Industry news

August 3, 2012: London Overtakes New York As Brent Oil Beats WTI; Bourses Look To Exotic Market Tech Deals To Revive Revenue; JPMorgan’s “London Whale” Was Prodded To Boost Valuations

Trading volume in crude oil points for the moment to a new leader, as trading in London pushes past New York’s contract volume. Exchanges, struggling with sagging volume amid economic, regulatory and execution woes, look to technology deals with smaller markets as a way to boost revenue. In the ongoing saga of, “A Whale and His Risk”, JPMorgan’s Bruno Iksil was apparently given instructions to overtrade by his boss. And in First Read today, take a look at the MarketsWiki.tv interview with Robert Fitzsimmons of almost-launching online broker Optionshop.
Jobs Jobs Jobs
With the updated jobs page, announced this week, we’ve posted two new job openings. ADMIS currently has an opening for a senior systems administrator. And, a Chicago-based commodities brokerage firm is looking for a compliance officer.
If you are interested in posting a job opening, please fill out this form or contact us at jobs@johnlothian.com.

Back To Normal
Next week, John Lothian will return to his usual post after a couple weeks away to Wisconsin, Vancouver and a short trip to Washington D.C. sandwiched between. Thank you for your kind words and feedback over the past couple weeks. Have a nice weekend.

Jim Kharouf
Editor-in-Chief
John Lothian News

First Read

CFTC Staff to Host a Public Roundtable to Discuss Additional Customer Protections
Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that staff will hold a public roundtable on Thursday, August 9, 2012, from 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., to discuss customer protection requirements for futures commission merchants (FCMs). The objective of the roundtable is to gather public input on a variety of ideas to further protect customers.
http://jlne.ws/RgXq5O

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The challenges of client fund segregation
FOW
For over a hundred years the drum of the industry banged to the mantra that client funds had never been embezzled. In less than nine months that mantra has been blown apart with frauds of varying sizes in two large and well known FCMs. The fallout from the frauds will be long and expensive and client segregation will take centre stage. However, as Galen Stops found, there are numerous levels of segregation and numerous challenges to achieving it.
http://jlne.ws/RgXq5X

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CME Defends Futures Regulatory System
By JAMILA TRINDLE – WSJ
CME Group Inc., operator of the world’s largest futures exchange, Wednesday defended the current regulatory system for the futures industry, which has been criticized after alleged fraud at Peregrine Financial Group Inc. left futures customers short of funds for the second time in a year. CME Chairman Terry Duffy said that the current system is “resilient” and “adaptive.”
http://jlne.ws/RgXsdZ

**JK – Resilient, adaptive, with all-wheel drive!

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R.J. O’Brien Promotes Bonniwell to Senior Vice President, Commercial Grain and Asia
R.J. O’Brien & Associates (RJO), the nation’s oldest and largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm, announced the promotion of Kirk R. Bonniwell, 36, to Senior Vice President, Commercial Grain and Asia. Bonniwell, a Certified Public Accountant, had assumed interim responsibility for these areas in his role as Vice President, Strategic Planning and now takes on the Senior Vice President title.
http://jlne.ws/RgXse4

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Robert Fitzsimmons Joins Online Futures Broker Optionshop as CEO
Optionshop, a new online broker specializing in options on futures, announced today that Bob Fitzsimmons has joined as CEO, effective immediately. Fitzsimmons, a well-known futures industry senior executive, has prior experience as CEO of a futures exchange, broker and technology provider. “Optionshop is extremely fortunate to bring on someone with Bob’s in-depth understanding of trading, operations and technology,” said David Karrow, partner at Third Stone Partners, an early stage investment company that is backing Optionshop. “Bob is one of the futures industry’s most respected executives, and his leadership is critical to Optionshop’s success as a new kind of online futures broker.”
http://jlne.ws/RgXq63

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MarketAxess Announces Monthly Volume Statistics for July 2012
MarketAxess Holdings Inc. (MKTX), the operator of a leading electronic trading platform for U.S. and European high-grade corporate bonds, emerging markets bonds and other types of fixed-income securities, today announced total monthly trading volume for July 2012 of $45.1 billion, consisting of $28.1 billion in U.S. high-grade volume, $2.0 billion in eurobond volume, and $15.0 billion in other volume.
http://jlne.ws/RgXseb

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Eurex VSTOXX Mini Futures also available for U.S. based customers, effective immediately
The international derivatives marketplace Eurex Exchange announced that its VSTOXX Mini Futures can also be traded in the U.S., effective immediately, under the current Eurex no-action letter issued by the U.S. regulatory authority Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). This gives U.S. based customers for the first time the opportunity to trade European volatility via this mini futures contract listed on Eurex Exchange. They have been listed since June 2009.
http://jlne.ws/QmoLSO

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Risk Magazine: Eris Exchange Named to “Risk 25 Firms of the Future”
If over-the-counter interest rate swaps didn’t exist, and a product was invented today to do the same job – knowing what the market knows about the Dodd-Frank Act and Basel III – it might look a lot like the Eris Exchange swap futures contract.
http://jlne.ws/RgXqmm

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‘Algo’ market makers reshaped trading
FT.com
Knight Capital’s rise to prominence on the New York Stock Exchange illustrates how trading on US equity markets has been reshaped in the past decade. Along with rivals such as Citadel Securities, Getco Securities, IMC and Optiver, it is one of the new breed of electronic traders and market makers that have come to dominate US and European trading flows.
http://jlne.ws/RgXsux

**JK – They also coined the phrase “Jane how do you stop this crazy thing?”

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Exchange start-ups challenge banks
FT.com
Taavet Hinrikus, an Estonian-born technology professional, was employed by Luxembourg-based Skype but living in London, which meant he was losing hundreds, if not thousands, of pounds in currency-exchange fees every year. So Mr Hinrikus, one of the first employees at Skype, began an informal currency exchange with a friend, Kristo Käärmann, who was paid in pounds but had a mortgage to pay in euros back in his native Estonia. Soon the pair realised their arrangement could be broadened into a business open to others, and TransferWise was born.
http://jlne.ws/RgXsuC

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TechBeat: Microwaving high-speed trading
FT.com
Just when you thought trading couldn’t get much faster, a new technology comes along that promises another huge leap forward. On Tuesday BGC Partners, the New York-based inter-dealer broker, announced a venture with Tradeworx, the high-frequency trading group, to develop what it claims is the fastest high-speed data network between two of the US’s most important financial centres of New York and Chicago.
http://jlne.ws/RgXsuG

**JK – Talk about an oddly timed announcement.

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Anthropologists join actuaries on risk
Gillian Tett – Financial Times
How should risk managers assess the dangers that beset a bank, insurance group or any other company? In the last few years of financial turmoil, this question has been much discussed and no shortage of ideas has been tossed about; just think of all those debates about value-at-risk (VaR) and other models.
http://jlne.ws/RgXsKZ

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Registration for CPO Workshops
National Futures Association (NFA) will hold a series of workshops in London, New York, Chicago and San Francisco for entities that, due to the recent CFTC rule amendments, are operating or advising commodity pools that had previously been exempt from registration as CPOs or CTAs. The workshops, presented by NFA staff and other futures professionals, will focus on the registration process, disclosure document preparation, performance reporting, financial reporting requirements, sales practices and the NFA audit process.
http://jlne.ws/RgXqCS

MarketsWiki.tv

Robert Fitzsimmons Discusses His New Startup Optionshop
MarketsWiki.tv
Robert Fitzsimmons is the CEO of Optionshop, an online futures broker specializing in the execution of options on futures, which is expected to launch in September of 2012. Fitzsimmons spoke with John Lothian News senior editor Sarah Rudolph about the interest in commodities as an asset class, the dislocation in the markets and the need for retail traders to use options to minimize their commodities risk.
http://jlne.ws/Mf5u0h

Alan Snyder of Shinnecock Partners Discusses the Potential for Managed Futures
MarketsWiki.tv
Alan Snyder is managing partner of Shinnecock Partners, a Los Angeles-based alternative investment firm that specializes in third-party futures managers. Snyder spoke about his firm, the managed futures space and his opinion of managed futures mutual funds at the 2012 Emerging Managers Forum in London.  Interview by JLN Managed Futures editor Jim Kharouf.
http://jlne.ws/OBBr5f

JLN Interest Rates

David Robin, co-head of the New York Financial Futures and Options Group at Newedge was kind enough to field a few questions this week from JLN Interest Rates.

Q: What is the bottom line for the interest rate market after this week’s FOMC announcement?

A: The bottom line for the interest rate markets is the Fed has provided further detailed, tangible evidence that they will remain on hold for an extended period of time, that is until they are convinced of the long term sustainability of growth in the economy and jobs. While it is not clear what the next policy prescription will be—QE3, reduction in interest on excess reserves, etc.—it is clear that, in the absence of sudden changes in economic trajectory, the Fed will adhere to “on hold to late 2014,” and longer if needed.

Q: Do you feel that there was anything significant in the statement that the commentators missed?

A: The commentators got it right; the initial reaction of the marketplace got it wrong, but the marketplace has subsequently been adjusted. The initial reaction by the market was disappointment at the lack of tangible policy moves, either extending the guidance or announcing QE3. This overlooked what was a decidedly dovish statement, which all the commentators correctly identified.

For the rest of the answers and more coverage of the interest rates sector, visit JLN Interest Rates at http://www.jlninterestrates.com/

MarketsWiki

MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Megan McKeever Costello
http://jlne.ws/OLK2nO

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MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People

Robert Fitzsimmons; Michael North; David Robin; Megan McKeever Costello; Ben Van Vliet

Companies, Organizations and Groups

Optionshop; Nexa Technologies, Inc.; Knight Capital Group; Penson Worldwide Inc.; Wholesale Market Brokers’ Association Americas

Miscellaneous

Upcoming Events; Financial Market Utility; Job Postings

Statistics

26,886,184 pages viewed, 7,019 articles, 145,647 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

Lead Stories

London Overtakes New York as Brent Oil Beats WTI
Bloomberg
For the first time, London is overtaking New York as the global hub for trading oil futures. More contracts in North Sea Brent crude changed hands in June than at any time on record, data from the ICE Futures Europe exchange show. It was the first full quarter and third consecutive month in which Brent trading on London’s ICE surpassed West Texas Intermediate oil on CME Group Inc. (CME)’s New York Mercantile Exchange.
http://jlne.ws/RgXqCW

Bourses look to exotic market tech deals to revive revenue
By Luke Jeffs – Reuters
The world’s top stock exchanges hope technology deals with fledgling markets from Mongolia to Cape Verde will give them a much-needed revenue boost, though these sales alone are unlikely to offset slower trading on their main markets.
http://jlne.ws/RgXqCX

JPMorgan’s “London Whale” was prodded to boost valuations: WSJ
Reuters via Yahoo! News
JPMorgan Chase concluded that a trader nicknamed “London whale” was urged by his boss to put higher values on some positions than they might have fetched in the open market at the time, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people familiar with the probe.
http://jlne.ws/RgXsLd

Knight trading loss shows cracks in equity markets
Reuters via Yahoo! News
The software glitch that cost Knight Capital Group $440 million in just 45 minutes reveals the deep fault lines in stock markets that are increasingly dominated by sophisticated high-speed trading systems. But Wall Street firms and regulators have few easy solutions for such problems.
http://jlne.ws/RgXt1s

Japan Widens Inquiry Into Insider Trading
NYTimes.com
A government investigation into insider trading in Japan has extended onto the trading floors of some of the largest Wall Street companies, including Goldman Sachs, UBS and Deutsche Bank.
http://jlne.ws/RgXqD5

Draghi Edges Closer to Bond Purchases, but Hopes Are Blunted
JACK EWING – NY Times
Maybe this is why central bankers typically don’t like to say much. In what seemed a rare communications blunder by one of Europe’s most politically polished technocrats, the president of the European Central Bank, Mario Draghi, set off a market rebellion Thursday as investors who were apparently hoping for a bold euro rescue plan instead heard a general statement of good intentions.
http://jlne.ws/RgXtyB

Knight Explores Options on $440 Million Trade-Error Loss
Bloomberg
Knight Capital Group Inc. (KCG) said losses from yesterday’s trading breakdown are $440 million, almost quadruple its 2011 net income and more than some analysts had estimated, and the firm is exploring strategic and financial alternatives. Its stock has lost 66 percent in two days.
http://jlne.ws/RgXt1C

Senators drill down into MF Global and Peregrine scandals
Des Moines Register
Lawmakers seeking to restore public faith in the $37 trillion futures industry continued to drill down into the complex MF Global and Peregrine Financial Group scandals this morning during testimony by industry leaders and regulators in Washington, D.C.
http://jlne.ws/RgXt1H

Regulatory

Burned by MF Global, futures watchdogs eye Knight
Reuters via Yahoo! News
Knight Capital Group Inc’s newly acquired futures brokerage came under stepped up regulatory scrutiny on Thursday after a $440 million trading loss wiped out much of the firm’s capital, raising concern over the safety of its customer funds.
http://jlne.ws/RgXtyK

Knight Losses Prompt Calls for Stronger SEC Monitoring
Bloomberg
The trading losses at Knight Capital Group Inc. renewed pressure on Washington regulators to prove they are equipped to protect investors in markets that are increasingly computerized and fragmented.
http://jlne.ws/RgXthY

Deputy Director Of Division Of Investment Management Robert E. Plaze Retiring After Almost 30 Years At SEC
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Robert E. Plaze, the Deputy Director of the Division of Investment Management, is retiring from public service at the end of August after almost 30 years at the SEC.
http://jlne.ws/RgXti1

SEC Names John Cross Director Of Municipal Securities Office
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that municipal securities expert John J. Cross III has been named the director of the agency’s new Office of Municipal Securities.
http://jlne.ws/RgXti6

Testimony of Daniel J. Roth, President and Chief Executive Officer, National Futures Association Before the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry
http://jlne.ws/RgXtP5

Exchanges & Trading Facilities

ICE Reports 17% Increase in Average Daily Futures Volume for July
IntercontinentalExchange, a leading operator of regulated global futures exchanges, clearing houses and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, reported volume for July 2012. Average daily volume (ADV) for ICE’s futures markets was 1,529,426 contracts, an increase of 17% from July 2011. Year-to-date through July 31, ADV across ICE’s futures exchanges was 1,582,564 contracts, an increase of 6% compared to the first seven months of 2011. Total futures volume in July 2012 was 32 million contracts, up 23% from July 2011.
http://jlne.ws/RgXtif

CME Group Volume Averaged 10.4 Million Contracts per Day in July 2012
CME Group, the world’s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced that July 2012 volume averaged 10.4 million contracts per day, down 18 percent from July 2011. Total volume for July was more than 218 million contracts, of which 85 percent was traded electronically.
http://jlne.ws/RgXwdE

CBOE Holdings, Inc. Reports Second Quarter 2012 Financial Results; Diluted EPS of $0.44, Up 22 Percent
CBOE Holdings, Inc. today reported second quarter 2012 net income allocated to common stockholders of $37.9 million, or $0.44 per diluted share, compared with $32.6 million, or $0.36 per diluted share in the second quarter of 2011. Operating revenues of $132.6 million for the second quarter increased 10 percent compared with $120.3 million in the second quarter of 2011.
http://jlne.ws/T4Zv3b

NYSE Euronext forecasts growth in 2013
FT.com
NYSE Euronext has forecast a return to growth in 2013 as new initiatives and cost cuts offset the weak appetite for trading that has crimped earnings this year.
http://jlne.ws/RgXu5v

NYSE Euronext Announces Second Quarter 2012 Financial Results
NYSE Euronext (NYX) today reported net income of $125 million, or $0.49 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2012, compared to net income of $154 million, or $0.59 per diluted share, for the second quarter of 2011. Results for the second quarter of 2012 and 2011 include $12 million and $18 million, respectively, of pre-tax merger expenses and exit costs. Second quarter 2012 results also include a net $2 million loss from disposal activities related to the previously announced wind down of NYSE Blue. Excluding merger expenses, exit costs, disposal activities and discrete tax items, net income in the second quarter of 2012 was $128 million, or $0.51 per diluted share, compared to $160 million, or $0.61 per diluted share, in the second quarter of 2011.
http://jlne.ws/RgXu5H

Key figures SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland: July 2012
In July 2012, a total of 2,777,093 transactions were carried out on SIX Swiss Exchange and Scoach Switzerland with a turnover of CHF 68.9 billion. While the number of transactions rose by 2.3% month-on-month, turnover fell by 13.2% as a whole.
http://jlne.ws/RgXwdR

TMX Group – Consolidated Trading Statistics June 2012
Volume on Toronto Stock Exchange fell 17% in July 2012 from June 2012, and was down 11% from July 2011. Volume on TSX Venture Exchange was down 8% compared to June 2012, and was down 34% from July 2011. Volume on MX in July 2012 was down 12% from June 2012, and was down 4% compared to July 2011. Open interest at the end of July 2012 was up 4% from the end of June 2012, and was up 14% compared to the end of July 2011. NGX experienced an 18% decrease in trading volume in July 2012 compared to June 2012, and was also down 18% compared to the same month a year earlier.
http://jlne.ws/RgXu5N

SGX Derivatives And Commodities Trading Grows
Securities turnover fell 9% year-on-year to S$26.5 billion. Securities daily average value was 14% down at S$1.2 billion. Compared with June, daily average value was up 19%. Derivatives volume was up 12% year-on-year at 5.8 million contracts while daily average volume grew 7% to 270,798 contracts. OTC interest rate swaps cleared totalled a notional S$282 billion since the November 2010 launch with volume of new trades cleared in July at S$7 billion, down 17% year-on-year.
http://jlne.ws/RgXum1

Ljubljana Stock Exchange Monthly Statistical Report – July 2012
http://jlne.ws/RgXwud

Trading On The WSE: July 2012
http://jlne.ws/RgXwuk

TSE: Trading Overview and Preliminary Figures for July 2012
http://jlne.ws/RgXwun

Nordic Growth Market NGM AB: July Turnover Exceeds 2.6 Billion SEK (313 Million Euro) At NGM
http://jlne.ws/RgXwup

Irish Stock Exchange Statistics July 2012
http://jlne.ws/RgXum8

Athens Exchange Monthly Statistical Bulletin July 2012
http://jlne.ws/RgXwKF

NZX Monthly Shareholder Metrics July 2012
http://jlne.ws/RgXume

Program Trading Averaged 27.3 Percent of NYSE Volume during July 23-27
http://jlne.ws/RgXuCw

Hedge Funds & Managed Futures

Sweeping changes at BlackRock
FT.com
Larry Fink moved to quash speculation that he might leave his post as chief executive of BlackRock as the world’s largest asset manager announced sweeping changes to its organisational structure and an expansion of its senior leadership team this week.
http://jlne.ws/RgXwKQ

Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC Reports 2012 Second Quarter Results
Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC today reported a GAAP Net Loss(1) of $116.2 million, or $0.82 per basic and diluted Class A Share, for the second quarter ended June 30, 2012. The Company also declared a $0.14 per share cash dividend on its Class A Shares for the 2012 second quarter.
http://jlne.ws/RgXuCE

Drought Dries Up Cattle Market
WSJ.com
The U.S. market for young beef cattle is feeling the heat of a historic drought. Faced with seared grazing pastures, ranchers across the U.S. who can’t afford to provide food and water to steers and heifers are rushing to sell them.
http://jlne.ws/MB73qU

Catholic fund fails to convince believers
By Jennifer Thompson – Financial Times
A fund that was set up to invest in line with Catholic beliefs is to close after its managers lost faith in its ability to attract investors. JPMorgan Asset Management had hoped to attract investors who wanted exposure to investments that would not clash with tenets on issues such as birth control and civil rights. It also eschewed investments in governments of countries that have the death penalty.
http://jlne.ws/RgXx1c

ROBOTS GONE ROGUE: 10 Technical SNAFUS That Have Wreaked Havoc With The Markets
Business Insider
High frequency trading might be making money faster than humanly possible, but it’s not perfect. After yesterday’s Knight Capital high-frequency trading disaster , the future of the algorithm based money making machine has been questioned.
http://jlne.ws/RgXuCO

Calamos Asset Management, Inc. Board Appoints Tom Eggers as Lead Independent Director
PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance
http://jlne.ws/RgXx1n

ALM’s Corporate Counsel Hosts 6th Annual Hedge Fund General Counsel Summit
ALM’s Corporate Counsel magazine will present the 6th Annual Hedge Fund General Counsel Summit, a two-day examination of the most pressing legal and regulatory issues facing the hedge fund industry, on September 18th-19th at The University Club in New York City.
http://jlne.ws/RgXx1s

European Central Bank Monetary Policy Decisions
http://jlne.ws/RgXuT8

AlphaMetrix-Decision Analytics UCITS Partnership Announces Next Generation Product Range Plans
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
Following six months of discussions with specialized boutique managers already listed on AlphaMetrix, as well as a number of managers in the listing process, AlphaMetrix, together with Decision Analytics, have come to an agreement regarding the initial Next Generation single manager product range.
http://jlne.ws/RgXxhI

Banks & Brokers

Analysis: Banks face valuation losses as Libor discarded
Reuters via Yahoo! News
Global banks are delaying what will be an inevitable shift to valuing unsecured derivative positions at market rates because it could hit their bottom lines, but new global prudential regulations next year are set to force their hands.
http://jlne.ws/RgXuTb

Former UBS Strategist Says He Was Pressured to Mislead
Bloomberg via Yahoo! Finance
UBS AG (UBS) was sued by a former senior commercial mortgage-backed securities strategist who claims he was terminated for telling supervisors that he was being pressured to publish misleading reports.
http://jlne.ws/RgXuTc

Knight Capital fighting for its life
Reuters
Knight Capital Group Inc. fought for survival on Thursday after a $440 million trading loss caused by a software glitch wiped out much of its capital, forcing Knight to seek new funding as its shares plunged almost 80 percent in two days.
http://jlne.ws/RgXuTk

Knight Capital Group Provides Update Regarding August 1st Disruption To Routing In NYSE-listed Securities
http://jlne.ws/RgXxyg

Royal Bank of Scotland Group loss widens
Market Watch
Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC RBS -4.80% said on Friday that its first-half net loss widened to 1.99 billion British pounds ($3.08 billion) and warned that it faced several potential lawsuits over allegations that it tried to fix interbank lending rates.
http://jlne.ws/RgXxyj

RBS confirms it sacked staff over Libor affair
Reuters via Yahoo! Finance
State-controlled Royal Bank of Scotland confirmed on Friday it has dismissed a number of employees for misconduct as a result of its investigations into the Libor interest rate rigging scandal and, along with other banks, is still under investigation by regulators.
http://jlne.ws/RgXv9L

BNP Paribas takes investment banking knock in Q2
Associated Press via Yahoo! News
A downturn in BNP Paribas’ corporate and investment banking division contributed to a 13.2 percent fall in the French bank’s second-quarter net profits to E1.8 billion.
http://jlne.ws/RgXxyu

Goldman Sachs to invest $9.6M in NYC jail program
Associated Press via Yahoo! News
Goldman Sachs will invest almost $10 million in a city jail program that will produce profits for the investment firm if recidivism rates drop, marking the first U.S. effort of its kind to enlist private investors in financing public social programs, officials said Thursday.
http://jlne.ws/RgXv9Q

Citigroup CEO plans for succession, but doesn’t plan to leave now, WSJ reports
Theflyonthewall.com via Yahoo! Finance
Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit is taking steps to ensure that the company has a worthy successor upon his retirement, though he doesn’t plan to leave for several years, the Wall Street Journal reports.
http://jlne.ws/RgXxON

Citigroup Hires Morgan Stanley’s Nick Gray for Credit Trading
Bloomberg
Citigroup Inc. hired Nick Gray from Morgan Stanley as a senior credit trader in London. Gray will join as a director, reporting to Phil Gee, head of investment-grade credit trading, according to Edwina Frawley- Gangahar, a Citigroup spokeswoman in London.
http://jlne.ws/RgXvq4

Citigroup Said to Refrain From Trades Through Knight on Request
Bloomberg
Citigroup Inc. , the third-largest U.S. bank, is temporarily refraining from routing some trades through Knight Capital Group Inc. as the market-making firm recovers from software errors, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
http://jlne.ws/RgXxOR

Matt Taibbi Finally Commented On Sandy Weill’s About Face On Wall Street — And He Couldn’t Be Laughing Harder
Business Insider
Last week, Sandy Weill, the former Citigroup head and godfather of the supermarket bank concept, recanted his life’s work on CNBC. Sort of. And this week, after giving the whole thing a lot of thought and reading some follow-up opinions on it, Rolling Stone’s fire-brand blogger Matt Taibbi finally put in his two cents.
http://jlne.ws/RgXvq7

Indexes & Products

The Europe Dow Rose 0.47% In July, According To S&P Dow Jones Indices
19 Of The Europe Dow’s 30 Stocks Closed July In Positive Territory – Daimler AG Topped All 30 Europe Dow Components With 11.78% Gain For The Month
http://jlne.ws/RgXxP0

Dow Jones-UBS Commodity Indexes July 2012 Performance Report
http://jlne.ws/RgXvqc

IndexIQ Announces July 2012 Performance of Its IQ Hedge Family of Investable Benchmark Hedge Fund Replication Indexes
http://jlne.ws/RgXy5k

Technology

MarketDataPeaks.eu Reaches New Peak During ECB Press Conference
http://jlne.ws/RgXy5q

Enforcement

SEC Charges Bristol-Myers Squibb Executive With Insider Trading in Stock Options of Potential Acquisition Targets
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged an executive at Bristol-Myers Squibb with insider trading on confidential information about companies being targeted for potential acquisitions. His illegal trading took place as recently as just weeks ago.
http://jlne.ws/RgXy5t

Investigators seize documents in fake audit probe
Associated Press via Yahoo! Finance
A state securities regulator has obtained a search warrant to seize documents and materials at the New Mexico Finance Authority involving a fake financial audit distributed to investors.
http://jlne.ws/RgXylK

Turkish Bank (UK) Ltd fined £294,000 for money laundering failings
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Turkish Bank (UK) Ltd (TBUK) £294,000 for breaching the Money Laundering Regulations 2007 (MLR).
http://jlne.ws/RgXylS

‘Squawk box’ flop
New York Post
An appeals court delivered an embarrassing blow to government prosecutors yesterday by tossing the convictions of six traders and brokers in the long-running “squawk box” case. In a scathing 38-page ruling, the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan slammed prosecutors for withholding evidence.
http://jlne.ws/RgXylZ

SEC looks into Sprint tax collection
Reuters
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission has opened a formal investigation into Sprint Nextel Corp.’s sales tax collection after a $300 million New York court case against Sprint, the No. 3 U.S. mobile provider.
http://jlne.ws/RgXvXc

BCSC Executive Director’s Bulletin: Securities regulator alleges $7 million market manipulation against five B.C. residents in notice of hearing and temporary order
http://jlne.ws/RgXyCi

Environmental & Energy

US carbon emissions hit 20-year low
Business Green
Energy-related carbon emissions hit a 20-year low in the US during the first quarter of the year, according to new figures from the government’s Energy Information Administration (EIA).
http://jlne.ws/QkVyYg

**RKB – What’s the takeaway? The trend is set to continue with the EIA reporting last month that up to 27GW of coal-fired capacity could be retired by 2016. Climate scientists and green groups remain deeply concerned that while the switch to gas will deliver reductions in overall emissions it will fail to deliver the deep cuts necessary to curb climate change risks, arguing that new investment in gas infrastructure will lock the US into high levels of emissions for decades to come.

THE REPORT: U.S. Energy-Related CO2 Emissions in Early 2012 Lowest Since 1992
EIA
http://jlne.ws/QyJGV4

Australian renewables to be cheaper than coal by mid-2030s
Business Green
Australia, one of the world’s most coal-dependent economies, will rapidly transition towards cleaner and more cost-effective sources of energy over the next two decades, according to a major new report.
http://jlne.ws/Rk49rk

GreenX Product Migration To NYMEX August 27, 2012
http://jlne.ws/RgXvXf

Asia-Pacific

Vietnam Banks Break Loan Rules to Meet Demand: Mortgages
Bloomberg
Nguyen Thi Bich Ngoc, a hotel sales manager in Hanoi, is among Vietnamese buyers being lured back to the property market by lower interest rates and cheaper homes.
http://jlne.ws/RgXvXi

Japan orders Nomura to ‘improve’ after scandal
AFP via Yahoo! News
The regulator of Japan’s financial sector on Friday ordered Nomura Holdings to “improve” its operations after a string of embarrassing insider trading cases at the country’s biggest brokerage.
http://jlne.ws/RgXyCs

[FSA] Administrative Action against Nomura Securities Co., Ltd.
http://jlne.ws/RgXyCv

HKEx Publishes Consultation Paper On Rule Changes Consequential On The Statutory Backing Of Continuing Obligation For Listed Companies To Disclose Inside Information
http://jlne.ws/RgXBxX

Securities Commission Malaysia Scorecard: Robust Fund Raising Activities In Q2 2012
http://jlne.ws/RgXySN

Frontier Markets

The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) Launches Its New Surveillance Ssystem
The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) launched the live operation of the new automated surveillance trading system from “MillenniumIT”, a member of London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG). This new system uses the best practices and new technologies to control and monitor the mechanisms for the abnormal, miss-uses of the regulations, and manipulations in the Egyptian capital market.
http://jlne.ws/RgXySR

Miscellaneous

The ‘Bros’ At Lehman Brothers: Where Are They Now?
Business Insider
Management at Lehman Brothers was known for their extreme devotion to the firm. But when Lehman filed for bankruptcy in 2008, those same devoted bankers lost nearly everything.
http://jlne.ws/RgXyT1