While You Were Working - April 24 - SmartBrief

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While You Were Working – April 24

CME Group on the economics of Bitcoin, traders flock to the close, the evolution of ISDA, PIMCO's inspired real estate choices, and Mo Salah is magisterial.

3 min read

Modern Money

Mohamed Salah

Why didn't Jurgen Klopp just let Mo Salah keep scoring?

The economics of Bitcoin

 I like to joke about having Bitcoinitis, but that doesn’t mean I detest all chatter about the uber cool cryptocurrency. And what I really like is when smart people go deeper than the chatter to explore what lies ahead as the world navigates the road to Bitcoin Shangri-La. That is exactly what Blu Putnam and Erik Norland from CME Group do in this analysis of the economics of Bitcoin.

Banging the close

Here is an interesting look from the FT at the rising trend of traders waiting looking to seize opportunities during the last 30 minutes of the US trading day. The rush to trade at the end of the day presents liquidity challenges during the earlier parts of the day and places adding pressure on market infrastructure building up to the close. I am not sure I see too much of a problem with it, nor do I see any possible solution. People are gonna trade when they wanna trade.

The evolution of ISDA

This Risk piece offers a great analysis at how the composition of the board of directors at the International Swaps and Derivatives Association has changed in recent years. The piece does a deep dive with ISDA Chairman Eric Litvack, who explains how and why the board has changed and the different ways the group is helping its members navigate the ever changing landscape of derivatives.

Speaking of ISDA…

… ISDA’s 33rd Annual General Meeting kicks off tonight in Miami. Ahead of the event, the group published the results of its Future of Derivatives survey.

What I love about PIMCO

Sure, PIMCO is a heackuva investment management firm. And yes, having spun out the likes of Bill Gross, Mohamed El-Erian and Joachim Fels, the firm does not lack brilliant executives – both past and present. But what I love most about PIMCO is its ability to pick totally rad office locations. While most investment firms usually opt for some big metropolis, PIMCO has always done just fine operating out of super cool Newport Beach, California (while also operating an office in New York). And now that the firm is opening another big office, they’ve made yet another inspired choice: Austin, Texas.

Soccer is a silly sport

With just a few minutes left to play in today’s Champions League semifinal, the TV cameras panned the crowd and revealed fans of AS Roma smiling and chanting and singing and just generally going bonkers. The very next shot was of Liverpool FC supporters so full of anguish and anxiety they were actually biting their nails. The funny thing is, Liverpool was winning 5-2.

Cheers to two-legged fixtures and the away goals rule!

WYWW Appetizers

  • The Dow Jones fell 425 points.
  • Regulators who don’t want to regulate versus regulators who do.
  • Bankers doing some good.