December

Editorial: Are we sowing the seeds of the next crisis? 16 December 2011

If governments insist in central clearing for illiquid contracts, they must accept the consequences.

November

Exchange traded funds in the dock as regulators raise concerns 11 November 2011

In September, Kweku Adoboli, a trader at UBS, was arrested over an alleged fraud that led to a $2 loss. Following the arrest, there was justifiable shock across the industry. But, as David Wigan discovers, the accusations of fraud exacerbate existing concerns over the growth of the once pedestrian and innocuous asset class that is exchange-traded funds.

September

News analysis: rogue trades at UBS 20 September 2011

How might risk systems at UBS have failed?

May

Dividend options: the equity investor’s shiny new toy 11 May 2011

Dividends are a quirky asset class, and a complex instrument like options may be the best way to exploit them. Theo Casey examines five trading ideas from the sell side for a product that looks like it’s set to grow.

April

Comment: binary options - how to design and test a trading system 01 April 2011

Binary options are an increasingly popular form of retail investment, based on betting whether a particular asset price will go up or down over a short period.

February

CME pioneers FX volatility 23 February 2011

CBOE publishes Vix term structure and indi-Vixes 01 February 2011

The Chicago Board Options Exchange has begun publishing Volatility Index term structure data on its website, recalculated every 15 seconds during the trading day.

You know Vix. Meet his sister, Six 01 February 2011

The Volatility Index has taken the world by storm. So what is CBOE’s next trick? Theo Casey hears it’s a new skew indicator. But what can skew tell us – and is there a market for it? Perhaps it should be seen and not traded…