The VIX is Fixed?! A Preview of the Tricks

The VIX is Fixed?! A Preview of the Tricks

Today’s subject is none other than the fixing of the VIX. It’s time for a trip back in time. Not very far back, though – just to the 23rd of May, 2017, the date on which John Griffin and Amin Shams published Manipulation in the VIX?, a 37-page (or 57-with-references), extensively researched, paper on, manipulation of the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s (CBOE) Volatility Index (VIX). VIX is a widely tracked index that gauges the 30-day implied volatility of the market, and, while Griffin and Shams couldn’t muster up a particularly exciting title for their own paper, the VIX itself is often referred to as the market’s “fear index” or “fear-gauge.” Continue reading The VIX is Fixed?! A Preview of the Tricks

The LIBOR Over-the-Counter Defendants Argue That Their Transactions Were Above the Board

The LIBOR Over-the-Counter Defendants Argue That Their Transactions Were Above the Board

In this post, we provide an update on our August 20, 2018, post that reported on the motion of LIBOR Defendants Bank of America, N.A. and JP Morgan Chase Bank, N.A. (together, the “OTC Defendants” or “Defendants”) for partial judgment on the pleadings, under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 12(c) to dismiss the OTC Plaintiff Class’ antitrust claims, and the OTC Plaintiffs’ related opposition. In their motion, the OTC Defendants seek to eliminate antitrust claims for transactions where a member of the panel involved in setting the LIBOR interest rate was not both the issuer and direct seller by arguing that the OTC Plaintiffs cannot be “efficient enforcers” of antitrust claims in order to have standing to bring antitrust claims for such transactions. Continue reading The LIBOR Over-the-Counter Defendants Argue That Their Transactions Were Above the Board

SSA Swindling? – Part II – Dismissal With Leave to Replead for Failure to Allege Injury in Fact

SSA Swindling? – Part II – Dismissal With Leave to Replead for Failure to Allege Injury in Fact

This week, we follow last week’s dismissal of In re SSA Bonds Antitrust Litigation, No. 1:16-cv-03711-ER (SDNY) (“In re SSA“), an action first introduced in our June 27, 2018, post, where one can find a full account of the alleged collusion in the Amended Complaint. In this post, we focus on the Defendants’ December 12, 2017, Joint Memorandum of Law in Support of the Motion to Dismiss, and Judge Ramos’ August 24, 2018, Opinion and Order granting the Motion to Dismiss. Continue reading SSA Swindling? – Part II – Dismissal With Leave to Replead for Failure to Allege Injury in Fact