Articles - Global Financial Markets Institute

December 13th, 2024

The Federal Reserve’s Tools to Manage Monetary Policy in 2024

Introduction Since 2008, much has changed in regard to how the Fed manages monetary policy/interest rates. We might even say “what a long, strange trip it’s been.” Moving into 2025 with the Trump administration, I think that phrase will still hold! In 2015, I wrote an article titled “The Federal Reserve Tools: Past and Present” […]

December 13th, 2024

Tariffs, Trade, GDP, and Inflation

Introduction Tariffs have certainly dominated the economic news cycle of late. The foregone conclusion by pundits is that they will raise prices for consumers. However, we are currently in a disinflationary environment regardless of what inflation index you look at. Having said that, inflation seems to have bottomed out in the 2.50% neighborhood. The following […]

March 21st, 2024

Gold, Bitcoin/Digital Gold, and Fiat Currencies

Introduction In the opening scene of Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark, Indy trespasses into a sacred temple to retrieve a golden idol statuette. The viewer is led to believe that this ancient artifact has existed for quite some time. It is no surprise that it is made of gold as, historically, […]

October 24th, 2023

October Scaries: Where are We Six Months After the Banking Crisis and What Might Happen Tomorrow… Boo!

Introduction Rob McDonough and I coauthored an article in April of 2023 concerning Silicon Valley Bank (https://www.gfmi.com/articles/silicon-valley-bank-interest-rate-and-liquidity-risk-within-asset-liability-management/), their interest rate and liquidity policies, and the reasons for their demise. What has changed since the March banking crisis? Let’s take a look at the current interest rate environment, what challenges may be looming during this scariest […]

March 24th, 2023

Silicon Valley Bank: Interest Rate and Liquidity Risk within Asset Liability Management

Introduction Politicians and pundits have been casting blame and pointing fingers at a variety of sources that contributed to the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), which also resulted in contagion at other financial institutions with similar balance sheet structures. Rather than point blame, it seems like a better idea to examine the way that […]

December 20th, 2022

Time for T+1

Introduction The late J. Carter Beese Jr., former SEC commissioner, gave a speech in 1993 where he famously said, “Nothing good ever happens to a trade between trade date and settlement date.” Incorporating a riff on Murphy’s Law as it applies to the Lifecycle of Trade (“What can go wrong, will go wrong”), his remarks […]

November 15th, 2022

Where Does the Municipal Market Go from Here?

Overview Municipal securities are an important part of the fixed-income market. While small at $4.2 trillion compared with the U.S. bond market at $52.9 trillion, municipal bonds are a critical financing vehicle for cities, towns, and states. The lion’s share of the municipal financings is for large, long-lived assets such as roads, bridges, hospitals, and […]

October 4th, 2022

ESG from the Issuer’s Perspective

Trends in Sustainable Security Issuance The number and total size of new issuance deals in the sustainable (or ESG, or Impact) security space has been consistently growing over the past decade around the globe. Even the COVID pandemic was not sufficient to diminish the need for new capital to fund projects and initiatives targeting environmental […]

September 7th, 2022

The Long and Short: Inflation + Recession = Stagflation

Introduction Lots have been written lately about stagflation. Since I have written an article on “Inflation” (https://www.gfmi.com/articles/everything-you-wanted-to-know-about-inflation-but-were-afraid-to-ask/) and a blog on “Predicting Recessions” (https://www.gfmi.com/the-long-and-short-predicting-recessions/), I thought I would combine them with an update using today’s economic variables. This article assumes you have read both the prior inflation article and the blog – or have a […]

August 1st, 2022

Offshoring, Outsourcing, Onshoring, Supply Chain, and Baby Formula

Introduction First, we had, and still have, supply chain issues. These challenges have led to shortages of goods and the inevitable consequences of shortages – price increases. Sourcing products from overseas has been a decades long movement commonly referred to as globalization. Specifically, companies have offshored their production, i.e., they moved their operations overseas to […]

June 22nd, 2022

ESG from the Investor’s Perspective

What is ESG? The acronym “ESG” stands for environmental, social, and governance. More importantly, the term ESG has become synonymous with the concept of “sustainability.” In the capital markets, ESG criteria are a set of standards that should help to assess an organization’s operations evaluate potential investments in securities issued by those organizations. The universe […]

May 25th, 2022

Cryptocurrency Derivatives: Cryptocurrency Perpetual Contracts

Introduction The rock band YES has a song called “Perpetual Change.” Capital markets resemble the title of the song as they are known for innovation and continually adapting to market changes. (And how apropos to have an adjective in our eNews article and a rock and roll song!) Cryptocurrencies and their derivatives are perfect examples […]

May 25th, 2022

The Federal Reserve, Inflation, and the State of Interest Rates and Quantitative Easing

Introduction Economically, we are certainly in unchartered territory these days. Recovering from a global pandemic, we now face rising inflation pressures coupled with lackluster economic growth as evidenced by the negative 1.4% growth in the U.S. first quarter GDP. Central Banks worldwide are now dealing with the growing pressures of stagflation. Trying to balance the […]

April 11th, 2022

Cryptocurrency Derivatives: Chicago Mercantile Exchange Cryptocurrency Futures

Introduction Cryptocurrency derivatives now make up the majority of the cryptocurrency market. I will be writing a series of articles/blogs on the spot and derivatives markets. This first article will address the cryptocurrency futures markets and, in particular, will give an overview of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME) contracts. Cryptocurrency futures have various features: Regulated […]

March 8th, 2022

Leadership: How Is the Remote Workplace Changing Its Definition and Skills Set?

Leadership: How Is the Remote Workplace Changing Its Definition and Skills Set? Allow me to start with a powerful and inspirational quote from John Quincy Adams: Leadership – In Simple Words Leadership is the process of persuasion by which an individual induces a group or another person to pursue their objectives. It is a […]

December 6th, 2021

Send Presents at Christmas a.k.a. SPACs

I asked one of my friends what they thought SPAC could stand for. As it is the holiday season, she replied, “Send Presents at Christmas?” Nice try, but no cigar. SPACs, or Special Purpose Acquisition Companies, have been around for years, but recently have garnered much more attention due to the pandemic induced influx of […]

October 13th, 2021

The Federal Reserve’s Tools to Manage Monetary Policy

Since 2008, much has changed in regards to how the Fed manages monetary policy/interest rates. We might even say “what a long strange trip it’s been.” A lot has transpired since the credit crisis in 2008, up to and including the 2020 COVID outbreak. In 2015, I wrote an article titled “The Federal Reserve Tools: […]

September 13th, 2021

Everything You Wanted to Know About Inflation, but Were Afraid to Ask

Inflation The press is abuzz with inflation news. Since the great recession, inflation has been extremely low, primarily registering below the Federal Reserve’s target of 2%. Recently though, inflation has increased above the Fed’s target with the Consumer Price Index coming in at over 5% for two straight months. The Fed has indicated that they […]

September 13th, 2021

Understanding Inflation Breakevens

Introduction The Fisher equation is a way of decomposing a nominal yield into three components: Real yields Inflation expectations Inflation risk premium It is expressed as: (1 + nominal rate) = (1 + real rate) (1+ inflation expectations) (1+ inflation risk premium) It is common for practitioners to combine the last two elements into one […]

August 3rd, 2021

Commercial Mortgage-Backed Securities in the Post-Covid Economy

Commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) have been one of the most successful sub-classes in the structured finance clade of the fixed-income genus. This article reviews the performance of the asset class, focusing on the nexus of CMBS collateral with specific aspects of the real economy and financial markets. The goal is twofold. First, to draw some […]

June 2nd, 2021

COVID-19 – A Year Later: The Evolution of Compliance in an Expanding Universe of Know Your Know Yours!

Background A former U.S. Defense Secretary responded to a U.S. Department of Defense news briefing question in 2002 about the lack of evidence linking the government of Iraq with the supply of weapons of mass destruction to terrorist groups about known knowns; “there are things we know we know. We also know there are known […]

May 5th, 2021

Getting Started with Python: A Popular Tool for Finance Professionals

Why Python? Financial professionals are expected to be able to work with increasingly large datasets. Whether you are analyzing the bank’s trade positions or working tirelessly to find exploitable anomalies in the plight for alpha, you must learn to efficiently clean up, sift through, and interpret vast amounts of data. Python is quickly becoming the […]

April 7th, 2021

Pandemics and Liquidity: Examining the Intersecting Crises

Brighter Days Ahead Like so many, I am cautiously optimistic that the end of the COVID-19 pandemic is in sight. By December 2020, COVID vaccines were developed and tested. Now they are being delivered, giving us all hope.[i] However, variants of the virus may prolong the disruption to everyday lives, particularly given the hasty move […]

March 2nd, 2021

The Road to Learning: A Rearview Look at the Student Loan Dilemma

The Evolution of Student Loans The new administration and the hyperbole around socialism has led many pundits to discuss the student loans that are on the U.S. Government’s balance sheet. There are currently over $1.5 trillion of student loans outstanding. These loans can be categorized as either government backed/originated or private student loans. This article looks […]

November 18th, 2020

SEC and Human Capital Management Reporting: What It Means for You and Your Firm

Landscape for Change The challenge for the modern organization is to attract, retain, and maximize the potential of their people. These key efforts are paramount to creating, and maintaining, vibrant future organizations. Thirty-five years ago, before the domination of Silicon Valley across America, physical assets made up nearly half of the stock market’s value. The […]

October 30th, 2020

The Oxygen of the Financial Markets: Liquidity Planning During COVID-19

During 2020 COVID-19 crisis, better liquidity planning has been paying off Ruth Porat, CFO of Alphabet, Inc., once quoted, “Liquidity is oxygen for a financial system.” And when better to have an abundant supply than during the past ten months? The2020 COVID-19 pandemic-induced financial market crisis was just another in a long line of negative […]

August 25th, 2020

Modern Monetary Theory: The Federal Reserve, Inflation, and the US Dollar

In July 2020, GFMI delivered a virtual seminar on Modern Monetary Theory (MMT). One of the questions posed to the audience was “Does too much money in the financial system, as measured by the monetary base, M1 or M2, cause inflation?” Nearly 70% of the respondents believed it did. This perspective aligns with the more […]

May 12th, 2020

Covid-19: Lessons for the Economy via Healthcare

A Storm Arrives In my study of economics, I don’t recall ever evaluating the impact of health policy or crisis on our economy. Yet, here we are. The storm of Covid‑19 crept up on us quickly and violently. We are now dealing with this crisis in our country and around the world. One pauses to […]

April 9th, 2020

Blockchain Technology – Transforming Global Financial Markets

Blockchain Technology – Transforming Global Financial Markets Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies, in general, have been under strict scrutiny by both regulators and leaders in the financial industry. We must understand, however, that blockchain technology does not equate to bitcoin or to cryptocurrencies. Bitcoin is only one example of a blockchain technology use case. The possible applications […]

February 28th, 2020

Making Sense of Healthcare’s Long Evolution

Déjà Vu All Over Again When the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was passed in 2010, it promised to provide Americans with better access, better outcomes, and reduced costs for our healthcare.i Great news!Of course, it would take some time to have it all implemented. There could be changes in delivery methodology.Healthcare systems would need to […]

January 30th, 2020

The Lack of Covenants in a Leveraged World

The Roaring ‘20s are here! The world of finance looks wonderful – the Dow Jones Industrial Average is at record highs, inflation and interest rates are low, unemployment is at an all-time low, and trade tensions have eased. What could go wrong? Plenty. The Bull Market started in March 2009 and is the longest running […]

December 19th, 2019

2019’s Top 11 Issues in Operations and Technology

Despite the fact that end-of-year lists always risk being arbitrary, over-simplified, opinionated, and exclusionary, we’ve compiled yet another for “What We Were Talking about in 2019” in Operations and Technology. These areas are in no particular order and include issues and trends because of economic and business changes, regulatory requirements, and changes in how technology […]

November 26th, 2019

Reflections on Recent Volatility in the Repo Markets

The repo markets in the United States have historically been a relatively obscure but highly important part of the “plumbing” of the capital markets by facilitating overnight and generally, short-term financing of securities transactions primarily in the US Treasury market. Repos are also a key provider of short-term liquidity to US brokerage firms facilitating both […]

November 8th, 2019

Evolution of Responsible Investing

Investors have a long history of directing their capital towards organizations whose activities lead to desirable social outcomes. The earliest examples of this practice were often associated with specific religious or spiritual frameworks. For example, Shari’a investing principles dating to the first millennium are informed by specific Islamic values that forbid the consumption of pork […]

September 3rd, 2019

Negative Interest Rates Revisited: The Topsy-Turvy World in Which We Live

In an April 2019 blog post, “Negative Interest Rates? – The Enigma Explored!”, GFMI examined the definition of negative interest rates, the reasons for negative interest rates, and the potential for a better option than buying a fixed income security with a negative yield. In this article we explore the current state of sovereign yield […]

August 2nd, 2019

3-Month SOFR Futures

In our LIBOR Schmibor article series, I introduced SOFR (See https://www.gfmi.com/articles/libor-schmibor-whats-next-sofr-part/). SOFR issuance continues to expand including the potential use in adjustable rate mortgages. (To view a user’s guide for SOFR, go to https://www.newyorkfed.org/medialibrary/Microsites/arrc/files/2019/Users_Guide_to_SOFR.pdf.) In this article, we intend to explore futures on SOFR, specifically 3-month SOFR futures (SFR) and compare this to 3-month Eurodollar […]

May 31st, 2019

Practical Fintech For Financial Professionals

FinTech Defined The recent growth of financial technology, or “fintech,” affects us in many ways. Upon hearing the term “fintech,” you may envision technology related to cryptocurrency, mobile payments, money transfers, crowdfunding, robo-advisors, and asset management. In its broadest definition, fintech is “technologies used and applied in the financial services sector, chiefly used by financial […]

March 27th, 2019

Embracing Robo-Advisory Looks Promising for The Longevity of Financial Advisors

For several years now, and as expected, numerous studies on the annual trends in the wealth management industry have been published, of which all of them – without exception – continuously emphasize the importance of embracing digital wealth management or to expect extinction. Last December, Capgemini, a technology services and digital transformation consulting firm, in […]

March 6th, 2019

As Safe as Houses? Central Counterparties and Risk

In Britain, if you say that someone or something is ‘as safe as houses’, you mean that it is completely safe. But is this the case with Central Counterparties, which were designed to provide a level of security in taking on the risk between parties in financial transactions? In September 2018, a single Norwegian power […]

January 24th, 2019

Marijuana Related Businesses (MRBs): High Hopes for a Fast-Growing Industry

It’s 420 In 1971 five high school students in San Rafael, California agreed to meet at a wall across the street from their high school. They called themselves the Waldos, and their objective was to find an abandoned cannabis crop using an old map created by the grower. The time they agreed to meet was […]

December 19th, 2018

Regulatory Update and 2019 Preview

There have been several significant regulatory changes to the financial services environment in 2018, and more are anticipated in 2019. Following is a brief summary of some of the most significant of those changes. Stress Testing Randal Quarles, Vice Chair for Supervision at the Fed, announced that changes to ease stress testing requirements would be […]

November 12th, 2018

LIBOR SCHMIBOR: What’s Next? SOFR Part II

In LIBOR SCHMIBOR: What’s Next? SOFR Part I we covered the following topics: Explanation of LIBOR Potential replacements Repurchase agreements (repos) and Tri-party Repo International benchmarks Looking ahead This article looks to: Define SOFR Discuss applications and new products Update international benchmarks Secured Overnight Financing Rate (SOFR): Definition and Features As discussed in Part I […]

November 12th, 2018

LIBOR SCHMIBOR: What’s Next? SOFR Part I

The LIBOR manipulation scandal has led regulators to recommend new money market benchmarks. This article briefly reviews LIBOR and what the potential replacements will be. LIBOR LIBOR, or London Inter-Bank Offered Rate, is a money market benchmark/index, less than one-year, that has been used throughout the financial/capital markets since 1986. Some products or instruments that […]

November 12th, 2018

VIX, Volatilities and Exchange Traded Products

Volatility in the stock market was subdued through 2017 as can be seen in Figure 11. Many people began to sell volatility to capture this “non-movement.” In trading parlance, it is referred to as a short vol trade. But in February of 2018, the VIX had a massive move up in volatility. From the close […]

March 22nd, 2018

Settlement Risk and Blockchain

Settlement risk has been part of the capital markets since its inception. Blockchain is the new kid on the block. Can Blockchain, sometimes referred to as Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT), help mitigate settlement risk or is it all a pipe dream? Speaking of pipes, the industry infrastructure (sometimes referred to as the “plumbing”) includes many […]

July 11th, 2017

Electronic Trading and Flash Crashes – Part II

Part I of this article discussed electronic trading, the differences between algorithmic trading (AT) and high frequency trading (HFT), types of systems/platforms, exchange traded versus OTC transactions, and other considerations such as colocation. In Part II, we will address different strategies and the three main flash crashes/events. Automated Strategies Strategies are generally broken down into […]

May 12th, 2017

Blockchain – Where We Have Been & Where We Are Going

The Rise of Blockchain 2016 was the year that saw the rise of blockchain. Increased interest from the mass media, corporate titans across America, and the US government all led innovative approaches to using the technology. And one thing is certain – 2017 heralds much of the same trend. By the end of 2017, early-adopter […]

April 6th, 2017

Electronic Trading and Flash Crashes – Part 1

Quite often, the media has pointed its fingers at electronic trading as the cause of various flash crashes. When delivering training on Electronic Trading, I often find that people are confused by the various terms and intricacies of this market. I thought it might be a good idea to give an overview of electronic trading […]

September 6th, 2016

The New Fiduciary Rule

On April 6, 2016, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued its final rule expanding the “investment advice fiduciary” definition under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), modifying the complex of prohibited transaction exemptions for investment activities in light of that expanded definition (the “Rule”).[1] This is the first major rewrite to […]

May 31st, 2016

The Long and Short of It: An Overview of XVA

Introduction to Counterparty Credit Risk The evolution of counterparty credit risk started with counterparty (credit) limits, settlement limits and exposure measurements such as potential future exposure. This progressed to the use of unilateral collateral, then the bilateral exchange of collateral. To assist in the pricing for the cost of dealing with a counterparty in a […]

April 20th, 2016

Migration to T+2 Settlement

Overview of T+2 Settlement The late J. Carter Beese Jr., former SEC commissioner, gave a speech in 1993 where he famously said, “Nothing good ever happens to a trade between trade date and settlement date.” His remarks were meant to encourage the industry to shorten the existing T+5 settlement cycle to T+3. The goal of […]

April 19th, 2016

The Long and Short of It: An Overview of STACR and CAS

Introduction to STACR and CAS Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac now have issued numerous credit risk transfer notes in this ever evolving market. This article summarizes some of the highlights of the issues/securities called Structured Agency Credit Risk or STACR, which are issued by Freddie Mac, and Connecticut Avenue Securities or CAS, which are issued by Fannie Mae. Origin […]

April 18th, 2016

Enterprise Risk Management: A Modern Consensus from Corporate Studies

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Introduction Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) is one of the hottest areas in the risk management discipline today, with new advances in technology and communications creating both opportunities and challenges in the area. Experts have conducted considerable research in the field of ERM in the last fifteen years and it’s useful to […]

April 17th, 2016

Understanding Central Counterparties (CCPs)

Central counterparty clearing houses, or more simply central counterparties (“CCPs”), have emerged from the 2008 financial crisis as lynchpins of the global derivatives markets, and therefore, a critical part of the infrastructure of the global financial system. This article addresses the following questions: What are CCPs, and what role do they play? What is a […]

April 16th, 2016

Stressed Over Stress Testing

The financial crisis exposed a number of critical weaknesses across the largest banks and highlighted that many BHCs had a limited ability to effectively identify, measure, and control their risks, and to assess their capital needs. CCAR Review 2015, March 2015, Board of Governors, Federal Reserve Stress testing has been an important part of bank […]

April 16th, 2016

The Birth of a New Type of Bond — Reverse Yankee

Low interest rates equals strong currency? The idea of borrowing on an uncovered basis in a low interest rate foreign currency has been around for many years. The Swiss franc in the 1980s, the Japanese yen in the 1990s and more recently, Hungarian consumers taking out mortgages denominated in euros. These are just three examples […]

April 15th, 2016

Comparing and Contrasting CCAR and DFAST

Comparing and Contrasting CCAR and DFAST The Federal Reserve System’s (the Fed) regulatory responsibilities include the oversight of bank holding companies (BHCs), savings and loan holding companies, state member banks, and systemically important nonbank financial institutions (SIFIs). The Fed has reacted to some of the negative outcomes associated with the recent financial crisis by creating […]

April 15th, 2016

The Federal Reserve Tools: Past and Present

The Federal Reserve Tools: Past and Present Pundits all seem to agree that, later this year, the Federal Reserve will finally raise rates. Some seem to think that will occur in June while others believe it will be September. Regardless of when it happens, now would be a good time to review how the Federal […]

April 13th, 2016

Municipals Update: the Good, the Bad, and the Groundbreaking

We thought it might be helpful to update our municipal bond market view from last year with our “crystal ball” for 2014. First, we will examine the overall market for any changes and insights to the future. Next, we will review two issues that have essentially been resolved. Lastly, we will move on to the […]

April 13th, 2016

Accepting a Regulatory Gift: Exceeding Rising Credit Risk Quantification Standards

Encountering a New Standard “That did not go too well” said Barry, my investment expert friend as we left the testing center. He was an extremely intelligent financial expert who would later become well-known for uncovering an infamous financial fraud. But on this day, he correctly anticipated that he had failed the Level I CFA […]

April 12th, 2016

Binary Options: Portfolio Destruction Theory or Market Wizardry?

Two Sides of the Same Coin Let’s imagine you play a game of Roulette at a Casino. You stand at the table and see there are two blocks, one red and one black. You ask the dealer and she explains to you that this game pays out even odds, in other words, 1:1. If you […]

April 12th, 2016

GSEs and Housing Finance Reform

GSE History Affordable housing has been a goal of the US Government since the Depression. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (the government-sponsored enterprises, or GSEs) were created to lower the cost of, and make financing more available for, Americans to purchase a home. The GSEs developed a secondary market for mortgages, which further reduced financing […]

April 11th, 2016

The Volcker Rule—Where to Begin?

As part of the on-going Dodd-Frank Act rules and regulation implementation, section 619, more commonly known as the Volcker Rule (Rule), was finalized in December 2013 with a few tweaks during the first quarter of 2014.[i]The main undertow of the Rule is to prohibit, “[a] banking entity and nonbank financial company supervised by the Board […]

April 10th, 2016

The Perfect Storm: October 2008

What were the Reasons for the Subprime/Credit Crunch in 2008? There have been a plethora of reasons given by the media for what created the subprime/credit crunch crises. However, in speaking with people within the industry, as well as friends and family, it appears not everyone understands the various reasons culminating in the credit crunch […]

April 9th, 2016

Collateralized Loan Obligations

Collateralized loan obligations (“CLOs”) are structured financial transactions where certain types of loans, usually highly leveraged syndicated commercial credits, are pooled together and transferred to a trust entity called a special purpose vehicle (“SPV”). The commercial credits are usually loans issued by financial institutions that are funding high-risk ventures such as leveraged buyouts. The SPV […]

April 8th, 2016

Detecting Early Warning Signs

Detecting Early Warning Signs Appreciating that volatilities and uncertainties in our financial markets are accelerating, the ability to anticipate problems in individual issuers/borrowers is a highly valued skill. The effectiveness of how we can best spot the numerous red flags, and subsequently, how we interpret them, will be the determinate factors for success or failure […]

April 5th, 2016

The Impact of OTC Clearing on Operations Departments

Interest Rate Swap Futures: An Introduction Since the G20 Summit in 2009, Operations Departments of financial services firms have been hard at work re-engineering work flows, upgrading and implementing new systems, and acquiring new skill sets to support the requirements of the Dodd-Frank mandate for clearing OTC Derivative contracts. Some of these changes were in […]

April 4th, 2016

Interest Rate Swap Futures: An Introduction

The financial crisis has brought about many changes to the global financial system. One of these changes are the clearing requirements implemented by the Dodd-Frank Act for over the counter (OTC) derivatives such as interest rate swaps. These complex requirements have also increased interest in interest rate swap futures as an alternative hedging instrument. Although […]

April 3rd, 2016

Looking through the ICE at Electronic Trading

If there was ever any doubt about the importance of electronic trading in today’s capital markets, surely the acquisition of the New York Stock Exchange by ICE (the Intercontinental Exchange, Inc. based in Atlanta, and one of the first electronic derivatives exchanges) would put the notion to rest. Looking at the corporate evolution of ICE […]

April 2nd, 2016

Unlucky 2013 for the U.S. Municipal Market—Fact or Fiction?

The municipal market has been around for over 100 years and has been the primary engine for state and local governments to finance schools, hospitals, homes and all types of basic infrastructure. The market is deep and liquid and stands at about $3.7 trillion as compared with the $8.4 trillion corporate bond market.1Due to their […]

March 20th, 2014

Risk Reversals

Risk reversal is a commonly used term in the FX markets. Specifically, a risk reversal is: An option strategy combining the simultaneous purchase of out-of-the-money calls (puts) with the sale of out-of-the money puts (calls). The options will have the same expiration date and similar deltas. A market view on both the underlying currency and […]