SmartStream sets out back-office utility
Financial technology company SmartStream has launched a reconciliation solution designed to provide low-cost back office services.
Trading Technology
Qatar Exchange introduces sponsored access
The Qatar Exchange has introduced sponsored access and market making for the first time, in a move intended to boost liquidity and make it easier for a wider pool of investors to access the market.
European exchanges unveil MSCI derivatives
European exchanges Eurex and NYSE Liffe are soon to list a host of new derivatives, based on MSCI indices. From March, market participants will be able to trade futures and options based on the MSCI World, MSCI Europe, MSCI All Countries Asia Pacific ex-Japan and futures on the MSCI Frontier Markets.
ASX debuts new network for international investors
The Australian Securities Exchange has expanded its efforts to connect to international market with the launch of the ASX Net Global network, which connects to Asia, Europe and North America.
Philippine bond market adopts Nasdaq OMX surveillance
The Philippine Dealing and Exchange has chosen a system to monitor its fixed income markets and make sure that any market abuse is swiftly discovered and dealt with.
IBM teams with Rapid Addition for ultra-low latency
High frequency trading specialist Rapid Addition has partnered with IBM to provide an ultra-low latency service for financial firms that are very sensitive to speed.
EBS and Thomson Reuters target FX transparency
Rival FX platforms EBS and Thomson Reuters have agreed that they will cooperate to combine the sources for their FX pricing, in a bid to increase transparency for FX market participants.
Will Dodd-Frank trade reporting prepare you for EMIR?
On February 28, most of the approximately 70 registered swap dealers will stumble across the finishing line for the remaining asset classes of the CFTC implementation of Dodd-Frank trade reporting regulations. Some may be forgiven for breathing a sigh of relief.
Competitors blast lack of competition among exchanges
Senior market participants have expressed outrage that exchanges continue to charge high fees for market data, while MTFs still lack the means to compete on auctions and are not represented on international indices.
HFT: time to talk about how?
2012 seemed like the year of regulators taking a prolonged look at computer trading – defining what it might be, its potential effects, why it may be problematic. It is still far from clear that we have answers to these fundamental questions.
Speed is not enough for exchange competition
Speed is becoming less of a competitive advantage for exchanges as regulation and the need to support long-term investors comes to the fore, according to Christian Katz, chief executive at SIX Swiss Exchange.
BME chief calls for less debt, more equity
Bank deleveraging may inadvertently spur a revival of equity markets, Antonio Zoido, chairman and chief executive at Spanish exchange group BME told delegates at the World Exchange Congress in London yesterday.
Rising stars dominate World Exchange Congress
Emerging markets Brazil, India and Turkey took the spotlight at yesterday’s World Exchange Congress event in London, as senior executives highlighted rising technological investment, growing competition and successful index performance.
OTC derivatives reforms must be global, says DTCC
As new rules for the reporting of OTC derivatives draw closer around the globe, US post-trade services utility the DTCC is positioning itself as the provider of a global network of trade repositories – but OTC derivatives reform will only work if consistent measures are taken everywhere, says Stewart Macbeth, president and chief executive at the DTCC.
MarkitSERV and Misys team for FX derivatives clearing service
OTC derivatives trade processing service MarketSERV and banking technology provider Misys have partnered to create a service for CCP clearing of FX derivatives trades.
Barclays and HSBC offer Singapore stocks on LSE
HSBC and Barclays have begun trading Singapore-listed stocks on the London Stock Exchange, using the LSE’s newly-created international board.
Nasdaq OMX helps Polish clearing house prepare for EMIR
Polish clearing house KPDW CCP has deployed technology from Nasdaq OMX to help it meet the European Commission’s new EMIR rules on OTC derivatives. Under EMIR, the majority of OTC derivatives will have to be centrally cleared via central counterparties. The rules are intended to reduce systemic risks in financial markets by removing the possibility […]
Eurex inks deal with Taiwan Futures Exchange
The Taiwan Futures Exchange is to list futures and options on German derivatives exchange Eurex, following an agreement between the two bourses to make it easier for international investors to access each other’s markets round the clock.
Swedbank and SIX first to back Bloomberg PolarLake EDM service
Swedbank has become the first live user of Bloomberg PolarLake’s managed service model for enterprise data management.
Euroclear Bank opens up Russian bond market
Euroclear Bank has begun clearing and settlement for Russian ruble-denominated OFZ government bonds – a market worth US$100 billion, according to figures provided by Baring Asset Management.
Tradition FX platform cuts out HFT ‘predators’
A new FX platform built by inter-dealer broker Tradition and backed by 11 major global banks aims to remove the competitive advantage of low-latency trading in FX.
New BAML trading system aims at “disillusioned” investors
Bank of America Merrill Lynch is seeking to attract long-term investors who have become disillusioned with equity markets. Its new trading system, Instinct Natural, is a crossing network that is clearly geared towards customers that want to trade in blocks. But market participants have expressed concerns about its potential to meet the needs of long-term investors.
India’s MCX-SX prepares for February launch
Indian exchange MCX Stock Exchange has set a date to begin trading in equity derivatives, in a move that opens up a new front in the competition between India’s dominant BSE and NSE exchanges.
Low frequency trading
Hats off to Rising Sum, which has built a platform that identifies investment opportunities “using the acquisition criteria favoured by Berkshire Hathaway, Warren Buffet’s highly successful investment vehicle”.
Exchanges: time for a rebuild?
Technical problems at Nasdaq and BATS have reinforced the impression among many market observers that there may be something seriously wrong with equity market structure. Recent history reads like a catalogue of disaster for many of the world’s most prominent trading venues.
CME gears up for European OTC deluge
As new rules for the central clearing of OTC derivatives loom ever larger on the horizon in both Europe and the US, technology is helping to make the transition easier – but the kind of contracts being traded may well change, according to CME Group.
Banish Missed Trade Misery …
A study shows that 62% of City traders “admit to missing key investment or sell opportunities because they didn’t keep track of time zone differences”.
Cameron’s EU speech: a battle of wills
UK Prime Minister David Cameron gave a speech earlier this week in which he promised to hold a referendum on UK membership of the EU by 2018, if he is re-elected. The speech reflects pressures not just in the Conservative party, but fundamental differences in Europe as a whole over how to approach financial markets and the wider economy.
Eurex rejigs management as Reitz steps down from repo and bond subsidiaries
Peter Reitz, managing director of Eurex Repo and Eurex Bonds since 2006, has stepped down from the posts. He will continue to bear overall responsibility for the two subsidiaries on the Eurex Executive Board.
East Africa Exchange opens in Rwanda
The newly created East Africa Exchange, which is currently taking its first steps in Rwanda, is part of a regional integration project between Burundi, Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda that aims to boost liquidity and provide a commodities market for 130 million people across the region.
Telstra establishes high-speed route to Hong Kong
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing has improved its connectivity to the outside world, through a deal with low-latency specialist Telstra Global at its new data centre at Tseung Kwan O.
Broker back-ends still outpaced by trading technology
Too many brokers are still using outdated methods such as email and telephone to confirm trade matches, undermining the advantages gleaned from high-performance trading technology, according to a new study by financial research firm Aite Group.
Chilean broker imports UK trading technology
Chilean broker Banchile, part of Santiago- based Banco de Chile, has deployed a brokerage platform from UK systems supplier Fidessa that will link it to international trading venues.
Moscow reforms will “fundamentally change” Russian markets
The upcoming IPO of Russia’s Moscow Exchange on its own bourse is just one step in a titanic effort to transform Russia’s capital markets and attract attention from international investors – and it may not be the most important one, according to Serge Alexandre, electronic trading services at Russian broker Otkritie.
Squawker prepares for March debut with SIX Financial Information
Squawker, the start-up block trading venue headed by Christopher Gregory, has moved one step closer to its goal of providing a pan-European mid-point matching service for banks and brokers, following a deal between it and Switzerland’s SIX Financial Information this week.
Clearstream allies with Belgium’s Belfius
German central securities depository Clearstream has partnered with Belgian bank and insurance firm Belfius, to develop a new collateral service for bilateral trades, focusing on OTC derivatives and aimed at corporates and medium-sized banks.
LSE targets Latin American business through Peru deal
The London Stock Exchange Group has entered a partnership with Peru’s Lima Stock Exchange, in which the LSEG will provide trading and smart order routing technology to Peru.
MiFID II faces national challenges
Proposals in Germany that would affect the country’s capital market structure could create problems of regulatory arbitrage when the European Commission’s MiFID II arrives in 2015-16, according to Mark Spanbroek, general secretary at the FIA European Principal Traders Association.
Nasdaq OMX expands and regroups technology business
Nasdaq OMX is to combine its market technology and corporate solutions businesses, in a move that it says will help the firm provide more transparency to customers and a stronger business proposition.
International clearers form ‘Liquidity Alliance’
An alliance between central securities depositories in Germany, Spain, Brazil, South Africa and Australia aims to tackle the expected global shortfall in collateral arising from tough new financial regulation.
