| April 24, 2024 | | | |  | Jeff Bergstrom
Editor
John Lothian News | |
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| | | | Observations & Insight | | | I am driving to the Options Conference, leaving Saturday morning for the drive to Asheville, NC, hoping to arrive on Monday morning. The conference runs mostly Tuesday and Wednesday, which is when we have our video interviews scheduled. Thursday is a tour of the Biltmore Estate as part of the conference. Others are golfing or going on an electric bicycle tour of beautiful Asheville. We will leave Friday morning to head to West Virginia, with videographer Robby Lothian along, to pick up his brother Tim. Then on Saturday morning, Kat Lothian graduates from the West Virginia Institute of Technology with a degree in Adventure Recreation Management. We will depart West Virginia on Sunday and be back in Illinois by Tuesday. ~JJL
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HKEx's Wilfred Yiu Emphasizes Strategy to Connect China With Global Markets at FIA Futures Conference
JohnLothianNews.com
Hong Kong Exchange and Clearing Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Co-Head of Markets, Co-Chief Operating Officer and Member of Management Committee Wilfred Yiu said its strategy is how to connect China with the rest of the world, noting China accounts for more than 30% of the world's growth. Yiu was interviewed by John Lothian News at the FIA International Futures Industry Conference in Boca Raton, FL as part of the JLN Industry Leader video series sponsored by Wedbush.
Watch the video »
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| | | | | | Lead Stories | | | Reluctant Traders Protect Themselves From Further Market Mayhem; Options buying shows demand is mostly for near-term hedging
Carly Wanna - Bloomberg
Stock market investors who have been reluctant to hedge their portfolios in the face of this year's gains are starting to reconsider that strategy.
Heightened geopolitical risks are stoking market fear as Middle East tensions intensify, while the realities of the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates higher for longer are starting to settle in, sending the S&P 500 Index down 3.2% for April and putting it on pace for its first monthly loss since October. The mounting uncertainties have traders buying put options that pay off if stocks keep tumbling.
/jlne.ws/3wfvpYj
Ex-Jane Street Trader Pillories Claims He Stole Trade Secrets; Douglas Schadewald defends himself after moving to Millennium; Allegedly secret strategy involves options trading in India
Robert Burnson - Bloomberg
A former Jane Street Group trader who moved to Millennium Management ridiculed his former employer's claims that he used its secret strategy to make a killing at his new job in India's options market. Responding to a lawsuit filed by Jane Street this month, Douglas Schadewald said it was "not only wrong, but impossible" that he and a fellow defector, Daniel Spottiswood, cost the company more than $150 million in profits between February and March when they went to work for rival Millennium. Labeling Jane Street's claim as "reckless speculation," Schadewald said the amount the duo brought in for Millennium through mid-April was about $4 million.
/jlne.ws/3xJpTxy
China Tells Brokers to Limit Exposure to 'Snowball' Derivatives; Clampdown on the high-yield products follows stock rout; Officials conveyed new guidance this week, people say
Bloomberg News
China is moving to curb "snowball" derivatives after brokers hiked returns to near-record levels to attract investors to the risky products following a stock-market selloff, according to people familiar with the matter. Officials this week told some of the biggest brokerages to suspend any increase in their net exposure to over-the-counter derivatives involving domestic A shares, including snowball products which are based on options contracts, said the people. While the restrictions are temporary, the regulators didn't indicate when they may be lifted or eased, the people said, asking not to be identified as the communications are private.
/jlne.ws/4dcNZB5
MetroTrade eyes opportunity in US retail futures broking
Luke Jeffs - FOW
The US futures brokerage market has been contracting for decades with that business becoming increasingly concentrated among fewer and fewer firms but there have been recently some signs of new entrants buoyed by higher interest rates and the opportunity of new technology. On the institutional side of the business, Clear Street launched this month a US equities and options clearing service while Hidden Road extended in January its offering to include futures and options through its US futures commission merchant (FCM).
/jlne.ws/4b84jBd
Hedge Funds Are Succumbing to Mind-Boggling Returns of Memecoins; Seen as the first cycle where funds are jumping into memes; Dogwifhat's rally attracts the attention of crypto hedge funds
Olga Kharif - Bloomberg
The hedge fund world appears to be finding the siren song of memecoins irresistible.
When Dogwifhat became the hottest token in crypto back in December, Newport Beach, California-based Stratos launched a liquid fund that held the token, whose mascot is, of course, a dog wearing a beanie. At one point, the token's price appreciated by more than 300 times, helping the fund post a 137% return in the first quarter, or more than double the gains seen overall in the crypto market. Dogwifhat is down more than 40% from its record high reached last month.
/jlne.ws/4d4miKV
| | | | | | Exchanges | | | CME Group's profit beats on rising US Treasuries-related derivatives demand
Jaiveer Shekhawat and Laura Matthews - Reuters
Exchange operator CME Group's first-quarter profit beat analyst expectations on Wednesday, helped by record growth in futures and options contracts tied to U.S. Treasuries as well as more trading activity in commodity markets.
While investors believe the chances of a soft landing, where inflation falls without a recession or big job losses, have improved over the past few months, the trajectory of interest rates continues to be uncertain.
/jlne.ws/3UxlUNA
HKEX 2024 First Quarter Results - Quarterly Results For The Three Months Ended 31 March 2024
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing
Bonnie Y CHAN, Chief Executive Officer said: HKEX demonstrated its strength and resilience in the first quarter of the year. Despite a fragile global backdrop, the Group's derivatives and commodities business performed strongly - the former achieving record quarterly volumes. Whilst the cash market reflected broader macro sentiment and remained soft, there was a notable uptick in Headline ADT in March and April, indicating growing investor confidence. The Connect programmes, including Northbound Stock Connect and Bond Connect, saw significant growth in trading volumes, with Bond Connect reaching a fresh record for the quarter.
/jlne.ws/3WkpLyG
FISL Preview: securities lending markets, routes, and structures set for 2024 shake-up
OCC
Ahead of the 2024 Finadium Investors in Securities Lending (FISL) conference, our Head of Securities Lending, Oberon "Obie" Knapp, sat down with Finadium to discuss key themes and areas of focus at the event.
/jlne.ws/49Q8nFq
| | | | | | Regulation & Enforcement | | | The FTC Comes for Noncompetes
Matt Levine - Bloomberg
Is there still gardening leave? Yesterday, the US Federal Trade Commission voted to ban employee noncompete agreements in the US.1 Future noncompetes are banned; existing noncompetes are enforceable only for senior executives.2 The rule goes into effect in six months, and there will definitely be lawsuits to block it.
/jlne.ws/3W9OCp7
FIA cautions CFTC on regulation of AI
FIA
FIA today responded to a request for comment from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission on the uses of artificial intelligence in derivatives markets.
FIA welcomed the CFTC's decision to seek feedback from the public before determining whether additional regulation is needed, and encouraged the agency to continue gathering information to help it better understand the current and potential uses for AI as well as the risks that may arise.
FIA urged the CFTC to take a "technology-neutral" approach and focus on "outcomes and use cases" rather than the technology itself.
/jlne.ws/4b4P244
| | | | | | Miscellaneous | | | TradeStation Cares Shined a Spotlight on Its Local Community During Financial Literacy Month; In April, TradeStation Cares emphasized the importance of diversity, equity and financial inclusion by participating in the Miami Film Festival, donating to the Miami Dade College Foundation and sponsoring the Florida Securities Dealers Association's Industry Outreach Program
TradeStation Group, Inc.
TradeStation Group, Inc. ("TradeStation"), a South Florida-based company whose subsidiary, TradeStation Securities, Inc. ("TradeStation Securities"), provides award-winning,* self-clearing online brokerage services for trading stocks, ETFs, options and futures, that aims to deliver the ultimate trading experience, participated in and supported a series of events during financial literacy month in April. These efforts are part of the TradeStation Cares Committee, a diverse team of group-level and subsidiary employees whose mission is to expand the concept of community by improving financial literacy and the overall health and well-being of the residents in communities where TradeStation maintains a physical or remote presence.
/jlne.ws/49RdncX
****** TradeStation doing good works. ~JJL
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