Loveland Ski Resort an hour up I-70 from downtown Denver logged 26 inches of snow in the past five days. We’ve had to cover patio plants the past two nights as temperatures dipped to 30. It’s bright and clear. But winter has had a hard time letting go this year.

Meanwhile in Europe, Morgan Stanley launched a lending book for European Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) today. Here is the key to understanding financial reform currently mucking up Congress. It encapsulates everything that’s wrong with today’s capital markets. Continue reading →

We hope none of you are marooned in Europe by volcanic ash. If you are, we’ll try to keep your minds off the extra money you’re spending with the shocking suggestion that markets writhed last week not for Goldman Sachs but for expirations.

The SEC last week sued Goldman Sachs for misleading investors about certain collateralized debt obligations during the subprime mortgage meltdown. Continue reading →

Spring finally tossed its verdant cape over the Denver Front Range. We saw it firsthand on our bikes from Sedalia to Palmer Lake last weekend, our first 40-plus miler of the year. It’s been too cold! We know you Californians among us are already past the early and midseason allergens.

Meanwhile in Manhattan, down on Old Slip between Water and South streets there hums and whizzes a sharp shop of folks whose cares are far removed from the seasons. And apparently geography too, for Hudson River Trading sits just off the East River. Continue reading →

Sorry we’re late this week! We’re in Las Vegas and the Market Structure Map wanted to stay in Vegas, apparently.

Program trading jumped about 10% in the first few trading days of April, compared to March. We define program trades as mathematical execution in more than one stock at a time that follows a market trend. We believe the increase in part reflects improved institutional and retail commitments to various equity index vehicles. But it also shows how “market neutral” trading strategies that continuously buy and sell a wide variety of securities to achieve small profits when netted out have become mainstream.

It shows up in interesting ways. Continue reading →