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Stories

  • Day traders, corporate hedgers and warring exchanges: India’s FX futures boom 11 October 2010

    Boom of the year has to be the dollar-rupee contracts at two leading Indian exchanges. With a third exchange just about to join in the fun, Colin Packham examines the causes of this astonishingly rapid success.

  • TurkDex: looking for the next step up 11 October 2010

    With volumes jumping by half during a recession-hit 2009 – after more than doubling for the previous three years – the Turkish Derivatives Exchange has made a solid start. But as Tom Osborn discovers, the exchange has much bigger plans.

  • Analysis: New technology, new laws put Russia on track for growth 08 October 2010

    All agree that the Russian market still has huge untapped potential. With the government pushing to make Moscow a regional financial centre by 2020, the industry also has support from the top. Mareen Goebel reports.

  • Mandatory clearing? No thanks, say corporate hedgers 08 October 2010

    For two years, the biggest question overhanging derivative markets has been how much OTC business gets pushed into exchanges and clearing houses as regulators clean up the damage of the credit crisis.

  • Analysis: Oil trading goes global 04 October 2010

    The dominance of Nymex and ICE Futures Europe in global oil derivatives trading is unchallenged. But as Elise Coroneos reports, a satellite image of the market would show new bright spots emerging.

  • Asian commodity trading: the huge, the small and the tiny 01 October 2010

    Asia's exchange-based commodity markets are fragmented and underdeveloped. As Colin Packham reports, there are two vast markets, more internationally focused exchanges – and new start-ups hoping to break in.

  • Analysis: Agricultural commodities - boom, bubble or both? 29 September 2010

    Food commodity prices are way up this year. Bad news for consumers, but great for investors looking for outperforming returns. Are both sides getting a fair deal out of the market? Tom Osborn tries to count the beans.

  • How does Congress hate thee? Let me count the ways… 17 September 2010

    If you think the US derivatives clampdown is mainly on the OTC market, you haven’t been reading your Dodd-Frank carefully enough. Philip McBride Johnson highlights five threats in the Act, and counting…

  • Comment: Options brokers face a new IT arms race 09 September 2010

    The dramatic growth in institutional investors’ demand for options trading presents a big opportunity for brokers, argues Chris Kelley of Fidessa. But the market is changing so fast that if they want to compete, brokers face daunting technological challenges.

  • Dividend futures: will investors sell in September and go away? 09 September 2010

    The shiny new toy in equity investing is dividend futures. But this product does a lot more than it says on the tin, argues Theo Casey - not all of it nice.

  • ASX prepares new connectivity network 07 September 2010

    The Australian Securities Exchange will launch ASX Net, a managed low latency solution for connectivity to the Australian financial market, in September.

  • CQG connects trading platforms to TurkDex 07 September 2010

    The Turkish Derivatives Exchange has partnered with CQG, the order execution and analytics provider for electronically traded futures.

  • Freight hedge fund picks SuperDerivatives 07 September 2010

    SuperDerivatives, the derivatives pricing software provider, has been chosen by shipbroker Simpson Spence & Young to improve the alpha returns of its proprietary hedge fund, the Blue Wave Shipping Fund.

  • Nasdaq gets Smarts 07 September 2010

    Nasdaq OMX has acquired Smarts Group, a provider of market surveillance solutions to exchanges, regulators and brokers.

  • R3cognition’s ‘speed camera’ catches erring traders 07 September 2010

    R3cognition, the compliance software firm, is hoping to grow its client base after officially rebranding. It was previously known as R3D Systems.

  • China goes for gold 06 September 2010

    The People’s Bank of China plans to encourage gold trading, as demand for the metal continues to outstrip supply.

  • European consultation nears its climax 06 September 2010

    In Europe, efforts are under way to push derivatives legislation ahead, with the Committee of European Securities Regulators launching a consultation paper on OTC clearing.

  • New Zealand to modernise derivatives law 06 September 2010

    New Zealand’s Ministry for Economic Development has proposed introducing a new financial regulatory act to replace the outdated Securities Act 1978 and Securities Markets Act 1988, and amend other laws.

  • India hums with regulatory action 03 September 2010

    India has taken several major steps towards improving the regulatory environment for its booming derivatives market.

  • CBOE wins four year battle to stop ISE listing S&P options 01 September 2010

    The Chicago Board Options Exchange has won its legal battle with the International Securities Exchange to keep the exclusive rights to list its suite of index options.

  • Five join NYSE Amex 01 September 2010

    Five new trading firms joined NYSE Amex Options as market makers on July 12.

  • JSE goes maker taker 01 September 2010

    The Johannesburg Stock Exchange has adopted the ‘maker taker’ pricing model for its equity derivatives, and has cut trading fees for single stock futures and options traded through the central order book almost to zero.

  • New Chicago exchange launches swaps futures 01 September 2010

    Five US trading firms have created a new exchange in Chicago, offering interest rate swap futures.

  • SGX to list metal futures using LME pricing 01 September 2010

    The Singapore Exchange plans to introduce mini monthly metals futures contracts, beginning in the first quarter of 2011.

  • Tehran ‘placates investors’ with single stock futures 01 September 2010

    The Tehran Stock Exchange has launched trading in single stock futures, beginning with the two most liquid stocks, Parsian Bank and Karafarin Bank.

  • Tocom eyes Tokyo Grain Exchange contracts 01 September 2010

    The consolidation of Japan’s derivatives exchanges accelerated again when Tocom said it would be interested in listing three of Tokyo Grain Exchange’s most active futures.

  • ABN Amro and Fortis merge 31 August 2010

    ABN Amro and Fortis Bank Nederland legally merged on July 1 and are now operating as a single bank, ABN Amro Bank.

  • Exchanges wrap world in web of index contracts 31 August 2010

    The international network of equity index derivatives is thickening fast.

  • Gensler seeks advice on agricultural issues 31 August 2010

    Gary Gensler, chairman of the US Commodity Futures Trading Commission, addressed a meeting of the Agricultural Advisory Committee on August 5.

  • Quants still misunderstood 31 August 2010

    7city Learning, the financial services training company that offers the Certificate in Quantitative Finance, has found that the role of quants is no better understood in the firms they work for than it was a year ago.

  • Warsaw Stock Exchange picks NYSE as IT partner, wins shorting battle 31 August 2010

    The Warsaw Stock Exchange has chosen NYSE Euronext as its strategic partner for all software development. The first joint project will be to develop the WSE’s new trading engine.

  • Birley to leave ECX within three months 26 August 2010

    Patrick Birley, CEO of the European Climate Exchange, said in mid-July that he would remain at the exchange for three months at most, following its acquisition by Intercontinental Exchange Group.

  • BNY Mellon picks securitisation man to head derivatives 26 August 2010

    BNY Mellon has appointed Patrick Tadie to the new role of global business head for its Derivatives360 initiative, an integrated investment servicing solution that helps clients execute and manage derivatives transactions.

  • Exit Paine at LSE Group 26 August 2010

    The London Stock Exchange’s chief technology officer, Robin Paine, is to leave the exchange.

  • Nomura hires Barclays’ Lim as Asian oil head 26 August 2010

    Nomura has appointed Shaun Lim as head of oil and oil products trading for Asia, excluding Japan. He joins from Barclays Capital’s Singapore office, where he was a senior fuel oil trader.

  • Tavares and Guill get top jobs at CESR before it becomes ESMA 26 August 2010

    The Committee of European Securities Regulators has promoted its vice-chair, Carlos Tavares, to chairman, and appointed Jean Guill as his replacement.

  • Banus reappears as SGX commodities adviser 24 August 2010

    Rod Banus has joined the Singapore Exchange as senior adviser for commodities.

  • Breteau takes the helm at Newedge 24 August 2010

    Nicolas Breteau has been appointed chief executive officer of Newedge, succeeding Patrice Blanc, who has decided to leave the firm for personal reasons.

  • Bursa Malaysia picks Datuk Syed as director 24 August 2010

    Datuk Syed Muhamad Syed Abdul Kadir has become non-executive and public interest director of Bursa Malaysia.

  • Dechert expands London and NY teams, opens in Dublin 24 August 2010

    Law firm Dechert has hired Holland West as partner in its financial services practice group in New York. Until 2005 West was the head of global hedge fund, private equity, derivatives, and structured finance practices at joins from Shearman & Sterling.

  • Martens named SEC’s chief litigation counsel 24 August 2010

    Matthew Martens has become chief litigation counsel in the SEC’s division of enforcement.

  • RJO makes Bonniwell VP of strategic planning 24 August 2010

    Futures broker RJ O’Brien has promoted Kirk Bonniwell to vice-president of strategic planning.

  • StanChart takes Brookhouse and Haigh 24 August 2010

    Standard Chartered Bank has appointed Simon Brookhouse as global head of equities and Michael Haigh as head of global commodities research.

Poll

What concerns you most about the upcoming regulation changes?

Opportunity for regulatory arbitrage
15%
Impact on revenues
35%
Unnecessary complexity
11%
Workability of central clearing for OTC derivatives
9%
Workability of forcing complex derivatives onto exchanges
31%