EXCHANGE NEWSWIRE, 03 May 2010
NYX, NASDAQ OMX and BATS petitioned the SEC to start a six month pilot program for quoting in half-cent tick sizes for stocks between $1 and $20. One-cent increments have “resulted in a publicly displayed quote that is artificially wide for certain lower priced, liquid securities, and has caused a detrimental impact to the public price discovery process,” the companies argue.
Financial Technologies will set up three exchanges this year. The Singapore Mercantile Exchange will be launched in August, while the Global Board of Trade, Mauritius will go live in September and the Bahrain Financial Exchange, in October.
NYX may sell its 5% stake in NSE for $150 mn to an unidentified “global financial services giant that also invests through its private equity arm,” according to VCCIRCLE.
NASDAQ OMX said IDCG faces "technical barriers" in its rollout over the next 60 to 90 days. Greifeld said some customers are now ready to clear interest-rate swaps and one large clearing firm would sign over the coming weeks.
DFM reported a 1Q10 net profit of AED53.6 mn (-8% Y/Y). Revenues declined -5% Y/Y (AED90.4 mn) in spite of a 5% increase in traded vale (AED28.975 bn).
CME is targeting a June rollout of CDS clearing and would launch clearing of interest rate and FX swaps during 3Q10.
CBOE Vice-Chairman Edward Tilly said the exchange will argue strongly against the proposal by the SEC to cap options-trading fees at 30 cents per contract because it is “nonsensical.” CEO William Brodsky asked “even if there were a cap, why should it be the same on a proprietary product as a commoditised product?”
Oslo Børs and Oslo Clearing will delay the launch of a central counterparty from May 12 to June 4 for five selected shares in the OBX Index and to June 18 for other shares, equity certificates and ETFs listed on Oslo Børs and on Oslo Axess.
ASX and the Australasian Investor Relations Association (AIRA) launched a one-day education course entitled ‘Successful Investor Relations Strategies for SMEs’ to provide delegates with tools and techniques to establish a successful investor relations program.
NSE deferred the launch of futures and options on three ETFs due to concerns by the Futures Markets Commission over regulatory purview.
The Options Industry Council partnered with India’s Financial Technologies to offer education on the proper use of options as a risk-mitigating tool.
MasterCard introduced multiple innovative enhancements to the MasterCard Worldwide Network that will offer financial-institution and merchant partners opportunities to improve the shopping experience, identify new business opportunities, and improve operational efficiencies.
MasterCard and HSBC signed an agreement renewing their global partnership to provide HSBC Premier customers with a MasterCard credit card until 2015.
optionsXpress introduced Xtend, a software platform for trading stocks, options, and futures.
Ameriprise completed the $1 billion acquisition of BofA’s Columbia Management long-term asset management business.
DB1 was downgraded to "Outperform" from "Select List" at CA Cheuvreux. Target price was reduced to €64 from €66.
DB1 was downgraded to "Hold" from "Add" at Commerzbank. Target price was maintained at €58.
Aite expects high frequency trading in FX markets to grow to 40% by the end of 2012, from current 25% levels.
The SEC set the fiscal year 201 Advisory Fee Rate #1 (the fees that companies pay to register securities) at $116.10 per million dollar, while fees applicable to most securities transactions were set at $19.20 per million dollars.
FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair sent a letter to the Senate Banking Committee Chairman Dodd and Agriculture Committee Chairman Lincoln saying Lincoln’s proposal to segregate swap trading units from banks would weaken the “protection of the insured bank.”
The EU Commission will review high frequency trading to verify whether banks and hedge funds are complying with the Market Abuse Directive.
Provided By: Equity Research Desk, www.erdesk.com