Derivs - Equity

Société Générale has recruited Bruno Garnier, a director in equity derivatives trading formerly with UBS in Stamford, Conn.

Credit Suisse and UBS are each bringing out structured notes linked to the Standard & Poor’s 500 this week. They’re looking to hook investors with reservations about the index’s recovery.

Strategists at Morgan Stanley are recommending investors buy call spreads on Hyundai Motor Co., since the firm's analysis shows the Korean car maker has seen a 435% year-on-year increase in unit sales for the first two weeks of August, putting it second only to Volkswagen in terms of the volume of cars shifted.

South African regulators are looking at over-the-counter derivatives, focusing on contracts-for-difference as well as credit default swaps.

Hedge funds in Japan are beginning to buy vanilla over-the-counter structures again, mainly referencing equities, according to salespeople in Tokyo.

Korea’s Financial Supervisory Service is looking into additional regulation of equity-linked notes after receiving allegations of manipulation.

Société Générale is bullish on emerging markets and its fx strategists are recommending a quark outperformance call option to express that sentiment.

South Africa’s Standard Bank is preparing to offer total return swaps and reverse convertibles in Zimbabwe and Mauritius.

Regulations issued by the Bank of Thailand earlier this month have cleared up questions over what hedging and speculative transactions are allowed by Thai banks and investors, particularly when the trades reference foreign assets or are done with a foreign counterparty.

Gary Gensler, chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, has pushed back on certain points of the Obama administration’s draft Over-the-Counter Derivatives Markets Act of 2009, a consolidation of previously voiced positions on the market.

Credit derivatives players are wondering what the recent equity market correction means for CDS spreads over the coming months as signs of weakening continue. Just a few weeks ago, it seemed as if the CDX North America Investment Grade series 12 might duck the 100 basis point barrier amid rising confidence and an apparent recovery.

London hedge-fund manager Man Group sold its remaining 18.6% stake in broker MF Global last week via a three- to four-year variable forward sale agreement with Nomura.