Optional practical training (OPT) is the route by which international students typically secure initial temporary employment in the US economy. The Department of Homeland Security has proposed that a university must pay $70,000 per student before it can recommend students for OPT for the first time, and $30,000 for each later recommendation, including the STEM extension: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/10/08/2026-20660/optional-practical-training-fees
The proposed payment requirement for optional practical training would substantially reduce the number of international graduates working in the US.
The proposed payment requirement for optional practical training would substantially weaken the ability of US universities to attract and retain top foreign students relative to other advanced economies.
The proposed payment requirement for optional practical training would reduce OPT hiring by small firms and start-ups substantially more than OPT hiring by large firms.
Cboe is launching KPI binary options, which are exchange-listed, cash-settled option contracts whose payout is based on a specific company key performance indicator (KPI): https://www.cboe.com/kpi-binary-options-pipeline-hub/
The availability of exchange-traded derivatives on corporate accounting or operating performance metrics will measurably improve capital market efficiency by allowing investors to directly express views about individual components of business performance.
Binary options tied to individual companies' reported performance metrics will substantially increase incentives to manipulate reported results or influence the measurement of those metrics.
