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The Intercontinental Exchange has completed the Liffe future and options transition to ICE Futures Europe. The final phase of the transition was completed with the equity derivatives suite transferring to the ICE platform, following the migration of European interest rate derivatives and soft commodity contracts earlier this year.

Front end volatility trades in G10 currency pairs are likely to trend in the first quarter of 2015, particularly in the euro against the dollar, as strategists expect any significant spot movements in the pair to occur in Q1.

GFI Group has launched dollar-denominated market agreed coupon (MAC) swaps on its swap execution facility. The firm now offers live tradable prices for such contracts in a central limit order book on its electronic trading platform known as RatesMatch.

Overall credit default swap notional that was reported to swap data repositories last week increased by 63% from the previous week, according to data from the International Swaps and Derivatives Association. Overall interest rate derivatives trading that was reported, was also up by 28% from the previous week. This follows a week of modest decreases in trading volumes in both CDS and rates.

The derivatives exposure method in the recently issued Basel III Leverage Ratio Framework and Disclosure Requirements may hit firms' ability to use cleared derivatives to hedge risk, two industry bodies believe.

CME group plans to launch futures on tri-party repurchase agreement indices developed by BNY Mellon, providing investors with a novel tool to hedge their interest rate risk.

Funds have increasingly been buying topside options on the dollar against the yen as the Japanese unit continues to depreciate, however, high strikes on the currency pair are anomalously cheap despite the fact that both volatility and spot have continued to increase.

Institutional investors such as pension funds are increasingly interested in futures and exchange traded funds on MSCI minimum volatility factor indices based off its equity market indices, including the MSCI emerging market futures index.

Open interest in dollar-denominated interest rate swap futures on Chicago-based futures bourse Eris Exchange has reached $14bn in notional, a new record all-time high.

Hedge funds have been picking up puts on the euro against the dollar with reverse knockouts following increased volatility on the currency pair and a gradual strengthening of the latter currency over the past month.

The mutual exchange offering between Hong Kong and Shanghai stock exchanges may drive Chinese and Hong Kong equity product trading, innovative derivatives strategies and growth in other Southeast Asian markets.

The overall interest rate derivatives trading volume reported to swap data repositories last week fell by 18% from the previous week, according to data from the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA). This follows a week of modest increases in trading volumes.