Industry news

September 5, 2012: NYSE Euronext Plans SME Futures Contract; ICE Announces Acquisition Of Options Tech Provider WhenTech; Libor Probe Claims Barclays Exec And Trader

NYSE Euronext is creating a new futures contract to reflect small and midcap stocks, in the hope of boosting volume in those issues in Europe. Responding to customer requests, ICE says that they will switch all their OTC energy swaps and options to futures contracts in October rather than waiting until early next year. The LIBOR scandal claims more of its own at Barclays, as a top executive and a trader are both shown the door. In the Exchanges section today, you’ll find another oversized helping of August volume reports from around the world, a few of which aren’t too bad. And in today’s First Read, along with lots of news and analysis we’ve added a new video interview with Eirvin Knox of Ambata Capital Partners, who talks about the business and clients of managed funds in the Middle East.

First Read

The Options Industry Council Announces Options Trading Volume Remains on Track for Second Best Year After August Decline
The Options Industry Council (OIC) announced today that 310,936,920 total options contracts were traded in August. This is 43.47 percent less than the all-time monthly volume record of 550,049,407 contracts traded in August 2011.
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**JK – Quite a drop, but who remembers what happened last August? Yep, S&P downgraded its U.S. rating for the first time.

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MGEX Reports Top Monthly Volume of Past Twelve Months
MGEX, a Designated Contract Market (DCM) and Derivatives Clearing Organization (DCO), today reported total Exchange volume of 133,960 contracts for August, which represents a 32 percent increase when compared to July. Of that, total Exchange futures represented 132,900 contracts and total Exchange options represented 1,060 contracts. Also seeing a slight increase from July is Exchange futures open interest which is at 39,554 as of August 31, 2012.
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ICE’s swaps switch moved up to October from January
Reuters
IntercontinentalExchange Inc said on Tuesday that in response to strong customer demand, it will switch all of its over-the-counter energy swaps and options to futures on Oct. 15, rather than in January as previously announced.
jlne.ws/QlkgHO

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Wall Street Regulator Was Warned Of Libor Manipulation In 1996
Mark Gongloff – Huffington Post
We just keep learning new ways that everybody on earth, aside from Tim Geithner, knew of the risk of Libor manipulation years and years ago. The latest example is a piece in American Banker by Richard Robb, CEO of Christofferson, Robb & Co., an investment management firm, in which he says he warned one U.S. regulator of the risk of Libor manipulation way back in November 1996, nearly 16 years ago.
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America’s new culture of corruption
Paul Campos – Salon.com
It’s proverbial that, in college football’s Southeastern Conference, “if you ain’t cheatin’, you ain’t tryin.’” Suitably translated into Latin, this might as well be our new national motto. In America today, crime pays, at least if you’re high up enough in the social hierarchy to take advantage of the fact that we’re increasingly willing to accept that laws are for little people.
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**JK – Would Jon Corzine read something like this?

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Mighty Who Fell Wield Wrong Kind of Clout: Bloomberg Markets
Robert S. Dieterich – Bloomberg
Money laundering and interest-rate manipulation, brokerage collapses and insider convictions. The past year has had enough failure and scandal in the world of finance to perhaps overshadow the successes.
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GFI Group Opens New Office in Mexico D.F.
GFI Group Inc. is pleased to announce that it has been granted the license to open an office in Mexico D.F., Mexico. The new office will be staffed by local brokers and will apply GFI Group’s hybrid model to its operations – combining experienced brokers and GFI’s state-of-the art trading technology.
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FlexTrade connects to BGC Partners
Automated Trader
FlexTrade Systems, the provider of broker-neutral, multi-asset execution and order management systems, has announced its FlexTRADER EMS is certified to trade US treasuries as a member of the BGC Partners Preferred Vendor Program.
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Trading Technologies Releases Next-Generation Application Programming Interface, TT API
Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT), a leading global provider of software and solutions for professional derivatives traders, has released TT API, a new application programming interface (API) that enables end users and third parties to build faster, more scalable trading applications on the TT platform. TT API is available at no additional cost to X_TRADER Pro users.
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SunGard’s Stream GMI Adds New Support for Products Traded on Brazil’s BM&FBOVESPA Exchange
SunGard has enhanced its Stream GMI clearing and accounting solution with the addition of automated processing of futures, options on futures and options on spots traded on BM&FBOVESPA (BVMF), the Brazilian securities, commodities and futures exchange. The extended coverage helps investment banks, brokerage houses and Futures Commission Merchants outside Brazil better access and trade BVMF’s cleared derivatives market and reduce their operational risk.
jlne.ws/Qlkgrj

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The ‘mystery Libor’ precedent
Izabella Kaminska – FT Alphaville
By now everyone is well aware of the flaws associated with the Libor-setting process. As yet, however, no alternative has been deemed full-proof enough to replace it. The search for a better system, however, is on.
jlne.ws/Qlkf6R

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Bankers: Who Needs Them?
Time Magazine
Would the world be a happier place if we just got rid of all the bankers? Well, no. The financial sector, for all of its foibles, is as necessary for the economy as blood is for our bodies: it facilitates trade, allocates capital, and takes care of all sorts of nuts-and-bolts economic activities that make it possible for economies to not only survive but grow and flourish. The more interesting questions are: do we really need to have so many bankers, and pay them as much as we do?
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**JK – Last week’s crazy headline was “Should we ban derivatives?”

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Regulators should keep it simple
Sebastian Mallaby – FT.com
At the onset of the Depression, governments confronted a collapse in output without the benefit of knowing what that output was. The US national accounts had yet to be invented, so the Hoover and Roosevelt administrations based policy on shards of evidence: the behaviour of stock prices, freight-car loadings, production data from particular companies. The dearth of reliable economic measures provoked a minor revolution. Simon Kuznets led the economics profession in creating statistics for gross domestic product and much more.
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**JK – Even regulators need a KISS.

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Jessica Ennis-The Perfect Role Model for Policymakers and Central Bankers Everywhere
CNBC
To restore economic growth requires policy makers to adopt the all-round perfection of British heptathlete Jessica Ennis, who took gold at the London Olympics, argues Moorad Choudhry.
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WILD New York
Join us for drinks & dessert after the FIA/OIC Equity Options Conference Opening Reception
WHEN Wednesday, September 12, 2012
8:00 pm – 9:30 pm

WHERE Aspen Social Club
157 West 47th Street
(between Sixth and Seventh Avenues)
New York, NY 10036
Map & Directions

RSVP Please RSVP here by September 10, 2012: Events@womeninlistedderivatives.org

MarketsWiki.tv

Eirvin Knox of Ambata Capital Partners Discusses Managed Funds in the Middle East
MarketsWiki.tv
Eirvin Knox has been the in the international banking business for more than 30 years, spending the past decade in the Middle East, as CEO of Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank. He spoke with JLN Managed Futures editor Jim Kharouf at the 2012 Emerging Managers Forum about the Middle East’s investment climate, and what it takes to attract investment from customers in that region. Knox currently serves as CEO of Ambata Capital Middle East, a division of the global investment and advisory firm, Ambata Capital Partners and non-executive director of Banque Havilland.
jlne.ws/O8Fnio

SEC Tables Money Market Fund Regulation: Michael Markowitz Analysis
MarketsWiki.tv
Michael Markowitz is chief investment officer at Horizon Cash Management LLC, an investment advisory firm specializing in the managing of cash portfolios for hedge funds, managed futures funds, family offices and institutional investors. Markowitz spoke with John Lothian News Editor-at-Large Doug Ashburn about the SEC‘s decision in August 2012 to table proposed changes to money market fund regulations.
jlne.ws/NzyiY5

JLN Managed Futures

If Consistency is Key
Attain Capital Management
In an age of struggling pension funds, it’s common to hear commentators and spectators in the world finance joke, “Anyone who can find a way to guarantee 7% annual returns will raise a trillion dollars by the end of the year.” Realistic? Absolutely not- unless you’re buying into some sort of scam- which, to be clear, we don’t advise.
jlne.ws/NAo0Rv

**Some compelling data from Attain here and a look at the cream of the crop names including: Covenant, Briarwood, 2100 Xenon, Mesirow, Auctos and others.

Hedge funds cleared to advertise publicly under SEC plan
BLOOMBERG
Hedge funds may go from soliciting individual investors behind closed doors to conducting wide advertising campaigns without restrictions under a rule proposed Wednesday by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.
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How a Plan to Help Stockton, Calif., Pay Pensions Backfired
New York Times
A bond sale that was intended to help Stockton, Calif., reduce a shortfall in pension money wound up making the problem worse.
jlne.ws/RGkOoE

**DA: Excellent case study on the worsening pension crisis – zero interest rates, actuarial misalignment, risky investment, fear of scaling back payouts to retirees, and assumptions that there is a “free lunch” out there. Plenty of bad actors, from Lehman to Calpers to gutless politicians. (See more in Pensions and Institutions below.)

MarketsWiki

MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Universal Commodity Exchange Ltd.
jlne.ws/Q3m5qP

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MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People

Steven Crutchfield; Michael Markowitz; Mark Gardner; Eirvin Knox; Arthur Levitt Sr.; Bill Templer

Companies, Organizations and Groups

GFI Group Inc; Gold Bullion International; Universal Commodity Exchange Ltd.; Horizon Cash Management LLC; Australian Securities Traders Association

Miscellaneous

QE2; Futures contract

Statistics

27,992,260 pages viewed, 7,094 articles, 147,074 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

Lead Stories

NYSE Euronext plans SME futures contract
Philip Stafford – FT.com
NYSE Euronext is to step up its attempts to boost liquidity for small and midcap stocks in Europe by taking a new pan-European derivatives contract created by Russell Investments, the US indices compiler.
jlne.ws/QlkgHM

IntercontinentalExchange Announces Acquisition of Options Technology Provider WhenTech
IntercontinentalExchange, a leading operator of global regulated futures exchanges, clearing houses and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, announced today that it has acquired WhenTech, a market leading technology, software and information provider for option market participants. WhenTech’s solutions include options valuation, analytics and risk management platforms.
jlne.ws/ShYybk

Exclusive: Libor probe claims Barclays executive and a trader
Reuters via Yahoo! News
NEW YORK – The fallout from an investigation into the attempted manipulation of global benchmark interest rates has again rocked Barclays Plc, as the bank recently ousted a top executive and a trader in New York for their roles in the scandal, according to regulatory filings obtained on Tuesday.
jlne.ws/Qlkfn9

Danish Bankers Association: No Signs Cibor Was Manipulated
FOX Business
There are no signs that the Copenhagen interbank offered rate, or Cibor, has been manipulated, but measures may be needed to strengthen the public’s confidence in the reference interest rate, the Danish Bankers Association said Tuesday.
jlne.ws/Qlkfnc

Sentinel ruling may hurt MF Global clients
Reuters
A ruling in the case of failed futures brokerage Sentinel Management Group could make it more difficult for customers to recoup money lost in the much larger collapse of MF Global, according to Sentinel’s bankruptcy trustee.
jlne.ws/Qlkfnf

MF Global creditors still waiting for funds
Sue Lannin – Australian Broadcasting Corporation
It has taken months of negotiations, but local clients of the collapsed derivatives trader MF Global could be about to see some of their money again.
jlne.ws/RCIpKR

Peregrine Financial Lawyer a Key Player in Liquidation -Trustee
Jacob Bunge – WSJ.com
Peregrine Financial Group Inc.’s general counsel has become the de facto leader of the collapsed brokerage firm during its liquidation by a court-appointed trustee, according to a Tuesday court filing. Trustee Ira Bodenstein, in a motion seeking to increase Peregrine lawyer Rebecca Wing’s annual salary to $400,000, said he needed her onboard to ensure the return of as much money as possible to the failed firm’s customers.
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DealBook: In UBS Convictions, Parallels to the Libor Investigation
New York Times
A case against the three former UBS executives who were convicted last week has a number of interesting parallels to the Libor investigation, and can provide the framework for cases that might emerge.
jlne.ws/QlkgHW

Spain Looks to the ECB to Stem Bank Cash Crisis
CHRISTOPHER BJORK AND DAVID ENRICH – WSJ.com
Nearly three months after Spain requested a E100 billion ($126 billion) European bailout for its banks, the problems facing the country’s frail banking system are deepening, putting pressure on the European Central Bank to take action this week.
jlne.ws/QlkgHZ

Banking union is critical for eurozone
Erik F. Nielsen – FT.com
Next week the European Commission will publish its proposal for the launch of a common bank supervisor, including thoughts on the broader aspect of banking union. Along the way, disagreements between Brussels and Berlin have surfaced. However, there can be no doubt that the European banking union will, eventually, consist of shared bank supervision, a shared bank resolution – or recapitalisation – mechanism and shared bank deposit guarantee.
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Regulatory

European bankers told to expect tougher regulation
Reuters via Yahoo! News
European policymakers warned bankers on Tuesday to expect tougher regulation after a series of scandals had demonstrated the industry was incapable of policing itself.
jlne.ws/QlkgYl

Finra Vice Chairman Luparello Takes Job at Washington Law Firm
Bloomberg
Stephen Luparello, vice chairman at the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, is taking a job at a law firm in Washington after working at the brokerage industry’s self-regulator for more than 16 years, Finra said in a statement.
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FSA launches initiative to outlaw flawed sales bonuses that encourage mis-selling
Martin Wheatley, managing director of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and chief executive officer designate of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), today announced that he wanted to see an end to mis-selling created by sales incentives.
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The Incentivisation Of Sales Staff – Are Consumers Getting A Fair Deal? – Speech By Martin Wheatley – Managing Director, Financial Services Authority
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The LEI, the CICI, and Progress on the Global identification of Swaps and Futures Market Participants
Allan Grody – FOW
What do railroad tracks, bar codes and the World Wide Web have in common with a LEI? They are all standards – physical world standards in the case of both the width of rail road tracks and the unique product identifiers in bar codes. They make transportation and global commerce work. The World Wide Web and the LEI (Legal Entity Identifier) are information age standards – the former allows global access to billions of web pages on the Internet and the latter is being prepared for global access to billions of financial transactions.
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Analysis: StanChart hit may not dog other banks as much as feared
Reuters via Yahoo! News
Benjamin Lawsky’s surprise move against Standard Chartered in an Iran sanctions case may have stunned the banking world, but it is unlikely to expand the scope of a series of similar U.S. cases against European banks that are still in the pipeline.
jlne.ws/QlkheL

CFTC’s Chilton: Time for us to get on with it
Future and Options Intelligence
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Stopping Affinity Fraud in Your Community
The SEC’s Office of Investor Education and Advocacy believes it is important to raise awareness regarding investment scams that target groups. In this guide, you will learn key strategies for protecting yourself and your community from the potentially devastating impact of affinity fraud.
jlne.ws/QlkheN

Exchanges & Trading Facilities

CBOE Holdings Reports August 2012 Consolidated Trading Volume Of Over 91 Million Contracts; ADV Of Nearly 4 Million Contracts
CBOE Holdings, Inc. reported today that August 2012 consolidated trading volume for options contracts on the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and C2 Options Exchange (C2) and futures contracts on CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) totaled over 91 million contracts. August 2012 average daily volume (ADV) for the three exchanges, combined, was 3.97 million contracts, a 40-percent decrease when compared to the all-time-monthly record ADV of 6.65 million contracts in August 2011, and a seven-percent decrease from 4.24 million contracts ADV in July 2012. Year to date through August 2012, consolidated ADV for the three exchanges totaled 4.65 million contracts, down seven percent from the same period a year ago.
jlne.ws/QlkfUg

August VIX Futures Trading Volume Rises 5% From August 2011; Year-To-Date VIX Futures Average Daily Volume 58% Ahead of Same Period One Year Ago
The CBOE Futures Exchange, LLC (CFE) today announced that trading volume in futures on the CBOE Volatility Index (the VIX Index) during August 2012 totaled nearly two million contracts, five percent ahead of August 2011 and nearly even with July 2012.
jlne.ws/QlkfUk

ISE Reports Business Activity For August 2012
The International Securities Exchange (ISE) today reported average daily volume of 2.1 million contracts in August 2012. This represents a decrease of 48.2% compared to August 2011, which was a month of exceptionally high volatility. Total options volume for the month was 49.1 million contracts. ISE was the second largest U.S. equity options exchange in August with market share of 17.9%.
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KCBT HRW Wheat Futures & Exchange Volume Third Largest for Month of August
The Kansas City Board of Trade HRW wheat futures and exchange volume traded during the month of August was the third largest in the history of the exchange for the calendar month of August.
jlne.ws/QlkheS

BOX Price Improvement Activity for August
In the month of August, price improved contracts on BOX Options Exchange (“BOX”) averaged 260,924 per day. Overall average daily trading volume on BOX in the month of August was 527,405 contracts.
jlne.ws/QlkheX

OneChicago Announces Trading Volumes for August 2012
OneChicago, LLC (OCX), an equity finance exchange, today announced that a total of 433,498 security futures contracts were traded in the month of August 2012.
jlne.ws/Qlkhf1

Dubai Gold And Commodities Exchange Year-To-Date Volumes Up 153%
The Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange traded 938,837 contracts in August, valued at USD 34.81 billion, registering an increase of 71% compared to the same month last year. DGCX Year-to-date (YTD) volumes increased by 153% from last year, aggregating to 5,752,486 contracts. This growth was primarily driven by currency futures, trading 5,279,123 contracts – a 179% increase on last year.
jlne.ws/Thg7rd

SGX Securities Turnover Grows in August from July
AsiaEtrading.com
Singapore Exchange (SGX) said September 5 securities trading grew in August from a month earlier though it was down year-on-year. Derivatives volume also grew month-on-month though it fell from a year earlier. Overall, Singapore’s securities and derivatives trading volumes were more resilient than those of other global markets.
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ASX Group Monthly Activity Report – August 2012
In August 2012 the total number of trades was 26% lower than the pcp, and the total value of trading was 38% lower than the pcp. In August 2012 total derivatives traded on ASX decreased 30% on the pcp. Total futures and options on futures volume on ASX 24 decreased 27% on the pcp.
jlne.ws/QlkiPT

OneChicago Announces Trading Volumes for August 2012
The Herald | HeraldOnline.com
Advertisement. By OneChicago, LLC. CHICAGO, Sept. 4, 2012 — /PRNewswire/ — OneChicago, LLC (OCX), an equity finance exchange, today announced that a total of 433,498 security futures contracts were traded in the month of August 2012.
http://jlne.ws/PIjlP7

ASX Compliance Monthly Activity Report – August 2012
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NZX Monthly Shareholder Metrics – August 2012
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Vienna Stock Exchange Derivatives Market – Detailed Statistics August 2012
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Wiener Boerse Monthly Statistics – August 2012
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Trading On The WSE: August 2012
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FESE Publishes The European Exchange Report 2011
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CBSX Trader News Update CBSX to Support New Order Types
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MEFF New Member – Marex Financial Limited, Non-Clearing Member, London
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TMX Group CEO Tom Kloet to speak Thursday at the Scotiabank Global Banking and Markets Financials Summit
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NZX Half Year Report 2012
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BM&FBOVESPA Monthly Bulletin – August: Corporate Sustainability Index (ISE) Accumulates High Of 17,39% In 12 Months
jlne.ws/Qlki2h

Hedge Funds & Managed Futures

Man Group debuts computer-driven bond hedge fund
Reuters
Hedge fund manager Man Group has launched a computer-driven fund that will try to make money trading government bonds despite the ultra-low yields on offer, the latest step by the struggling firm to try and revive its fortunes.
jlne.ws/Qlki2k

Brummer launches longer-term hedge fund
Sam Jones in London – FT.com
Stockholm-based Brummer & Partners is preparing one of the largest new European hedge fund launches of 2012 with a vehicle which will demand longer-term monetary commitments from investors in order to overcome current volatile trading conditions.
jlne.ws/Qlki2r

Hargreaves Lansdown defies markets gloom
Daniel Schäfer in London – FT.com
Hargreaves Lansdown defied Europe’s economic and financial market gloom as the UK retail investment broker reported record earnings and assets under management in its past financial year.
jlne.ws/QlkiiU

Hedge funds embrace derivatives
Harriet Agnew – Financial News
Hedge funds are increasingly making use of derivatives to protect positions and preserve the capital of more cautious institutional clients, which now account for almost two thirds of assets managed by the industry.
jlne.ws/QlkjDx

Commodity traders eye distressed assets
Javier Blas in London – FT.com
The slump in metals prices could turn out to be a blessing in disguise for some of the world’s largest commodities houses. The trader-cum-producers are vulture buyers that use periods of stress to snap up assets on the cheap.
jlne.ws/Qlkij2

Deal Professor: Hedge Funds Rush to Open Reinsurance Firms in Bermuda
New York Times
Reinsurance, already something of a murky business, may become even more complicated as hedge funds rush to open their own firms in Bermuda.
jlne.ws/QlkjDA

For Hedge Funds, a Half Percent Is the New Move
CNBC
Wary of geopolitical tumult and eager for their first quiet August in years, some hedge-fund managers scaled back the size and scope of their bets in recent weeks, a pullback that was reflected, say traders, in muted monthly returns.
jlne.ws/Qlkizi

Europe’s money market funds future in focus
Ralph Atkins and Ajay Makan – FT.com
It would be good news for security guards and manufacturers of safe boxes. Rather than paying banks interest on overnight deposits, the European Central Bank would charge them for the privilege. Banks would then withdraw cash from the ECB and stick it in their own vaults. The idea is becoming less ridiculous.
jlne.ws/Qlkizo

Bill Gross’s Bond Fund Has Acquired $9.3 Billion in New Cash This Year
Wall Street Journal Blogs
The world’s biggest bond fund, run by Bill Gross, took in $1.3 billion in new cash in August, lifting the total inflow for the year to $9.3 billion.
jlne.ws/Qlkizq

The 30-Minute Interview: Stuart J. Boesky
New York Times
Mr. Boesky, 55, is the chief executive of Pembrook Capital Management, an investment adviser and fund manager focused on debt.
jlne.ws/QlkjTT

Morningstar parts ways with Footnoted
Lynne Marek – Crain’s
Investment research firm Morningstar Inc. said it’s parting ways with its Footnoted business, which was absorbed into the corporate family just two years ago. Chicago-based Morningstar said in a news release that the Footnoted’s founder, Michelle Leder, is buying the business back from Morningstar and folding it into her privately-held company, Fineprint Financial Inc.
jlne.ws/Qlkizt

Eaton Vance Launches Four Equity Funds Sub-Advised by Hexavest Inc.
jlne.ws/Qlkizx

Investors use bonds of medium-sized enterprises to diversify their portfolios
Euro Investor
Private investors buying bonds issued by medium-sized companies make their own investing decisions. This was one of the core findings of the latest study by Boerse Stuttgart, which was conducted jointly with audit and consulting company Deloitte and Münster University of Applied Sciences. The study shows that the majority of participants have many years of financial market experience. Both private and institutional investors buy bonds issued by medium-sized companies to diversify their portfolios.
jlne.ws/Qlkgrn

Banks & Brokers

Liquidnet Continues To Open Up Global Opportunities For Institutional Investors With Launch Of Philippine Equities
AsiaEtrading.com
Liquidnet, the global institutional trading network, announced today that institutional investors can now trade securities listed in the Philippines through its platform, effective immediately.
jlne.ws/QlkjU1

Breaking Up Banks Is Hard With Traders Hooked on Deposits
Christine Harper and Hugh Son – Bloomberg
Shareholders of Wall Street banks who agree with former Citigroup Inc. (C) Chief Executive Officer Sanford “Sandy” Weill that the companies should be broken up face an obstacle: bondholders.
jlne.ws/QlkizB

Newedge Extends Clearing Services to OTC Interest Rate Swaps
Newedge, a global leader in multi-asset brokerage and clearing, today announced that it has been approved for membership to clear over-the-counter (OTC) interest rate swaps (IRS) at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).
jlne.ws/QlkluY

William Vereker Departure Underscores New Focus for Nomura Investment Bank
ALISON TUDOR And ATSUKO FUKASE – WSJ.com
William Vereker, a prominent deal maker who is co-head of investment banking at Nomura Holdings Inc., is stepping down from his role and is expected to ultimately leave the company, people familiar with the matter said Tuesday. Mr. Vereker’s departure would be a turning point for the beleaguered Japanese brokerage and likely signals a shift by the company to refocus power in Japan and Asia under new management.
jlne.ws/QlkjU9

Goldman Sachs Plans Private-Equity Comeback in Brazil
Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. , the Wall Street bank that doubled its Brazil headcount in the past two years, is planning a comeback in the nation’s private-equity market and expects returns as high as 35 percent.
jlne.ws/Qlklva

Goldman Sachs: Last Among International Investment Banks
Wall Street Journal Blogs
J.P. Morgan international investment banking analysts cut the rating on Goldman Sachs to underweight, the equivalent of a sell, and put it dead last behind Europe’s investment banks and U.S. rival Morgan Stanley.
jlne.ws/Qlklvb

Barclays Names Andrew Fenton Funds, Asset Management Director
Dow Jones
Financial services and banking firm Barclays PLC said Wednesday it has appointed Andrew Fenton as Director, Funds and Asset Managers, within its Non-Bank Financial Institutions team, based in London.
jlne.ws/Qlklvd

The Banks Are Bluffing – They Aren’t Moving Anywhere
Naked Capitalism
Yves here. This is a subject near and dear to my heart. Banks occasionally harrumph that if regulators are too mean, they’ll just pack up and go somewhere else. That’s complete bluster as far as TBTF banks are concerned. Any major bank needs to be backstopped by a real central bank. The Caymans don’t begin to cut it.
jlne.ws/Qlklve

ING To Sell Ownership Stake In Capital One Valued At $3 Bln
RTT News
Credit services firm Capital One Financial Corp. said Wednesday that Dutch lender ING Groep N.V. is planning to sell its more than 9 percent ownership stake in Capital One, which it acquired in the sale of ING Direct US.
jlne.ws/Qlklvf

JPMorgan Screened Own Clients Because of Dodd-Frank
CNBC
JPMorgan Chase began scrutinizing the financial strength and business models of many of its broker-dealer clients six months ago, in reaction to new rules being put in place under the Dodd-Frank financial reform law.
jlne.ws/Qlkkav

Ashmore Investment Management Goes Live With Calastone
jlne.ws/QlklLv

Ruth Porat to Speak at the 2012 Barclays Global Financial Services Conference
jlne.ws/QlkkaE

R.J. O’Brien Appoints Gabriele CFO of Holding Company
Press Release
CHICAGO, Sept. 5, 2012 – R.J. O’Brien & Associates (RJO), the nation’s oldest and largest independent futures brokerage and clearing firm, announced that Jim Gabriele joins the firm today as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (CFO) of the firm’s holding company, RJO Holdings Corp.  Gabriele, 45, has spent more than two decades in senior operational, financial, management and consulting roles for alternative investment and brokerage firms.
http://jlne.ws/TmhzqN

Clearing & Settlement

EEX and ECC offer OTC registration via EFETnet
The European Energy Exchange (EEX) and European Commodity Clearing (ECC) are offering their participants a new and straight-forward solution for clearing OTC transactions. With immediate effect, EEX and its clearing house are connected with the EFETnet network
jlne.ws/QlklLA

Indexes & Products

Shenzhen Securities Information Company And FTSE Group Sign MOU To Explore Possibility Of Developing New Suite Of Indices
Shenzhen Securities Information Co. Ltd (“SZSE Securities Information”) and global index provider FTSE Group (“FTSE”) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to facilitate the development and promotion of new indices for the China capital markets. Under the MOU, Shenzhen Securities Information and FTSE will undertake index-related research and development projects and leverage one another’s strengths promoting indices to Chinese domestic and international investors.
jlne.ws/QlklLI

Deutsche Bank Launches First Tradable Index Tracking Core Inflation
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
Deutsche Bank announced today the launch of the DB Core US CPI Index , the first tradable index that tracks core inflation.
jlne.ws/QlklLJ

NYSE Liffe to list Russell Europe SMID 300 Index Futures on Bclear
jlne.ws/Qlkkr1

Shanghai Stock Exchange Regional Industry Top Index Series And CSI Regional Industry Top Index Series To Be Launched
jlne.ws/QlklLN

Technology

Broadridge Trade Confirmation Matching Solution to Help Support Dodd-Frank Act Foreign Exchange Requirements
Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc. (BR) today announced that functionality within its highly flexible, service-based trade confirmation solution, PROactive Matching, has been enhanced to help financial organizations meet the new Dodd-Frank disclosure requirements for foreign exchange (FX) trade repositories.
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Sapient Global Markets Enables Investors to Meet European Central Bank Loan-Level Data Reporting Responsibilities
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
Sapient Global Markets, part of Sapient , has today announced a new combination of services aimed specifically at helping companies meet requirements for communicating loan-level performance data to the European DataWarehouse under the European Central Bank’s ABS loan-level initiative.
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VistaOne Solutions Releases vSolvencyII – Comprehensive Data Governance Platform To Satisfy Solvency II Regulations
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Trayport Launches Energy Market Access Gateway, Its Pre-Trade Risk And Market Access System
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Enforcement

SEC charges former Stanford Group executives
Reuters
U.S. securities regulators charged former officials of Stanford Group Co for their role in the demise of the brokerage and bank controlled by Ponzi-schemer Allen Stanford.
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SEC Charges China-Based Company and Top Executive with Inflating Financial Results through Phony Sales
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a China-based company and its chief executive with fraud for recording fake sales of a weight loss product to inflate revenues in the company’s financial statements by millions of dollars.
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SEC Charges California Man for Illegal Tips to Hedge Fund Manager
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a California man with illegally tipping a hedge fund manager with inside information about Nvidia Corporation’s quarterly earnings that he learned from his friend who worked at the company.
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EU Opens Probe Into Gazprom
VANESSA MOCK AND STEPHEN FIDLER – WSJ.com
The European Union escalated its push to break Russian domination of Europe’s natural-gas supplies as it launched an investigation Tuesday into suspected efforts by Moscow’s state-owned energy giant OAO Gazprom to lock up markets on the bloc’s eastern flanks.
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Ex-Altera, Broadcom Executive Pleads Guilty in Insider-Trading Case
Dow Jones
A former technology company executive pleaded guilty to criminal charges Tuesday that he shared inside information about two companies, the latest individual to be caught in a wide-ranging insider-trading probe.
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ASIC imposes conditions on Addwealth Financial Services
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Former Queensland director jailed
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[ASIC] Information for customers affected by U-nited Group Liquidation
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Environmental & Energy

EU Said to Consider Linking Carbon-Permit Supply to Growth
Bloomberg
The European Union may propose linking the supply of carbon permits with economic performance as a long-term option for the world’s biggest emissions market, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
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Global Warming May Double UN Goal Without More Carbon Pledges
Bloomberg
International pledges to reduce greenhouse gases may fail to stop global warming from rising to twice the level deemed safe by United Nations scientists, Climate Action Tracker said.
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Experts Issue a Warning as Food Prices Shoot Up
The New York Times
With the worst drought in half a century withering corn across the Midwest, agricultural experts on Tuesday urged international action to prevent the global spike in food prices from causing global hunger.
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Asia-Pacific

Deutsche cuts equities sales staff in Asia
Paul J Davies in Hong Kong – FT.com
Deutsche Bank cut 10 per cent of its Asian equities sales and trading staff on Tuesday, according to people familiar with the situation, as a long-expected cull across the industry in the region gets under way.
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Global Funds Buy Most Korean Stocks on Record, Cut Bonds
Bloomberg
Overseas investors increased holdings of South Korean shares last month by the most on record, while pulling money from local-currency bonds, data today from the financial regulator showed.
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Exclusive: “Cheated” China firm urges Beijing not to push investment in North Korea
Reuters via Yahoo! News
BEIJING – China should not be encouraging its companies to invest in reclusive neighbor North Korea because it still lacks the conditions to protect foreign investors, a senior official with a major Chinese investor there said on Wednesday.
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Thai Bourse Ready For ASEAN Link, Attracts ASEAN Investors Into Thailand
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New Trading System for Interest Rate Futures Contracts
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Frontier Markets

Ex-Goldman Banker Managing Nigeria Fund Targets Spending
Bloomberg
Uche Orji, the former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and UBS AG banker named to lead Nigeria ’s sovereign wealth fund, plans to make spending on local infrastructure a key aim after local lawmakers opposed the fund’s creation.
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Expect more problems emerging from Eurozone, short on Indian market: Jim Rogers
Economic Times
ET Now caught up with Jim Rogers, chairman, Rogers Holdings, for his take on the world markets, Indian economy and commodities, among others.
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Securities Commission Malaysia Charges Former Remisier For Market Manipulation
The Securities Commission Malaysia (SC) today charged former remisier Dato’ David Goh Hock Choy in the Kuala Lumpur Sessions Court for manipulating Lii Hen Industries Berhad (Lii Hen) shares.
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Palestine Exchange Investor Monthly Newsletter Issue #29, August 2012
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Miscellaneous

Satori Hires Ian Hillier-Brook To Head-Up Strategic Development In Europe
Satori Consulting is pleased to confirm that Ian Hillier-Brook has joined the firm as Director, EMEA, based in the City of London, with responsibility for developing the consultancy’s client base across Europe.
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