Monthly Archives: February 2018

February 2018

Last Look

2019-11-05T12:49:44+00:00

The British Investment Association issued guidelines that will address concerns about the transparency of forex trading, particularly with the use of ‘Last Look’. This is something that asset managers had been complaining about, since it potentially means banks can misuse trade information to gain an unfair advantage. This also means asset managers cannot serve their [...]

Last Look 2019-11-05T12:49:44+00:00

Economic Outlook – 25 February 2018

2018-02-26T09:52:52+00:00

US US existing home sales disappointed again in January, falling 3.2% to a 5.38 million unit pace with sales declining in all four regions of the country. The sluggish pace of existing home sales is linked to the fact that supply remains historically low. The inventory of existing homes on the market rose in January [...]

Economic Outlook – 25 February 2018 2018-02-26T09:52:52+00:00

Economic Outlook – 18 February 2018

2018-02-18T12:29:03+00:00

US Headline US CPI increased 0.5% in January, and registered a 2.1% year-on-year increase. While energy prices played a large role in boosting the CPI, core CPI, excluding food and energy prices, rose 0.3%, the largest gain since last January. While the year-ago gain is unchanged from December, core CPI has increased at a 2.9% [...]

Economic Outlook – 18 February 2018 2018-02-18T12:29:03+00:00

The ‘short vol’ Trade

2018-02-11T20:17:22+00:00

In this article, we analyse the disastrous ‘short vol’ trade that wiped out a lot of traders last week and draw some lessons learned from it.   The VIX is the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index. It shows the expected 30-day volatility of the S&P 500 by calculating the implied volatilities on options relating [...]

The ‘short vol’ Trade 2018-02-11T20:17:22+00:00

Economic Outlook – 11 February 2018

2018-02-18T12:31:32+00:00

US The ISM non-manufacturing index posted a solid rebound in January after service sector activity took a breather in November and December. The headline rose to hit a new cycle high of 59.9. The improvement in new orders was the main driver of the recovery, but the breadth of positive responses across industries was also [...]

Economic Outlook – 11 February 2018 2018-02-18T12:31:32+00:00

Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies Without the Hype – and What They Mean for the Private Wealth Industry

2018-02-11T20:26:24+00:00

Guest post by Vladimir Dimitroff with Dr Alexander Cassar. . . . It is impossible today to open any news source without a headline (or several) about Bitcoin and related matters jumping out at the reader and loudly demanding attention. It is no longer the domain of techno geeks or shady characters trading in illicit [...]

Blockchain and Cryptocurrencies Without the Hype – and What They Mean for the Private Wealth Industry 2018-02-11T20:26:24+00:00

Economic Outlook – 4 February 2018

2018-02-04T09:37:45+00:00

US The ISM manufacturing survey ticked down 0.2 points to 59.1, but new orders remained exceptionally strong and the backlog of unfilled orders increased. While the index declined slightly, it does not signal a slowing in manufacturing activity or the economy since the ISM survey is a diffusion index and measures the breadth of strength [...]

Economic Outlook – 4 February 2018 2018-02-04T09:37:45+00:00