Industry news
Date: Dec 12, 2012
December 12, 2012: CBOE Holdings Announces Leadership Changes; Nasdaq closes in on Thomson Reuters unit; LCH.Clearnet Plans Clearing Tie-Up With Aussie Banks
CBOE Holdings announces that William Brodsky will step down as CEO after the company’s May 2013 annual meeting. Nasdaq OMX gets closer to the finish line with its plans to acquire the corporate services unit of Thomson Reuters. LCH.Clearnet applies to begin offering interest-rate swap clearing to banks in Australia, beginning in early 2013.
First Read
New Restoring Customer Confidence Video
The fourth video in our Restoring Customer Confidence series deals with third-party custodians. Each week we will post a new idea answering the question – how do you restore customer confidence and bring traders back?
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| Restoring Customer Confidence | More ideas» |
Third-Party Custodians: Here, Hold On To This Futures customers are still wondering just how their money can stay protected in the case of a default by their broker. While some solutions are still in the concept stage, others are available right now. Horizon Cash Management’s Michael Markowitz explains the third-party custodian model, whereby customers set up and manage excess margin at a bank outside the brokerage firm. Third-party custodial arrangements are available now and could be one way to restore customer confidence. In this video, a simple animation and interview with Markowitz help explain the third-party custodian model. This video is sponsored by: +++++ About the Restoring Customer Confidence video series The Restoring Customer Confidence video series answers that question by exploring potential solutions using expert interviews and simple animations. John Lothian News interviewed more than a dozen professionals in the industry to get their ideas and solutions. As these ideas become practice, or as new concepts are adopted by the industry, we will continue to add them to the site. Visit the video series page on MarketsWiki.tv over the next several weeks for new ideas and solutions. |
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CBOE Holdings Announces Leadership Changes
Press Release
CBOE Holdings (CBOE) today announced that William J. Brodsky, Chairman and CEO, has advised the Board that he will step down as CEO effective following the 2013 Annual Meeting in May 2013. Following the annual meeting, it is anticipated that he will assume the role of Executive Chairman of the Board.
jlne.ws/TUmb98
**** You have to like a leadership change where no one is leaving the company. Congratulations to Bill and the Eds.
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Fighting over a fantasy
ANTHONY HALL, United Press International
Here’s a concept: Stop worrying and love the “fiscal cliff.” This idea has been proposed by John Lothian Newsletter Editor-at-Large Doug Ashburn in a take-your-medicine-now article on how to handle the nation’s $1 trillion deficit and nearly $17 trillion debt crisis. The article, to give it its due, is titled “Geronimo redux or how I learned to stop worrying and love the fiscal cliff.“
jlne.ws/UiqAPD
**** Doug Ashburn’s column for JLN Forex gets some play in this UPI column.
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DealBook: Hedge Funds Stride the Stage of World Affairs
New York Times
With the right idea and enough financial firepower, hedge fund investors can exert significant political and economic influence — even to the point of setting monetary policy.
jlne.ws/UiqB5U
**** This is one of those don’t ask, don’t tell policies.
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Trading Technologies’ X_TRADER 7.11 Named “Best New Product from a Technology Firm for Trading and Execution”
Trading Technologies International, Inc. (TT), a leading global provider of professional derivatives trading software and solutions, announced that X_TRADER 7.11, an enhanced version of its flagship product, was named “Best New Product from a Technology Firm for Trading and Execution” at the FOW International Awards in London last week. TT beat out a crowded field for the award in the premier technology category.
jlne.ws/QUgt6r
**** The Award winning X_Trader, now available in 7-11s near you.
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Orc introduces Orc Flow Control for effective control and monitoring of pre-trade risk
Orc, a leading provider of technology and services for the global financial industry, today introduced Orc Flow Control, a new solution for managing and monitoring pre-trade risk. Orc Flow Control is designed to help brokers enhance their DMA offerings; and for banks and trading firms to manage their internal flows.
jlne.ws/UiqDe3
**** Now if they could just help me eliminate the losing trades.
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The scramble for China
William Mitting – FOW
The Chinese financial regulator has approved 18 FCMs to start offering asset management services. The move has sparked a scramble for international partnerships among CTAs as the newly appointed managers seek to leverage international expertise and pioneer managed futures in China.
jlne.ws/UiqBmr
**** Don’t get caught with egg on your face here.
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MAJOR CHANGES IN JAPANESE ASSETS FORECAST BY LEADING INVESTMENT MANAGER
Press Release
Hedge fund manager, Chris Rigg, has issued a stark message about investment in Japanese bonds. “The level of debt Japan is running, which by some measures is far worse than in Greece, is unsustainable,” said Rigg. “With net debt at 140% even if Japan were to run a budget where revenue and expenditure were balanced before interest costs, the economy would have to grow by 1.8% in nominal terms just to stabilize the debt/GDP ratio. The reality is that the Japanese government spends twice as much as tax revenue and debt servicing costs consume half of tax revenue”
(via email)
**** Japan is the new Greece? Something to watch.
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Barclays hires Hector Sants to head compliance
Dow Jones Newswires
Barclays said Hector Sants, the former chief executive of the UK’s Financial Services Authority, will join the bank next year in a new role as head of compliance, as the bank seeks to repair its reputation after a series of regulatory penalties for inadequate systems and employee misbehaviour.
jlne.ws/UiqBmz
**** Classic move when there is a problem. Refco tried this too.
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The first steps towards risk adjusting the financial system
Allan Grody – FOW
The framers of Dodd-Frank were clear eyed in their thinking that the financial system’s risk management methods must be repaired and data transparency assured, but it was not clear how to do it. Solutions are needed for implementing financial reforms, but those that are on the table here in the US, especially Swaps regulations, have to be paused to make sure they are logically implemented, integrate with each other and provide for more permanent solutions on a global scale.
jlne.ws/UiqBmB
**** So basically, the regulators need to accomplish the impossible. Go at it.
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Dodd-Frank Rules to Begin, and Wall Street Is Bracing
BEN PROTESS – NYTimes.com
Wall Street lobbyists, the influential power brokers railing against regulation, may soon pass the mantle to more unassuming colleagues: bank compliance officers. After spending three years and hundreds of millions of dollars attacking a bevy of new rules, Wall Street is begrudgingly gearing up for a new, if more mundane, phase of federal oversight.
jlne.ws/UiqDeg
****Are you ready for some regulation!!!
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In Netflix Case, a Chance to Re-examine Old Rules
STEVEN M. DAVIDOFF – NYTimes.com
Netflix is in the Securities and Exchange Commission’s sights over a post on Facebook by Reed Hastings, its chief executive, saying that the video streaming company’s monthly viewing had reached a billion hours. Yet, the case is more convincing as an illustration of how the regulator clings to outdated notions of how markets work.
jlne.ws/UiqBCX
**** Bad SEC. I unlike you.
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European Parliament Adopts Uniform Patent System
International Herald Tribune
The bickering that has plagued the development of a uniform patent system in Europe foreshadows the problems that another crucial effort, the creation of a banking union, could face.
jlne.ws/UiqDuD
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Inside the Risky Bets of Central Banks
JON HILSENRATH and BRIAN BLACKSTONE – WSJ.com
Every two months, more than a dozen bankers meet here on Sunday evenings to talk and dine on the 18th floor of a cylindrical building looking out on the Rhine. The dinner discussions on money and economics are more than academic.
jlne.ws/UiqDuI
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Workplace Distractions: Here’s Why You Won’t Finish This Article
RACHEL EMMA SILVERMAN – WSJ.com
In the few minutes it takes to read this article, chances are you’ll pause to check your phone, answer a text, switch to your desktop to read an email from the boss’s assistant, or glance at the Facebook FB or Twitter messages popping up in the corner of your screen. Off-screen, in your open-plan office, crosstalk about a colleague’s preschooler might lure you away, or a co-worker may stop by your desk for a quick question. And bosses wonder why it is tough to get any work done.
jlne.ws/UiqDuN
**** What was that you said?
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Why Chicago business needs protected bike lanes
Donald Wilson – Crain’s
For years, Chicago has worked to position itself as a technology center with the goal of attracting companies in that industry and the well-paying jobs that come with them. While many of these efforts have paid off, Chicago still has a ways to go before it becomes truly competitive with the nation’s primary technology hubs.
jlne.ws/UiqDL3
**** DRW’s Don Wilson talks his position and it is a good one.
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Coffee from an elephant’s gut fills a $50 cup
AP
In the lush hills of northern Thailand, a herd of 20 elephants is excreting some of the world’s most expensive coffee. Trumpeted as earthy in flavor and smooth on the palate, the exotic new brew is made from beans eaten by Thai elephants and plucked a day later from their dung. A gut reaction inside the elephant creates what its founder calls the coffee’s unique taste.
jlne.ws/UiqBTv
***** This is only equalled by Monkey-butt coffee. Hello? Who comes up with this?
***** Some exchange will list a contract on this, but the supplies will be hard to move into deliverable position.
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MarketsWiki.tv
MarketFactory CEO James Sinclair Explores Trends in Foreign Exchange Market Structure
MarketsWiki.tv
James Sinclair is CEO and co-founder of MarketFactory, a financial technology company that provides feed handlers to the forex market. The company’s FX Aggregator product is a single API that connects to all sources of liquidity in the foreign exchange market, including ECNs, banks, brokers and futures exchanges. Sinclair has been a foreign exchange market expert for over 25 years, having spent several years as head of research and strategy at EBS, both before and after its 2006 acquisition by ICAP. He also spent 12 years as a vice president of Asia/Pacific at Citibank. Sinclair spoke with John Lothian News Editor at Large Doug Ashburn about several FX market structure trends, including volume as measured by CLS, the relation between volume and volatility, the rise of the electronic options platform, and what sets foreign exchange apart from other asset classes. He closes with an optimistic look at some of the new platforms, suggesting there is a lot more there than meets the eye.
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Lead Stories
Nasdaq closes in on Thomson Reuters unit
Philip Stafford in London – FT.com
Nasdaq OMX, the transatlantic exchanges operator, is closing in on the purchase of the corporate services unit of Thomson Reuters in a deal worth about $400m, according to two people familiar with the situation.
jlne.ws/UiqDLc
LCH.Clearnet Plans Clearing Tie-Up With Aussie Banks
Caroline Henshaw – Dow Jones
LCH.Clearnet plans to take its first tentative step into the Australian market early next year by applying to offer its interest-rate-swap clearing service directly to the country’s banks.
jlne.ws/UiqDLi
Eurex And Singapore Exchange To Start Market Access Linkage January 2013
Singapore Exchange (SGX) and Eurex will offer market access to their customers with their data center linkage available from January 2013. SGX and Eurex announced in March 2012 a partnership to deliver enhanced market access and cost efficiencies to members of both exchanges by linking their co-location centers.
jlne.ws/UiqE1y
Fed Puts Deal Freeze on Big Banks
VICTORIA MCGRANE AND DAN FITZPATRICK – WSJ.com
The Federal Reserve is pushing large U.S. banks to forget about all but the smallest acquisitions for a while amid a raging debate over the risk big lenders pose to the financial system.
jlne.ws/UiqE1B
On the Way Out, Schapiro Steps In to ‘Volcker’ Rift
SCOTT PATTERSON AND VICTORIA MCGRANE – WSJ.com
In one of her last acts as Securities and Exchange Commission chairman, Mary Schapiro is helping resolve conflicts among U.S. financial regulators over the contentious and oft-delayed “Volcker rule.” But her departure also could ensure this work won’t see the light of day for months.
jlne.ws/UiqE1D
Huge AIG Bailout Profit ‘Misleading’, Says Ex-TARP Watchdog
By Mark Gongloff – The Huffington Post
Merry Christmas, America, the U.S. government is about to close the books on its AIG bailout with a big profit. Please just ignore the immeasurable costs.
jlne.ws/UiqE1I
U.K. Fraud Agency Makes First Arrests Over Libor-Rigging
Lindsay Fortado & Liam Vaughan – Bloomberg
A former Citigroup Inc. (C) trader is among three people held in the first U.K. arrests as part of global probes into tampering with the London interbank offered rate, according to two people familiar with the matter.
jlne.ws/UiqE1J
EU Nears Deal on Bank Regulator
MAX COLCHESTER AND LAURENCE NORMAN – WSJ.com
Europe seemed close to a key compromise over which type of banks will be supervised by a new single European banking regulator, ahead of Wednesday’s meeting of finance ministers from the European Union.
jlne.ws/UiqE1O
Police raid Deutsche HQ in tax probe
James Wilson in Frankfurt – FT.com
Deutsche Bank’s headquarters was searched by German prosecutors on Wednesday as part of a long-running investigation into whether bank staff were connected to a tax fraud involving carbon trading.
jlne.ws/UiqEi4
Broken Record Alert: High-Frequency Traders Buying Data Ahead of You
Wall Street Journal Blogs
Traders wanting to place bets on the U.S. Consumer Demand Index — a monthly reading of household spending sentiment — can now pay to get the data before anyone else.
jlne.ws/UiqEi5
Regulatory
Changes to swap costs prompt alarm
Michael Mackenzie and Stephen Foley in New York – FT.com
Off the peg or custom made? For some derivatives users, the choice could soon narrow sharply. There are growing fears that specially-tailored swaps will become prohibitively expensive under new rules coming into effect from next year. Regulators want most users to pick only from the racks of standardised products.
jlne.ws/UiqCac
Regulators say EU to delay Basel bank capital rules
Reuters via Yahoo! Finance
The European Union is set to delay introduction of new capital rules for banks by up to a year, the Bank of Italy said on Tuesday, in a move regulators fear could undermine one of the most important reforms of the financial crisis.
jlne.ws/UiqEid
U.S. Chamber calls for trade officials to review Volcker rule
Reuters via Yahoo! News
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce is asking federal officials to consider whether a proposed proprietary trading ban undermines U.S. trade policy, part of an ongoing effort by industry groups to push back against the so-called Volcker rule.
jlne.ws/UiqEim
The Dodd-Frank Stress Test Rule is Stressing Out U.S. Banks
By Daniel Parker – Advanced Trading
Under the newly imposed stress test rule required by the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act (DFA), the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) stipulates that covered financial institutions, including all U.S. banks with consolidated assets between $10 billion and $50 billion, are required to conduct annual stress tests calculated under a multi-scenario analysis.
jlne.ws/UiqEyC
Cohrs calls for 10-year bonus deferrals
Vivek Ahuja – Financial News
Bank of England financial policy committee member Michael Cohrs has suggested extending the period over which bankers’ bonuses vest to between seven and 10 years to ensure payouts are timed to match a typical business cycle.
jlne.ws/UiqCqx
CFTC’s Division of Market Oversight Provides Time-Limited No-Action Relief to Provide Certain Exemptive Relief Consistent With the Expiring July 2012 Exemptive Order
jlne.ws/UiqCqC
CFTC’s Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight Issues No-Action Relief Providing an Alternative to Fingerprinting to Establish Fitness of Principals Residing Outside the United States
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) today announced the issuance of a no-action letter relating to the fingerprinting requirement under Commission Regulation 3.10(a)(2) for certain principals of Commission registrants.
jlne.ws/UiqCH0
CFTC’s Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight Issues No-Action Relief for Certain Futures Commission Merchants Concerning Annual Reports of Chief Compliance Officers
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s (CFTC) Division of Swap Dealer and Intermediary Oversight (DSIO) issued a no-action letter that provides certain futures commission merchants (FCMs) with limited relief surrounding the requirement that chief compliance officers of such FCMs prepare and submit an Annual Report, pursuant to Commission Regulation 3.3.
jlne.ws/UiqEyP
Jennifer Mchugh Named Senior Advisor In SEC’s Division Of Investment Management
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that Jennifer B. McHugh has been named Senior Advisor to the Director in its Division of Investment Management.
jlne.ws/UiqCHf
DealBook: An Architect of Wall Street Reform Prepares for Life After Politics
New York Times
Representative Barney Frank says getting the Dodd-Frank Act passed was his hardest-fought battle in more than 30 years in Congress.
jlne.ws/UiqFCE
SEC Head Mary Schapiro To Step Down This Week
NPR
David Greene talks to Mary Schapiro, chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission, about her tenure. After almost four years on the job she is stepping down this week.
jlne.ws/UiqFCH
European Commission Statement On The Authorisation Of Enhanced Cooperation For The Financial Transactions Tax
jlne.ws/UiqFCI
Exchanges & Trading Facilities
NASDAQ OMX Adds Consumer Demand Data to Its Machine-Readable News Service
GlobeNewswire via Yahoo! Finance
NEW YORK — The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc., parent of the world’s first electronic stock market, today announced U.S. consumer demand data is now delivered by NASDAQ OMX Event-Driven Analytics, a leading provider of machine-readable economic news to financial institutions and trading firms.
jlne.ws/UiqFCM
Athens Exchange Monthly Statistical Bulletin November 2012
jlne.ws/UiqFCR
Bahamas International Securities Exchange January To September 2012 Statistical Report
jlne.ws/UiqFTa
CBOE Holdings Declares Special Cash Dividend Of $0.75 Per Share
jlne.ws/UiqFTg
[CBOE] Fee Changes
jlne.ws/UiqFTn
CBOE, C2, CFE, and CBSX Trading Schedule For the Christmas and New Year’s Holidays
jlne.ws/UiqF5P
Theradiag lists on NYSE Alternext
jlne.ws/UiqFTr
NYSE MKT Issues Short Interest Report
jlne.ws/UiqFm9
NYSE Group Inc. Issues Short Interest Report
jlne.ws/UiqFmb
NASDAQ Announces End-Of-Month Open Short Interest Positions In NASDAQ Stocks As Of Settlement Date November 30, 2012
jlne.ws/UiqG9L
Hedge Funds & Managed Futures
FSA warns buyside on outsourcing
Michelle Price – Financial News
UK asset managers, which are increasingly looking to outsource administration functions to help cope with new regulatory initiatives, have been warned that such arrangement are leaving the industry over-exposed to a small band of providers.
jlne.ws/UiqFmk
New Initiative, New Leaders, for Hedge Fund Association
The Hedge Fund Association today announced that it has created a new High Net Worth Advisory Board focused on developing educational programs and networking events globally for HNW investors. Its chairperson will be April J. Rudin, who has over 20 years of marketing experience in both corporate and financial services settings. In a separate move, the HFA promoted Ryan Mitchell to HFA West Coast Chapter Regional Director.
jlne.ws/UiqFmo
Invesco Ltd. Announces November 30, 2012 Assets Under Management
Invesco Ltd. (IVZ) today reported preliminary month-end assets under management of $683.8 billion, an increase of 1.0% month over month.
jlne.ws/UiqFmp
Martin Currie shuts down China Hedge Fund after being hit with $14m fine
Opalesque
International equity specialists Martin Currie is closing down its long/short equity strategy China Hedge Fund after the firm was slapped with a $14m fine from U.S. and UK regulators for favoring one client over another.
jlne.ws/UiqFmr
CQS ABS Manager Lumsden Leaves Hedge Fund, Is Replaced by Finch
Bloomberg
CQS U.K. LLP said Alistair Lumsden, who managed a hedge fund focused on asset-backed securities, has left the $11.9 billion firm.
jlne.ws/UiqG9Z
Founders Fund Partner Bruce Gibney Has Left The Firm
TechCrunch
Bruce Gibney, the Founders Fund partner who criss-crossed the country raising its fourth fund of $625 million , has left the firm, multiple industry sources confirm. Details of why he departed are unavailable at this time, but we understand he’ll be going to work at a holding company or a portfolio company.
jlne.ws/UiqGqc
Gross Sells Mortgage Debt After Fed Buying Cuts Yield
Bloomberg
Bill Gross cut holdings of mortgage securities in the world’s biggest bond fund to the lowest level in 12 months after Federal Reserve purchases of the securities pushed yields to a record low in September.
jlne.ws/UiqGqf
DealBook: Treasury Earns $7.6 Billion From Sale of Last Shares in A.I.G.
New York Times
The successful sale of the Treasury Department’s remaining stake in the American International Group means that taxpayers have gained about $22.7 billion from a bailout that many predicted would prompt a staggering loss.
jlne.ws/UiqGqh
Hedge Funds Are Buying Into This Market While Mom And Pop Are Selling At The Fastest Pace In 19 Months
Business Insider
BofA equity strategist Savita Subramanian is out with an update on what her clients are doing in the stock market. Subramanian says last week, only hedge fund clients were net buyers of stocks, while institutional clients – pension funds and the like – were net sellers.
jlne.ws/UiqIi4
Hedge Funds Get Marginally Less Awesome For Managers
BusinessWeek
As hedge fund gains again trail the S&P 500 index in 2012, the first signs of an investor revolt begin to appear
jlne.ws/UiqIyl
Bucks Blog: A Warning About That Guy Who Is Beating the Market
New York Times
All sorts of self-styled experts talk a good game about their consistent, double-digit investment returns. You, however, should not count on doing that well.
jlne.ws/UiqIyp
Banks & Brokers
JPMorgan Pressed by SEC on Prop Trading Before Whale Loss
Bloomberg
JPMorgan Chase & Co. was pressed by U.S. regulators to strengthen investor disclosures on proprietary trading almost a year before a wrong-way bet on credit derivatives cost the bank at least $6.2 billion.
jlne.ws/UiqIyq
One Of The Four Major Swedish Banks Upgrades Partnership With Neonet
Leading Swedish Bank Selects Neonet Based On Attractive Technical Platform And Pricing Model
jlne.ws/UiqIyr
Fidelity launches “dark pool” for large trades
Reuters via Yahoo! Finance
Fidelity Investments’ trading arm said on Tuesday it launched a new invitation-only “dark pool” for block trades that allows institutional investors to interact with orders from Fidelity’s brokerage business.
jlne.ws/UiqIyu
JPMorgan No. 1 in customer survey, rivals fall back
Reuters via Yahoo! Finance
JPMorgan Chase & Co jumped to first in a U.S. customer satisfaction survey, as its three biggest rivals, including perennial leader Wells Fargo & Co, posted a decline in their scores.
jlne.ws/UiqGGW
Jefferies Vows Immediate All-Cash Bonuses as Bigger Banks Defer
Bloomberg
Jefferies Group Inc. , the investment bank that agreed to sell itself to Leucadia National Corp. , said it will pay year-end bonuses in immediately available cash, according to a memo to employees.
jlne.ws/UiqGH1
Danske’s Image Concern Continues
CLEMENS BOMSDORF – WSJ.com
An attempt by Denmark’s largest bank to repair its image by incorporating Occupy Wall Street imagery and other provocative scenes into its advertising has met a flurry of opposition as even the company’s Chief Executive says the campaign misjudged the public’s outrage over bank bailouts.
jlne.ws/UiqIyw
Energy banker Lovegrove plans to leave Citi
Deal Journal, The Wall Street Journal
Martin Lovegrove, the high-profile energy deal maker who joined Citigroup to much fanfare less than a year and a half ago, is quietly making plans to leave the US bank, people familiar with his plans tell Deal Journal.
jlne.ws/UiqGXm
BofA Merrill Adds Electronic Options to Commission Management Platform
Advanced Trading
Bank of America Merrill Lynch announced the addition of U.S. electronic options to its global commission management platform, a move the firm says is designed to capitalize on an asset class that’s growing in popularity.
jlne.ws/UiqIOT
Deutsche Bank cuts power and gas trading staff – trade sources
Reuters via Yahoo! Finance
NEW YORK – Deutsche Bank is cutting members of its North American power and gas team as part of staff reductions the bank announced in July, two trade sources said on Tuesday.
jlne.ws/UiqIP2
Goldman Sachs attorney defends firm in Dragon trial
Boston Globe
Goldman Sachs isn’t at fault in the 12-year-old sale of Dragon Systems Inc., a Boston area tech firm, to a Belgium company that collapsed just months after the acquisition when revelations surfaced that it perpetrated a massive fraud, the investment firm’s lawyer said Tuesday in a federal lawsuit over the deal.
jlne.ws/UiqIP4
Barclays Spanish unit fined for mis-rating bonds
Reuters via Yahoo! News
MADRID – The Spanish stock market regulator on Tuesday fined the Spanish arm of British bank Barclays 600,000 eurosfor under-rating the risk of bonds it sold to clients in 2008. The fine relates to four structured bonds sold by the bank between January and March with a ‘medium-to-low’ risk profile instead of ‘high’.
jlne.ws/UiqHdK
Clearing & Settlement
Australian markets to benefit from competition in clearing
LCH.Clearnet Group (LCH.Clearnet), the leading international clearing house, today announced it will extend its clearing business for OTC interest rate instruments to Australian banks, bringing the benefits of clearing competition to one of the world’s top 10 capital markets.
jlne.ws/UiqJ5v
Indexes & Products
BATS Exchange Welcomes ProShares ETF
BATS Global Markets (BATS), a leading operator of securities markets in the U.S. and Europe, today announced that ProShares, a premier provider of alternative exchange traded funds (ETFs), will list the ProShares Merger ETF on BATS Exchange.
jlne.ws/UiqHdS
Market Vectors High-Yield Municipal Index ETF Becomes the First High-Yield Muni ETF to Cross the $1 Billion Asset Threshold
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
Market Vectors High-Yield Municipal Index ETF , has surpassed $1 billion in assets under management , it was announced. HYD is the first high-yield municipal bond ETF, and just the fourth municipal bond ETF overall, to pass this threshold.
jlne.ws/UiqJlV
AUM Gathered by ETF Securities (HK) Ltd Crosses HK$100M in the First Eight Trading Days
ETF Securities (HK) Limited announced today that its newly launched ETF Securities physical precious metal ETF platform has taken in over HK$100M in the first eight trading days after the listing on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong.
jlne.ws/UiqHdZ
STOXX Launches Managed Futures Index – New Index Is Based On Efficient Capital Management Research
jlne.ws/UiqJm4
Boost ETP launches on London Stock Exchange
jlne.ws/UiqJm5
Metlifecare And Summerset To Be Added To NZX 50 Index
jlne.ws/UiqJm9
FTSE MIB Index Quarterly Review
jlne.ws/UiqHul
Technology
Sidera and ContinuityX Solutions Collaborate to Deliver Disaster Recovery, Cloud, and Managed Services
Sidera Networks, the premier supplier of fiber optic-based network solutions, and ContinuityX Solutions, Inc., a premier provider of managed networking, data center, applications, cloud and disaster recovery services, announce today that Sidera is providing high-performance network connectivity between ContinuityX data center locations in New York, New Jersey, Chicago, Philadelphia, and Toronto.
jlne.ws/UiqJCs
New KYC compliance index and enhanced ownership details launched by CounterpartyLink
CounterpartyLink (CPL), a leading provider of global, evidence-based legal entity intelligence, is releasing added functionality to its recently-launched, web-based service. The new version will have significantly more information on beneficial ownerships and control of legal entities.
jlne.ws/UiqHuv
Chicago’s Sun Trading Consolidates Asset Classes on Kx
Forbes
Chicago’s Sun Trading Solutions is expanding its use of the Kx Systems kdb+ database across geographies and asset types.
jlne.ws/UiqHuz
MarketAxess to Pay Special Dividend
jlne.ws/UiqHKU
Enforcement
SEC charges consultant with fraud in Chinese reverse mergers
Reuters via Yahoo! News
WASHINGTON – Securities regulators charged a New Jersey-based consultant on Tuesday with defrauding investors in the China-based companies he helped make public through a backdoor method known as a “reverse merger.”
jlne.ws/UiqJCB
Ex-MF Global Broker Pleads Guilty in Unauthorized-Trade Case
Andrew Harris – Bloomberg
A former MF Global Inc. (MFGLQ) broker pleaded guilty to federal commodities act violations after the U.S. accused him of making unauthorized trades that caused the now-defunct futures company to lose more than $141 million.
jlne.ws/UiqJCE
[ASIC] Former NSW tax consultant convicted of insider trading charges
jlne.ws/UiqI1l
Former CEO of collapsed WA hotel chain pleads guilty to ASIC charges
jlne.ws/UiqI1p
Environmental & Energy
For The World’s Largest Companies, Clean Energy Commitments Are The New Norm
Ceres’ Mindy Lubber on Forbes
For The World’s Largest Companies, Clean Energy Commitments Are The New Norm There’s a new majority in the Fortune 100, and it favors a clean energy future.
jlne.ws/S5H6ad
THE REPORT:
Power Forward: Why the World’s Largest Companies are Investing in Renewable Energy
jlne.ws/S5HNAg
Capitalism, Not Collectivism, Will Be Key To Carbon Mitigation
Dennis Posadas, fellow with Climate Instiute, on Forbes Asia
The Kyoto Protocol emerged from the Doha COP-18 negotiations with an extension up to 2020, but much weakened with only a few developed countries agreeing to commit funds. Even with this treaty still intact, what has become clear is the mandatory nature of carbon mitigation is now in flux.
jlne.ws/X9Mg1r
Asia-Pacific
Hong Kong toughens IPO rules for banks
Josh Noble in Hong Kong – FT.com
Investment banks face much tougher regulation when helping companies list in Hong Kong under rules being introduced by the city’s market regulator. The Securities and Futures Commission wants to make sponsors of initial public offerings criminally liable for false information presented by companies they help to bring public.
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China Names Clearing Bank for Taiwan Yuan Transactions
Bloomberg
Bank of China Ltd.’s Taipei branch won the right to clear yuan transactions in Taiwan, paving the way for use of the mainland’s currency on the island that’s been ruled separately since a civil war six decades ago.
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Mitsubishi UFJ Said to Agree With BofA on Japan Venture Buyout
Bloomberg
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. is poised to announce the 39 billion yen purchase of Bank of America Corp. ’s stake in their Japanese private banking venture, said two people with knowledge of the matter.
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Cultural clean-up needed in HK and Shanghai
By Paul J. Davies, Asia Finance Correspondent – FT.com
The 11,000 job cuts unveiled by Citigroup last week are not expected to have a huge impact on Asia – but there is an argument that they should, at least in its equities business. Asia may promise the best economic growth in coming years but for Citi and its peers that is unlikely to mean a big pick-up in their equities operations.
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Thai Listed Firms Show Upbeat Q3 Net Profit, Up 67 Pct From Q2
The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) reveals that third-quarter net profits of Thai listed companies rose 66.51 percent from the previous quarter thanks to higher performances of the resources and industrial goods groups, while other sectors showed flat earnings.
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Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission Concludes Consultation On Regulation Of IPO Sponsors
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HKEx Welcomes SFC Consultation Conclusions On The Regulation Of IPO Sponsors
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Taiwan Futures Exchange December 2012 Newsletter
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Tokyo Grain Exchange: SPAN Parameters Effective From December 17, 2012 To December 28, 2012
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HKEx Announces Temporary Holiday Risk Management Arrangements
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Frontier Markets
Dubai SME And NASDAQ Dubai Sign Agreement To Support Growth And Expansion Of SME Sector
Dubai SME, the agency of the Department of Economic Development (DED) mandated to develop the small and medium enterprise (SME) sector, and NASDAQ Dubai, the region’s international exchange, today signed an agreement to guide SMEs towards suitable financing options to fund their growth, including carrying out an initial public offering (IPO).
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DGCX November Volumes Rise 117% On Gold And Indian Rupee Futures Trading
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Miscellaneous
Art Cashin Previews Our $202 Trillion Destiny
Zero Hedge
Yesterday’s trading was a balance between Italy fears and fiscal cliff hopes-fears-and-hopes-again. While UBS’ Art Cashin notes that on the bright side, this will all be over on December 21st when the Mayans predicted the end of the world, he also details what is perhaps even more fearsome – not-the-end-of-the-world as, in his words, demographics, destiny, and the fiscal cliff loom very large …
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Alexandra Lebenthal: The new queen of Wall Street
CNN Money
Irrepressible muni bond scion Alexandra Lebenthal is building a thriving new family firm.
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