Derivs - Equity

Deutsche Börse and the London Stock Exchange Group have agreed terms for an all-share ‘merger of equals’, in a push for European derivatives dominance that turns up the pressure on US rivals.

A broad estimate of derivative market sentiment rebounded in March, but remains well below historical average levels.

CME Group has agreed to integrate truePTS, the post-trade business that was spun off from swap execution facility trueEX in December, into its preferred global network of regulated trade repositories.

Options traders are increasingly pricing renminbi in line with G7 foreign exchange, a trend that could boost the intensity of swings in market positioning, strategists have warned.

Buried in a hay bale of legal documentation last week, the European Union’s final draft of margin rules for uncleared swaps contained a joke that is sure to needle major banks. The question is whether anyone, including regulators, will still be able to smile at it when the September 1 deadline passes.

Proposed changes to US financial adviser rules could ban options use in retirement accounts, leaving investors exposed and quashing a growing market.

It took what some have called "drastic" measures by European Central Bank chief Mario Draghi, but Thursday’s short-lived euphoria took Europe’s credit derivative market almost back to where it began the year – only for it and other asset classes to suffer another bout of neuroses and hit reverse.

EU regulators granted a stay of execution to corporate treasury officials as they mandated a slower roll-out of new margin requirements on some of the most popular uncleared derivatives trades. But they stayed firm on a September 1 deadline many believe is untenable. With this temporary reprieve comes also the knowledge that treasuries’ recoursing to swaps strategies will soon become much more challenging.

Bank of England governor Mark Carney confirmed to the UK parliament on Tuesday what currency traders and analysts have been saying for weeks: worries about the EU referendum are sending prices higher for sterling options and raising the risk of a sharp fall in the pound.

Nasdaq this week agreed to buy International Securities Exchange (ISE) from Deutsche Boerse in a transaction valued at $1.1bn in cash and debt, a move that will give it a dominant position in the options market. It also adds another twist to the wider battle for hegemony in global derivatives exchange and clearing.

European Union regulators have published final draft rules for uncleared derivatives that make important concessions to lobbyists on margin requirements for some derivative contracts, but show no sign of budging on a very tight September 1 deadline for compliance by the biggest players in the market.

Exchange operator Bats Global Markets and T3Index have launched an index measuring expected 30 day volatility in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF (SPY), the most frequently traded security in the world.