• HOST: MARK LONGO, THE OPTIONS INSIDER MEDIA GROUP
• CO-HOST: SEAN SMITH, MD OF DERIVATIVES LICENSING, FTSE RUSSELL

ON TODAY'S EPISODE, MARK AND SEAN DISCUSS:

• MOVERS AND SHAKERS FOR THE WEEK.
• TOPICS FEATURED INCLUDE ENERGY, NAT GAS, WTI, CRUDE OIL, EQUITIES, RBOB, AND RATES.
• WE LOOK AT MICRO EMINI FUTURES AND THE CME FEDWATCH TOOL.

FUTURES OPTIONS FEEDBACK

• QUESTION FROM JLD: IS SKEW DATA ON CME BTC RELIABLE WHEN THERE’S SUCH LOW VOLUME?
• QUESTION FROM BILLBEANZ: WHY DO PEOPLE LOVE 3-MONTH FAR OTM PUTS SO MUCH IN RUSSELL?
• QUESTION FROM JACK SCHWARTZ: HOW IS IT POSSIBLE THAT THE RUSSELL 2000 IS LEADING EQUITIES DOWN ON SUCH MACRO-DRIVEN NEWS?
• QUESTION FROM ELL87: IT SEEMS LIKE DEMAND WEAKNESS IS HERE TO STAY FOR CRUDE IN THE NEAR TERM. LOOKS LIKE THOSE CALL WING TRADERS WERE ALL CORRECT WHEN THEY FADED EVERY RALLY. CORONAVIRUS WAS THE REAL RISK LURKING IN THE SHADOWS.

TWIFO 187: The Zone of Annoying Volatility

• HOST: MARK LONGO, THE OPTIONS INSIDER MEDIA GROUP
• CME HOT SEAT GUEST:  ANDREW GIOVINAZZI, THE OPTION PIT

ON TODAY'S EPISODE, MARK AND ANDREW DISCUSS:

• MOVERS AND SHAKERS FOR THE WEEK
• JANUARY OPTIONS NUMBERS FOR CME GROUP & OPTIONS COMPLEX OVERVIEW
• TOPICS FEATURED INCLUDE NAT GAS, WTI, EQUITIES, SOYBEANS, RBOB, AND CRYPTO

FUTURES OPTIONS FEEDBACK

• QUESTION FROM RACQUEL: WHAT ARE SOME OTHER MARKETS THAT EXHIBIT SIMILAR SKEW TO EQUITY INDICES (E.G.- CHEAP CALLS AND EXPENSIVE PUTS) 
• QUESTION FROM DALY: UPTICK IN CME CRYPTO THIS WEEK?
• QUESTION FROM MARCUS T.: I THINK CRUDE DEMAND WILL RECOVER IN THE NEXT 1-2 YEARS. WHAT IS THE BEST WAY TO BE A LONG-TERM OIL BULL? FUTURES? OPTIONS? ETF? SOMETHING ELSE?
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TWIFO 186: Bitcoin Breakdown and Equity Analysis

• HOST: MARK LONGO, THE OPTIONS INSIDER MEDIA GROUP
• CO-HOST: SEAN SMITH, MD OF DERIVATIVES LICENSING, FTSE RUSSELL
• CME HOT SEAT GUEST: TIM MCCOURT, MANAGING DIRECTOR AT CME GROUP, GLOBAL HEAD OF EQUITY PRODUCTS

ON TODAY'S EPISODE, MARK, SEAN AND TIM DISCUSS:

• MOVERS AND SHAKERS FOR THE WEEK.
• TOPICS FEATURED INCLUDE CRYPTO, EQUITIES, WTI AND COPPER.

CRYPTO

• THE LAUNCH OF BITCOIN OPTIONS
• DISCONNECT BETWEEN BITCOIN FUTURES VOLUME AND BITCOIN OPTIONS VOLUME
• FACTORS DRIVING THE RECENT UPTICK IN BITCOIN OPTIONS VOLUME - 48 CONTRACTS TRADED ON MONDAY
• CME'S PLANS TO GROW BITCOIN OPTIONS VOLUME
• ARE THERE PLANS FOR A MICRO/MINI BITCOIN CONTRACT TO DRIVE MORE RETAIL ADOPTION?
• WHEN CAN WE STOP QUOTING BITCOIN VOLUME IN NOTIONAL VALUE?

EQUITIES

• VIX: 15 - DOWN 2.3 FROM LAST SHOW
• VVIX: 91.3 - DOWN 10 FROM LAST SHOW
• RVX: 16.5 - DOWN 2.75 FROM LAST SHOW 
• VIX/RVX SPREAD - APPROX. 1.5 - .5 TIGHTER THAN LAST SHOW
• OVERVIEW OF CME EQUITY OPTIONS COMPLEX IN 2019 - HIGHS AND LOWS, VOLUME TRENDS, DEVELOPMENTS, ETC. 
• FACTORS DRIVING THE INCREDIBLE ADOPTION OF EQUITY MICRO FUTURES. ANY PLANS FOR MICRO OPTIONS?
• THOUGHTS ON CURRENT EQUITY VOLATILITY LANDSCAPE AND HOW PANDEMIC FEARS ARE IMPACTING VOLATILITY/VOLUME.

WTI

• DIPPED BELOW $50 THIS WEEK - FIRST TIME IN MORE THAN A YEAR
• NOW OFFICIALLY IN A BEAR MARKET - NEARLY 25% OFF ITS 52 WEEK HIGH OF $66.60 FROM APRIL 2019
• WTI CRUDE HAS DECLINED 20% IN THE PAST MONTH, AND IT COULD SHED ANOTHER 10%, BASED ON HISTORY.
• WHEN CRUDE OIL FALLS BELOW $50, IT TENDS TO STAY DOWN, AND A NEGATIVE TREND IN THE S&P 500 FOLLOWS.
• OPEC & RUSSIA CONSIDERING EMERGENCY PRODUCTION CUTS - WILL THAT BE ENOUGH?

COPPER

• BIG MOVER THIS WEEK

FUTURES OPTIONS FEEDBACK

• QUESTION FROM DEMOCAT: ARE THERE ANY PLANS FOR MINI (MICRO) RUSSELL OPTIONS?
• QUESTION FROM ELLIE: ARE THERE STILL SIZE LIMITS ON HOW MANY EMINI S&P FUTURES YOU CAN TRADE ELECTRONICALLY ON GLOBEX?
• QUESTION FROM BELDEN: WHAT ARE THE PLANS FOR THE ETHER REFERENCE RATE GOING FORWARD?