| February 22, 2022 | | | |  | Jeff Bergstrom
Editor
John Lothian News | |
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| | | | Observations & Insight | | | 
NYSE Wants to Be A Marketplace for NFTs; SOFR Options Set Records; BlockFi to Pay $100 Million in Penalties
JohnLothianNews.com
"Alex Perry's Optionstopia" takes a look at this week's options news highlights: Ethereum's Daily Options Volume Matches Bitcoin; Crypto Exchanges Airing Super Bowl Commercials; Cboe's MATCHNow Technology Migration
Watch the video »
| | | | | | Lead Stories | | | Bearish Bets Against Markets Are Surging; Investors are loading up their bets against a number of big tech stocks, positioning for a reversal
Karen Langley, Gunjan Banerji - WSJ
Investors are wagering that the recent pain in the stock and bond markets will intensify. Short sellers are adding to their positions against the SPDR S&P 500 Exchange-Traded Fund Trust, which tracks the broad U.S. stock index, at the fastest rate in nearly a year. Other investors are scooping up at record pace options contracts that would pay out if the recent declines in the stock and bond markets worsen.
/jlne.ws/3H9uRD0
Hedging the Russian Ruble Hasn't Been so Expensive Since 2015
Davison Santana - Bloomberg
Ruble risk reversals rise to seven-year high as currency falls; Options market shows traders see room for more ruble pain
Traders are rushing for hedges against big losses in the Russian ruble through options, sending the price of these instruments to a seven-year high and signaling the market is unlikely to calm down soon. The 25-delta risk reversal on the Russian ruble surged to 10.8% on Monday, the highest since 2015. That price reflects the premium traders are willing to pay for a high-strike option -- a weaker ruble -- versus a low-strike option.
/jlne.ws/3HbuvvF
Volatility Curve Lights Up on Mounting Geopolitical Anxiety
Elena Popina - Bloomberg
A dramatic escalation of Russia's standoff with Ukraine has ramped up U.S. traders' anxiety about the near-term outlook for the stock market at home.
The build-up of angst is on display in the relative cost of near-term versus longer-dated contracts that track the implied volatility of the S&P 500 Index. The VIX futures curve is falling further into inversion, meaning anxiety around the here-and-now is higher than it is for the future, which is a departure from the curve's typical upward-sloping trend.
/jlne.ws/3JQtU4d
Crypto industry makes push into regulated derivatives markets; Most futures and options trading currently takes place on offshore venues subject to minimal oversight
Philip Stafford - FT
Cryptocurrency companies are pushing into the highly regulated US derivatives market as they seek to meet demand from retail traders to make supercharged bets on digital assets. Volumes in crypto derivatives registered almost $3tn last month, accounting for more than 60 per cent of trading in cryptocurrencies, according to data provider CryptoCompare. Most activity takes place on offshore venues such as those overseen by exchanges giant Binance, which are subject to little or no regulatory oversight.
/jlne.ws/3vabVBK
***** Some good data with this story, which on the face of it seems a little late to the party.~JJL
'Every Market Is Oversold': Wall Street Bulls on Ukraine Crisis
Denitsa Tsekova - Bloomberg
Wall Street strategists, bullish before Russia's military buildup near Ukraine's border, are mostly sticking to their view that stock markets can weather Europe's brewing security crisis. For now at least.
After a week of volatility, they say loose financial conditions and growing corporate profits will anchor large-cap indexes amid deteriorating relations between Moscow and Western powers. Corporate balance sheets, meanwhile, will prove broadly resilient to higher energy prices and disrupted supplies.
/jlne.ws/34Tc0it
Oil approaches $100 a barrel while US stocks fall on Ukraine tensions
Kate Duguid and Naomi Rovnick - Financial Times
Brent crude oil approached $100 a barrel on Tuesday for the first time since 2014, while Wall Street stocks headed for their worst day since summer 2021, after Russian president Vladimir Putin ordered troops into Ukraine.
The international oil benchmark rose as high as $99.50 a barrel, as traders calculated the possibility of disrupted supply from Russia. It later trimmed its gains to $96.53 a barrel, up 1.2 per cent on the day.
/jlne.ws/3h5nsKb
Russian central bank vows financial stability support as rouble tanks
Reuters
The Russian central bank on Tuesday said it was ready to take all necessary measures to support financial stability, as Russian assets were hammered after Moscow sent what it called "peacekeeping" forces into eastern Ukraine.
The rouble hit a near two-year low after President Vladimir Putin ordered the deployment of troops to two breakaway regions in eastern Ukraine after recognising them as independent.
/jlne.ws/3BFGaBw
Heavily Hedged Traders Have Been Awaiting a Stock-Market Storm
Vildana Hajric and Katherine Greifeld - Bloomberg
Whatever happens in Ukraine or how it affects Federal Reserve policy, the outcome will land in markets where investors have had time to prepare for the worst. It may be one reason the worst has so far been avoided.
They've been steadily boosting bets against equities, shaking off a reluctance to short tracing to last year's meme stock upheaval. Bearish bets on the largest exchange-traded fund tracking the S&P 500 have surged, while put open interest on bond-focused products has risen to historic levels. Meanwhile, professional managers have been hedging their credit exposures.
/jlne.ws/3he6Y2h
| | | | | | Moves | | | Cboe Global Markets Promotes Greg Hoogasian to Executive Vice President, Chief Regulatory Officer
CBOE
Cboe Global Markets, Inc. (Cboe: CBOE), a leading provider of global market infrastructure and tradable products, today announced the promotion of Greg Hoogasian to Executive Vice President, Chief Regulatory Officer, and appointment to the company's executive leadership team.
Hoogasian was previously Senior Vice President, Chief Regulatory Officer at Cboe. In this new role, he will continue to oversee the regulation of Cboe's U.S. equities, options, futures and swap execution facility (SEF) markets, in addition to supporting regulatory oversight of the markets associated with Cboe's further expansion into North America, Europe and Asia Pacific.
/jlne.ws/3BFwXco
| | | | | | Strategy | | | Don't Sell on Russia-Ukraine 'Panic' As Stocks Will Rebound: Fundstrat
Harry Robertson - Business Insider
Stocks should rally again in the second half of the year, and investors should be wary of selling during the Russia-Ukraine "panic", Fundstrat's Tom Lee has said.
"We think any panic around Russia-Ukraine will be short-lived. And hence, we would not be sellers on this panic," Lee, the former head of equity strategy at JPMorgan, wrote in a note to clients Tuesday.
/jlne.ws/3JGctDc
| | | | | | Miscellaneous | | | The Secret to Getting a Better Job After 50; Here are strategies professionals say helped them in the fourth decade of their work lives
Ray A. Smith - WSJ
Even in a hot hiring market, it is tough for workers over 50 to stay competitive in workplaces that often value youth over experience. The pandemic has been especially hard on older employees seeking to reclaim jobs lost in the early days of lockdowns. Many say they fear that the workplace upheaval brought on by Covid-19 has reinforced some bosses' belief that professionals in their 50s and beyond are less inclined to return to offices or adapt to new ways of working.
/jlne.ws/3BEnCSm
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