Less than two weeks ago, Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell said he didn’t see the central bank’s first interest-rate cut since 2008 as the start of an extended easing cycle. Tell it to the eurodollar options market, where demand for protection against the policy rate returning to zero and staying there is raising eyebrows. Open interest in call options expiring in December 2021 and beyond has grown to exceed a million contracts. Most is in strikes -- currently far out of the money -- that would turn to gold if Powell was wrong. One such position is a $1.25 million wager -- bought Friday and Monday -- that the ... (full story)