Daily Briefing - September 16, 2020

Senior editor, Ash Bennington, invites managing editor, Roger Hirst, to take a deep dive into options to gain clarity on what this market’s greatest, current mover is. Roger argues that, contrary to conventional thought, currently the institutional “whales” are less influential than the retail investors, who are driving the options markets and have made themselves out to be the “megalodon.” He breaks down how retail investors are contributing to momentum through options, how “air pockets” in equity markets and contract expiries are linked, and how rising volatility will continue to increase “air pocket” risks. Roger then elaborates on why he believes these aren’t structural risks as of yet, but rather that insolvency risks are more near-term by observing how zombification of large-cap companies is on the rise due to misallocated capital and QE infinity. Ash and Roger then finish off their conversation by exploring the renewed risks to a clean Brexit. Real Vision reporter Haley Draznin analyzes at the correlation between retail sales out this morning and the performance in the market. She also looks at the surge in IPOs this week, including Snowflake’s debut today.