Derivs - People and Markets

Members of the European Parliament and representatives of member states hope to clear the last hurdles for an agreement on a draft regulation on recovery and resolution of central counterparty clearing houses (CCPs) by the end of this month.

Société Générale has promoted Kokou Agbo-Bloua to global head of economics, cross-asset and quant research.

John Hempton, the Australian short seller and self-styled eccentric, believes fraudulent companies will soon become evident in the corporate rubble left by the coronavirus pandemic. Hempton, who has bet against 1,100 companies over the course of his career, explained how his hedge fund Bronte Capital goes about finding rotten eggs in business and finance.

The European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) has given potential leeway to national competent authorities (NCAs) considering the introduction of open access rules next month.

Tradition, the interdealer broker, has made three hires to its data business, including two from outside the IDB world, as it seeks to push out the offering.

Chris Giancarlo was the 13th chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the US’s top derivatives regulator, until last year. Before his five years at the helm of the CFTC he enjoyed a successful career on Wall Street, which included a 13-year stint as executive vice-president of GFI Group. Since leaving the commission he has focused on digital asset technology, in particular the development of a digital dollar. GlobalCapital caught up with Giancarlo to discuss regulation during the coronavirus crisis and the future of cryptocurrencies.

The structured products market may have suffered dramatic blow-ups in the equity market, but investors have supported the less well publicised fixed income corner of the market.

Cboe Global Markets will reopen its open-outcry options trading floor at the beginning of June, after more than two months in which the world’s major derivatives exchanges have operated exclusively electronically.

Muddy Waters has fostered a fearsome reputation as a credible, thorough and forceful short seller whose explosive reports are a danger to anyone harbouring a stake in its intended target. Carson Block, its founder and chief investment officer, told GlobalCapital he has never been wrong about a company he’s shorted, though that doesn’t mean he’s made money from every position he has held. According to Block, monetary policies intended to stimulate markets through financial crises actually corrode them, and stifle accountability for serious failures in corporate governance.

Barclays has made Paul Leech and Todd Sandoz interim co-heads of global equities, after Fater Belbachir was hired by Citi.

The US Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s global markets advisory committee, a steering group made up of market participants, has recommended that the regulator provide a further six month grace period for compliance with initial margin requirements.

The Autorité de Marchés Financieres (AMF) has decided not to lengthen a ban on short selling, but some market participants who opposed the action see it returning when extreme volatility next strikes the markets.