The talk of the SEF world yesterday was the rumor that someone was out to buy MarketAxess. Coincidentally I was at an analyst event hosted by MarketAxess last night, but no one was talking. Although swaps are my favorite thing to talk sbout these days, the reality here is that MarketAxess would be a bond […]
Category: In the News
Putting the Market Back Together (Benzinga Radio)
I’ve been meaning to post this one for a few weeks. Just before the debt ceiling debate ended and S&P did its thing, I spoke with Benzinga Radio about the progress we’ve seen since the passing of Dodd-Frank. Yes – there has been progress (keep any eye out in the next few days for some […]
Credit Safest Since ’08 as Clearinghouses Control Swaps (Bloomberg)
I’m back from vacation. Thought I’d picked a quiet summer week to be away, but obviously not. The title of this article seems someone ironic given the downgrade on Friday evening. Nevertheless, it is hard to deny that the growth in clearing has removed some of the risk from the swaps market. The trade netting […]
It Takes Energy – HFT in the Energy Market
The presence of principal trading groups (PTGs) in the exchange-traded derivatives market, and their absence in thecredit and rate swaps markets, are both the cause and effect of turnover frequencies. TABB Group estimates that proprietary trading (including bank proprietary trading) accounts for 55 percent of futures trading by contract volume and 41 percent of U.S. […]
Will U.S. Default? $4.8 Billion Investment Says Yes (ABC News)
This whole debt ceiling fiasco has brought CDS back into the main stream news again. Last time that happened was – well – you remember. My quote in this story was in response to the reporters request to “explain how credit default swaps work for the average person”. That aside, it should go without saying […]
Swap-Trading Venture Folds, Unable To Get Funding (Wall Street Journal)
The slow regulatory process has its first known victim. As soon as Dodd-Frank made swap execution facilities official, entrepeurial swaps traders everywhere thought they better hurry up and start one. But as we’re seeing only those with deep enough pockets to keep operating for months (or years) with virtual no profit until regulations are in […]
HFT makes up a third of OTC energy swap trading (FT Alphaville)
FT Alphaville picked up on the video we posted at TabbFORUM (ahead of our official press release tomorrow, July 19) regarding my new study on the entrance of prop trading firms into the fixed income swaps markets. Despite the fact that reading your own voice transcribed verbatim is a little painful, the FT does a […]
Three-Fifths Of OTC Derivatives Could Be Cleared, Says Citi (Dow Jones)
Citi has a new study geared towards helping its clients prepare for Dodd-Frank. The two most interesting parts are their estimates for overall growth in IRS and CDS outstanding notional (to $435 trillion by 2013) and their estimates for how much of the OTC derivatives market will be cleared (~60%). I’ll withhold my opinions on […]
A Year Later, Dodd Frank Causes Banks to Shrink (Bloomberg)
Wow – it really has been a year. Even more amazing is that Bear, Lehman and the rest were almost three years ago. Things have changed. I’d argue even as early as 2009 the swaps markets were more transparent than ever before. The bottom line today is the rules are coming and everyone knows it […]
Thomson Reuters to launch OTC platforms by mid-2012 (Financial Times)
Now its official – both major market data providers are in the SEF game. Bloomberg showed as “most likely to succeed” in TABB’s SEF Industry Barometer in the spring. But admittedly that study was focused on credit and rates trading whereas Thomson Reuters is in the FX game. Regardless, both of these firms have a lot behind […]