| | | | | | | March 14, 2025 | | | |  | Jeff Bergstrom
Editor
John Lothian News | |
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| | | | Lead Stories | | | How options markets and leveraged ETFs could be driving Friday's stock-market rebound
Joseph Adinolfi - MarketWatch
Trading volume in options markets has grown so large that shifts in positioning can often have a spillover effect on stocks.
According to two high-profile market strategists, shifting positioning in options markets and leveraged exchange-traded funds could be helping to fuel Friday's stock-market rebound.
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Volatility's Next Act: Could Recession Fears Finally Push the VIX Through 40?
Andrew Prochnow - tastylive
With market volatility surging this month, the Cboe Volatility Index (VIX) is back in the spotlight, climbing to levels not seen in months. What's behind the surge? A growing sense of uncertainty, fueled by shifting U.S. government policies, an intensifying trade war and mounting concern over a potential recession.
Investors are beginning to realize the relative calm of the past few years may be coming to an end. Today, we examine the latest jump in market volatility and consider what could finally push the VIX back above 40-something that hasn't happened in nearly five years.
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Investors should take stock of the shift in volatility; Dispersion in the performance of companies is increasing relative to broader moves in indices
Paul Britton - Financial Times
It was only a matter of time before mixed signals on policy in the US would translate into higher volatility. When trade tariffs are on, then off, then on again, for example, markets have to adjust to the odd reality we're living in. The Vix - an indicator of investor expectations of volatility in the S&P index - has risen sharply since mid-February. Given the risks of a systematic dismantling of trust between nations, index volatility might have risen even more. Some market participants active in trading volatility have long been anticipating such a shift - particularly given that the dispersion of individual stock moves, the hidden underbelly of index volatility, had been intensifying. The performance of the Magnificent Seven tech companies that dominate the US stock market and other big companies had disguised a broader divergence among stocks.
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It's Counterintuitive, But the Market Fear Gauge Is Falling
Brian Swint - Barron's
Stocks may have taken a big tumble Thursday and be headed back on Friday. Nevertheless, the market's fear gauge has been settling down over the past few days.
The Cboe Volatility Index, also known as the VIX, was down slightly at 24.03 early Friday. It's been retreating since climbing above 27 on Tuesday, the highest level so far this year. Usually any reading above 20 is considered more volatile than normal.
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Wall Street Goes All In on Great Crypto Comeback Fueled by Trump
Katherine Doherty - Bloomberg
It was only three years ago that a dispute between an infamous crypto billionaire and a titan of the financial establishment became the center of attention at an annual event known as the Davos of the derivatives market. The dust up between FTX founder Sam Bankman-Fried and Terry Duffy, the boss of the US's largest futures and options exchange, was emblematic of Wall Street's skepticism then about a new generation promoting digital assets and the crypto bigwig's plans to change the way derivatives trade. But that was then. This year, as executives from the world's largest exchanges and trading firms prepared to head to the Futures Industry Conference in the crypto hotbed of Florida, President Donald Trump announced he was creating a strategic Bitcoin reserve - a move that's symbolic, but one that effectively entrenches the legitimacy of digital assets as mainstream financial instruments.
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Hedge Fund Short Seller Clark Ends Retirement to Trade Chaos
Nishant Kumar - Bloomberg
Short seller Russell Clark, who had surrendered to a raging bull market about three years ago, is ending his retirement to start a hedge fund again, hoping to profit from the market chaos sparked by Trump's re-election. London-based Clark is in talks with investors to raise capital for his hedge fund that will trade stocks and bonds based on his macro views of the world. He is setting up Brumby Capital, named after a breed of wild Australian horse, and expects to start trading as soon as next month, Clark said in an interview.
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| | | | | | Exchanges | | | MEMX Receives Regulatory Approval for MX2, its Second Exchange Medallion; The Approval of MX2 Underscores MEMX's Commitment to Meeting the Needs of Market
MEMX
MEMX, a technology-driven exchange operator founded by members to benefit all investors, today announced it has received regulatory approval for its second exchange medallion, MX2. This milestone marks a significant step in the company's continued commitment to providing innovative trading solutions to all market participants. As a result of this approval, MEMX now has rules in place to govern trading on a second equities exchange. MEMX is actively working with market participants to determine the optimal launch date for MX2 Equities and will announce exact timing at a future date. Additionally, MEMX intends to submit a rule filing to govern trading options utilizing a pro-rata model. This filing will support the expansion of MEMX exchange operations and the build out of the MX2 Options platform, which is targeted to launch in the first half of 2026.
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| | | | | | Regulation & Enforcement | | | No, no, no, and no: Overnight trading fails in SIP votes; The CTA and UTP operating committees voted yesterday on proposals from US exchanges to expand their trading hours and could not reach unanimous consensus.
Nyela Graham - Waters Technology
The securities information processors (SIPs) committees, made up of the Consolidated Tape Association (CTA) and Unlisted Trading Privileges (UTP) Plan, voted yesterday morning on whether to approve four proposals for extended trading hours from 24X National Exchange, Nasdaq, CBOE, and the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). None of the proposals reached unanimous consensus, according to multiple sources with knowledge of the vote, effectively halting efforts to expand exchanges' trading hours. Unanimous consensus is required for all SIP votes, and just one vote against can stall a proposal from moving forward. Sources with knowledge of the voting tell WatersTechnology that NYSE and Nasdaq voted against each other's proposals. Representatives for Nasdaq, CBOE, NYSE, 24X, either declined to comment or did not respond in time for publication. A spokesperson for the SIPs collective also declined to comment.
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High-speed trader urges regulator to clamp down on 'unfair' Eurex trading loophole; Exchange says allegations 'unfounded' and concerns have been 'repeatedly reviewed'
Nikou Asgari - Financial Times
A French high-speed trading firm has urged Europe's top markets regulator to close what it says is a loophole at futures exchange Eurex that gives some traders an "unfair" advantage. Paris-based Mosaic Finance, which specialises in trading derivatives, has called on the European Securities and Markets Authority to end a "significant" flaw in the German exchange's systems that it claims has existed for three years and allows some traders to break the exchange's rules.
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| | | | | | Strategy | | | Beyond 60/40: Using Options-Based Strategies in Portfolios
Mandy Xu - Cboe
Options-based strategies have seen impressive growth in recent years, whether it's through ETFs, mutual funds, or separately managed accounts (SMAs). Total AUM in "derivative income" funds have jumped 8x since 2019, from $20bn to now over $160bn while total AUM in "defined outcome" funds have grown 20x from $3bn to $60bn.
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| | | | | | Miscellaneous | | | Hiltzik: Are White House insiders using Trump's tariff announcements to play the stock market? It's not that simple
Michael Hiltzik - LA Times
In what may be a sign of the times, and not an especially healthy one, my readers and friends recently have been filling my email inbox with questions about whether Donald Trump and White House insiders have been manipulating the stock market with his vacillating announcements about tariffs and the economy. Speculation along those lines broke into the open Tuesday when Fox News reporter Peter Doocy referred to the overall slide in the stock market since President Trump's inauguration and asked White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt, "You're sure nobody here at the White House shorted the Dow?"
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****** Doing your job in The White House and trading Dow Jones futures would be very difficult to do and Mr. Market would get them in the end if they were so bold to try.~JJL
How much does cryptocrime pay? Long 'pig butchering', short ransomware was the trade of 2024
Toby Nangle - Financial Times
Crime is not the only use case for crypto. But reading the 2025 Chainalysis Crypto Crime Report, it appears to be one that is booming.As its authors note, crime existed before the advent of cryptocurrencies. However: Historically, tracing these financial relationships required infiltrating closed networks, navigating opaque banking systems, or relying on siloed intelligence. Now, blockchain transactions provide a clear record of payments between cartel-linked wallets and international suppliers, revealing not just individual transactions, but the broader financial infrastructure that sustains this fatal trade.
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| | | Jeff Bergstrom
Editor
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