Derivs - Equity

As the state of Illinois faces one of the worst budget standoffs in its history, some lawmakers are proposing a tax on derivatives that one advocate called the "single-bullet solution”.

Derivatives traders this week took the resignation of Brazilian planning minister Romero Juca in their stride, leaving key measures of risk largely unchanged.

Stoxx has created a series of indices that combine equity and fixed income and are intended to serve as an underlying for exchange traded funds and derivatives.

Equity and currency derivatives markets were ill-prepared for any major policy changes coming out of the G7 meeting this week, with prices reflecting low expectations of volatility. But even as the first day's session on Thursday passed without shocks, there was a growing sense that Friday could bring a bigger showdown.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange has taken a strategic stake in parent Eris Exchange as the firms team up on a range of product solutions aimed at regulatory reforms such as Basel III, European swap clearing and trading mandates, as well as margin for un-cleared swaps.

The Options Clearing Corporation, a US clearing house, has found itself placed on negative ratings watch by Standard & Poor’s, over concerns that it could fail should two of its largest clearing members default.

European-listed exchange traded funds had their busiest month ever on Tradeweb in April, the marketplace firm said.

A growing market shift among institutional investors towards short-dated volatility plays has led the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to start offering weekly options on UK stocks for the first time while other exchanges are moving closer towards allowing intraday strategies.

The recent stabilisation of financial markets, following February's turmoil, has been good for some investors but not a positive for many trading in the options market.

Broadridge Financial Solutions, an operations and tech solutions firm, has added derivatives clearing to its post trade services by buying Dojima, another tech firm.

HSBC has appointed Franck Lacour head of equities EMEA, a role he takes on while keeping his responsibilities as global head of equities trading.

Citi has made two senior appointments in its global equities division to fill the gap left by former head Derek Bandeen, who is retiring from the firm.