| March 15, 2024 | | | |  | Jeff Bergstrom
Editor
John Lothian News | |
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| | | | Lead Stories | | | Frenzy Over AI and Nvidia Turbocharges the Options Market
Gunjan Banerji - The Wall Street Journal
The artificial-intelligence trade is taking over the options market. Traders are doubling down on the market's 2024 stars, sending broader activity in the market for stock options to some of the highest levels ever. Options trades tied to semiconductor stocks made up 42% of activity pegged to S&P 500 companies in February, according to Goldman Sachs. That includes stocks such as Nvidia, Advanced Micro Devices and Micron Technology. The heavy trading has continued in recent weeks ahead of Nvidia's widely anticipated technology conference.
/jlne.ws/4abBNOI
S&P 500 Falls Amid $5.3 Trillion 'Triple Witching'; Big pile of options expiring on Friday boosts trading volume
Rita Nazareth - Bloomberg
The stock market fell as tech sold off and a pile of options expiring Friday threatened to trigger sudden price swings.
/jlne.ws/4cll3X5
Bitcoin Extends Retreat From Record as 'Bubble' Talk Escalates; Digital token dropped back as global risk sentiment wobbled
Sunil Jagtiani and Sidhartha Shukla - Bloomberg
Bitcoin extended a retreat from its latest record high amid an intensifying debate about whether the bull run in cryptocurrencies is evidence of speculative froth in global markets.
The largest digital asset dropped as much as 7.2% on Friday before paring some of the slide to change hands at $67,725 as of 7:57 a.m. in New York. The token set a fresh all-time peak of almost $73,798 a day earlier.
Volatile bitcoin falls from record high as crypto frenzy hits pause
Reuters
Bitcoin eased to a one-week low in volatile trade on Friday, as investors took profit from its run to a record high and as another upside surprise on U.S. inflation dimmed prospects of early rate cuts there and dented demand for riskier assets.
/jlne.ws/3vbRyXc
| | | | | | Exchanges | | | Investing in Women Pays Dividends
Catherine Clay - Cboe
I began my career as a clerk on the NYSE Arca trading floor, where I was one of the few women in a sea of thousands of loud men. When I became a trader, I knew I needed to make my voice heard if I wanted to succeed, and I worried that I wouldn't be able to out-shout my fellow traders. What I quickly realized, however, was that my voice was far different from all the men's voices, and it helped me stand out. I still needed to be loud, I still needed to know what I was doing and be good at my job, but by bringing something different to the table, I could capitalize on my unique strengths and deliver.
/jlne.ws/3vksBsr
| | | | | | Regulation & Enforcement | | | Federal Court Orders Binary Options Firm and Owners to Pay Over $204 Million in Monetary Sanctions for Fraudulent Binary Options Scheme
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission today announced the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Texas entered an order of final judgment against Jonathan Cartu, Leeav Peretz, Nati Peretz, all believed to be residents of Israel, and Blue Moon Investments Inc., a Seychelles corporation. The order finds them liable for offering illegal, off-exchange binary options and committing fraud in connection with the illegal offering. This resolves the CFTC's September 2, 2020 case against the defendants. [See CFTC Press Release No. 8231-20]
/jlne.ws/3PomWIN
Hedge Funds, PE Firms Aim to Temper SEC's WhatsApp Probe
Austin Weinstein, Tom Schoenberg and Dawn Lim - Bloomberg
Top hedge funds and private equity firms including Citadel, KKR & Co. and Blackstone Inc. are discussing ways to blunt any fallout from the Securities and Exchange Commission's crackdown on the financial industry's use of disappearing messaging apps. With the regulator stepping up efforts to police Wall Street's electronic communications, some of the firms have held talks on a legal approach and what potential settlements could look like, according to people familiar with the discussions. The goal is to minimize any fines and ensure that if they reach a settlement, no firm is singled out for a harsher penalty, said the people, who weren't authorized to speak publicly.
/jlne.ws/3TfpzOl
| | | | | | Strategy | | | US equity funds draw record inflow as investors bet on soft landing; Fund managers turn to tech stocks after fears over lingering inflation recede
Stephanie Stacey - Financial Times
Investors poured a record amount into US equity funds last week, snapping up technology stocks and shrugging off concerns over sticky inflation.
US equity funds drew $56bn of funds in the week to March 13 â more than the previous peak of $53bn set in March 2021, Barclays said on Friday, citing data from fund tracker EPFR Global.
/jlne.ws/3wPra5K
Gold Options Look Up
Tom Preston - tastylive
Last week, GLD, the ETF that tracks the price of gold, hit its highest price in over 20 years. The prospect of falling interest rates was pushing GLD higher, but it retreated a bit this week as inflation and rates ticked back up.
The probability that the Fed will keep rates unchanged over the next few Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings has risen, and that could keep GLD from falling too far.
/jlne.ws/3x6GdrK
Rotation
Cboe (Video)
Dan Deming @Djd551 covers activity in the volatility ecosystem - realized & implied vol, $VIX futures roll market and active #VIX options all get a look in today's #Vol411.
/jlne.ws/3vksSLZ
| | | | | | Miscellaneous | | | Phony Billionaires on Facebook Are Scamming Americans Out of Their Life Savings; A fake Bill Ackman, a bogus Cathie Wood and a false Steve Cohen are among the impersonators luring victims on social media, and their real-life counterparts can't keep up. 'It's like a game of whack-a-mole.'
Randall Smith - The Wall Street Journal
Bill Ackman is fighting a losing battle against Bill Ackman. Impostors posing as the billionaire hedge-fund manager on Facebook keep luring hapless investors into stock-market scams-and the real Ackman has been powerless to stop them. Ackman's Pershing Square Capital Management has found more than 90 different ads impersonating him. Many of the ads remained visible for weeks after the company flagged them to Facebook, spokesman Fran McGill said. One ad promised annual returns of 125%, another a 25% return in a week and told victims to "hold these three stocks and you'll be a millionaire."
/jlne.ws/43gHOaL
***** I fell for a fake Katie Greifeld Twitter account the other day. I followed it back after it followed me. Katie and I had recently connected on LinkedIn, so it made sense, but then she was already following me and the Twitter handle was just a "_" difference from hers. Once the account laid the bait, I was gone.~JJL
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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. | | | | | | | John Lothian News Editorial Staff: | | | John Lothian
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Editor-in-Chief
| | | Jeff Bergstrom
Editor
| | | Asma Awass
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