Friday, October 30, 2009

AMCF News: SEC widens the net, Nasdaq, I/op

G’day All,

SEC SETS SIGHTS ON SPONSORED ACCESS AND EXCHANGE CO-LOCATION…
“I liken it to giving your car keys to a friend who doesn't have a license and letting him drive unaccompanied," says SEC chairman Mary Schapiro

OK, lets run with this analogy. Sure, sometimes I throw the car keys to a mate that might be visiting. But I have different levels of mates. Some, I say bring the car back when it suits, and I turn my back and I don’t give it a 2nd thought (they’re equally aware of the risks as me). Others, I might say “Sure, I’ll hop in with you for the ride”. When people risk their assets (or balance sheet / capital) they know what they’re doing. They have protections and recourse in place. If they don’t, they won’t be an enduring part of the financial landscape. We take risks every day, and so we should. It’s just understanding the magnitude of those risks that differentiates the teenagers from the adults.

Or as another person said:
He who is not courageous enough to take risks will accomplish nothing in life."
--
Muhammad Ali, American boxer and three-time world heavyweight champion

A lot about Nasdaq this week.
I’m surprised they “suspend” their US equities ambitions. I’m sure this is only the headline and the real reasons must run deep. I hope they keep this under review. Somewhere, I believe there is a niche for them to explore.
Right to exit the Securities white label servicing business, a much better fit for Waterhouse.
X-Stream gets placed in Dubai.

Chi-X takes 2nd spot in Europe’s “exchanges” (read trading venue) on Thursday.
(home page has updated, but worth a look)
www.chi-x.com

A shame about delays to access and interoperability.
I believe contagion and default fund contributions were always a meaningful issue.

http://www.eachorg.eu/each/
http://www.eachorg.eu/digitalAssets/49/49401_AccessInteroperabilityGuideline.pdf
84. Risk Management:
CCPs will recognise the specific status of each other as CCPs and not as risk-taking
intermediaries.
• The CCPs involved have to arrange an adequate collateralisation scheme to cover
the exposure of potential losses.
• No CCP is obliged to contribute to the other CCP’s participants’ default fund or
other post default backing schemes.
• A default of a Clearing Member at one CCP should not affect the other CCP unless
the first CCP itself is in default.

This weekend sees us celebrating Halloween…in fancy dress.
I’ll be going as Patrick Star(fish) – (for those not familiar with Patrick, just watch Spongebob square pants – Patrick makes a goldfish’s short term memory look impressive – my kids recommended Mr Crabs, tight and cranky, but I couldn’t source the claws).

…and for those doing the Noosa eyeline events this week-end best of luck,
….meanwhile I’ll be clearing up after our Halloween party.

Great w/end all,

S
http://clearingandsettlement.blogspot.com/



Platforms

Exchange group Nasdaq OMX is betting on its INET trading technology and its BX secondary equities trading platform to help it recover lost US equities market share, says Brian Hyndman, the group’s senior vice president of transaction services.
Read the interview
….an extract…
Last week the exchange announced it would revive the dormant equity licence from its 2007 acquisition of the Philadelphia Stock Exchange to create a third US equity platform. The new exchange will match orders according to price/size priority rather than the price/time systems used on the Nasdaq Stock Market and BX.
http://www.thetradenews.com/node/3765

Bats surges past Turquoise on UK fee cuts Bats Europe, the alternative trading system operated by US-based Bats Global Markets, has almost doubled its share of UK equity trades in just two months and has overtaken rival Turquoise for the first time, thanks to an aggressive price promotion that critics warned would have only a temporary impact on volumes.

CLS BANK TO ESTABLISH FX TRADE DATA REPOSITORY Foreign exchange settlement outfit CLS Bank is to establish a trade data repository for the global FX market, in a move designed to head off regulatory pressure for more transparency in the over-the-counter currency markets.
Full story:
http://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=20671



Clearing

THE TRADE NEWS: Japan’s Alternative Platforms to Get CCP ClearingBy Staff10/26/09The Japan Securities Clearing Corporation (JSCC), the central counterparty for Japan’s stock exchanges, will be able to clear trades from the country’s alternative trading platforms, known as proprietary trading systems (PTSs), from July next year.
http://www.thetradenews.com/asset-classes/equities/3794

TRAYPORT AND PERCIVAL TEAM ON CLEARING AND SETTLEMENT
http://www.finextra.com/fullpr.asp?id=30508

Nasdaq ‘suspends’ plans to launch US equities clearing Nasdaq OMX has said it was "suspending" its plans to launch US equities clearing, with Bethany Sherman, a spokeswoman for the transatlantic exchange group, claiming the "threat of competition had forced the Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, the market leader, to cut costs. (Financial Times)

TD WATERHOUSE COMPLETES ACQUISITION OF OMX SECURITIES
http://www.finextra.com/fullpr.asp?id=30608

DUBAI FINANCIAL MARKET LAUNCHES X-STREAM TRADING PLATFORM
http://www.finextra.com/fullpr.asp?id=30583





Policy



High- Frequency Trading: New Study Finds Divide on ImpactInstitutional investors are of mixed mind about whether the activities of high-frequency trading firms help or hurt their own trading operations, according to research conducted by Greenwich Associates.
http://www.securitiesindustry.com/news/-24116-1.html?ET=securitiesindustry:e1729:171544a:&st=email

27/10/2009 15:52:00
SEC SETS SIGHTS ON SPONSORED ACCESS AND EXCHANGE CO-LOCATION
After taking on dark pools and flash orders, the Securities and Exchange Commission has now turned its attention to high frequency trading and the practice of sponsored access to exchanges.
More on this story:
http://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=20660
*** lets run with the car analogy

SEC looks into effects of high-frequency tradingThe Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into how high-frequency trading, which some estimate accounts for 50% or more of all equity trading in the U.S., affects markets, sources said. As lawmakers are scrutinizing the trading practice and other market developments, the SEC is not expected to publish a discussion paper on the strategies until December at the earliest. A congressional committee will discuss high-frequency trading, dark pools and other developments on Wednesday. Reuters (10/26)



Congress, White House will address "too big to fail"Legislation likely will be introduced in Congress this week that would make it easier for large financial institutions to be taken over by the government and wound down in an orderly fashion during a crisis. The bill, to be introduced by Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass., after consultation with the Treasury Department, would likely make it more costly to be a large financial company whose failure would threaten the entire system. SIMFA President and CEO Timothy Ryan supports the effort, but warns that legislation could remove key provisions of the Bankruptcy Code given financial institutions. The New York Times (free registration) (10/25)


Chicago mayor, CME heads discuss future of futures industryThe Obama administration's plan to increase oversight of the derivatives markets is expected to have a substantial effect on Chicago's futures industry. CME Group Chairman Terry Duffy, Vice Chairman Charlie Carey and Chicago Mayor Richard M. Daley met recently to discuss how the changes would affect the futures industry. Daley's concerns center on how the changes would affect employment, while the CME leaders are urging Congress to quickly pass legislation that would require more over-the-counter derivatives to be traded on exchanges. Financial Times (tiered subscription model) (10/26)
*** CME leaders are urging Congress to quickly pass legislation that would require more over-the-counter derivatives to be traded on exchanges. – this just exposes their entire desire as self serving. Some of their arguments have merit, if only they were unbiased.


Regional

THE TRADE NEWS: Buy- and Sell-Side Welcome ASEAN Link, According to TABBBy Staff10/26/09Buy- and sell-side firms agree that efforts to harmonise equity trading in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) will encourage more investment and faster technological evolution in the region, according to the latest study from research firm TABB Group.Five ASEAN countries – Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand and Singapore – agreed to create an electronic linkage between their exchanges in February 2009 for the trading of equities. A sixth nation, Vietnam, joined the initiative in September.

European success spurs Nomura's Asian ambition Nomura is launching a Japanese dark pool to compete for a larger share of the increasingly important Asian market, having already established itself as one of the top trading firms in Europe since acquiring parts of Lehman Brothers’ business a year ago.

*** A report from research house
Tabb Group last month estimated the market share of Japanese alternative trading systems at 1.6% but predicted this number will increase to 3.5% by the end of 2011.

The Treasury provides advice on policies that promote competitive, efficient markets that work to enhance consumer wellbeing, a secure financial system and sound corporate practices, and foreign investment consistent with Australia’s national interest.
http://www.treasury.gov.au/contentitem.asp?NavId=036&ContentID=1649




SMARTS GROUP LAUNCHES MARKET SURVEILLANCE PLATFORM IN US
http://www.finextra.com/fullpr.asp?id=30575




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

Sunday, October 25, 2009

AMCF & News: Demonising the dark, EC derivs blueprint, FSA DP, a Marigold for Lily.

I hang my head in shame.
Last week-end we had the
http://www.7bridgeswalk.com.au/
Dreadful weather, but when did a drenching to the bone ever hurt anyone?
Congrats to my female colleagues (who finished) that showed my son and I up (we stayed in bed).

More Demonizing of the Dark.
(speaking of demonizing, I’ve just done my first full presentation in Powerpoint 2007, .pptx – and there are a few demons in there too).
Of no doubt, the dark has a role to play.
At a level, the lit market place may be compromised if too much price discovery moves to the dark.
I have no idea what the correct thresholds should be…and frankly, I don’t think regulators do either.
The markets are a complex ecosystem.
Dropping a bomb on a coral reef may take out all the crown of thorn star fish (a pest / demon) but has other consequences too.
The fact that institutions themselves are so evenly divided on the merits of the dark makes me feel drastic actions are probably not the right measure for today.

Much to read this last week.
Cinnober liquidity, EC derivatives reform, FSA DP on too big to fail. Locally CP120 (ongoing) and the RBA payments system board annual report.

So, finally the Lily consortium gets a Marigold.
I still feel there is much more to change with LCH.Clearnet.
Increased ownership opens the door to increased accountability.
I still can’t reconcile the commoditised elements of the business (equities) with the growth components (OTC).

Have a great week all. I need to get back to the books and drafting these responses.
(and don’t give the ATM card to Aussie pizza delivery boys)

S
http://clearingandsettlement.blogspot.com/



Platforms

Chi-X Europe Launches Chi-Velocity Chi-X Europe has launched Chi-Velocity, a proximity-hosted risk management software layer co-located ...

Demonizing the DarkAdam Sussman, TABB Group's director of research, comments on the SEC and dark pools, specific to yesterday's ...
http://advancedtrading.com/crossingnetworks/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=1T2OETHF5UFDBQE1GHRSKHWATMY32JVN?articleID=220800127&_requestid=636309


SEC Takes Dramatic Stance on Dark Pools with Rule Proposal In an SEC meeting yesterday in Washington, D.C., the regulator proposed a new rule that ultimately aims to ...
http://advancedtrading.com/crossingnetworks/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=1T2OETHF5UFDBQE1GHRSKHWATMY32JVN?articleID=220900046&_requestid=636730


NYSE MAKES MOVE TO IMPROVE DARK POOL TRANSPARENCY With dark pools under the regulatory microscope, Nyse Euronext has struck a deal with five firms behind ATSs and off-exchange market centres to print trades made on the venues on the reporting facility it operates with Finra and display daily activity on Nyse.com.
Full story:
http://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=20632

Senator Schumer's Six Proposals for ATS Regulation Following yesterday's press conference call with NYSE chief executive Duncan Neiderauer, Senator Chuck ...
http://advancedtrading.com/regulations/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=QHVWACIJ0BBALQE1GHOSKHWATMY32JVN?articleID=220800113&_requestid=265259

21/10/2009 16:46:00
SEC PROPOSES DARK POOL RULES; INSTITUTIONS DIVIDED OVER MERITS OF HIGH FREQUENCY TRADING
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has unveiled proposals aimed at shedding more light on dark pool trading by introducing new rules that would require enhanced public disclosure of stocks passing over alternative trading networks.
More on this story:
http://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=20639


Leading independent exchange technology provider Cinnober today announced the publication of an in-depth whitepaper on latency on their web site.
The whitepaper can be downloaded at
www.cinnober.com.




FINANCIAL NEWS: LSE Moves Forward with Acquisition Plans By Luke Jeffs10/20/09The London Stock Exchange has confirmed its determination to compete with both its large European exchange rivals and the new breed of European trading platforms, by acquiring a tech firm and forging ahead with talks to buy one of its new rivals Turquoise.The LSE said yesterday that it had completed the acquisition of Sri-Lankan trading system specialist MillenniumIT for $30m (€20.4m), a deal the LSE hopes will reposition it to compete more effectively with the new breed of tech-savvy platforms, known as multi-lateral trading facilities.Separately, the LSE said it is progressing with exclusive talks to acquire MTF rival Turquoise, the trading system set up by seven investment banks to challenge the UK exchange and its large European counterparts NYSE Euronext and Deutsche Börse.A spokesman for the LSE confirmed that the exclusive talks with Turquoise, first revealed by Financial News Online on October 1 this year, are ongoing, but declined to comment further on specifics.The LSE and Turquoise are keen to reach an agreement that will enable an offer to be made, and sources close to the talks said the plan is to have that agreement in place at least by the end of next year, or possibly before the end of next month.The Millennium and Turquoise deals reflect the ambition of the LSE’s new chief executive Xavier Rolet. The former Lehman Brothers banker has shown his intention to draw a line under the tenure of his predecessor, Dame Clara Furse, in the five months since he joined the firm.Since the end of May, in addition to completing the Millennium acquisition and moving ahead with the Turquoise deal, Rolet has scrapped a controversial fee aimed at high-frequency traders and opened talks to buy a stake in European clearing house EMCF.Rolet also said, last month, that the exchange is looking to extend the company’s Italian clearing house, CC&G, into the UK to reduce the “very high cost of clearing and settling UK equities through LCH.Clearnet and Euroclear”.The London Stock Exchange’s bid to establish itself as one of Europe’s most robust and efficient markets suffered a setback last week however, as invalid data entered by a customer forced the exchange to suspend trading in six blue chip stocks for over an hour.


Clearing

EUROPEAN COMMISSION SETS OUT BLUEPRINT FOR DERIVATIVES REFORM
http://www.finextra.com/fullpr.asp?id=30410

The full text (and background papers) are available here:
http://ec.europa.eu/internal_market/financial-markets/derivatives/index_en.htm

LCH.CLEARNET AND OSLO CLEARING TO INTEROPERATE
http://www.finextra.com/fullpr.asp?id=30439

LCH.CLEARNET LOOKS AHEAD AFTER BUYBACK LCH.Clearnet will reach a milestone today when it announces the results of its €444m ($666m) shareholder buyback, a bid to hand greater control to its users and sidestep a takeover bid by a consortium of banks.
http://mail.efnmail.co.uk/r/143528272/MjU3MzA2OjIyOTQ5/




FINANCIAL TIMES: Consortium Prepares to Drop Bid for LCH.ClearnetBy Jeremy Grant 10/20/09A consortium of banks and
Icap, the world’s largest interdealer broker, was on Tuesday preparing to abandon its attempt to take over LCH.Clearnet amid signs that Europe’s largest clearing house would secure its future through a shareholder buy-out plan, two people familiar with the matter said.Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley last week quit the consortium, which last year approached LCH.Clearnet with an offer designed to trump an existing offer from The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation, the US post-trade services group. The DTCC pulled out in April.The bid battle highlighted how clearing has shot to prominence in the wake of the financial crisis as regulators push for greater use of the process to safeguard the financial system. A clearing house stands between parties in a trade, guaranteeing that trades are completed even if one side defaults. The lack of clearing in most over-the-counter derivatives has been widely criticised, and regulators are calling for as many OTC derivatives as possible to be processed through clearing houses to reduce so-called counterparty risk in the financial system.The consortium included 13 of the world’s largest banks active in OTC derivatives. Icap is the world’s largest interdealer broker in the OTC markets.It wanted control of LCH.Clearnet largely for its SwapClear interest rate swaps clearing business, turning the clearer for the London Stock Exchange, Euronext and the London Metal Exchange into the most prized post-trade asset in Europe.The consortium believed that with regulators pushing for more clearing, market structures like LCH.Clearnet would become increasingly important businesses. LCH.Clearnet tried to fend off the consortium earlier this year by coming up with a plan to streamline its base of 120 disparate shareholders, many of which are small and rarely use the clearer’s facilities. The consortium in May submitted an €11-per-share cash offer for LCH.Clearnet, valuing the clearing house at about €830m ($1.1bn).LCH.Clearnet later revised the shareholder streamlining plan, offering to buy up to 33.3m shares from shareholders at €10 per share. Including a dividend announced last month of €1.50 per share, the return to shareholders could total €444m.People familiar with the consortium’s thinking said that its remaining members believed that the revised LCH plan contained many elements that would satisfy the consortium, including ensuring that the clearer’s shareholder base more accurately reflected its users.LCH.Clearnet last month announced that chairman Chris Tupker would be retiring early next year. Shareholders have until Tuesday to tell LCH.Clearnet whether they want to redeem their shares under the clearer’s revised streamlining plan, codenamed “Marigold”.Euroclear, the post-trade services group and the largest shareholder, has already signalled its intention to redeem its stake of 11.7m shares, which amounts to 15.8 per cent of LCH.Clearnet’s share capital.The LCH.Clearnet board will then decide whether to complete the plan on November 5.


Other

AFME -- A New Trade Body for EuropeAs regulation of the financial markets takes on an increasingly global dimension, the London Investment Banking Association and the European operations of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association have joined forces to form the Association for Financial Markets in Europe. The former affiliates of SIFMA -- the European Covered Bond Dealers Association, the European High Yield Association, the European Primary Dealers Association, the European Securities Services Forum and the European Securitisation Forum -- will be integrated into AFME's business policy divisions. Learn more.

EQUINIX TO ACQUIRE SWITCH AND DATA IN $689 MILLION DEAL
http://www.finextra.com/fullpr.asp?id=30441

NOMURA LAUNCHES LOW-LATENCY EUROPEAN TRADING SERVICE Nomura has launched a low latency trading service that taps networking technology from Colt to offer clients co-located software hosting connectivity to major exchanges and MTFs in Europe.
Full story:
http://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=20643

FSA PROPOSES LIMITS ON TOO-BIG-TO-FAIL BANKS
http://www.finextra.com/fullpr.asp?id=30447

The DP (Discussion Paper) is available here:
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2009/142.shtml
or
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pubs/discussion/dp09_04.pdf


PIZZA BOY USES ATM MANUAL TO STEAL A$30,000 IN UNDER AN HOUR An Australian pizza boy who hacked into ATMs and changed their settings before stealing around A$30,000 in under an hour has escaped a prison term, according to local press reports.
Full story:
http://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=20648





This is a good paper on Aust development, including....

Today's population is about 22 million. So we are now projecting an increase of 13 million people, or around 60 per cent, over the next 40 years.
A population expansion of this order has a host of implications for the Australian economy and society; and it raises a number of profound issues for economic policy.
First set of issues: Where will these 13 million people live – in our current major cities and regional centres or in cities we haven't yet even started to build? We have given this matter some thought in the Treasury. On quite reasonable assumptions, we can imagine Sydney and Melbourne growing from 4½ and 4 million people today to cities of almost 7 million. Brisbane will, we think, more than double in size, to be 4 million people 40 years from now. Among them, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth will have almost as many people as the entire Australian population today.
How will Sydney cope with a 54 per cent increase in its population, Melbourne a 74 per cent increase and Brisbane a 106 per cent increase? Surely not by continuing to expand their geographic footprints at the same rate as in the past several decades. Surely not by loading more cars and trucks onto road networks that can't cope with today's traffic.

Speech:
The Shape of Things to Come - Address by Dr Ken Henry to the QUT Business Leaders' Forum
http://www.treasury.gov.au/contentitem.asp?NavId=008&ContentID=1643


'I Physically Felt the Radioactivity' The Chernobyl disaster happened over two decades ago, but its effects continue to be as present as ever. German photographer Rüdiger Lubricht spent months documenting what has been left behind in the exclusion zone which now surrounds the stricken reactor. In an interview with seen.by, he talks about his experiences.
Photo Gallery: Ghost Towns and Gas MasksPhoto Gallery: The Wildlife of Chernobyl
*** Based on the constant battle I have with my garden, I’m surprised at the relative lack of invasion of overgrowth / regrowth in the cities.



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

Thursday, October 8, 2009

AMCF News: Up, MTF consolidation, RBA, JSCC open to PTS

School holidays here so last Tuesday I took the kids to see Up (the latest Disney Pixar offering)
I thought this was a harrowing story in parts, about how life’s dreams can pass us by as we become embroiled in the day to day demands of life.
The kids liked it, but most of all I liked my mum’s remark:
As to Pixar, experiences provide the filters we use to look at things and it seems to me that by and large it is right that the older we get older the more complexity we bring to bear. (Mum – but what Mum wouldn’t say something like that?).

So to T(urquoise). Personally, I didn’t have the LSE at the front of the bidding list but to me it does strike a tidy solution. I read the merit in this of connecting and engaging with your customers. What price can you put on that? I also think it a useful piece of consolidation that LSE can extract its own value from. It is the connectivity / network effect that brings value in my view. This also mitigates some of the “pump and then dump” speculation.
Regardless, whatever, good luck to them. Each of us needs to focus on our own business plans. It’s nice to be aware of what is around the corner, but no point in being a slave to it.

On the post trade side it certainly throws up some interest. The CC&G asset becomes interesting, more questions than answers for DTCC, and free and open access to the trade feed in terms of interoperability have yet to play out.

Who knows, what next. Maybe the Members of LIBA will sell out to FESE rather than merge with SIFMA. Lovely!

More on mixed messages: RBA following a course of Fiscal prudence by raising rates yet the politicians are still busy piling on the debt with fiscal stimulus packages.
It reminds me of the old parental weakest link. If I don’t get a bag of sweets from mum I’ll try dad (or visa versa).

Then a hop to Thains comments re leveraged product pricing. A shameful confession. But then, we have yet to develop a super computer than can tell me the weather on the way home. That said, I can look out the window and make a value judgement of whether I need an umbrella or not. (tis a question of granularity and certainty – context).

Anyway, as I mentioned, school holidays here so I’m off to teach the kids some more surf skills (I hope) and also do some ocean training. I’ll be just down from Forries.
(
http://www.oceanswims.com/nsw90/nswcalendar90.html#forresters)

…Oh, and my reading:
http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/pdflib.nsf/LookupByFileName/cp120.pdf/$file/cp120.pdf
(CONSULTATION PAPER 120, Operators of clearing and settlement facilities)

Have a great w/end all,
….and if your Mums about, get her to make you a cuppa and a piece of toast, for some reason, it always tastes better when its handed to you.

S
http://clearingandsettlement.blogspot.com/








Platforms

BATS sets sights on new markets, asset classes
http://www.thetradenews.com/trading-venues/exchanges/3663
*** Mwwwwaaaahhhhaaaaa

BATS Europe ups price war with new taker fee
http://www.thetradenews.com/trading-venues/exchanges/3663


Clearing

LSE outlines clearing switch to reduce trading costs
http://www.thetradenews.com/trading-venues/exchanges/3668

Burgundy announces CCP launch date
http://www.thetradenews.com/trading-venues/mtfs-ecns/3684

LCH, Euroclear bid to cut European post-trade costs
http://www.thetradenews.com/regions/europe/3681


Policy

Europe's broker-owned dark pools or crossing engines will be more open to toxic flow and less able to provide price improvement if they are forced to register as multilateral trading facilities, brokers claim.
Read story
http://www.thetradenews.com/asset-classes/equities/3686

High-Frequency Trading On SEC's Agenda The SEC, which already has proposed banning flash orders, says it will look into the fairness of high-frequency ...


ASX's algo review may tighten trading rules
http://www.thetradenews.com/trading-execution/algorithmic-trading/3682


INSTINET TO LAUNCH PATENT-PENDING 'AGGREGATED' DARK POOL Instinet is set to launch a new US dark pool that combines multiple smaller buy and sell orders up to a specific volume threshold in an effort to attract more anonymous block trade order flow.
Full story:
http://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=20568

JOHN THAIN: MERRILL'S STRUCTURED PRODUCTS WERE SO COMPLEX THAT NOBODY UNDERSTOOD THEM Former Merrill Lynch chief John Thain says that the structured products created by his firm were so complex that it could take up to three hours to model one traunch of a single CDO correctly when using "one of the fastest computers in the United States".
Full story:
http://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=20584




Regional

FINANCIAL TIMES: TSE Faces Competition From Small PlatformsBy Lindsay Whipp10/5/09The Tokyo Stock Exchange will face greater competition as a marketplace for buying and selling Japanese shares from next year after the country’s main clearing house unveiled plans to support smaller alternative trading platforms.The Japan Securities Clearing Corporation said it would start providing clearing services for the country’s alternative share trading platforms from next July, a move that market participants said would help increase liquidity.


At its meeting today, the Board decided to raise the cash rate by 25 basis points to 3.25 per cent, effective 7 October 2009.
http://www.rba.gov.au/MediaReleases/2009/mr-09-23.html

Nomura sees massive investor interest for share offering Nomura is poised to raise 433bn yen (€3.3bn) to finance its global expansion, after Japan's top brokerage on Monday priced a heavily oversubscribed offer of 800 million shares at 568 yen each, sources said. (The Wall Street Journal)




Other
"Farewell America".
http://www.wegelin.ch/download/medien/anlagekommentar/kom_265en.pdf
*** A remarkable commentary of unintended consequences

BLOOMBERG INTRODUCES NIGERIAN STOCK EXCHANGE DATA FEED
http://www.finextra.com/fullpr.asp?id=30167
***surely a scam?





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

Thursday, October 1, 2009

AMCF News: ASX AGM, CP120, LCH.CN results, InterOp, HK

Sanctimonious twaddle. (Thx David Buik).
What a marvellous coupling of words. I really miss some things about England, and their mastery of their language is one of them.
It also strikes me that we don’t have to look far to find an abundance of twaddle.

One area of twaddle is of course vested interests and competition.
It strikes me more and more that the incumbent exchanges have much to lose when they discuss certain order types and functionality.
If you have a system that struggles to cope with capacity and new functionality changes in the market are no longer set at your pace, market reform becomes a constant thorn in your side.
I think it is regrettable that so much confusion surrounds algo, stat arb, dark pools, crossing net works, high frequency, flash etc.
Too often I think this is just scare mongering…or Sanctimonious twaddle (ST).

Some destinations don’t charge per order, DMA users should be allowed to use that business model.
If you do charge per order – what’s the problem?
I’d like to see more industry consultation and feedback on these items.
Commercial partners know their responsibilities and invariably these are underpinned by legal agreement.
Maybe layering is bad – maybe not.
Maybe algo traders are bad – maybe not.
As a child, my parents were fearful that too much TV might zap my brain. (fortunately I preserved my brain cells for a more vicious fight with booze at uni). TV didn’t zap a generation. Maybe PC games will?
My point. Market structures change over time. This is not a bad thing.
Maybe today’s algo trader is just the equivalent of the open outcry floor trader.
Let’s just be a lot less rash about the claims we make. – too much ST I fear.

A nice piece here on layering of the order book:
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/traders-and-brokers/rules-regulations/change-and-updates/stock-exchange-notices/2009/n3309.pdf

LCH.CN Group results are finally out.
I was sorry to see a real drop in transparency – see p37.
Revenues by asset type are now mixed with interest income.
We can no longer clearly see clearing revenues by business type.
Oxera – this is such a simple thing. Along with your other work, simple clarity in this table would be hugely helpful in seeing the trends in the costs for the industry as a whole. A lost chance.
What we can see is the equity revenues have fallen 25% whilst every other section of the business (not dominated by competition) has grown.
As noted in the press releases below. I anticipate further falls in profitability next year.

I think the 10 euro payout is as good an out as those 2003? (merger) investors could hope for.
Telling that Euroclear is out of the CCP infrastructure – what a change over a few years.
I’m still not clear on the road map ahead for LCH. (maybe those in Europe are).
Somehow the growth business needs to be separated from the commoditised business.

LSE notes C&S will come to the fore.
The groundwork of interoperability will be in place for them in Nov.
How long until they grasp that opportunity I wonder?

BoE consultation out…
…but more importantly, locally we have CCP consultation out.

Congrats HSBC (on real estate dealings)

Can’t keep up with the news at the moment and not looking likely to either.
Next week will be dominated by CP120.

School holidays here so I’m OoO tomorrow…and a bank holiday here on Monday too.

Have a great w/end all.

Results from the Sydney Bridge Run are out.
http://results.au.eventdirector.net/View.asp?EventID=3478&Bib=48358
This was a great event – all be it directly after Sibos.
They close the bridge for the public for the morning – a rare chance to have the bridge to yourself (and 13,000 other runners of course).


For those that like the Awwww, that’s cute factor…plenty of Kitty cats here:
http://icanhascheezburger.com/page/9/


S
http://clearingandsettlement.blogspot.com/





Platforms

CHI-X EUROPE CLAIMS SECOND-BIGGEST DARK POOL Chi-X Europe’s dark pool has become the second biggest in Europe less than five months after it launched, as the London-based alternative trading platform continues to challenge established participants in the securities market.
http://mail.efnmail.co.uk/r/132093977/MjU3MzA2OjIyNjM0/

LSE RAISES THE STAKES IN TECHNOLOGY ARMS RACE The London Stock Exchange’s planned acquisition next month of a Sri Lankan trading system vendor is the latest move in the escalating battle between Europe’s top exchanges and their new multilateral trading facility rivals.
http://mail.efnmail.co.uk/r/132093993/MjU3MzA2OjIyNjM0/
*** the closing comment is of interest here. Finally, once trading is commoditised, it will come down to cost…and here C&S comes back to the fore.

BATS to launch second US equities exchange
http://www.thetradenews.com/trading-venues/exchanges/3637

ASX AGM
http://www.asx.com.au/about/pdf/agm_2009_chairman_md_ceo_address_300909.pdf
*** that marvellous coupling of words I mentioned earlier springs to mind here, esp. the 4 bullets raised by the chairman.


TURQUOISE REDUCES TARIFFS FOR NON-DISPLAYED ORDERS
http://www.finextra.com/fullpr.asp?id=30030


Clearing

LCH.CLEARNET BIDS TO RESOLVE OWNERSHIP
London clearing house LCH.Clearnet appears to have finally resolved the wrangling over its future ownership after proposing the redemption of over 40% of its shares at a price of EUR10 a piece - an offer accepted by its biggest shareholder, Euroclear Bank.
Full story:
http://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=20548

LCH.Clearnet SA introduces €0.05 clearing fees on cash equity markets
Paris, 15 September 2009
LCH.Clearnet SA is revising its cash equities tariff and introducing €0.05 to trades cleared on cash equity markets from 1 January 2010. With this latest reduction LCH.Clearnet SA offers one of the most competitive clearing services in Europe in terms of pricing, service quality and range of products cleared.
http://www.lchclearnet.com/media_centre/press_releases/2009-09-15.asp

LCH.Clearnet Chairman to step down
London, 21 September 2009
The Board of Directors of LCH.Clearnet Group Limited today announces that Chris Tupker will step down as Chairman of the Group and its subsidiary company LCH.Clearnet Limited in 2010 when a new chairman has been appointed.
A search committee has been formed and the Board hopes to announce the appointment of the new Chairman by the end of 2009.
http://www.lchclearnet.com/media_centre/press_releases/2009-09-21.asp

LCH.Clearnet Group results and announcements
London, 29 September 2009
LCH.Clearnet, the leading independent central counterparty group (CCP), today announced its results for the year ended 31 December 2008.
Financial highlights
· Dividend of €110,898,924 or €1.50 per share to be paid to shareholders;
· Strong growth in net revenue of 14.6% to €573.5 million from record traded volumes in 2008;
· Over 2 billion trades, an increase of 16.4% on 2007;
· Operating profit increased by 14.1% to €293.6 million;
· Repurchase of a further €61.8 million of ordinary shares from NYSE Euronext in July 2008;
· Tariff reductions of €73.2 million across cash equities and energy markets in 2008;
· Impairment charge of €393.4 million for the first seven months of 2009, arising from implemented and proposed tariff reductions.
http://www.lchclearnet.com/about_us/corporate_governance/financials.asp


LCH.Clearnet and EMCF set to interoperate by November 2009
London, 30 September 2009
LCH.Clearnet Ltd (LCH.Clearnet) and the European Multilateral Clearing Facility (EMCF) have signed a master link agreement to achieve interoperability by November 2009.


CONSULTATION PAPER 120
Operators of clearing and settlement facilities
This consultation paper seeks the views of existing and potential operators of financial markets and CS facilities, and the users and potential users of these facilities, including investors in financial products that may be cleared and settled using CS facilities, on the proposals in this paper concerning clearing and settlement (CS) facility regulation.
http://www.asic.gov.au/asic/pdflib.nsf/LookupByFileName/cp120.pdf/$file/cp120.pdf


Policy

BANK OF ENGLAND OUTLINES PLANS FOR PAYMENT SYSTEMS OVERSIGHT
http://www.finextra.com/fullpr.asp?id=29952

http://www.bankofengland.co.uk/publications/other/financialstability/oips/oips090928.pdf
*** This is actually not such a terrifying document. (and only 10 pages).
My take is that BoE extend the reach of the CPSS core principles of payment systems to include, business risk (sustainable enterprise), interdependence, indirect relationships (the many arms of the octopus) and our good friend outsourcing.
All principles based and driven by common sense.
Comments by 20th Oct.



Participants

CITI OPENS DUBLIN R&D CENTRE
US bank Citi has opened a global research, development, innovation and learning centre at its offices in Dublin and earmarked $24 million for the development of an "intelligent payments" offering.
Full story:
http://www.finextra.com/fullstory.asp?id=20558
*** amazing how many ideas can be inspired over a Guinness.

HSBC offices in Canary Wharf on brink of £800m sale
http://www.officebroker.com/blog/2009/09/28/HSBC+offices+in+Canary+Wharf+on+brink+of+%C2%A3800m+sale_FTOC28092009320034/
Nice 2007, SOLD to Spaniards, 1.1 bill, bought back for 838 mill. Sold again in 2009. I wonder how much it originally cost them?
How much occupancy can you buy with the 200 mill they’ve booked in the last 2 years alone.
Well done chaps.

…now put this in the context of last weeks story:
Canary Wharf files $4.3bn claim against Lehman for unpaid charges Canary Wharf Group has lodged a $4.3bn (€2.9bn) claim with PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC), the UK administrators of Lehman Brothers, for unpaid rent and other charges linked to the bankrupt firm’s London headquarters. (The Independent)

Can someone pls explain.


Asia

With equity markets in Asia having regained the momentum they lost so drastically this time last year, alternative liquidity sources could finally be poised to challenge incumbent exchanges, according to Glenn Lesko, CEO, Instinet Asia.
Read the interview

Seats of power shift to Asia HSBC’s announcement last Friday that chief executive Michael Geoghegan will relocate to Hong Kong means that the top three banks in the world, by market capitalisation, are set to have chief executives based in Asia.
*** the other 2 are: Industrial and Commercial Bank of China and China Construction Bank.


AsianInvestor 2009 Service Provider Awards
http://www.asianinvestor.net/article.aspx?CIaNID=113350
Best full-service brokerMorgan Stanley
Best execution-only brokerInstinet
Best venue in Asia-Pacific for algorithmic/electronic tradingHong Kong Exchanges & Clearing
Best venue in Asia-Pacific for block tradingLiquidnet
Best algorithmsCredit Suisse

INTERNATIONAL FINANCING REVIEW ASIA: Come to the Dark PoolBy Wendy Mock9/26/09
….
In Hong Kong, brokers and investors are interested in dark pools for the anonymity they offer. Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx) require that broker codes be exposed before a trade is completed, therefore opening up the risk that others may trade on that information.
In Hong Kong, brokers are required to report all trades to the HKEx, so regardless of where the transaction is matched or executed, fees still have to be paid to the exchange
….
In Japan, high-frequency traders are pushing for ATSs. Newer technology at the ATSs has made price discovery significantly faster than the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Average latency on the TSE is seven seconds, compared to the sub-millisecond speeds at the ATSs.
….
In Europe, from June 2008–July 2009, an average of 91% of trades executed on Chi-X were at or better than the public market spread, according to Chi-X. Instinet’s CBX Japan sees an average 12bp price improvement against the TSE.








Scott Riley
Business Development

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.fortis.com