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JLN Options
May 02, 2022  
 
Jeff Bergstrom
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Lead Stories
 
Bitcoin (BTC) Miners Are Selling Options to Raise Cash, Avoid Selling Tokens
Jialiang David Pan - Bloomberg
Bitcoin miners are deploying their own version of "yield farming," the often-discussed cryptocurrency money-making strategy, but with an old-school twist.
Publicly traded miners very much embrace the HODL, or "hold on for dear life," mantra, hoarding tokens to make their stock more appealing to investors seeking exposure to Bitcoin's gains. But these firms have major expenses; grinding through cryptographic puzzles to spawn new coins takes pricey computer hardware and giant power bills.
/jlne.ws/3MK05DH

OCC Re-elects Donohue as Executive Chairman, Elects Member and Public Directors at 2022 Stockholder Meeting
OCC
OCC, the world's largest equity derivatives clearing organization, announced the election of two Class III Member Directors and two Class I Public Directors to its Board of Directors. In addition, Mr. Craig S. Donohue was re-elected as Executive Chairman of the Board. The vote took place during OCC's annual stockholder meeting on April 29.
/jlne.ws/38Ksz1i

Biggest Treasury Buyer Outside U.S. Quietly Sheds Billions
Michael Mackenzie and Chikako Mogi - Bloomberg
In times of Treasury turmoil, the biggest investor outside American soil has historically lent a helping hand. Not this time round.
Japanese institutional managers -- known for their legendary U.S. debt buying sprees in recent decades -- are now fueling the great bond selloff just as the Federal Reserve pares its $9 trillion balance sheet.
/jlne.ws/3vYGCIJ

Investors face volatility as demand stalls amid supply disruptions
Mohamed El-Erian - Financial Times
For years, financial markets benefited enormously from the generosity of monetary policy in a world economy deemed by central banks, and the US Federal Reserve in particular, to lack sufficient aggregate demand.
To the detriment of markets, this has been changing rapidly as central banks belatedly recognise that today's problem is not one of weak demand but, rather, insufficient supply. Looking forward, an even more complicated possibility is taking shape: that of stalling demand in the midst of persistent supply disruptions.
/jlne.ws/3kvdPWT

US stocks fall as investors brace for aggressive rate hike at this week's Fed meeting
Matthew Fox - Business Insider
The Federal Reserve is expected to aggressively hike interest rates by at least 50 basis points.First-quarter earnings results continue to roll-in, and so far 77% of companies that have reported so far have beat profit estimates.
/jlne.ws/3LFmfXB

Wall Street drops as Fed focus takes hold, 10-yr Treasuries breach 3%
Devik Jain and David French - Reuters
Wall Street's main indexes dropped on Monday, giving up early gains in volatile trading, as investors adopted a cautious tinge ahead of the Federal Reserve meeting this week where policymakers are widely expected to raise interest rates.
Complementing the weaker sentiment in equity markets, the yield on ten-year U.S. Treasuries hit 3% for the first time in more than three years, as traders positioned themselves for an expected half-point rate hike and the launch of "quantitative tightening," where the central bank reduces its balance sheet after buying bonds to support the economy during the pandemic.
/jlne.ws/3vAbAYy

Wall Street short sellers target Trump's Truth Social app
Charles Gasparino - NY Post
Wall Street traders are telling me they can't wait for the Securities and Exchange Commission to give the green light to Digital World Acquisition Corp., the shell company holding former President Donald Trump's new right-wing Twitter alternative named "Truth Social."
And it's not because they like the stock.
/jlne.ws/39lSPPY

 
 
Exchanges
 
Cboe FX Markets' Trading Volume Drops in April by 24%
Finance Magnates
Cboe FX Markets, which is a major institutional foreign exchange (forex) spot trading venue, reported a drop in trading volume for April 2022. The platform reported $777.1 billion in total monthly volumes, which was a drop of almost 24 percent from the previous month.
/jlne.ws/3vxwW98

Boerse Stuttgart records April turnover of over EUR 6,7 billion; Securitised derivatives show increase in trading volume compared to the same month of the previous year
Boerse Stuttgart
Based on the order book statistics, Boerse Stuttgart generated turnover of over EUR 6,7 billion in April. Securitised derivatives made up the largest share of the turnover. The trading volume in this asset class increased slightly compared to the same month of the previous year to around EUR 3,1 billion. Leverage products generated turnover of around EUR 2,3 billion. Investment products contributed around EUR 792 million to the total turnover.
/jlne.ws/322zRr2

 
 
Strategy
 
Stocks and Bonds Are Both Down Because of the Fed. Here's Where to Play Defense.
Alexandra Scaggs - Barron's
Surging inflation and an oil-price shock have many economists drawing comparisons between today and the 1970s. For investors, however, the second half of 2018 could be a more informative comparison.
That was the last time both bonds and stocks both posted annual losses—the S&P 500 was down 6.2% for the full year, the corporate bond market lost 2.3%, and long-dated Treasuries lost 1.6%. And it was because the Federal Reserve was raising interest rates and tightening policy.
/jlne.ws/39yoIoL

Why the SPX's Next Rally Could Be Short Lived
Nasdaq
The events of last week in terms of equity price action were unfortunate for stock market bulls. But if you were following this commentary during the past month, you were likely not shocked by what transpired, or at the very least, acted as the market first began unraveling with the prior week's S&P 500 Index's (SPX - 4,131.93) move below 4,375.
/jlne.ws/3vBdsAs

Option Volatility And Earnings Report For May 2 - 6
Steven Baster - Barchart
Last week was a mammoth week for earnings and we have some more big names reporting this week. Let's take a look at this week's volatility and earnings report.
Before a company reports earnings, implied volatility is usually high because the market is unsure about the outcome of the report. Speculators and hedgers create huge demand for the company's options which increases the implied volatility, and therefore, the price of options.
/jlne.ws/3kEbysl

 
 
Miscellaneous
 
Warren Buffett on Wall Street 'Gambling'
WSJ
Warren Buffett is apparently shocked, shocked to find gambling going on in financial markets. That was the headline from the Berkshire Hathaway CEO's remarks at its annual meeting on Saturday in Omaha. "It's a gambling parlor," Mr. Buffett said, and he blamed the financial industry for encouraging risky and speculative behavior.
/jlne.ws/3vAFqMN

4 Takeaways From the Berkshire Hathaway Annual Shareholders Meeting
Nicholas Jasinski - Barron's
The 2022 Berkshire Hathaway annual shareholders meeting took place in person on Saturday, with tens of thousands of Warren Buffett fans traveling to hear from the so-called "Oracle of Omaha." The Berkshire CEO was joined by the company's three vice chairmen to present to shareholders and answer questions over the course of some five hours.
/jlne.ws/3stydMH

Wall Street Reluctantly Embraces Crypto; Money managers want banks to store and trade crypto for them
Justin Baer - WSJ
Wall Street has a message for its many clients that have been eager to invest in cryptocurrencies: OK, OK, we hear you. The largest U.S. banks, securities firms and custodians, many of whom once greeted the emergence of digital assets with skepticism, are now showcasing their forays into the market. "It's a moment in time when the traditional industry has woken up and more broadly accepted this is happening," said Walt Lukken, president and chief executive of the Futures Industry Association, a large trade group for the derivatives markets.
/jlne.ws/3LNpRqs

Goldman Sachs traders have notched more $100 million-revenue days than any quarter since 2011
Phil Rosen - Business Insider
That means they hit that daily milestone every other trading day for three months, the bank's best stretch since 2011.Last month, Goldman Sachs reported $7.9 billion in first-quarter trading revenue, up 4% from a year ago and nearly double from the fourth quarter.
/jlne.ws/3F8rg8I
 
 
 
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