Derivs - Equity

Niaz Haider, formerly a senior v.p. and head of structured fund products for the Americas at HSBC, has joined Citigroup as a director in hybrid derivatives trading and head of exotic hybrid derivatives.

Demand for hedges from equity investors is expected to keep six-month to one-year implied volatility on the S&P 500 elevated.

A European Parliament committee is working on a position paper on over-the-counter derivatives regulation.

Standard Chartered has hired Suresh Menon from Citigroup to run equity derivatives institutional sales for Asia Pacific, a new role for the bank.

Hoare Capital, a London-based securities and derivatives broker, is planning to open an office in New York next year in an effort to expand on the interest it has received from U.S. hedge funds in property and longevity derivatives, structured products and asset backed securities.

The Options Clearing Corp. is planning to launch clearing for over-the-counter equity derivatives.

Macquarie Securities has hired Dennis Davitt, a former U.S. head of equity derivatives trading at Credit Suisse, to build out its equity derivatives desk in New York.

The U.K. Financial Services Authority is not in favor of imposing position limits on over-the-counter derivatives, going against a proposal put forward by the European Commission in October.

Morgan Stanley is suggesting that investors enter into dispersion trades to benefit from expected declines in correlation between equity indices in Asia.

Saxo Bank is gearing up to launch the first contracts for difference referencing meat and rice prices.

Olivier Chevillon, a former v.p. in single stock derivatives trading at Bank of America in London, has joined ING in Brussels.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed its financial reform bill today, 223-202, including amendments providing a controversial limit on banks’ ownership of clearing houses and a definition of “major swap participant” that’s better for the industry.