Securities Industry News articles from December 2007

Securities Industry News archives from December 2007

FX Platforms, Event Processors Partner Up~Hotspot, Truviso unveil forex algo development software.
December 10, 2007... As algorithmic methods make their way into the foreign exchange market, complex event processing (CEP) technology, which can react to streaming bid-and-ask data in microseconds, will be helping traders speed the process of developing, testing,...

Icap Exchange Could Heat Up Emissions, Energy Markets~Interdealer brokerage's application signals product expansion.
December 10, 2007... Icaps plan to launch an exchange for emissions, energy and transport products, revealed in its half-year earnings report, does not encompass its core bond offerings, according to the London-based interdealer brokerage. Observers say that...

DTC Will Settle Unregistered Securities Transactions for Nasdaq Portal Alliance.
December 10, 2007... Depository Trust Co. (DTC) has agreed to settle and safekeep in book-entry form unregistered Rule 144A securities traded on the Nasdaq Portal Alliance, a joint venture platform formed by the Nasdaq Stock Market and a group of investment banks...

Nasdaq Options Delayed as Market Braces for New Maker-Taker Exchange.
December 10, 2007... The Nasdaq Options Markets (NOM) launch was delayed last week, postponing a day of reckoning when market participants and regulators alike will have to adjust to the arrival of an options exchange that could offer potentially market-altering...

Nyfix, Virt-x Plan Block-Trading Service For Swiss Blue Chips.(virt-x Exchange Ltd.)
December 10, 2007... Nyfixs Euro Millennium and virt-x are joining forces on a non-quote-displaying block-trading service for the Swiss exchanges blue-chip stocks, the companies announced last week, giving Nyfixs multilateral trading facility (MTF) a major source...

Nasdaq Changes Fees.
December 10, 2007... In what appears to be a defensive move, Nasdaq Stock Market will change its trading fee structure, effective Jan. 2, charging its most active traders a higher fee to remove liquidity but also providing a higher rebate. The new fee schedule...

New NumeriX Pricing Model.(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... NumeriX, a New York-based provider of pricing and risk analysis software for a range of asset classes, has introduced a financial model for the pricing of exotic credit products, including collateralized debt obligation (CDO) tranche options....

TradingScreen Links to Axes.
December 10, 2007... Multibroker trading platform provider TradingScreen last week announced that it will connect to electronic agency brokerage Axes global execution management system, or Gems, giving its clients access to an international network of brokers....

Instinet Renames ATS.(Instinet Canada Ltd.)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Agency brokerage Instinets Canadian alternative trading system (ATS) has yet to launchoriginally scheduled for year-end 2007, it has been delayed until the first quarter of 2008but it is already on its second name. Previously known as Instinet...

People In The News.(Instinet Canada Ltd. is changing its name)(Brief article)
December 10, 2007... Agency brokerage Instinets Canadian alternative trading system (ATS) has yet to launchoriginally scheduled for year-end 2007, it has been delayed until the first quarter of 2008but it is already on its second name. Previously known as Instinet...

The Future Is Carbon Futures.
December 10, 2007... Carbon will be the worlds biggest commodity market, and it could become the worlds biggest market overall, said Louis Redshaw, head of environmental markets at Barclays Capital and an early pioneer in carbon trading. He is not alone in that...

An Eastern Europe Alternative~Proximity, technical expertise are forging an outsourcing rival to India.
December 10, 2007... In their quest to realize the maximum potential from outsourced business, many Western companies have been placing less emphasis on cost savings and more on ensuring that outsourced functions fall into line with their business model. An...

Moving Beyond BPO~Outsourcers offer integrated services, range of technology, research solutions.
December 10, 2007... The leading edge of financial services outsourcing can be seen in a pair of agreements Calyon, Credit Agricoles investment banking subsidiary, made this summer with Accenture and Capco. The three-year deals, which include consulting, systems...

A New World of Risk Management~ Credit crunch, complex products drive demand for ASP solutions.
December 10, 2007... Ongoing problems in the credit markets have brought a new sense of urgency to the risk management needs of investment firms and hedge fund managers, who are either turning to outsourcing to add new functionality or scaling up their in-house...

China's Stock Market Golden for IT Outsourcers~ Not yet a global offshoring presence, Chinese vendors counting on local demand.
December 10, 2007... Chinas successful outsourcing providers have largely focused on localization worktaking foreign-language applications and translating them for Chinese-speaking employees and customersbut with the countrys marketplace closed to foreign...

Russia: Talent at a Price.
December 10, 2007... In a move to boost its offshoring industry, the Russian government earlier this year introduced a set of tax incentives for companies manufacturing software solutions for overseas markets. That will not be enough to make the country as...

A U.S. Principles-based Regulator.
December 10, 2007... As the global capital markets become ever-more entwined, there have been increasing calls in the U.S. for a move toward principles-based regulation such as that employed by the U.K.s Financial Services Authority (FSA). But Walter Lukken, acting...

Transition Managers Voice Concerns Over T-Charter~ Firms say voluntary code should be prescriptive, more 'rigid'.
December 10, 2007... The ink was barely dry on the T-Chartera code of conduct establishing best practices for moving portfolio accounts between asset managers that are implementing strategy shiftswhen three of its signatories, which include many of the worlds...

RiskMetrics Tool Helps Hedge Funds Gauge Synthetic CDO Risk.
December 10, 2007... Risk management systems provider RiskMetrics Group, reacting to the industrys growing attention to risk in the face of troubled credit markets, has bolstered its services with a new measurement tool for structured credit, upgraded stress-test...

OMX Supplies Singapore With New Clearing System.(contract with Singapore Exchange Ltd.)
December 10, 2007... The Singapore Exchange (SGX) has announced that it will implement a new clearing system from Stockholm-based exchange operator OMX, expected to launch in 2009, for its derivatives and securities trading and over-the-counter business. The...

CBOE Automates Flex Options Trading.
December 10, 2007... The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) has launched an electronic trading platform for index and equity Flex options that it touts as the first Internet-based, fully automated trading system in the U.S. designed to handle the customizable...

Paladyne Links With Markit.(Paladyne Systems)(Brief article)
December 17, 2007... Hedge fund technology provider Paladyne Systems has added Markit Group's credit derivatives pricing and reference entity data information to its Paladyne Security Master and Paladyne Price Master products. Newly integrated are Markit RED, which...

Cheuvreux Algos on RealTick.
December 17, 2007... Amid growing interest from institutional investors in cross-border trading, execution management systems provider Townsend Analytics has integrated a suite of 11 Europe-specific equity algorithms from Cheuvreux into its RealTick platform. ...

People in the News.
December 17, 2007... Interdealer brokerage BGC Partners has hired Icap's Andrew Stone to fill a newly created position--head of fixed-income products for e-commerce. Stone, who was previously head of electronic trading for European government bonds (EGB) on Icap's...

Is Wall Street Listening to Risk Systems?
December 17, 2007... The tools available to financial institutions for gauging and controlling their risk exposures are more sophisticated than ever, yet this summer's subprime mortgage crisis and subsequent credit market downturn caught many off guard. Were firms...

Cox: The Rise of Sovereign Business.
December 17, 2007... As globalization continues to open up overseas opportunities for U.S. investors, it is also encouraging investment in U.S. capital markets by foreign individuals and firms, as well as governments, noted Securities and Exchange Commission...

Tel Aviv Exchange Comes of Age.
December 17, 2007... When the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (TASE) last month signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Nasdaq Stock Market, it was the culmination of a year in which the Middle East's largest exchange sought to raise its stature both globally...

NYSE Arca Looks to Recapture Lost Liquidity~Tiered fee structure heightens battle over high-volume traders.
December 17, 2007... Following the Nasdaq Stock Market's announcement earlier this month that it will alter its fee schedule at the start of the new year, NYSE Arca plans to introduce a tiered fee structure, also effective Jan. 2, to recapture execution volume, but...

New Platform Grid-Computing Release Eases Adoption.
December 17, 2007... A new version of Platform Computing Corp.'s Symphony grid computing software, currently in beta-testing and scheduled for release next month, will simplify adoption by offering greater support for developers. Martin Harris, financial...

S&P Launches QDII Indexes For Chinese Institutions.
December 17, 2007... Standard & Poor's (S&P) last month introduced six benchmark indexes that will assist Chinese institutional investors in building international portfolios. The indexes join a suite of seven S&P indexes that track domestic stocks in China,...

U.K. Regulator Sets Agency Lending Disclosure Agenda.
December 17, 2007... The Financial Services Authority (FSA), seeking to help U.K. broker-dealers comply with the Basel II bank capital standards, will require agency lenders to reveal more information to borrowers on who is lending the securities. Beginning...

Canada's TMX Group Will Have Assets Covered~Toronto, Montreal exchange merger poses benefits, risks.
December 17, 2007... Canada fell into line with global exchange consolidation last week as TSX Group of Toronto and the Montreal Exchange (MX) announced an agreement to merge into a multi-asset-class market operator, though back-office impediments may stall an...

Emissions Trading's Coming Out~The Green Exchange latest to throw its hat in.
December 17, 2007... The unveiling of the Green Exchange last week--one of a slew of recent emissions trading initiatives by some of the world's biggest exchanges and financial institutions--is the latest sign that carbon trading, just like the global climate, is...

Round 2 Penny Pilot Reports: Exchanges' Interpretations Differ.
December 17, 2007... A second round of reports by U.S. options exchanges on the pilot test of penny price increments reflects continued disagreement about the potential long-term affects of penny quoting on investors, particularly institutions looking to execute...

ICE Platform Absorbs Acquisitions.
December 17, 2007... IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), Atlanta's energy and soft commodity market operator, in September completed its acquisition of Winnipeg Holdings, parent of the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange (WCE) and Canadian Climate Exchange, capping a busy year...

Planning for Peaks, NYSE Bolsters Hybrid HP supplies servers, sees global wave of exchange enhancements.
December 17, 2007... The New York Stock Exchange said it will be installing a line of Hewlett-Packard Co. (HP) equipment to improve the performance and efficiency of its online stock trading system, NYSE Hybrid Market. The New York exchange will use rack-based...

Analysis: Move Over, Hedge Funds~Sovereign wealth funds' rapid growth puts U.S. regulators on guard.
December 17, 2007... Sovereign wealth funds manage nearly $1 trillion more than hedge funds, and are expected to grow at a much faster rate, yet they remain relatively unknown to U.S. investors. The funds are, however, attracting the attention of Congress, the...