Derivs - Equity

Record-breaking equity volatility prompted a rethink in trading strategies and many are rounding out the year on the sidelines. At the start of the year, hedge funds were writing options on vol both to trade it for hedging purposes, but they are holding off on new strategies until the New Year.

Rob Reoch, founder of London-based structured credit derivative consultancy Reoch Credit Partners, has teamed up with Alessandro Ciravegna, a private banking veteran, to launch a global macro fund.

JPMorgan has lost Rahim Dharamshi, an executive director in equity derivatives trading with a focus on emerging markets, in recent days.

The Bank of Thailand is set to introduce fx regulations early next year that will set out currency denomination and hedging requirements for all over-the-counter trades.

Sasha Diklich, a senior equity derivatives trader at Deutsche Bank in London, left just over a fortnight ago.

Greg Tournant and Trevor Taylor have joined Oppenheimer Capital as portfolio managers for the firm’s four spread-based investment strategies, a component of its structured products group for institutional investors.

Fred Clatworthy, head of international equity derivative trading at Nomura in London, has left the firm.

City bonus packages will be around 70% lower than last year, according to analysis by London recruitment firm Clifden Partners.

The permanent ban of naked short selling in Australia, which comes into effect Jan. 8, will force issuers of structured products to use more costly methods to hedge exposures, according to market commentators.

The Internal Revenue Service is looking at the use of total return equity swaps between securities dealers and foreign investors to get around taxes on dividends.

A U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge has granted Lehman Brothers Holdings the right to employ Natixis Capital Markets as a strategic advisor, with special focus on its derivative positions.

A court hearing in New York this morning to determine whether Lehman Brothers will be able to realize the value of certain in-the-money swaps by auctioning them off may not apply to objecting parties.