disclose its wholly-owned indirect subsidiary's receipt of a letter of demand dated 11 July 2019, a piece of material information known to the Company which was necessary to avoid the establishment of a false market in the Company's securities.
/bit.ly/3sGRUiL
| | | | | | Moves | | | Mysterious disappearance of top options trader despite big award
Sarah Butcher - efinancialcareers
If your team wins an award as the top player in its space, you might presume that your job will be safe. A disappearance at BNP Paribas suggests it doesn't necessarily work this way.
Baris Temelkuran, the global head of FX Options trading at BNP Paribas is no longer with the bank. BNP isn't commenting on his disappearance, but sources suggest that Baris - who is also known as "Chico" - left around a month ago and that his exit may not have been entirely voluntary.
/bit.ly/3D6lBys
| | | | | | Strategy | | | A Fed Policy Shift Could Be Near. Buying Bank Stocks Looks Like a Good Strategy.
Steven M. Sears - Barron's
If fairy tales were made into parables about investing, the boy who cried wolf would run a tail-risk fund.
To protect his stocks, the vigilant boy would perpetually buy bearish options contracts in anticipation that stock prices would fall. He would now be very busy, as many ominous events are bounding across the world's stage.
/bit.ly/2W4mCGU
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| | | Jeff Bergstrom
Editor
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