Spot crypto should begin trading on at least one of the designated contract markets regulated by the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) by year-end, according to acting chair Caroline Pham. “It’s a crypto sprint,” she said. “I’m very serious about that, so we are moving quickly.” Pham, speaking to the annual meeting of the
The popularity of hybrid options is expanding beyond hedge funds, with a growing number of asset managers, pension funds and insurers taking advantage of dislocated correlations between asset classes for yield enhancement and cheap long-term hedging. “The biggest chunk has been with hedge funds, but some of the largest trades have been done with asset
Speakers at IIF conference believe dollar selloff is cyclical rather than a structural decline Source link
For most of modern market history, trading flows were seen as little more than the smoke from the fire – evidence of deeper forces at work. Growth, inflation, central banks, geopolitics: these were the “real” drivers of price action. Order books and positioning data simply reflected how investors responded. But that causality has shifted. Flows
Confidence in a continued gold price rally has enticed hedge funds back into hybrid options trades, after erroneous bets on US equities led to a pause in activity. Hybrid options, which use correlation between two or more assets to cheapen the cost of convex bets, have become a hedge fund staple for trading macro events.
Entering 2025, the prevailing macro theme throughout the investment community was that the US dollar would continue its dominant path. Years of US exceptionalism – driven by a booming equity market and a resilient labour market – had cemented the dollar as a must-have hedging tool in most portfolios. For example, if there was a
The investors who aren’t fretting over Trump’s stat sulk – FX Markets Skip to main content End of drawer navigation content Some see dismissal of statistics agency chief as an assault on US institutional integrity; for others it offers a chance to throw off outdated methods When the US Bureau of Labor Statistics revised down
As developed countries continue to rack up deficits, the big question looming over markets is, who will buy the growing pile of sovereign debt? Hossein Zaimi, global head of macro at Barclays, doesn’t have the answer, but he is pretty sure the prevailing view in financial and government circles is wrong. “The sustainability of the
HSBC, Goldman prevail in shake-up of FX Markets’ Dealer Rankings – FX Markets Skip to main content End of drawer navigation content The pair thrived serving US retail funds, while Morgan Stanley retained title with life insurer clients The third edition of FX Markets’ annual exercise in identifying the top dealers in foreign exchange derivatives
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, shame on me. It’s a maxim on many traders’ minds as they try to gauge the authenticity – or otherwise – of US president Donald Trump’s pronouncements. When news broke on July 16 that Trump had drafted a letter to remove Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, the
US mutual funds and exchange-traded funds went into April’s tariff turmoil holding the highest net long US dollar position in recent years. According to FX Markets’ Counterparty Radar data, mutual funds’ net long USD notional position, via foreign exchange forwards, stood at $455.7 billion by the end of the first quarter, the highest long USD position
Investors hope US rate cuts will lower FX hedging costs – FX Markets Skip to main content End of drawer navigation content European investors in US assets set to boost hedge ratios as implied yields rise As the US dollar has continued its fall after April’s tariff turmoil, foreign investors in US assets have had
One of the last bastions of cash-only payments in the financial markets is showing signs of wavering. Global banks accepted $325 billion of non-cash variation margin (VM) at the end of 2024, according to the International Swaps and Derivatives Association’s latest margin survey – accounting for a record 31.6% of the roughly $1 trillion in total
Conflicting interpretations of European digital assets legislation are hindering the development of euro-denominated stablecoins, according to Don Wilson, chief executive of DRW Holdings. As a result, Wilson said European capital will continue flowing into US dollar stablecoins, which typically invest in US Treasuries, and away from European government bonds. “European [regulators] have expressed some concerns about
Foreign exchange structurers are seeing increased demand from US corporates for options-based hedges that can limit losses on their net investment hedges caused by the US dollar’s selloff. While the economic value of derivatives hedges offsets changes in foreign assets, when those positions hit maturity companies can face hefty mark-to-market payments. Bank structurers, though, say
When the economist and geopolitical strategist Brunello Rosa was finalising drafts of his book Smart Money last year, he noted presciently that critical events might unfold before its publication in paperback. The book, written with co-author Casey Larsen, envisages a new cold war unfolding between the US and China in which “digital de-dollarisation” plays a
Goldman Sachs was the top US dealer for foreign exchange trading revenues in 2024, which more than doubled at the firm thanks to increased trading activity at the end of the year, according to regulatory filings. The investment bank generated revenues of $6.3 billion for the year, up 125% from $2.8 billion in 2023, thanks
