Securities Industry News articles from May 2008

Securities Industry News archives from May 2008

A More Electronic Future for NYSE Hybrid~Exchange pilot-testing reserve orders, hires execution talent.
May 5, 2008... The New York Stock Exchange is pilot-testing electronic entry of reserve orders, moving its Hybrid Market one step closer to its fully electronic rivals at the expense of its trading floor. It has also hired an execution and market structure...

Auction Rate Securities Task Force Targeting Broker-Dealers.
May 5, 2008... A task force of state securities regulators is sending broker-dealers subpoenas and information requests as it examines their conduct in the frozen auction rate securities (ARS) market. Coordinating the effort is the North American Securities...

JP Morgan Platform Helps Private Equity Move Beyond Spreadsheets.
May 5, 2008... A new front-end platform from JP Morgan Chase & Co.'s private equity fund administration arm is drawing attention to the growing technology demands in a sector where outsourcing is still relatively young. JP Morgan's Web-based DealVault...

Would Transatlantic Clearinghouse Bring New Efficiencies?
May 5, 2008... Speculation about a possible merger of LCH.Clearnet and the Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC), creating a transatlantic clearinghouse, has stirred debate about whether consolidation or interoperability is the best means for improving...

Fee Changes at Direct Edge.
May 5, 2008... Joining rival venues who have been adjusting their fee schedules, electronic communications network (ECN) Direct Edge on May 1 instituted a pricing tier that credits an extra $0.0003 per share to members who add 40 million shares daily. ...

Market Data Alliance.(Wombat)(Gissing Software)(Brief article)
May 5, 2008... Data feed-handling systems provider Wombat has formed a strategic alliance with U.K.-based Gissing Software that will allow ultra-low-latency market data to be delivered to desktops via Microsoft Excel. Wombat, which was acquired by NYSE...

A Tibco Hardware Appliance.
May 5, 2008... San Francisco-based Tibco Software has unveiled a hardware appliance designed to be used with its Rendezvous messaging software, which is widely employed by trading desks. The new offering, Tibco Messaging Appliance, will provide...

People in the News.
May 5, 2008... JonesTrading president Will Geyer (left) is now also CEO of the Westlake Village, Calif.-based agency brokerage, replacing William "Packy" Jones. Geyer, who joined the firm about one year ago from Citigroup, where he most recently oversaw its...

Chicken and Egg' of IT Transparency.
May 5, 2008... Global financial services organizations today face a major challenge--not knowing what they have is the first barrier to delivering better information technology. You can't manage what you can't measure, but you can't measure what you can't...

Consolidation Could Follow Fragmentation in Europe~Panelists see services separating winners from losers among growing number of venues.(Discussion)
May 5, 2008... Though the proliferation of trading platforms is bringing U.S.-style fragmentation and increasing complexity to the European markets, consolidation over the next two years could make the situation much simpler, according to executives at...

IBM Makes Market Data Play With InfoDyne Acquisition.
May 5, 2008... IBM Corp., aiming to expand its presence in the low-latency trading arena, said last week that it has acquired privately held InfoDyne Corp., a leading provider of data feed technology, for an undisclosed sum. Park Ridge, Ill.-based...

Russian Exchange To Offer FIX Connectivity.
May 5, 2008... The Russian Trading System (RTS), the country's second-largest exchange by volume, will in June launch a FIX gateway, allowing foreign market participants to more easily gain access to the venue. The FIX connectivity system, developed by...

Slow to Begin, STP Finding Favor Among Funds of Funds~New platforms and messaging standards are bringing automation to complex processes.(straight-through processing)
May 5, 2008... As institutional money flows into the fund of hedge funds industry, fund managers and their service providers are beginning to recognize the need for greater automation and standardized messaging. "Straight-through processing will enable...

Syndicated Loan Industry Steps Up to Automation Demands.
May 5, 2008... The syndicated loan industry is hoping to take a big step toward automation with a set of standardized financial products markup language (FpML) message formats, expected to be issued by the end of the quarter. The ratification of the...

HSBC Shines STP Spotlight on Front and Middle Offices.(straight-through processing)
May 5, 2008... The term straight-through processing (STP) has become synonymous with automation: Spend more on technology and the need for manual intervention is eliminated, at least in theory. But the focus of that automation is shifting. Once concerned...

DTCC Readies Alternative Market Platform.(Depository Trust and Clearing Corp.)
May 5, 2008... Seeking to leverage its strengths in mutual fund processing, Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC) is readying a service that automates pre- and post-trade processes for the alternative funds market. The service is expected to launch next...

Ballista Prepares to Launch Options Liquidity Pool.
May 5, 2008... Ballista, a privately held venture founded in June, is touting its soon-to-launch equity options pool as the "first ever" for block trades and delta-neutral transactions, offering electronic access to public and non-public liquidity. The...

BATS Enters Order Routing.(BATS Trading Inc. launched routing algorithms )
May 12, 2008... In a move to take business from the Nasdaq Stock Market, the BATS Trading electronic communications network (ECN) has launched order routing algorithms it says give members faster access to other platforms at a wider variety of execution...

MOUs for Taiwan.
May 12, 2008... The Taiwan Stock Exchange Corp. (TSEC) last week signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with a pair of U.S. markets--the International Securities Exchange (ISE) and Philadelphia Stock Exchange (PHLX). Through the cooperation agreements, the...

OCC Redesigns Portal.(Conference notes)
May 12, 2008... The Options Clearing Corp. (OCC) on May 10 introduced a redesigned version of its MyOCC Web site. Available at www.myocc.com, the portal is a comprehensive resource for OCC clearing members, exchanges, approved retail brokers and trading desk...

Nasdaq Joins OIC.
May 12, 2008... The Nasdaq Options Market (NOM) has joined the Options Industry Council (OIC), a Chicago-based industry cooperative funded by the U.S. options exchanges and the Options Clearing Corp. (OCC). Nasdaq's homegrown options exchange--the seventh in...

A Prospectus Investors Can Understand.
May 12, 2008... In an effort to minimize increasing fulfillment costs, fund companies have been combining multiple fund prospectuses into a one-size-fits-all prospectus document distributed in a single mass mailing. These phone-book-sized documents may contain...

A New Era for SWX Europe.(interview of Lee Hodgkinson, chief executive officer of SWX Europe)(Interview)
May 12, 2008... London-based SWX Europe's recent name change is a sign of things to come, according to CEO Lee Hodgkinson. The switch, from virt-x, was not just a branding move for the leading venue for Swiss blue-chip stocks, says Hodgkinson, but part of a...

BNP Paribas Adoption Sign of Growth for E-mail Encryption.
May 12, 2008... Though the lack of a single standard for e-mail encryption has hindered adoption of the technology, financial firms are pressing slowly forward. Case in point: BNP Paribas' announcement last month that it has implemented an encryption product...

FinCEN Moves to Streamline CTR Exemption Filings.
May 12, 2008... The Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) has proposed simplifying the process by which depository institutions exempt certain customers from filing currency transaction reports (CTRs). The proposal could placate a banking industry...

Liquidnet Europe Signs On With Markit Boat.
May 12, 2008... Liquidnet Europe, a buy-side-only alternative trading venue that offers access to 21 European equities markets, has selected London-based Markit Boat as its trade reporting platform, replacing the London Stock Exchange (LSE). The London...

Numbering Agencies Adopting Unified Securities Descriptions.
May 12, 2008... National numbering agencies are beginning to standardize the way they describe financial instruments issued in their home markets. Telekurs in Switzerland, WM Datenservice in Germany, the London Stock Exchange (LSE) and the U.S. Cusip...

Townsend Connects to Nyfix, Upgrades EMS.(joint venture between Townsend Analytics and Nyfix International to developed execution management systems)
May 12, 2008... Townsend Analytics, a Chicago-based provider of execution management systems (EMS), has bolstered its European equities offerings with access to the Nyfix Euro Millennium dark pool that launched in March. The link enables buy- and...

Fidessa, FlexTrade Link to Chi-X Canada.
May 12, 2008... Execution management systems (EMS) providers Fidessa Group and FlexTrade Systems said in separate announcements that they have signed connectivity agreements with the Chi-X Canada alternative trading system (ATS) introduced earlier this year by...

Derivatives Processing Push Continues Apace~GlobeOp Links to DTCC as Buy Side Focuses on OTC STP.
May 12, 2008... As buy-side firms and their service providers focus increasing attention on post-trade processing of over-the-counter derivatives, GlobeOp Financial Services has linked to Depository Trust & Clearing Corp.'s payment reconciliation service for...

Derivatives Processing Push Continues Apace~Dealers Prop Up CCorp to Keep Credit Swaps Over the Counter.
May 12, 2008... Rather than use an existing Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. (DTCC) service, a group of Wall Street's biggest firms is tapping Clearing Corp. (CCorp) to operate a centralized clearinghouse for over-the-counter derivatives. The idea, say...

In a Segmenting Clearing Industry, Brokers Left With Dwindling Options.
May 12, 2008... As the bigger clearing firms continue to differentiate their services from their smaller competitors', introducing broker-dealers with clearly defined business strategies have been left with fewer clearers to choose from. Ten years ago,...

Nasdaq OMX Is Expanding,Everywhere.
May 12, 2008... Though Robert Greifeld, Nasdaq OMX Group's president and CEO, emphasized non-U.S. hopes and hurdles in an earnings call last week, the newly merged company's U.S. initiatives are likely to provide a more immediate impact on its bottom line. ...

SEC Sees an Interactive Data Backbone in Mandatory XBRL Filings.
May 19, 2008... Replacing a voluntary filing program that found relatively few participants, the Securities and Exchange Commission has proposed a rule that would require all public companies to submit reports in the extensible business reporting language, or...

Technology Turns to Illiquid Assets.(UnifiedMarket financial information services firm launched Web service for a variety of illiquid assets)
May 19, 2008... Alternative, and often illiquid, assets such as private placements and limited-partnership interests are taking their turn in the industry's automation queue, providing added transparency and generating liquidity at a time when more...

New CEO in Place, Pyxis Prepares For Future of Mobile Technology~ New head Mazzarella looks to extend reach.
May 19, 2008... As the usage of mobile technology in financial services begins to take off, Pyxis Mobile is also moving forward, with a new chief executive, distribution deal and product launch. The Waltham, Mass.-based wireless application provider...

NYSE Plans to Relocate Amex Options Floor~Prepares to join Nasdaq in offering customers market structure choice.(Conference notes)
May 19, 2008... As it gears up to provide customers with a choice of market structure, NYSE Euronext says it will relocate the American Stock Exchange's (Amex) options floor to the New York Stock Exchange building early next year. At the annual Options...

XBRL Europe Puts Standard on EU Map.(XBRL International, Inc. has formed XBRL Europe, a non-profit association )(Brief article)
May 19, 2008... XBRL International, the consortium that manages the extensible business reporting language, on May 6 announced the formation of XBRL Europe in Brussels. XBRL, which provides a format companies can use for filing financial data with government...

Thomson Taps BT for WAN.
May 19, 2008... London-based BT Group has agreed to manage Thomson Reuters' WAN, or wide area network. As part of the eight-year outsourcing deal, BT, a provider of communications solutions and services, said it will upgrade Thomson's existing WAN, creating a...

Market Data Streamers.(Volante Technologies has introduced market data Streamers)(Brief article)
May 19, 2008... Volante Technologies has introduced a series of modules it says will reduce the delays that occur through normalization and integration of market data. The new Streamer modules enable microsecond integration of data into direct-market access,...

People in the News.(LaCrosse Global Fund Services announces appointment of. Mark Del Col)(International Securities Association for Institutional Trade Communication (ISITC) board name Ian Danic)(Cuttone & Company has appointed Richard Christ)
May 19, 2008... Hedge fund administrator LaCrosse Global Fund Services has tapped former Swift executive Mark Del Col as global head of sales and marketing. Del Col, a 23-year veteran of financial services, will be based in LaCrosse's New York headquarters and...

Managing Data in an Ever-Changing World.
May 19, 2008... Traditional databases in the financial services industry are sagging under the weight and stress of contending with an ever-growing workload, as the number of electronic trades increase in number and in frequency by the day. The only way...

India Allows Institutional Short-Selling; HSBC First to Clear.
May 19, 2008... HSBC last month became the first bank in India to offer clearing services to institutional investors executing securities lending and borrowing transactions. The announcement came on April 21, the same day that India's regulators permitted...

First Markets Go Live on CLSA's Pan-Asian Dark Pool.(CLSA, a subsidiary of Paris-based Credit Agricole Group)
May 19, 2008... A pan-Asian platform operated by Hong Kong-based CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets went live in its first markets last week--Japan and Singapore--allowing buy- and sell-side firms to do anonymous block trades. The new destination, called BlocSec,...

Marco Polo Adds Connectivity to Chilean Exchange.
May 19, 2008... Marco Polo Network, a direct-market access (DMA) provider with a focus on exchanges in emerging markets, has established connectivity with the Santiago Stock Exchange (SSE), the largest securities market in Chile. Several more Latin American...

Euroclear Cuts Fees for FundSettle Platform.(Euroclear reduced its transaction charges)
May 19, 2008... Fund promoters that use the FundSettle platform will bear a higher percentage of costs as a result of Euroclear's new fee-reduction plan for fund distributors. Effective Sept. 1, fund distributors will no longer have to pay asset servicing...

Finra's Progress and Priorities~Head of regulatory operations says consolidation' is SRO's buzzword.
May 19, 2008... As the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra) nears its one-year anniversary, challenges remain in the integration of its predecessors, NASD and the member-regulation functions of the New York Stock Exchange. While the benefits of the...

Post-Finra, NYSE Regulation Focuses on Trading.
May 19, 2008... When the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra) was formed last summer, it absorbed 60 percent of the staff at the New York Stock Exchange's independent regulatory arm. But while the merger of NASD and the Big Board's member-regulation...

Rulebook Consolidation: Devil in the Principles-Based Details?(conference between National Association of Securities Dealers and New York Stock Exchange on rules)
May 19, 2008... At the heart of the consolidation of NASD and the member-regulation arm of the New York Stock Exchange is the integration of their rulebooks, says Mary Schapiro, CEO of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (Finra), the newest and biggest...

What Are Finra Examiners Looking for?(Financial Industry Regulatory Authority)
May 19, 2008... The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority's (Finra) market regulation division wants broker-dealers to be "well armed to assess their compliance operations," according to its 2008 exam priorities letter. Along with ongoing concerns like...

Reversal of Fortune For Maker-Taker Options Exchanges~Pro-rata venues are reclaiming market share.
May 26, 2008... Since the advent of penny-increment quoting in select options classes, exchanges that echo pricing models from the equities market have been gaining the upper hand. But a combination of higher execution costs, liquidity concerns, adjustments to...

Vendors Call on Fund Industry to Adopt Guidelines for Valuation.
May 26, 2008... Three companies are recommending that hedge fund managers and their service providers--prime brokerages, fund administrators and pricing specialists--establish industrywide guidelines for the valuation of portfolios. In a white paper...

Rising Star Brazil Ramps Up Securities Processing~Local depository seeks stronger ties with Omgeo, DTCC and Euroclear.
May 26, 2008... Brazil has become a major player in the global securities markets. Now, the country's central securities depository and clearinghouse is trying to strengthen ties with three of the world's biggest post-trade processing entities--Omgeo, the...

Goldman, Morgan Stanley and UBS Ink Dark Pool Access Deals.
May 26, 2008... Responding to increasing fragmentation of liquidity across non-displayed trading venues, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS have signed bilateral agreements that will give their respective clients access to each other's dark pools. ...

CBOE, 3D Markets Partner on Block Trading Solution.
May 26, 2008... The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) announced May 20 that it is teaming up with 3D Markets, a relative newcomer to the options arena, on an algorithm similar to the equities market's volume-weighted average price (VWAP) to help execute...

Sichuan Earthquake Aftermath.(China. Securities Regulatory Commission's conference)
May 26, 2008... Chinese regulators have ordered brokers to encourage investors to trade online and by telephone in order to minimize the impact of the May 12 Sichuan earthquake on normal market operations. "The first priority for brokerages and futures firms...

Broadridge Taps Liquidpoint.(Company overview)
May 26, 2008... Catching up to its biggest competitors, Broadridge Financial Solutions announced last week that it has inked an agreement to integrate LiquidPoint's options trading platform into its workstation, providing a menu of smart-order routers and...

New Fidessa Algos.
May 26, 2008... London-based technology provider Fidessa has introduced four new algorithms it says will help traders take advantage of short-term market opportunities by accessing both hidden and displayed liquidity. The algorithms, dubbed BlueBox Execution...

Operational Risk Management to the Rescue.
May 26, 2008... In the current financial crisis, the capital reserves that financial institutions hold have become the way that an organization counts down to failure, not the system that proactively prevents it. Indeed, the bankruptcies and near-death...

Industry Wants Transparency for Complex Instruments--But How?
May 26, 2008... At a Thomson Reuters conference earlier this month, 48 percent of structured finance professionals said that transparency and disclosure is poor. Sixty-three percent identified underlying asset data as the most important area for transparency,...

Low-Volume Funds Granted Free Access to Markit RED.(Markit Group offered reference entity database services)
May 26, 2008... Markit Group, a leading provider of data and valuations services for over-the-counter derivatives, is seeking to extend its reach among buy-side firms with a pair of initiatives. London- and New York-based Markit said last week that it is...

Digiterre Touts Low Rates for Derivatives Confirmation Service.
May 26, 2008... London-based Digiterre, a provider of technology to alternative investment firms, is seeking to take a piece of the fast-growing over-the-counter derivatives processing and confirmation market with a new hosted service. Digiterre, which...

Banks Choosing to Mix and Match With SOA Approach.
May 26, 2008... Service-oriented architecture (SOA) is increasingly being used by software companies as a platform to host their applications and offer them as a service to clients. "A number of our clients are looking to pay for software and services as they...

Nasdaq's European ATS Names Clearer, President.
May 26, 2008... The Nasdaq OMX Pan European Market took two steps toward becoming operational--anticipated in September, pending approval from the U.K.'s Financial Services Authority--by appointing a president and selecting a clearing services provider. ...

London Exchange To Offer Research on Small Companies.
May 26, 2008... The London Stock Exchange (LSE) is planning to launch a service this fall that will offer equity research on smaller companies. The service, PSQ Analytics, will be available for companies listed on LSE's Alternative Investment Market...

Bernanke on Lessons in Risk Management.
May 26, 2008... The recent market turmoil in the U.S. offers lessons "for risk management practices in financial institutions as well as the supervisory oversight of those practices," according to Federal Reserve Board chairman Ben Bernanke. At the Chicago...