Industry news

June 8, 2012: TSE’s Osaka Merger Gets 90% Odds as First Deal Since 2010; Equiduct Owned by Citadel, Knight Said to Seek Investors; TOCOM to Launch Agricultural Market in Feb 2013

The merger between exchanges in Tokyo and Osaka gets a near thumbs-up from a legal analyst. Trading platform Equiduct wants to grow, and is looking for more investors. TOCOM, another Tokyo exchange, is set to launch an agricultural trading effort early next year, and will be taking over contracts currently traded at the Tokyo Grain Exchange. MF Global fallout and analysis continues, in the wake of this week’s trustee report and current stories highlight fishy accounting, short-sighted management, and questions about the veracity of one executive who claimed to have been relatively uninvolved in corporate activities shortly before the collapse.

First Read

Four Takeaways from the Latest MF Global Revelations
By Christopher Matthews | Time
It’s 2011 all over again. The European debt crisis is nipping our incipient recovery in the bud. There’s talk of a growing battle over the nation’s debt ceiling. And now there are new revelations of former U.S. Senator and New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine’s shenanigans at the once-little-known financial firm MF Global. For those who don’t have time to pour through the full reports, here are four takeaways from the latest disclosures:
http://jlne.ws/KljhAR

**** I like the condescension, “once-little-known-firm.”  MF Global and its predecessors from the Man Group had been around for 200 years.  Nice of Time Magazine to start paying attention.

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[Video] Gensler Says Exchanges to Create Swaps Transparency
Bloomberg
Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, talks about the evolution of exchanges and their role in the swaps market.
http://jlne.ws/KljhAW

**** We play this game in the office all the time, “Gensler Says.”  

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Six Banks Dominate Derivatives as Overhaul Looms, Says Fitch
Dow Jones Newswires
Six banks account for more than two-thirds of the derivatives assets and liabilities among 100 large U.S. companies reviewed by Fitch Ratings, according to a new study released Thursday. The firms–Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo & Co — are on one side of the majority of derivatives trades conducted by the companies Fitch studied.
http://jlne.ws/Kljjsw

**** And the news is what?

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SunGard Wins Two Awards from The Banker for Innovation in Banking Technology
SunGard has won two awards for its trading and post-trade/back-office solutions in The Banker’s “2012 Innovation in Banking Technology” awards. The Banker is one of the world’s leading banking and finance resources and is read in over 180 countries around the world. A panel of 21 senior banking technology executives selected the winners from a shortlist created by The Banker’s editorial team.
http://jlne.ws/Kljjcf

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Lorna Kiewert Joins 3Points Communications
Lorna Kiewert has joined 3Points Communications, based in Chicago, as an account manager. She assists clients with market commentary and social media programs, in addition to acting as a liaison with general business and trade media. She can be reached at Lorna@3ptscomm.com.
http://jlne.ws/KljhB5

**** Congrats to Lorna on her new job.  Lorna was the winner of the Kindle we gave away for participating in our JLN survey last year.  

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Lessons from Voltaire, the enlightened economist
By Patrick Neiertz and Nicholas Cronk – Financial Times
Where is the Voltaire of our times? As financial institutions and politicians wrangle over eurozone bonds and so on, they could do worse than think back to that great figure from Europe’s past. National indebtedness is after all not unique to the 21st century.
http://jlne.ws/KljjsH

**** Does this involve a gaming a lottery for those who get their bonds paid off?

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Portuguese Just Shrug and Go On in the Face of Cuts and Job Losses
By SCOTT SAYARE – NY Times
Behind the cheery yellow edifice that is this country’s Finance Ministry, where the news is not so cheery these days, Joaquim Marçalo’s waterfront grill is open for business, any business at all, seven days a week.
http://jlne.ws/KljjsL

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India to Crack Down on Speculative Trading in Commodities
BY DEBIPRASAD NAYAK – WSJ
India’s commodities market regulator plans to crack down on excessive speculative trading in several agricultural futures after commodity prices soared in recent months, raising concerns about the return of high food price inflation, its chairman said.
http://jlne.ws/KljhRx

**** I have heard this song before.  

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The SEC’s Most Misguided Regulation
Nancy K. Humphreys – Huffington Post
The SEC requires that the words “Past Performance is No Guarantee of Future Performance” be included in every mutual fund prospectus. This notice should be posted in casinos, not in prospectuses.
http://jlne.ws/KljhRD

***JM: …because with investments, as long as you make “educated” choices, you’ll never have to worry about a prolonged economic downturn affecting your portfolio.

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Webinar: Opportunities in Options on NYSE Liffe US 33.2 oz. Mini Gold, A Market Maker’s Perspective
Join NYSE Liffe US and RTS Realtime Systems for an interactive discussion on opportunities in options. Trading examples will be drawn from options on mini gold and mini silver futures (OYG and OYI) that are listed on NYSE Liffe US, the US based futures exchange of NYSE Euronext. These are the only mini options on futures metals contracts listed in the US. The underlying futures contracts (YG and YI) are the most liquid mini metals contracts in the US.
For more details and to register, visit
http://jlne.ws/KRRbSp

JLN Interest Rates

Conversation Starter
Note: This week’s newsletter is being “guest-edited” by John Lothian News Editor-at-Large Doug Ashburn.

Last week’s dismal U.S. employment report seems to have been a “game-changer,” not only in the political arena, but also among Federal Reserve policymakers. After months of suggestions to the contrary, a fresh round of quantitative easing is suddenly back in play as an option. In Congressional testimony today, Chairman Bernanke said that risks to the economy have increased. In his statement, Bernanke said the Fed “is ready to take action if conditions deteriorate” but that there are no current plans to alter current policy. He also expressed concerns about fiscal policy, calling for Congress to work toward long-term fiscal stability, but without “impeding the current economic recovery” (whatever that means).

Several regional Fed presidents have been making the rounds this week, and it seems clear that the mood is changing. In addition to weak U.S. payrolls, emerging markets, most notably China, India and Brazil, are cutting rates in response to slowing economies. And, of course, there is still pressure in the eurozone. When Operation Twist expires at the end of this month, we may see renewed interest in further Fed action.

Prepared Statement of Chairman Ben S. Bernanke Before the Joint Economic Committee, U.S. Congress
To read the full statement: http://jlne.ws/KlV5Ar

MarketsWiki

MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Asia Pacific Exchange
http://jlne.ws/MguLd7

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MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People

Elisabeth Samuels; Lorna Kiewert; Per Sjoberg

Companies, Organizations and Groups

Women in Listed Derivatives; TriOptima; 3Points Communications; Asia Pacific Exchange

Miscellaneous

Upcoming Events

Statistics

24,747,030 pages viewed, 6,891 articles, 141,760 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

Lead Stories

TSE’s Osaka Merger Gets 90% Odds as First Deal Since 2010
By Toshiro Hasegawa and Kana Nishizawa – Bloomberg
Tokyo Stock Exchange Group Inc.’s acquisition of Osaka Securities Exchange Co. is poised to gain regulatory approval, the first for a major bourse since $32 billion of global deals were vetoed in the past 14 months.
http://jlne.ws/Klji7W

Equiduct Owned by Citadel, Knight Said to Seek Investors
By Nandini Sukumar – Bloomberg
Equiduct Systems Ltd., the European trading system owned by Citadel LLC and Knight Capital Group Inc. (KCG), is seeking new investors as it tries to grow, according to two people with direct knowledge of the matter.
http://jlne.ws/Klji81

TOCOM to Launch Agricultural Market in February 2013
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange, Inc., Japan’s largest commodity futures exchange, announced today that it will accept the transfer of soybeans, azuki, corn and raw sugar contracts from the Tokyo Grain Exchange Inc. The decision was made at the board of directors meeting on May 30. TOCOM plans to launch an agricultural market in February 2013 and will manage the processing of open positions and orders remaining on the TGE market.
http://jlne.ws/KljjJf

Former MF Global CFO under scrutiny over conflicting statements
Reuters via Yahoo! News
When Henri Steenkamp, MF Global’s chief financial officer, appeared before two congressional panels about the firm’s collapse, he said he was in the dark over how some $1.6 billion in customer funds went missing. But a report from the bankruptcy trustee filed this week paints a different picture of an executive closely involved as the firm’s liquidity was stretched and it began tapping into customer accounts to help fund operations.
http://jlne.ws/KljjZD

Fitch cuts Spain credit rating to BBB
Market Watch
Fitch Ratings on Thursday downgraded its long-term foreign and local currency issuer default ratings on Spain to BBB from A, with a negative outlook. The BBB credit rating is just a notch higher than junk status. The firm said Spain’s “high level of foreign indebtedness has rendered it especially vulnerable to contagion from the ongoing crisis in Greece.”
http://jlne.ws/KljjZI

Merkel says EU ready to act as Spain downgraded
Reuters via Yahoo! News
MADRID/BERLIN (Reuters) – Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe was ready to act to ensure stability in the euro zone as Spain’s credit rating was cut by three notches on Thursday amid expectations it may soon seek EU help for banks beset by bad debts.
http://jlne.ws/Kljios

Spain’s Vicious Circle of Risky Bond Sales
LANDON THOMAS Jr. – NY Times
While the Spanish government was able to sell all the bonds it wanted to on Thursday, it mostly sold to the usual buyers: Spain’s increasingly fragile banks.
http://jlne.ws/Kljioz

Merkel insists on two-speed Europe
By Gerrit Wiesmann in Berlin – Financial Times
Angela Merkel said a core group of states needed to press on with European integration to fight the eurozone crisis, a rebuke to David Cameron, UK prime minister, who has called for more short-term crisis measures.
http://jlne.ws/Kljkg6

Once-Reticent Investors Join Shareholder Revolts
By BEN PROTESS and KATHERINE REYNOLDS LEWIS – NY Times
Every spring, corporate chieftains and their boards squash uprisings from a familiar batch of pugnacious investors, a ritual that shields many companies from major change. This proxy season was different. In recent weeks, chief executives and directors have gone up against a more formidable foe than the typical corporate gadfly: the mainstream investor.
http://jlne.ws/KljiEV

U.S. firms brace for U.K.-style shareholder revolt
By Sara Sjolin, MarketWatch
Corporate boards in the U.S. should brace themselves for mounting dissatisfaction with executive pay in coming years, as the current “shareholder spring” in Europe likely will spill across the pond for next year’s proxy season.
http://jlne.ws/KljiEW

The banks that are too complex to exist
By Gillian Tett – Financial Times
Why did JPMorgan Chase’s top management fail to spot the $2bn-plus losses brewing in the chief investment office this year? There is no shortage of potential explanations: a cover-up by traders, flawed computer models, poor accounting, lax oversight and excessive complacency have all been blamed. To get another perspective, take a look at a fascinating piece from Henry Hu, a law professor at the University of Texas.
http://jlne.ws/KljiEZ

Accounting Backfired at MF Global
By FLOYD NORRIS – NY Times
Back when I was studying accounting at Columbia University’s business school, the professor had a handy way to determine whether it made sense for a company to recognize revenue: Had it completed the hard task in its business?
http://jlne.ws/Kljkwy

Testimony By Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke: Economic Outlook And Policy, Before The Joint Economic Committee, U.S. Congress, Washington, D.C., June 7, 2012
http://jlne.ws/KljkwH

Regulatory

USDA asks markets when is the best time for data
The government asked farmers, traders and futures exchanges on Thursday for ideas on when it should release potentially market-moving agricultural reports, such as crop forecasts, now that commodity markets are open nearly all day.
http://jlne.ws/KljiFc

CFTC chairman: Congress ‘sides with Wall Street’
CNN Money
CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler, tasked with the job of monitoring the $700 trillion derivatives market, decried the House’s proposed budget for his agency at a conference Thursday.
http://jlne.ws/KljkwM

Fed moves forward with Basel III capital rules
Market Watch
The Federal Reserve votes unanimously to release a tough proposal to implement a global agreement on bank capital buffers known as Basel III, a critical step to ensure large institutions are sufficiently cushioned against future financial shocks.
http://jlne.ws/KljlAF

Credit Index and Rate Swaps Will Be First Cleared, Gensler Says
Bloomberg
Dodd-Frank, the 2010 financial-regulation overhaul, intends for most swaps to be guaranteed by clearinghouses that seek to reduce risk in trades by standing between buyers and sellers. Largely unregulated swaps helped fuel the 2008 credit crisis.
http://jlne.ws/KljlAK

JPMorgan trading loss shows danger in bank size: Volcker
Reuters via Yahoo! News
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker said JPMorgan Chase’s recent multibillion-dollar trading loss may show that the nation’s largest banks are too big to manage.
http://jlne.ws/KljlAR

Today’s Economist: Simon Johnson: Will There Be a Meaningful Volcker Rule?
New York Times
Sound arguments about regulating too-big-to-fail financial institutions may lose out to a barrage of advertisements and campaign spending on behalf of Republicans.
http://jlne.ws/KljlAS

Keynote Address By Chairman Gary Gensler On Dodd-Frank Swaps Market Reform At The Sandler O’Neill Global Exchange & Brokerage Conference
http://jlne.ws/KljkN8

ESMA Publishes The Responses To The Call For Evidence On Transaction Reporting
http://jlne.ws/KljkNd

Federal Reserve Board Invites Comment On Three Proposed Rules Intended To Help Ensure Banks Maintain strong Capital Positions
http://jlne.ws/KljlR7

Unique Swap Identifier (USI): An Overview Document
http://jlne.ws/Kljl3A

New Zealand’s Financial Markets Authority Releases Final Guidance On Effective Disclosure
http://jlne.ws/Kljl3D

AGsmallcaps website: the Autorité des Marchés Financiers issues a reminder of the rules on dissemination of investment recommendations, in particular on internet
http://jlne.ws/Kljm7D

Exchanges & Trading Facilities

Exchange execs blast Nasdaq’s Facebook payout plan
Market Watch
–Direct Edge CEO: Nasdaq plan “illegal,” Direct Edge will object
–BATS executive says discounted trading fees not the right way to approach problem
–Virtu executive sees investor confidence, IPO market damaged by Facebook issues
http://jlne.ws/Kljm7H

Nasdaq Plan Comes Under Fire at Industry Conference
By NATHANIEL POPPER – NY Times
Nasdaq’s plan to compensate investors for the flawed debut of Facebook’s shares was called “illegal” and “shameless” at an industry conference held in New York on Thursday. A panel that was supposed to focus on the structure of the stock market was instead almost entirely dedicated to criticizing a plan that Nasdaq announced on Wednesday afternoon.
http://jlne.ws/Kljl3Q

TMX eyes global expansion if Maple deal passes
Reuters via Yahoo! News
TMX Group will be “uniquely positioned” to expand globally through acquisitions if regulators allow the Toronto Stock Exchange operator to be bought by a consortium of Canadian financial institutions with deep pockets, the company’s chief executive said on Thursday.
http://jlne.ws/Kljlk5

Plus Markets warns of threat to licence
By Simon Mundy – Financial Times
Plus Markets Group is set to warn dissident shareholders that its exchange licence will be revoked if they reject a takeover bid for its stock exchange business from ICAP, the interdealer broker.
http://jlne.ws/Kljlk7

PLUS Markets Group PLC Commentary On Issues Raised By Shareholders
Further to the Company’s recent announcements and in response to recent media and reported shareholder comments, the Company wishes to provide Shareholders with as comprehensive an understanding of the items in question as possible. It is the Board’s view that some comments in the media are uninformed and detrimental to the interests of shareholders.
http://jlne.ws/Kljlkf

ICE, HKEx seen likely to raise offers for LME
By Susan Thomas and Veronica Brown – Reuters
The two remaining suitors for the London Metal Exchange (LME) will resubmit proposals on Thursday and are likely to raise their bids in the final stages of a contest to buy the world’s biggest metals marketplace, sources close to the situation said.
http://jlne.ws/Kljmo9

Bolsa de Valores de Colombia, Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange sign Memorandum of Understanding to formalize and promote cooperation between their markets
Bolsa de Valores de Colombia (BVC), Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) and TSX Venture Exchange today announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to promote cooperation among the securities markets of Colombia and Canada.
http://jlne.ws/Kljlki

Clearstream’s May 2012 figures
In May 2012, the value of assets under custody held on behalf of customers registered a decrease of 2 percent to E 11.1 trillion (compared to E 11.3 trillion in May 2011). Securities held under custody in Clearstream’s international business increased by 2 percent from E 5.9 trillion in May 2011 to E 6.0 trillion in May 2012 – while domestic German securities held under custody decreased by 6 percent from E 5.4 trillion in May 2011 to E 5.1 trillion in May 2012.
http://jlne.ws/Kljmoi

[LSE] Monthly Market Report – May 2012
London Stock Exchange Group sits at the heart of the world’s financial community, offering international business unrivalled access to Europe’s capital markets. In May a total of 34.1 million trades were carried out across the Group’s electronic equity order books, an increase of 10 per cent on April 2012. They had a combined value of £170.2 billion (E211.7 billion), up 10 per cent on last month (£154.3 billion).
http://jlne.ws/KljofK

Thomson Reuters Global Equities Monthly Market Share Data Updated To Reflect May 2012 Activity
http://jlne.ws/Kljmoq

Irish Stock Exchange Statistics May 2012
http://jlne.ws/KljofS

Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange Embark on Latin American Roadshow
http://jlne.ws/KljmEO

CBOE Market Statistics
Effective Monday, June 11, 2012 the end-of-day CBOE Daily Market Statistics and CBOE Volume & Put/Call Ratios web pages will be enhanced to reflect options on exchange-traded products (e.g., ETFs, ETNs and HOLDRS) as a unique product category.
http://jlne.ws/KljmEQ

Direct Edge Market Data Notice #12-03: Market Data Performance Enhancements
http://jlne.ws/Kljowi

Program Trading Averaged 38.2 Percent of NYSE Volume during May 29-June 1
http://jlne.ws/Kljowl

Hedge Funds & Managed Futures

Private equity turns to commodities
By Javier Blas, Commodities Editor – Financial Times
The newly found enthusiasm among private equity groups such as KKR, Blackstone, Carlyle and others towards commodities trading is an interesting development, but they all face critical balance sheet challenges before such deals can be considered.
http://jlne.ws/KljmVa

Head of Institute of International Finance to Step Down
By MARK SCOTT – NY Times
Charles Dallara, the managing director of the Institute of International Finance, announced on Thursday that he was stepping down.
http://jlne.ws/KljmVe

Selling Options: Strategies and Results
All About Alpha
Recent research by the Asset Consulting Group indicates that the strategy of selling options for income may have some legs. ACS, a St. Louis, MO based consultancy, compared the results since mid 1986 of four options-based benchmark indexes against the performance of the S&P 500, which for their purposes served as a token of more traditional indexes in general.
http://jlne.ws/KAWDuL

A Bunch Of Hedge Funders You’ve Definitely Heard Of Got Totally Clobbered In May
Business Insider
May was not a pretty month for many investors as uncertainty from the Eurozone and mixed economic growth data for the U.S. affected market sentiment, and that meant hedge funds also became victims.
http://jlne.ws/KljnbH

AVOX Wins Best Counterparty Data Award For Fourth Year From Inside Reference Data
http://jlne.ws/KljnbK

BlackRock Alternatives Allocation Portfolio Announces Release of Fund Overview
http://jlne.ws/KljnbN

Banks & Brokers

America’s Biggest Banks, JPMorgan Trumps Bank Of America Again
Forbes
All four of the nation’s biggest banks saw both assets and deposits rise in the first quarter.
http://jlne.ws/Kljp3j

Barclays forced to rethink Diamond plan
By Sharlene Goff – Financial Times
When Bob Diamond presented his bold plan in February 2011 to boost profitability by eradicating or fixing more than a third of Barclays’ businesses in less than three years, he was no doubt counting on more favourable markets. A few months after the new chief executive laid out his strategy for the UK-based bank, Portugal was bailed out and Greece looked in danger of defaulting on its vast debts.
http://jlne.ws/Kljp3m

BNY Mellon Names Edward Watson as Chief Operations Officer
PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance
BNY Mellon, the global leader in investment management and investment services, has named Edward Watson as executive vice president and chief operations officer.
http://jlne.ws/Kljp3s

Volcker favors keeping bank chiefs on New York Fed board
Los Angeles Times
Paul Volcker swatted away a question about whether Jamie Dimon should step down from the New York Fed’s board of directors.
http://jlne.ws/KljnbX

HSBC Holdings Sells Greek Equities Broking Arm for Undisclosed Sum
Dow Jones
HSBC Bank PLC, a wholly-owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings PLC (HSBA.LN), said Thursday that it has entered into an agreement to sell HSBC Securities SA, its equities broking business in Greece, to a group of investors led by Mr Nikos Pantelakis, the current managing director of HSBC Securities.
http://jlne.ws/KljpjQ

Ex-Millennium trader takes in-house role at Goldman
Giles Turner – Financial News
Jeffrey Burch, a former global co-head of credit at Investec Asset Management and later a trader at hedge fund Millennium Management, has joined the private banking division of Goldman Sachs, Financial News has learnt.
http://jlne.ws/Kljnsh

Goldman Sachs Conference Call to Announce Second Quarter 2012 Results
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. plans to announce its second quarter 2012 financial results on Tuesday, July 17th in a release that will be issued at approximately 7:30 am .
http://jlne.ws/Kljnsl

JPMorgan media banker moves to private equity role
Reuters via Yahoo! News
JPMorgan’s top media sector banker Harry Hampson, who worked on the sale last year of Elisabeth Murdoch’s Shine Group to News Corp , is to become head of the bank’s Financial Sponsors Group which advises private equity firms, for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to a memo seen by Reuters.
http://jlne.ws/Kljnsp

Morgan Stanley Forms JV to Buy Loans
Zacks via Yahoo! Finance
The private equity property funds that are managed by Morgan Stanley and Blackstone have formed a JV to acquire a portfolio of troubled property loans in Australia from Lloyds.
http://jlne.ws/Kljpk3

There Go Those Bank Fees Again!
Forbes
After two years of staying steady, fees charged by banks when consumers overdraw their bank accounts are starting to inch upwards, so says a new survey released today by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA).
http://jlne.ws/KljpAk

Bear Stearns $275 million settlement reached
Reuters via Yahoo! News
(Reuters) – A $275 million settlement has been reached in a nationwide shareholder lawsuit stemming from the near-collapse of the former Wall Street investment bank Bear Stearns Cos, court papers show.
http://jlne.ws/KljnIT

John Medlin, former Wachovia CEO, dies at age 78
Richard Craver | Winston-Salem Journal
John Medlin Jr., one of Wachovia Corp.’s most well-respected executives and a state banking icon, died Thursday at 78.
http://jlne.ws/KljnIW

Morgan Stanley Promotes Michael Outlaw to Managing Director
citybizlist Atlanta
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney announced today that Michael Outlaw has been promoted to Managing Director in the firm’s Wealth Management office in Atlanta.
http://jlne.ws/KljnIY

Clearing & Settlement

LCH.Clearnet to appoint Stephen Patriarco as Global Head of Collateral Services, U.S. Head of CaLM
LCH.Clearnet Group Limited is to appoint Stephen Patriarco as Global Head of Collateral Services, U.S. Head of Collateral and Liquidity Management (CaLM). Stephen will be responsible for developing LCH.Clearnet’s collateral management capabilities on a global basis and will provide localised support in collateral and liquidity management to U.S. clients. The appointment is further testament to LCH.Clearnet’s commitment to the U.S. marketplace and to the importance placed on creating collateral efficiencies for participants.
http://jlne.ws/KljpAv

CME Clearing – Performance Bonds / Margins
Performance Bond Requirements: Agriculture, Electricity, and Natural Gas Outrights; Ethanol Inter-Commodity Spread Credits; Environmental, Metals, and Interest Rates Volatility Scans and Short Option Minimums- Effective Monday, June 11, 2012
http://jlne.ws/KljpAz

CME Group Clearing Advisory
NYMEX Options Expiration Operational Procedures for the Trading Floor and Clearing Members (GX) Effective Friday, June 8, 2012
http://jlne.ws/KljnZq

Indexes & Products

Standard & Poor’s Announces Changes In The S&P/TSX Canadian Indices – A Deletion From The S&P/TSX Venture Composite Index
http://jlne.ws/KljnZs

Component Change Made In STOXX Global Select Dividend 100 Index
http://jlne.ws/KljpQT

TripAdvisor, Equinix, Linkedin, Rackspace Added To Dow Jones Internet Composite Index
http://jlne.ws/KljnZv

Direxion Announces Modifications To Eight Exchange-Traded Funds
http://jlne.ws/KljpR0

Technology

ISDA to Partner with Markit to Develop Compliance Solution
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) announced today that it has chosen Markit to partner with the Association to develop a technology-based solution that enables counterparties to amend their over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives documentation for the purpose of facilitating compliance with Dodd-Frank regulatory requirements.
http://jlne.ws/Kljq7q

Numerix Presented with 2012 Outstanding Employer of the Year Award by Rutgers University’s Mathematical Finance Program
Numerix (www.numerix.com), the leading provider of cross-asset analytics for derivatives valuations and risk management, announced today its acceptance of the 2012 Outstanding Employer of the Year Award from Rutgers University, the largest institution for higher education in New Jersey.
http://jlne.ws/Kljq7u

Enforcement

CFTC Charges Jose S. Rubio and his Florida firm, Rubio Wealth Management, LLC, with Commodity Pool Fraud
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that it filed a civil enforcement action against Jose S. Rubio (Rubio) and Rubio Wealth Management, LLC (RWM) of Surfside and Coral Gables, Fla., respectively. The CFTC complaint charges Rubio and RWM with defrauding investors in connection with operating a commodity pool to trade commodity futures and off-exchange foreign currency (forex) contracts.
http://jlne.ws/KljqV5

CFTC Orders Futures Commission Merchant Open E Cry, LLC to Pay $250,000 to Settle Failure to Supervise Charges
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced the filing and simultaneous settlement of charges against Open E Cry, LLC (OEC), a registered futures commission merchant (FCM), for failing to diligently supervise the handling of its customer accounts. OEC has offices in Powell, Ohio, and Chicago, Ill.
http://jlne.ws/Kljrbq

Statement From Office Of New York Attorney General On Court Ruling In Bank Of America Mortgage-Bond Litigation
http://jlne.ws/Kljq7B

[ASIC] Subsidiaries of global gold company to plead guilty for failing to lodge reports
http://jlne.ws/Kljrbz

ASIC issues warning about Connaught Investment Group
http://jlne.ws/KljqnS

Ponzi scheme operators plead guilty to ASIC charges
http://jlne.ws/Kljqo0

Environmental & Energy

EEX: First “EIB NER 300 Auction” held successfully
Earlier today, the first auction of EU allowances (EUA) in the framework of the NER 300 Initiative, was successfully carried out on the European Energy Exchange (EEX). An auction volume of 625,000 EUA from the third trading period, with settlement in December 2013, was monetized on the EEX Derivatives Market on behalf of the European Investment Bank.
http://jlne.ws/KljrbF

China picks stable power prices over emissions targets
Reuters
China will continue to keep electricity prices steady even if its stance complicates efforts to rein in runaway energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions, an official of the country’s state planning agency said on Wednesday.
http://jlne.ws/Mrt3lT

Argus expands coverage of California, US renewables trading
Press Release
Leading energy and commodity price reporting agency Argus has launched a series of new market assessments for renewable energy certificates (RECs) and carbon markets in California, the western US and elsewhere.
http://jlne.ws/Kkj1lF

Asia-Pacific

Foreign Banks Hit a Wall in China
BusinessWeek
Walt Disney (DIS) didn’t have trouble raising money for its $4.4? billion theme park in Shanghai. After it won approval in 2009, a dozen Chinese banks sprang into action, offering $2 billion in loans and promising more. Foreign lenders, limited by the Chinese government in how much they can lend, watched from the sidelines. The size of the deal put it beyond their reach.
http://jlne.ws/KljrrX

SGX launches dual currency trading for ETFs
Singapore Exchange (SGX) today announced it will launch dual currency trading for ETFs on 15 June, enabling investors to trade foreign-currency denominated ETFs in Singapore dollars. The move will provide investors with trading flexibility in accessing ETFs denominated in a foreign currency.
http://jlne.ws/Kljrs0

China’s first “junk bond” market opens for business
By Lu Jianxin and Pete Sweeney – Reuters
The Shanghai Stock Exchange has begun issuing approvals for companies to begin issuing “junk bonds”, as Beijing seeks to help cash-starved private Chinese firms find credit.
http://jlne.ws/Kljqo7

Beijing Dims the Lights on Data for Investors
BY DINNY MCMAHON – WSJ
Beijing has curtailed access to information often used by investors and short sellers to evaluate Chinese companies, which could further cloud an often murky market for foreign investors.
http://jlne.ws/Kljqo8

Asset Control expands in Japan
Asset Control, provider of financial data management solutions and services, has announced the opening of its new office in Japan’s financial district and appointment of Hidet Kobayashi as Country Manager. The move further supports local delivery of Asset Control’s solutions ensuring the country’s trading and investment firms have access to both international as well as domestic data and business practices.
http://jlne.ws/Kljrs6

[FSA] Overview of major banks’ financial results as of March 31, 2012
http://jlne.ws/KljqEr

Tokyo Grain Exchange: Revised SPAN Parameters For Azuki Futures Effective From June 11, 2012 To June 15, 2012
http://jlne.ws/KljqEx

Shenzhen Stock Exchange: Roundtable Conference Held To Discuss Innovation In Trading Mechanism
http://jlne.ws/KljqEE

China Communications Construction Co. Ltd. Guangzhou Automobile Group Co. Ltd. Among 15 Stocks Added To Dow Jones China Broad Market Index
http://jlne.ws/KljtA5

Frontier Markets

Dubai Mercantile Exchange appoints CME Group’s Owain Johnson as Chief of Products and Services
The Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME), the leading energy futures exchange in the Middle East, today announced the addition of Owain Johnson as the Chief of Products and Services to the strategic management team of the Exchange.
http://jlne.ws/KWax8X

Malawi’s Banda Reverses Policy Mistakes to Lure Donors
Bloomberg
Malawian President Joyce Banda is dismantling the policies of her predecessor, which had stopped aid to one of Africa’s poorest nations and plunged the country into a political and fiscal crisis.
http://jlne.ws/KljrIy

Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Eases Restriction On Establishment Of Branches/Kiosks For Futures Brokers
Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Berhad today announced the easing of restrictions for the setting up of branches and kiosks by futures brokers, paving the way for greater retail participation in the derivatives market.
http://jlne.ws/KljrIH

MCX Weekly Market Report June 01, 2012 – June 07, 2012
http://jlne.ws/KljrIK

Component Changes Made To Dow Jones Islamic Market Indexes – Changes Follow Regular Annual Review
http://jlne.ws/KljtAm

FTSE Bursa Malaysia KLCI Constituents Unchanged After June Semi-Annual Review
http://jlne.ws/KljrZ1