Derivs - Equity

Structured product volume on the Scoach Switzerland exchange is declining, reflecting waning investor concern over counterparty credit and the lack of appetite for the fees associated with listing.

Investors are buying puts on the S&P/ASX 200 index as a macro tail-risk hedge on U.S. fiscal cliff concerns and as a downside hedge against a possible economic slowdown in Australia.

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission has released regulatory guidance for domestic and overseas clearing and settlement providers wanting to operate within the domestic Australian market.

Alan Zhang, managing director and head of Greater China securities at Goldman Sachs in Hong Kong, has retired from the firm.

The landslide victory of the Liberal Democratic Party-Komeito coalition in Sunday’s general election in Japan has opened an opportunity for Nikkei and vanilla basket conviction trades, according to BNP Paribas.

Regulatory proposals for initial margin requirements for non-centrally cleared derivatives will severely impact liquidity and could increase systemic risk, according to trade associations.

Nicolas Andine, the ex-principal in credit, equity and mergers and acquisitions at StormHarbour Partners in London, has left the firm and joined Dubai-based Legatum Group, an investment group that offers asset management, private equity and research, amongst other areas.

A new strategy of selling cross-asset short maturity out-of-the-money strangles, while deploying a shadow profit and loss risk enhancement, has been devised by Société Générale as a way to monetize the tail premium within options volatility.

Investors looking to hedge against a fall off the fiscal cliff should purchase a Jan. 11 straddle on the S&P 500, according to BNP Paribas.

Market participants in Asia are shifting focus from the extraterritoriality implications of the U.S. Dodd-Frank Act to the European Market Infrastructure Regulation, with concerns that many clearinghouses in the region may not be able to register under the E.U. rules.

HSBC is preparing to launch products linked to its Europe Super Ten Index that will have a risk control feature.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange is appointing Edward Tilly ceo, replacing William Brodsky, who has been chairman and ceo since 1997.