| March 11, 2022 | | | | | Jeff Bergstrom
Editor
John Lothian News | |
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| | | | Lead Stories | | | Credit Suisse vet launching $200 million crypto options trading fund
Frank Chaparro - The Block
CK Zheng â formerly the global head of valuation risk at European investment bank Credit Suisse â is targeting a $200 million fundraise for a new crypto hedge fund.
The Wall Street vet has joined forces with Felix Xu and Yemu Xu to launch ZX Squared Capital, which will deploy strategies in crypto options to help deliver better returns with less volatility, according to Zheng.
/jlne.ws/3t2yRkG
Volatility Traders Becoming Less Impressed by Big Market Swoons
Lu Wang - Bloomberg
What's remarkable one day becomes commonplace when repeated often enough. It's a sentiment settling into volatility markets with each lurch between euphoria and panic in the S&P 500.
Case in point is the Cboe Volatility Index, a thermometer for anxiety on Wall Street that normally jumps when the market tumbles. That pattern was absent Thursday, when despite the S&P 500 being down as much as 1.6%, the VIX spent most of the day either unmoved or in free fall. Concerted moves in the two gauges are rare, happening about one in five days.
/jlne.ws/3vZP7Fa
Hedge Fund Fir Tree Bets Big With Short of Stablecoin Tether
Katherine Burton - Bloomberg
Fir Tree Capital Management is making a substantial short wager on Tether, the stablecoin that's under intense scrutiny from regulators.
The $4 billion hedge fund, founded by Jeff Tannenbaum, constructed a way to short Tether in an asymmetric trade, meaning the downside risk is small and potential to make money is great, according to clients of the firm. That's a feat that other firms have struggled to figure out.
/jlne.ws/3tSKbir
| | | | | | Exchanges | | | LME Battles to Restore Confidence Amid Hedge Funds Exit
Bloomberg (Video)
The London Metal Exchange needs to restore confidence in its "ability to to to be the price setter" following its decision on Tuesday to suspend nickel trading, according to Caroline Bain, chief commodities economist at Capital Economics. The drastic intervention has led some hedge funds to walk away from the LME, saying it's too risky to trade. Bain speaks on Bloomberg Television.
/jlne.ws/3KEOG70
SGX's Derivatives Trade Volume Rises on Ukraine War Hedging
Yongchang Chin - MarketWatch
Singapore Exchange Ltd.'s derivatives business had its busiest month in nearly two years in February as the war in Ukraine spurred hedging in commodity cargo and freight, the company said.
The daily average volume for derivatives came in at 1.06 million contracts in February--its highest level since March 2020--compared with 1.02 million contracts in January, SGX said on Thursday.
/jlne.ws/3I4taqE
Implementation of Derivatives Holiday Trading on 9 May 2022
HKFE
Reference is made to the circular dated 12 November 2021 (Ref: MO/DT/242/21), 6 January 2022 (Ref: MO/DT/007/22) and 14 January 2022 (Ref: MO/DT/014/22). Taking into account market feedback and market readiness after conducting a successful readiness test on 26 February 2022, Hong Kong Futures Exchange Limited ("HKFE" or "the Exchange") is pleased to confirm, subject to regulatory approval, allowing all MSCI futures and options as the first suite of products ("H Products") to be traded on Hong Kong public holidays2 ("H Days") commencing on 9 May 2022 for Buddha's Birthday public holiday.
/bit.ly/37oaGoA
| | | | | | Regulation & Enforcement | | | Congress Passes Legislation on Libor Fix as Part of $1.5 Trillion Spending Package
Mark Maurer - WSJ
Congress late Thursday passed legislation to help companies and lenders switch certain financial contracts to a new reference rate away from the London interbank offered rate.
The measure passed the Senate in a 68-31 vote as part of a $1.5 trillion spending package that includes emergency aid for Ukraine. The nondefense portion of the bill passed the House in a 260-171 vote on Wednesday. It now heads to President Biden for his signature.
/jlne.ws/3J9chfO
CFTC opens up FTX US's derivatives trading model to public comment
Kollen Post - The Block
FTX.US's plan to offer crypto derivatives is moving forward with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission announcing on Thursday that it would open up the exchange's plan for public comments.
The 30-day comment period would allow market participants to weigh in on FTX's plan to leverage the Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO) license it obtained via its acquisition of LedgerX. The US-based firm has ambitions to offer crypto derivatives directly to users under the same umbrella as its spot trading offering â similar to its international affiliate FTX.
/jlne.ws/3I6effR
| | | | | | Strategy | | | VIX Goes Red
Helene Meisler - TheStreet
Do you realize that Thursday had the smallest range in the S&P 500 we've seen in nearly three weeks? Is it any wonder the Volatility Index was red on the day?
There will be those who want to make a big deal out of the VIX being red on a day the S&P is red, but to me it's just one small piece of the puzzle. What I find more interesting about the VIX is that the put/call ratio for the VIX zoomed up to an extraordinary reading of 1.81 on Wednesday.
/jlne.ws/3J9hgxk
| | | | | | Miscellaneous | | | Americans experience 'unprecedented levels of stress,' fueled by inflation, money worries, COVID-19 and Russia-Ukraine war
Meera Jagannathan - MarketWatch
The state of stress in the U.S. two years into the pandemic is "alarming," according to the American Psychological Association's latest Stress in America study, with issues stemming from inflation and the Russia-Ukraine crisis topping the list of concerns.
In fact, as war in Ukraine takes a growing human toll and exacerbates the highest inflation the U.S. has seen in four decades, more people cited price increases and Ukraine-related issues as stressors than any other topic in the survey's 15-year history, according to the surveys of thousands of U.S. adults conducted by The Harris Poll on behalf of the APA.
/jlne.ws/3MKIOei
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