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JLN Options
April 30, 2019  
 
Jeff Bergstrom
Editor
John Lothian News
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Observations & Insight
 
Reflections on Bart Chilton
John Lothian News

I am very saddened to learn about the passing away of Bart Chilton. I had the privilege of working with Bart while he was Commissioner and I was a division director at the CFTC. Bart was very dedicated to his responsibilities. My heartfelt condolences to his family. ~Ananda Radhakrishnan, Vice President, Center for Bank Derivatives Policy. at American Bankers Association

Our industry mourns the unexpected passing of a former colleague, Bart Chilton, who served with me at the CFTC. Bart was a colorful friend that lived life to the fullest with determination, humor and passion for everything he did in life. We extend our sincere condolences to his wife and family. ~ Walt Lukken, FIA President & CEO

Read more HERE.

 
 
Lead Stories
 
Step Into The Matrix: A "Market Wizards" Retrospective With Tony Saliba, Part One
Matrix Execution Technologies
Thirty years ago, one of the all-time most influential books about trading was published, Market Wizards. In it, author Jack Schwager interviewed top traders from the era to let readers know what it takes to become?—?and remain?—?a successful trader. Since then, over 200,000 copies of the book have been sold, making it one of the most popular sources of information about trading ever published, and it has spawned numerous sequels. Our Matrix Holding Group CEO, Tony Saliba, was one of the original "market wizards", and the only options trader, interviewed in the book. As we approach the 30-year anniversary of the book's publishing, we've circled back with Tony to get a sense of what has changed, what remains the same, and what is needed to make it in today's vast and quickly evolving electronic trading industry.
bit.ly/2DEZD8W

****SD: Wizards AND the Matrix - now that's a Hollywood mashup.

Mystery Anadarko Investors Accused of Insider Trading by SEC
Matt Robinson - Bloomberg
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission obtained an asset freeze tied to shares in Anadarko Petroleum Corp. after one or more unknown investors allegedly made illegal trades ahead of Chevron Corp.'s takeover bid earlier this month.
The mystery traders bought Anadarko options from Feb. 8 to April 1, before the company's shares jumped 32 percent on news of Chevron's offer, according to a Monday order from Judge Gregory H. Woods. Two days after Chevron sent a letter to Anadarko in February about a takeover, the mystery traders started buying out-of-the-money call options eventually making $2.5 million from the illicit trading, the SEC said.
/bloom.bg/2XUZHZJ

Black Swan Fund Advised by Taleb Pounces on Vanishing Volatility
Ksenia Galouchko - Bloomberg
There's a silver lining for bears getting destroyed by record U.S. stock prices and the relentless credit boom: Prepping for Armageddon has rarely been so cheap.
Just ask Mark Spitznagel, the Miami-based investor whose $4.1 billion black swan fund specializes in hedging against cataclysms on the scale of the dot-com crash and the 2008 financial crisis.
/bloom.bg/2Y0O03P

Sky-High Hedging Costs Are Fueling a `Turbo Bid' for Dollars
Katherine Greifeld - Bloomberg
Yield-starved investors outside the U.S. are abandoning their currency hedges on American assets, and that's good news for dollar bulls.
After factoring in the price of a 3-month forward contract, the yield on benchmark 10-year Treasuries falls to about negative 0.6 percent for euro-based investors. It's the same story for Japanese bond buyers: Benchmark U.S. debt yields around negative 0.4 percent. That compares with 2.53 percent for those purchasing the note without paying up for protection against currency swings.
/bloom.bg/2XVvBVS

Veteran Hedge Fund Manager Loads Up Bearish Bets on India Rally
Anto Antony - Bloomberg
The rally that's lifted India's $2.2 trillion stock market to a record has prompted a veteran hedge fund manager to load up on bearish wagers in a fund launched two months ago.
"As there appears nothing fundamental underpinning this year's rally we have remained maximum net short on a portfolio level," Vijay Krishna Kumar, head of liquid alternatives investment at IDFC Asset Management Co., said in an interview in Mumbai.
/bloom.bg/2Y1yODD

 
 
Exchanges and Clearing
 
Cboe Marks Third Anniversary Of Target Outcome Investment Benchmarks
Mondovisione
Cboe Vest Financial, an asset management subsidiary of Cboe Global Markets, led creation of Target Outcome Investment index methodologies and products
Fast-growing Target Outcome Investment category now boasts 45 indexes, numerous products
Target Outcome Investment strategies designed to provide downside protection, income generation, or enhanced returns over a defined horizon
bit.ly/2DF6pLw

 
 
Regulation & Enforcement
 
Federal Court Orders Binary Options Firm and Principal to Pay More Than $22 Million for Fraudulent Scheme
CFTC
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that Judge Timothy Corrigan of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida entered a Consent Order for Permanent Injunction, Civil Monetary Penalty, and Other Equitable Relief (Order) against Dr. Michael Shah and Zilmil, Inc. (Zilmil) (collectively, defendants) of Jacksonville, Florida, who engaged in a large-scale internet fraud scheme from at least June 2013 through July 10, 2017 (the Relevant Period) involving off-exchange binary options.
bit.ly/2PCfn10

 
 
Technology
 
Traiana Enhances Credit Risk Hub to Boost FX Prime Broker Control
CME Group
Traiana, the leading infrastructure service for trade life-cycle and risk management solutions, today announced significant enhancements to its Credit Risk Hub. FX prime brokers (FXPBs) can now define trade information in more detail to increase credit risk controls and reduce the risks of credit over-allocation.
Traiana's Credit Risk Hub comprises two services; Designation Notice Manager (DNM) which helps FXPBs establish, monitor, amend and terminate FX Tri-Party Agreements with buy-side clients if they default on a trade; and CreditLink, a calculation engine which provides FXPBs with end-to-end control of how much credit is extended to buy-side clients.
bit.ly/2XRkOMk

ORATS Helps Clients Strengthen Options Trading Strategies; Upgrades its User-Friendly Backtest Service
Orats Blog
Option Research & Technology Services, a leader in US equity options data and analysis, has released a major upgrade to its options backtest service.
bit.ly/2LgkMME

 
 
Strategy
 
How Bad Timing Screwed Up Returns for a $9 Billion Momentum Bet
Carolina Wilson and Vildana Hajric - Bloomberg
The largest exchange-traded fund designed to buy high-flying stocks seems to have lost its edge.
The $8.6 billion iShares Edge MSCI USA Momentum ETF, or MTUM, has trailed the S&P 500 Index by almost 4 percentage points since the beginning of January, putting the fund on track for its worst start to the year since it started trading in 2013, data compiled by Bloomberg show.
/bloom.bg/2Y1ybdf

How to Play the Stock Market When Trump, China End Trade War
Steven M. Sears - Barron's
Are you ready for Trump Trade 2.0?
One of the great questions hanging over the stock market is what happens if the U.S. and China end an international trade dispute that changes how U.S. companies operate in the world's second-largest economy.
President Donald Trump has famously slapped tariffs on Chinese goods, trying to improve opportunities for U.S. companies in China and narrow the trade deficit. China has responded by placing tariffs on many American goods, and investors have reacted by worrying that global economic growth could suffer.
bit.ly/2XUObxl

 
 
Miscellaneous
 
Trump is taking a risky bet that oil prices will remain stable
Robert McNally - Financial Times
President Donald Trump's decision to end Iran sanctions waivers while hammering the Maduro regime in Venezuela raises the stakes on his bet that oil prices will remain stable.
Those stakes extend beyond economic growth, happy motorists and his re-election.
/on.ft.com/2XWFAKQ

Milken Conference 2019: 10 investing experts share their biggest fears
Joe Ciolli - Business Insider
Risks to the global market landscape were a major talking point during the first day of the Milken Institute Global Conference— perhaps unsurprisingly, given recent trepidation over a possible recession.
What was surprising, however, was the failure of Milken panelists to agree on the most likely source of turbulence. There's usually something resembling consensus around the biggest risk, whether it may be the US-China trade war, or the Federal Reserve.
But not right now.
bit.ly/2XZBP7j

Do women really make better investors than men?
Isobel Owen - Financial Times
Plenty of articles have been written bemoaning the fact that women are less likely to invest in the stock market than men. However, several recent studies suggest that women who do take the plunge outperform men when it comes to investment returns.
So what is the evidence — and what exactly are female investors doing to gain the edge over men?
/on.ft.com/2XZARrH
 
 
 
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