This Week in Futures Options

Topics this week include: Crude Equities/Russell Ags Gold Bitcoin Futures Options Feedback: Listeners take over FlashPoll: Crude oil has been on a tear this week. We know that many of you are trading options on this hot commodity. Quite simply - which options product are you using to slake your thirst for Crude oil? WTI? USO? XLE? WTI USO XLE Other Listener questions and comments: Comment from Olivetrader2 -I may have the key to the weeklies mystery or I may be captain obvious. If I want to trade weeklies I need to ask for weeklies options limits to my clearing firm. Regular options limits don't apply. I use @Trading_Tech. I never asked for them because my trading results are usually not good around expiration. And weeklies = more expirations. Question from Leif - Is the use case for Russell 2000 options the same as S&P and Nasdaq - primarily covered calls and protective puts? Question from Tatuf - It looks like crude is setting up to be a decent candidate for call ratio spreads (short 1, long 2). Certainly would have worked out well over past few weeks. Am I just blinded by recentness or does skew data support this long term? OTM calls typically aren't bid too aggressively in WTI. Question from CRHabib - Can CME put out straddle runs on the bitcoin futures contract? That would be fascinating and quite useful.

Topics this week include: It's Russell Reconstitution time: Russell 1000 & 2000 rebalancing today. Could result in the most heavily traded session of 2018. Equity volatility. Will we see a vertical asymptote? CME's new OPEC watch tool Crude: OPEC ministers agree to raise oil production but don't say by how much Ag chat: beans hit nine-year low on rejeuvenated trade war talk CME Bitcoin futures off another 500 handles Futures Options Feedback: Listeners take over Question from Tim Kessler: Do you need a futures account if you just want to trade options on futures? Question from Nicholas: Thoughts on the reports from the VIX-rigging prof that someone propped up the price of bitcoin last year? You guys buying what he's selling? Question from Bellat: What do you think of crypto vol at these levels, particularly Bitcoin? Are you guys doing any trading even though there aren't really any true options available yet?

Your co-hosts this week are Sean Smith, Managing Director of Derivatives Licensing at FTSE Russell and Nick Howard, Managing Principal at Bantix Technologies. Topics this week include: Russell reconstitution time Beans! Purdue, CME Group Ag Barometer hits 16-month high Crude Futures Options Feedback: What's on your mind? Question from Mark Brandt: Does Nick use the weather to trade ags? Does he have any esoteric Eurodollar information to share? Question from Olive Trader: Will gold vol go bid after the Fed decision? Question from 8Ack: Is there an easy way to compare the relative skew levels of E-mini Russell vs E-mini S&P? Question from Silvan8: I think I was the one guy who used to trade RVX options back in the day. Can you ask FTSE for an update on RVX options? I see some juicy spreads lining up with VIX and I would love to get back in action.

Today's CME hot seat guests are Eric Baum, Senior Commodity Trader, and John Rothstein, Chief Operating Officer at Optiver US. Topics this week include: Ags Corn Soybeans Equities/RVX Crude/WTI Futures Options Feedback: Flash poll! Let's stick with our Volatility theme to round out the week. Quite simply - which product do you think has the highest 30-day implied Volatility? No cheating (or checking with your broker)! What does your gut tell you? VIX? Bitcoin? TSLA?RUSSELL2000? RUT? IWM? 34% - Tesla, TSLA 21% - VIX 35% - Bitcoin 10% - Russell 2000: E-mini, RUT Listener questions and comments: Question from Toni - I've been listening to TWIFO since the launch (along with Vol Views and Advisors Option). Thanks for so many hours of listening and learning. I think I have a problem with TWIFO though because you guys are slowly luring me to the "dark side" of Ag products. But I'm not really sure where to begin because I'm a complete novice when it comes to agriculture (mostly trade spy and single name equity options). Is there one product that you feel is the friendliest or the least intimidating for beginners? Also are there any good resources out there for budding Ag options traders? Question from JLM54 - See a lot of talk about spreads between similar commodities (WTI/Brent spread, KC wheat / Chicago wheat). What about spreads between different commodities that may move in accordance to similar fundamentals? Is anyone tracking these relationships (WTI/Gold, Gold/10yr)? Are there any relationships you watch regularly that are outside the established intra-commodity spreads?

Topics this week include: WTI/Crude Gold Equities Ags/Soybeand Rates Crypto Futures Options Feedback: Flash Poll! Let's stick with our Volatility theme to round out the week. Quite simply - which product do you think has the highest 30-day implied Volatility? No cheating (or checking with your broker)! What does your gut tell you? VIX? Bitcoin? TSLA? RUSSELL2000? RUT? IWM? Tesla, TSLA VIX Bitcoin Russell 2000: Emini, RUT Listener questions and comments: Question from Ned Brown -You had a guest on a few weeks back and he mentioned what he thought Bitcoin volatility would be on the options. You would think it would be an instant winning product. I've always thought the tricky part is finding the market makers to provide the liquidity...I assumed the big volatility was the reason crypto options weren't being pushed. Has anyone asked the SEC about them? Question from BB88 -How do I do what Nick said last week to see the options activity on that day's expiring future?

Topics this week include: Gold Equities Crude Futures Options Feedback: Options question of the week. CME Group just announced a new Ether index this week expanding the universe of Crypto indices. But, at the end of the day, we all want more tradeable products. Which derivatives product would you like to see next in the Crypto space? Bitcoin? Ether? Ripple? LightCoin? 76% - Bitcoin Options 9% - Ether Futures 6% - Ripple Futures 9% - LightCoin Futures Listener questions and comments: Comment from Patrick Snoke: The title got me excited for Talking TACOs on TWIFO , I thought we were going to talk about a 2:1 beef-fish pairs trade. Just a suggestion for next time Question from Flyer: How is Bitcoin's volatility calculated? Is the limited supply and abundant demand a current driver upwards for the price? Comment from Milton FMR Institute: Trying to short lumber (LSN18) for two days now but guess what - no way to get the order filled Question from 0OZEI: Can I trade gold-silver spread options on CME?

Today's co-host is Tim McCourt, the Global Head of Equity Products at CME Group. Topics this week include: Equities Trade at Cash Open (TACO) Crude Gold Bitcoin/Crypto Futures Options Feedback: Listener questions and comments Question from Andrew Sullivan - When, oh when, are we going to get bitcoin options? I don't want to touch the futures so I'm left sitting on my hands during these crazy moves. Question from Flyer - How is Bitcoin's volatility calculated? Is the limited supply and abundant demand a current driver upwards for the price?

Today we feature co-host Sean Smith, Managing Director or Derivatives Licensing at FTSE Russell Topics this week include: Equities Crude/WTI Gold Futures Options Feedback: Listeners have their say Comment from Patrick Snoke - Only place #hoglove is seriously discussed is @Options #twifo and some underground blogs for lonely farmers. Each for different reasons. Question from Harry H. - Can I buy options on the Russell VIX RVX? My broker doesn't seem to offer them.

Originally Posted February 20th, 2017 Topics this week include: WTI Skew Crude vol Eurodollars Lean Hogs Futures Options Feedback: Listener questions and comments Question from Tom Rios - How has Mexico threatening to buy corn from Brazil and Argentina, rather than the US, impacted corn volatility? Question from McTinney - Hello to the TWIFO team and guest! Can you give a little more color on the longer term calls you outlined in gold options last show? Is this the beginning of a trend or just a blip on the radar? Any similar action in silver? Thanks for the show. Comment from Jim Church - I like the rent concept. Was that Nick or Mark's idea? I think it should be a regular segment. Maybe "Who's paying the rent this week?"

Today's special guest is Jared Caplan, Head of Commodities Trading, Akuna Capital. Topics this week include: Corn Soybeans Futures Options Feedback: In which the listeners take over. Question from T Mal - Jared, What is your opinion on the current speculative interest in corn/beans? It seems large right now. What is your opinion on the extremely large open interest? Corn open interest in particular is very large. Question from Adam Coker - Can you explain the nature of options liquidity for the Ags. They seem to have a unique trading structure that's focused around the planting and harvesting cycle. Are those the months that generally have the most volume and volatility?