First Read
Bits & Pieces
By John J. Lothian & Doug Ashburn
Barchart’s FinTech Exchange 2015 was a wildly successful event in Chicago yesterday. The sold out event featured a Who’s Who from the trading related technology world.
The venue was great, the program well designed and the response from the attendees was very positive. John Lothian News was pleased to be part of the event and help promote it here in JLN.
I opened the event’s only panel session, which I moderated, with a question about using crowdsourcing to aid in regulation. I suggested making the data publicly available from events like the Flash Crash and seeing who out there in this big world might be able to analyze it and give us better answers and quicker.
I ended the panel discussion noting that Bitcoin-related blockchain technology was not featured at this event, and just barely mentioned. I suggested by this time next year, this technology will be front-and-center in our space and could potentially be a very disruptive technology.
The panel weighed in, with Keith Fishe noting that blockchain could change global settlement challenges and even lead to disintermediating exchanges as individuals exchanged block-chained assets directly.
We videod the entire conference and will be publishing presentations from it in the coming weeks.
Jim Kharouf is off to New York next week to shoot some video for the CME Pinnacle Awards and attend the CTA Expo. We will also be shooting some CTA profiles for another organization.
Jim will then head to Sao Paulo for the World Federation of Exchanges/IOMA conference, where he will be moderating a panel on commodities.
The following week Sarah Rudolph and I will be heading to Miami for the Options Industry Conference where I will be moderating the exchange leader panel.
Doug returned yesterday from the ISDA conference in Montreal with a few interesting tidbits. One of the things they do on the second day of the conference is announce the location chosen for the next year’s event. As is their custom, the conference floats between Europe, North America and Asia. Next April, ISDA members and delegates will be headed to Tokyo.
Another “worst kept secret” among the OTC crowd, finally verified this week, is that CEO Scott O’Malia will be moving the family to London to operate out of ISDA’s office there.
Former ISDA CEO Bob Pickel, who turned over the reins to O’Malia in 2014, is retired, but not really. He still acts as a consultant to the industry, and also sits on a few boards. When discussing the CEO transition, Doug mentioned to Bob that the worst part for JLN is that it is much harder to make puns out of the name “O’Malia,” an idea we do not relish.
A final ISDA note – CFTC Chairman Tim Massad delivered the keynote speech yesterday, and several things in his remarks and in the subsequent Q&A. Scroll through the newsletter for the full stories, but the bottom line is that we may soon see an end to the cross-border clearing house standoff. Plus, we should expect a few tweaks to the SEF rules, such as changes to the error resolution process and the made-available-to-trade determination process. But in the press briefing, all the reporters wanted to talk about was the flash crash and HFT. Go figure.
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OCC Lingo: SIFMU Stands For Clearinghouse Changes
JohnLothianNews.com
The OCC was designated a systemically important financial market utility in 2012. That led to some big changes at the organization, along with challenges in risk management and credit and liquidity resources. John Lothian News spoke with John Fennell, executive vice president, financial risk management at the OCC, about what the organization is doing to insure that it meets these and other regulatory obligations.
Watch the video »
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‘Flash Crash’ Trader Navinder Sarao: It Was Wits, Not Bits; Suspect held over alleged link to stock swoon told investigators he used ‘intuition,’ not tech tricks
By BRADLEY HOPE And ARUNA VISWANATHA, WSJ
Navinder Sarao hasn’t spoken publicly since he was arrested Tuesday on charges of manipulating the U.S. futures market. But in emails released by regulators, the 36-year-old resident of suburban London called himself an “old-school” trader who excelled using “intuition,” quick reflexes and a computer mouse.
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***** And what school was this? The Refco School of Market Manipulation?
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RJ O’Brien says cleared trades for UK trader charged in ‘flash crash’
Reuters
Brokerage R.J. O’Brien cleared trades recently for a British man accused of market manipulation that authorities say contributed to the May 2010 Wall Street flash crash, a company spokeswoman said on Thursday.
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***** It would be hard for a retail trader who had five brokers not to use RJO, or, back in the day, MF Global.
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R.J. O’Brien & Associates Statement in Relation to the Navinder Singh Sarao Case
RJ O’Brien & Associates
RJO is aware of the Government’s actions against Mr. Sarao and his company. The firm cooperated fully with the authorities in their investigation. To be clear, RJO had no involvement whatsoever with the individual or his company at the time of the Flash Crash in 2010 or for several years thereafter. RJO cleared trades he made in the recent past but had no involvement in the trading decisions of Mr. Sarao or his company. RJO holds itself to the highest standards of integrity, compliance and risk management, and cooperates fully with our regulators on all requests, inquiries and investigations.
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Nasdaq CEO: Exchange Operators Should ‘Assume the Worst’ on Market Manipulation Efforts; ‘We need to be paranoid,’ Nasdaq CEO Robert Greifeld says
By BRADLEY HOPE, WSJ
Exchange operators need to “assume the worst” when it comes to rogue traders and firms trying to manipulate U.S. markets, Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. Chief Executive Robert Greifeld said in an interview.
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***** If you are regulating markets, you need to assume the worst, but also have an open mind. It is the closed minds that are the problem.
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Lead Stories
CME faces scrutiny over warning signs on ‘flash crash trader’
Kara Scannell and Nicole Bullock in New York, and Gregory Meyer in Lausanne, FT
As far back as 2009, CME Group identified a high volume of cancelled orders by the UK trader charged this week with contributing to the 2010 “flash crash”. Now the operator of the largest US futures market is under scrutiny for letting his conduct continue into 2014.
jlne.ws/1JzGmja
Family Office of Google’s Eric Schmidt Buys Lehman Estate’s Stake in D.E. Shaw; The family office, Hillspire LLC, bought a 20% stake in New York hedge fund
By JULIET CHUNG, WSJ
The family office of Google Inc.’s Eric Schmidt bought a 20% stake in New York hedge-fund firm D.E. Shaw Group from the estate of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., the parties said Thursday.
jlne.ws/1aWAAfR
Need for better commodity regulation deepens
Paul Reed
Governments must ensure best price for consumers, says BP’s Paul Reed
I recognise that the recent decline in gas and oil prices may have somewhat diminished the level of public and policy attention around commodities regulation. But I do believe that working together to calibrate the right set of rules and regulations on commodity trading remains a fundamental task to ensure markets function properly and generate the right outcomes for producers, traders and consumers.
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Flash crash trader an impatient businessman for others
Sarah N. Lynch, Tom Polansek and Douwe Miedema, Reuters
The Briton blamed for contributing to the May 2010 Wall Street flash crash maintained frenetic relationships with a series of brokers, banks and software firms that appear to mirror his rapid-fire trading activity, court documents showed.
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Advice and Sympathy for Trader Charged in ‘Flash Crash’ Case
By Jenny Anderson, NY Times
Navinder Singh Sarao, the 36-year old British trader arrested Tuesday on United States criminal charges that he helped cause the May 2010 flash crash, faces a mountain of legal challenges, not to mention emotional and financial ones.
Fortunately, there are people ready to offer him advice and sympathy, including some of Britain’s most famous white-collar criminals. (Mr. Sarao has not been convicted and has indicated that he will fight extradition.)
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Figure Charged With Flash Crash Role Is ‘Old School Point and Click Prop Trader’
By Bradley Hope, WSJ
“I’m an old school point and click prop trader,” is the way the British trader alleged to have helped cause the 2010 flash crash described himself to U.K. regulators last year.
jlne.ws/1zSsRpz
Flash crash trader at centre of web of offshore accounts
Gina Chon in Washington and Philip Stafford in London, FT
The west London trader charged with contributing to a sudden crash in US equity markets five years ago set up companies in the Caribbean and moved millions of pounds between offshore accounts in Switzerland, Dubai and elsewhere, US regulators have alleged.
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Flash Crash trader Navinder Singh Sarao ‘hardly worked’, emails reveal
The Telegraph
The Hounslow-based trader accused of sparking the 2010 Flash Crash has described himself as an “insomniac” who could make close to £90,000 a day
jlne.ws/1Djzdyq
Interactive Brokers to acquire online investing marketplace Covestor
By Maria Nikolova, LearRate
The deal will enable Interactive Brokers to beef up its offering to robo-adviser companies. The mergers and acquisitions wave is spreading across the online trading industry, with Interactive Brokers Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:IBKR), one of the leader in this space in the United States, today unveiling a deal that will see it buy online investing marketplace Covestor.
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Roots of ‘flash crash’ go back further than you thought at CME
By LYNNE MAREK, Crain’s Chicago Business
More than a year before the May 6, 2010 “flash crash,” CME Group noticed questionable trading in its E-mini market by a particular electronic trader who was placing orders and canceling them.
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Nasdaq to settle Facebook IPO lawsuit for $26.5 million
BY JOHN MCCRANK, Reuters
In a first for a U.S. stock exchange, Nasdaq OMX Group on Thursday agreed to pay $26.5 million (17.60 million pounds) to settle a class-action lawsuit involving its bungling of Facebook Inc’s $16 billion initial public offering, the plaintiffs’ lawyers said.
jlne.ws/1PumQsl
How One Man Could Tank the Stock Market
Susie Poppick, Time
The Real Reason You Should Care About Insider Trading
Germany’s Bond Market is Kind of Crazy Right Now. And it Affects You.
Should You Be Afraid of the Stock Market?
jlne.ws/1aXV9bH
Sarao cancelled 99 percent of orders – CFTC civil complaint
Reuters
Navinder Singh Sarao, the futures trader charged with market manipulation that contributed to the May 2010 Wall Street “flash crash,” was cancelling more than 99 percent of his orders on days examined by the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, according to
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Regulatory
CFTC’s Massad to review SEF MAT process
International Financing review
The CFTC is considering changes to the way swap instruments are deemed suitable for mandatory trading on swap execution platforms. Speaking at the ISDA AGM in Montreal Thursday, CFTC chairman Timothy Massad confirmed plans to revisit the current “made available to trade” approach, which could ultimately provide the agency with greater authority over which products are mandated for trading on registered platforms.
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Flash Crash Case Exposes Resource Gap Limiting CFTC, Massad Says
by Silla Brush, Bloomberg
The top U.S. derivatives regulator may seek new electronic trading rules following the arrest of a London man in a case tied to the 2010 flash crash even as it calls for more money to keep pace with fast-moving markets.
jlne.ws/1d8J59e
EU and US aim for May deal on derivatives clearing
Philip Stafford, FT.com
The two main regions for derivatives trading aim to harmonise industry rules in the coming weeks, settling a long-running spat between US and European regulators. A draft deal could be in place by May 7, coinciding with talks in Brussels between Jonathan Hill, the European financial services commissioner, and Timothy Massad, who heads the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the main regulator of US derivatives, say four people familiar with the matter.
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Supervisors Look to Bank Stress Tests For Clues About Clearinghouses
Kary Burne, WSJ
International market supervisors, moving to fortify so-called “clearinghouses” that act as a key safety net for the financial system, are taking lessons from bank stress tests, said people familiar with the discussions. Supervisors at the Bank for International Settlements’ Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures and the International Organization of Securities Commissions have been reaching out to officials involved with bank stress tests to ask how similar measures could work for their monitoring of clearinghouses, the people said.
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CFTC Fine-Tunes Rules Covering Swap Trading Venues
By Dow Jones
A top U.S. derivatives regulator unveiled a package of modest regulatory amendments designed to bolster new trading platforms for swaps, including steps that would give them greater flexibility in how they handle clerical errors and confirm trades.
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Ontario Securities Commission Publishes Report On Canadian Fixed Income Market And Details Next Steps To Enhance Regulation And Transparency
MondoVisione
Today the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) published The Canadian Fixed Income Market Report and OSC Staff Notice 21-708 – OSC Staff Report on the Canadian Fixed Income Market and Next Steps to Enhance Regulation and Transparency of Fixed Income Markets. Together, these materials summarize the OSC’s study of the fixed income markets and set out the steps the OSC will take to enhance the transparency and regulation of fixed income markets.
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Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) Rulemaking and National Market System (NMS) Plans
SEC
CBOE: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of a Proposed Rule Change Relating to Submission of Financial Reports (Release No. 34-74791; File No. SR-CBOE-2015-040)
CBOE: Notice of Designation of a Longer Period for Commission Action on Proposed Rule Change Related to Equipment and Communication on the Exchange’s Trading Floor (Release No. 34-74786; File No. SR-CBOE-2015-022; April 22, 2015)
FX broker Advanced Markets clarifies its AFS licence
ASIC
Following concerns raised by ASIC, Advanced Markets Ltd (Advanced Markets) has agreed to make changes to its website (www.advancedmarketsfx.com). The changes relate to statements which may have been misunderstood as implying that ASIC regulates all financial services provided by Advanced Markets, including those which are not carried on in Australia.
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Alleged ‘Flash Crash’ Trader Told UK Watchdog To Ban HFT
By Ed Beeson, Law 360
The British futures trader accused of helping to trigger the 2010 flash crash through a computerized manipulation scheme once urged U.K. regulators to ban high-frequency trading and block market participants from entering fake orders designed to fool others, according to emails made public Thursday.
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A Look At The 1st Criminal ‘Spoofing’ Prosecution: Part 2
By Clifford Histed, K & L Gates via Law360
On April 16, 2015, U.S. District Judge Harry D. Leinenweber in Chicago ruled, in the first criminal case of its kind, that the “spoofing” statute was not unconstitutionally vague, and that the spoofing and fraud indictment against futures trader Michael Coscia would not be dismissed.[1] In Part 1 of this article, we examined what guidance could be gleaned from what futures regulators have said about spoofing and what they have charged as spoofing, and discussed the Coscia criminal case.
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Exchanges & Trading Facilities
CME Group revises daily price limits for grains starting May 1
Reuters
Daily price limits for Chicago Board of Trade corn and wheat futures will rise starting in May, while soybean limits will not change following a semi-annual review, the CME Group Inc, parent of the exchange, said on Thursday.
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SGX looks again to draw from China Well
AsiaOne
Singapore Exchange (SGX) is turning once more towards China as a key source of growth after a few wary years marred by a number of S-chip scandals. “As China becomes more and more important for us and we do more and more in China. . . It will be an expansion of the team (in China), both in Beijing and Shanghai, where we see a lot of our clients,” SGX chief executive Magnus Bocker said on Wednesday at a results briefing.
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EnterNext welcomes Trefi Finance bond; First bond issue through new initiative for flexible financing solutions for Dutch and Belgian markets
Euronext
EnterNext, the Euronext subsidiary designed to promote and grow the market for SMEs, today welcomed the bond issue for Trefi Finance, an alternative financier of working capital for small and medium-sized enterprises. This is the first bond issue making use of EnterNext’s initiative specifically designed to simplify SMEs’ access to capital and provide a broader investor base for Belgian and Dutch family businesses and entrepreneurs that was launched last week.
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Product Update – David Downey, OneChicago
Securities Lending Times
Armed with its new product, OneChicago’s David Downey says that securities lending customers will soon be able to meet the same demands as before, with the luxury of cutting out any intermediaries
jlne.ws/1JB50zX
The latency question: Did flash crash trader have split second advantages due to his location?
By Andrew Saks-McLeod, LeapRate
Does distance really affect trading ability? Opinion shows that Navinder Singh Sarao may have been able to gain a £27 million advantage whilst disrupting North American markets, due to the proximity of his home in Hounslow to the LD4 and LD2 servers, allowing him a massive advantage
jlne.ws/1zU5XOQ
Hedge Funds & Managed Futures
Citadel managing director to join Alibaba family office – Bloomberg
Reuters
Oliver Weisberg has quit his role as a managing director of Citadel to help run a family office for Alibaba Group Holding Ltd executives, Bloomberg reported, citing two people with knowledge of the matter.
jlne.ws/1DVOIjW
Fund giants agree merger to form £290bn asset manager
Anna Fedorovaf, Investment Week
Pioneer Investments has reached an agreement to merge with Santander Asset Management, creating one of the largest European asset management groups by AUM
jlne.ws/1Jk4k5q
UBS Wealth cuts allocation to U.S., UK stocks
Reuters
UBS Wealth Management, the world’s biggest wealth manager, has cut its positions in U.S. and UK stocks, betting that euro zone shares offer the best value and growth prospects, the firm’s chief investment officer said in a note to clients.
jlne.ws/1EmGByn
Hedge Fund Managers Share Rich List Crown After Tricky Year for Brevan
by Laurence Fletcher , WSJ
Things are changing atop the ranks of the richest hedge fund mangers.
Alan Howard, the founder of Brevan Howard Asset Management LLP, now has to share his crown at the top of the rankings of hedge fund managers in the 2015 Sunday Times Rich List for Britain after a tricky year for his firm.
jlne.ws/1z0yqYs
Three Partners Exit Brevan Howard
By STEFANIE ESCHENBACHER, WSJ
Brevan Howard, one of the most powerful hedge funds in the world whose fortunes have waned in recent months, has revealed in filings that three partners left the firm in little over a month.
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Banks & Brokers
Details in Deutsche Bank’s Libor Settlement Point to Acute Cultural Flaws
By DOMINIC ELLIOTT, NY Times
Deutsche Bank has found a new form of Libor shame. The firm, Germany’s biggest bank, agreed on Thursday to pay a record $2.5 billion in a settlement of rate-rigging misdeeds with three United States authorities and the Financial Conduct Authority of Britain. On top of the manipulation, it misled the British regulator.
jlne.ws/1DVPihw
HSBC to Weigh Moving Headquarters From London
By CHAD BRAYA, NY Times
The British bank HSBC said on Friday it would review whether to move its headquarters from London amid a shifting regulatory landscape that includes a bank tax that has hit Britain-based lenders particularly hard.
jlne.ws/1HvQe0e
R.J. O’Brien Says It Had No Involvement in Alleged ‘Flash Crash’ Spoofer’s Trading Decisions; Navinder Sarao is accused of spoofing U.S. markets and contributing to 2010 flash crash
By BRADLEY HOPE, The Wall Street Journal
The futures clearing firm used by the British trader accused of spoofing U.S. markets and contributing to the 2010 “flash crash” said it “cooperated fully with the authorities in their investigation.”
jlne.ws/1JkdO0z
Clearing & Settlement
Swaptions clearing raises CCP risk fears
International Financing Review
Clearing houses may be increasing risk for their members by adding products that some market participants believe are best suited to the bilateral environment. Speaking on a central counterparty clearing panel at ISDA’s AGM in Montreal, Emily Portney, global head of clearing and collateral management at JP Morgan Securities, warned that the introduction of swaptions into the cleared environment may be putting clearing brokers at greater risk.
jlne.ws/1Jk2K3x
Blockchain s Rise Can Upend Traditional Payment Providers
PaymentsSource
Most people remain skeptical of the libertarian utopia wherein the government cedes control of the money supply to Bitcoiners. But some are starting to come around on the blockchain technology that enables Bitcoin as an important part of our digital future, as well as an advancement that threatens the third parties that often manage financial transfers.
jlne.ws/1Jk2Sjy
ISDA and aosphere to Enhance netalytics to Cover ISDA Clearing Opinions
ISDA
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) today announced that netalytics, an online netting analysis tool for ISDA members, will be enhanced to cover ISDA clearing opinions.
jlne.ws/1IQ2tlx
Supervisors Look to Bank Stress Tests For Clues About Clearinghouses; Supervisors seek to inquire how similar measures could work for monitoring
By KATY BURNE
International market supervisors, moving to fortify so-called “clearinghouses” that act as a key safety net for the financial system, are taking lessons from bank stress tests, said people familiar with the discussions.
jlne.ws/1Jk7d6g
Indexes & Products
Will the Nasdaq Go On to Set Sustainable New Highs?
By KRISTEN SCHOLER, WSJ
It’s one for the book. The Nasdaq Composite closed at its best level on record Thursday, eclipsing its previous high of 5048.62 set back in the dot-com heydays. Gains in Apple Inc., the Nasdaq’s biggest component, over the past 12 months have played a big role in fueling the index. Strength this year in the technology and health-care sectors have helped too.
jlne.ws/1Oj7mKJ
Fanfare for the Uncommon Index: Nasdaq Leaves Dot-Com Era Behind, Closes at Record High
Barrons.com
After 15 long years, the Nasdaq Composite finally broke its dot-com-era high. The question now: Does it really matter anymore?
jlne.ws/1Jk8qua
Passive, but Powerful: How Index Funds Exercise Their Clout
Knowledge@Wharton
Index-style investing is all the rage. Investors by the millions believe that funds do better by seeking to match the stock market rather than trying to beat it. But what happens to companies with large blocks of shares owned by these “passive” investors?
jlne.ws/1Jk8yKf
SPIVA Interpretation and Misinterpretation
S&P Dow Jones Indices Indexology Blog
The S&P Dow Jones SPIVA U.S. Scorecard is published semi-annually. It’s some twenty pages of hard-hitting data on active manager performance versus comparable market benchmarks. The report is parsed into multiple tables covering different time periods and different asset classes, and is provided in both equal-weight and asset-weighted returns. There’s also information on survivorship bias and style consistency.
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Technology
Charles Schwab Introduces Apple Watch App and Unveils Enhanced Mobile Experience
Charles Schwab
Starting today, investors will be able to stay more closely connected to the market than ever before with Schwab’s new Apple Watch app. Clients will have an at-a-glance view of market headlines and their customized watchlists, as well as the ability to quickly drill down to view detailed stock quotes. The Apple Watch complements Schwab’s robust mobile app capabilities, allowing clients to initiate equity or options trades via their Apple Watch for completion on their iPhone with just a few simple taps of the device.
jlne.ws/1JkjoQm
Waters Technology Awards Green Key The ‘2015 Most Promising Sell Side Startup
PR Newswire
Green Key Technologies, maker of voice software designed specifically for broker and traders, has been awarded the “2015 Most Promising Sell-Side Start Up by Waters Technology.” Green Key’s voice network has rapidly expanded and now includes over 150 banks, brokerage firms and trading firms, all leveraging Green Key’s innovative “soft turret.” The trader voice software is specifically designed to replicate the functionality of traditional hardware turrets but without the need for expensive hardware or physical T1 lines.
jlne.ws/1JkbeYi
GMEX Technologies and Avenir partner with Agricultural Commodity Exchange for Africa
Hedgeweek
GMEX Technologies (GMEX TECH), part of the Global Markets Exchange Group International, and Avenir Technology Limited (Avenir), the UK based post-trade software firm, have partnered with the Agricultural Commodity Exchange for Africa (ACE).
jlne.ws/1Jk9xdB
Fintech revolutionaries storm the barricades of traditional banking
The Guardian
The internet revolution disrupted and destroyed traditional industries throughout the 1990s and early 21st century. The record industry was crushed by MP3 downloads, telecoms by mobile, and the high street by online retail. But one major industry has, so far, proven resistant – the banking and financial sector. Most of the traditional big names of banking still have enormous power over our everyday lives.
jlne.ws/1Jk96Qv
Bitcoin Island: cleaning up the crypto currency
BBC News
Bitcoin tends to hit the headlines for all the wrong reasons – the spectre of infamous Japanese exchange MtGox, which went bankrupt in 2013 after a spate of hacking resulted in the theft of around 650,000 of the virtual coins (today worth around £150/$223 each), still looms large. But the Isle of Man government believes a combination of regulation and encouragement can not only reverse Bitcoin’s reputation, but also push it towards the mainstream.
jlne.ws/1Jk9gqV
Enforcement
Deutsche Bank fined £227 million by Financial Conduct Authority for LIBOR and EURIBOR failings and for misleading the regulator
UK FCA
The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has handed Deutsche Bank AG (Deutsche Bank) a £227 million ($340 million) fine, its largest ever for LIBOR and EURIBOR-related (collectively known as IBOR) misconduct. The fine is so large because Deutsche Bank also misled the regulator, which could have hampered its investigation.
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Environmental & Energy
Don’t judge Paris on level of carbon cuts, say top emitters
By Ed King – RTCC (Responding to Climate Change)
Leading economies don’t think the success of a Paris climate change summit should simply be measured on the level of greenhouse gas cuts it manages to deliver.
jlne.ws/1JAxWbo
Japan hikes target for emissions cuts to about 25 pct by 2030-media
Reuters
Japan is considering cutting emissions of greenhouse gases by around 25 percent by 2030, up from an earlier target of about 20 percent, as its contribution to a global summit in Paris on climate change later this year, media reports said on Friday.
jlne.ws/1GotpZ9
Australia’s new carbon price fails to attract big polluters
By Byron Kaye – Reuters
Australia said on Thursday its new climate policy will pay A$13.95 a tonne for carbon in an effort to cut emissions, a price seen as too low to attract big polluters but enough for the government to call its first funding auction a success.
jlne.ws/1JADtyF
Tesla Wants to Power Wal-Mart
By Dana Hull – Bloomberg
Tesla Motors Inc. is signing up big customers like Wal-Mart and Cargill, accelerating efforts to become a leader in energy storage — a new market that’s poised to boost sales and profit at the electric vehicle pioneer.
jlne.ws/1GoxH2P
Asia-Pacific
Hong Kong start-up to bet millions on hedge fund run by artificial intelligence
South China Morning Post
A financial tech start-up based in Hong Kong will soon launch a hedge fund in the US managed by artificial intelligence. Ben Goertzel, co-founder and chief scientist of the venture, called Aidyia, said the fund will start small but will grow dramatically when it starts trading in US equities in June.
jlne.ws/1JkaYsp
Talk of China Dim Sum Bond Market’s Death Is Greatly Exaggerated
Bloomberg Business
When Hong Kong hosted the first Dim Sum bond sale in 2007, it was where Chinese firms went for cheaper debt and global funds flocked to access the nation’s closed markets. Now the dynamics are changing.
jlne.ws/1JkaTVG
Tokyo Stock Exchange: New ETFs Included In Real-Time Dissemination Of “TSE Indicative NAV”
MondoVisioneTokyo Stock Exchange, Inc. (TSE) will newly calculate and publish the real-time Indicative Net Asset Value (Indicative NAV) per share for the below Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) through the FLEX standard service on June 1, 2015.
jlne.ws/1zU2S13
Frontier Markets
Global X rolls out the first Pakistan ETF
Seeking Alpha
The Global X MSCI Pakistan ETF (Pending:PAK) tracks the MSCI All Pakistan Select 25/50 Index, making it the first ETF to focus on Pakistan’s economy.
jlne.ws/1Jk7Vk3
Colombian Stock Exchange Favors Having Brazil in Integration
by Katia Porzecanski, Bloomberg
Colombia’s stock exchange informally discussed selling a stake to its Brazilian counterpart as part of a move toward an integrated regional market.
jlne.ws/1KcyCEW
FTIL case: CLB hearing put off till May 12
Business Line
The Company Law Board (CLB) will now hear the Corporate Affairs Ministry’s petition in the Financial Technologies case on May 12. The FTIL matter was listed for hearing on Thursday. Meanwhile, the Bombay High Court will on Friday hear the MCA’s plea seeking time till July 31 to review the objections raised by 19,000 FTIL shareholders against the merger of NSEL with FTIL.
jlne.ws/1IQekjr
Miscellaneous
ISDA Elects 12 Board Members
ISDA
The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) announced today the election of 12 directors at its 30th Annual General Meeting in Montreal.
jlne.ws/1HvT5WM
READ MORE: John Lothian Newsletter: CME faces scrutiny over warning signs on ‘flash crash trader'; Family Office of Google’s Eric Schmidt Buys Lehman Estate’s Stake in D.E. Shaw; Need for better commodity regulation deepens.