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 →

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 →