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JLN Options
July 03, 2018  
 
Spencer Doar
Editor
John Lothian News
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Observations & Insight
 
OCC Cleared Contract Volume Up Six Percent in June
OCC
OCC, the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization, announced today that total cleared contract volume in June reached 409,115,041 contracts, up six percent compared to June 2017 volume of 387,597,223. OCC's year-to-date average daily cleared contract volume is up 22 percent with 21,012,628 contracts compared to 17,174,603 contracts in 2017.
/jlne.ws/2z6bg8U

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June 2018 Options Exchange Marketshare via OCC
(Click for larger image)
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July 4: Which markets are closed?
Leia Klingel - Fox Business
July 4 falls midweek this year, which means trading volumes could be lower than usual for the entire week.
/goo.gl/ugAqez

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Happy Fourth of July Eve and Other Miscellany

It was a short day as markets closed early.

As you might expect, there will be no JLN Options newsletter (or morning JLN newsletter) tomorrow, July 4. We will resume on July 5.

John has a story out about Nasdaq's new basis point value futures.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission found that approximately 80 percent of binary options traders, 72 percent of CFD traders and 63 percent of margin FX traders are unprofitable. Hah! I actually thought those numbers would be higher.

 
 
Lead Stories
 
Wall Street's fear gauge exploded and opened the floodgates, and now traders are getting poached left and right
Alex Morrell - Business Insider Prime (SUBSCRIPTION)
Equity derivatives traders have become the focus of an intense Wall Street hiring battleground.
There've been more 40 moves at the vice president level or higher in equity derivatives in the US this year, according to one headhunter.
Multiple factors are driving the trend, but the catalyst that opened the floodgates was the blow up of the CBOE Volatility Index, known as the VIX, earlier this year, according to industry insiders.
/goo.gl/gQJ7sM

****SD: "'It's been nonstop. It's incredibly active,' said Dave McCormack, the founder and CEO of New York-based executive search firm DMC Partners." Also, guess who Goldman just hired? Barclays' former head of European rates and options trading.

Barclays Currency Trader Loses Bid to Toss Fraud Case
Joel Rosenblatt - Bloomberg
A Barclays Plc foreign exchange trader must face criminal charges he manipulated currency option markets to enrich the bank at the expense of its client, Hewlett-Packard Co.
U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer in San Francisco rejected Robert Bogucki's bid to dismiss claims that he deliberately depressed the volatility, and thus the value, of Hewlett-Packard's options.
/goo.gl/rASrBC

CAT Reporting Slated for Late 2019
Rob Daly - MarketsMedia
The US cash equities and options markets should not expect to start reporting trades to the consolidated audit trail until November 2019, noted officials from The Consolidated Audit Trail NMS during an industry conference call.
/jlne.ws/2ILjtyE

 
 
Exchanges and Clearing
 
Amsterdam adds to exchange Brexit spoils with Cboe, LSE wins
Simon Jessop, Carolyn Cohn and Huw Jones - Reuters
Two of the world's top exchanges, Chicago's Cboe Global Markets (CBOE.O) and the London Stock Exchange Group (LSE.L) will open European Union stock trading venues in Amsterdam in time for Britain's departure from the bloc next March, adding to the Dutch city's Brexit spoils.
/jlne.ws/2IPkSV6

****SD: Cboe press release here.

CME Group Averaged 18.4 Million Contracts Per Day in Second Quarter of 2018, Up 12 Percent from Second Quarter of 2017
CME Group
CME Group reached average daily volume (ADV) of 18.4 million contracts during the second quarter of 2018, up 12 percent from the second quarter of 2017. June 2018 ADV reached 17.8 million contracts, up 8 percent from June 2017. Open interest at the end of June was 115 million contracts, an increase of 2 percent from the end of June 2017, and up 6 percent from year-end 2017.
/jlne.ws/2z8u1IO

Most CME ag block trades occur in nearby contracts -U.S. CFTC
Julie Ingwersen - Reuters
During the first three months in which the CME Group allowed privately negotiated "block trades" in agricultural futures and options, 75 percent of those trades occurred in highly liquid nearby contracts, the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission said in a report on Monday.
/goo.gl/Rhrw1f

CME pulls plug on illiquid EU wheat futures
Reuters via SuccessfulFarming
CME Group has closed its European Union wheat futures and options contracts after liquidity dried up in the derivatives which were launched in 2016 in a challenge to Euronext.
In a market notice late on Monday, CME said it was delisting the EU wheat futures and options with immediate effect, noting zero open interest for all listed contract months.
/jlne.ws/2KIOx41

 
 
Regulation & Enforcement
 
Global Derivatives Industry Adds Irish Courts as Brexit 'Future-Proof'
Reuters via NY Times
The global derivatives industry launched an Irish law version of its dispute resolution mechanism for trillions of euros of swaps contracts on Tuesday to "future-proof" users against the uncertainties presented by Brexit.
/goo.gl/R3D4i8

 
 
Education
 
Trading Earnings Season? Brush Up on Your Option Greeks
Kevin Hincks - TD Ameritrade
Seasons change, four times a year to be exact. As each year progresses, the smell of freshly cut grass fades into the crunch of freshly fallen leaves, and then the snow falls, and then...the cycle starts anew. No surprise there.
Also four times a year, companies report their quarterly earnings. But unlike spring, summer, fall and winter, earnings season can surprise. These earnings surprises can be positive or negative, and a stock's reaction can be moderate or extreme. Have you considered options strategies this season?
/jlne.ws/2IMoS8J

 
 
Miscellaneous
 
Interactive Brokers Group Reports Brokerage Metrics and Other Financial Information for June 2018, Includes Reg.-NMS Execution Statistics
Press Release
Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ GS: IBKR) an automated global electronic broker, today reported its Electronic Brokerage monthly performance metrics for June.
/jlne.ws/2IPD8xM

****SD: Average options order size was 7.9 contracts and average commission on an options order was $5.23.

Where Were You During the Great T-Bill Massacre of 2018?
Robert Burgess - Bloomberg
Nothing scares big investors more than the notion that the U.S. could hold a bond auction and nobody showed up. After all, Treasuries are the world's safest investment, backed by the full faith and credit of the U.S. The securities, especially Treasury bills, are as good as cash. But on Monday, investors — and the Treasury Department — got a whiff of what disaster could look like if investors decided U.S. debt wasn't worth the paper it was printed on.
/jlne.ws/2tM2x6L

 
 
 
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John Lothian News (JLN) is the news division of John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. (JJLCO). The online media and financial services firm is staffed by derivatives industry, journalism and technology professionals.
 
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John Lothian
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Spencer Doar
Editor
 


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