CXA, CXJ, CXC, ASIC, LSE, TMX, Sola, I/Op...Acronym fatigue?

Aussie market structure issues continue to dominate domestic debate.

e.g. ASIC is aiming to perform market supervision on a cost recovery basis. Most of those costs, (29.9myn over 5 years, or 6myn / year) are paid by ASX (3.7 myn per year). That leaves 2.3myn per year to be paid for by other MLO’s: (CXA, National Stock Exchange, Bendigo, APX etc.).
Full list of Aussie market licences at:
http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/ASIC.NSF/byHeadline/Licensed%20domestic%20financial%20markets%20operating%20in%20Australia

Lots of news also in Canada. Not all of which I follow, but it appears in response to a record month for Chi-X Canadsa, Omega is reducing fees and Alpha is stirring up the maple syrup with exchange status and a rival TMX bid via syndication.

Interoperability takes a step forward(?), or is this just the resumption of the previous LCH / X-Clear status?

I'm not surprised the OTC market is smaller than claimed. I'd rather see more effort put into accruately measuring our markets and then managing the risks rather than blindly prescribing lets CCP clear 'everything' that moves. If you can't measure it....

For those enjoying the Northern Hemisphere Spring; Yes, I'm jealous. 6 weeks from now we have the soltice...and the days will start getting longer here. Enjoy it while you can!

I don't know who won the Eurovision, but a nice interactive map attached. I do know my Reds are the top of the Super 15 Rugby...and that is simply wonderful!

Have a great week all,

S

PLATFORMS ASIA

REUTERS: AUSTRALIA FACES CLEARING AND SETTLEMENT CONUNDRUM IN WAKE OF CHI-X LICENCE
By Nathan Lynch
The Australian government's decision to grant a market licence to Chi-X this week has highlighted two inconvenient truths about the Australian exchange landscape - inconvenient truths that go by the names of clearing and settlement.
Fairweather said the general consensus in the markets - based on the experience from overseas - is that there is room for competition in the clearing space but settlement, by its very nature, is non-contestable. As such, any review would need to take account of governance arrangements for clearing and settlement services, the facilitation of competition in relation to clearing and the fair pricing of the ASX's settlement's services.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/05/australia-exchanges-regulation-idUSL3E7G50F420110505

AUSTRALIAN FINANCIAL REVIEW: ASIC FUNDS IN QUESTION AS EXCHANGES FLOURISH
By Patrick Durkin, 05/12/11
The federal government, its corporate regulator, the stock exchanges, brokers and investors are all looking at each other over who will pay the $29.9 million bill it will cost to police the stockmarket.
When the Australian Securities and Investments Commission took over supervision of the stockmarket from the Australian Securities Exchange last August, the legislation included the unusual ability for the regulator to recoup its costs, rather than being shouldered by the government. That cost has now been estimated at $29.9 million over five years and in the first year the ASX was required to pay $3.4 million, of a $3.7 million annual fee, to help fund ASIC's new role.
That is expected to leave about $2.3 million for the new stock exchange Chi-X and other smaller exchanges to meet each year. But the government has said it will consult with the industry again later this year on exactly who will pay.

TRADE NEWS: CHI-X JAPAN MAINTAINS POSITION AS LARGEST PTS
Chi-X Japan, the proprietary trading system (PTS) owned by market operator Chi-X Global, has continued its solid start to the year as it battles to become the largest alternative market in Japan.
According to its own figures, Chi-X Japan accounted for 1.62% market share of blue chip index the Nikkei 225 in April 2011, up from 1.2% in the previous month and 1.16% in February. The increase saw Chi-X Japan maintain its position as the largest PTS in the country for the second month in a row, just ahead of SBI Japannext.
http://www.nomuraholdings.com/news/nr/asia/20110509/20110509.pdf

CHI-X GLOBAL IN STAKE SALE TALKS; Chi-X Global is in advanced talks with four trading firms and banks to take a minority stake in the alternative share trading platform operator reports the FT, citing "three people familiar with the matter".
Full story: http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=22487
Chi-X Global is in advanced talks with four trading firms and banks to take a minority stake in the alternative share trading platform operator reports the FT, citing "three people familiar with the matter".
The group is in talks with Getco, the Chicago-based proprietary trading firm, Quantlab Financial, a Houston-based rival, Deutsche Bank and Bank of America Merrill Lynch about taking a stake as part of a deal which values Chi-X Global at around $50m, the UK broadsheet reports.


INDIA'S EQUITY MARKET MICROSTRUCTURE EVOLUTION
India's equity market microstructure has undergone a significant transformation over the past few years. The key drivers of this change have largely been..
HTTP://WWW.ASIAETRADING.COM/INDIA-EQUITY-MARKET-MICROSTRUCTURE-EVOLUTION/

HKEX APPOINTS CHIEF ADMINISTRATIVE OFFICER
HKEx has appointed Joseph Meyer as its first CAO.
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) has created a Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) position to oversee its major projects, Administration Department and Human Resources Department.
His most recent position was Representative Director of Chi-X Japan.
" there are several major projects, including the introduction of OTC Clearing (the clearing of derivatives traded in Hong Kong’s over-the-counter, or OTC, market) and Hosting Services, major IT upgrades and the completion of our Next Generation Data Centre, that require organisation-wide coordination”
http://www.hkex.com.hk/eng/newsconsul/hkexnews/2011/110509news.htm

HKEx Publishes its 2011 First Quarter Results\
http://www.hkex.com.hk/eng/newsconsul/hkexnews/2011/Documents/110511news.pdf

SINGAPORE EXCHANGE ENHANCES SECURITIES CLEARING FUND STRUCTURE
The enhancements and accompanying changes to the CDP Clearing Rules will take effect from 3 May 2011.
The revised Clearing Fund structure is scalable, linking clearing members’ contributions more closely to the level of risk they bring to the clearing system. Their clearing fund contributions will change in line with their securities traded values. Previously, the contributions remain fixed in aggregate.
Under the revised structure, CDP only requires a portion of clearing members’ increased contributions to be deposited upfront. Clearing members will be called upon to deposit the remaining contributions under conditions of increased risk or to meet losses arising from clearing member default.
Details are available on SGX website at:
http://www.sgx.com/wps/portal/corporate/cp-en/regulation/rulebooks_manuals/cdp_clearing_rules/amendments
http://www.asiaetrading.com/singapore-exchange-enhances-securities-clearing-fund-structure/



ASIC CONSULTS ON MARKET INTEGRITY RULES FOR THE FEX MARKET
ASIC today announced it has released a consultation paper proposing new market integrity rules which will apply should Financial and Energy Exchange Limited (FEX) be granted an Australian market licence.
http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/asic.nsf/byHeadline/11-97AD%20ASIC%20consults%20on%20market%20integrity%20rules%20for%20the%20FEX%20market?opendocument


Exchanges in Asia: Trends and perspectives
Australian Securities and Investments Commission
http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/pdflib.nsf/LookupByFileName/Speech-Exchanges-in-Asia-IOMA-IOCA-Tony-DAloisio-20110504.pdf/$file/Speech-Exchanges-in-Asia-IOMA-IOCA-Tony-DAloisio-20110504.pdf
*** 27 pages.


PLATFORMS

BATS SCORECARD: UPTIME HIGH, MARGINS TIGHT. CHI-X? A RETAINED DEFICIT.
The S-1 Registration Statement filed Friday by BATS Global Markets to commence its bid to raise as much as $100 million from public investors gives the first glimpse of its financial footing, as it tries to build a business worldwide that lives up to its name
• Principal shareholders. Holders of 5% stakes in BATS include Citgroup Financial Products, Credit Suisse First Boston Next Fund, DB Investment Partners, GETCO Strategic Investments, LabMorgan Investment Corporation, Lime Brokerage Holdings, Lehman Brothers Holdings, ML IBK Positions. Strategic Invesmtnets I and Tradebot Ventures Fund
http://www.securitiestechnologymonitor.com/news/bats-global-markets-uptime-high-margins-low-27925-1.html?ET=securitiesindustry:e2507:171544a:&st=email&utm_source=editorial&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=STM_BNA_08302010_051411

CHI-X EUROPE POSTS RISING TRADING STATS; PARTNERS RUSSELL INVESTMENTS ON INDICES
http://www.finextra.com/news/announcement.aspx?pressreleaseid=38762

CHI-X REVOLVING DOOR SPITS OUT CFO O'KEEFE
The revolving door is spinning again at Chi-X Europe as chief financial officer Kevin O'Keefe confirms his intention to depart the European MTF in the wake of its recent take-over by Bats Global Markets.
More on this story: http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=22480

LSE LOOKS LIKE FACING COMPETITION FOR TMX FROM BANK-BACKED ALPHA ATS With Canadian banks looking for ways to block TMX Group's merger with the London Stock Exchange (LSE), traders have begun betting on the proposal being trumped, according to Bloomberg.
Full story: http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=22529

LSE's Rolet says exchange mergers could unify regulation
London Stock Exchange CEO Xavier Rolet said the consolidation wave hitting the exchange sector could harmonise global trading regulations. "If you look at the existing exchange mergers, including the trans-Atlantic mergers, there's not a unified regulatory environment," Rolet said. "This is the greatest opportunity the financial crisis has presented -- to unify regulation." He also scrutinised European policymakers for their treatment of equities as opposed to bonds. Reuters (10 May.), Global Financial Strategy (11 May.)

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE UPBEAT AS PROFITS RISE; FILES WITH CANADIAN PROVINCES FOR TMX MERGER
http://www.finextra.com/news/announcement.aspx?pressreleaseid=39203

TMX SOLA PLATFORM GOES LIVE AT TURQUOISE
http://www.finextra.com/news/announcement.aspx?pressreleaseid=39202

ALPHA ATS AIMS FOR Q4 LISTINGS LAUNCH
Canadian alternative trading system (ATS) operator Alpha Group expects to become an exchange by Q4 2011 and aims to challenge the listings dominance of the TMX Group, following its regulatory filing last month.
http://www.thetradenews.com/asset-classes/equities/6151

MAPLE CONSORTIUM LAUNCHES TMX BID
A consortium of Canadian banks and pension funds have made a C$3.6 billion offer for TMX Group in a bid to scupper the exchange operator's planned merger with London's LSE.
The Maple members are understood to be Toronto-Dominion Bank, Bank of Nova Scotia, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, National Bank of Canada, Caisse de Depot et Placement du Quebec, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Alberta Investment Management and Fonds de Solidarite des Travailleurs du Quebec.
More on this story: http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=22555


Bonds.com, Inc. (Bonds.com) is a new model for the trading of fixed income instruments in small size. The management team is working to anticipate industry developments and is working to provide innovative approaches to the trading of fixed income securities. To date these approaches have resulted in a neutral electronic platform to access liquidity and live orders; the opportunity for price discovery and negotiation; and a reduction in the time, labor, and cost of execution across a range of asset classes all of which trade large volumes in small size.
http://www.bonds.com/



CLEARING

LCH.CLEARNET AND X-CLEAR GET FSA APPROVAL FOR INTEROPERABILITY
European clearing house interoperability has moved a step nearer after the UK's FSA approved new arrangements between LCH.Clearnet and Switzerland's X-Clear.
More on this story: http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=22548


DEUTSCHE BANK'S JONATHAN HITCHON ELECTED TO DTCC BOARD
http://www.finextra.com/news/announcement.aspx?pressreleaseid=39073

EUROPEAN OTC MARKET FAR SMALLER THAN CLAIMED - STUDY Around 16% of European share trading is over-the-counter (OTC), far less than claimed by stock exchanges, according to a study from the Association for Financial Markets in Europe (Afme).
Full story: http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=22489

IMPACT REPORT: THE COST OF OPERATIONAL FAILURE
Failure to settle trades on time are rare and on average amount to less than one percent of a firm’s trading volume. But each fix can cost as as much as $1,000 per transaction.
The challenges -- and what to do about them -- are in this analysis by Securities Technology Monitor in its latest Impact Report. The focus: operational risks.
http://www.securitiestechnologymonitor.com/reports/22_14/-27809-1.html
*** 35 pages



CORPORATES, CREDIT AND SEFS
Dodd-Frank will directly or indirectly affect nearly every segment of the capital markets. In the fixed income arena, OTC derivative regulation, such as clearing and execution requirements, will have a profound impact on counterparty risk management and trading. Its impact will extend to the cash credit markets and will serve as the catalyst for increasingly electronic and centralized trading. This will be most apparent in the corporate bond market, where we should see tighter spreads, increased volume, and deeper liquidity. Corporate trading will likely mirror that of CDSs and migrate to platforms that allow a more flexible execution protocol than exists in the current two-tiered market structure.
http://www.woodbineassociates.com/uploads/Woodbine_Opinion_-_Corporates_Credit_and_SEFs_-_March_30_2011.pdf


PARTICIPANTS

PENSON'S STOCK PLUMMETS AFTER DISCLOSURE OF ILLIQUID RECEIVABLES
The stock of Penson Worldwide tumbled after it disclosed it had $97.4 million of "nonaccruable receivables."
Of that amount, about $42.6 million is collateralized by bonds issued by Retama Development Corp and related interests. Retama Development Corp. owns the Retama Park racetrack in Selma, Texas near San Antonio.
Penson, the only publicly traded and non-bank owned clearing firm, cited the non-accruals under the category of risk factors in its quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on May 9. Penson, whose stock trades on the NASDAQ Stock Market, closed at $3.12 a share, down 81 cents or 20.61 percent on Thursday
http://www.securitiestechnologymonitor.com/news/-27911-1.html?ET=securitiesindustry:e2503:171544a:&st=email&utm_source=editorial&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=STM_BNA_08302010_051211

OTHER

DUMPING CHEQUES COULD "SPELL DISASTER" FOR UK CHARITIES Plans by Britain's banks to abolish cheques by 2018 could "spell disaster" for many of the country's charities, according to the Institute of Fundraising.
Full story: http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=22527

...and then the days start getting longer.
WooHoo!

WINTER SOLSTICE (SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE) - EDUCATION NETWORK ...
24 Mar 2011 ... On the day of Winter Solstice, Earth's south pole is tilted away from the Sun. ... Start Date: 22 June 2011. End Date: 22 June 2011. Duration: 1day ... Coverage: Australia. Region: All Australian states. Language: en ...
http://www.edna.edu.au/edna/go/events/cache/offonce;jsessionid=51273830EB6EFB737E319FB9B5474684?nbpath=1981,601834&action=item&keywords=&from-display=&from=&until-display=&until=&location=All%20Australian%20states§or=&calendar=all

Eurovision (interactive)
http://www.spiegel.de/flash/flash-25968.html#ref=nlint

News: WE100205: Dave, Chi-X, LSE, WFE, ECNs, neighbours.

'Dave the Banker' keeps his job

http://www.smh.com.au/business/dave-the-banker-keeps-his-job-20100205-ni0q.html

Rightly so too. “Accidents happen” and is opening an email a sin?

Chi-X: some amazing Jan market shares. Congratulations to Chi-X. Check out Equity Market Share Reporter. Couples nicely with Chi-X as largest dark pool.

LSE: Fast to…Millennium….and more EMCF rumours.

NYSE correctly point out the folly of a Tobin tax, yet the WFE doesn’t even include this on their short list. That looks like an omission to me.

Multiple platforms and market models continue to take hold in the US.

PIGS: Europe had its own bad day as renewed fears about the PIGS - Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Spain - sent the benchmark Dow Jones Stoxx 600 Index down 2.7 per cent. A case of swine flu perhaps?

Gotta dash.

Have a great week-end all.

(Rain forecast here…and 7 reasons below from Ocean Swims on why to have a w/end off.)

S

Well, the Big Swim. What a fantastic swim this was. Lovely day for it and enough surf so you could catch a wave in. One lady I spoke to after the race had spotted some turtles. Sometimes I think there is such a focus of competing on time during these swims that you “lose sight” of some of the beauty of the event. I’d almost like a half way stop so you can just bob up and down like a cork for a while and watch the life of the ocean pass by. The Whale Beach headland churns the water like a “washing machine”. Although it looks crafty to cut across the headland I stay wide and in the deep water – less currents and chop from the intersecting waves.

Some great snaps of the day here:

http://www.oceanswims.com/nsw90/10013031.html

Results here:

http://www.oceanswims.com/results90/bigswimres10oall.html

(and at 50.05 mins I managed to shave a little bit off last years 54:23).

[This weeks image, from a b/berry overlooking the finish line]

What does this mean?

Hawks Nest swim: Organisers have cancelled this swim in the interests of swimmer safety, due to ""increased marine activity along Bennetts Beach". Entries received will be refunded.

…nice…”increased marine activity”….draw your own conclusions but ambiguity does make you think the worst.

…and great news on Buddy our Golden Retriever puppy. He’s excellent at obedience training.

Not even with us for 2 weeks and already he has the wife and kids schooled in how he likes to be treated. A simple nod of the head is all it takes to get people running around “fetching” like crazy. Ahhh, I have much to learn from Buddy.

http://www.longnow.org/about/

A powerful tool to conceptualise the problems of tomorrow today.

Platforms

The Financial Services Club is pleased to announce that we have recently agreed a partnership with Thomson Reuters Equity Market Share Reporter (EMSR) to provide a monthly MiFID MTF Monitor. Our aim is to show how the pan-European investment markets are changing as a result of the MiFID and the entry of the new MTFs

http://thefinanser.co.uk/fsclub/2010/02/monthly-mifid-monitor-january-2010.html

*** some pretty powerful graphics here.

LSE TO MIGRATE CASH MARKETS TO MILLENNIUM IN SEPTEMBER The London Stock Exchange is planning to migrate the UK cash market to its new Millennium IT trading platform in September 2010.

Full story: http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=21031

Dark pool duo enjoy strong trading volumes
Two fledgling dark pools have revealed strong trading volumes for January, as they seek to increase their transparency in the face of increased scrutiny by regulators.

** Chi-X Europe remains Europes largest dark equities venue

Duncan Niederauer: Beware of the Taxman
The proposals out of Washington to tax securities transactions will do much harm, warns Duncan Niederauer, CEO of NYSE Euronext. "The negative implications of a transaction tax would ripple throughout the economy, harming average investors and the very companies being counted on to create jobs."
http://www.iimagazine.com/

World Federation of Exchanges (WFE)Announces Priorities for 2010

Madrid (February 1, 2010) – The officers and members of the Board of Directors of the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE) today announced priorities for the year in which WFE celebrates its 50^th anniversary. The WFE brings the world’s regulated exchanges together in order to improve the quality of markets.

http://www.world-exchanges.org/

*** Basically, the 3 priorities as I read them: 1) regulate OTC markets (sensible vested interest, more exchange fees), 2) intermarket mechanisms (sensible vested interest, rhetoric where required, reduce frictional costs of trade should increase exchange fees), 3) fixed income (sensible vested interest, how can we capture more exchange fees from other asset classes? We have equities and derivs, what about FI?).

*** But what about the stupidity of a Tobin Tax? Working against that would not only be in the exchanges self interest, but the industry as a whole. A collective service to make markets better. Is market structure reform on the WFE agenda? Nah, not even a GFC and daily policy announcements can get it over the line. A sad omission.

*** NYSE has 5 memberships (A’dm, Bxls, Lbn, NY, Paris) of the WFE

http://www.world-exchanges.org/member-exchanges/member-exchanges

ETF Exchange (ETFX) Announces The Addition Of Barclays Capital To Join The Worlds First Third Generation ETF Platform Today
ETF Securities Ltd (ETFS), the global pioneers in Exchange Traded Commodities (ETCs) and independent provider of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), is pleased to announce that Barclays Capital has joined ETF Exchange (Europe) (ETFX), the worlds first third generation ETF platform, as an authorised participant and swap provider. ETF Securities is initially working with BofA Merrill Lynch, Citi, Rabobank International, and Barclays Capital who are participants on the platform, with scope to add additional participants in the future.
http://bit.ly/9D9pOA

BLOOMBERG: Nasdaq OMX to Start Inet in Europe, Says Trading Costs Fall
By Nandini Sukumar
2/4/10

Nasdaq OMX plans launch of third stock platform in May
Nasdaq OMX Group is targetting a May 2010 launch for a new stock exchange platform, which will be called Nasdaq OMX PSX.

BLOOMBERG: Bats Plans Second U.S. Stock Market by End of Second Quarter
By Nina Mehta
2/3/10
Bats Global Markets, owner of the fourth-largest U.S. stock venue, plans to open a second trading network in late May or June to offer brokerages and investors new incentives and pricing. The International Securities Exchange said it’s considering another options platform.

01/02/2010 15:59:00

CME CLOSES IN ON DOW JONES INDEX BUSINESS - WSJ

Exchange operator CME Group is in talks to buy Dow Jones' index business for up to $700 million, according to the Wall Street Journal.

More on this story: http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=21021

01/02/2010 10:53:00

LSE RETAIL BOND TRADING PLATFORM GOES LIVE

The London Stock Exchange's electronic retail bond trading service has gone live, opening up the market to private investors.

More on this story: http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=21018

QATAR EXCHANGE APPOINTS DEPUTY CEO, COO AND CCO

http://www.finextra.com/news/announcement.aspx?pressreleaseid=32081

*** Mr. Andre Went, the CEO, Mr. Saif Khalifa al-Mansoori as Deputy CEO, Mr. Olivier Gueris as Chief Operating Officer and Mr. Karim P. Hajali as Chief Commercial Officer.

Clearing

LSE contemplates acquiring Dutch clearer
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c18ea8ee-0d3e-11df-af79-00144feabdc0.html

EMCF appoints Deutsche Bank as CEE Markets settlement agent
January 29th, 2010 - European Multilateral Clearing Facility appoints Deutsche Bank as settlement agent in Czech, Hungarian and Polish markets
http://www.automatedtrader.net

*** EMCF was among industry participants in a recent hearing before the Public Finance Committee of the Polish Parliament that resulted in proposed changes to stamp duty that will, if passed, exclude international companies from duties on most equity trades.

Opposition Mounts To CME Group's Credit Derivatives Clearing
By Jacob Bunge, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
CHICAGO -(Dow Jones)- CME Group Inc. (CME) faces growing opposition from futures brokers and Wall Street banks uncomfortable with the structure of its new credit default swap clearing service. Brokers that post collateral for futures and options trades at CME said they remain wary of letting their customers' funds stand behind credit default swap transactions, a riskier and more opaque market.
http://bit.ly/c4WOsB

REGULATORS FAST-TRACK GLOBAL REVIEW OF OTC DERIVATIVES CLEARING Global banking and securities regulators have fast-tracked a review of clearing arrangements for over-the-counter derivatives as part of a far-reaching re-appraisal of existing standards for payments, clearing and settlement systems.

Full story: http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=21029

CENTRALISED CLEARING FOR OTC DERIVATIVES RECEIVES INDUSTRY SUPPORT BUT CONCERNS REMAIN The majority of financial institutions and corporations around the world agree that moving OTC derivatives trading to a system of centralised clearing would help manage risk but many market participants still harbour serious concerns about the prospect, according to a survey from Greenwich Associates.

Full story: http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=21043

EUROPEAN CCPS STEP UP REGULATORY PUSH
Europe’s clearing houses have stepped up the pressure on regulators, in a bid to boost competition and reduce the cost of clearing in the region.

http://mail.efnmail.co.uk/r/181995569/MjU3MzA2OjIzOTQ1/

The London Stock Exchange is keen to ensure that its post-trade division keeps pace with the evolution of trading both across Europe and within its own four walls, says Kevin Milne, the unit's new head.

Read the interview

EUROCCP TO BEGIN CLEARING EXCHANGE-TRADED CURRENCIES

http://www.finextra.com/news/announcement.aspx?pressreleaseid=32059

Policy

Publication:

The 2010 Intergenerational Report - 1/2/2010 http://www.treasury.gov.au/igr/igr2010/default.asp

*** a very specific report (well, as specific as 190 pages can be) on the issues around funding Australia’s aging population.

Cuomo sues Lewis and BofA over ill-fated Merrill deal
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is suing Bank of America, its former chairman and chief executive Ken Lewis, and Joe Price, the present BofA chief financial officer, for "intentionally” misleading investors about Merrill Lynch's "massive" $16bn (€11.7bn)-plus losses. (The Daily Telegraph)

*** What a piece of stupidity initiated by Cuomo. I wonder what his motivation is.

DAILY MAIL: Nomura Sets its Sights on Winterflood
By Mark Foxwell
2/1/10
Nomura, the Japanese investment bank, is weighing up a £500 million takeover bid for Winterflood Securities, one of the City's biggest market-makers.

Miranda Kerr and the market

Given Wall Street and European market's performance overnight, you too would rather be ogling at Miranda's or Hugh Jackman's pics today. Perhaps the RBA knew what happened overnight would happen.

http://www.financialstandard.com.au/news/view/27975/

Neighbours

A new council tax-evaluation policy wants to charge us more if we live in a nice area.

That ought to mean discounts for those of us who live in rough areas.

There is a huge council house in our street. The extended family is run by a grumpy old woman with a pack of fierce dogs. Her car isn't taxed or insured and doesn't even have a number plate, but the police still do nothing.

Her bad-tempered old man is notorious for racist comments. A shopkeeper blames him for ordering the murder of his son and his son's girl-friend, but nothing has been proved. All their kids have broken marriages except the youngest, who everyone thinks is gay.

Two grandsons are meant to be in the Army but are always out partying in nightclubs. They are out of control.

I just hate living near Windsor Castle….

7 reasons why I won’t be swimming the Cole Classic this week-end:

1. Most swims -- no other swim -- will attempt to force you to enter seven weeks ahead to q ualify for lower, earlybird rates.

2. Most swims -- no other swim -- will charge you $57 to start with a copy of The Sun-Herald as the only added inducement. Most swims charge in the vicinity of $25-$35 dollars.

3. Most swims -- no other swim -- will require you to turn up either in the city on Fridee or at Brookvale on Sat'dee to collect your timing chip and swim cap. All other swims are able to organise themselves to distribute these at registration on swim day. Even the Pier to Pub at Lorne in Victoria, with 4,000 swimmers, feels secure enough to hand out chips and caps on swim day. Goodness knows how swimmers from interstate or outside Sydney, or even from the far corners of Sydney, cope with these unreasonable requirements.

4. Most swims are happy to take however many swimmers they can in order to raise the maximum funds for their causes, usually the surf club that organises the swim. We're unaware of any other swim in NSW -- only the Pier to Pub again, in Victoria -- which closes off entries beforehand (although it is true that some swims, such as The Big Swim, advertise a cap which would trigger an early closure if reached).

5. No other swim requires swimmers dressed in cossies and dripping wet straight out of the water to produce photo id to collect their prizes.

6. All other swims -- save for one or two privately organised events -- donate part of their proceeds, if not all their proceeds, to charity of one kind or another. Fairfax Meeja makes a donation to Manly LSC under an arrangement that it inherited from the Cole family, and it encourages individual swimmers to raise funds through its heroes program, but otherwise it donates nothing to charity and walks away with what we assess to be c. $100,000 or more as pure profit from this event. This is not par for the course in ocean swimming, and that's where you exorbitant entry fees are going: into Fairfax's consolidated revenue. If Fairfax Meeja wishes to challenge this, then they should publish their accounts from the Cole.

7. Most swims -- all other swims in our experience -- are happy to allow their events to be used to publicise and promote other ocean swim events. Fairfax Meeja promotes no other swim apart from Bondi-Bronte, indeed the wording of its website would have you believe that Bondi-Bronte and the Cole are the only two swims on in Sydney worth doing. Indeed, the Bondi-Bronte organiser, who works for Fairfax Meeja in running the Cole -- or did last time we heard -- himself told swimmers in a circular after his own event back in early December that the next swim in Sydney is the Cole Classic. Tell that to the organisers at Bilgola, Newport, North Bondi, Avalon, Mona Vale, and Whale Beach, plus all the other swim organisers around NSW who have run swims between Bondi-Bronte and the Cole.

Scott Riley

Business Development

[Please note my new email address: scott.riley@au.fortisclearing.com]

Fortis Global Clearing

8th Floor | 50 Bridge Street | Sydney | Australia | 2000

((Off)+61 (0)2 8916 9634 È(Mob): +61 (0)418 117 627

* scott.riley@au.fortisclearing.com

News: EMCF, tom, LSE, BATS, ASX, HKEx, CDS Asia

G’day All,

A very merry Xmas to you and yours. May you all be captivated by festive cheer.
(and how nice to see market volumes recovering).

LSE meets its self imposed year end timeframe to announce a deal with T.
BATS tweaks its pricing for the new year.
Some changes to Nasdaq in Dubai.
ASX comes out fighting on market reform and HKEx recites the incumbent playbook.

Congratulations to EMCF. What a year!
Nov saw it take the mantle as no1 European Equity CCP…and today a new platform joins the fold. Welcome TOM and all the best.
There are still plenty of market niches out there to be explored in a Pan-European capital market.

Transaction taxes just appal me as political short-sightedness.
But no rants today, just good-will.

What are roos doing in Germany?

See you on the beach (or maybe not in you’re in Europe),


S
http://clearingandsettlement.blogspot.com/


You can't wait for inspiration. You have to go after it with a club."
--Jack London,
writer




Platforms

LSE Will Own 60% of Turquoise in Merger With Baikal (Update2)
By Nandini Sukumar
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) -- London Stock Exchange Group Plc agreed to merge its Baikal dark pool unit with Turquoise in a deal that will give LSE 60 percent of the new pan-European trading venture.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=a5GhG_3WCQBI

FINANCIAL TIMES: Turquoise Deal Exposes Rivals’ Weakness
By Jeremy Grant
12/22/09
One down, six to go. With the London Stock Exchange set to absorb Turquoise, the share trading platform, the UK bourse can worry a little less about competitors snapping at its heels.
The nine banks that created Turquoise in 2006 as a way of forcing the LSE to lower its fees are now part of a joint venture with the exchange that will compete with the remaining six “multilateral trading facilities” left in Europe.
They are Chi-X Europe, BATS Europe, Nasdaq OMX Europe, NYSE Arca Europe, Hungary-based Quote MTF and Equiduct, controlled by Citadel Securities of Chicago. Collectively they still account for more than 30 per cent of trading in the FTSE 100. But with share trading volumes still well below pre-crisis levels, and only Chi-X scraping a profit in October there are doubts over how long the markets can support the remaining six platforms.
That is especially true now that the market has a clearer idea of what an MTF is worth. The numbers involved in the Turquoise deal show that the answer is “not much”.
*** see clearing below – AMCF appointed to TOM.

BATS Exchange To Launch Us Primary Listings Market - Third-Largest Us Equities Exchange To Enter Primary Listings Markets To Better Meet Needs Of Public Companies
BATS Exchange, a leading and innovative U.S. securities exchange, today announced plans to launch a listings market by summer of 2010.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87537

BATS Europe Announces New Pricing for 2010
Fast-Growing MTF to Rebate 0.18 Basis Points for Adding Liquidity and Charge 0.28 Basis Points for Removing Liquidity
LONDON & KANSAS CITY, Mo.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--BATS Europe, an innovative, wholly-owned subsidiary of BATS Global Markets, today announced a new pan-European fee schedule for trading equities, ETFs and ETCs on its integrated book, effective 4th January 2010.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/BATS-Europe-Announces-New-bw-523150948.html?x=0&.v=1

NYSE Volume Beats Record Set at Peak of Credit Crisis
By Tom Steinert-Threlkeld
The New York Stock Exchange said trading volume on Friday hit a new high, beating the record on the last day of the week in 2008 when the credit crisis hit its crescendo.
Regular session trading volume hit 3.2 billion shares, the exchange said on its Web journal.
The previous record for a regular session was 3.0 billion shares, reached on Friday, September 19 last year.

Nasdaq OMX sells Dubai stake to DFM
Dubai Financial Market (DFM), the exchange subsidiary of government-owned holding company Borse Dubai, has agreed a deal to purchase Nasdaq OMX's stake in Nasdaq Dubai.
http://www.thetradenews.com/trading-venues/exchanges/4036

ASX calls on regulators to close dark pool loopholes
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has today released its submission to the Treasury consultation on Reforms to the supervision of Australia's financial markets.
http://www.finextra.com/news/announcement.aspx?pressreleaseid=31583
see also:
http://www.asx.com.au/about/pdf/mr_221209_asx_submission_treasury_consultation.pdf



HKEx Chairman Ronald Arculli's Speech - Roles and Challenges of Stock Exchanges
Good afternoon distinguished ladies and gentlemen. It is a pleasure to be spending this lunchtime with you. The past two years have been a roller-coaster ride for many in the financial markets. Few would have foreseen the .... Read More Here


Clearing

EMCF is appointed as the CCP for The Order Machine (TOM).
http://www.euromcf.nl/editor/uploads/20091218%20persbericht%20tom%20uk%20emcf.pdf
*** also interesting in the cotext of Jeremy Grant story above - Turquoise Deal Exposes Rivals’ Weakness


New CDS system to help volumes,liquidity in Asia-ISDA
By Umesh Desai
HONG KONG, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Credit default swaps in Asia will now follow a standardised trading format designed to facilitate centralised clearing, improve transparency and in the long-run raise transaction volumes, a trade body said on Monday.
http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINTOE5BK09420091221



Industry

Dutch market maker selects Chi-Tech's high-frequency trading technology
http://www.thetradenews.com/trading-execution/algorithmic-trading/4035

Dutch have a simple answer to energy crisis working together
While tens of thousands of politicians and activists gathered hopefully in Copenhagen last Friday, a minor success was scored by eight men in wellingtons, standing on a barge beside the Afsluitdijk the dyke that stops the North Sea from flooding the Netherlands.
http://www.enn.com/energy/article/40845

ICAP PAYS $25 MILLION SEC PENALTY TO COVER FAKE TRADING CHARGES Interdealer broker Icap is to pay $25 million in settlement to the US Securities and Exchange Commission over charges that it displayed fake trades on its screens to encourage customer dealing.
Full story: http://www.finextra.com/news/fullstory.aspx?newsitemid=20899
*** a naughty tweet?

Macquarie nears deal on Sal. Oppenheim unit
http://www.smh.com.au/business/macquarie-nears-deal-on-sal-oppenheim-unit-20091222-law7.html

In Brit fit, Goldman sees Spain
Goldman Sachs is so angry over a steep bonus surcharge being levied in London that it is vowing to move more than 1,000 highly paid employees to Spain. Under new rules, Goldman would have to pay a 50-percent tax on any employee bonuses over..
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/in_brit_fit_goldman_sees_spain_1STAXV7K6fseow6fxNO7eL

Timothy Geithner
By Daniel Gross
The Treasury secretary was largely responsible for directing the federal government's response to the financial crisis. He's still got his work cut out for him.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/227740?from=rss

Potential and Unintended Consequences of the Financial Transaction Tax
The FTT may create natural incentives for financial services companies to move overseas, just as their ...
http://advancedtrading.com/regulations/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=T555LQIJANH5JQE1GHPSKH4ATMY32JVN?articleID=222002855&_requestid=506153


Dark Pools, Derivatives and HFT Top Buy Side's Regulatory Agenda
Buy-side traders oppose regulations that hinder high-frequency trading and reduce liquidity in dark pools, ...
http://advancedtrading.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222002715&cid=nl_at_daily

REUTERS: System Woes Keep European Brokers Behind the Curve
By Jane Baird
12/18/09
Europe's fragmenting stock markets could cost investors profits unless brokers smarten up systems that currently fail to find the best price in 15-20 percent of trades.
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/reuters/2009/12/18/2009-12-18T153747Z_01_LDE5BF0ID_RTRIDST_0_BROKERAGE-SOR-ANALYSIS.html


WFE FOCUS Newsletter December 2009 issue
http://www.world-exchanges.org/files/focus/pdf/Focus%201209.pdf

In November 2009, the WFE total domestic market capitalization increased by an average of 3.8% as compared to previous month, and 46% same month last year. However, the share turnover value during the period of Jan-Nov 2009 decreased by 16% as compared to the same period in 2008 despite an 25% increase in the Asia-Pacific region.

Will regulators act to achieve more consistent transaction reporting by equity trading venues in 2010? Given the glacial progress in Europe since 2007, they may have no choice.
http://www.thetradenews.com/trading-execution/regulation/4029





 Poll results
On Monday, SIFMA Global SmartBrief readers were asked a series of questions related to the UK government's tax on bankers' bonuses. Details of their answers are below.
• What effects do you expect this tax to have on the compensation of your employees outside the UK?
Somewhat negative 45.16%

No effects 25.81%

Extremely negative 14.52%

Somewhat positive 4.84%

Not applicable 3.23%

Extremely positive 3.23%

No opinion 3.23%

• Do you view the system of financial and fiscal regulation in the UK to be reliable, stable and fair?
No 68.12%

Yes 26.09%

No opinion 5.80%

• What impact do you expect the tax by itself to have on the UK as a financial centre?
Extremely negative 51.46%

Somewhat negative 35.92%

No impact 8.74%

Somewhat positive 2.91%

Extremely positive 0.97%

No opinion 0.00%

• What will the implementation of this tax be on the possibility that you will expand or start UK operations?
Much less likely 61.76%

Somewhat less likely 16.18%

Not applicable 13.24%

No difference 7.35%

Somewhat more likely 1.47%

Much more likely 0.00%





Scott Riley
Business Development

[Please note my new email address: scott.riley@au.fortisclearing.com]

Fortis Global Clearing
8th Floor | 50 Bridge Street | Sydney | Australia | 2000
(Off)+61 (0)2 8916 9634 (Mob): +61 (0)418 117 627
 scott.riley@au.fortisclearing.com