Observations – Statistics – Commentary

Eating Isn’t Option When Corn in Minnesota Burns in Houston Gasoline Tanks
Mike Vis hooks a pump to a grain silo in Minnesota and siphons out enough of his corn to feed 91 people for a year. This batch will fuel vehicles in Houston for 21 seconds.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=am_oAph85KYo&refer=environment

**** I love statistics.

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Dairy Farmers of America (DFA) and Two Former Executives to Pay $12 Million
Penalty to Settle CFTC Charges of Attempted Manipulation and Speculative Position Limit Violations Two Former Executives of a DFA Subsidiary to Pay $150,000 for Aiding and Abetting DFA’s Position Limit Violation
Washington, DC — The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today that the Dairy Farmers of America, Inc. (DFA), its former Chief Executive Officer Gary Hanman, and its former Chief Financial Officer Gerald Bos will pay a $12 million civil monetary penalty for attempting to manipulate the Class III milk futures contract and exceeding speculative position limits in that contract. Additionally, Frank Otis, former President and CEO of a DFA subsidiary, and Glenn Millar, former Executive Vice President of the subsidiary, will pay $150,000 for aiding and abetting DFA’s speculative position limit violation.
http://www.cftc.gov/newsroom/enforcementpressreleases/2008/pr5584-08.html

**** Udderly Shocking! Does this mean we won’t have the guys in the cow suits protesting out front of the CME building any more?

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Orc Software adds Strategic Partner in New Zealand and Australia
Continues global expansion strategy offering additional regional services
Hong Kong & Sydney, Tuesday 16 December, 2008 – Orc Software (SSE: ORC), the leading global provider of technology for advanced derivatives trading and connectivity solutions, today announced a reseller agreement with New Zealand-based financial services solutions provider Chelmer.
http://www.orcsoftware.com/News/Rss-Detail-Page/?item=399555&type=Rss

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Watch our latest webcast: Exercising for the Dividend with Dan Sheridan and Alan Grigoletto
http://www.optioneducation.net/select/default.asp?OIC20080902

**** See my new video: Exercise IS the Dividend!

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These Red Flags Can Signal Ponzi Scheme
Could your investment manager be another Bernard Madoff? What to look for when picking an investment manager or financial planner.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122937799268308369.html

**** Here are the red flags.

Madoff Investors Missed Red Flag
Investors may have missed one major red flag that could have tipped them off that something was amiss at Bernard Madoff’s now-infamous hedge fund: He acted as his own prime broker.
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10453291/1/madoff-investors-missed-red-flag.html

**** Oops!

Minimizing exposure
Mark T. Williams, a finance professor at the Boston University School of Management, lists 10 steps to help investors reduce the chance of fraud.
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2008/12/15/minimizing-exposure-to-investment-management-fraud/

**** You can’t eliminate risk, you can only manage it.

**** But you still might get a tax break.

Fund manager in scandal once boasted about profits
WASHINGTON – The money manager accused of duping investors in one of Wall Street’s biggest Ponzi schemes once boasted to the Securities and Exchange Commission about how much money he earned and formally advised the U.S. government on ways to protect investors from scam artists.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081216/ap_on_bi_ge/madoff_scandal;_ylt=AkkVrqfE9KlboctSXSerLFxu24cA

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Implied Functionality Now Available for Treasury and Swaps Spreads on CME Globex
CME Group has now enabled the implied functionality for Intercommodity spreads on U.S. Treasury and CBOT Interest Rate Swap futures. The implied functionality creates increased matching opportunities and eliminates leg risk as you are guaranteed to get filled on your entire spread order quantity.
http://www.cmegroup.com/trading/interest-rates/intercommodity-spread.html

**** I am surprised this is not being played up more. Where is the marketing pizzazz? What happened to clever?

**** Do you know the NOB, TUT, FOB, BOI, TUB, TOS, FYT, FOS, TUF, or NOS? Did you know you can trade them with implied functionality? You can now.

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Acción Traders Expands RTS’ Technology
Agreement includes algorithmic trading solution RTD Tango RTS Realtime Systems Group (RTS), a leading trading solutions provider, announced that Acción Traders, an Amsterdam-based independent trading company, has begun deploying additional RTS technology for its arbitrage trading operations. The agreement provides Acción Traders with RTS’ algorithmic trading platform, RTD Tango, along with direct market access (DMA) to a key liquidity pool.

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Lead Stories

Madoff Misery for Hedge Funds
By SIMON NIXON
The fund-of-hedge-funds industry needed the Bernard Madoff scandal like a hole in the head. Already reeling from the financial crisis, assets under management fell from $826 billion at the end of June to $685 billion by the end of October, according to Hedge Fund Research. The fact that so many leading industry names were duped by Mr. Madoff, including Man Group’s RMF and Banco Santander’s Optimal, will be another major blow to trust, with consequences felt across the hedge-fund industry.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122937379348807659.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Economists join drive for regulation rethink
Few questions raised by the global financial crisis are as urgent as the shape and nature of future regulation of the banking sector. Some of the world’s leading economists have added their voices to calls for a complete rethink of how it is done, and they have offered some provocative suggestions on how a new regulatory framework should look.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/19def442-cad6-11dd-87d7-000077b07658.html

Madoff Books in `Disarray,’ May Take Six Months to Unravel, SIPC Head Says
It will take six months to sort out money manager Bernard Madoff’s records, said Stephen Harbeck of Securities Investor Protection Corp. on Bloomberg Television.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=special_report&sid=aswXSPr0eQVo

EX-SEC BOSS: NOT ME
LEVITT RETURNS FIRE
Ex-Securities and Exchange Commission boss Arthur Levitt yesterday fired back at critics trying to lay at his feet some of the blame for the Bernie Madoff scandal, saying he wasn’t asleep at the switch. “At this point, I don’t see any evidence that the SEC dropped the ball,” Levitt, who’s now an adviser to private-equity shop Carlyle Group, told The Post.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12162008/business/ex_sec_boss__not_me_144438.htm

S.E.C. Image Suffers in a String of Setbacks
WASHINGTON — The Securities and Exchange Commission, a once-proud agency with an impressive history as Wall Street’s top cop, finds itself increasingly conducting autopsies of leading financial institutions after failing, in the first instance, to perform adequate biopsies. The latest black eye for the commission came when inspectors and agency lawyers missed a series of red flags at Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities. If it had checked out the warnings, the commission might well have discovered years ago that the firm was concealing its losses by using billions of dollars from some investors to pay others.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/business/16secure.html?_r=1

Deutsche Börse Launches new Country and Strategy Indices
DAXglobal Latin America tracks companies from Latin American countries/ DAXglobal GCC Index enables investments in Middle Eastern markets/ New DAXplus indices on European Directors’ Dealings transactions
http://deutsche-boerse.com/dbag/dispatch/en/notescontent/gdb_navigation/press/10_Latest_Press_Releases/INTEGRATE/mr_pressreleases?notesDoc=E04F51494008C11FC125752100340C93&newstitle=deutscheboerselaunchesnewcount&location=press

Electronic OTC commodities platform launched
Agora-X has launched an electronic communications network (ECN) for the negotiation of over-the-counter (OTC) transactions in commodity and derivative contracts.
http://www.energyrisk.com/public/showPage.html?page=831430

National Lampoon Chief Faces Charges
By RITA K. FARRELL
The chief executive of National Lampoon was charged with conspiracy and securities fraud in what prosecutors called an attempt to raise the company’s stock value artificially.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/business/media/16lampoon.html?ref=business

JUST HOW CLOSE ARE WALL STREET AND WASHINGTON?
By JOHN CRUDELE
WE now know how Bernie Madoff invested so profitably. Will we ever know how Goldman Sachs worked its magic? I’m not suggesting that Goldman did anything akin to what Madoff allegedly…
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12162008/business/just_how_close_are_wall_street_and_washi_144422.htm

Madoff Scandal News

Madoff fall-out spreads worldwide
By FT Reporters
The fallout from Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50bn fraud spread through the global financial system on Monday as more banks revealed exposures to his firm and the beleaguered hedge fund industry braced for withdrawals from worried clients.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/2b38a296-cadc-11dd-87d7-000077b07658%2Cdwp_uuid%3De8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html

Madoff’s Ponzi Scheme Scams Smart Money
Many of the people who lost money in the alleged fraud case involving Bernard Madoff were sophisticated and successful. It may be surprising to learn that those investors put billions of dollars into what is being labeled as one of the biggest Ponzi schemes in history. The sums may be shocking, but the dynamics at work in the case are familiar.
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=98321037&ft=1&f=1006

Madoff pyramid fraud puts US finance system in spotlight
LONDON (AFP) – Commentators sharply criticized the US financial system Tuesday as more firms announced losses in the suspected multi-billion-dollar swindle run by ex-Wall Street heavyweight Bernard Madoff.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081216/bs_afp/usfinancefraudworld_081216140935;_ylt=AlmqGRWfWpOydCP2VMJVUTGmOrgF

Shock waves spread from Madoff scandal
NEW YORK/LONDON (Reuters) – Shock waves from Bernard Madoff’s alleged fraud spread globally on Monday, as charities, wealthy individuals and banks disclosed losses from the prominent Wall Street trader’s investment management business.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081216/bs_nm/us_madoff;_ylt=AqbPa3DWCHPCE_WLyK2oY1e573QA

How to Make a Madoff
Spectacular investing frauds like the one allegedly created by the New York financier typically happen during investing bubbles—and only get exposed once they pop;. Madoff stands accused of operating an elaborate Ponzi scheme, using cash from new investors to pay off older ones, to the tune of $50 billion. The alleged offenses only came to light because he could no longer raise the money to keep his scheme going, according to the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission. Sadly however, Madoff’s alleged scam is not unique. BusinessWeek has the background history.
http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/dec2008/pi20081215_232943.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis

Bernard Madoff: Con man Charles Ponzi would be smiling in his grave
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2008/12/16/bernard-madoff-con-man-charles-ponzi-would-be-smiling-in-his-grave-115875-20974510/

Wilpons give green light after Ponzi scheme
BY KEN DAVIDOFF | ken.davidoff@newsday.com Omar Minaya spoke with the Wilpons concerning their huge losses in the Bernard Madoff Ponzi scheme, the Mets’ general manager told Newsday yesterday, and he received the green light to keep working on the Mets’ offseason renovation. Sterling Equities, the real-estate firm co-founded by Mets CEO Fred Wilpon, lost a reported $300 million in the scheme.
http://www.newsday.com/sports/ny-spmets165967077dec16,0,6586732.story?track=rss

What’s the difference between a good Ponzi scheme and a bad Ponzi scheme?
http://curiouscapitalist.blogs.time.com/2008/12/16/whats-the-difference-between-a-good-ponzi-scheme-and-a-bad-ponzi-scheme/?xid=rss-topstories

Local Hedge Fund Victim Of Massive Ponzi Scheme
By Lisa Tobin
BOSTON – December 16, 2008 – A hedge fund owned by the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company of Springfield is on the growing list of victims in the alleged decades-long Ponzi scheme run by a New York trader.
http://www.wbur.org/news/2008/82030_20081216.asp

Hedge Fund Index Hit by Madoff Investements
In a clear signal of how much the fraud allegedly perpetrated by Bernard L. Madoff may have hurt the hedge fund industry, the Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Index fell 4.15 percent in November, far more than the preliminary estimation of a 0.7 percent decline issued last week, as the index included funds exposed to Bernard L. Madoff in the finalized numbers. Last week, the equity-market neutral strategy was estimated to have a 0.85 percent gain, The Wall Street Journal noted.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/hedge-fund-index-hit-by-madoff-investements/

Maimonides School of Massachusetts Says Madoff Fund Loss May Be $5 Million
Maimonides School, an Orthodox Jewish day school in Brookline, Massachusetts, may have lost $5 million by investing with Bernard Madoff, who was arrested last week for allegedly defrauding clients of $50 billion.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=special_report&sid=aJyEENR2O7XM

Madoff’s Investors Needed a Blagojevich Moment: Commentary by Ann Woolner
Kind to employees, generous to charities, devoted to regulation of the financial services industry, Bernard Madoff was a much-admired man whose oldest, dearest friends are among his biggest victims.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=special_report&sid=aRkt3IRpzH0c

Massachusetts Subpoenas Documents from Peter Madoff, Chief of Compliance
The law firm Dreier will seek bankruptcy protection after its founder was jailed for cheating hedge funds out of more than $100 million, its receiver says.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=special_report&sid=aDe.UAveb1j8

Senator Dodd Seeks Explanation of How SEC Missed Madoff’s `Massive’ Fraud
Senate Banking Committee Chairman Christopher Dodd is seeking details from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to explain the agency’s failure to detect Bernard Madoff’s $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=special_report&sid=arKj_awU.Lao

Madoff’s $50 Billion `Lie’ Ensnares Victims From Paris and Madrid to Tokyo
Bernard Madoff’s scam that allegedly cost investors $50 billion ensnared firms from London and Paris to Tokyo.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aVTJBQRWrvlI&refer=exclusive

Tremont’s Rye Unit Invested Entire $3.1 Billion of Assets With Madoff
Firm Tremont Group Holdings Inc., a hedge- fund firm owned by OppenheimerFunds Inc., had $3.3 billion, or more than half its total assets, invested with Bernard Madoff, according to a person familiar with the matter.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aqfr8yxohYEA&refer=exclusive

Bond Risk Rises on Madoff ‘Giant Ponzi’ Fraud, Earnings Concern
by Patricia Kuo Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) — The cost of protecting Asia-Pacific bonds from default rose on concern corporate earnings will fall amid a global recession and that alleged fraud by investment manager Bernard Madoff may trigger forced selling by hedge funds.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601014&sid=aCk5neVTar8I

Royal Madoff hit may overshadow loss from Enron
TIM SHARP – City Editor
December 16 2008 Royal Bank of Scotland faces taking a bigger hit from the alleged fraud perpetrated by US businessman Bernard Madoff than it lost from the collapse of energy giant Enron, it emerged yesterday.
http://www.theherald.co.uk/business/news/display.var.2475566.0.Royal_Madoff_hit_may_overshadow_loss_from_Enron.php

Man Group loses 6.25% after Madoff revelation
Man Group shares have dropped by 6.45 per cent or 16.5p to 237.5p today after the firm disclosed it has about $350m invested in two funds linked to Madoff through RMF, its fund of funds business.
http://www.trustnet.com/News/DisplayStory.aspx?id=33912&scope=General

Kass: Madoff Mess Is Widespread
Life at its best is bittersweet.
I have had a good year investing. Some of my oldest friends are also my Limited Partners. My performance in 2008 is a sense of personal achievement for me. Through hard work, a skeptical and independent view and by virtue of hard-hitting analysis, I have made money for my investors in a challenging period.
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10453225/1/kass-madoff-mess-is-widespread.html

Opinion: Madoff Implosion Is No ‘Tragedy’
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10453326/1/opinion-madoff-implosion-is-no-tragedy.html

Madoff case fuels attacks on SEC
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4BF00U20081216

NOEL’S HEDGE FUND UNLIKELY TO SURVIVE MADOFF BLOW
By KAJA WHITEHOUSE
Walter M. Noel will likely be singing the blues this Christmas. Noel and his hedge fund Fairfield Greenwich Group are at the top of a growing list of highfliers expected to topple as a result of…more >
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12162008/business/noels_hedge_fund_unlikely_to_survive_mad_144455.htm

CRASH & BERNIE AFTER ‘EVIL’ CON
DC PROBE EYED AS SCANDAL TOLL RISES
He’s the Grinch who stole . . . everything.
Accused mega-swindler Bernard Madoff yesterday skulked out of his Upper East Side penthouse and went into hiding as scores more charities, banks and individual investors revealed that they face financial ruin from his alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12162008/news/regionalnews/crash__bernie_after_evil_con_144468.htm

Firm That Trusted a Disgraced Investor
By ALISON LEIGH COWAN
J. Ezra Merkin took three brief paragraphs last Thursday to notify investors in his Ascot Partners fund that nearly all the $1.8 billion they had given him to invest had instead been entrusted to Bernard L. Madoff, a Wall Street wizard who is now accused of running a huge Ponzi scheme.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/business/16merkin.html

Inquiry Finds No Signs Family Aided Madoff
By ALEX BERENSON and DIANA B. HENRIQUES Investigators have found no evidence so far that members of Bernard L. Madoff’s family aided in what may be the largest financial fraud in history, according to a person briefed on the case.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/business/16madoff.html?ref=business

Wall St. Fraud Leaves Charities Reeling
By STEPHANIE STROM
Around the country, nonprofits are reeling from the Madoff scandal.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/business/16charity.html?ref=business

SEC Didn’t Act on Madoff Tips
Regulator Was Warned About Possible Fraud as Early as 1999 The Securities and Exchange Commission learned about what it describes as one of the largest securities frauds in history when Bernard L. Madoff volunteered his confession, raising questions about the agency’s ability to police the financial marketplace.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/15/AR2008121502971.html?hpid=topnews

Investors in Madoff case gain cover
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-tue-ponzi-scheme-dec16,0,5490307.story

Fortis could lose up to euro1B in Madoff case
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D953QACO0.htm

Japan’s Aozora Bank reveals Madoff exposure
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D953QSKO0.htm

Environmental Trading News

CO2 Group in 50-yr deal with Newmont
Perth-based CO2 Group has signed a 50-year carbon offset pilot project with the Asian Pacific arm of Newmont Mining. CO2 Group uses mallee trees to create a permanent forest carbon sink.
http://www.wabusinessnews.com.au/en-story/1/69185/CO2-Group-in-50-yr-deal-with-Newmont

Algeria’s Carbon-Capture Experiment
http://www.businessweek.com/globalbiz/content/dec2008/gb20081215_848581.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_global+business

Christoph Mura appointed a new member of the executive board of EEX
Oliver Maibaum, Managing Director Exchange, appointed managing director of the new derivatives subsidiary in addition Dec 16, 2008 • In the meeting of the supervisory board of European Energy Exchange AG (EEX) on Thursday, Dr. Christoph Mura was appointed a member of the executive board and new Chief Operating Officer (COO) with effect as of 1st January 2009. Prior to his appointment to the management board of EEX, Dr. Mura held the position of the sole director of boerse-stuttgart AG. In addition, he was also the chief executive of boerse-stuttgart Holding GmbH. Following his studies in engineering economics and af…
http://www.eex.com/en/Press%20Room/Press%20Release/press/41014

For more environmental trading news, subscribe to the Environmental Markets version of the John Lothian Newsletter edited by Jim Kharouf.
Click here to subscribe: jimkharouf-request@johnlothiannewsletter.com?subject=subscribe

Exchange & ECN News

Peterson Plans Bill to Force Credit Swaps Clearing (Update2)
By Matthew Leising
Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) — Credit-default swap clearing would become mandatory under legislation slated to be introduced next month by House of Representatives Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=att.7JO8kTXE&refer=home

Instruments in Cash Market CCP – Amendments
http://www.eurexchange.com/download/documents/circulars/cfni1112008e.pdf

Heisman Trophy Winner, Sam Bradford, Visits the NYSE
Sam Bradford rings The Opening BellSM. An archived webcast of The Opening Bell is available.
http://www.nyse.com/events/1229340251201.html

Partial Amendment to Business Regulations, etc. in Connection with Transition to the Paperless Share System
http://www.tse.or.jp/english/news/200812/081216_a.html

Claymore U.S. Capital Markets Micro-Term Fixed Income ETF Lists on NYSE Arca http://www.nyse.com/press/1229340251100.html

Brokers & Dark Pools

Goldman Sachs Slashes Average Pay 45% to $363,654 as Firm Posts First Loss
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. eliminated 2,500 jobs in the fourth quarter and slashed average pay per worker 45 percent to $363,654 as the firm posted the first quarterly loss since going public almost a decade ago.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aQjVhGLMflj8&refer=worldwide

Goldman Sachs falls to $2.12bn loss
First quarterly deficit since banking group went public in 1999
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/404664ca-cb77-11dd-ba02-000077b07658.html

Goldman Reports $2.3 Billion Loss
The first loss since Goldman went public in 1999 shows that the financial crisis is sucking in even Wall Street’s premier bank
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D953R9S02.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis

Goldman Sachs Reports 2008 Earnings Per Common Share of $4.47; Fourth Quarter Loss Per Common Share was $4.97
http://www2.goldmansachs.com/our-firm/press/press-releases/current/2008-12-16-q4-earnings.html

NEWEDGE expands its brokerage processing with GL TRADE’s GL
Instant Brokerage business component
http://www.gltrade.com/en/news-case-studies/newedge-expands-its-brokerage-processing-with-gl-trade%e2%80%99s-gl-instant-brokerage-business-component/

Europe’s banks pay price for guarantees
European banks are among the biggest victims of the alleged Madoff fraud after the rapid expansion of divisions helping clients borrow to invest in hedge funds.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f0dc9668-cad9-11dd-87d7-000077b07658.html

Brinkmanship was not enough to save Lehman
By Francesco Guerrera, Henny Sender, Gary Silverman and Peter Thal Larsen On May 29 2007, with the clock ticking on one of the greatest global property booms in history, Richard Fuld rolled the dice on the US real estate market one more time.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/df8e702e-cb16-11dd-87d7-000077b07658.html

MF Global’s executive overhaul advances
New York-based derivatives broker MF Global has appointed a new chief operating officer, continuing an overhaul of much of its senior management since a Memphis-based employee lost $141m in allegedly unauthorized wheat trades in February. The firm has replaced its chief executive, chief financial officer, chief risk officer, chief compliance officer, chief information officer and treasurer since that incident.
http://www.efinancialnews.com/usedition/people/content/3452799089//restricted

Tradeware Global Connects To Banca IMI’s Market Hub – Facilitates Access To Financial Markets And Seamless MiFID Compliance
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79567

Citigroup to sell Japanese trust banking unit
TOKYO – As part of a global restructuring, Citigroup Inc. will sell its Japanese trust banking unit to Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corp., the U.S. firm’s Japanese subsidiary said Tuesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081216/ap_on_bi_ge/as_japan_citigroup;_ylt=Aq.TGog46a24Lg15Nf7XlU9u24cA

Regulatory News

The SEC News Digest
The SEC News Digest provides daily information on recent Commission actions, including enforcement proceedings, rule filings, policy statements, and upcoming Commission meetings.
http://www.sec.gov/news/digest/2008/dig121508.htm

PartyGaming Jumps on Speculation
U.S. Settlement May Be Close
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) — PartyGaming Plc, the owner of the PartyPoker online gambling brand, rose the most since its 2005 initial public offering in London trading on speculation the company is nearing a settlement with U.S. authorities.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601205&sid=afzwV_Fk60Fc

Levitt Says S.E.C. Isn’t to Blame for Madoff
In the wake of the Bernard L. Madoff scandal, investors are looking for someone, anyone to blame. They shouldn’t look to Arthur Levitt Jr., the former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission told The New York Post.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/levitt-says-sec-isnt-to-blame-for-madoff/

U.S. Probes University of New Mexico Over JPMorgan Bond Deals
By Martin Z. Braun
Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) — U.S. prosecutors are investigating University of New Mexico bond issues underwritten by JPMorgan Chase & Co. amid a national criminal probe into potential bid rigging and price fixing in the municipal derivatives market.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601015&sid=aWaOedoUIEoQ

Deutsche Bank fined by Hong Kong market regulator
HONG KONG, Dec 16 – Hong Kong’s market watchdog said Tuesday it had fined a local securities unit of Deutsche Bank HK$6 million and reprimanded the firm over activities on its facilitation trading desk.
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20081216/tbs-deutsche-fine-7318940.html

Brazil’s Central Bank To Sound Out Mkt On Rollover FX Swaps
SAO PAULO (Dow Jones)–The Brazilian central bank will sound out market participants Tuesday to gauge potential demand for a rollover of foreign-exchange swap contracts coming due on Jan. 2.
http://news.ino.com/headlines/?newsid=20081216002489

Union Securities options supervisor disciplined
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?id=47423&IdSection=8&cat=8&BImageCI=1

FASB Studies Expanding ‘Mark’ Rules
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122939407427409413.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Mexico investigates banks’ risky derivatives sales
http://ca.reuters.com/article/usDollarRpt/idUSN1551595920081215

ISE ex-vice chair gets 18 months in conspiracy
LOS ANGELES, Dec 15 (Reuters) – A former vice chairman of the International Securities Exchange was sentenced on Monday to 18 months in prison for his role in an alleged conspiracy to leak confidential information about the $2.8 billion takeover of the options and stock exchange in 2007.
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSN1552950120081216

The FSA published FSA Newsletter October
http://www.fsa.go.jp/en/newsletter/2008/10.pdf

SEC Charges National Lampoon, CEO Daniel Laikin, and Others for Wide-Ranging Market Manipulation Schemes See also: Litigation Release No. 20828,
http://www.sec.gov/litigation/litreleases/2008/lr20828.htm
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-296.htm

Elizabeth Murphy Named Secretary of Securities and Exchange Commission http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-295.htm

2008: Important Accomplishments, Meaningful Lessons and Getting Back to Basics, Remarks before the ICI 2008 Securities Law Developments Conference by Andrew J. Donohue, Director, Division of Investment Management, December 14, 2008, Washington, DC
http://www.sec.gov/news/speech/2008/spch121508ajd.htm

FINRA: Order Granting Approval of Proposed Rule Change Relating to Supervision of Market Letters (Release No. 34-59096; File No. SR-FINRA-2008-044; December 12, 2008) http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/finra/2008/34-59096.pdf

FINRA: Order Approving Proposed Rule Change to Amend the Arbitration Uniform Submission Agreement and Related Rules (Release No. 34-59091; File No. SR-FINRA-2008-031; December 12, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/finra/2008/34-59091.pdf

NASDAQ: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change to Modify the Bid Price Required for Initial Listing on the Nasdaq Global and Global Select Markets from $5 to $4 (Release No. 34-59087; File No. SR-NASDAQ-2008-093; December 11, 2008) http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nasdaq/2008/34-59087.pdf

NYSE Arca: Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Amending Rule 6.47A to Reduce the Order Exposure Period from Three Seconds to One Second (Release No. 34-59082; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2008-135; December 11, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nysearca/2008/34-59082.pdf

CBOE: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change to Increase the Class Quoting Limit in One Option Class (Release No. 34-59086; File No. SR-CBOE-2008-124; December 11, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/cboe/2008/34-59086.pdf

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

R3 Capital Fund Said to Lose 31% by End of October (Update1)
By Saijel Kishan Dec. 16 (Bloomberg) — R3 Capital Management LLC’s $1.5 billion hedge fund lost 31 percent in six months after its founding by Rick Rieder mainly because its assets were frozen by the bankruptcy of his former employer, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., according to three people familiar with the matter.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601014&sid=aHzKpl7aHVLU

Cosco May Lose $577 Million on Shipping Derivatives (Update1)
By Lee Spears and Wendy Leung Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) — China Cosco Holdings Co., the world’s largest operator of commodity ships, said it may lose 3.95 billion-yuan ($577 million) on shipping derivatives after rates plunged to their lowest in more than two decades.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601089&sid=awT809sApTFg

Banks face specialist bond insurer losses
By Paul J Davies Investment banks, mostly in Europe, face losses of €8.4bn ($11.5bn) on exposure to a group of specialist bond insurers that operate solely in the derivatives markets, according to analysts at JPMorgan.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8cbb76b4-cae7-11dd-87d7-000077b07658.html

L&G warns on funds hit by Lehman collapse
By Kate Burgess and Alice Ross
Thousands of individuals who invested in two Legal & General funds that promised to keep their capital safe until 2011 have fallen victim to the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/91df4620-cae7-11dd-87d7-000077b07658.html

OppenheimerFunds Officer Steps Down
Overseer of Leveraged-Betting Strategy Leaves With Firm’s Flagship Down 82% http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122939557821509585.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Meltdown 101: Billions in Treasury debt going, going, gone through computer-based auctions
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-meltdown-101-treasury-auctions,0,7799241.story

Citadel suspends cash-outs
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-tue-citadel-1216-dec16,0,4730098.story

Reports

Briefing.com Economic Calendar
http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/MarketAnalysis/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

USDA Today
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/index.asp

Event Calendar
The CBOT Event Calendar provides a list of current US and global events for the upcoming year.
http://www.cbot.com/cbot/calendar/month

CBOE Events Calendar
http://www.cboe.com/AboutCBOE/EventCalendar.aspx

Economic Release Calendar
The Economic Release Calendar (PDF) is a schedule of government, academic and industry economic releases, provided as a service to CME customers.
http://www.cme.com/files/economicreleasecalendar.pdf

Frontier Markets

Keeping faith with emerging markets
http://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/InvestmentGuides/Funds/article/20081216/6f4caef8-ca93-11dd-a7ab-00144f2af8e8/Keeping-faith-with-emerging-markets.jsp

‘NSE action is against principles of natural justice’
Q&A: JIGNESH SHAH
Financial Technologies India Ltd has issued a clarification on this article. Read the clarification at the end of the interview.
Financial Technologies India Ltd (FTIL) operates one of the world’s largest exchange network — 10 exchanges, including Bourse Africa which it acquired last month. FTIL Chairman and Group CEO Jignesh Shah, who has been named among the top global innovators and industry leaders by Institutional Investor and FIA (Futures Industry Association), spoke to Palak Shah on the road forward and the public spat with the National Stock Exchange which has put the technology vendor on its ‘watch list’.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/nse-action-is-against-principlesnatural-justice/21/39/343303/

Miscellaneous News

TraderTools Launches AI-1, The All-In-One, Compact Keyboard For Traders
- TraderTools’ customers can now access, and execute on, liquidity from market-leading trading platforms at the press of a button
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/081216/3804301en_public.html?.v=1

Market Technologies, LLC Now Has a Blog on TraderPlanet.com
WESLEY CHAPEL, Fla., Dec. 15 /PRNewswire/ — Market Technologies, LLC, developer of VantagePoint Intermarket Analysis Trading Software, now has a blog on TraderPlanet.com that is dedicated to keeping prospects and customers informed on various aspects of trading.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/081215/clm079.html?.v=101

Pro Signal In. Releases an Automated Online Forex Currency Trading Platform
http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20081216/bs_prweb/prweb1750164_2

STAN BY YOUR WIFE
EX-MERRILL BOSS HANDS OVER APT. KEYS
By JAMES COVERT
Former Merrill Lynch boss Stan O’Neal has given up ownership of his swanky Park Avenue apartment, handing it over to his wife, according to city records. The disgraced Wall Street titan -…
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12162008/business/stan_by_your_wife_144439.htm

Detroit papers set to announce major changes
DETROIT – Newspapers are desperately seeking new business models that will help them survive dwindling readership and a deep advertising slump exacerbated by the recession.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081216/ap_on_bi_ge/detroit_newspapers;_ylt=Aolujy.daKVg.wyWhpVgyQBu24cA

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

Proprietary Trading Firm Infinium Capital Management Sponsors MarketsWiki

John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. is pleased to announce proprietary trading firm Infinium Capital Management has agreed to become a Partner level sponsor of MarketsWiki. Infinium, founded in 2001 by Chuck Whitman, Brian Johnson, and George Hanley, is currently run by Whitman, Johnson, Nathan Laurell, and Aaron Lebovitz. They are a key liquidity provider of futures, OTC, stock, and options markets.

Infinium is involved in all aspects of the trading industry, including open outcry and electronic trading, market-making, and arbitrage, including the following asset classes: equities, fixed-income, energies, foreign exchange, precious metals, and currency products.

Infinium is a member of the Chicago Board of Trade, Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Kansas City Board of Trade, Minneapolis Grain Exchange, Commodity and Metals Exchange (COMEX), London International Financial Futures Exchange, the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange, and ICE Futures US.

When being asked why Infinium became a Partner level sponsor of MarketsWiki, Chuck Whitman, CEO of Infinium stated: “We decided to sponsor MarketsWiki for two reasons. First, we wanted to acknowledge and support all of the hard work that John has personally put into not only the MarketsWiki, but also in setting up JLN (the John Lothian Newsletter). Second, like John, we at Infinium strongly believe in the importance of making it easy for as many people as possible to understand the markets, and MarketsWiki is a powerful resource to do just that. We are proud to be affiliated with MarketsWiki and John Lothian.”

“Having proprietary trading firm Infinium Capital Management join our MarketsWiki sponsors is a significant vote of confidence for the goals and development of MarketsWiki,” said John J. Lothian, founder of MarketsWiki and editor and publisher of the John Lothian Newsletter. “We could not be more pleased with the breadth of industry support MarketsWiki has attracted thus far.”

Infinium joins Tradelink, RGM Advisors and Marquette Partners as proprietary trading firms sponsoring MarketsWiki.

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A Sophisticated Response: Enough is enough!

By John J. Lothian

There are many lessons from the latest Wall Street scandal, but the most important one is that just because you are wealthy does not make you a sophisticated investor. And, if you are labeled a sophisticated investor, you might want to think again. There is just too much complexity and fraud in the world for anyone to be “sophisticated” enough to not need the resources of a regulatory structure that offers greater transparency.

We need more transparency in the un-regulated or under-regulated aspects of the financial markets. We need better performance from our regulators. We need a better regulatory scheme where the key principles are transparency, accountability and integrity.

As a journalist, I was taught a basic premise of skepticism. The line goes, “if your mother says she loves you, check it out.” But how can you check things out without adequate information available about the entities managing your money. Regulators and investors alike are at a disadvantage with our current laws, regulatory structure and funding.

When the systems of checks and balances on the markets and its participants are not finding frauds of the magnitude of the alleged Madoff scandal, it is time for a new structure. When the most sophisticated of investors (hedge funds, banks and wealthy) get caught up in an alleged Ponzi scheme of this magnitude, you know the system does not work.

The confidence in the integrity of our markets and institutions is too important to squander so carelessly. Investors around the world are questioning U.S. securities laws and the competence of its regulators. They are doing their due diligence on our system and the results will likely not be pretty.

It is not just the securities or over the counter markets that require greater transparency, it is also the futures markets. Think back to the controversy over “speculators” earlier this year. What we do in these markets is important. Below there is a Bloomberg story about the impact of soaring and volatile commodity markets and the impact that had on confidence in our markets. Riots relating to soaring food prices were recorded in 34 countries around the world. What we do is important to people all around the world.

When Alan Greenspan admitted he “made a mistake” in believing free markets could regulate themselves without government oversight, according to an IHT story from October 23, 2008, he laid the groundwork for other basic beliefs to be similarly challenged. I challenge the concept that sophisticated investors, just because they have the means to do their due diligence, will actually do it rigorously enough to protect themselves and the related public good. I challenge the belief that government regulatory oversight is unneeded for the hedge funds and private equity companies with whom “sophisticated” investors invest. There is just too much impact on the rest of world when things don’t go well.

I am not calling for onerous regulation on these entities. I am calling for smarter regulation, where regulators and investors have greater certainty and security from better transparency. I am calling for smarter regulation in the U.S. where the focus is on the protecting the markets, not protecting the political turf of competing regulatory bodies. I am calling for smarter investor protection where all investors have greater access to information about market participants, entities and products.

Being from the futures markets in the era of self-regulation, I am big believer in self-regulation. But we need access to more information today than we did in years past, just because of the lost transparency as markets moved from open-outcry or open auction to electronic trading and dark pools. Our ability to self-regulate is impaired by the transparency we have lost. We can’t depend on the government regulators alone, or even the advantages of self-regulation. We need greater transparency for all, regulators, traders, investors, and even journalists. We all play our parts.

A truly sophisticated investor is one that gets all the help and information they can, including from government mandated and supervised transparency.

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Three days that shook the world
Exactly three months ago, the collapse of Lehman triggered a global financial panic. Fortune examines what happened in the 72 hours when the world’s most powerful bankers met to try to save Lehman and wound up changing the face of Wall Street forever.
By William D. Cohan
NEW YORK (Fortune) — When the most powerful men in American capitalism convened at the New York Federal Reserve Bank’s Italianate palazzo in lower Manhattan on Friday evening, September 12, to try to save Lehman Brothers from certain death, what confronted them was nothing less than the knowledge that whatever actions they took – or did not take – that weekend could push the financial system into the abyss.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/12/magazines/fortune/3days_full.fortune/

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Investor Alert: Affinity Fraud
During this time of financial turmoil and investor uncertainty, National Futures Association (NFA) reminds investors to be especially wary of investment offers that come from individuals who claim an affinity with a specific ethnic community, religious organization or social club. Just because someone belongs to your church or speaks your native language does not guarantee that the investment opportunity they are offering is legitimate.

“Recently, NFA has seen a rise in affinity fraud, especially within immigrant communities,” says Karen Wuertz, NFA’s senior vice-president of strategic planning and communications. “These communities are particularly vulnerable to con artists who speak their native language and know their social customs.”

In many cases, affinity fraud is conducted as a classic Ponzi scheme. The fraudster pays out high dividends to early investors using funds received from customers who sign up later in the process. Flush with success, these early investors then promote the investment offer to their friends and family, allowing the con artist to continue his scheme right up until the moment he skips town.

“One of the biggest problems with affinity fraud is the reluctance of the victims to seek help or even admit it to a friend,” says Wuertz. “A lot of damage is already done before the regulators and law enforcement agencies become aware of the problem.”
http://www.nfa.futures.org/investor/investorAlert_120608.asp

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Nightmare at Bernie’s
As if there’s not already enough reasons not to invest in the United States, Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme provides a powerful disincentive.
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/top-5/2008/12/15/Madoff-Victims

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From Gorkana:
Crain Communications’ Financial Week has ceased production of its weekly newspaper and is now an online-only source of corporate finance news. Its editorial staff of 19 has been reduced to four. The two-year-old newspaper won two 2008 Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism Awards (including one for its coverage last year of the emerging credit crunch) and a total of three Best in Business awards (including “Overall Excellence” honors) this year and last year from the Society of American Business Editors and Writers.
www.gorkana.com

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Corn Futures Spark Riots as Speculators Take Trading to Limit
By Ian Katz and Ari Levy
Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) — Luis Mesalles marks March 10 as the day that changed his opinion on profiteering and the price of food. Watching quotes from the Chicago Board of Trade on his Sony Vaio laptop, he says, he was astonished to see corn futures tumble the maximum allowed 20 cents, then within four hours rise almost to the limit-up. This wasn’t good news for La Yema Dorada, the Costa Rican egg producer Mesalles manages. It needs 8,000 tons of yellow corn a year to feed the hens…..The commodities boom earlier this year sent food prices soaring, leading to riots in at least 34 countries. The Food and Agriculture Organization, a UN agency based in Rome, said in September that food costs rose 52 percent over the previous year, driving an additional 75 million into hunger. More people don’t have enough to eat than at any time in more than three decades, partly because of the higher prices, the UN said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=am0liFlDE1U4&refer=us

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Leading Czech broker, Patria Finance, signs on to Fidessa’s global network
London – 15th December 2008: Fidessa group plc (LSE: FDSA), provider of the Fidessa and Fidessa LatentZero trading, market data and global connectivity solutions, has today announced that Patria Finance, the largest broker in the Czech Republic, has joined its global connectivity network. Patria Finance, a member of the pan-European KBC Securities Group, has the largest market share on the Prague stock exchange, and processes more orders than any other Czech broker. By joining the network, Patria will provide a significant local presence in central Europe for the community of more than 300 brokers and 1,800 buy-side institutions, which comprise Fidessa’s global network.
http://www.fidessa.com/corporate/product_news/product_news_15122008.asp

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Biking benefit coming
It was one of the more quirky provisions attached to the $700 billion financial bailout plan: a $20 monthly benefit for employees who regularly bike to work. The bike commuter benefit is scheduled to go into effect Jan. 1, but one of the main problems is few companies are ready to implement it.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/lifestyle/green/chi-mon-bike-commuter-benefit-dec15,0,1747898.story

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THE OPTIONS CLEARING CORPORATION ANNOUNCES OFFICER PROMOTION
CHICAGO (December 15, 2008) – - The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) today announced that Jennifer Stathis, 42, has been promoted to First Vice President, Application Services from Vice President, Application Services. In this new role, Stathis will lead a staff of five in supporting OCC’s Application Services organization, which includes all application support, development, testing, and application architecture. She will continue to represent all of IT as a member of OCC’s Project Portfolio Prioritization team as well as represent Applications Services on OCC’s Organizational Development Team.

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Two Cheers for Rod Blagojevich
By FRANK RICH
ROD BLAGOJEVICH is the perfect holiday treat for a country fighting off depression. He gift-wraps the ugliness of corruption in the mirthful garb of farce. From a safe distance outside Illinois, it’s hard not to laugh at the “culture of Chicago,” where even the president-elect’s Senate seat is just another commodity to be bought and sold…..The Republican side of the same tarnished coin is Phil Gramm, the former senator from Texas. Like Rubin, he helped push through banking deregulation when in government in the 1990s, then cashed in on the relaxed rules by joining the banking industry once he left Washington. Gramm is at UBS, which also binged on credit-default swaps and is now receiving a $60 billion bailout from the Swiss government.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/opinion/14rich.html?bl&ex=1229403600&en=41084e144739b723&ei=5087%0A

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Lead Stories

Madoff investors burned by SEC, too
Regulators reviewed the fund and found nothing wrong. Hell-oo?! Plus, five ways to crook-proof your portfolio. (Fortune) — Now that the Madoff fraud has been exposed there are still a slew of fundamental questions outstanding. How did one man, Bernard Madoff, run such a massive, self-described Ponzi scheme? Is it really true no one else was involved? How much money has really been lost? Is it $50 billion? And even if it is only several billion, how does someone burn through that much cash? Where did it go?
http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/15/magazines/fortune/madoff.fortune/index.htm?section=money_latest

Goldschmid Calls for ‘Dramatic Rethinking’ of SEC
December 15, 2008 – Former Securities and Exchange Commission member Harvey Goldschmid is calling for major changes at the agency.
http://www.securitiesindustry.com/news/23064-1.html

SEC Had Chances for Years to Expose Madoff’s Alleged Ponzi Scheme
By KARA SCANNELL
An enforcement case 16 years ago gave the Securities and Exchange Commission its first shot at figuring out how Bernard Madoff could rack up favorable returns with such uncanny consistency. After that, it received repeated warnings from outside whistle-blowers and at least twice looked into Mr. Madoff’s brokerage itself. Each time, it blew its chance. It was only last week, when Mr. Madoff allegedly confessed to his sons that he was running what amounted to a “giant Ponzi scheme,” that the apparent $50 billion fraud came to light.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122928886040304911.html?mod=special_page_campaign2008_mostpop

Where Was the S.E.C.?
Failure to uncover Bernard Madoff’s alleged massive fraud should be the nail in the S.E.C.’s coffin. It’s time to start over.
Here’s what we know: The Securities and Exchange Commission was alerted to Bernard Madoff’s suspicious returns several times during the past decade. Here’s what else we know: The S.E.C. failed to uncover what’s being alleged as a massive Ponzi scheme at Madoff’s firm. Do we really need any more evidence that the agency charged with protecting investors needs massive overhaul and more oversight of hedge funds?
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/top-5/2008/12/12/SEC-in-Bernard-Madoff-Fraud

Madoff Said to Use Unregistered Side-Unit for Clients (Update2)
By David Scheer and David Glovin
Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) — Federal investigators working through the weekend to unravel Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion Ponzi scheme found evidence he ran an unregistered money-management business alongside his firm’s brokerage and investment-advisory subsidiaries, two people with knowledge of the inquiry said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=axDtc7b0L9mY&refer=worldwide

Eurex to list KOSPI options futures-Korea Exchange
SEOUL, Dec 15 (Reuters) – Deutsche Boerse’s Eurex exchange is set to list daily futures for options on South Korea’s KOSPI 200 index in January, 2010, the Korea Exchange (KRX) said on Monday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSSEO13135220081215

KRX and Eurex to Cooperate in Derivatives Trading
KRX to extend global reach of its KOSPI 200 Options / Eurex to list Daily Futures on KOSPI 200 Options on its platform in January 2010
Eurex, the leading derivatives exchange, and Korea Exchange (KRX, www.krx.co.kr), a leading Asian exchange, today announced a wide-ranging product cooperation in trading and clearing derivatives. Andreas Preuss, CEO of Eurex, and Jung-hwan Lee, Chairman & CEO of KRX, signed an agreement in Seoul. According to this, KRX will grant Eurex the right to list, trade and clear Daily Futures on KOSPI 200 Options worldwide after Korean trading hours. Eurex as Europe’s largest derivatives exchange intends to launch its daily futures on this option on the Eurex platform in January 2010.
http://deutsche-boerse.com/dbag/dispatch/en/notescontent/gdb_navigation/press/10_Latest_Press_Releases/INTEGRATE/mr_pressreleases?notesDoc=7D9EEBC8C20596AEC12575200026B524&newstitle=krxandeurextocooperateinderiva&location=press

Hedge Fund Groups Respond to Madoff Debacle
The fallout from the scandal surrounding Bernard L. Madoff could have major repercussions for the already troubled hedge fund industry. Even before Mr. Madoff was accused of a multibillion-dollar fraud late last week, the industry was bracing for a renewed push for more government oversight. That push could gain momentum as throngs of angry investors in Mr. Madoff’s funds demand recompense for their losses.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/hedge-fund-groups-respond-to-madoff-debacle/

Citadel joins rush to lock up funds
By Henny Sender in New York
Citadel Investment Group has joined the rush of hedge funds suspending redemptions to investors, a development that is in effect locking up hundreds of billions of dollars in cash during a volatile period in global markets. Ken Griffin, Citadel’s founder, sent a letter on Friday to investors in the group’s flagship Kensington and Wellington funds telling them that the group had decided to hold on to their money at least until March.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/f11ddb7a-ca0f-11dd-93e5-000077b07658%2Cdwp_uuid%3De8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Ff11ddb7a-ca0f-11dd-93e5-000077b07658%252Cdwp_uuid%253De8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futuresindustry.org%2F

A Champion of Wall Street Reaps Benefits
“We are not going to rest until we change the rules, change the laws and make sure New York remains No. 1 for decades on into the future.”
— Senator Charles E. Schumer, referring to financial regulations, Jan. 22, 2007
WASHINGTON — As the financial crisis jolted the nation in September, Senator Charles E. Schumer was consumed. He traded telephone calls with bankers, then became one of the first officials to promote a Wall Street bailout. He spent hours in closed-door briefings and a weekend helping Congressional leaders nail down details of the $700 billion rescue package.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/14/business/14schumer.html?em

Peterson Plans Bill to Make Credit Swaps Clearing Mandatory
By Matthew Leising
Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) — The head of the House of Representatives’ Agriculture Committee plans to introduce legislation next month to make clearing of credit-default swaps mandatory and move all private contracts to regulated exchanges. Collin Peterson of Minnesota, the Democratic chairman of the committee, said in an interview he had Republican support to proceed with a comprehensive bill. The committee oversees the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the U.S. futures exchanges it regulates. “Right now my instinct is to move ahead and put a comprehensive bill together,” Peterson said in the interview today. “My goal is to try to move this in January in the committee.”

London market to offer exchange-traded CFDs
LONDON, Dec 15 (Reuters) – The London Stock Exchange and London-based clearing house LCH.Clearnet plan to introduce exchange-traded contracts for difference (CFDs), trading alongside the underlying cash equities, they said on Monday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSLF71135920081215

As Wall Street Slips, N.J. City Stumbles
Home to Financial Workers, Hoboken Feels Strain of Crisis
HOBOKEN, N.J. — Jonathan Gordon is a survivor. On Sept. 11, 2001, Gordon, a longtime Hoboken resident, was working for the financial firm Instinet on the 13th floor of the World Trade Center’s North Tower when the first hijacked plane hit. He recalls clambering out of the burning tower “one step at a time,” and reaching the sidewalk only to look up at the second plane striking the South Tower. He had to run to avoid being hit by debris.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/12/AR2008121204072.html?wprss=rss_nation

New York Insurance Chief Sees Multiple Regulators for Credit Swaps
Credit default swaps could be regulated in future by multiple agencies, including the Federal Reserve, the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission, New York Insurance Superintendent Eric Dinallo said Friday. “I think if you have two or three or four adequately capitalized regulated exchanges … that’d be fine,” Dinallo said during an interview.
http://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2008/12/15/96298.htm

A Case Against Option Selling
By EDWARD K. TOM and DENNIS DAVITT
In do-or-die market, some call-buying has appeal.
IN JANUARY, THE CHICAGO BOARD OPTIONS EXCHANGE’S market volatility Index, or VIX, was at 22, a level everyone thought was extremely elevated. Now, on the cusp of 2009, the VIX is at 55 — a 350% premium to its historical levels since 1954, when the Standard & Poor’s 500 began trading.
http://online.barrons.com/article/SB122912485543502941.html?mod=9_0002_b_online_exclusives_weekend

Madoff Scandal News

Alleged Madoff fraud has worldwide exposure
By JOE BEL BRUNO and JANE WARDELL
The list of investors who say they were duped in one of Wall Street’s biggest Ponzi schemes is growing, snaring some of the world’s biggest banking institutions and hedge funds, the super rich and the famous, pensioners and charities. The alleged victims who sunk cash into veteran Wall Street money manager Bernard Madoff’s investment pool include real estate magnate Mortimer Zuckerman, the foundation of Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, and a charity of movie director Steven Spielberg, according to the Wall Street Journal.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D95386000.htm

Bernard Madoff: Wall Street’s Wizard of Oz
Tom Leonard explains the background to an alleged $50 billion fraud by a Wall Street wizard, Bernard Madoff.
As they swapped investment stories at the golf course in Palm Beach, Bernard Madoff’s delighted clients sometimes joked that if he was a fraud, he’d take down half the world with him.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/3759702/Bernard-Madoff-Wall-Streets-Wizard-of-Oz.html

Look at Wall St. Wizard Finds Magic Had Skeptics
For years, investors, rivals and regulators all wondered how Bernard L. Madoff worked his magic. But on Friday, less than 24 hours after this prominent Wall Street figure was arrested on charges connected with what authorities portrayed as the biggest Ponzi scheme in financial history, hard questions began to be raised about whether Mr. Madoff acted alone and why his suspected con game was not uncovered sooner.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/13/business/13fraud.html?em

Bernard Madoff’s hedge fund ‘fraud’: Are you affected?
The news that several British banks have lost hundreds of millions of pounds in an alleged hedge fund fraud in America will have alarmed many already nervous private investors.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/investing/3776089/Bernard-Madoffs-hedge-fund-fraud-Are-you-affected.html

Nicola Horlick’s anger at £33 billion swindle
The City’s “superwoman”, Nicola Horlick, has launched a scathing attack on US financial regulators following the emergence of a $50 billion (£33 billion) investment scam.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/usa/3743896/Nicola-Horlicks-anger-at-33-billion-swindle.html

Man Group Has $360 Million Linked to Madoff Funds (Update1)
By Kevin Crowley
Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) — Man Group Plc, the largest publicly traded hedge-fund manager, has about $360 million invested in two funds linked to Bernard Madoff, the investment advisor who was arrested last week in a potential $50 billion fraud.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=a1iU4CeeGf7I

World’s richest hit by Bernard Madoff
Iain Dey and Dominic Rushe
SWISS private banks are estimated to have lost at least £2.5 billion in Wall Street veteran Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50billion (£33 billion) fraud. The scandal has been growing since Madoff was arrested last week after confessing to employees that the business bearing his name was “a giant Ponzi scheme”. He is currently free on a $10m bond.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article5337735.ece

Investors remain amazed over Madoff’s sudden downfall
By David Lieberman, Pallavi Gogoi, Theresa Howard and Kevin McCoy in New York; Matt Krantz reported from Los Angeles
NEW YORK — The financial world begins this week still in a daze over the spectacular collapse of an alleged Ponzi scheme by onetime Wall Street legend Bernard Madoff — possibly the biggest swindle ever committed by a single person.
http://www.usatoday.com/money/markets/2008-12-14-ponzi-madoff-downfall_N.htm?csp=34

Madoff fraud scandal chills wealthy
MIAMI (Reuters) – Hedge fund managers and other Wall Street professionals are scurrying to tabulate losses from Bernard Madoff’s alleged $50 billion fraud, but the financial pain for individual investors is already clear. “I expect to get back zero,” Susan Leavitt, an investor in Tampa Bay, Florida, said on Friday. “When he tells the Feds, he has $200 million to $300 million left out of billions, what can you expect.”
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE4BB6FF20081212

Losses in Madoff Case Spread
Alleged Ponzi Scheme’s Victims Include Lautenberg, Zuckerman, Spielberg’s Charity
By PETER LATTMAN and AARON LUCCHETTI
Investigators dug through financial records at Bernard Madoff’s investment firm as the list of victims of his alleged Ponzi scheme widened to include real-estate magnate Mortimer Zuckerman, the foundation of Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel, Sen. Frank Lautenberg and a charity of movie director Steven Spielberg.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122933474726606471.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

SEC Inspectors Missed Madoff’s Scheme Until `Tragedy’ Reached His Victims
U.S. regulators never inspected Bernard Madoff’s investment advisory business, alleged to be a Ponzi scheme that cost investors $50 billion, after he subjected it to oversight two years ago, people familiar with the case said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=special_report&sid=atBIu3Se5SQk

Bernard Madoff’s Auditor Under Investigation by New York State Prosecutor
The auditor for Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, whose namesake was charged in a $50 billion Ponzi scheme last week, is under investigation by the district attorney in New York’s Rockland County, a northern suburb of New York City.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=special_report&sid=a0j8yRMGb5pw

Madoff Case Spurs Pleas for Information From Clients, Relatives
By Marty Schenker
Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) — The Bernard Madoff fraud has been estimated to total as much as $50 billion, a number that many say defies credulity. The answer to how much money was actually lost will be the job of forensic accountants to discover. In an era of hyper- leverage, the total may never be precisely known.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=special_report&sid=aZB6Zjq0DcY8

Alleged Madoff fraud has worldwide exposure
NEW YORK – The list of investors who say they were duped in one of Wall Street’s biggest Ponzi schemes is growing, snaring some of the world’s biggest banking institutions and hedge funds, the super rich and the famous, pensioners and charities.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081215/ap_on_bi_ge/wall_street_arrest;_ylt=AjaHMYp433WoLS88rTkGxRADW7oF

Hedge fund panic
Alleged fraudster Bernard Madoff has turned an very bad year for hedge funds into a catastrophe
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSLNE4BE01H20081215

City Room: Charles Ponzi the Schemer
http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/ponzi-the-schemer-evoked-once-again/index.html?hp

DealBook: Who Is the Ponzi King?
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/some-see-competition-for-title-of-ponzi-king/index.html?hp

DealBook: Another View on Madoff
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/another-view-the-madoff-scheme/index.html?hp

Madoff’s Country Clubbers Smiled $50 Billion Ago: Susan Antilla
Commentary by Susan Antilla
Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) — On June 18, 1991, a balmy late spring day on the North Shore of New York’s Long Island, stockbroker Pamela Martens sat on the patio of an exclusive local country club, meeting with a client for the first time. Martens would be taking over management of the customer’s municipal-bond portfolio, but was alarmed when she heard how the man had invested the rest of his nest egg. “He told me that the bulk of his money was with Bernie Madoff, and that Madoff guarantees a 13 percent a year return,” Martens recalls. “I said, ‘First of all, that’s impossible, and second of all, that’s illegal.’”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&sid=ajTlcTh7XnYA

On Madoff losses, beware double counting
With “We’re out $x billion we had with Bernie” stories likely breaking in waves around the world this week, adding up the totals is likely to produce a highly misleading result. Take Nicola Horlick — puhleez — “Super-Mum” of London tabloid fame, who seems to have spent most of the weekend bawling uncontrollably about the disappearance of roughly 10 per cent of her Bramdean Alternative Ltd’s £200-some million in assets.
http://nakedshorts.typepad.com/nakedshorts/

Spielberg Charity Falls Victim To Ponzi Scheme
LOS ANGELES (AP) ― Steven Spielberg’s Los Angeles-based charity is among the organizations that have fallen victim to a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme allegedly run by Wall Street investment manager Bernard Madoff, it was reported Monday.
http://cbs2.com/local/Charity.Steven.Spielberg.2.887688.html

Wall Street arrest closes North Shore charity
By Jack Butterworth/For The Item
SALEM – A Wall Street fraud scheme has closed a major North Shore charitable agency that organized the 2006 record-breaking shofar blow-out in Swampscott.
The Robert I. Lappin Charitable Foundation and the Robert I. Lappin 1992 Supporting Foundation abruptly ended all programs Friday, including Youth to Israel, which has sent 170-plus teens to Israel. The foundation also terminated its seven staff members.
http://www.itemlive.com/articles/2008/12/14/news/news09.txt

Credit Suisse, UBS Have No ‘Material’ Exposure to Madoff Funds
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601085&sid=aJDzkAeYUo8A

RBS and Man detail Madoff exposure
Financial groups join victims of ‘fraud’
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cf84a450-ca7b-11dd-87d7-000077b07658.html

Hedge Fund Standards Board Statement On Madoff Scandal
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79541

French bank Natixis says it risks euro450 million loss as indirect victim of Bernard Madoff
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-eu-france-natixis-madoff,0,3736011.story

Spanish bank Santander reports euro2.33 billion in exposure to alleged Madoff fraud case
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-eu-spain-madoff,0,479640.story

British bank RBS says exposure to Bernard Madoff funds could amount to 400 million pound loss
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-eu-britain-madoff,0,6865453.story

Ponzi Nation
Matthew Goldstein on December 14
Wall Street trader Bernard Madoff allegedly defrauds the rich and famous out of tens of billions of dollars. Minnesota businessman Tom Petters allegedly fleeces hedge funds out of $3.5 billion. And socialite New York lawyer Marc Dreier may have duped some hedge funds into giving him hundreds of millions of dollars for an apparently bogus real estate scheme. All of these scams are big and all appear to be some kind of Ponzi scheme, designed to take in money from new investors to pay-off earlier investors. A Ponzi scheme is one of the oldest financial frauds around. And many are referring to the Madoff caper as the biggest Wall Street fraud ever.
http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2008/12/ponzi_nation.html

Madoff and the Global Economy
The world was told the U.S. was a low-risk, high-return investment. But like the Wall Street trader’s victims, we are learning the truth
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/dec2008/db20081214_802212.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis

CRÉDIT AGRICOLE S.A. GROUP: NEGLIGIBLE EXPOSURE TO MADOFF
http://www.calyon.com/sitegenic/medias/DOC/94509/2008_12_15_ca_madoff_eng.pdf

Fraud Inquiry Centers on Investment Firm’s Sanctum
By DIANA B. HENRIQUES and ALEX BERENSON
The epicenter of what may be the largest Ponzi scheme in history was the 17th floor of the Lipstick Building, an oval red-granite building rising 34 floors above Third Avenue in Midtown Manhattan. A busy stock-trading operation occupied the 19th floor, and the computers and paperwork of Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities filled the 18th floor. But the 17th floor was Bernie Madoff’s sanctum, occupied by fewer than two dozen staff members and rarely visited by other employees. It was called the “hedge fund” floor, but federal prosecutors now say the work Mr. Madoff did there was actually a fraud scheme whose losses Mr. Madoff himself estimates at $50 billion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/business/15madoff.html?_r=1&em

Fleeing Investors Put a Strain on Funds
By GERALDINE FABRIKANT
Many investors are fleeing hedge funds and using the cash to cover losses on their other investments, leaving money managers struggling to cope with the rush.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/business/15hedge.html?ref=business

A Palm Beach Enclave, Stunned by an Inside Job
By IAN URBINA
At the exclusive Palm Beach Country Club, trust extended to a fellow member turns to angst after the collapse of Bernard L. Madoff’s suspected $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/business/15palm.html?ref=business

Member of the ‘club’ who won the allegiance of colleagues
By Henny Sender in New York
Bernard Madoff rose to prominence on Wall Street by raising money from people who in many cases were largely like himself – New Yorkers, often based in the Long Island suburbs, with ties to the city’s financial and business community. Mr Madoff, 70, was a member of the club, if there is such a thing, in New York.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/d78d0f72-c8b7-11dd-b86f-000077b07658,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fd78d0f72-c8b7-11dd-b86f-000077b07658.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ft.com%2Fsearch%3FqueryText%3Danuj%26aje%3Dtrue%26dse%3D%26dsz%3D

RBS, Man Group reveal $1.0-billion-dollar exposure to Madoff
LONDON (AFP) – British lender Royal Bank of Scotland and hedge fund manager Man Group revealed on Monday that they faced combined exposure of almost 1.0 billion dollars (740 million euros) to the Madoff scandal.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081215/bs_afp/usfinancefraudbritainbankingcompanyrbsmangroup_081215094852;_ylt=AlaKMcYc9PadSNjJQUTNUe.mOrgF

HSBC joins top banks with huge losses in US ‘pyramid’ fraud
LONDON (AFP) – HSBC bank joined a list of top names in world finance admitting on Monday huge potential losses in a suspected scam by Wall Street figurehead Bernard Madoff, revealing they were fooled by a classic pyramid fraud.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081215/bs_afp/usfinancefraudworld_081215134809

More banks reveal exposure to Madoff scandal
LONDON/TOKYO (Reuters) – Banks and investment funds across the world lined up on Monday to admit investing billions of dollars in the companies of Bernard Madoff, whom U.S. authorities accused of masterminding a massive fraud.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081215/bs_nm/us_madoff_swiss;_ylt=AlfRJz35i8aM7E76w3GMGXm573QA

Environmental Trading News

Business to receive $1.4bn compensation to invest in clean technology
http://www.news.com.au/dailytelegraph/story/0,22049,24800698-5001024,00.html?from=public_rss

Victoria wants to be Asia-Pacific’s main carbon trading hubMathew Murphy
VICTORIA is battling it out with NSW to become the main carbon trading hub in the Asia-Pacific region in a move that would bring significant investment and jobs into the state.
http://www.businessday.com.au/business/victoria-wants-to-be-asiapacifics-main-carbon-trading-hub-20081214-6ybp.html

Australia announces plan to cut greenhouse gases
SYDNEY: Australia announced plans Monday to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions between 5 percent and 15 percent by 2020, angering environmental groups that had lobbied for much deeper cuts.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/15/asia/climate.php

Ukraine to stockpile $26.5 billion of assigned emission credits
Ukraine will stockpile $26.5 billion of emission credits, saving them for after 2012, to help prevent an oversupply in the current five-year trading phase, according to a government agency, Bloomberg reported.
http://www.unian.net/eng/news/news-290120.html

AirSharesTM EU Carbon Allowances Exchange Traded Fund Lists on NYSE Arca
http://www.nyse.com/press/1229340249904.html

For more environmental trading news, subscribe to the Environmental Markets version of the John Lothian Newsletter edited by Jim Kharouf.
Click here to subscribe: jimkharouf-request@johnlothiannewsletter.com?subject=subscribe

Exchange & ECN News

New Petroleum Product Swap Futures Contracts to Launch at CME Group on ClearPort
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/081215/aqm091.html?.v=61

Swiss Bourse Launches Platform For Disclosure Of Shareholders
ZURICH -(Dow Jones)- Switzerland’s bourse SIX Swiss Exchange Monday said it has launched an electronic publication platform to disclose information on major shareholders.
http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20081215%5cACQDJON200812150911DOWJONESDJONLINE000377.htm&&mypage=newsheadlines&title=Swiss%20Bourse%20Launches%20Platform%20For%20Disclosure%20Of%20Shareholders

NYSE Euronext Migrates Mission-Critical Mainframe Workload to UniKix Rehosting Technology from Clerity
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/081215/cg52052.html?.v=1

New Average Price Options Contracts to Launch at CME Group on ClearPort and New York Trading Floor
CHICAGO, Dec. 15 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — CME Group, the world’s largest and most diverse derivatives exchange, today announced that average price options on the Singapore fuel oil 180 cst swap (C5), Singapore gasoil calendar swap (M2), Singapore jet kerosene swap (N2), and the fuel oil 3.5% Rotterdam barges swap (Q6) contracts will be listed for trading. These four average price options contracts will be listed on the NYMEX trading floor and ClearPort®, beginning December 21 for trade date December 22.
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/081215/aqm094.html?.v=56

ICE Gets CFTC Approval to Clear Agriculture Swaps (Update1)
By Daniel Whitten
Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) — Intercontinental Exchange Inc.’s ICE Clear U.S. will be allowed to clear certain two-way swaps involving coffee, sugar or cocoa, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said in a statement today. The change will give the CFTC regulators better access to trading information. Lawmakers have pressured the commission to more closely regulate two-way swaps as prices of agricultural and other commodities climbed to records in the summer.

Termination of clearing services for Powernext markets
As already communicated by Powernext to its trading members in October 2008 and last
friday, the clearing of all French power contracts (Day-Ahead and Futures) will be transferred from LCH.Clearnet SA to European Commodity Clearing AG (ECC) on April 1st 2009 (under the condition that all members are ready and pending on regulatory approval). In order to ensure a transparent transition for its members, LCH.Clearnet SA has set up a dedicated project team which cooperates and coordinates the migration with Powernext.
http://www.lchclearnet.com/Images/GI%20PWX%20Termination%20of%20clearing%20services_tcm6-47481.pdf

MGEX Breaks Daily Electronic Trade Record, Holds Annual Meeting
MINNEAPOLIS – This week marked a new daily record for electronic futures and options volume of the Hard Red Spring Wheat Contract (HRSW) traded at MGEX (Minneapolis Grain Exchange or Exchange). The daily volume of 7,363 contracts traded Wednesday, December 10, 2008 topped the former daily record set January 31, 2008 of 7,343 contracts traded.
http://www.mgex.com/documents/MGEXbreaksdailyelectronicvolumeREV2121208.pdf

AirShares EU Carbon Allowances Exchange Traded Fund Lists on NYSE Arca
http://www.nyse.com/press/1229340249904.html

NYSE Euronext Announces Date for Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2008 Earnings Release and Conference Call
http://www.nyse.com/press/1229340249674.html

OneChicago and Interactive Brokers for the following webinar ‘OneChicago Single Stock Futures (SSF) – an introduction to SSF and our newly enhanced calculator’ on January 13th 11:00 AM (CST)
Registration is required to join this event.
Date and Time: Tuesday January 13th, 2009 at 11:00 AM Central Daylight Time (12:00 PM Eastern Daylight Time)
http://www.onechicago.com/?p=1336

Simple, timely disclosure of major shareholders via electronic platform
http://www.six-swiss-exchange.com/media_releases/online/media_release_200812151439_en.pdf

TSX Venture Exchange Bulletin – Amendments to Corporate Finance Manual
http://www.tsx.com/en/news_events/news_releases/12-15-2008_TSXVenture-Bulletin.html

New initiative from the London Stock Exchange and LCH.Clearnet sees significant market interest
The London Stock Exchange and LCH.Clearnet Ltd (LCH.Clearnet) are seeing significant interest in their new initiative; the world’s first combined cash equity and Contract For Difference (CFD) order book. Over 100 delegates representing potential buy-side users of the service as well as member firms and technology vendors, attended a seminar on the product.
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/NR/exeres/9C45CBC8-3762-4828-84F4-8779D9DBE8A4.htm

HedgeStreet to List Binary Options for Natural Gas, RBOB Gasoline, and Copper
http://www.hedgestreet.com/abouthedgestreet/pressreleases/pressrelease_41.html

Trading Hours at Eurex Year-End 2008:Clearing, Settlement and Cash Payments on December 24 and 31, 2008
http://www.eurexchange.com/download/documents/circulars/cf3032008e.pdf

Solon AG für Solartechnik: Change of Legal Form
http://www.eurexchange.com/download/documents/circulars/cf3022008e.pdf

NYSE Euronext’s Alternext Welcomes US Company Oragenics
http://www.euronext.com/fic/000/041/963/419638.pdf

New ETF Provider Launched on Xetra
ETF Securities launches six new index funds on Europe’s leading ETF trading platform/ Easy access to commodity markets via equity index ETFs
http://deutsche-boerse.com/dbag/dispatch/en/notescontent/gdb_navigation/press/10_Latest_Press_Releases/INTEGRATE/mr_pressreleases?notesDoc=B7307AD8422FBCCDC125752000378350&newstitle=newetfproviderlaunchedonxetra&location=press

All eyes on Hollywood futures
By Matthew Garrahan and Jeremy Grant
For years, movie fans have been able to take a virtual punt on the likelihood that a film will prosper or crash at the box office by gambling make-believe dollars on the Hollywood Stock Exchange, a website owned by the broker Cantor Fitzgerald. But the clamour for a chance to bet real money has been so great, Cantor says, that it is launching the world’s first trading on “movie box office contracts” for real early next year on a new venture called Cantor Exchange.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2dd0fd2c-c8b7-11dd-b86f-000077b07658,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F2dd0fd2c-c8b7-11dd-b86f-000077b07658.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ft.com%2Fsearch%3FqueryText%3Djeremy%2Bgrant%26aje%3Dtrue%26dse%3D%26dsz%3D

Brokers & Dark Pools

Scottrade Launches Financial Online Education Center for Customers
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/081215/20081215005764.html?.v=1

Schwab Plans to Cut 100 Jobs as Revenue Declines (Update2)
By Edgar Ortega
Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) — Charles Schwab Corp., the second- largest independent brokerage by client assets, plans to cut more than 100 jobs, or less than 1 percent of its staff, as the drop in U.S. stocks lowers revenue next year.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aDVnq1A8YVd0

Goldman Sachs Shares Morgan Stanley’s Darker Outlook (Update1)
Dec. 15 (Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Morgan Stanley may find that cutting more than 11,500 jobs, eliminating executive bonuses and reining in risk won’t help shareholders enough as the companies face another year of slumping revenue.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=afFOZS9odyoQ

Cuttone Offering Hosted Platform for Multi-Prime Model
December 15, 2008 – Cuttone & Co. has introduced a hosted trading platform for hedge funds that maintain relationships with more than one prime brokerage.
http://www.securitiesindustry.com/news/23079-1.html

2 LUMPS OF COAL
NO HOLIDAY CHEER SEEN FOR MORGAN, GOLDMAN
By MARK DeCAMBRE
Morgan Stanley’s expected to ring up losses of about $1 billion when it reports its fiscal fourth-quarter earnings Wednesday. Continued fretfulness in the stock market magnified by the…
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12152008/business/2_lumps_of_coal_144211.htm

Court to Decide Fate Of Lehman Contracts
http://www.bondbuyer.com/article.html?id=200812124023AG07

Northern Trust Corp. to cut 450 jobs
http://www.suntimes.com/business/1331635,northern-trust-corp-job-cuts-121508.article

UBS begins sale process for Lehman Japan loans
http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20081215/tbs-lehman-property-7318940.html

The Man Who Is Unwinding Lehman Brothers
These days, it’s awfully hard to get on Harvey R. Miller’s calendar. A 75-year-old lion of the bankruptcy bar, Mr. Miller has been consumed by the largest corporate liquidation in American history: Lehman Brothers, the storied investment bank that set off one of the most harrowing episodes in the financial crisis when it collapsed in mid-September.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/the-man-who-is-unwinding-lehman-brothers/

Goldman Is Expected to Report an End to a Profitable Run
By BEN WHITE
One of Wall Street’s top firms is expected to post a loss this week, and some wonder if it can ever recapture its former glory.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/15/business/15goldman.html?ref=business

MF Global Names Karel Harbour as Chief Operating Officer
http://www.mfglobalinvestorrelations.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=194911&p=irol-newsArticle&ID=1235883&highlight=

Regulatory News

The SEC News Digest
The SEC News Digest provides daily information on recent Commission actions, including enforcement proceedings, rule filings, policy statements, and upcoming Commission meetings.
http://www.sec.gov/news/digest/2008/dig121208.htm

SEC Charges Siemens AG for Engaging in Worldwide Bribery
Washington, D.C., Dec. 15, 2008 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an unprecedented settlement with Siemens AG to resolve SEC charges that the Munich, Germany-based manufacturer of industrial and consumer products violated the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) by engaging in a systematic practice of paying bribes to foreign government officials to obtain business.
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-294.htm

SEC under fire over Madoff failings
The failure to detect what could be the world’s biggest fraud allegedly perpetrated by long-time investment adviser Bernard Madoff has raised fresh questions about the capabilities of the Securities and Exchange Commission
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a4103c02-ca13-11dd-93e5-000077b07658,dwp_uuid=b7a8d610-caaf-11dd-87d7-000077b07658.html

Britain’s Serious Fraud Office launches appeal to find financial crisis fraudsters
LONDON (AP) — Britain’s Serious Fraud Office launched an appeal Monday for whistleblowers on potential fraud, saying the current crisis has left financial markets ripe for dishonest activity. The fraud office said it has appealed to several people in the financial services industry, including senior partners at major legal and accountancy companies, for help identifying fraud.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-eu-britain-fraud-appeal,0,7650892.story

Remarks before the 2008 AICPA National Conference on Current SEC and PCAOB Developments by Julie A. Erhardt, Deputy Chief Accountant, Office of the Chief Accountant, Washington, D.C. (December 8, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/news/speech/2008/spch120808jae.htm

Remarks at “Live from the SEC 2008” by Commissioner Troy A. Paredes, International Law Section of the American Bar Association, Washington, D.C. (October 23, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/news/speech/2008/spch102308tap.htm

CBOE: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change by Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated Regarding Fees for the CBOE Stock Exchange (Release No. 34-59073; File No. SR-CBOE-2008-122; December 10, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/cboe/2008/34-59073.pdf

DTC: Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change by The Depository Trust Company Relating to Eliminating the SRO Requirement as a Condition of DTC-Eligibility for Securities that are Eligible for Resale under Rule 144A under the Securities Act of 1933 (Release No. 34-59088; File No. SR-DTC-2008-13; December 11, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/dtc/2008/34-59088.pdf

ISE: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change as Modified by Amendment No. 1 Thereto Relating to Cancellation Fees (Release No. 34-59072; File No. SR-ISE-2008-92; December 10, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/ise/2008/34-59072.pdf

NYSE: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change by New York Stock Exchange LLC Amending Exchange Rule 104T to Make a Technical Amendment to Delete Language Relating to Orders Received by NYSE Systems and DMM Yielding; Clarifying the Duration of the Provisions of Rule 104T; Making Technical Amendments to Rule 98 and Rule 123E to Update Rule References for DMM Net Capital Requirements; Rescinding Paragraph (g) of Rule 123; and Making Conforming Changes to Certain Exchange Rules to Replace the Term “Specialist” with “DMM” (Release No. 34-59077; File No. SR-NYSE-2008-127; December 10, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/ise/2008/34-59072.pdf

Three new commissioners and chairman of the External Advisory Panel named for ASIC
ASIC Chairman, Mr Tony D’Aloisio, has welcomed Minister Sherry’s announcement for the appointment of three additional full time Commissioners to ASIC. 15 Dec
http://www.asic.gov.au/ASIC/asic.nsf/byHeadline/08-219%20Three%20new%20commissioners%20and%20chairman%20of%20the%20External%20Advisory%20Panel%20named%20for%20ASIC?opendocument

CFTC Grants Exemption to ICE Clear U.S., Inc. to Clear Certain Agricultural Swap Contracts,
http://www.cftc.gov/newsroom/generalpressreleases/2008/pr5583-08.html

DFSA Licenses GE Capital Middle East & Africa Ltd as an Authorised Firm
http://www.complinet.com/dfsa/display/display_main.html?rbid=1547&element_id=13293

Japanese GAAPs are found to be equivalent to IFRS by the European Commission
http://www.fsa.go.jp/en/news/2008/20081215-1.html

New York regulator sees multiple CDS regulators
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/feedarticle/8151601

EU Said to Get Banks to Commit to Credit-Default Swap Clearing
By Nandini Sukumar and John Rega
Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) — Banks that deal credit-default swaps over the counter agreed to a European Union regulator’s request to process trades through a central clearinghouse, according to six people with direct knowledge of the plan. Banks agreed to use a central counterparty in Europe by the end of the second quarter of 2009, said the people, who declined to be identified because the negotiations aren’t public. The agreement came after a Dec. 10 meeting in Brussels between banks, regulators and clearinghouse providers, the people said. A counterparty combining the U.S. and Europe would keep CDS traders from having to use multiple venues. U.S. regulators are imposing oversight on the $31 trillion credit-default swap market after the contracts contributed to this year’s demise of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and the U.S.-led bailout of New York-based American International Group Inc.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=arQrJkl1ZDuk&refer=home

Crédit Agricole Cheuvreux estimates the overall cost of the package Announced Friday 12 December by the EU Council at EUR 360bn
EU leaders reached an agreement Friday December 12 on the Climate Energy package that appears to mark a substantial retreat from earlier commitments. The economic recession has fuelled the arguments of industrialists for receiving more lenient treatment, allowing a large proportion of emissions permits to be obtained for free. CA Cheuvreux estimates the overall cost of the package as announced by the EU Council at EUR 360bn, (excluding airlines) down more than EUR 100bn from its previous estimate based on the initial European Commission and Parliament proposals. There is little change for the energy sector, which bears the bulk of the charge. The final deal, however, appears quite surprising in that it changes the outlook for at least one industrial sector.
www.cheuvreux.com

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Opera Software launches ADR program in the United States
Oslo, Norway – December 15, 2008 – Opera Software ASA, a leading Web browser company, today launched a Level 1 ADR (American Depositary Receipts) program, designed to simplify trading of the Opera share for U.S.-based investors. The Opera ADRs will trade on the over-the-counter market under the symbol “OPESY.” Each Opera Software ADR represents two ordinary shares. The Bank of New York Mellon is the depositary bank of record for Opera ADRs.
http://www.opera.com

Treasury Benefits From `Massive Paranoia’ as Bailout Borrowing Cost Falls
Bill Clinton was forced to abandon spending initiatives to boost the economy at the start of his presidency when advisers warned him that the borrowing needed to fund the programs would push interest rates higher. President- elect Barack Obama may not have the same problem.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=axbPASoDNsMY&refer=exclusive

Citadel freezes redemptions from struggling flagship funds
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=32228

Unemployment: Worse Than it Looks
The most publicized measure of U.S. unemployment tells only part of the story
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/dec2008/db20081212_666543.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_top+story

Senate Seeks Pequot Answers
Two U.S. Senators have asked Arthur Samberg, chairman and C.E.O. of Pequot Capital Management, to turn over records relating to $2.1 million that the hedge fund has paid to an ex-employee who figured in a now-closed insider-trading investigation of Samberg.
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/top-5/2008/12/14/Senate-Seeks-Pequot-Answers

Marathon Asset Mgmt. Selects Imagine for New Fund
http://tinyurl.com/6ze2j4

Reports

Briefing.com Economic Calendar
http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/MarketAnalysis/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

USDA Today
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/index.asp

Event Calendar
The CBOT Event Calendar provides a list of current US and global events for the upcoming year.
http://www.cbot.com/cbot/calendar/month

CBOE Events Calendar
http://www.cboe.com/AboutCBOE/EventCalendar.aspx

Economic Release Calendar
The Economic Release Calendar (PDF) is a schedule of government, academic and industry economic releases, provided as a service to CME customers.
http://www.cme.com/files/economicreleasecalendar.pdf

Asia-Pacific News

Macquarie Group Said to Be Forming China Venture With Hengtai Securities
Macquarie Group Ltd., Australia’s biggest investment bank, plans a venture with Hengtai Securities Co. to gain access to China’s $70 billion equity and bond underwriting market, two people familiar with the matter said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a2dG.WimNLIc&refer=exclusive

Frontier Markets

India Apr-Nov commodity turnover rises 36 pct
http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINBOM18915120081215

Pakistani stocks fall after exchange removes 3-month-old floor from under share prices
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-as-pakistan-markets,0,6740237.story

Who are the beneficiaries of Futures market?
By Sreekumar Raghavan, Commodity Online
The Chicago Board of Trade was set up in 1848 by a group of merchants wanting to minimize price risk. The first commodity Futures exchange in India was set up by Bombay Cotton Trade Association Ltd, again a group of merchants. However, it is not that farmers aren’t prone to price risks. In fact, price risk is only one of the risks that farmers face as they also have to deal with vagaries of weather, pests and diseases affecting the crop.
http://www.commodityonline.com/news/Who-are-the-beneficiaries-of-Futures-market-13400-3-1.html

Miscellaneous News

SunGard Expands Relationship with Pershing LLC; Pershing Selects Brass Dedicated Consolidated Ticker Plant Complex
http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20081215/bs_prweb/prweb1753264_2

Welcome to the NASQUACK
An exchange for species rather than stocks.
IMAGINE for a moment that you own an acre of valuable land in California and you’d like to build some houses on it. But, to your horror, the government tells you that your land is home to several pairs of a threatened species of wetland bird, the California Black Rail. You cannot build it unless you can find some way to mitigate the damage you will to do this species. Mitigation, in this case, means protecting an equivalent number of birds or area of habitat in perpetuity elsewhere—as a landowner, you need to find someone ready to protect a similar number of Black Rails somewhere else. American law allows such transactions to take place with the oversight of the government. As a result, a small but thriving industry (around $400m per year) has devel

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

CCFE Announces New Records for Daily Volume and Open Interest in RGGI Futures and Options
http://www.chicagoclimatex.com/news/press/release_20081211_CCFE_Record_RGGI_Futures_Options.pdf

**** REGGIE, REGGIE, REGGIE…….

++++

Wasting Enough Rice to Feed 184 Million Is Worldwide Habit Only Rats Love
Inside his northern Philippines granary, Marlon Ventura stirs gray zinc phosphide into a bowl of boiled rice, making a garlicky, toxic meal for rats.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=adH2EpXXWSRo&refer=exclusive

++++

ICAP’s Global Charity Event
By Kerry Massaro, Photos by Stephen Aviano Yesterday, the trading floor at ICAP, a voice and electronic inter-dealer broker, looked more like a Hollywood film set than an brokerage operation. That’s because ICAP hosted its 16th annual Global Charity Day there from 9:00-5:00, where it raised $16.3 million throughout its global offices. All of ICAP’s brokers participate in offices around the world by giving up their commissions for the day and donating them to over 100 charities, says an ICAP spokesman.
http://advancedtrading.com/managingthedesk/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212400462

++++

When commodities became a hot investment, things got wild at Grain Exchange
By Chris Serres, Star Tribune, Minneapolis Readers first phoned in about high milk and egg prices more than a year ago. Within months, as corn and wheat prices reached new daily highs, food was on everyone’s mind. Shortages led to food riots in Haiti and a run on rice from Cambodia to Costco. So what went wrong? This series, Our Hungry Planet, found powerful and conflicting forces around the world influencing the supply and price of food. Some individuals and businesses have profited handsomely, while others went hungry and grocery bills continued to rise.
http://www.farmforum.net/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081212/FARMFORUM/812120304

++++

No Question We’re in a Financial Pickle. What Do We Call It?
By BRIAN STELTER
The current economic problems are the rare major news event without a defining logo, one that crystallizes attention and acts as a shorthand for reporters and the public.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/business/economy/12bailout.html?ref=business

***** How about…..The Big Dump! Or, the Great Liquidation.

++++

Shop says get out of UBS, get into a new suit
ZURICH (Reuters) – Shareholders of troubled Swiss bank UBS have been offered a new way to get out of their investment at a premium: buy a suit. A Zurich boutique is accepting UBS shares as payment at a 40 percent premium over the stock’s closing price on Friday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081212/od_uk_nm/oukoe_uk_ubs_suits_1

++++

Wikis That Work In The Real World
Companies are letting wikis loose among employees and customers, and reaping the benefits.
http://www.informationweek.com/news/business_intelligence/content_management/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212400489&subSection=All+Stories

++++

Obama: “Open for Questions” and Maybe a Wiki?
Dan Froomkin of Harvard University’s Nieman Foundation for Journalism writes in It’s time for a Wiki White House that it’s time for a White House website that gives people an ongoing look at what’s happening in the west wing, and actively solicits – and responds to – their input:
http://www.ikiw.org/2008/12/11/obama-open-for-questions-and-maybe-a-wiki/

++++

CFTC 2008 Performance and Accountability Report
http://www.cftc.gov/stellent/groups/public/@aboutcftc/documents/file/2008par.pdf

**** At 27 megabytes to download, there has got to be a lot of accountability

++++

Lead Stories

SEC Charges Bernard L. Madoff for Multi-Billion Dollar Ponzi Scheme
Washington, D.C., Dec. 11, 2008 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Bernard L. Madoff and his investment firm, Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities LLC, with securities fraud for a multi-billion dollar Ponzi scheme that he perpetrated on advisory clients of his firm. The SEC is seeking emergency relief for investors, including an asset freeze and the appointment of a receiver for the firm.
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-293.htm

**** Stories like this rip apart the idea that sophisticated investors will/can do their own due diligence and don’t need a regulatory structure to help protect them.

Trades in Credit Default Swaps May ‘Fall Way Off,’ Lukken Says
By Matthew Leising and Robert Tuttle Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) — Trades in credit default swaps may “fall way off,” the head of the U.S. commodities regulator said today.
“Maybe there’s not a need for this product going forward,” Walter Lukken, the acting chairman of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said in New York. “We may see the amount of CDS going forward fall way off.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601009&sid=a73F35mJgPoQ

**** What Walt said.

Citadel to cover operating expenses
By Joshua Boak | Tribune reporter
Citadel Investment Group is covering “a substantial portion” of its operating expenses this year, a break from passing those costs on to clients, Katie Spring, a spokeswoman for the Chicago-based hedge fund, said Thursday. “We felt it was the right thing to do.” Spring said, citing Citadel’s “long-standing relationship with our investors.”
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-fri-citadel-dec12,0,2143184.story

**** Standup hedge fund.

Paul Tudor Jones Concedes Errors With Bacon, Griffin in Strategy Shakeout
In the close-knit hedge fund community, where confessions of a mistake are rare, billionaires Louis Bacon, Kenneth Griffin and Paul Tudor Jones are retreating from borrowed-money bets, private equity and emerging market debt and championing more transparent stocks, bonds and currencies.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=ar4wwW4bbf2A&refer=exclusive

CME Group Sees Strong Hedge Fund Activity At Exchange In ’09 By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
CHICAGO -(Dow Jones)- A senior executive at CME Group Inc. (CME) emphasized the health of the exchange company’s hedge fund constituency, responding to concerns that deleveraging and redemptions at the funds could weigh down trading volumes next year. The vast majority of the more than 8,000 hedge funds in the world are not participants in CME’s futures and derivatives products, according to Chief Executive Craig Donohue, who counted only the “top 100″ hedge funds as major drivers of volume on the exchange. Of those, the 25 largest funds account for approximately 10% of total CME trading volume, and Donohue said Wednesday that most of these continue to experience “strong, positive” results.
http://www.easybourse.com/bourse-actualite/marches/cme-group-sees-strong-hedge-fund-activity-at-exchange-in-0–577347

Bernard Madoff arrested over alleged $50 billion fraud
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Bernard Madoff, a quiet force on Wall Street for decades, was arrested and charged on Thursday with allegedly running a $50 billion “Ponzi scheme” in what may rank among the biggest fraud cases ever…..Jon Najarian, an acquaintance of Madoff who has traded options for decades, said “Many of us questioned how that strategy could generate those kinds of returns so consistently.”
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081212/bs_nm/us_madoff_arrest;_ylt=AkeoPuluWpiEydqoyiB0I7cDW7oF

Ex-Nasdaq chair arrested for securities fraud
NEW YORK (CNN) — Former Nasdaq chairman Bernard Madoff was arrested Thursday and charged with a single count of securities fraud for allegedly operating a multibillion-dollar Ponzi scheme from his investment advisory business, federal authorities said. Madoff, 70, operated the advisory business separately from his Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities, a securities broker dealer with its principal office in New York City, the Department of Justice said.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/11/markets/madoff_fraud/index.htm?section=money_latest

Madoff ‘Big Lie’ Hits Fairfield Sentry, Kingate Funds (Update2)
By Bradley Keoun, Josh Fineman and Katherine Burton Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) — Hedge funds, already heading for their worst year on record, may lose at least $10 billion from investing with a New York firm that founder Bernard L. Madoff called “a giant Ponzi scheme.” The biggest loser may be Walter Noel’s Fairfield Greenwich Group, whose $7.3 billion Fairfield Sentry Ltd. invested with Madoff’s eponymous firm, three people familiar with the matter said. Another client was Kingate Management Ltd., whose $2.8 billion Kingate Global Fund Ltd. invested with Madoff, they said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aUyLwyxR2zRQ

Madoff Confessed $50 Billion Fraud Before FBI Arrest (Update1)
By David Voreacos and David Glovin Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) — Bernard Madoff confessed to employees this week that his investment advisory business was “a giant Ponzi scheme” that cost clients $50 billion before two FBI agents showed up yesterday morning at his Manhattan apartment.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a3uKf5P1lFmg&refer=worldwide

Investors Who Entrusted Funds to Firm Are Shaken by Arrest
By PETER LATTMAN and ROBERT FRANK News of money manager Bernard Madoff’s alleged fraud sent shock waves through upscale communities in the New York area and Florida where wealthy individuals had entrusted billions of dollars to Mr. Madoff for decades. Ira Roth, a New Jersey resident, who says his family has about $1 million invested through Mr. Madoff’s firm, is “in a state of panic.” He said his 86-year-old mother-in-law has been living on the investments’ returns, and he has been using the funds to pay college tuition.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122905524182201225.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

SCAM’S POSH PATSIES
MADOFF RIP-OFF SPREADS
By KAJA WHITEHOUSE
Suicide hotlines in Greenwich, Conn., could be lit up today as investors in the posh suburb begin to realize how much they’ve lost in the rip-off scheme perpetrated by Wall Street legend Bernard…
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12122008/business/scams_posh_patsies_143838.htm

Prominent Trader Accused of Defrauding Clients
By DIANA B. HENRIQUES and ZACHERY KOUWE On Wall Street, his name is legendary. With money he had made as a lifeguard on the beaches of Long Island, he built a trading powerhouse that had prospered for more than four decades. At age 70, he had become an influential spokesman for the traders who are the hidden gears of the marketplace.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/business/12scheme.html?_r=1&em

Ex-Nasdaq chairman arrested on fraud charge in NYC
By LARRY NEUMEISTER
A Wall Street powerbroker for nearly 50 years who built an influential firm has confessed to a massive fraud scheme that will cost investors at least $50 billion, federal authorities say.
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D95168280.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis

If it sounds too good to be true…
“What is striking to most observers is not so much the annual returns…but the ability to provide such smooth returns with so little volatility”
…please keep in mind that it is more than seven years old; it originally appeared in the May 2001 edition of MAR/Hedge.
http://nakedshorts.typepad.com/nakedshorts/

Madoff faces securities fraud charge
Ex-Nasdaq chairman arrested in multibillion-dollar case
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e308b2e4-c7e4-11dd-b611-000077b07658.html

Bernie Madoff: The Indictment
http://clusterstock.alleyinsider.com/2008/12/bernie-madoff-the-indictment

Fed Refuses Bloomberg Request to Name Recipients of $2 Trillion in Lending
The Federal Reserve refused a request by Bloomberg News to disclose the recipients of more than $2 trillion of emergency loans from U.S. taxpayers and the assets the central bank is accepting as collateral.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=apx7XNLnZZlc&refer=exclusive

Fed Refuses Banks Request to Limit Credit-Default Swap Clearing
By Matthew Leising Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) — U.S. regulators are refusing to allow JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and seven other banks to dictate what credit-default swap trades will be processed by Intercontinental Exchange Inc.’s proposed clearinghouse, said two people with knowledge of the discussions. The Federal Reserve Bank of New York denied the request for permission to form a committee that would be able to veto the submission of some contracts, according to the people, who asked not to be named because the discussions are private. The Fed wants ICE U.S. Trust, as the clearinghouse is known, to be governed independently of the banks, the people said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601009&sid=aaEvfvqK7zWs

Jim Rogers calls most big US banks “bankrupt”
NEW YORK: Jim Rogers, one of the world’s most prominent international investors, on Thursday called most of the largest US banks “totally bankrupt,” and said government efforts to fix the sector are wrongheaded.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/News/International_Business/Jim_Rogers_calls_most_big_US_banks_bankrupt/rssarticleshow/3825418.cms

Treasury’s Record Low Borrowing Rates Failing to Benefit Corporate Debtors
The lowest yields on Treasuries are providing no solace to U.S. companies paying the highest borrowing costs on record.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a3KypcXb03rk&refer=exclusive

Concerns about Detroit rescue derivatives ‘trap’
By Aline van Duyn in New York
The terms of a possible $14bn emergency loan to Detroit carmakers are being scrutinised by the credit derivatives industry because its passage could trigger payments on billions of dollars of contracts linked to General Motors. The need to consider the impact of a rescue on such contracts highlights the complexities surrounding financial restructuring, which would pit holders of different types of loans, debt and equities against each other.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/442cf6e2-c7eb-11dd-b611-000077b07658,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F442cf6e2-c7eb-11dd-b611-000077b07658.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futuresindustry.org%2F

Credit Swap Clearing Should Be Mandatory, CFTC’s Chilton Says
By Matthew Leising Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) — Trades in the $31 trillion credit- default swaps market should be required to be processed by a clearinghouse, U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner Bart Chilton said. “We can significantly improve the stability and safety of our financial system by enhancing clearing systems for” credit- default swaps, Chilton said today in a speech at the French Embassy in Washington. The call by Chilton, a Democrat, follows questioning earlier this week by the House of Representatives Agriculture Committee about whether clearing should be mandatory. The Federal Reserve has been pushing for a clearinghouse since Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., one of the largest dealers in the credit-default swaps market, went bankrupt in September, threatening the stability of its trading partners.

Pequot Payments to Ex-Employee Questioned by Grassley, Specter
By Jesse Westbrook and David Scheer Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) — Pequot Capital Management Inc., the hedge fund run by Arthur Samberg, was asked by two U.S. lawmakers to spell out why the firm agreed to pay $2.1 million to an ex- employee who figured in a federal insider-trading probe.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aE5P1lBVtOy0&refer=news

Goldman slashes 2009 commodity price forecasts
LONDON (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs slashed its commodity price forecasts on Friday, citing a collapse in global economic growth and demand because of the credit crisis.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081212/bs_nm/us_commodities_goldman_forecasts;_ylt=AsAWudYF6YEL3Z8ElOKHGYqyBhIF

Goldman, once warning of $200 oil, sees $45 in 2009
SINGAPORE/LONDON (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs’ energy equity research team, which predicted a crude oil spike to $200 a barrel earlier this year, slashed on Friday its 2009 forecast to just $45 as demand deteriorates.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081212/bs_nm/us_oil_goldman_price;_ylt=AvoIWv6z.OgMut1GbH33l4u573QA

Auction-Rate ‘Intoxicated’ Dealers With Fees, UBS E-Mails Show
By Michael McDonald Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) — Fees from selling auction-rate securities “intoxicated” Wall Street bankers before the $330 billion market collapsed this year, a UBS AG executive wrote in an e-mail released by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission yesterday.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601015&sid=aFpi_Xhy5BoA

Talk and not action behind mystery credit moves
By Paul J Davies and Javier Blas
The extreme volatility in credit derivatives markets since Lehman Brothers collapsed in September has brought sharp leaps and falls in the cost of protecting the debt all kinds of companies. Banks were hardest hit initially, but the gathering global gloom has hit other industries such as mining, oil and gas, carmakers and retailers.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/de66d404-c7ea-11dd-b611-000077b07658,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fde66d404-c7ea-11dd-b611-000077b07658.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.futuresindustry.org%2F

Goldman, AT&T ‘Apologize’ to Democrats With Post-Election Gifts
Jonathan D. Salant Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s political action committee contributed the maximum $10,000 to Connecticut Republican Christopher Shays’s effort this year to keep his House seat. Shays lost. Two weeks later, the PAC gave $5,000 to the winner, Democrat Jim Himes, whom it had shunned during the campaign.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bloomberg/20081212/pl_bloomberg/a_osrtmhbriw_1

Environmental Trading News

EU leaders dramatically scale back their ambition on emissions
By James Kanter and Stephen Castle
BRUSSELS: European Union leaders on Friday dramatically weakened their plans for reducing planet-warming emissions. EU leaders said the accord, which offers a swathe of concessions to polluting companies and countries, would not jeopardize their overall target of reducing carbon emissions by 20 percent by 2020.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/12/business/12emitA.php

EU leaders defend climate change concessions Deal risks giving windfall profits to polluters
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/43cfad5c-c831-11dd-b86f-000077b07658.html

Japan banks get green light to trade carbon offsets
Japanese banks were given the go-ahead to trade greenhouse gas emissions credits from Friday, in a move that may help the world’s fifth-biggest emitter develop its embryonic carbon-offsets market.
http://www.fxstreet.com/news/forex-news/article.aspx?StoryId=a77e38f0-d8a4-438e-8c78-c09530582035

Q+A-What are Australia’s carbon trading plans
Dec 12 – Australia unveils long-awaited details of its plans for carbon trading, and its greenhouse emissions targets for 2020, on Monday. The government is widely expected to choose an emissions cut of 10 percent by 2020 from 2000 levels. The draft carbon trading scheme released in July proposes involving 1,000 of Australia’s biggest companies, covering 75 percent of emissions. Below are some questions and answers on the proposal.
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20081212/tbs-australia-carbon-questions-0cd41eb.html

Stock market game may predict eco disasters
STOCK markets could forecast the availability of water more accurately than the best computer models used by environmental scientists. That’s the idea behind the launch of an online market which invites “traders” to gamble on future water levels in dams in Australia.
http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026864.200-stock-market-game-may-predict-eco-disasters.html?DCMP=OTC-rss&nsref=online-news

California OKs tougher air rules
By Samantha Young, The Associated Press
SACRAMENTO — California on Thursday adopted the nation’s most sweeping plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions, issuing rules that could transform everything from the way factories operate to the appliances people buy and the fuel they put in their cars.
http://www.dailybreeze.com/business/ci_11202455?source=rss

For more environmental trading news, subscribe to the Environmental Markets version of the John Lothian Newsletter edited by Jim Kharouf.
Click here to subscribe: jimkharouf-request@johnlothiannewsletter.com?subject=subscribe

Exchange & ECN News

Agora-X ‘Goes Live’ With New Electronic Platform to Enhance Efficiency and Liquidity in OTC Commodities
KANSAS CITY, Mo., Dec. 12, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Agora-X, LLC today launched an electronic communications network (ECN) that enables institutional market participants to efficiently negotiate over-the-counter (OTC) transactions in commodity and derivative contracts. The Agora-X ECN is designed to enable institutional participants to obtain best prices in a more liquid and transparent OTC marketplace. In January, Agora-X plans to launch its exempt commercial market (ECM) to handle financially-settled option “look-alikes” in energy, metals and other non-agricultural commodities, as well as commodity swaps and swaptions in those fields. As a separate component using Agora-X technologies, the ECM will allow negotiation, execution and clearing of OTC trades in exempt commodities.
http://biz.yahoo.com/pz/081212/156308.html

Successful Launch of the Egyptian Exchange’s New Trading System by NASDAQ OMX
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Dec. 12, 2008 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) and the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) reported the successful launch of EGX’s new trading system. The recent system launch received immediate positive acknowledgement from participating members and the investing public. The trading engine from NASDAQ OMX replaces EGX’s previous system, also from NASDAQ OMX, and is designed to create a more efficient marketplace and trading experience for EGX members.
http://www.nasdaq.com/newsroom/news/newsroomnewsStory.aspx?textpath=pr2008\ACQPMZ200812120314PRIMZONEFULLFEED156297.htm&cdtime=12%2f12%2f2008%20+3%3a14AM&title=Successful%20Launch%20of%20the%20Egyptian%20Exchange%27s%20New%20Trading%20System%20by%20NASDAQ%20OMX

Deutsche Börse Opens Representative Office in Beijing
Deutsche Börse opened its representative office in Beijing today. With this step, the exchange aims to further strengthen and expand its relationships within the Chinese market. Deutsche Börse, one of the leading exchange organizations of the world, will bring in its expertise as a service provider for securities trading for a growing number of Chinese companies.
http://deutsche-boerse.com/dbag/dispatch/en/notescontent/gdb_navigation/press/10_Latest_Press_Releases/INTEGRATE/mr_pressreleases?notesDoc=0837285269D7D505C125751D00330CA1&newstitle=deutscheboerseopensrepresentat&location=press

Slouching Toward a Swaps Clearinghouse
NYSE Euronext is working to register a U.S. trust bank, regulated by the Federal Reserve, to function as a clearinghouse for credit derivatives trades in the U.S., according to the exchange’s chief executive. Duncan Niederauer said Thursday that not owning a U.S.-based clearing operation puts NYSE Euronext at a disadvantage as it tries to catch up with U.S. derivatives exchanges CME Group and IntercontinentalExchange, which are readying their own clearing platforms for credit-default swaps in the U.S.
http://blogs.wsj.com/marketbeat/2008/12/11/slouching-toward-a-swaps-clearinghouse/

Poland sees single buyer for Warsaw bourse sale
WARSAW, Dec 12 (Reuters) – Poland will sell a majority stake in the Warsaw bourse to a single investor, putting on hold plans to float the eastern Europe’s biggest stock exchange operator, a deputy treasury minister said on Friday.
http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=7067115&subject=general&action=article

NYSE says industry is consolidating
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINN1140440920081211?rpc=44

Mylan leaves NYSE, moves to Nasdaq Stock Market
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/external/cbsm/SIG=11iiumket/*http://www.marketwatch.com/News/Story/Story.aspx?guid=%7b39AB27AD-CA85-4D4E-B84F-2CD724374C4E%7d&siteid=yhoof2

CME names ex-Lehman risk chief for interest rate push
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange has appointed a former head of risk at Lehman Brothers to lead its push into the $450 trillion (€340 trillion) over-the-counter market for interest rate derivatives, which faces pressure from regulators to become more efficient and transparent.
http://www.efinancialnews.com/tradingandtechnology/index/content/3452768246/restricted

CME Group Names Marcus Katz Director, Interest Rate Products
CME Group, the world’s largest and most diverse derivatives exchange, today announced that it has named Marcus Katz as Director, Interest Rate Products. Katz, 47, will be responsible for expanding CME Group’s presence in the over-the-counter (OTC) interest rate market and growing the company’s global customer base. These responsibilities will include leading efforts to market CME Group’s benchmark interest rate products as tools to replicate OTC derivative transactions and developing new interest rate products and services related to the OTC markets. He will report to Robin Ross, Managing Director, Interest Rate Products.
http://cmegroup.mediaroom.com/

Malawi Stock Exchange Weekly Report
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79507

HKEx Announces Temporary Holiday Risk Management Arrangements
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79500

Eurex Margin Parameters: Adjustment as of December 16, 2008
http://www.eurexchange.com/download/documents/circulars/cf3002008e.pdf

Brokers & Dark Pools

Morgan Stanley Appoints 133 New Managing Directors
http://www.morganstanley.com/about/press/articles/ba4f5d83-c6d5-11dd-b3a2-8df06e0b6eda.html

BofA plans up to 35,000 job cuts in next 3 years
By Madlen Read, AP Business Writer Bank of America expects to cut up to 35,000 jobs in next 3 years as it absorbs Merrill
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/11/AR2008121102638.html?wprss=rss_business

Bank of America to Cut 35,000 Jobs Over 3 Years
By MICHAEL J. de la MERCED
The company said that the cuts reflected the pending merger with Merrill Lynch and the weak economy.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/business/12bank.html?ref=business

NO DIVING INTO GOLDMAN, MORGAN BONUS POOLS
By MARK DeCAMBRE
After last year’s bonus bonanza, Goldman Sachs’ bonus pool is looking a lot shallower this year. Goldman, Wall Street’s golden child, is set to announce next week that its…more > http://www.nypost.com/seven/12122008/business/no_diving_into_goldman__morgan_bonus_poo_143742.htm

Knight Capital Group Releases November 2008 Volume Statistics http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Knight-Capital-Group-Releases-November/story.aspx?guid=%7B8663498B-FA4F-45B3-863F-4C1257CA7781%7D

Bond Bet Bites Deutsche Bank
A proprietary trading group at Deutsche Bank has lost more than $1 billion with a wrong-way bet on corporate bonds.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122909741818201923.html?mod=testMod

UK Banks Agree Principles With Small Business Leaders
A newly-revised Statement of Principles setting out how banks will support entrepreneurs through the downturn is published today by the British Bankers’ Association. Text for the new edition was agreed on Wednesday by small business representatives and the Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform. The new Statement of Principles is published today on the BBA website and the presses roll on a print edition next week for distribution to bank branches.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79504

Lehman brokerage trustee seeks to probe collapse
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The trustee handling the liquidation of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc’s brokerage unit asked a U.S. bankruptcy court on Thursday for the power to issue subpoenas to obtain documents and information from current and former employees and officers.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081212/bs_nm/us_lehman_trustee;_ylt=Ai0UwJIsQpMOdk9GDYSksni573QA

Citi, UBS Settle Deal on Payback
By LIZ RAPPAPORT
Investors with auction-rate securities from Citigroup Inc. and UBS AG can now be sure they will get their money back if they haven’t already.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122901375239298451.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Citigroup Sues China Store Owner for $38 Million in IPO Finance
By Cathy Chan Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) — Citigroup Venture Capital International sued the owner of PCD Stores Ltd. to recoup $38 million after the Chinese retailer failed to sell shares to the public by an agreed date.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601205&sid=aXqZjNoTMbLo

Regulatory News

The SEC News Digest
The SEC News Digest provides daily information on recent Commission actions, including enforcement proceedings, rule filings, policy statements, and upcoming Commission meetings.
http://www.sec.gov/news/digest/2008/dig111208.htm

CFTC head touts risk-based regulatory framework
NEW YORK, Dec 12 (Reuters) – The worst financial crisis in 80 years provides the new administration a chance to establish a risk-based framework for regulating financial markets, the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission said Friday.
http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=7067833&subject=companies&action=article

CFTC Seeks Public Comment on Proposed Rules to Expand Regulatory Authority Over Exempt Commercial Markets
Washington, DC – The Commodity Futures Trading Commission requests public comment on rules and rule amendments that increase the oversight of Exempt Commercial Markets (ECMs) as directed by the CFTC Reauthorization Act of 2008. ECMs are lesser-regulated electronic trading facilities that allow institutional participants to trade exempt over-the-counter commodities such as energy swaps.
http://www.cftc.gov/newsroom/generalpressreleases/2008/pr5581-08.html

Dreier, ‘Enormous Risk of Flight,’ to Be Held in Jail (Update4)
By David Glovin Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) — Marc Dreier, the jailed New York law firm founder, must remain in prison while he fights charges that he swindled hedge funds, a federal judge ruled after a prosecutor accused the lawyer of stealing $380 million. Dreier, 58, is “the Houdini of impersonation and false documents,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Streeter said at a bail hearing today Manhattan federal court. U.S. Magistrate Judge Douglas Eaton rejected a defense request of a $10 million bond to be secured by Dreier’s 19-year-old son and 85-year-old mother.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aSEW3nrWV0GA

Bail denied for lawyer accused of “brazen” fraud
By Martha Graybow NEW YORK (Reuters) – A judge denied bail on Thursday for a prominent New York lawyer accused of selling sham investments to hedge funds, a scheme that prosecutors now say may have been much larger than originally thought.
http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSTRE4BA5FS20081211

Mortgage fraud is booming business for prosecutors
SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Investigations into the collapse of financial titans such as Lehman Brothers, Bear Stearns and Washington Mutual have attracted most of the attention in the ongoing unraveling of the nation’s mortgage-backed security mess.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081210/ap_on_bi_ge/meltdown_mortgage_prosecutions;_ylt=Ag64XilspHJXFAQh1qMNW8QDW7oF

Charges Filed in Mortgage Scheme
A financial executive was charged with fraud for allegedly inflating the value of thousands of mortgages that were sold as securities to investors.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122904079529200047.html?mod=testMod

More Fidelity workers settle with SEC
http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D95165H00.htm

Ex U.S. Fidelity employees to pay more than US$1 million to settle SEC charges
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?id=47392&IdSection=8&cat=8&BImageCI=1

Nevada Firm Alliance Development Co. and William Snyder Ordered to Pay $3.65 Million in Restitution and Penalties for Operating a Commodity Pool Scam in CFTC Anti-Fraud Action
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced today that Alliance Development Company (Alliance) of Reno, Nevada, and William Snyder of Issaquah, Washington were ordered to pay restitution of $550,000 and civil monetary penalties of $1.65 million and $1.45 million, respectively, to settle a CFTC enforcement action charging them with commodity pool fraud.
http://www.cftc.gov/newsroom/enforcementpressreleases/2008/pr5582-08.html

FSA tells pension switching advisers to review files Helen Pow – 12-Dec-2008
The FSA has written to 4,500 advisers calling on them to assess their firm’s past and present pension switching advice in light of its scathing report, published last week.
On Friday, Money Marketing leaked the details of the FSA’s review into pension switching advice post-A-Day which found unsuitable advice was being given in a “significant proportion of cases”.
http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=178141&d=340&h=341&f=342

Victorian share trader pleads guilty to ASIC short selling charges
Mr Giovanni Spagnolo of Northcote, Victoria, has pleaded guilty in the Melbourne Magistrates’ Court to five short selling charges brought by ASIC.
http://www.asic.gov.au/ASIC/asic.nsf/byHeadline/AD08-83%20Victorian%20share%20trader%20pleads%20guilty%20to%20ASIC%20short%20selling%20charges?opendocument

Implementation of administrative monetary penalty system in relation to Reporting of Large shareholding
http://www.fsa.go.jp/en/news/2008/20081212-8.html

Consent Order against M/s. Uttam Investments in the matter of M/s. Prabhu Steel Industries Ltd
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2008/2008300.html

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Ex-Merrill man to launch debt fund
By Anousha Sakoui
Mark Devonshire, a 23-year veteran of European and Asian debt markets, is to launch a new $500m (£338m) distressed debt fund, as leading figures in the industry ready themselves for a surge in defaults next year. Moody’s Investor Services said on Monday that the rate of European corporate defaults would rise to 12.5 per cent, nearly six times the forecast for year-end 2008.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/4432aa0a-c7ec-11dd-b611-000077b07658,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F4432aa0a-c7ec-11dd-b611-000077b07658.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fvillage.albourne.com%2Fuser%2Fnews.pcg%3Fid%3D50814

Sextant manager to fight allegations
The founder of Sextant Capital Management Inc. vowed yesterday to fight allegations that his firm juiced hedge fund returns by investing illegally in Icelandic glaciers. “We are going to defend against them vigorously,” hedge fund manager Otto Spork said. He did not elaborate, except to say that he was going to hire a lawyer.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/LAC.20081212.RSPORK12/TPStory/Business

Municipal Bond Fees Rise at Fastest Pace Since 1981 as Institutions Flee
Wall Street is raising fees it charges municipalities to sell bonds at the fastest pace in more than 20 years as institutional investors abandon the market for state and local government debt.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=special_report&sid=a98CBKoQRWe0

HFA Shares Rise in Sydney as Hedge Fund Outperforms (Update1)
By Malcolm Scott Dec. 12 (Bloomberg) — HFA Holdings Ltd., an Australian hedge-fund manager with $5.7 billion in assets, climbed in Sydney trading after saying its two biggest funds outperformed global markets as equities tumbled since their October 2007 peak.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601014&sid=aDIqwGiWhIt8

December Rebalancing For The S&P Asia 50 Index
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79506

Component Changes Made To Dow Jones Global Titans 50, Dow Jones Country Titans And Dow Jones Sector Titans Indexes
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79495

NYSE Arca Options Listing – PowerShares Financial Preferred Portfolio ETF (PGF)
NYSE Arca, Inc. is pleased to announce that at the opening of business on Tuesday, December 9, 2008, we will commence trading options on PowerShares Financial Preferred Portfolio ETF (PGF).

NYSE Arca Options Listing – iShares COMEX Gold Trust (IAU) NYSE Arca Options Listing – iShares Silver Trust (SLV)
NYSE Arca, Inc. is pleased to announce that at the opening of business on Tuesday, December 9, 2008 we will commence trading options on the following securities. NYSE Arca, Inc. will trade in all expiration months and strike prices, including E-FLEX and LEAPS, currently in the marketplace.

Reports

Briefing.com Economic Calendar
http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/MarketAnalysis/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

USDA Today
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/index.asp

Event Calendar
The CBOT Event Calendar provides a list of current US and global events for the upcoming year.
http://www.cbot.com/cbot/calendar/month

CBOE Events Calendar
http://www.cboe.com/AboutCBOE/EventCalendar.aspx

Economic Release Calendar
The Economic Release Calendar (PDF) is a schedule of government, academic and industry economic releases, provided as a service to CME customers.
http://www.cme.com/files/economicreleasecalendar.pdf

Asia-Pacific News

Goldman says investment in China will accelerate Reuters
BEIJING, Dec 12 – Goldman Sachs will accelerate investment in China as opposition to foreign investment eases and the need for funding rises, an executive said on Friday. Kevin Zhang, a managing director for Goldman Sachs , said he was focusing on opportunities in China’s growing consumer sector as well as renewable energy.
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20081212/tbs-goldman-china-investment-21231dd.html

Frontier Markets

HSBC lays off 193 employees in India
MUMBAI: Foreign lender, HSBC has decided to cut 193 jobs in its Indian consumer assets business segment after it reviewed the portfolio in the backdrop of the prevailing economic conditions, the bank said.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Business/India_Business/HSBC_lays_off_193_employees_in_India/rssarticleshow/3828683.cms

Morgan Stanley fund ED joins SBI Funds as CIO-sources
MUMBAI, Dec 12 – Navneet Munot, executive director at Morgan Stanley’s Indian fund arm, has quit to join SBI Funds Management as chief investment officer, two sources in direct knowledge of the matter said on Friday.
http://sg.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20081212/tbs-morgan-stanley-quit-7318940.html

Miscellaneous News

New software development and R&D facility launched in Manchester
Rapid Addition has announced the launch of a new software development and R&D facility in Manchester. The Manchester facility opens with an initial staff of six highly skilled software developers, with strong backgrounds in financial markets technology.
http://www.automatedtrader.net/algo-trading-news-5579.xhtm

Trayport makes four new appointments
December 12th, 2008 – Trayport announces four key appointments to strengthen its electronic trading business
http://www.automatedtrader.net/algo-trading-news-5578.xhtm

Futures industry in USA and the role Chicago plays
Jerry Cedicci-Robin Trehan
A futures exchange is a central marketplace with recognized rules and regulations where buyers and sellers trade futures contracts and options on futures contracts.
http://www.prlog.org/10153960-futures-industry-in-usa-and-the-role-chicago-plays-jerry-cedicci-robin-trehan.html

Parents talk money in recession-hit America
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4BB19I20081212

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

Scoutmaster John
On Sunday I was nominated and elected to the role of Scoutmaster at Boy Scout Troop 117’s committee meeting. Our previous Scoutmaster has accepted a job in China. I continue to serve at the District Chairman of Potawatomi Trails District and am active with my youngest son’s Cub Scout Pack. You could say I am up to my eyeballs in Scouting. It is an honor to serve as Scoutmaster and a demanding job that helps one grow personally. I am looking forward to the challenges of the position.

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Why Our Society Needs Real Journalists (Ted Gage via Seeking Alpha) Excerpt:

Who has consistently taken the leading role in rooting out news about corruption and wrongdoing? Who was producing articles about wrongdoing at companies like Enron or Woldcom? It was the newspapers, because that’s where serious journalists still live. I’m not saying television reporters or commentators aren’t smart. I’m not claiming Internet postings are useless.

However, their world is a minute-by-minute one. Breaking news rules. Hyperbole and speculation draws better ratings than dogged investigative reporting. Newspapers have traditionally allowed for this kind of careful in-depth analysis that sometimes leads to powerful, important revelations. Who else would pay a reporter for hours of digging that may or may not pay off. When it does pay off, however, it’s often powerful.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/110061-why-our-society-needs-real-journalists?source=feed

By: Ray Pellecchia of NYSE Euronext
That last item might seem off topic, but it really isn’t. Quality journalism is important to society as a whole and to financial markets in particular. Information is the lifeblood of markets, and a great deal of the information that markets depend on daily is discovered, reported and edited by journalists. This is why we should all be concerned about the financial plight of newspapers, and hope that they figure out a viable economic model. I plan to pay more attention to this here, and have been thinking about it more since reading Maureen Dowd’s column about a Web site “covering” Pasadena, Calif. with six people in India being paid $7.50 per 1,000 words to re-write press releases and watch city government via a Webcam. That’s not the model of journalism we need.
http://exchanges.nyse.com/archives/2008/12/bids_liffe.php

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£11 million raised on ICAP’s 16th annual Charity Day
London, 11 December 2008 – ICAP (IAP.L), the world’s premier interdealer broker, raised £11 million worldwide on its 16th annual Charity Day, beating the £9.2 million raised in 2007 and bringing the total raised to £53 million since 1993. The money raised will be donated to over 100 charities worldwide. Michael Spencer, Chief Executive Officer of ICAP said, “To raise £11 million in one day is an incredible achievement, particularly in the current environment. It is the efforts of our customers, staff and supporters that made Charity Day 2008 such a fantastic success. Many needy people around the world will benefit from their efforts.”

In London, ICAP hosted dozens of celebrity spokespeople from the various charities it gave to this year, including: Prince Harry; Boris Johnson, Patrick Stewart (actor), Jennifer Saunders (actress), Greg Rusedski (tennis player), Sophie Ellis Bextor (singer), Zinzan Brooke (rugby player), Richard Wilson (actor) and many others. The celebrities helped to build employee enthusiasm at ICAP and interacted with many clients to boost trading volumes.

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Investing In Bonds
Europe Website Delivers Education, Market Information
A groundbreaking new financial website called InvestinginbondsEurope.org, which offers retail investors free access to comprehensive, non-commercial and unbiased education, was launched today. The site is the first of its kind providing fixed income market information in English, German, French, Italian and Spanish in a pan-European context.
http://www.sifma.org/news/news.aspx?id=9588

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Operational Risk – Emerging Economic Giants Show High Levels of Corporate Bribery
Overseas Companies based in emerging economic giants, such as China, India and Russia, are perceived to routinely engage in bribery when doing business abroad, according to Transparency International’s 2008 Bribe Payers Index (BPI), released yesterday.
http://www.garp.com/resources/newsfeed.aspx?Category=6&MyFile=2008-12-10-17514.html

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Who Is To Blame?
Some point to Alan Greenspan. But his hands-off approach to the economy originated with Ayn Rand.
It’s not easy being Alan Greenspan these days. As the former Federal Reserve chairman, he urged government regulators to take a light touch while banks like Bear Stearns and Lehman Brothers buried themselves—and the economy more generally—under a mountain of debt. Now that his reputation is plummeting faster than the stock market, he’s been forced to admit a “flaw” in his hands-off ideology.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/173514

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They’re Back: Day Traders Thrive in Volatile Market
After largely fading from public consciousness following the dot-com bubble, day traders are back with a vengeance. A prolonged spike in market volatility has been a bonanza for day traders, who buy and sell positions often on a minute-by-minute basis depending on rapid swings in stock prices. The CBOE Volatility Index (Chicago: VIX), which is one of the benchmarks that day traders use to gauge the potential for rapid price changes, has held at about double what is normally considered a high level.
http://biz.yahoo.com/cnbc/081211/28158499.html?.v=1

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Wall Street’s New World Order – Who Will Clean Up ?
A new report from Greenwich Associates helps large US companies sort through the drastic changes sweeping through the world’s investment banks.
http://news.hereisthecity.com/news/business_news/8541.cntns

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‘I Was Good At My Job – Why Can’t I Get Another One ?’
With financial markets professionals losing their jobs in their tens of thousands, the supply of talent available to hiring firms has never been so large. The big problem, however, is that the pool of hiring firms has never been so small.

With most firms more concerned to reduce their payrolls, rather than beefing up the labour force, it’s truly not a good time to be on the job market – yet over 170,000 people in our industry have been laid-off in the last 12 months, and over 65% of them are thought to be still looking for employment. And as the downturn bites, those who are being let go in the latest round of redundancies will face a truly daunting task. Many are too young to consider leaving the industry (as they feel that they have yet to make their money), and countless others feel that they are simply too long in the tooth to consider doing anything else.
http://news.hereisthecity.com/news/business_news/8540.cntns

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Placing Traders – marketing and recruitment network
Placing Traders has launched Release 2 of its marketing and recruitment network,www.placingtraders.com with broader coverage of the financial markets and also with enhanced functionality.
http://www.placingtraders.com/

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Lead Stories

Successful Debut for NYSE Euronext’s Universal Trading Platform
NYSE Euronext (NYX) this week successfully migrated its European Bond products onto its new Universal Trading Platform, representing the first significant milestone in the platform’s roll-out. On Monday Dec. 8, a total of 2,889 fixed-income products were migrated from the Nouveau Système de Cotation (NSC) platform onto the Universal Trading Platform, involving approximately 120 of NYSE Euronext’s European customers.
http://www.euronext.com/news/press_releases/pressReleases-1731-EN.html

Hedge funds’ future may lay in the past
One possible outline of the future of hedge funds is beginning to emerge from the wreckage of the industry’s six-year boom, and it looks very much like the business did in the 1980s, but with lower fees.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ft/20081210/bs_ft/fto121020081839137243

Revaluation Services For OTC Derivatives See Heavy Demand
CHICAGO -(Dow Jones)- Companies providing revaluation services for over-the- counter derivatives expect strong growth in 2009, despite the regulator-driven push to move business onto exchanges. Investors and regulators are making efforts to secure independent valuations for the complex and often-illiquid assets, some of which sparked the credit crunch after banks’ internal models struggled or failed amid extreme market volatility. A raft of specialist revaluation firms – such as FastVal, SuperDerivatives and Pricing Partners – use proprietary models alongside dealer contributions and market data to determine values for OTC derivatives on interest rates, credit, equity, foreign exchange and other asset classes.
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200812101540DOWJONESDJONLINE000853_FORTUNE5.htm

Americans Oppose Bonuses for Wall Street Beneficiaries of Treasury Rescue
Three-quarters of Americans say Goldman Sachs Group Inc., Citigroup Inc. and other banks that accepted taxpayer funds should cancel all bonuses this year.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=special_report&sid=artSrf1bdtNQ

Foreclosure Storm in 2009 May Force 1 Million Homeowners From Properties
U.S. foreclosure filings climbed 28 percent in November from a year earlier and a brewing “storm” of new defaults and job losses may force 1 million homeowners from their properties next year, RealtyTrac Inc. said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601213&sid=au1wYjy9hoSE&refer=invest

Treasury Market Bubble Talk Grows Louder as Investors Give U.S. Free Money
The rally in Treasuries that pushed yields on bills below zero percent this week is adding to concerns that the $5.3 trillion market for government debt is a bubble waiting to burst.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aBXIqDOGKYP4&refer=worldwide

Christopher Cox: We Need a Bailout Exit Strategy
Let’s not forget that free markets made America strong.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122895345612296365.html

Auto bailout could trigger credit-swaps settlement
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — The creation of a “car czar” to oversee the federal bailout of Detroit’s automakers might trigger what’s known as an event in the vast market for credit-default swaps, prompting holders of General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. credit protection to demand payouts, Banc of America Securities said.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/creation-car-czar-could-trigger/story.aspx?guid=%7B2650E125-00B8-4C6C-8425-4DF2FA1A15AD%7D&dist=msr_11

As Securities and Investments Sectors Focus on Fundamentals of Recovery in 2009, Electronic Trading and Wealth Management Show Brightest Prospects for Growth
NEEDHAM, Mass. — All sectors of the securities and investments industry will be dominated in 2009 by the ramifications of 2008’s cataclysmic events, according to a new series of research reports from TowerGroup identifying key trends for the coming year. Yet the electronic trading and wealth management sectors may be best positioned to leverage opportunities for growth as consumers’ need for financial advice increases in 2009 and as advisors and wealth managers take a more holistic approach to managing client assets.
http://www.centredaily.com/business/technology/story/1010311.html

Industry Risk – Corporate Banks Need to Get Used to the “New Normal” If They Are to Survive and Thrive
The financial turmoil has permanently altered the corporate banking landscape and will give rise to a new post-crisis status quo characterized by tougher operating conditions as well as by a widening divide between leading banks and those that had profited from favorable economic conditions — notably low loan losses — but were unprepared for the crisis, according to a report titled “Thriving in the New Normal: Corporate Banking 2008/2009.”
http://www.garp.com/resources/newsfeed.aspx?Category=6&MyFile=2008-12-10-17520.html

NYSE Euronext CEO says industry still consolidating
By Jacob Bunge
NYSE Euronext Chief Executive Duncan Niederauer said he continues to see consolidation on the horizon for the exchange industry, following news that his company had been in merger talks with Frankfurt-based exchange giant Deutsche Boerse AG.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/nyse-euronext-ceo-says-industry/story.aspx?guid={BFE715CE-9D6B-4F72-9114-9D2DA471CA05}&siteid=rss

EU eyes clearing credit derivatives by mid 2009
By Huw Jones BRUSSELS, Dec 10 (Reuters) – The European Commission has secured a preliminary commitment from the credit derivatives industry to centrally clear off-exchange traded contracts within six months, two sources familiar with the situation said on Wednesday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSLA25724220081210

Russians Buy Jewels, Hoard Dollars as Ruble Plunge
Evokes 1998 Devaluation
Moscow resident Tima Kulikov banked on the full faith and credit of the U.S. government, not the Kremlin, when he sold his biggest asset for cash.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a_W0d8XewdGY&refer=exclusive

Lucas named ranking member of House Agriculture Committee by GOP caucus
By Robert Barron, Staff Writer U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas has been named ranking member of the U.S. House Agriculture Committee by the Republican caucus. A lifelong farmer, Lucas farms and ranches in Roger Mills County and represents Okla-homa’s 3rd Congressional District. As ranking member, he will be a policy leader for all areas of the committee’s jurisdiction. Lucas has been a member of the Agriculture Committee since he was elected to the U. S. House in 1994……Another topic committee members will deal with is the Commodities Futures Trading Commission, which is an issue Rep. Collin C. Peterson, D-Minn., and committee chairman, is focused on. Lucas said considering the financial problems on the East and West coasts, he expects the committee will be in the middle of that discussion. “How are we going to oversee the Commodity Futures Trading Commission with jurisdiction on debt swaps?” he said. “This year will be very intense.”
http://www.enidnews.com/localnews/local_story_345234821.html?keyword=topstory

Environmental Trading News

EU moving towards agreement on climate package
Oslo & Washington, DC – December 11, 2008 – The EU is moving towards an agreement on climate policy measures to ensure a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions of at least 20% against 1990 levels by 2020. A breakthrough in the talks is likely to come this week as EU heads of state and government meet in Brussels on December 11 and 12, according to Point Carbon, the leading provider of market intelligence, news, analysis, forecasting and advisory services for the energy and environmental markets.
http://www.vector1media.com/top-stories/environment/eu-moving-towards-agreement-on-climate-package/

EU climate draft eases shock for industry
BRUSSELS (Reuters) – European leaders will seek to ease the shock for heavy polluters when they meet later on Thursday to agree measures to tackle climate change, a draft document showed.
http://www.enn.com/business/article/38847

World must avoid backsliding in climate fight: U.N.
POZNAN, Poland (Reuters) – The world must avoid backsliding in the fight against global warming and work out a “Green New Deal” to fix twin climate and economic crises, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said on Thursday. “We must re-commit ourselves to the urgency of our cause,” Ban told about 100 environment ministers at December 1-12 U.N. talks in Poland working on a new climate treaty but overshadowed by worries about recession.
http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/38841

Poorest Countries Unlocking $990 Million Climate-Adaption Fund at UN
Talks Poor countries at the United Nations climate talks in Poland may win approval to tap into a $990 million fund as early as next month to cope with the damage of global warming, their biggest victory in 11 days of debate.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=aDcQEBcwzwUA&refer=environment

Money and Lobbyists Hurt European Efforts to Curb Gases
By JAMES KANTER and JAD MOUAWAD
Setting up a workable market for climate change credits in Europe has proved difficult and contentious, pointing to pitfalls for the U.S. as it begins to consider a similar system.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/11/business/worldbusiness/11carbon.html?ref=business

Emissions trading plan ‘scares business’
The looming introduction of the federal government’s emissions trading scheme is creating a sense of fear among Australian businesses, the opposition says.
http://www.skynews.com.au/news/article.aspx?id=286157

East African geothermal tests successful
Geothermal energy generation in Africa could take a leap forward in 2009 after exploratory studies in Kenya exceeded all expectations, it was announced yesterday (9 December).
http://www.enn.com/energy/article/38846

For more environmental trading news, subscribe to the Environmental Markets version of the John Lothian Newsletter edited by Jim Kharouf. Click here to subscribe: jimkharouf-request@johnlothiannewsletter.com?subject=subscribe

Exchange & ECN News

NYSE ‘Encouraged’ LCH to Register in New York for CDS Clearing
y Edgar Ortega Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) — NYSE Euronext is urging London-based LCH.Clearnet Group Ltd. to register as a bank in New York to ease U.S. regulatory concerns about the exchange’s plan to guarantee credit default swaps.

A New York registration would give the U.S. Federal Reserves oversight of the fund that NYSE Euronext wants to use to guarantee swaps, Chief Executive Officer Duncan Niederauer said at an investor conference today. The move would help NYSE Euronext broaden its plans to clear CDS contracts beyond Europe, where Niederauer said the company is “extremely well positioned.”
“In the U.S., we’re not where we need to be,” Niederauer said at an investor conference that was broadcast over the Internet. “I’m in the process of working with the London Clearing House to encourage them to register to be a New York trust bank.”

LSE calls in top headhunter for Furse replacement
Luke Jeffs
The LSE has signalled its determination to replace chief executive Dame Clara Furse by appointing Anna Mann, one of the biggest names in UK headhunting, to find a candidate for the high-profile post.
http://www.efinancialnews.com/homepage/content/3352758849/restricted

IntercontinentalExchange Sets Date of February 10 for Fourth Quarter and Year-End 2008 Earnings Release
IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE), a leading operator of regulated global futures exchanges and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, will announce fourth quarter and year-end 2008 financial results on Tuesday, February 10, 2009. An earnings press release will be issued prior to the earnings conference call, which will begin at 8:30 a.m. ET.
http://ir.theice.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=353992

Clearstream Offers Same Day Cash Service in Singapore
Dollar Clearstream, the international central securities depositary (ICSD) part of Deutsche Börse Group, is offering same day cash services for customers using the Singapore Dollar (SGD) meaning that customers managing balances in this currency will benefit from deadlines close to Singapore deadlines.
http://deutsche-boerse.com/dbag/dispatch/en/notescontent/gdb_navigation/press/10_Latest_Press_Releases/INTEGRATE/mr_pressreleases?notesDoc=B0D99980EE6FD998C125751C0040F4A7&newstitle=clearstreamofferssamedaycashse&location=press

South African bond exchange deal
By Jeremy Grant in London
The Johannesburg Stock Exchange on Wednesday offered to buy the Bond Exchange of South Africa (Besa) for R240m cash ($23.5m) and extending the country’s moves towards creating a “multi-asset” exchange. The JSE bought the Safex futures exchange some years ago and, by buying the bond exchange, now has a business spanning the key asset classes of equities, derivatives and bonds.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/174d3320-c6e3-11dd-97a5-000077b07658,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F174d3320-c6e3-11dd-97a5-000077b07658.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ft.com%2Fsearch%3FqueryText%3Djeremy%2Bgrant%26aje%3Dtrue%26dse%3D%26dsz%3D

South Africa Stock, Bond Markets May Merge on Offer (Update1)
By Vernon Wessels and Garth Theunissen Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — JSE Ltd., operator of South Africa’s sole stock exchange, won support from the Bond Exchange of South Africa Ltd. to merge the country’s largest financial-market platforms, ending a decade of spurned approaches.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aaIBQwrVmPSg&refer=africa

NASDAQ OMX Appoints William H. Morgan as Senior Vice President of Human Resources
http://www.nasdaq.com/newsroom/news/newsroomnewsStory.aspx?textpath=pr2008\ACQPMZ200812110700PRIMZONEFULLFEED156212.htm&cdtime=12%2f11%2f2008%20+7%3a00AM&title=NASDAQ%20OMX%20Appoints%20William%20H.%20Morgan%20as%20Senior%20Vice%20President%20of%20Human%20Resources

Important Notice about Domestic Stock Trades in Transition to the Paperless Share System
http://www.tse.or.jp/english/news/200812/081211_a.html

Program Trading Averaged 33.8 Percent of NYSE Volume during Dec. 1-5 http://www.nyse.com/press/1228994004034.html

Review of Trading by Directors in Blackout Period Q3 2008
http://www.asx.com.au/about/pdf/mr_111208_review_director_trading_blackout_q3_08.pdf

Brokers & Dark Pools

Interactive Brokers Acquires Japan’s Moriai Securities as it Increases Asian Presence
Greenwich, CT – December 11, 2008 – Interactive Brokers announces the successful acquisition of Japan’s Moriai Securities, a fully-licensed broker-dealer. As of this week the new company will be known as Interactive Brokers Securities Japan, Inc. The acquisition will immediately allow IB to offer trading facilities to Japanese financial institutions while trading for domestic customers will be made available soon. The acquisition is an integral part of Interactive Broker’s strategy of providing direct market access using superior technology to connect investors with an increasing number of electronic global exchanges at low commissions.
http://www.interactivebrokers.com/

Nomura to launch European electronic trading service in early 2009
Published on December 11, 2008.
Japanese financial services firm Nomura will launch an electronic trading platform in Europe early next year, after finally laying out its plans for Lehman Brothers’ European execution business.
http://www.thetradenews.com/electronic-trading/2584

French court acquits SocGen of money laundering
A Paris court on Thursday acquitted French bank Societe Generale, its chairman Daniel Bouton and three other executives in a case of money laundering between France and Israel. Barclays France and its executives were likewise acquitted in the case, while the National Bank of Pakistan was convicted and fined euro200,000 ($264,300).
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/12/11/financial/f071547S90.DTL&feed=rss.business

Goldman rule tweak to spur veterans to quit: report
(Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc will change its retirement rules in a way that will encourage some long-serving employees to leave by year-end, which may add to its existing workforce reductions, the Financial Times reported.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081211/bs_nm/us_goldman_retirement;_ylt=AmTWwsd1jz6CDN9sS9q8ajG573QA

Goldman Sachs Electronic Trading Announces Point-in-Time Crossing in SIGMA X
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Goldman Sachs Electronic Trading (GSET) announced today a new functionality for matching orders within its SIGMA X liquidity pool.
http://tinyurl.com/GoldmanSachsET

Investment-banking revenue to stay down
Government bonds and currencies only bright spots in 2009
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122886394884592893.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Downtown protest targets Bank of America
Laborers, foreclosure moratorium proponents and other demonstrators took aim at Bank of America Wednesday, making up a crowd of hundreds marching on the Chicago headquarters. Representatives of assorted unions, some from as far as Detroit, came to support the 200 workers staging a sit-in at Republic Window and Doors.
http://www.suntimes.com/business/1325845,CST-FIN-rally11.article

Faurecia Receives `Windfall’ Credit as Sarkozy Pushes French Banks to Lend
French banks that got 10.5 billion euros ($13.8 billion) in a government bailout gave loans to Faurecia SA, the nation’s largest auto-parts maker, at below commercial rates, credit analysts said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aYL1NMYuIrRU&refer=exclusive

Goldman’s London Staff Faces Cuts
Goldman Sachs will lay off as many as 250 European staff, with most cuts coming in London, as part of a plan to reduce its global work force by 10%.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122894500931495821.html

Morgan Stanley seen posting 2nd loss in a year
By Joseph A. Giannone – Analysis
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Morgan Stanley (MS.N: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) is expected next week to announce its second quarterly loss in the past year, fueled by sinking revenues and plunging asset values, but investors are still looking for signs the hard-hit bank can recover from a deepening credit crunch.
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE4B970220081210

Regulatory News

The SEC News Digest
The SEC News Digest provides daily information on recent Commission actions, including enforcement proceedings, rule filings, policy statements, and upcoming Commission meetings.
http://www.sec.gov/news/digest/2008/dig121108.htm

Citigroup, UBS complete deals with SEC to buy back $30 billion in auction-rate securities
By MARCY GORDON , Associated Press
WASHINGTON – Citigroup Inc. and UBS AG on Thursday agreed to buy back a total of nearly $30 billion in risky auction-rate securities that regulators said the banks marketed to customers as safe.
http://www.startribune.com/business/35967519.html

BRIEF-US SEC finalizes $30 bln ARS liquidity settlement with Citi, UBS
WASHINGTON, Dec 11 (Reuters) – The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission:
* Says finalizes settlements with Citigroup Inc UBS AG that will provide nearly $30 billion in liqudity to ARS investors.
http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=7065460&subject=general&action=article

Dreier May Have Also Stolen Client Funds, SEC Says (Update1)
By David Glovin Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — Marc Dreier, the founder of the 250- lawyer New York firm Dreier LLP who’s in jail on federal fraud charges, may have also stolen about $38 million from client escrow accounts, regulators said in court papers.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=aFHZMOWHjRz0&refer=canada

Dreier Lawyer Says Client Is Cooperating With Receiver at Firm
By David Glovin Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) — Marc Dreier, the founder of the New York law firm Dreier LLP who is charged with cheating hedge funds out of more than $100 million, is “cooperating” with the temporary receiver who’s running the business, his lawyer said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=at.zE1En_oac&refer=canada

Former Fidelity Brokers To Pay Over $1 Million To Settle SEC Charges
Eight former Fidelity Investments employees will pay a total of more than $1 million to settle Securities and Exchange Commission charges that they improperly accepted gifts paid for by brokers courting Fidelity’s business, the SEC said Thursday.
http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20081211\ACQDJON200812111232DOWJONESDJONLINE000817.htm&&mypage=newsheadlines&title=Former%20Fidelity%20Brokers%20To%20Pay%20Over%20$1%20Million%20To%20Settle%20SEC%20Charges

FSA response to Practitioner Panel survey
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) today responded to the latest survey of regulated firms by the independent Financial Services Practitioner Panel. The survey showed that firms are more satisfied where they have had recent contact – or enjoy a close relationship – with the FSA. One-in-five firms consider their relationship with the FSA has improved over the last two years, and this is significantly higher where they have had recent contact with the regulator.
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2008/150.shtml

Egg fined £721,000 and will compensate PPI customers
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Egg Banking plc £721,000 for serious failings in its sales of credit card payment protection insurance (PPI).
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2008/149.shtml

Oxfordshire businessman fined £35,000 for lying about FSA authorisation
An Oxfordshire businessman, Mr Mayson Shanti of Marcham, Abingdon has been fined £35,000 by Didcot Magistrate’s Court for falsely claiming that his company, Chase Capital Finance Limited (Chase Capital), was authorised by the Financial Services Authority (FSA). This is the first time that the FSA has prosecuted an individual for falsely claiming to be authorised.
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2008/151.shtml

Former Queensland developer jailed on ASIC fraud charges
Former property developer, Mr Darryl John Loane, of the Gold Coast Queensland, was yesterday sentenced in the Southport District Court to eight years imprisonment following an investigation by ASIC. He will serve a minimum of 15 months.
http://www.asic.gov.au/ASIC/asic.nsf/byHeadline/AD08-81%20Former%20Queensland%20developer%20jailed%20on%20ASIC%20fraud%20charges?opendocument

Saskatchewan a step closer to registration reform
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?id=47373&IdSection=8&cat=8&BImageCI=1

Order against M/s. Prakash Nahata & Co. Member, Calcutta Stock Exchange in the matter of M/s. Ashika Credit Capital Ltd
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2008/2008298.html

Consent Order against P. Suryakant Share & Stock Brokers Pvt. Ltd in the matter of M/s. Design Auto Systems Ltd.
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2008/2008299.html

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Market Risk: North American Equity Derivatives, Financial Crisis Leaves Market in Flux
Author: Jeanine Canneto
Trading volumes of highly liquid “flow” equity derivatives surged last year in North America as hedge funds, asset managers and other institutional investors shifted strategies in response to mounting turbulence in global equity markets. With investors retreating to safer and better-understood instruments in the face of historic volatility, however, the use of structured or securitized equity products fell sharply.
http://www.garp.com/resources/newsfeed.aspx?Category=6&MyFile=2008-12-10-17519.html

Hedge Funds Shrink by $64 Billion Amid Global Recession, Eurekahedge Says
The global hedge-fund industry lost $64 billion of assets in November, with an index tracking its performance declining for a sixth month as economies in Asia and Europe joined the U.S. in recession, Eurekahedge Pte said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a6QLLD6W29bs&refer=worldwide

Five Things Everyone Should Know About Credit Default Swaps
Ever since the financial meltdown began in earnest in August, corporate directors have been hit with a series of complex new problems — not to mention a complex new vocabulary — to deal with.
http://industry.bnet.com/financial-services/1000230/five-things-everyone-should-know-about-credit-default-swaps/

HEDGER ASNESS FLAMES BLOG OVER LAYOFF ITEM
By KAJA WHITEHOUSE
Hedge-fund manager Cliff Asness seems to have gotten himself entangled in a nasty and embarrassing online brawl that suggests he’s losing more than just his investors’ money. The fight
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12112008/business/hedger_asness_flames_blog_over_layoff_it_143683.htm

Crédit Agricole Structured Asset Management launches 10 new ETF on Euronext Paris
http://www.calyon.com/sitegenic/medias/DOC/94509/2008_12_10_cp_casam_etf_en.pdf

November 2008 Performance Review Of The Dow Jones Hedge Fund Strategy Benchmarks – A Monthly Report From Dow Jones Indexes On The Performance Of The Dow Jones Hedge Fund Strategy Benchmarks
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79481

Credit Suisse Commodity Trader Leaves to Start Macro Hedge Fund
By Grant Smith Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — Credit Suisse Group AG derivatives trading director Hakan Kocayusufpasaoglu left Switzerland’s biggest bank to start a macro hedge fund that will invest in commodities, equities, interest rates and currencies.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=asvbgZZS4YF8

Reports

Briefing.com Economic Calendar
http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/MarketAnalysis/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

USDA Today
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/index.asp

Event Calendar
The CBOT Event Calendar provides a list of current US and global events for the upcoming year.
http://www.cbot.com/cbot/calendar/month

CBOE Events Calendar
http://www.cboe.com/AboutCBOE/EventCalendar.aspx

Economic Release Calendar
The Economic Release Calendar (PDF) is a schedule of government, academic and industry economic releases, provided as a service to CME customers.
http://www.cme.com/files/economicreleasecalendar.pdf

Asia-Pacific News

Specialized department to oversee futures market
The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) has obtained approval to establish a specialized department to supervise the business operation of and trading by brokerages and traders in futures contracts.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2008-12/11/content_7296020.htm

S.Korea considers putting exchange operator under state control
SEOUL, Dec 11 – South Korea’s finance ministry will likely decide next month whether to put bourse operator Korea Exchange (KRX) under state control, as recommended by the national audit agency, a ministry official said on Thursday. The Board of Audit and Inspection in September put forward the proposal in September, arguing that KRX needed to be more closely supervised and made more efficient.
http://news.alibaba.com/article/detail/country-grouping/100029455-1-s.korea-considers-putting-exchange-operator.html

Vietnam Opens First Coffee Exchange to Boost Exports
By Beth Thomas, Nguyen Dieu Tu Uyen and Claire Leow Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) — Vietnam opened its first coffee exchange, giving growers in the world’s biggest producer after Brazil more control in pricing beans and helping the Southeast Asian economy to boost exports from the $2 billion industry.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aQ6pWu6BUzHQ&refer=latin_america

Thai Airport Seizure Exposes Investors’ Risks in Land of Rotating Premiers
For decades, Thailand’s rotating-door politics was a sideshow for companies and investors. The recent eight-day seizure of Bangkok’s airports by anti-government protesters changed that.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=axVvomPA0gSU&refer=exclusive

Frontier Markets

Hinduja firm Amas buys 40% in Patco
Palak Shah & Priya Nadkarni / Mumbai December 11, 2008, 0:12 IST In yet another attempt to widen its reach in the country’s financial services sector, the Hindujas have picked up a 40 per cent stake in Paterson Investment and Consultancy Services (Patco), a Chennai-based stockbroking company, for an undisclosed amount.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/hinduja-firm-amas-buys-40-in-patco/00/09/342853/

Pakistan to Lift Share Trading Limits From Dec. 15 (Update1)
By Farhan Sharif Dec. 11 (Bloomberg) — Pakistan’s stock exchanges were ordered to lift curbs barring investors from selling shares from Dec. 15, almost four months after they were initially imposed to restore confidence in a market battered by political upheaval.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601091&sid=aPhiljzynJh0

Miscellaneous News

Finance Media delivers real-time streaming market data solutions to Turquoise website
December 11th, 2008 – Finance Media launches suite of enhanced real-time streaming market data solutions on the Turquoise website
http://www.automatedtrader.net/algo-trading-news-5486.xhtm

Movie futures set for premiere
Brokers Cantor Fitzgerald’s plans to launch a movie futures market has brought a whole new sector into the alternative investing arena. Investors have long been seeking solace from the turbulence of the stock market in alternative investments such as wine, art, antiques and stamps. However, the recent bout of stock market volatility has prompted brokers and investors to seek out new sources of non-financial investment, including films and whisky http://www.investorschronicle.co.uk/MarketsAndSectors/Sectors/article/20081210/da8a17c2-c60c-11dd-bbc9-00144f2af8e8/Movie-futures-set-for-premiere.jsp

Investors get chance to bet on Hollywood blockbusters
A leading US broker is attempting to establish a new market in which investors and media moguls alike will be able to trade on the prospects of future feature films.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/mediatechnologyandtelecoms/3690330/Investors-get-chance-to-bet-on-Hollywood-blockbusters.html

Teradata Empowers Financial Services Firms to Tackle Complex Enterprise Risk Challenges
Teradata Corporation (NYSE: TDC), the world’s largest company solely focused on data warehousing and enterprise analytics, today announced at the “Ri$kMinds Conference” in Geneva that its Teradata Enterprise Risk Intelligence program for the banking, financial markets and insurance industries is tackling complex enterprise risk challenges at more than 40 top-tier financial institutions.
http://www.centredaily.com/business/technology/story/1010534.html

IPC joins Hibernia Atlantic global financial network
http://tinyurl.com/5vujm4

Irish food scare spreads to cattle
DUBLIN (AFP) – Ireland’s food scare crisis spread Tuesday as officials said cancer-linked chemicals had been found in cows as well as pigs, but insisted the risk to human health was minimal.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081209/bs_afp/irelandfoodhealth_081209212655;_ylt=AjC27AqRF9sIveysRfk3L9ymOrgF

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

TradeStation names John Roberts COO
TradeStation taps John Roberts as COO in addition to serving as chief marketing officer
PLANTATION, Fla. (AP) — TradeStation Group Inc., which operates an electronic trading platform, said Wednesday John Roberts will take over as chief operating officer in January. Roberts joined TradeStation as the company’s chief marketing officer in 2007. He will now oversee quality and efficiency of the company’s operations while continuing to be responsible for TradeStation’s marketing strategies and programs.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081210/tradestation_personnel.html?.v=1

**** Congratulations to former CME CMO John Roberts on his promotion.

TradeStation Announces Changes in Senior Management Team
PLANTATION, Fla., Dec 10, 2008 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX) — TradeStation Group, Inc. today announced certain changes in its senior management team. John R. Roberts, who joined the company July 1, 2007 as Chief Marketing Officer (CMO), will, effective January 1, 2009, become TradeStation Group’s Chief Operating Officer (COO). Roberts will continue to report to Chief Executive Officer Salomon Sredni. As COO, Roberts will be responsible for overseeing the quality and efficiency of the operations of the company from the parent-company level. He will also continue to be responsible for the company’s marketing strategies and programs.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/TradeStation-Announces-Changes-Senior-Management/story.aspx?guid=%7B194DFD33-28BF-47F0-BB67-165C68713D98%7D

++++

LiquidityPort Launches Electronic OTC Brokerage Platform for NYMEX Clearport Products
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–LiquidityPort, LLC, today announced the launch of a fully Electronic OTC Brokerage Platform for all NYMEX Clearport products including Blocks, EFPs, EFSs, and Options. NYMEX has certified the LiquidityPort brokerage platform as an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) and Registered Clearport Broker. The LiquidityPort platform will enable clients to find improved liquidity in NYMEX Clearport products with greater efficiency, and anonymity over voice brokerage. The platform will support Request for Quote (RFQ) and Bulletin Board Trading on all NYMEX ClearPort products. OTC trades can be matched with a single click. All transactions will be electronically reported and centrally cleared on NYMEX Clearport. “We are anticipating strong demand from the OTC Energy and Metals Institutional Communities looking for improved liquidity, anonymity, and lower brokerage fees on NYMEX ClearPort” said Peter Maragos, LiquidityPort’s CEO.
http://tinyurl.com/LiquidityPort

++++

Interest rate on US T-bills turns negative
Flight to safety helps Treasury sell $30bn
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/c0c68a98-c646-11dd-a741-000077b07658.html

**** A riskless investment gets a reward-less return, save for the full faith and guarantee of the United States government.

Investors Buy U.S. Debt at Zero Yield
By VIKAS BAJAJ and MICHAEL M. GRYNBAUM
In troubled times, making an investment that offers security but no gain is tantamount to coming out ahead.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/business/10markets.html?ref=business

Money-Market Fund Yields May Fall to Less Than Zero on Fed Cut, Crane Says
Investors in money-market mutual funds that focus on U.S. Treasuries may lose money for the first time if the Federal Reserve cuts interest rates next week and yields become too small to cover expenses.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=axHG.5Dvl3P4&refer=worldwide

++++

Some US bank bailout holdings down $8 billion
By Frank Bass
Bailout’s option to buy bank stock has rough start due to plunging share prices
The government mounted a vigorous defense Friday of its massive bank bailout, responding to an Associated Press analysis showing that stock in the program intended to eventually earn taxpayers a profit has lost almost one-third of its value — nearly $8 billion — in barely one month.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081205/bailout_returns.html?.v=37

**** The government gets a toaster for its investment.

++++

Duffy on Benefits of Credit Default Swaps
http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/up/player/popup/?rn=289004&cl=11030311&src=finance&ch=1316259

**** There was absolutely nothing in this interview that had to do with “Benefits” of Credit Default Swaps. I would love to hear Terry Duffy explain why the futures industry and its clients need to trade Credit Default Swaps. What is the benefit to the industry?

**** At yesterday’s GL Trade panel in Chicago that I moderated, at the end of the program I asked the audience which of them were ready to trade Credit Default Swaps. Not a single hand went up. When you consider all the industry-wide collaborative work that went into Securities Futures back in 2000 to 2002, you have to wonder how Credit Default Swap trading can be successfully launched in Q4 of 2008 or Q1 of 2009 with no one ready, or for that matter seemingly much interested.

**** Maybe there is an opportunity for one or more of the exchanges to warehouse existing contracts in a clearinghouse until they expire. No one has answered how this product, which yesterday’s lead story from the FT called a creation of a “capital aversion,” (a nice way of saying not having to put up any margin) will work if fully margined. I think Credit Default Swaps are a flawed product that needs to go away. I realize that is a simplistic statement, but it is what my gut and my head say. Duffy was right in his Fox Business interview when he said the futures industry has come through this financial crisis unscathed (save for plunging volumes and exchange share prices) and I would like to see it stay that way.

**** On a completely different note, at the GL Trade event I pulled out the winning business card to win an iPod and the winner was the same woman who works for ICE that won the Smart Car at the FIA Expo gala, Tara Williams. Talk about a lucky streak.

+++++

Citigroup’s Cost-Cutters Derail Holiday Toy-Train Exhibit to Save $240,000
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a5S.PqqsxuGQ&refer=exclusive

Citi model train display comes to end of the line
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idINN0940370020081210?rpc=44

**** For sale: $5 million model train set.

**** I just want to be able to sell short movie theater popcorn prizes as they have to be in a bubble.

Chilean Stock Exchange Streamlines Securities Transactions With IBM
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Chilean-Stock-Exchange-Streamlines-Securities/story.aspx?guid=%7B306BC813-57C3-4165-935E-9A4B4130CF97%7D

NCDEX removes additional margin on gold, silver
MUMBAI (Reuters) – The National Commodity & Derivatives Exchange Ltd (NCDEX) has removed a 5 percent pre-expiry additional margins in gold and silver contracts expiring in March 2009 and afterwards, it said in a circular.
http://in.reuters.com/article/businessNews/idINIndia-36954720081210

Liffe to launch commodities on Bclear
Liffe, the international derivatives business of Euronext, has announced that it will launch a range of soft and agricultural commodities on its Bclear OTC derivatives platform in the first quarter of 2009.
http://www.energyrisk.com/public/showPage.html?page=830668

OCC to clear ELX’s interest rate futures
http://www.reuters.com/article/marketsNews/idUSN0927914120081209

Future launch
By Hal Weitzman in Chicago and Anuj Gangahar in New York
A new US futures exchange backed by some of Wall Street’s biggest names took a step closer to launching yesterday by announcing a deal with the world’s largest derivatives clearing house, write Hal Weitzman in Chicago and Anuj Gangahar in New York. Electronic Liquidity Exchange – whose investors include banks such as Bank of America, JPMorgan, Merrill Lynch, Citigroup and Credit Suisse and electronic trading houses such as Getco and PEAK6-Breakwater – said it had struck an agreement with the Options Clearing Corporation to provide clearing and delivery services.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/eaaa2504-c65a-11dd-a741-000077b07658,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Feaaa2504-c65a-11dd-a741-000077b07658.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ft.com%2Fsearch%3FqueryText%3Danuj%26aje%3Dtrue%26dse%3D%26dsz%3D

**** At yesterday’s GL Trade seminar in Chicago, during a discussion about capacity planning I asked a representative of the OCC if they were ready for 50% of the U.S. Treasury futures volume, just for the fun of it.

OCC to clear ELX’s interest rate futures
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/external/reuters/SIG=1165jh9eu/*http://www.reuters.com/legacyArticle?duid=mtfh42056_2008-12-09_21-24-59_n09279141_newsml&rpc=44&type=marketsNews

Exchange-traded derivatives volumes decline
Trading volumes at international derivatives exchanges dropped in the third quarter, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).
http://www.hedgefundsreview.com/public/showPage.html?page=830596

ELX seeks OK to challenge CME Group
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-wed-brf3-elx-dec10,0,7673467.story

Crédit Agricole Structured Asset Management launches 10 new ETFs on Euronext Paris
http://www.euronext.com/fic/000/041/772/417722.pdf

NYSE Euronext welcomes new AEX ETFs to the Amsterdam market
http://www.euronext.com/fic/000/041/771/417716.pdf

London Stock Exchange Welcomes Resolution Ltd to the Main Market
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/NR/exeres/45CC592F-0A18-417E-BC91-5DB817EECA85.htm

NYSE Alternext US Issues Short Interest Report
http://www.nyse.com/press/1228821407545.html

NYSE Group Inc. Issues Short Interest Report
http://www.nyse.com/press/1228821407353.html

NASDAQ Announces End-of-Month Open Short Interest Positions in NASDAQ Stocks as of Settlement Date November 28, 2008
http://ir.nasdaq.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=353617

New Exchange Traded Funds (ETF) on the SIX Swiss Exchange
http://www.six-swiss-exchange.com/media_releases/online/media_release_200812100808_en.pdf

Acceptable Haircut Collateral Review
http://www.lchclearnet.com/member_notices/circulars/2008-12-10.asp

RepoClear Margin Rate Circular
http://www.lchclearnet.com/risk_management/ltd/margin_rate_circulars/repoclear/2008-12-10_2.asp

CME Group Webinar: Opportunities in Trading Treasury and Swap Spreads
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
3:00 p.m. CT
In the current environment, which presents both risk and opportunity, efficient trading alternatives that allow you to quickly act on your market views are more important than ever. U.S. Treasury and Interest Rate Swap futures are effective tools for taking advantage of anticipated changes in the yield curve or movements in credit spreads, or to isolate and trade swap exposure. Join us as we discuss trading Treasury and Swap spreads to capitalize on your market views.
http://view.exacttarget.com/?j=fe551578706605757d1d&m=fef61579716003&ls=fde611767462077b7c1c757d&l=fed01c707564037d&s=fe281c787466057c701376&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe24167173670379721c75

S&P 100 Index (OEX) Option Exercise Procedures
http://www.cboe.org/publish/RegCir/RG08-166.pdf

European-Style Australian Dollar Options on Futures with Vol Quoting
http://www.cme.com/clearing/clr/npadv/files/NPadv08-16.pdf

Corporate Events: Green Bankshares, Inc. (GRNB)
http://www.cme.com/clearing/clr/clradv/files/Chadv08-394.pdf

Prime Source and Pricing Partners Join Forces
Enhanced Combined Offering
London, Paris – 10 December 2008 – Prime Source, a NYSE Euronext company and Pricing Partners today announced a business partnership whereby they will join forces in the valuation business to provide customers with an enhanced combined offering. With the expertise of Pricing Partners in valuing structured derivatives products, the agreement extends Prime Source’s offering to its customers and enables Pricing Partners to expand its reach into new markets and geographies.

Instinet Europe Releases Results of MiFID Best Execution Policy Review for August – October 2008 and Full 12 Months Since Introduction of MiFID
Firm finds Smart Order Routing to new venues has delivered clients average savings of 4.91 basis points over the 12 months since the introduction of MiFID on 1 November 2007; During the final 3 months (August – October 2008) Instinet Europe delivered average savings of 6.06 basis points
LONDON – 10 December 2008 – Instinet Incorporated, a global leader in electronic trading and agency-only brokerage services, today announced that its European agency brokerage subsidiary, Instinet Europe, has published the key findings of its Best Execution Policy Review, conducted in accordance with MiFID regulations. The review covers Instinet Europe’s trading performance from 1 August 2008 through to 31 October 2008 (months 10-12 of MiFID).

Monthly Disciplinary Actions for December
NEW YORK, December 10, 2008—NYSE Regulation, Inc. today announced Monthly Disciplinary Actions for December 2008.
NYSE Regulation undertakes disciplinary action to enforce violations of NYSE rules and federal securities laws by member organizations, NYSE Arca rules and federal securities laws by permit holders, as well as current and former employees of those organizations. There are four enforcement actions announced this month: one NYSE case against a firm, one NYSE case against a floor employee, and two NYSE Arca actions against a permit holder (one for equities, another for options).
http://www.nyse.com/DiscAxn/discAxn_12_2008.html#

Russia c.bank plans repos on MICEX bourse this yr
MOSCOW, Dec 10 (Reuters) – Russia’s central bank said on Wednesday it plans to start taking part in repo operations on the MICEX exchange by the end of the year, potentially opening up its funding to a wider range of organisations.
http://malaysia.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20081210/tbs-russia-repo-stocks-7318940.html

Brokers & Dark Pools

Securities Law and Bankruptcy Law Firms Join Forces for Lehman Bankruptcy
The law firms of Zeisler & Zeisler and Deutsch & Lipner are investigating and will be filing claims on behalf of former clients of Lehman Brothers Inc. who purchased Lehman’s “Structured Products” from the firm.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1722184.htm

Charles Schwab and others take new aim at ‘short sellers’
Critics of stock “short sellers” on Tuesday ramped up their efforts to spur a new U.S. crackdown on the practice — or at least, a crackdown on what is perceived to be abusive shorting. Charles Schwab, the founder of discount brokerage Schwab Corp., wrote an op-ed piece in the Wall Street Journal calling for the return of the so-called uptick rule.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/money_co/2008/12/critics-of-stoc.html

Morgan Stanley Faces Gasoline Price-Gouging Probe in Florida
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) — Morgan Stanley and its gasoline distributor TransMontaigne Inc. are under investigation in Florida for price gouging during Hurricane Ike, state law enforcers said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601072&sid=apSRgyHzye1Y

Morgan Stanley Appoints 133 New Managing Directors
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/081210/20081210005850.html?.v=1

Goldman’s big hitter on the credit crunch – and his passion for a small London charity
AT some point in the new year I will play table-tennis with Michael Sherwood. It will be a daunting prospect. Sherwood, 43, is not just the co-head of Goldman Sachs in Europe, Middle East and Africa, and a genuine City heavy-hitter. He also plays for an hour a week with his close friend, Matthew Syed, the former England number one and probably the finest player these islands have produced in recent years.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23599487-details/Goldman’s+big+hitter+on+the+credit+crunch+-+and+his+passion+for+a+small+London+charity/article.do

Deutsche Bank denies Ackermann mulling UBS job
http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=7061044&subject=general&action=article

Financial News: Goldman set to cut more than 200 London jobs
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/financial-news-goldman-set-cut/story.aspx?guid=%7BB358E7DD-CA5B-42BE-B093-0270A1CBD298%7D&siteid=rss

Goldman Sachs fined $600,00 for inadequately policing trades
http://www.app.com/article/20081210/BUSINESS/81210028/1001/rss

Fidessa expands dark pool access through LeveL ATS partnership
http://www.fidessa.com/corporate/product_news/product_news_10122008.asp

Ex-Bear Fund Manager Says He Warned About Risk
James O’Shaughnessy, a top stock-fund manager who left Bear Stearns in early 2007, said he expressed concern about the firm’s use of leverage but “was politely told to mind my own business.”
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/ex-bear-fund-manager-says-he-warned-about-risk/

Ex Bear chief says rumours killed Wall Street
The former head of collapsed investment bank Bear Stearns has said that the concept of Wall Street as a collection of powerful financial institutions is over as a result of the events of the ongoing financial crisis.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/financialcrisis/3690424/Ex-Bear-chief-says-rumours-killed-Wall-Street.html

Securities Firms Claw Back at Failed Bets
Beware of the claw. As securities firms rein in risk-taking that ran amok when times were good, the use of clawback provisions is spreading, with Morgan Stanley and UBS AG rolling out rules that allow them to take back money paid to traders and other employees whose bets blow up later.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122887461425193661.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

OptionsXpress performance drops in November
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-biz-options-express-dec10,0,2405642.story

Investing Insights: What If Lehman Had Been Saved?
http://www.businessweek.com/investing/insights/blog/archives/2008/12/what_if_lehman.html?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_investing

Blackstone, Lexington Bid on Lehman Merchant-Banking (Update1)
By Serena Saitto
Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) — Blackstone Group LP and Lexington Partners Inc., the U.S. private-equity firms, are among five final bidders for the U.S. and European merchant-banking assets of bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., according to two people involved in the auction.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aPTg.tAwclFY

Price for Banque Lehman Brothers: One Euro
A euro here, a euro there. Lehman Brothers hopes it adds up to real money for the firm’s creditors. Lehman is asking a judge in its bankruptcy case to approve the sale of its French investment banking unit, Banque Lehman Brothers, to Nomura Holdings of Japan for one euro, or a little over $1.29 at Tuesday’s exchange rates.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/price-for-banque-lehman-brothers-one-euro/

Lehman to Sell Neuberger Berman Division for More Than $1 Billion in Stock
Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. will sell its investment-management division to managers of Neuberger Berman, which is part of the business, in an all-stock transaction valued at more than $1 billion.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aHKowpmQkqXI&refer=worldwide

Goldman Draws Ire for Advising Default Swaps Against New Jersey
Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc., one of the top five U.S. municipal bond underwriters, is angering politicians and public-finance officials in New Jersey, Wisconsin, California and Florida by recommending that investors purchase credit-default swaps to bet against 11 states’ debt.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=ac9AV.yzTCNw&refer=news

GFI Still Hunts Suitor December 10, 2008
–Katy Burne
After talks with Tullett Prebon broke down in September, inter-dealer broker GFI Group is still feeling acquisitive, according to company executives at a press briefing at the New York Athletic Club yesterday.
http://derivativesweek.com/ArticleLogin.aspx?ArticleID=2065589

ALARON EXPANDS GLOBAL CLEARING RELATIONSHIP WITH PENSON GHCO
Focuses on Enhancing Customer Experience
CHICAGO, December 10, 2008 – Alaron Trading Corporation (“Alaron”), a leading independent full-service retail futures and options brokerage firm, today announced an expanded global clearing relationship with Penson GHCO, a subsidiary of Penson Worldwide, Inc. “This move is an integral part of our growth strategy,” said Steven Greenberg, CEO of Alaron. “When we chose Penson a few months ago as a clearing FCM, we did so for their superior track-record, financial strength and leadership in the industry. The expanded relationship allows us to focus on enhancing our customer experience and on building client relationships.”
www.alaron.com
www.pensonghco.com

Citigroup To Cut 1,000 Jobs At Japan’s Nikko Cordial: Report
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/finance/citigroup-cut–jobs-japans-nikko-cordial-report/

Thain Pain: Why Some CEOs SHOULD Get Bonuses
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/external/cnbc/SIG=1124r884o/*http://www.cnbc.com//id/28156062?__source=yahoo%7Cheadline%7Cquote%7Ctext%7C&par=yahoo

Regulatory News

The SEC News Digest
The SEC News Digest provides daily information on recent Commission actions, including enforcement proceedings, rule filings, policy statements, and upcoming Commission meetings.
http://www.sec.gov/news/digest/2008/dig120908.htm

Venture Capitalist Charged by S.E.C. Had a Telltale Past
By Claire Cain Miller
Last week, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Justice accused William “Boots” Del Biaggio, a former Silicon Valley venture capitalist, with defrauding investors of $65 million. Such crimes could have been prevented with fairly simple background checks, argues Ken Springer. A former F.B.I. special agent who specialized in white-collar crimes, he now runs Corporate Resolutions, a firm that conducts investigations and background checks for venture capital and private equity firms, hedge funds and banks.
http://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/venture-capitalist-charged-by-sec-had-a-telltale-past/

Investment Firm President To Be Sentenced
Easley Firm Owner Bilks $6 Million From Investors
http://www.wyff4.com/news/18244747/detail.html?rss=gs&psp=news

The Billionaire Bloggers
When the SEC charged Internet billionaire Mark Cuban with insider trading on Nov. 17, the brash mogul’s followers knew where to look for the best commentary. Not newspapers, not cable TV but his uncensored personal soapbox, blogmaverick.com. By Nov. 18, Cuban had posted two statements by his attorneys to the blog and dismissed the SEC’s conduct as “results-oriented, facts-be-damned.” In a single day, his Web traffic tripled.
http://www.globeinvestor.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20081209.wgtbillion1209/GIStory/

Six firms pay $12 million for illegal sales
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission obtained $12 million in restitution and civil penalties against six companies and three individuals in South Florida for the sale of illegal off-exchange currency options.
http://www.miamiherald.com/business/story/806280.html

Watchdogs Chide Treasury on Bailout
Treasury assurances that the bailout is helping to stabilize markets aren’t enough for a program that has been implemented with few internal controls, a pair of government watchdogs said.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122891702630494623.html

Member of a Panel Overseeing the Financial Bailout Objects to Its Findings
By DIANA B. HENRIQUES
The lone Republican on a Congressional panel overseeing the $700 billion financial rescue plan has voted against its first advisory report.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/business/economy/10tarp.html?ref=business

Treasury Criticized By TARP Oversight Panel, Chided on Foreclosure Surge
An oversight committee set up by Congress criticized the U.S. Treasury for not using the $700 billion financial bailout to help average Americans, and questioned its commitment to stem home foreclosures.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=special_report&sid=a2v.KJ7i2IE4

Dreier Faces More Allegations
Securities and Exchange Commission court filings reveal new allegations of recent activities of New York attorney Marc Dreier, including allegations that funds are missing from clients’ escrow accounts. The documents were filed on Monday, the same day that Mr. Dreier appeared in court after being hit by both criminal and civil complaints alleging he defrauded hedge funds of about $100 million by selling them phony financial instruments.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122887844796493945.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

National Futures Association: Forex Requirements – Proposed Amendments to Compliance
Rules 2-36 and 2-39, Financial Requirements Section 13, and the Interpretive Notice Regarding Forex Transactions
http://www.nfa.futures.org/news/PDF/CFTC/CR2_36_2_39_FRSec13_InterpNotc112408.pdf

National Futures Association: Forex Price Adjustments and Trade Practices – Proposed Adoption of Compliance Rule 2-43
http://www.nfa.futures.org/news/PDF/CFTC/CR2_43_ForexPriceAdj_112408.pdf

Charles Boucher Named SEC Chief Information Officer
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-289.htm

SEC’s Longest-Serving EEO Director Deborah K. Balducchi to Retire, Completing 35 Years of Public Service
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-288.htm

Bernanke `War Powers’ Undermine Fed Presidents, Risk Divide on Next Steps
The Federal Reserve’s interest-rate target is getting close to zero, and so is the power of the Fed’s regional bank presidents.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aKba9P9q0Pgc&refer=exclusive

World Bank’s `Wrong Advice’ on Free Trade Left Poor Countries’ Silos Empty
Inside and out, the rusted towers of El Salvador’s biggest grain silo show how the World Bank helped push developing countries into the global food crisis.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aSueX0nYxMrg&refer=exclusive

Insight: Calling on plunge protection
Whenever the equity market takes a serious downturn, conspiracy theorists speculate that the US president’s Working Group on Financial Markets, popularly known as the plunge protection team, is secretly acting to stabilise the market. Usually the case for such intervention is thin. Yet today there is room for a genuine policy debate on this score.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ft/20081209/bs_ft/fto120920081559556981

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

London’s ‘hedge fund alley’ won’t disappear
It has become fashionable to write off London’s “hedge fund alley”. But while Mayfair’s hedge fund community is shrinking, the district’s status as the home of the industry in Europe looks assured.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/breakingviewscom/3690448/Londons-hedge-fund-alley-wont-disappear.html

Russell Publishes Revised T Standard
December 10, 2008 – Russell Investment has issued an enhanced version of its T Standard metric for transition manager performance.
http://www.securitiesindustry.com/news/23062-1.html

Death of commodities greatly exaggerated
By Pratima Desai – Analysis
LONDON (Reuters) – To some the six-year bull run in commodities is definitely over, but depressed markets and deep cuts in output may yet set the stage for another bubble. When that will be is uncertain given the crisis engulfing financial markets, but many investors take the view a significant recovery could be at least two years away. Before then, many producers of grains, oil and industrial metals will have cut output or gone out of business because the prices they can charge for their products have fallen too far. “Bubbles have happened in the past and they will happen again,” said Ian Morley, a director at fund manager Quantum.
http://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE4B92Z320081210

The Rogers™-Van Eck Hard Assets Producers Index Returned -49.1% Year-to-Date Through November 2008
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The RogersTM-Van Eck Hard Assets Producers Index (Bloomberg ticker: RVEI), returned -4.6% in November 2008 and -49.1% year-to-date through end-November 2008.
http://tinyurl.com/599gzm

HEDGE DUO IN FOR $$
TRUMP PAL V. TOURADJI
By MARK DeCAMBRE
Rising hedge-fund star Paul Touradji has stiffed a pair of employees at his highflying Touradji Capital Management of nearly $50 million in bonuses, according to a lawsuit filed late yesterday…
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12102008/business/hedge_duo_in_for__143433.htm

CITADEL BUFFETED BY DECEMBER STORM WARNING
By MARK DeCAMBRE
Ken Griffin thought November was bad. The embattled head of Citadel Investment Group, whose flagship funds declined 12 percent last month, is facing the prospect of a dismal December. Though
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12102008/business/citadel_buffeted_by_december_storm_warni_143437.htm

The Newspaper Bubble, Too, Has Burst
By RICHARD PÉREZ-PEÑA
The American newspaper industry is suffering the hangover from an immense buying spree in 2006 and 2007 that paralleled the housing market, analysts say.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/10/business/media/10paper.html?ref=business

Half the cost of trades due to processing wastefulness
Formal measurement of efficiencies in wholesale financial markets is less developed than in other industries, according to a white paper by Wall Street Systems and researched by McLagan.
http://www.hedgefundsreview.com/public/showPage.html?page=830595

141 Capital, Inc. Commences Trading for Its Seasonal Trading Pool I
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/141-Capital-Inc-Commences-Trading/story.aspx?guid=%7B01DDD055-BB63-4887-AED5-27E091CA5C72%7D

Sterling hits record euro low
LONDON (AFP) – The British pound struck a record low versus the euro on Wednesday, extending its recent weakness as Britain stands on the verge of recession.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081210/bs_afp/forexeuropesterlingeuro_081210101249;_ylt=Ai0vB3uJ_Yfk5bwLOn4uO.OmOrgF

Tribune is extreme, but more bankruptcies possible
NEW YORK – Although Tribune Co. has the distinction of being the first major newspaper publisher to seek bankruptcy protection in this sour economy, it is hardly alone in facing the deadly combination of high debt and declining advertising revenue.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081210/ap_on_bi_ge/tribune_who_s_next;_ylt=AtIIEK79Yt.38FtaGqmEpkFu24cA

Reports

Briefing.com Economic Calendar
http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/MarketAnalysis/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

USDA Today
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/index.asp

Event Calendar
The CBOT Event Calendar provides a list of current US and global events for the upcoming year.
http://www.cbot.com/cbot/calendar/month

CBOE Events Calendar
http://www.cboe.com/AboutCBOE/EventCalendar.aspx

Economic Release Calendar
The Economic Release Calendar (PDF) is a schedule of government, academic and industry economic releases, provided as a service to CME customers.
http://www.cme.com/files/economicreleasecalendar.pdf

Asia-Pacific News

Buy Hong Kong Exchanges, Short Singapore’s SGX, JPMorgan Says
By Chen Shiyin
Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — Investors should buy Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. and short sell Singapore Exchange Ltd. in the next three months because the smaller bourse will be more affected by slowing derivative trading, JPMorgan Chase & Co. said. Derivatives trading fell 25 percent in Hong Kong in November from the previous month, compared with a 35 percent drop in Singapore, JPMorgan said. Volumes in the two cities have still climbed 43 percent and 20 percent, respectively, this year.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=asozVrM3ltY0&refer=asia

Frontier Markets

Mumbai Terrorist Attacks May Decimate Insurers’ Pool of Catastrophe Funds
India’s latest terrorist attacks may decimate a pool of funds set up by the nation’s insurers to cover such claims, potentially leaving victims of any new assault financially exposed.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a5w.baeGNgOY&refer=exclusive

South Africa’s Stock, Bond Markets to Merge as JSE Raises Offer
By Vernon Wessels and Garth Theunissen
Dec. 10 (Bloomberg) — JSE Ltd., operator of South Africa’s sole stock exchange, won support from the Bond Exchange of South Africa Ltd. to merge the country’s largest financial-market platforms, ending a decade of spurned approaches. The JSE increased its offer by 39 percent to 125 rand ($12.27) a share from 90 rand, valuing the company at 240.5 million rand, the Johannesburg-based companies said in a joint stock exchange statement today. At least 63 percent of Bond Exchange shareholders agreed to the takeover, the JSE said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=anmwQg6R0TXw&refer=africa

Edited by Robert Luke, robertluke@johnlothian.com

INITIAL PUBLIC OFFERINGS
Global IPO Activity Fallen by More Than Half Since 2007
PRNewswire
Global IPO activity has more than halved since 2007, according to Ernst & Young’s year-end Global IPO update. During the first 11 months of 2008, a total of 745 IPOs worldwide raised US$95.3 billion in capital. This compares with 1,790 IPOs over the same period in 2007, which raised US$256.9 billion in capital. Full-year figures for 2008 are expected to follow this downward trend, and will compare with a record-breaking 1,979 deals and US$287.1 billion in capital raised over 2007.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Global-IPO-Activity-Fallen-More/story.aspx?guid=%7B3B3CA813-DC67-4E46-88F4-2F5AE7D54FFD%7D

EQUITIES
Emerging Markets: What To Buy
Forbes
Forbes.com gathered three emerging markets fund managers to discuss the current turmoils and opportunities in ascendant economies. Decoupling, the notion that emerging economies are no longer so dependent on the U.S. that they’re correlated to the swings of the domestic economy, proved to be a false hope. Emerging markets have cratered and the promises of diversification have failed in the short term.
http://www.forbes.com/intelligentinvesting/2008/12/09/Intelligent-Investing-Emerging-Markets-PanelDec9.html

PHARMACEUTICAL
Drugmaker Merck To Launch New Biotech, Plans To Expand In Emerging Markets
iStockAnalyst
Merck & Co., Inc. (NYSE: MRK) today announced Tuesday that it plans to launch a new division to generate biologic medicines, intending to derive additional growth from emerging markets and follow-on biologics. The drugmakers are spending more in biologics, which is considered as a lucrative market, and the drugs are generated to treat rheumatoid arthritis, cancer and multiple sclerosis.
http://www.istockanalyst.com/article/viewarticle/articleid/2866307

RETAIL
Campbell’s to keep growing in Russia and China
Associated Press
Campbell Soup Co.’s top executives said Tuesday the company will continue to support its market-leading brands in the United States but also keep expanding in emerging markets like Russia and China. But the soup maker said it will pace its investments in those emerging markets to be in line with the slumping worldwide economy, which is making both consumers and creditors tight with their spending.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2008/12/09/business/NA-US-Campbell-Soup-Analyst-Meeting.php

Miscellaneous News

Cargill to award 350 scholarships across US
Cargill, in collaboration with the National FFA Organization, will award $350,000 in scholarships to high school seniors who plan to enroll in post-secondary education next fall and currently live in communities where Cargill has operations.
http://www.fortmorgantimes.com/news/2008/dec/08/cargill-award-350-scholarships-across-us/?partner=RSS

FINANCIAL CONFERENCE ORGANIZERS ANTICIPATING HARDER TIMES AHEAD, FINDS NEW STUDY
*69% of organizers anticipating a more challenging conference environment in 2009 due to harder market conditions.
*67% of organizers expecting challenges in the coming year have already begun to address anticipated difficulties by changing their locations, agendas or incentives to attract attendance.
NEW YORK, 10th December 2008 – Financial PR & Marketing company Cognito recently commissioned a study of more than 60 financial conferences and conference organizers to assess how these firms are planning to respond to 2008′s weakened conference turnout and general market turbulence. The study finds that while some organizers have not yet outlined steps to address anticipated challenges for 2009, many organizers do plan to change their format next year. Around half of those questioned indicated that they had plans in place to increase or promote conference attendance in 2009 through such measures as changing venues or adding sponsorship incentives.
www.cognitomedia.com

SunGard’s WealthStation Receives High Scores in Celent’s Report on Financial Planning Technology
SunGard’s WealthStation, a wealth management platform for financial institutions and independent RIAs, was ranked in the top quartile among financial planning technology vendors in the latest report published by Celent, a member of Oliver Wyman Group.
http://www.sungard.com/pressreleases/2008/wealthstation120908.aspx

Risky Business – the Importance of Understanding Your Trading Risk
http://www.orcsoftware.com/News/Market-news/2008/Structured-Products-Gain-Traction-in-Eastern-European-Markets/

Screenshot No. 14
December 2008
http://www.rtsgroup.net/news-media/newsletter/article/screenshot-no-14.html

Coral8 wins Financial-i 2008 Leaders in Innovation Award
Coral8 Inc has announced that Coral8 has won a Financial-i 2008 Leaders in Innovation Award. Coral8 was named the most innovative product for Market Data Analytics based on research from Financial-is team of journalists and selection by an expert advisory panel composed of analysts, consultants and market practitioners. We humbly accept this award from Financial-i on behalf of the innovative applications Coral8 customers have developed for market data analytics and other solution areas, said Colin Clark, Executive Vice President of Financial Services, Coral8.
http://www.automatedtrader.net/algo-trading-news-5438.xhtm

Colombia’s New Juan Valdez Remakes Coffee Farms as Starbucks Closes Stores
The 15 percent drop in world coffee prices since May isn’t deterring Luis Sanabria. He is in the midst of his first harvest as a plantation owner, picking the red berries that will become Colombia’s mountain-grown coffee.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aCoSuSos56pY&refer=exclusive

Office Depot to close 126 stores
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Office Depot Inc said on Wednesday it plans to close 126 stores and may restructure businesses as the economic downturn cuts demand from small businesses and retail customers for office supplies.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081210/bs_nm/us_officedepot;_ylt=AiHfzGTwm5ZXuajzQPNA7lCyBhIF

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

Start-Up ELX Market Picks Options Clearing Corp. to Back Trades
By Matthew Leising Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) — The Electronic Liquidity Exchange, a start-up backed by Wall Street banks, chose the Options Clearing Corp. to guarantee its planned trading in U.S. Treasury futures contracts. The Options Clearing Corp. is the clearinghouse for the seven U.S. equity options exchanges and recently agreed to clear futures contracts for NYSE Euronext. The Electronic Liquidity Exchange, known as ELX, is a partnership between JPMorgan Chase & Co., Bank of America Corp., Deutsche Bank AG and hedge fund Getco LLC, among others. ELX also filed to become a regulated futures market today with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the company said in an e-mailed statement.

ELX Electronic Liquidity Exchange Selects Options
By Leslie Kramer Clearing Corporation For Clearing and Delivery Services ELX Electronic Liquidity Exchange (ELX), a fully electronic futures exchange formed by financial institutions, and The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC), a derivatives clearing organization, signed an agreement for OCC to provide clearing and delivery services for ELX.
http://www.financetech.com/feed/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212300386&cid=RSSfeed_FTN_All

ELX To File CFTC Application, Names OCC As Clearinghouse
CHICAGO -(Dow Jones)- The fledgling futures exchange challenging the dominance of CME Group Inc. will file a long-awaited application with federal regulators Tuesday.
The ELX Electronic Liquidity Exchange also said the Options Clearing Corp., or OCC, will provide clearing services. The twin announcements come almost a year after a consortium of banks and technology companies announced the initiative to provide a lower-cost alternative to trading interest-rate products at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The application to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which will regulate the exchange, is a critical juncture ahead of a yet-to-be announced launch date. The exchange is due to start testing next month, according to a report in the John Lothian Newsletter.
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200812091037DOWJONESDJONLINE000386_FORTUNE5.htm

From the Job Postings page on MarketsWiki,
http://www.marketswiki.com/mwiki/Job_Postings:

ELX Futures, LP, a competitive alternative serving global futures market participants to bring enhanced liquidity, cost-effectiveness, and reliability to global futures trading, is now accepting submissions for two new positions in its Sales department.

ELX is seeking Representatives with extensive experience in customer relationship management and the marketing and sales of financial services products, specifically FCM Commodities & Futures and Financial Futures. Trading experience with either or both of these products is a plus. Both roles will be based out of ELX’s New York headquarters, but will require frequent travel to Chicago. Salary commensurate with experience.

Please send resumes to jobs@elxfutures.com.

++++

Newedge Leads Futures Magazine’s “Top 50 Brokers” of 2008
CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Futures Magazine today announced its annual rankings of the “Top 50 Brokers” for 2008 with a new name heading the list this year – Newedge. A 50/50 joint venture between Société Générale and Calyon, Newedge took the number one position with more than $20 billion in U.S. customer equity funds. Goldman Sachs & Co., which topped the list for most of the decade, dropped to second place, followed by UBS Securities, Citigroup Global Markets and JP Morgan Futures. The ranking uses regulatory filings by the futures commission merchants (FCM), listing them by U.S. customer equity (segregated) funds.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/081209/20081209006010.html?.v=1

To view the list of the 2008 Top 50 Brokers, please visit: http://www.futuresmag.com/

++++

SIFMA and ASF Form U.S. Covered Bonds Council
New York, NY, December 9, 2008—The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) and the American Securitization forum (ASF) today announced the creation of a U.S. Covered Bonds Council. The jointly sponsored Council will be a collaborative forum through which a diverse group of market participants will promote the U.S. covered bonds market. The group will focus on the development of market policies and practices that uphold public confidence in U.S. covered bonds. The Council will further represent the industry’s interests through constructive dialogue with legislative, regulatory and other policymaking bodies.
http://www.sifma.org/news/news.aspx?id=9552

++++

The Banks’ Loss Is the Classroom’s Gain
Amid the stock market turmoil, Lehman Brothers’ bankruptcy, the worries of America’s three major automobile producers, and a looming recession, few bastions of opportunity for job-seeking seniors remain unscathed. Yet one sometimes-overlooked recruiter is seeing booming applications and interest across campus. That holdout is Teach for America, which is not only weathering the financial storm, but using the market turbulence as an opportunity for growth.
http://www.thecrimson.com/article.aspx?ref=525829

++++

Market Risk – Business Optimism Index Reaches All Time Low
Author: Kara McFarland
Grant Thornton LLP’s Business Optimism Index, a quarterly confidence measure of U.S. business leaders, dropped to 35.6 in November 2008 from 57.3 in August 2008. The drastic drop pushed the index almost 20 points below the previous record low (54.7), setting a new record since the index’s inception in 2002.
http://www.garp.com/resources/newsfeed.aspx?Category=6&MyFile=2008-12-08-17499.html

++++

Commodity traders grow weary of market swings
By Bob Burgdorfer
CHICAGO (Reuters) – From his desk alongside the Chicago Mercantile Exchange (nyse: CME – news – people ) trading floor, Jim Brooks is seeing more ill tempered cattle and hog traders nowadays as they cope with fast moving markets that has lost many of them money. “Tempers are a little shorter and emotions are more frantic. You definitely feel that,” said Brooks, who oversees floor operations for R.J. O’Brien Futures. “This market is starting to take a toll on some people.”
http://www.forbes.com/reuters/feeds/reuters/2008/12/08/2008-12-08T222422Z_01_N08525350_RTRIDST_0_COMMODITIES-TRADERS-BUSINESS-FEATURE.html

++++

Workers Pay for Debacle at Tribune
When Samuel Zell bought the Tribune Company, he literally mortgaged the future of Tribune’s employees, Andrew Ross Sorkin writes in his latest DealBook column. The real estate baron financed much of his deal’s $13 billion of debt by borrowing against part of the future of his employees’ pension plan and taking a huge tax advantage. Meanwhile, Mr. Sorkin says, the people who mismanaged the company before the buyout managed to get out with a tidy sum for their efforts.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/workers-pay-for-debacle-at-tribune/

Trib bankruptcy a Zell of a deal
by Roger Ebert
…..Zell recently observed that no paper ever made money because of its Pulitzers. I would add that no paper ever made money because of its putzes, which Zell has proven. The lesson here is that journalists create newspapers, and their owners should be in sympathy with that purpose. Sam Zell made his purchase because he wanted to make money. There are quicker ways to make money than buying newspapers, although for some people, few more satisfying. When I told my mom I wanted to be a newspaperman, she said, “Oh, honey, if that’s what you want to do, I suppose so. But they don’t make any money.” Even she knew that.
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081208/OPINION/812089997

**** Ouch!

++++

ICAP to hold 16th annual global Charity Day on December 10
New York, 2 December 2008 – ICAP (IAP.L), the world’s premier interdealer broker, will hold its 16th annual global Charity Day on Wednesday, 10 December, 2008. On this day, all company revenues will be donated to over 100 charities around the world.

Since the inception of Charity Day in 1993, ICAP has raised over £42 million ($84 million) for many well-deserving and needy causes worldwide. In 2007, the company raised a record £9.2 million ($18.8 million) globally on Charity Day.

A full list of the global beneficiaries can be found at http://www.icapcharityday.com/

++++

Lead Stories

Put the credit default swaps market out of its misery
By John Dizard
“Effectively, there isn’t any CDS market now.” David Goldman, an old friend and credit strategist turned private investor, still goes through the credit run sheets from the dealers. “The business looks like the window of a Brezhnev-era Soviet butcher shop. Mouldy scraps hanging in the window. Old women lining up at 4am to try and buy credit protection on General Motors. What are reported as trades are really ways to establish prices to satisfy the auditors.” For several years, I have been among those calling for thoughtful, prudent, moderate steps for the reform of the credit default swaps market. They should be put on exchanges, put through central clearing houses, settlement backlogs reduced and then eliminated . . . etc. I was wrong. The global credit default swaps market should just be liquidated, the contracts allowed to expire and the booby traps defused. Where they can’t be defused, they will explode, and we will have to deal with the loss of capital and litigation.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8979777c-c591-11dd-b516-000077b07658.html

Asia beats US in gold futures trading: Report
Asia, which accounts for 60 per cent of the world gold imports, has overtaken the US in gold futures trading, with Mumbai and Shanghai exchanges growing rapidly, leading trade magazine Futures Industry has reported.
http://profit.ndtv.com/2008/12/09160359/Asia-beats-US-in-gold-futures.html

Citadel under siege
Ken Griffin’s $15 billion firm was flirting with disaster this fall. In a rare interview, he explains how it survived.
(Fortune Magazine) — On the morning of Friday, Oct. 24, James Forese, Citigroup’s head of capital markets, picked up the phone and called Kenneth C. Griffin, the founder and chief executive officer of Citadel Investment Group, a Chicago-based hedge fund that manages $15 billion and has 1,300 employees worldwide. For Forese, it wasn’t an easy call to make, but he felt compelled to do it. People were gossiping all over Wall Street, on CNBC, and on blogs that Citadel was toast. Word had it that the firm’s two hedge funds were down as much as 40%. Talk of the firm’s liquidation was rampant.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/08/news/companies/citadel_vickers.boyd.fortune/index.htm

Greenberg Says Death of Bear, Lehman Means Wall Street Finished
By Elizabeth Hester and Peter Cook Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) — Alan “Ace” Greenberg, the former Bear Stearns Cos. chief executive officer approaching his 61st year on Wall Street, said the investment-banking model he helped pioneer is defunct.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601014&sid=afobAsGbGO8M

Lawmaker: Fannie Mae CEO made poor choices
Mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac made irresponsible investments in recent years that cost taxpayers billions of dollars, said House Oversight Committee chairman Henry Waxman on Tuesday citing internal documents. “Their own risk managers raised warning after warning about the dangers of investing heavily in the sub-prime and alternative mortgage market,” Waxman said at an oversight hearing on the two mortgage giants.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/story.aspx?guid={4648F3CC-B1AE-4026-9917-3695DAE20C3D}&siteid=rss

FIA Testifies on Credit Derivatives Clearing
Washington, D.C.—Dec. 8, 2008—FIA President John Damgard discussed several issues related to the clearing of credit derivatives in testimony today before the U.S. House Agriculture Committee. Damgard made three main points in his written testimony. First, the interests of clearing firms must be recognized in the proper structure of any successful CDS clearing operation. Second, government agencies should not make CDS clearing a “jurisdictional football.” Third, merging the Commodity Futures Trading Commission and the Securities and Exchange Commission will not answer the financial market regulatory concerns raised by Congress in recent months.
http://www.futuresindustry.org/downloads/FIA_CDS_Testimony_12-08-08.pdf

Derivative Clearing: Make It the Law?
By SARAH N. LYNCH and JACOB BUNGE
Top executives from four major financial exchanges told federal lawmakers Monday they believe the clearing of certain kinds of credit derivatives should be mandated by law. CME Group Inc., IntercontinentalExchange Inc., the Eurex derivatives unit of Deutsche Börse AG and NYSE Euronext Inc.’s Liffe platform are all vying to “clear,” or process, trades in credit-default swaps, amid regulatory pressure on both sides of the Atlantic to reform this over-the-counter market.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122878556495790139.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Officials tout plans for CDS clearinghouses
By MARCY GORDON WASHINGTON (AP) — With momentum building toward new clearinghouses for complex investments partly blamed for the financial crisis, executives of competing exchanges on Monday touted their plans to operate the new entities.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5g0JqYvGBy1XGA7Cn_mSlVSy5iL5QD94UOLM00

Eurex: US Laws Should Support Clearing Of Credit Derivatives
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- A top official from the Frankfurt-based derivatives exchange Eurex told federal lawmakers Monday that Congress should consider passing legislation that would help move more over-the-counter derivatives onto clearinghouses.
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200812081419DOWJONESDJONLINE000510_FORTUNE5.htm

Exchange Cos Rally As Clearing Takes Center Stage In M&A
By Jacob Bunge and Doug Cameron
CHICAGO (Dow Jones)–Shares of financial-exchange companies rallied Monday as the potential impact of abortive talks between NYSE Euronext (NYX) and Deutsche Boerse (DBOEF)highlighted the importance of clearing services in future dealmaking. Exchange valuations have crumbled this year amid weakening equity and derivatives trading volumes and a pause after two years of sometimes frenetic dealmaking.
http://www.djnewsplus.com/article/DN-CO-20081208-009821.html?mod=J1&a=T+Wire&h=Exchange+Cos+Rally+As+Clearing+Takes+Center+Stage+In+M%26A+

How Did Hedge Funds Fall for It?
In what The New York Times referred to as brazen and carefully choreographed scams in the U.S. and Canada, Marc S. Dreier, who in 1996 founded a 250-lawyer firm that bears his name, is said to have tried to take advantage of the current financial crisis by selling phony debt to hungry hedge funds looking for deals. But Breakingviews, looking at the alleged fraud from a different angle, wonders how in the world these hedge funds fell for it. The tale, it says, speaks very poorly of these funds’ due diligence.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/how-did-hedge-funds-fall-for-it/

A Financial Sector Small Enough to Drown in a Bathtub
By Dean Baker As the tale of greed and stupidity that gave us the housing bubble and subsequent crash continues to unfold, it is becoming increasingly clear that the problem was not simply that the regulators were out to lunch. Some regulators saw the problems and wanted to take steps to rein in abuses but were prevented from doing so by the political power of the financial industry. The best example of politics thwarting effective regulation was when Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin, and Larry Summers prevented Brooksley Born, the head of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, from regulating credit default swaps in 1998. However, there are many other instances coming to light in which political interference obstructed efforts to stem questionable practices by the financial industry.
http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/2008/12/08/a_financial_sector_small_enoug/

Environmental Trading News

EU agrees renewable energy to provide a fifth of needs by 2020
BRUSSELS (AFP) – EU governments and the European Parliament agreed Tuesday on a bill obliging Europe to use renewable sources for 20 percent of its energy needs by 2020, negotiators told AFP.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081209/sc_afp/euclimatewarmingenergy_081209144003

Aussies slammed at Poznan climate summit
ENVIRONMENTAL groups last night blasted Australia as the single biggest disappointment at climate change talks in Poland, saying it was “Groundhog Day” with the Rudd Government acting like the Howard government.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,,24778162-2702,00.html?from=public_rss

Chris Ruffle on the pitfalls of green investing in China
http://www.ft.com/cms/893ac9c8-757e-11dc-b7cb-0000779fd2ac.html?_i_referralObject=954804597&fromSearch=n

Climate talks to fail without tough CO2 goals: U.N.
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4B519W20081209

Environment agencies back RMA reform
Grant Fleming
Environmental agencies have backed the Government’s plans to reform the Resource Management Act (RMA). But they have also warned that trading off long-term environmental sustainability for short-term economic gain may ultimately damage the $29 billion a year farming and tourism industries.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/politics/news/article.cfm?c_id=280&objectid=10547235

For more environmental trading news, subscribe to the Environmental Markets version of the John Lothian Newsletter edited by Jim Kharouf. Click here to subscribe: jimkharouf-request@johnlothiannewsletter.com?subject=subscribe

Exchange & ECN News

NYSE-Deutsche Boerse Merger Talk Puts Pressure On CME
By Doug Cameron
CHICAGO (Dow Jones)–CME Group Inc. (CME) could be forced to return to the acquisition trail if NYSE-Euronext (NYX) and Deutsche Boerse (DB1.XE) reheat the failed merger talks that emerged over the weekend. The Chicago derivatives exchange operator would be the main loser from such a transatlantic combination, giving up its crown as the world’s largest futures marketplace.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20081208-706804.html?mod=sp_deals

***** Bunk, bunk and more bunk, but don’t take it personally Doug! Biggest does not necessarily equate to best.

Deutsche Boerse reignites exchange merger talks
By Daisy Ku and Jonathan Spicer
LONDON/NEW YORK (Reuters) – In the world of stock exchanges, bigger is better. And although Deutsche Boerse said on Sunday that merger talks with NYSE Euronext had ended with no result, exchanges will still have to make cross-border mergers to contain costs.
http://uk.reuters.com/article/stocksNews/idUKLNE4B800Y20081209

Liffe to launch soft commodity central clearing
By Jeremy Grant and Javier Blas Liffe, the futures unit of NYSE Euronext, is to launch the first central clearing mechanism for over the counter soft commodities through its Bclear clearing business in another sign of how clearing is moving centre stage amid concerns over counterparty risk. Ian Dudden, Liffe’s director of commodities, said Bclear would start by clearing OTC coffee, sugar and cocoa in the first quarter of next year. Wheat and rapeseed would follow.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b7802996-c554-11dd-b516-000077b07658.html

Liffe to launch commodities on Bclear in Q1 2009
Liffe announced today that it will launch a range of soft and agricultural commodity products on its award-winning Bclear (OTC derivatives) service in the first quarter of 2009. Commodity products will join the individual equity, index and credit default swap products offered by Bclear, which was launched in 2005. An exact launch date will be announced in due course.
http://www.euronext.com/news/press_release/press_release-1731-EN.html?docid=624505

ICE Announces Second Set of New OTC Cleared Contracts
IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading operator of global regulated futures exchanges and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, announced the introduction of 11 new cleared energy contracts in its OTC marketplace beginning January 9, 2009. ICE previously announced that it would be introducing more than 50 new cleared products beginning in December 2008 and continuing into 2009. The first tranche of 21 contracts launched on December 5.
http://ir.theice.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=353301

Deutsche Börse AG Supervisory Board Elects New Chairman
The Supervisory Board of Deutsche Börse AG, Frankfurt, elected Dr Dr h.c. Manfred Gentz (66) as its new Chairman, in today’s meeting. Gerhard Roggemann (60) will perform the function of Deputy Chairman of the Supervisory Board in the future. Both have been members of the Supervisory Board for many years. The former Chairman, Kurt F. Viermetz, is leaving the Supervisory Board as announced.
http://deutsche-boerse.com/dbag/dispatch/en/notescontent/gdb_navigation/press/10_Latest_Press_Releases/INTEGRATE/mr_pressreleases?notesDoc=32375EA4A3AA9C09C1257519006605D3&newstitle=deutscheboerseagsupervisoryboa&location=press

US broker plans bourse for movie futures
By Jeremy Grant in London and Matthew Garrahan in Los Angeles
Investors tired of the rollercoaster ride in the world’s stock markets will soon be able to take a punt on the probability of the next Hollywood movie blockbuster with the launch of an exchange specialising in movie derivatives. Cantor Fitzgerald, the broker, said on Monday it had applied to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the US futures regulator, to launch Cantor Exchange, a bourse that would list “domestic box office receipt contracts” – in effect, movie futures.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/74855fd8-c56f-11dd-b516-000077b07658,dwp_uuid=e8477cc4-c820-11db-b0dc-000b5df10621.html

Customers gain as currency futures exchanges compete
Pressure of competition is bringing in efficiencies and currency future exchange clients are benefitting. A case in point is the intense competition between MCX-SX, the exchange floated by Financial Technologies, and the National Stock Exchange. While NSE leads the volume on some days, MCX-SX leads on other days.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/customers-gain-as-currency-futures-exchanges-compete/01/39/342632/

OneChicago To List 8 Index Futures available for trading 12/08/2008 http://www.onechicago.com/wp-content/uploads/content2008/12_8_2008.pdf

New HedgeStreet Intraday Contract Features
CHICAGO, December 8, 2008 – HedgeStreet, Inc., the first regulated, retail-focused futures exchange in the US for online binary options trading, announced that it will be making certain improvements to its Intraday Contracts beginning December 08, 2008. These new intraday binary features will give HedgeStreet members the opportunity to take advantage of additional short-term binary option contracts using a more streamlined and innovative structure on the HedgeStreet Exchange.
http://www.hedgestreet.com/abouthedgestreet/pressreleases/pressrelease_40.html

SGX UPGRADES TRADING ENGINE TO FACILITATE WIDER PARTICIPATION IN DERIVATIVES BUSINESS, INCLUDING ALGORITHMIC TRADES
9 December 2008 – Singapore Exchange Limited (SGX) is pleased to announce today that it launched a major upgrade to its trading engine for the derivatives market, Quest-DT, yesterday. The upgraded engine will add capacity and capabilities to support new order types and enhanced options trading strategies as well as serve increased demand from algorithmic and high-velocity traders. This upgrade is also an essential pre-requisite to the launch of the new derivatives clearing system (SGXClear) planned for end-2009.
http://info.sgx.com/webnewscentre.nsf/bcb6f015b16e5258482569a7001af139/48256838002f07b14825751a00326ed0?OpenDocument

Thai bourse chief resigns
By Amy Kazmin in Bangkok
Kittiratt Na-Ranong, Thailand’s stock market chief, resigned yesterday in an unusual show of responsibility as a result of the Thai bourse losing what would have been its biggest initial public offering to rivalSingapore.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/98001c2a-eb8b-11da-823e-0000779e2340.html?nclick_check=1

No Respite For Exchanges In Latest Slump But Grounds For Optimism In 2009 – FTSE Mondo Visione Exchanges Index Down 16.8 Per Cent In November
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79421

Chicago Merc Alive And Kicking
http://www.forbes.com/finance/2008/12/08/chicago-mercantile-exchange-pf-ii-in_sr_1208soapbox_inl.html

NYSE Euronext Announces Trading Volumes for November 2008
http://www.nyse.com/press/1228475262908.html

Clearstream’s Activity Figures for November 2008
http://deutsche-boerse.com/dbag/dispatch/en/listcontent/gdb_navigation/press/10_Latest_Press_Releases/Content_Files/13_press/December_2008/pr_clearstream_figures_09122008.htm?newstitle=clearstreamsactivityfiguresfor&location=press

Effective date of change in Circuit Breaker rule on index futures
http://www.tse.or.jp/english/news/200812/081208_a.html

Brokers & Dark Pools

Bad derivative bets confounded Mexico central bank-Ortiz
MEXICO CITY, Dec 8 (Reuters) – Losing derivatives bets, that devastated a few Mexican companies in October as the peso currency plummeted, were so complex that even the country’s top central bankers had trouble understanding them.
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssConsumerGoodsAndRetailNews/idUSN0851232320081208

Lehman halts Capital Crossing stock sale
Lehman Brothers Bank said it has decided not to liquidate the preferred stock issued by an affiliate of Boston-based Capital Crossing. The announcement sent the preferred stock issued by Capital Crossing Preferred Corp. (Nasdaq: CCPCN) into a tailspin Tuesday morning. The shares fell 65 percent to $6.25.
http://www.bizjournals.com/boston/stories/2008/12/08/daily19.html?ana=from_rss

Banks May Issue $450 Billion of FDIC Term Debt, Barclays Says
By Gabrielle Coppola Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) — Banks participating in the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.’s debt-guarantee program may issue $350 billion to $450 billion of debt maturing in more than one year by the end of June, according to Barclays Capital.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601009&sid=aL9G29oWUz8Q

HSBC launches new $5 billion fund for businesses
HSBC has created a new $5 billion global working capital fund for small and medium-sized businesses to ensure that they continue to have access to appropriate credit during the current financial and economic crisis.
http://www.banking-business-review.com/article_news.asp?guid=488D0A8D-4867-4CF5-988B-0E917E24FED8

John Thain Reacts To Public Relations Recoil
John Thain, the outgoing chairman and CEO of Merrill Lynch — which Bank of America is in the process of ingesting — should have known better. But he didn’t, writes Jim Murphy.
http://www.djnewsplus.com/article/SB122882761279411917.html?mod=h&a=Mark+to+Market&h=John+Thain+Reacts+To+Public+Relations+Recoil

Morgan Stanley CEO gives up bonus
NEW YORK — Morgan Stanley’s Chief Executive John J. Mack is giving up a bonus for the second year as Wall Street struggles through one of the worst crises in its history.
http://www.suntimes.com/business/1320742,CST-FIN-sside09.article

Bonus Season Afoot, Wall Street Tries for a Little Restraint
By LOUISE STORY
Morgan Stanley is attaching a string to its annual bonuses, one that would enable the bank to yank some money back from its employees.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/09/business/09pay.html?ref=business

STREET BONUS BLUES
MACK, THAIN FEEL PAIN
By MARK DECAMBRE and PAUL THARP
Two of Wall Street’s one-time invincibles – John Mack and John Thain – have bowed to Wall Street’s new frugality, skipping their rich bonuses this year. For both, the moves appeared to be…more >
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12092008/business/street_bonus_blues_143342.htm

Citigroup cancels fixed-income party amid layoffs – source
LONDON (Dow Jones)–Citigroup has canceled a Christmas party for London-based staff in its fixed-income division because senior executives in the group decided it would be inappropriate amid ongoing layoffs, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/citigroup-cancels-fixed-income-party-amid/story.aspx?guid={FF2ED4D7-8F5E-41D7-86FB-97853D3EAFB9}&siteid=rss

When Integrity failed
The First Integrity Bank NA occupied a place of prominence in Staples, Minn.’s tiny business district. Located on Fourth Street, across from the old Amtrak station and near Ernie’s Food Market, First Integrity served as one of two banks for the 3,000 residents of this hardscrabble town about halfway between Minneapolis and Fargo, N.D. First Integrity’s 89-year life ended ignominiously in late May. On a Friday evening, government examiners from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency rode into town and took over the bank. The next Monday, a tarp covered the old name. First Integrity reopened as a branch of First International Bank and Trust, based in Watford City, N.D.
http://www.thedeal.com/newsweekly/features/when-integrity-failed.php

Regulatory News

The SEC News Digest
The SEC News Digest provides daily information on recent Commission actions, including enforcement proceedings, rule filings, policy statements, and upcoming Commission meetings.
http://www.sec.gov/news/digest/2008/dig120908.htm

Forex Scams on Rise Amid Weak Regulation
By Natasha Afanaseva
In its annual report this year, the U.S. Commodities Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) — the body which oversees the Forex market — released a report stating that over the last few years it has seen a steady increase in the number of foreign exchange scams around the globe. A Forex scam is defined as any trading scheme used to defraud individual traders by convincing them that they can expect exceptionally high profits by trading on the Forex market.
http://www.times.spb.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=27819

Florida Federal Court Orders Nine Defendants in CFTC Foreign Currency (Forex) Anti-Fraud Action to Pay More than $12 Million in Penalties and Customer Restitution
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today that it obtained more than $12 million in restitution and civil monetary penalties against nine Florida defendants to settle a CFTC anti-fraud lawsuit in connection with the offer and sale of illegal off-exchange foreign currency (forex) options (CFTC v. The Liberty Mutual Group, et al., No. 07-21267 (S.D. Fla.)).
http://www.cftc.gov/newsroom/enforcementpressreleases/2008/pr5580-08.html

Regulators preparing rescue of credit unions: report
(Reuters) – Federal regulators are preparing a rescue plan to shore up the finances of some large credit unions, using billions of dollars in new government borrowings, the Wall Street Journal reported.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081209/bs_nm/us_creditunions_rescue;_ylt=Aoq5QGXOIJUtsMRa_5GRYb.573QA

What Cuomo wants from Wall Street
New York’s top enforcement lawyer surprises by not taking a page from the playbook of his predecessor, Eliot Spitzer.
http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/05/news/newsmakers/bandler_cuomo.fortune/index.htm?postversion=2008120807

IRS to Crack Down on Tax Dodge Sold by UBS, Citigroup (Update1)
By Ryan J. Donmoyer Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) — The Internal Revenue Service has made a priority of cracking down on derivatives created by banks such as UBS AG and Citigroup Inc. that are designed to help offshore hedge funds avoid a 30 percent dividend tax.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aE3_IrS95hu0

Victims of investment schemes to receive millions
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?id=47341&IdSection=8&cat=8&BImageCI=1

SEC, MSRB: New Measures to Provide More Transparency Than Ever Before for Municipal Bond Investors
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has unanimously approved measures that will shine more light than ever before on the municipal securities market by tapping the power of the Internet. For the first time, investors will have a free, one-stop way to find municipal bond information online to help them make investment decisions.
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-286.htm

Shareholders: Your personal details might be on a database shared by fraudsters
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has warned about 11,000 UK shareholders that their personal details are on a database shared by fraudsters, which can be used to target people and illegally sell them shares.
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2008/148.shtml

FSA: ‘Get a grip’ on bonuses or face nationalisation
By Rupert Neate Thomas Huertas, director of banking at the FSA, said bonuses which are based on revenue rather than profit are a “one-way ticket to disaster”. The regulator said banks must “eliminate” bonuses that are based on projected, rather than actual profits, and put an end to lump sum cash pay-outs.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/3685218/FSA-Get-a-grip-on-bonuses-or-face-nationalisation.html

Lawyer Accused of $100 Million Swindle
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122875839668488461.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Economic and Financial Newsletter – Autumn 2008
http://www.amf-france.org/documents/general/8596_1.pdf

SEBI amends DIP Guidelines to provide for combined offering of Non-Convertible Debentures (NCDs) with warrants, through Qualified Institutions Placement (QIP) mechanism
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2008/2008293.html

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Energy Is Best 2009 Commodity, Barclays Survey Shows (Update1)
By Christopher Martin and Ron Day Dec. 9 (Bloomberg) — Energy products will be the best- performing commodities next year, according to a survey of investors by Barclays Capital.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601207&sid=a4VMLJMdjbYk

Palladium Monopoly Liberalized
Russia, the world’s biggest palladium producer, ended a government monopoly on exports of the metal and on platinum. President Dmitry Medvedev Thursday signed amendments to a law on budget and tax policy that strips Almazyuvelirexport of its monopoly on exports of so-called platinum group metals, for which the state trading company charged fees, the Kremlin said Friday. The palladium and platinum reserves of Norilsk Nickel were classified as a state secret until 2005. The company did not have permits to export platinum, which is used in jewelry, for four months last year.
http://www.times.spb.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=27799

Asset Managers Under Stress; Analysts Cut Ratings
Ed Welsh writes that firms are targeting specific asset managers in their research notes and as asset-management companies face extreme stress from steep declines in the global equity markets.

Fleckenstein to Shutter Short-Selling Hedge Fund
One of the most public defenders of short-selling is closing down his fund. Bill Fleckenstein, the hedge fund manager, wrote in his Daily Rap column that he was closing down his Fleckenstein Capital fund. Mr. Fleckenstein’s column was reprinted on the Calculated Risk blog.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/08/fleckenstein-to-shutter-short-selling-hedge-fund/

Hedge Fund Losses Slowed in November, Redemptions Continued
http://tinyurl.com/HedgeFundLosses

Integral’s FX Inside STP now available via Thomson Reuters
http://www.automatedtrader.net/algo-trading-news-5341.xhtm

Reports

Briefing.com Economic Calendar
http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/MarketAnalysis/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

USDA Today
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/index.asp

Event Calendar
The CBOT Event Calendar provides a list of current US and global events for the upcoming year.
http://www.cbot.com/cbot/calendar/month

CBOE Events Calendar
http://www.cboe.com/AboutCBOE/EventCalendar.aspx

Economic Release Calendar
The Economic Release Calendar (PDF) is a schedule of government, academic and industry economic releases, provided as a service to CME customers.
http://www.cme.com/files/economicreleasecalendar.pdf

Frontier Markets

South Africa: Look At the Dow As the Indicator
Jean Temkin Johannesburg — BACKING my thought that the next bubble to burst may be the dollar, Michael Power, a strategist at Investec Asset Management, believes the dollar is in trouble and that the US position and status in the world economy is starting to fall.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200812080100.html

Examine the Indian Commodities Trading Market
http://www.reportlinker.com/p098019/Indian-Commodities-Trading-Market.html

Financial Technologies Group and MCX unveil ‘Bourse Africa’
http://www.ftindia.com/PR_9Dec08_Bourse%20Africa.pdf

Franklin Templeton Investments Introduces Templeton Frontier Markets Fund for U.S. Investors
Franklin Templeton Investments today announced the introduction of Templeton Frontier Markets Fund, the first actively managed, U.S.-registered fund dedicated to investing in the dynamic economies of frontier market nations around the world.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/081209/20081209006029.html?.v=1

Miscellaneous News

Tribune bankruptcy may trigger $1.5 bln in CDS payments
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Payments of around $1.5 billion will likely need to be made to settle credit default swaps on Tribune Co’s debt, after the newspaper publisher on Monday filed for bankruptcy protection. The privately held publisher of the Chicago Tribune and Los Angeles Times, which took on about $13 billion of debt when it went private last year under a deal led by real estate mogul Sam Zell, filed for bankruptcy after struggling with its heavy debt load. Around $20.5 billion of credit default swaps on Tribune’s debt are outstanding, though this number falls to around $1.5 billion after netting down redundant exposures, according to data by the Depository Trust and Clearing Corp, which confirms the majority of credit derivative trades.
http://www.reuters.com/article/americasDealsNews/idUSTRE4B76FJ20081208

ISDA TO PUBLISH PROTOCOL FOR TRIBUNE CO.
NEW YORK, Tuesday, December 9, 2008 – The International Swaps and Derivatives Association, Inc. (ISDA) today announced that it plans to launch a CDS auction protocol to facilitate the settlement of credit derivatives trades (other than loan-only CDS transactions) referencing Tribune Company, a Chicago-based media conglomerate.
http://www.isda.org/press/press120908.html

NYTimes.com Launches a New Campaign Demonstrating the Depth of the Site’s News and Information Offerings
http://www.djnewsplus.com/article/DN-CO-20081209-007076.html?mod=J1&a=T+Wire&h=PRESS+RELEASE%3A+NYTimes.com+Launches+a+New+Campaign+Demonstrating+the+Depth+of+the+Site%27s+News+and+Information+Offerings+

Interactive Data offers Real-Time Data from Canada’s Pure Trading
Jay Kilberg, managing director, Interactive Data Real-Time Services: “The availability of this data through PlusFeed can enable our clients to access critical Canadian capital market information.”
http://www.automatedtrader.net/algo-trading-news-5343.xhtm

BlueCrest Taps StreamBase, Vertica for Market Data Infrastructure
December 9, 2008 – London hedge fund BlueCrest has deployed technology from StreamBase and Vertica.
http://www.securitiesindustry.com/news/23060-1.html

Chi-X Europe and Intelligent Financial Systems Introduce Historical Chi-X Europe Data Service
LONDON – 9 December 2008 – Chi-X® Europe Limited, operator of the largest pan-European equity multilateral trading facility (MTF), and Intelligent Financial Systems Limited (IFS), providers of historical data and trading applications to the financial markets, today announced the introduction of the Chi-X Europe DataService. The Web hosted service, which is available immediately at http://chix.if5.com, provides access to raw Chi-X Europe historical tick and order book data – including the ability to rebuild full depth of book – from 1 August 2008 onwards, as well as integrated search, analytics, custom report generation and data query services.
http://chix.if5.com

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

Jeff Sprecher’s IntercontinentalExchange moves ahead to clear credit default swaps
By Joshua Boak
Push comes as partnership between CME Group, Citadel deals with financial crisis
In car racing, it’s called the bump and run. The car on the tail of the lead car bumps it, causing it to lose traction. In that instant, the catch-up car’s driver hits the accelerator and vaults into the lead. Jeffrey Sprecher never bumped and ran when racing cars in the 1980s. He never won either. But in business, his IntercontinentalExchange Inc. is now gunning to push aside much larger rivals. At stake is a financial market valued at trillions of dollars. To hear him tell it, all he did was find the right place in the pack, spot an opening and step on the gas. “My career and, more importantly, the creation of ICE are just riding a series of intersecting trends,” the 53-year-old said. “We just position ourselves in the middle of them.”
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sun-sprecher-1207-dec07,0,3685030.story

**** This story was on the front page of the Tribune’s Sunday business section. Tellingly, it was a very small business section.

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Tribune files for bankruptcy
http://www.chicagobreakingnews.com/2008/12/tribune-files-for-bankruptcy.html

**** Several years back the Tribune editorial board criticized the CME for not being more aggressive in terms of closing the trading floors and thereby cutting costs. The Tribune had the same problem, a high-cost old fashioned business model in a time of tremendous change. Recently, all they needed to see was the line of people on Michigan Avenue in Chicago wanting to buy an iPhone at the Apple store and they would know all they needed to know about how people are getting information delivered today. Ironically, today I first learned of the Tribune’s bankruptcy filing when it flashed on my computer screen. I hope the Tribune can emerge from this.

**** ICE has a newly redesigned website. Check it out.

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JLN/EMN Website

We recently redesigned the website of the John Lothian Newsletter and Environmental Markets Newsletter. Check out the flash presentations on each. I particularly like the EMN one.
• www.johnlothiannewsletter.com
• www.environmentalmarketsnewsletter.com

++++

Edward Usset: Pit trading will end at Grain Exchange, but market will live on
Why the open-outcry system has a place in history — and why it’s going away.
Pit trading and open outcry are soon to become a footnote in the free-market system. In October, the Minneapolis Grain Exchange released a statement: “After a long history of futures and options open outcry trading, MGEX is closing its trading pits effective December 19, 2008.”
http://www.startribune.com/opinion/commentary/35625019.html?elr=KArksc8P:Pc:UthPacyPE7iUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

**** Long live open outcry!!!!

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FlexTrade Wins Leaders In Innovation Award For Best EMS Platform
http://www.flextrade.com/uploads/headline/80.pdf

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LAST CHANCE TO BOOK YOUR PLACE AT THE GL TRADE OPERATIONAL RISK CLEARING PANEL!

Come and share your views with our top quality panelists from Bank of America, BNP Paribas, the CME Group, Newedge, the OCC and Penson GHCo, on December 9th at the Union League Club of Chicago.

London and Singapore’s editions of this event were a storming success.

GL TRADE invites YOU to the GL CLEARING PANEL Chicago edition, an event dedicated to the key stakeholders in the listed futures industry.
http://www.gltrade.com/en/contact-us/operational-risk-in-post-trade-derivatives-who-holds-the-key-to-the-solution/

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REUTERS INVESTMENT OUTLOOK 2009 SUMMIT IN NEW YORK BEGINS MONDAY, DECEMBER 8, 2008
Continuous Coverage Available on Reuters.com
New York – Some of the world’s most prominent CEOs, chief investment officers, analysts and money managers from leading financial companies and organizations will visit the Reuters bureau in New York to discuss the outlook for investments and the financial markets in a series of exclusives interviews. The stories and videos from the closed on-the-record sessions at the Reuters Investment Outlook 2009 will be posted online at www.reuters.com/summits.

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Lead Stories

Rivals’ talks highlight frailty of global exchanges
By Jeremy Grant
It was a brief – but revealing – encounter. The mere fact that German exchange group Deutsche Börse held talks with one of its biggest rivals, NYSE Euronext, speaks volumes about the increasingly fragile state of the global exchange business. Trading volumes in equities have taken a battering as the bear market has tightened its grip. Derivatives, which usually thrive on volatility, had been holding up well. But in the past month there have been signs that this is no longer the case. For exchanges such as Deutsche Börse that have relied on reasonably robust derivatives volumes to offset a deteriorating cash equities business, this is a worrying development. Herbie Skeete, managing director of Mondo Viseone, a UK-based exchanges consultancy, says: “Things are getting even worse than we thought for exchanges. Derivatives were meant to be a safe port, a natural hedge.”
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/e16d77b0-c4c6-11dd-8124-000077b07658.html

Deutsche Boerse, NYSE Talks End, No ‘Conclusion’ (Update1)
By Nandini Sukumar
Dec. 7 (Bloomberg) — Deutsche Boerse AG, which runs the Frankfurt stock exchange, said talks with NYSE Euronext, operator of the world’s largest stock market, have “now ended without any conclusion.” “Deutsche Boerse group continually evaluates a number of options for all business in order to increase its value,” the exchange said in an e-mailed statement today. “This naturally includes regular contact with various potential partners, one of which may have been the NYSE. If these talks indeed took place, then they ended without any conclusion.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=atC7vFdQ4wWY

Deutsche Boerse rebuffs rumors on NYSE talks
BERLIN – Deutsche Boerse rebuffed rumors that it might join with NYSE Euronext Inc. to create the world’s leading stock exchange, issuing a statement Sunday flatly declaring it had nothing to report.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081208/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_germany_deutsche_boerse_nyse;_ylt=ApjAp8qwLVBFlPN1nGms1S9u24cA

Deutsche Börse, NYSE: No Deal
By MIKE ESTERL and RUEDIGER SCHOSS
FRANKFURT — German stock-exchange operator Deutsche Börse AG recently held exploratory talks with NYSE Euronext about heightened cooperation — including a possible merger — but they ended without success, according to people familiar with the matter.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122869767370686895.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

NYSE Leads Exchange Stock Rally on Merger Speculation (Update1)
By Nandini Sukumar and Edgar Ortega
Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) — Exchange stocks, trading near the lowest on record relative to projected earnings, climbed after Deutsche Boerse AG said it explored a merger with NYSE Euronext. Shares of NYSE Euronext rose as much as 17 percent, leading a rally after Deutsche Boerse commissioned a study on combining with NYSE Euronext. Frankfurt-based Deutsche Boerse, Europe’s largest exchange by market value, said yesterday that talks with NYSE Euronext, the world’s biggest owner of stock exchanges, “ended without any conclusion.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=avyVyLa_LigE&refer=home

Talks to create world’s biggest exchange over
Martin Waller
Informal talks to create the world’s biggest exchange operator by merging Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext have ended, it emerged last night.
http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/banking_and_finance/article5303390.ece

D Börse and NYSE end merger talks
Discussions highlight growing concern over trading volumes
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ef1c725e-c49d-11dd-8124-000077b07658.html

Deutsche Boerse Said to Be Studying Merger With NYSE Euronext
By Nandini Sukumar
Dec. 6 (Bloomberg) — Deutsche Boerse AG, Europe’s biggest exchange by market value, is studying a merger offer for NYSE Euronext, operator of the world’s largest stock market, according to four people with direct knowledge of the situation.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aSvVkKbsvkvk

Exchange Stocks Poised for Huge Gains – Barron’s
Shares of the biggest U.S.-based stock, futures and options exchanges have lost nearly three-quarters of their value this year as investors get ready for an anticipated slump once the current volatility wears off and bear market indifference to securities trading becomes the norm. There’s probably truth in that outlook, but Barron’s says the selloff in exchange shares is overdone by any measure.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/109579-exchange-stocks-poised-for-huge-gains-barron-s

Gentz the moderator heads for Deutsche Börse helm
By James Wilson
Manfred Gentz, the five-year veteran of Deutsche Börse’s supervisory board expected to be elected as chairman today, is described by a former colleague as a “moderator” with no big ego, writes James Wilson in Frankfurt.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1b21be48-c4c8-11dd-8124-000077b07658.html

Investor fear drives US Treasury yields to near zero
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The panic in global financial markets has sparked an unprecedented rush into safe US Treasury securities, driving yields on short-term government notes down to almost zero.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081207/bs_afp/financeeconomyusmarketsbonds_081207224940;_ylt=AuZHF8H5u_Lp2qXXbhlCJnqmOrgF

Hedge Fund Withdrawals Accelerate
November Demands from Investors Deepened the Worst Year on Record
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122868561280086255.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Citadel Retreats in Asia After Earlier Expansion (Update3)
By Bei Hu and Tomoko Yamazaki
Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) — Citadel Investment Group LLC, the hedge-fund manager founded by Kenneth Griffin, will close its Tokyo office and cut other Asian operations, eliminating 37 jobs less than a year after adding people in the region.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ajDRSBCmjGpk

The Bizarre Fall of a Lawyer
In one of the most baffling fraud cases in years, a prominent New York securities lawyer has been accused of engaging in an elaborate scam against hedge funds. The lawyer, Marc Dreier, the founder and sole owner of the 250-lawyer Park Avenue firm Dreier, was arrested in Toronto last week on charges that he impersonated a lawyer for the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan. Dreier was released on bail on Friday and was arrested upon returning to New York on Sunday.
http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/daily-brief/2008/12/08/the-bizarre-fall-of-a-lawyer

State fights to remain a sheriff of securities
AUSTIN — State securities officials are usually on the watch for people selling shares in oil wells that don’t exist or investment funds that are Ponzi schemes. But when federal securities regulators earlier this year were slow to move against major brokers for misrepresenting the liquidity of auction rate securities, the Texas Securities Board joined with other states to obtain billions of dollars in refunds for consumers. Now, state Securities Commissioner Denise Voight Crawford is concerned about proposals floating around the nation’s capital that would either strip or seriously diminish the states’ role in regulating securities, insurance and banking in favor of having most regulation at the federal level. “Even if you’ve got a federal marshal, you also need a local sheriff,” Crawford said.
http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/local_news/State_fights_to_remain_a_sheriff_of_securities.html

The Hidden Pension Threat
By Matthew Goldstein Matthew Goldstein
John Moore is fighting to keep his company afloat. People no longer want to buy the gas-guzzlers sitting on his auto lot in Los Gatos, Calif., an upscale town that’s home to several Silicon Valley pioneers. His sole supplier, General Motors (NYSE:GM – News), is begging the government for aid. With sales down 35% over the past 12 months, the 59-year-old Moore, who as a teenager worked at the family-owned dealership, wonders if there will be a business to pass on to his son, Bret. Already, the recession has claimed 115 dealerships in the state, roughly 1 in 10.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20081205/bs_bw/0850b4112040140636

FSA turns to US for lessons on insolvency
By Jennifer Hughes
Staff from the Financial Services Authority will be flown to New York this week to examine why the US insolvency regime worked better than the British one in the aftermath of the Lehman Brothers collapse. The slow working through of the bankruptcy in the UK is widely believed to have damaged London’s reputation as a financial centre.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/fe384bcc-c4c6-11dd-8124-000077b07658.html

Is Deregulation to Blame?
The new Washington consensus says “yes.” The facts on the ground say something different.
http://reason.com/news/show/130348.html

Environmental Trading News

Carbon credits’ slow lift-off
Johannesburg – Though Sterling Waterford received offers for about 290 000 of its latest issue of carbon credit notes – against the planned range of 800 000 to 2.5 million – director Philip Bouwer is upbeat.
http://www.fin24.com/articles/default/display_article.aspx?Nav=ns&ArticleID=1518-1786_2439023

EU Climate Package to Be Settled at ‘11th Hour,’ Citigroup Says
By Mathew Carr
Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) — European Union member states will probably agree on a climate-protection package, including emissions trading, at the “11th hour,” according to a Citigroup Inc. analyst.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=aFpz_HH3rioc

LCH.Clearnet and BlueNext successfully achieve the first physical delivery processes on EUAs & CERs Futures traded on BlueNext Markets
http://www.lchclearnet.com/media_centre/press_releases/2008-12-08.asp

Domtar Joins CCX, Pledges To Cut GHG Emissions
http://www.environmentalleader.com/2008/12/05/domtar-joins-ccx-pledges-to-cut-ghg-emissions/

US venture capitalists optimistic on carbon market
By Deborah Zabarenko, Environment Correspondent
WASHINGTON, Dec 7 (Reuters) – U.S. venture capitalists say they see a bright spot amid the international economic gloom: a potential trillion-dollar market in carbon spurred by new regulations and a growing awareness of climate change.
http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN02686320081207

Carbon-Capture Projects May Win Backing at UN Climate-Change Negotiations
Negotiators at United Nations climate- change talks in Poland may broaden emissions rules to spur use of devices that capture carbon dioxide from power plants in developing countries and pump it into underground storage sites.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=arzX3I.ti0sE&refer=environment

Recycling goes from boom to bust as economy stalls
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Norm Steenstra’s budgeting worries mount with each new load of cardboard, aluminum cans and plastics jugs dumped at West Virginia’s largest county recycling center.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081208/ap_on_bi_ge/recycling_bust;_ylt=AvTBZF9tb9zsu_w5AeUFywOyBhIF

For more environmental trading news, subscribe to the Environmental Markets version of the John Lothian Newsletter edited by Jim Kharouf.
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Exchange & ECN News

CME Group’s Duffy to Testify on Credit Markets at U.S. House Hearing; Promote Benefits of Central Counterparty CME Clearing Solution
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/081208/aqm515.html?.v=29

CME Group Chief Executive Officer to Present at Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference 2008 on December 10
http://cmegroup.mediaroom.com/index.php?s=43&item=2766

4 Exchanges Lay Out Plans For Clearing Credit-Default Swaps
y Sarah N. Lynch Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- Four major exchanges unveiled detailed plans before the House Agriculture Committee Monday on how they intend to shed some light on the credit derivatives market through their proposed centralized clearing platforms. CME Group Inc. (CME) and IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) are both vying for first mover advantage in the United States to launch their clearing platforms.
http://www.easybourse.com/bourse-actualite/nyse-euronext/4-exchanges-lay-out-plans-for-clearing-credit-default-swaps-US6294911010-575458

Merrill becomes 1st remote member of Tel Aviv bourse
TEL AVIV, Dec 8 – The Tel Aviv Stock Exchange said on Monday it had approved investment bank Merrill Lynch & Co as the bourse’s first remote member.
http://ph.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20081208/tbs-tase-merrill-7318940.html

Liquidnet Announces November Volume
http://www.itnews.it/news/2008/1208151001240/liquidnet-announces-november-volume.html

NYSE Euronext Suffers From Stock Slump
Regarding the stock selling that has been going on recently, even the place, or exchange, where the transactions take place isn’t expected to do all that great either.
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10451719/1/nyse-euronext-suffers-from-stock-slump.html?puc=_tscrss

Korea Exchange CEO Leads Through Downturn
Lee Jung-hwan Builds Business Through Alliances and Listings from Abroad
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122868430101786169.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

MARWYN VALUE INVESTORS JOINS THE SPECIALIST FUND MARKET
Marwyn Value Investors Ltd. today joined the Specialist Fund Market, the London Stock Exchange’s market for alternative investment vehicles.
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/NR/exeres/C73CC497-A4E9-4062-A99B-223ED2FDE836.htm

NASDAQ Halts Trading of Artes Medical Inc.
http://www.nasdaq.com/newsroom/news/newsroomnewsStory.aspx?textpath=pr2008\ACQPMZ200812081017PRIMZONEFULLFEED155976.htm&cdtime=12%2f08%2f2008%2010%3a17AM&title=NASDAQ%20Halts%20Trading%20of%20Artes%20Medical%20Inc.

Stock index options contracts whose last trading day approaches
http://www.ose.or.jp/e/news/0812/081208b.html

Rule Amendments for Circuit Breakers on Stock Index Futures
http://www.ose.or.jp/e/news/0812/081208a.html

NYSE Euronext Announces Trading Volumes for November 2008
Dec. 8, 2008 – NYSE Euronext (NYX) today announced trading volumes for its global cash equities and derivatives exchanges. NYSE Euronext registered increased trading activity on U.S. cash equities and options exchanges in November and strong year-to-date volume gains across all its global multi-asset platforms.
http://www.euronext.com/fic/000/041/675/416751.pdf

Market-Maker Quoting Obligations for OEX on Hybrid
http://www.cboe.org/publish/RegCir/RG08-165.pdf

CBOE TO LIST OPTIONS ON TWO NEW METALS ETF PRODUCTS: iSHARES COMEX GOLD TRUST & iSHARES SILVER TRUST
http://www.cboe.com/AboutCBOE/ShowDocument.aspx?DIR=ACNews&FILE=cboe_20081205.doc

ICE wins CDS clearinghouse approval from NY regulators
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/ice-wins-cds-clearinghouse-approval/story.aspx?guid=%7BA8380085-7183-4295-9C16-A668D65B9F1E%7D&dist=msr_1

FACTBOX-The world’s top exchange groups
http://asia.news.yahoo.com/081206/3/3t5a9.html

BATS grows
http://www.automatedtrader.net/algo-trading-news-5167.xhtm

IntercontinentalExchange CEO to Present at Goldman Sachs U.S. Financial Services Conference 2008
http://ir.theice.com/redes/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=352876

Brokers & Dark Pools

Morgan Stanley M&A head MacDonald dead at 47
LONDON (Reuters) – Gavin MacDonald, the head of mergers and acquisitions at Morgan Stanley, has died. He was 47. MacDonald died on Friday evening, after suffering a heart attack at Morgan Stanley’s offices in Canary Wharf, London, earlier last week, Morgan Stanley spokesman Michael Wang said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081208/us_nm/us_morganstanley_macdonald_1

Cuomo Urges Merrill to Reject Bonus for Thain
Andrew M. Cuomo is watching Merrill Lynch very closely. On the day that the investment bank was reported to be weighing a $10 million bonus payment to its chief executive, John A. Thain, the New York attorney general weighed in. It wasn’t hard to guess on which side he came down.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/08/cuomo-urges-merrill-to-reject-bonus-for-thain/

Thain, Board Spar Over Bonus at Merrill
Merrill Lynch Chairman and CEO John Thain has suggested to directors he receive a 2008 bonus of as much as $10 million, according to people familiar with the situation.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122870455251587405.html?mod=testMod

The ‘thundering herd’ goes silent
Commentary: Merrill Lynch ends as a new era of financial services begins
NEW YORK (MarketWatch) — Unlike Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch & Co. isn’t just the name of some far-off company in New York where sophisticated and complicated financial transactions take place.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/story.aspx?guid=%7B3AF3A1DA%2D8E5A%2D4B79%2D9DB5%2DD87F2C1AE3FA%7D&siteid=djm_HAMWRSSCommH

Fortis wants more money from BNP Paribas – paper
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSL867636220081208

Lawsuit Says Citigroup Misled Investors
A new lawsuit accuses Citigroup of employing “shamelessly fraudulent schemes” to disguise the risks it was taking with mortgage debt
http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/dec2008/db2008125_639361.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_companies

Former Lehman Bankers Isaacs, Nagioff Plan to Establish Investment Company
Jeremy Isaacs, Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s former European and Asian chief, will start his own investment firm with his ex-colleague Roger Nagioff.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a37uwwCLKCOg&refer=worldwide

Merrill May be Toughest Test for Bank of America’s Serial Dealmaker
Lewis Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis’s takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co., the capstone of more than $100 billion in acquisitions he’s made since 2001, may prove the hardest to digest.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=ai6F6OR6JAsw&refer=exclusive

Knight Link ranked #1 Dark Pool
http://www.automatedtrader.net/algo-trading-news-4895.xhtm

UBS could cut up to 4,500 more jobs: report
ZURICH (Reuters) – Switzerland’s UBS , the world’s largest wealth manager in terms of assets, could cut up to 4,500 more jobs in the near future, local media reported on Sunday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081207/bs_nm/us_ubs;_ylt=Ag1.mDIYgxNKhGspFGtKVP.573QA

HSBC sets up £1bln fund for small businesses
AFP/File – Lights glitter in the lobby of the London headquarters of HSBC. HSBC has set up a billion pound fund … HONG KONG (AFP) – HSBC has set up a one-billion-pound fund to help small- and medium-sized businesses in Britain get access to credit during the global financial crisis, the bank has said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081208/wl_uk_afp/financebankingbritainhongkonghsbc;_ylt=AuaGfhi0KpIPuB7RA8HlvA3Xn414

Interactive Brokers 2009 Collegiate Trading Olympiad
http://tinyurl.com/6kaapg

Celebrities to Participate in ICAP’S 16th Annual Charity Day on Wednesday, December 10, 2008
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Celebrities-Participate-ICAPS-16th-Annual/story.aspx?guid=%7BE387087B-7F3A-4554-B17A-AF38446DB09D%7D

Regulatory News

The SEC News Digest
The SEC News Digest provides daily information on recent Commission actions, including enforcement proceedings, rule filings, policy statements, and upcoming Commission meetings.
http://www.sec.gov/news/digest/2008/dig120508.htm

SEC OKs New Online Muni-Bond Database
By Judith Burns, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved changes to help investors obtain free, online information about the $2.6 trillion municipal bond market, shedding more light on an opaque trading arena.
http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20081207%5cACQDJON200812071315DOWJONESDJONLINE000301.htm&&mypage=newsheadlines&title=SEC%20OKs%20New%20Online%20Muni-Bond%20Database

Mark-to-Market Likely to Remain
SEC Is Expected to Keep Accounting Rule but Seek Ways to Refine Its Use
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122869528018886695.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Isda chief springs to defence of CDS markets
The head of the trade body for derivatives dealers testified before US lawmakers that credit default swaps offer a better indicator of risk than credit rating agencies, in a defence of a market that has been criticised in the wake of the credit crisis for its opaque nature.
http://www.efinancialnews.com/investmentbanking/index/content/3352718476/restricted

SEC Chairman Cox says accounting rules not ‘another financial rudder’ for use in crisis
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-meltdown-accounting-rule,0,3667102.story

FINRA Investor Education Foundation Announces 2009 Grant Program—12/8/08
http://www.finra.org/Newsroom/NewsReleases/2008/P117500

FINRA Launches Comprehensive Mutual Fund Expense Analyzer
http://www.finra.org/Newsroom/NewsReleases/2008/P117499

Mayer Brown Partner Faces Added Charges in Refco Case
It doesn’t look as if Joseph Collins’ Christmas is going to be any merrier this year.
http://biz.yahoo.com/law/081208/b7b9a35f77839a5bbb33feee5d2eaad3.html?.v=1

Shareholders: Your personal details might be on a fraudsters’ database
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2008/148.shtml

Investor Alert: Affinity Fraud
http://www.nfa.futures.org/investor/investorAlert_120608.asp

National Futures Association issues Investor Alert to help individuals protect themselves from affinity fraud
http://www.nfa.futures.org/news/newsRel.asp?ArticleID=2214

National Futures Association distributes nearly $3.4 million in restitution payments to victims in illegal off-exchange metal options case
http://www.nfa.futures.org/news/newsRel.asp?ArticleID=2213

Don’t Throw Out the Baby with the Bathwater Keynote Address at the ABA Section of Business Law Fall Meeting, by John W. White, Director, Division of Corporation Finance, Washington, D.C. (November 21, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/news/speech/2008/spch112108jww.htm

Amex: Notice of Filing and Order Granting Accelerated Approval of Proposed Rule Changes Relating to the Listing and Trading Options on Shares of the iShares COMEX Gold Trust and the iShares Silver Trust (Release No. 34-59055; File Nos. SR-Amex-2008-68; SR-BSE-2008-51; SR-CBOE-2008-72; SR-ISE-2008-58; SR-NYSEArca-2008-66; SR-Phlx-2008-58; December 4, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/amex/2008/34-59055.pdf

Amex: Order Approving Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 1 thereto, to Revise its Initial Listing Process to Eliminate the Current Appeal Process for Initial Listing Decisions, Add a New Confidential Pre-application Eligibility Review Process, and Upgrade its Listing Requirements by Eliminating the Alternative Listing Standards (Release No. 34-59050; File No. SR-Amex-2008-70; December 3, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/amex/2008/34-59055.pdf

DTC: Order Approving Proposed Rule Change to Amend the Applicant Disqualification Criteria Contained in its Rules (Release No. 34-59035; File No. SR-DTC-2007-07; December 1, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/dtc/2008/34-59035.pdf

NASDAQ: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change to Modify Fees for Members Using the Nasdaq Options Market (Release No. 34-59043; File No. SR-NASDAQ-2008-089; December 3, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nasdaq/2008/34-59043.pdf

NMS Plan: Amendment No. 1 to Proposed Options Order Protection and Locked/Crossed Market Plan by Phlx(File No: 4-456, December 3, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nms/2008/4-546-phlx-amend1.pdf

NYSE Altr: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change by NYSE Alternext US LLC to Adopt a Price List for Equity Transactions after the Relocation of NYSE Alternext Equities Trading and To Establish Certain Other Fees (Release No. 34-59045; File No. SR-NYSEALTR-2008-09; December 3, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nysealtr/2008/34-59045.pdf

NYSE Arca: Order Granting Accelerated Approval of a Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 1 Thereto, Relating to the Listing and Trading of Trust Certificates (Release No. 34-59051; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2008-123; December 4, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nysearca/2008/34-59051.pdf

NYSE Arca: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change to Offer a New Order Type Known as the Adding Liquidity Only Order (Release No. 34-59049; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2008-132; December 3, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nysearca/2008/34-59049.pdf

Phlx: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to XLE Fees (Release No. 34-59030; File No. SR-Phlx-2008-80; December 1, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/phlx/2008/34-59030.pdf

SCCP: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to the Collection of Financial Industry Regulatory Authority Section 3 Regulatory Fees (Release No. 34-59031; File No. SR-SCCP-2008-02; December 1, 2008)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/sccp/2008/34-59031.pdf

How Freddie Mac halted regulatory drive
WASHINGTON – When the Washington Nationals played their first-ever baseball game in the nation’s capital in April 2005, two congressmen who oversaw mortgage giant Freddie Mac had choice seats — courtesy of the very company they were supposed to be keeping an eye on.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081207/ap_on_go_co/the_influence_game_freddie_mac;_ylt=AqDj0bDj3E9rKI3en3xT464DW7oF

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Hedge Funds Post Modest Losses in November: Credit Suisse/Tremont Hedge Fund Index Estimated To Finish Down 0.71% for the Month
http://tinyurl.com/5chxto

DTCC Extends Mutual Fund Services to Investment Managers
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation (DTCC) announced today a change in its rules that will, for the first time, give investment managers who oversee managed accounts programs direct access to Fund/SERV® and other Mutual Fund Services. This rule change will simplify the process of managing mutual funds that are part of an investor’s managed account portfolio.
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/081208/20081208005854.html?.v=1

Venture Capital Hits a Crunch
Cash-strapped investors are starting to renege on their commitments to venture-capital funds, dealing a blow to an industry that has been the bedrock of Silicon Valley start-ups.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122869480476586689.html

A Money-Fund Manager’s Fateful Shift
The Primary Fund got into trouble after its founder, Bruce R. Bent, abandoned his long-espoused conservative investing principles
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122869788400386907.html

FORTRESS APPEARS SHAKY
IRATE INVESTORS ARE STORMING FORTRESS INVESTMENTS
By MARK DeCAMBRE and KAJA WHITEHOUSE
Wesley Edens may soon find out if his Fortress Investment Group is made of sand or stone. Back in October, Edens quipped that he’d consider taking his publicly traded investment firm private…
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12072008/business/fortress_appears_shaky_143073.htm

Hedge funds are going down with dignity
http://blogs.ft.com/gapperblog/2008/12/hedge-funds-are-going-down-with-dignity/

Derivatives remain in demand by investors
By Pauline Skypala
Investors still have a healthy appetite for derivatives despite difficult market conditions, according to a survey by Morse, a consulting company. The survey, of 62 traditional and hedge fund managers, found nearly two-thirds reported an increase in over-the-counter derivative trades over the previous six months, with only 5 per cent reporting a decrease.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6a7763a2-9e40-11dd-bdde-000077b07658.html

Investors turn the screw on buy-out groups
Private equity firms pressed to reduce commitments
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/f46c9ed4-c4a0-11dd-8124-000077b07658.html

Majority of Modified Loans Fail After 6 Months, Regulator Says
By Alison Vekshin
Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) — Most U.S. mortgages modified by lenders to help keep struggling borrowers in their homes fell back into delinquency within six months, the chief regulator of national banks said. Almost 53 percent of borrowers whose loans were modified in the first quarter of this year re-defaulted by being more than 30 days overdue, John Dugan, head of the Treasury Department’s Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, said today in remarks prepared for a housing conference in Washington.

Past experience could ward off new Great Depression: Krugman
STOCKHOLM (AFP) – Lessons learned from the 1930s depression and from more recent economic crises could be the only thing warding off a new Great Depression, the 2008 winner of the Nobel economics prize Paul Krugman said Sunday. “If we had not already experienced the Great Depression, I think we would be about to have another one,” the Princeton University professor and New York Times columnist told reporters in Stockholm, where he will receive his Nobel prize this week. “But the fact that we did have that Great Depression and have some economic analysis of how it happened, gives us some hope of avoiding a repeat,” he said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081207/bs_afp/financeeconomyusjapannobelkrugman_081207225234;_ylt=AgdkZE_m88H_65ujl8P9r0CmOrgF

Behind Schwarzman Spat With Wasserstein Over Fair Value Lies FASB Rule 115
An argument between two Wall Street titans seated in director’s chairs at Per Se restaurant in New York in October has escalated into a fight over an obscure accounting rule known as Statement No. 115.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aPDX6HuCoxFw&refer=exclusive

Pension Funds Beg Congress to Suspend Billions in New Plan Contributions
Pension funds at Pfizer Inc., International Business Machines Corp., United Parcel Service Inc. and dozens of other companies have joined the parade of businesses seeking relief from Congress amid this year’s economic meltdown.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aBAw1CQXcZMg&refer=exclusive

Obama Bonds Poised to Give Investors Taste of Japan From Lost Decade Debt
Japan’s biggest bond investors say Barack Obama has room to unleash a flood of Treasuries without driving up borrowing costs as he tackles the worst economy since World War II.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=afquUqTFjEkc&refer=exclusive

M&A to Drop 30% in 2009 as Government-Forced Takeovers Dictate Dealmaking
Forced sales demanded by creditors and government-brokered transactions may provide the only consolation for bankers in what promises to be the slowest year for mergers and acquisitions since 2004.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aXBHonoItX9s&refer=exclusive

Centaurus mulls sale of Atos Origin stake – report
PARIS, Dec 8 (Reuters) – Hedge Fund Firm Centaurus is considering selling its remaining 6.66 percent stake in French IT services group Atos Origin (ATOS.PA: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) due to the financial crisis, French daily La Tribune reported on Monday.
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssTechMediaTelecomNews/idUSL863716020081208

Citadel, Goldman Sued By Sentinel Trustee Over Sales (Update1)
By Thom Weidlich and Matthew Leising
Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and Citadel Investment Group LLC were sued by the trustee of Sentinel Management Group Inc., who seeks the return of securities sold to Citadel the day before Sentinel went bankrupt. At the prodding of CME Group Inc., Citadel, the Chicago- based hedge-fund firm run by Kenneth Griffin, paid $318.7 million for securities from Sentinel, which was trying to hide that it commingled client funds that were supposed to be segregated, according to the complaint filed yesterday by the trustee, Frederick J. Grede, in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Chicago.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ajDRSBCmjGpk

Top US university endowments grow hedge fund portfolios to $63 billion says InvestHedge survey
• 60 largest US endowments have allocated $23 billion since 2006
• 71% of portfolios allocate solely to single manager hedge funds
• 15 endowments now have hedge fund portfolios totalling more than $1 billion
• Rebalancing after equity losses and private equity calls likely to curtail future allocations

Citadel closing Tokyo office, cuts HK jobs: reports
HONG KONG (Reuters) – U.S. hedge fund giant Citadel Investment Group LLC, which has racked up hefty losses this year, is closing its Tokyo office and its Asia principal investment operations by the end of this year, media reports said on Monday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081208/bs_nm/us_citadel_asia;_ylt=AhT8IQpocyIo709aclYzi_y573QA

Banks need to broaden view of risk: Fed’s Kroszner
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Banks need to take a much broader view of investment risk as they dig their way out of the current financial crisis, and mortgage-backed securities need to become simpler and much more transparent, a senior U.S. Federal Reserve official said on Monday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081208/bs_nm/us_usa_fed_kroszner;_ylt=AqNqi0pOJ0NjhQGqhne_qKK573QA

NY Times Co to borrow against building: report
(Reuters) – The New York Times Co plans to borrow up to $225 million against its mid-Manhattan headquarters building, to ease a potential cash flow squeeze as the company grapples with tighter credit and shrinking profits, the New York Times reported on its website Monday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081208/bs_nm/us_newyorktimes;_ylt=ArcYZdRspSzmMLpULpd7gxO573QA

Sin may pay, but Obama is ethical investors’ hope
LONDON (Reuters) – The combination of recession and efforts to jump-start economies can be an investment headache.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081207/bs_nm/us_investment_strategies;_ylt=Aif3dky.4vxTxRKpjIAzT3y573QA

The 2009 Investing Survival Guide
by Kyle Pope
Unfortunately for most investors, hibernating for the winter isn’t an option. While the wipeout on Wall Street has frayed nerves across the country, the bad news has to end eventually. Here, some advice from the handful who got it right. And see what the most powerful financial executives think about the country’s economic future in this interactive feature that draws on a survey conducted by Condé Nast Portfolio.
http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/portfolio/2008/11/19/2009-Investing-Survival-Guide

Reports

Briefing.com Economic Calendar
http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/MarketAnalysis/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

USDA Today
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/index.asp

Event Calendar
The CBOT Event Calendar provides a list of current US and global events for the upcoming year.
http://www.cbot.com/cbot/calendar/month

CBOE Events Calendar
http://www.cboe.com/AboutCBOE/EventCalendar.aspx

Economic Release Calendar
The Economic Release Calendar (PDF) is a schedule of government, academic and industry economic releases, provided as a service to CME customers.
http://www.cme.com/files/economicreleasecalendar.pdf

Frontier Markets

Thai bourse chief resigns
By Amy Kazmin in Bangkok
Kittiratt Na-Ranong, Thailand’s stock market chief, resigned yesterday in an unusual show of responsibility as a result of the Thai bourse losing what would have been its biggest initial public offering to rivalSingapore.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/98001c2a-eb8b-11da-823e-0000779e2340.html

In tough times, Russia shows new desire to seize assets
By CLIFFORD J. LEVY
The Kremlin seems to be exploiting the economic crisis to establish more control over weakened industries that it has long coveted.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/07/europe/08kremlin.php

Trading in commodities
Need a break from stocks, mutual funds, FDs and bonds as investment options? Then why not look at commodities? Well, commodity trading is not new to India. After the 30-year ban was lifted in 2005, futures trading in commodities has caught on. Of the 25 commodities exchanges in India, Multi Commodities exchange (MCX), National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), and National Multi-Commodity Exchange (NMCE) are the most popular ones.
http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=14813246

Edited by Robert Luke, robertluke@johnlothian.com

EMERGING – EQUITIES
Morgan Stanley Says Emerging-Market Stocks May Jump 60% in 2009
Bloomberg
Emerging-market stocks, mired in the worst annual slump since at least 1988, may rally more than 60 percent next year as governments take “aggressive” steps to bolster economic growth, Morgan Stanley said. The MSCI Emerging Markets Index will climb 61 percent from yesterday’s closing level to 810 next year, Jonathan Garner, the London-based head of Morgan Stanley’s emerging-markets strategy team, wrote in a research note dated yesterday.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aOoRjmZlUlrw&refer=latin_america
*RL – All together now…

BRIC – EQUITIES
Buy China Stocks on Valuations, Says Emperor’s Mullen
Bloomberg
Investors should buy Chinese stocks because the so-called H shares of the mainland companies traded in Hong Kong are nearing the bottom and may rise as much as 30 percent in 2009, according to Emperor Investment Management. “H shares earnings multiples, such as price-to-book ratio, are close to the same levels seen during the 1998 Asian crisis, which was the lowest point we’ve ever seen,” said Ed Mullen, chief executive officer at Shanghai-based Emperor, a hedge fund that oversees $150 million in Chinese stocks.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aG3hLik5ioj4&refer=home

E. EUROPE – CURRENCIES
Euro Dreams Fade for Zloty, Forint, Koruna on Slump
Bloomberg
The slowing global economy is halting the spread of monetary union into eastern Europe and may lead to another year of losses for the Polish zloty, Hungarian forint and Czech koruna. The zloty fell 21 percent against the euro from a record high in July as Poland headed for its biggest economic slowdown in almost a decade, while Hungary turned to the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and European Union for a bailout as the forint weakened 15 percent.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601095&sid=acFnpKTr3l44&refer=east_europe

L. AMERICA – CREDIT
Latin America Less Vulnerable as Foreign Credit Drops, BIS Says
Bloomberg
Latin American countries will be less vulnerable to the global credit crunch than Eastern European nations, which depend on foreign banks for financing, the Bank for International Settlements said. Poland and the Czech Republic have boosted borrowing from international banks by a factor of 10 since 2000, the Basel, Switzerland-based bank said in its quarterly report today.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aRp1dofQT9wI&refer=latin_america

Miscellaneous News

Pivot Names Forex Veteran CEO, Upgrades Collaboration Platform
December 8, 2008 – Pivot, a provider of trading tools based on instant messaging technology, has appointed former Hotspot FX head John Eley as CEO.
http://www.securitiesindustry.com/news/23059-1.html

GLOBEOP WEBSITE EARNS “BEST PRACTICE CORPORATE WEBSITE” AWARD
LONDON – 8 DECEMBER 2009 — The UK Investor Relations Society (IRS) has awarded its 2008 “Best Practice Corporate Website” for small cap and AIM-listed companies to GlobeOp Financial Services (LSE:GO.) The GlobeOp website was relaunched earlier this year after an extensive redesign.
www.globeop.com

Irish pork products recalled after dioxin is found
EU supermarkets were ordered to clear their shelves of Irish bacon, ham and sausages after the authorities announced that Irish pork had been tainted with a potentially cancer-causing chemical.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/07/europe/irish.php

$17 billion auto bailout, or repeat of Lehman?
NEW YORK: In the days before Lehman Brothers was allowed to fail, U.S. Treasury officials made it clear that they did not think the investment bank’s collapse would have a major ripple effect.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/08/business/detroit.php

British MBAs Feel the Jobs Chill
On a brisk evening earlier this week in London’s financial district, a group of 100 business school students gathered in the airy atrium of the Royal Bank of Scotland building, sipping champagne and nibbling on crab cakes. The Cranfield School of Management students, just two months into their yearlong MBA program, were there to network with employees of the bank and alums. But as they circled the room with flute glasses in hand, some admitted to being anxious about their job prospects.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20081208/bs_bw/dec2008bs2008124122563;_ylt=Ag0Yq_rbdQBC81kdEMrg4GKyBhIF

Funding crunch has colleges scrambling
Sweeping plans altered or halted
For years, it seemed simple: Donations rolled in, the booming stock market multiplied them, and college endowments swelled. At the wealthiest schools, millions became billions, and even small colleges amassed sizable fortunes. But with the Wall Street collapse this fall, all bets are off. Now, colleges across the country that have watched years of double-digit returns wash away are scrambling to readjust to a stark new economic reality, with endowments predicted to plummet by an average of nearly 30 percent this academic year.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2008/12/08/funding_crunch_has_colleges_scrambling/

Ex-congressman may get jail for drunken driving
ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Disgraced former Rep. Vito Fossella is headed to court to find out if he has to serve jail time for a drunken-driving incident that wrecked his career by revealing he’d fathered a child from an extramarital affair.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081208/ap_on_go_co/congressman_dui;_ylt=AneFCy.pubwrNThF1BydnjXXn414

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

What is the VIX and what is it good for?
by Hollis Templeton
Vix and More BlogWhile trading in highly volatile markets leaves most investors holding onto their seats, daring speculators have the opportunity to capitalize on Wall Street’s fear and rake in big bucks. How do they do it? One way is to trade the Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, the VIX. As investors expect wild movements in the stock market, options typically become more expensive—and the VIX measures by how much…..The VIX is “something with a lot of eyeballs on it,” said Elmhurst, Ill.-based commodity trading advisor and futures broker John Lothian. “You certainly have to respect that it as a key indicator because we are in an extremely volatile time.”
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=108597

**** For the record, I keep one eye on the VIX, one eye on CNBC and my other eye on my computer.

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ELX Keeps Focus On Treasurys Despite Volume Slide
By Jacob Bunge
CHICAGO (Dow Jones)–The fledgling futures exchange challenging the dominance of CME Group Inc. (CME) in U.S. Treasury contracts is still targeting the product despite a year-long slide in trading activity. The ELX Electronic Liquidity Exchange is still preparing for a launch almost a year after its formation, but Chief Executive Neal Wolkoff said its rationale remains unchanged…..The John Lothian Newsletter reported this week that tentative dates for pre-production testing sessions were set for Jan. 15 and Feb. 16. ELX declined to comment.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20081203-711179.html

**** I have been told by a reliable source that ELX now has 4 employees and hopes to have 12 by launch. Their website should be up in the first quarter of 2009. They are looking to hire someone in sales with good FCM connections/experience. I am also told they have very cool pens.

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Market Impact of ETFs and Futures
Years ago, we had a simpler configuration of derivative and proxy instruments for the markets: index futures and options. More recently, exchanges and sponsors have introduced “emini” futures and exchange traded funds (ETFs), which have broadened the availability of speculative and hedging instruments to an even wider group of investors and traders. There is much confusion, speculation, lack of knowledge, etc. regarding the impact of ETFs upon the overall market. The introduction of leveraged or “ultra” ETFs has only resulted in exacerbating the mystery of the effect of ETFs upon the indices, including the recent volatility that has gripped the markets from a day-to-day perspective and, more importantly, during the final half hour to hour of trading. We need to look at these phenomena from three perspectives: ETF construction, trading activity and non-futures-related ETF/stock manipulation.
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10451368/1/market-impact-of-etfs-and-futures.html?puc=_tscrss

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Traders Say Index Futures Will Snap Out Of Alignment
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)–Index futures aren’t to be trusted. During the bull market, index futures had been a reliable signpost for the stock market’s opening number, but that has come to an end. The credit crisis and its economic effects led to months of dislocation between stock-index futures and the market open, and traders say a recent realignment is little more than a fluke. That realignment, in 19 of the past 20 sessions, had the Dow Jones Industrial futures pointed in the same direction as the Dow Jones Industrial Average in the time between 30 minutes before the open to 30 minutes afterward.
http://news.ino.com/headlines/?newsid=20081204012114

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RTS Offers Access to NASDAQ OMX Europe
London/Chicago, December 4, 2008 — RTS Realtime Systems Group, a leading trading solutions provider, announced that it will offer connectivity to NASDAQ OMX Europe. RTS will offer access to the market through its entire trading solutions portfolio, including its RTD-API’s, the RTD front-end trading systems RTD and eRTD, as well as RTD Tango, its high performance automated algorithmic trading solution. Charlotte Crosswell, President of NASDAQ OMX Europe commented, “We are delighted that RTS will offer connectivity to NASDAQ OMX Europe. RTS’s customers will now gain access to the most competitive pricing in Europe by trading on the NASDAQ OMX Europe order book directly or through our routing technology which provides access to pan-European marketplaces. Powered by a low-latency matching engine, NASDAQ OMX Europe delivers a superior trading experience meeting the needs of market participants.”
http://www.nasdaqomxeurope.com/

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SuperDerivatives Reports Major Increase in Demand for Derivatives
Revaluation Services
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/SuperDerivatives-Reports-Major-Increase-Demand/story.aspx?guid=%7BD6B65609-1757-4F46-9819-A71318A8E5A3%7D

**** Demand has been…well….gosh….Super!

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Dubai Speculators Quit as Lending Drought Bursts Desert Property Bubble
The classified ads in Dubai read like an obituary for a real-estate market that until a few months ago seemed immune from the global credit crisis.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a2jrSPqYhVzY&refer=exclusive

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Screaming Booyah! at the SEC
So, Jim Cramer wants a new job. Specifically, the Mad Money loudmouth stockpicker wants President-elect Obama to appoint him chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission. Here he was on last night’s show: DO YOU WANT A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD? THEN I KNOW WHAT YOU WANT. I KNOW WHO YOU WANT. YOU WANT JAMES J. CRAMER TO BE YOUR NEXT SEC CHAIRMAN. [holds up sign Cramer for SEC chairman] THAT’S RIGHT. THROWING THE HAT IN THE RING. AS OF NOW, I’M FORMALLY PUTTING MYSELF FORWARD FOR THE JOB OF SEC CHAIR AND I WANT IT. AND FRANKLY, OBAMA WILL BE SMART TO GIVE IT TO ME. THIS ISN’T JUST MY USUAL MEGALOMANIA TALKING. I DON’T MEAN TO BRAG, BUT LOOK, LET’S TAKE A LOOK AT MY RESUME [shows giant prop resume] I’M A LAWYER BY TRAINING–I SOUND LIKE AN AD RIGHT?– A STOCK JOCK, A FORMER HEDGE FUND MANAGER, A GUY WHO KNOWS THE TRICKS AND HAS SEEN OTHERS DO THEM. ALTHOUGH TO BE VERY CLEAR, I NEVER DID ANYTHING ILLEGAL OR EVEN CLOSE TO UNETHICAL, BECAUSE IN THE END, I AM A GOODY TWO SHOES AND I ACTUALLY HAVE A NEW PAIR OF GOODY TWO SHOES.
http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/daily-brief/2008/12/03/screaming-booyah-at-the-sec

*** Bolded because Cramer does not speak softly.

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Can X Prizes Spur Innovation?
http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/08_48/b4110054165858.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_dialogue+with+readers

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Chicago Tribune losing 11 journalists, including both New York correspondents
The Chicago Tribune, responding to industrywide revenue declines, is reducing the size of its newsroom by 11 staff members this week. Included among the latest departures, announced to Tribune journalists Wednesday, are both of the newspaper’s New York-based correspondents.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-thu-brf2-tribune-dec04,0,2975748.story

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Lead Stories

LIFFE TRADES ONE BILLIONTH CONTRACT IN 2008
Amsterdam, Brussels, Paris, Lisbon, London, New York, 4 December 2008 – For the first time in a single year, more than one billion contracts have been traded on Liffe, the international derivatives business of NYSE Euronext (NYX). The billionth contract was traded by noon on 4 December.
http://www.euronext.com/news/press_release/press_release-1731-EN.html?docid=623105

Geithner May Seek to Push Bair Out After Clashes During Crisis
By Robert Schmidt Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) — Timothy Geithner, President-elect Barack Obama’s choice for U.S. Treasury Secretary, is seeking to push Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Chairman Sheila Bair out of office. Geithner, president of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, has argued Bair isn’t a team player and is too focused on protecting her agency rather than the financial system as a whole, according to two congressional officials and a person familiar with his thinking.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aTFflUwD.Qbg&refer=home

ICAP Said to Plan Stock-Exchange Rival, ‘Dark Pool’ for Shares
By Nandini Sukumar Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) — ICAP Plc, the world’s largest broker of trades between banks, plans to start an alternative trading platform for stocks in competition with traditional exchanges, according to a person with direct knowledge of the situation. The London-based company wants to develop a multilateral trading facility by the second half of 2009, said the person who declined to be identified because the plans aren’t public. The electronic system for banks and fund managers will be created specifically to handle large blocks of shares and act as a so- called dark pool that won’t display prices, the person said. ICAP, which in 2006 ended merger talks with London Stock Exchange Group Plc, joins other so-called MTFs including Chi-X Europe Ltd., Turquoise, Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. and Bats Trading Inc., all of which aim to take market share from the traditional European stock exchanges.

Municipal Upgrades in Recession by S&P Show `Inappropriate’ Ratings Scale
Between 2005 and 2008, Pigeon, Michigan’s unreserved general fund balance fell 29 percent and debt per capita rose 18 percent. That didn’t stop Standard & Poor’s from increasing the village’s credit rating by three levels in September.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=az..0LyBrxhg&refer=exclusive

Treasury weighs plan to rescue housing sector: report
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US Treasury Department is considering a plan designed to push down interest rates for home loans in a bid to revive the country’s troubled housing sector, newspapers reported Thursday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081204/pl_afp/usfinanceeconomyhousing;_ylt=AoWJM5OsoXN_IfBB_bQ77KGyBhIF

Pound hits historic euro low before rate calls
LONDON (AFP) – The British pound hit a record euro low on Thursday, while the single unit dipped against the dollar ahead of expected interest rate cuts from the Bank of England and the European Central Bank.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081204/bs_afp/forexeurope_081204120502;_ylt=AorsGFlkgiAPa_qkMYXQPnmmOrgF

Is the U.K. Still Triple-A?
By RICHARD BARLEY
The U.K. government insists Britain is well-placed to cope with the financial turmoil. The credit default swap market begs to differ. The cost of insuring U.K. government debt against default has risen to a level that suggests the U.K. is in danger of losing its triple-A rating, based on a Moody’s Investors Service model. That no longer looks so far-fetched.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122839125746179187.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Liquidity inhabits a secret world
By Jeremy Grant
A degree of secrecy is the hallmark of the “global liquidity providers”. So much so that searching for information on their websites rarely reveals much beyond the firm’s name, mission and recruitment policy, writes Jeremy Grant. That is hardly surprising because they do not have customers and are essentially privately held.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/e9c894a2-c1a2-11dd-831e-000077b07658,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fe9c894a2-c1a2-11dd-831e-000077b07658.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ft.com%2Fsearch%3FqueryText%3Djeremy%2Bgrant%26aje%3Dtrue%26dse%3D%26dsz%3D

Treasury’s Kashkari says financial rescue must be flexible to deal with unexpected challenges
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-meltdown-kashkari,0,1319111.story

Commodities Collapse: Fast, Big and Still Going
The analyst who projected $200 oil should have lopped off a zero. The crash in oil, copper, grain and other commodity stocks in 2008 has outpaced the crash of technology stocks at the turn of this century — with many taking only six months for the 80% wipeouts that took the tech sector two years…..”All of commodities are collapsing,” said Frank Lesh, futures analyst and broker at FuturePath Trading. “The oil charts are bearish. I expect commodities to [remain] under pressure in the first quarter of next year.”
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122835501623478167.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Sen. Susan Collins: Fundamental changes needed to prevent further meltdown
By Sen. Susan Collins
Public confidence in our nation’s financial system has been badly shaken by the extent of the financial meltdown. The effects are being felt not just on Wall Street, but in towns and communities all around Maine
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081204/GJOPINION03/712035242/-1/SANNEWS

Environmental Trading News

Fink Plans $5 Billion Fund for Agriculture, Carbon Investments
By Tom Cahill Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) — Stanley Fink, who left Man Group Plc six months ago, plans to start a private equity fund with as much as $5 billion for investments in agriculture, renewable energy and other so-called sustainable investments.

Hedge fund guru launches green investment firm
“Godfather” of hedge funds, Stanley Fink, sets goal of proving the low-carbon economy can deliver attractive investment returns
http://www.businessgreen.com/business-green/news/2231955/hedge-fund-guru-launches-green

German Offshore Wind-Turbine Developers to Scale Back Plans, Report Says
German plans to install wind turbines in the North Sea will likely be scaled back because of unforeseen construction difficulties and funding limitations owing to the financial crisis, PriceWaterhouseCoopers said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=a9diu79lUu2I&refer=environment

Industry Risk – Credit Capacity is Top Financial Concern of Energy CFOs
According to a new study, 57 percent of chief financial officers (CFOs) at U.S. oil and gas exploration and production companies say that credit capacity restraints, including access to capital will be their greatest financial challenge in 2009.
http://www.garp.com/resources/newsfeed.aspx?Category=6&MyFile=2008-12-03-17479.html

Solar car reaches UN climate conference in Poland after round-the-world trip
POZNAN, Poland – The first solar-powered car to travel around the world has ended its journey at the U-N climate talks in Poland. It arrived in Poznan, Poland, with the message that clean technologies are available now to stop global warming. Hauling a trailer of solar cells and carrying chief UN climate official Yvo de Boer, it glided up to a building where delegates from some 190 countries are working toward a new treaty to control climate change http://www.canadianbusiness.com/markets/headline_news/article.jsp?content=b1204103A

For more environmental trading news, subscribe to the Environmental Markets version of the John Lothian Newsletter edited by Jim Kharouf. Click here to subscribe: jimkharouf-request@johnlothiannewsletter.com?subject=subscribe

Exchange & ECN News

LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE GROUP AND OSLO BØRS TO PURSUE STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIP
London Stock Exchange Group is pleased to announce that it has agreed a letter of intent with Oslo Børs to form a strategic partnership, a key component of which includes the provision of trading services to its equities, derivatives and fixed income markets.
http://www.londonstockexchange.com/NR/exeres/5C8817A9-BA0E-48B7-9F15-45F237DD0FAF.htm

TRADING SPOTLIGHT – Special Volume Report
The ISE Stock Exchange enjoyed a significant boost in trading activity for Tape B (Arca and Alternext-listed) and Tape C (Nasdaq-listed) securities. November was the ISE Stock Exchange’s second most active month ever, with an average daily volume of 135.6 million shares.
http://view.exacttarget.com/?j=fe9713707366017975&m=feff12717d6504&ls=fdf01578726d047870137575&l=fe9c15707761037c76&s=fe27167170660d7e721d72&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe651174776004787512

ULLINK provides certified DMA to SmartPool
London, Paris, December 4, 2008 – ULLINK, global supplier of end-to-end connectivity and trading solutions, today became a fully-certified provider of Direct Market Access (DMA) connectivity technology to SmartPool, the multi-lateral trading facility set up by NYSE Euronext, BNP Paribas, HSBC, and JPMorgan.
http://www.ullink.com/pr/pr_smartpool-20081204.htm

New York Approves ICE Credit-Default Swap Clearinghouse Plan
By Matthew Leising Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) — The New York State Banking Department approved the application by Intercontinental Exchange Inc. to form a state-regulated trust to guarantee trades in the $31 trillion credit-default swap market. The banking board approved the application after a meeting today, banking department Chairman Richard Neiman said today in a statement.

EEX trading results and new admissions in November_2008
http://www.eex.com/en/Press%20Room/Press%20Release/press/40458

CME Group Receives Regulatory Approval for Changes to Wheat Contract
CME Group, the world’s largest and most diverse derivatives exchange, announced today that the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has given regulatory approval for changes to its world benchmark Soft Red Winter Wheat futures contract. The changes, which include seasonal storage fees and additional delivery points, are designed to improve convergence between wheat futures and cash prices at contract expiration.
http://cmegroup.mediaroom.com/

TFX to launch the New Stock Index Futures
TFX announced today the launch of a new stock index futures contract with cash settlement (CFD*) in its market which differs from current existing stock index futures contracts in Japan. Backed by TFX’s accumulated know-how through the establishment of “Exchange FX Margin Contracts (Click 365)”, the launch of the new product aim to meet the needs of a wide variety of investors, particularly retail investors.
http://www.tfx.co.jp/en/newsfile/08/meeting_e20081204.html

NASDAQ OMX and Leerink Swann to Co-Host HealthCare Industry Forum
NASDAQ OMX Group (Nasdaq:NDAQ), the world’s largest exchange company, and Leerink Swann, the leading healthcare investment banking firm, will co-host a one-day conference, The NASDAQ OMX HealthCare Industry Forum, exploring “The Intersection of Healthcare and the Capital Markets.”
http://ir.nasdaq.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=352322

Mexican Stock Trading Won’t Resume Today, Bolsa Says (Update2)
By Hugh Collins and William Freebairn Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) — Mexican stock trading was halted at 3:35 p.m. New York time because of a technical glitch and won’t resume trading today, said Bolsa Mexicana de Valores SAB, the operator of the stock exchange. The Bolsa Index rose 1.7 percent to 20,147.01 before the halt.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=aj9i.DH_oPFs&refer=latin_america

Clearstream Frankfurt Launches Taxbox – a new Service for the Transfer of Tax Data in Germany
Clearstream Banking Frankfurt (CBF) is launching Taxbox, a new service that will support the transfer of tax-relevant data between its customers so that they can fulfill their legal requirement to exchange this data efficiently via a straight-through process.
http://deutsche-boerse.com/dbag/dispatch/en/notescontent/gdb_navigation/press/10_Latest_Press_Releases/INTEGRATE/mr_pressreleases?notesDoc=1A63DCF19DAA21BBC125751500364D97&newstitle=clearstreamfrankfurtlaunchesta&location=press

Announcement of Participants in Remote Membership Program
In order to facilitate market access and increase liquidity in its flagship products 3 month Euroyen futures and options, Tokyo Financial Exchange (TFX) has initiated a remote membership program and colocation services. TFX is pleased to announce the first trading firms to apply for remote membership.
http://www.tfx.co.jp/en/newsfile/08/meeting_e20081204_01.html

Eurex Connection and Service Fees: Information on Automatic Fee Collection http://www.eurexchange.com/download/documents/circulars/cf2942008e.pdf

Instruments in Cash Market CCP – Amendments
http://www.eurexchange.com/download/documents/circulars/cfni1092008e.pdf

Performance Bond Requirement Changes – Effective Thursday, December 4, 2008 http://www.cme.com/clearing/rmspan/pbadv/files/Chadv08-380.pdf

CME Globex Notice
http://view.exacttarget.com/?j=fe59157871630474741c&m=fef61579716003&ls=fdee11757d63077c761c7571&l=fec013737063027e&s=fe1b1576716c0d7e701379&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe251671706c0c7f751c78

Brokers & Dark Pools

Lawsuit: Citigroup scheme hid debt obligations
Citigroup Inc., the second-biggest U.S. bank by assets, was accused by investors of repackaging unmarketable collateralized debt obligations and reselling them to itself to hide its exposure to the securities.
http://www.app.com/article/20081204/BUSINESS/812040454/1003/rss08

Wells Fargo Accused by State Regulator of Misleading Investors
by Joel Rosenblatt Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) — Wells Fargo & Co., the biggest bank on the U.S. West Coast, was accused in a complaint by a Washington state regulator of misrepresenting the risks of buying $3.9 billion of auction-rate securities.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601127&sid=afjBiW1IUhxQ

Citi Executives Said Ready to Forgo Bonuses
Citigroup’s top executives and Robert E. Rubin, a director and senior counselor at the firm, are ready to forgo their bonuses this year as the bank reels from the effects of the financial crisis, The Financial Times reported.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/citigroup-top-execs-ready-to-forego-bonuses-report-says/

Citigroup Said to Replace European Equity, Debt Syndicate Heads
By Elisa Martinuzzi Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) — Citigroup Inc., the U.S. bank cutting 52,000 jobs globally, will replace the heads of the teams that arrange stock and bond sales in Europe, two people familiar with the discussions said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=akLYURqIhpN4

BIDS trading connects to BNY ConvergEx Group’s Dark Desk
Tim Mahoney, Chief Executive Officer, BIDS Trading: “This connection furthers BIDS Tradings mission to encourage the broadest participation possible on our open, flexible platform” BIDS Trading and BNY ConvergEx Group have announced that ConvergExs Dark Desk has connected to BIDS Trading’s U.S
http://www.automatedtrader.net/algo-trading-news-5065.xhtm

Citigroup’s Laskowski Moves After 10 Years in Asia (Update1)
By Cathy Chan Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) — Chris Laskowski, who started Citigroup Inc.‘s financial sponsor business in Asia four years ago, is relocating to Chicago to head up the same operations in the U.S. Midwest region.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601089&sid=adS8njggerPM

BofA job-cut total coming ‘soon’
By Christina Rexrode
Bank of America Corp. chief executive Ken Lewis said Wednesday the Charlotte bank is in the “final stage of our analysis” for planned job reductions in its purchase of Merrill Lynch & Co. “We’ll have something pretty soon,” he told the Observer before the Charlotte Chamber’s annual economic conference. A spokesman put it at “early in 2009.”
http://www.charlotteobserver.com/business/story/392097.html

Nomura Holdings Plans to Cut 1,000 Banking Jobs in London, Official Says
Nomura Holdings Inc. is firing as many as 1,000 employees in London, after worsening financial markets and costs related to buying parts of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. pushed the shares to a 26-year low.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=special_report&sid=aVBGBIgxL.wg

TD Bank profit falls 7 percent on trading losses
TORONTO (Reuters) – Toronto-Dominion Bank (TD.TO: Quote, Profile, Research, Stock Buzz) said quarterly profit fell 7 percent because of previously announced write-downs for credit-trading losses in illiquid debt markets. As expected, Canada’s second largest bank said on Thursday that net income was C$1.01 billion ($798 million), or C$1.22 a share, in the fourth quarter ended Oct. 31. That includes various items, including a one-time C$323 million litigation reserve gain.
http://www.reuters.com/article/bondsNews/idUSN0346408520081204

S&P Revises Outlook to Negative on MF Global as Trading Slows
By Matthew Leising Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) — MF Global Ltd., the derivatives broker whose stock has dropped 93 percent this year, had its counterparty credit rating outlook revised to negative from stable by Standard & Poor’s on expectations that futures trading will slow. S&P said Hamilton, Bermuda-based MF Global’s revenue, adjusted net earnings and operating cash should be lower than the ratings company expected in the next two quarter. MF Global has enough capital under a $1.5 billion revolving loan, S&P said in a statement. The company kept its BBB long-term credit rating on MF Global. Shares of futures exchanges and brokers such as MF Global have tumbled amid wider market losses and as tight credit cut the amount of borrowed money traders can use. MF Global also suffered a $141 million loss from an unauthorized employee trade in February and shook investor confidence in how it would pay off debt due this year. The company named Bernard Dan as chief executive officer after Kevin Davis resigned in October.

Credit Suisse cuts 5,300 jobs worldwide
GENEVA – Credit Suisse Group said Thursday it is cutting 5,300 jobs — about 11 percent of its global work force — in a bid to reduce costs and take its business back into the black.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081204/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_switzerland_credit_suisse;_ylt=Agj5rj4GE.XGoBCnioS7nQtu24cA

Credit Suisse to Eliminate 5,300 Jobs After $2.5 Billion Loss This Quarter
Credit Suisse Group AG, Switzerland’s second-largest bank, will eliminate 5,300 jobs and scrap bonuses for its top executives after about 3 billion francs ($2.5 billion) of losses in the past two months.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=afGPN._nqmiU&refer=worldwide

Wave of Job Cuts Hits Banks in Europe
By JULIA WERDIGIER and BETTINA WASSENER
Among the investment banks announcing work force cuts was Credit Suisse, which will eliminate 5,300 jobs, 11 percent of the total.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/business/worldbusiness/05suisse.html?ref=business

Apax mulling Bank of Ireland investment
FT DUBLIN, Dec 4 (Reuters) – Private equity firm Apax Partners is considering an investment in Bank of Ireland as interest in Irish banks by buyout groups continues to grow, the Financial Times reported on Thursday.
http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=7052266&subject=general&action=article

HSBC: Oil palm, timber loans will continue
HSBC Bank Malaysia said it does not intend to curb lending and will continue to give more loans to oil palm and timber companies.
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/lendMORE/Article/

optionsXpress Announces Dividend
http://tinyurl.com/DividendOptionsexpress

TradingScreen connects to Albert Fried’s low-latency FIX environment
December 4th, 2008 – Albert Fried selects TradingScreen to integrate to its low-latency execution FIX environment
http://www.automatedtrader.net/algo-trading-news-5064.xhtm

KM Hughes & Associates Helps open the door to the global market for national and regional clients
Charlotte, NC (PRWEB) December 3, 2008 — K.M. Hughes & Associates was founded to meet the growing needs of a changing global economy. As a global Forex trading firm, K.M. Hughes & Associates is dedicated to the service and success of each of their clients investments by offering a unique business model where understanding an investors portfolio and goals are the highest priority.
http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/12/prweb1691374.htm

BESTDirect eSignal Integration Advances Online Futures and Forex Trading
http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/081204/20081204005934.html?.v=1

Managers Win Auction for a Part of Lehman
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/business/04lehman.html?ref=business

Regulatory News

The SEC News Digest
The SEC News Digest provides daily information on recent Commission actions, including enforcement proceedings, rule filings, policy statements, and upcoming Commission meetings.
http://www.sec.gov/news/digest/2008/dig120408.htm

FSA consults on liquidity rules for banks, building societies and investment firms
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has today published a consultation paper (CP) which proposes a far-reaching overhaul of the liquidity requirements for banks, building societies and investment firms. The proposed rules are based on recently agreed international liquidity standards, in particular the Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s (BCBS) Principles for Sound Liquidity Risk Management and Supervision and also take into account difficulties faced in the market over the past 18 months.
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2008/144.shtml

Florida Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunctions in CFTC Anti-Fraud Action against Florida Commodity Pool Operator Phoenix Diversified Investment Corporation, Inc., and its Principal Michael A. Meisner
Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced the issuance of consent orders of preliminary injunction by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Phoenix Diversified Investment Corporation, Inc. (Phoenix), a commodity pool operator (CPO) based in Boca Raton, Florida, and its former president and director Michael A. Meisner.
http://www.cftc.gov/newsroom/enforcementpressreleases/2008/pr5576-08.html

California Federal Court Freezes Assets of Paul Abad and His Company, Thirteen Thirty-Two, Inc. in CFTC Anti-Fraud Action
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) announced today that it obtained a federal court order in California freezing the assets and prohibiting the destruction of documents of Orange County-based defendants Paul Abad and his company, Thirteen Thirty-Two, Inc. (1332). The asset freeze order, entered on December 1, 2008, by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, stems from a CFTC complaint filed the same day charging Abad and 1332 with misappropriating customer funds and concealing trading losses in connection with operating a fraudulent commodity pool.
http://www.cftc.gov/newsroom/enforcementpressreleases/2008/pr5578-08.html

CFTC Facilitates the Filing of Public Comments
http://www.cftc.gov/newsroom/generalpressreleases/2008/pr5577-08.html

SEBI Board Meeting
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2008/2008283.html

Order against Mehta Equities Ltd.
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2008/2842008.html

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Harvard Endowment Loses 22%
By GERALDINE FABRIKANT
University officials have been told to expect a 30 percent drop in the endowment’s value because of the financial turmoil.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/business/04harvard.html?ref=business

Harvard Hit by Loss as Crisis Spreads
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122832139322576023.html

POISON IVY AS HARVARD BECOMES LESS ENDOWED
By KAJA WHITEHOUSE
Harvard University’s once-enviable record of straight A’s in investing has taken a giant hit, with the president warning that its famously rich endowment has suffered record losses that will…more >
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12042008/business/poison_ivy_as_harvard_becomes_less_endow_142509.htm

Private Equity’s Year from Hell
As the recession and financial crisis cause debt defaults and bankruptcy filings to mount, private equity investors brace for big losses and much longer waits for promised returns http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/dec2008/pi2008124_000905.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index+-+temp_news+%2B+analysis

Russell Investments captures IFIC education award Russell campaign deals with the fear many senior investors have of outliving their financial resources
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?Id=47305&IdSection=147&cat=147

WisdomTree Lists LargeCap Growth Fund on NYSE Arca
NEW YORK , December 4 –- NYSE Euronext (NYX) today announced the listing of the WisdomTree LargeCap Growth Fund (ROI), an exchange traded fund (ETF) on NYSE Arca.
http://www.nyse.com/press/1228389248088.html

Two iShares Trusts List on NYSE Arca
NEW YORK, December 4, 2008–-NYSE Euronext (NYX) announced that its fully-owned subsidiary NYSE Arca today began trading two iShares commodity-based trusts on a listed basis after the transfer of their listing from NYSE Alternext US (formerly, the American Stock Exchange).
http://www.nyse.com/press/1228302973748.html

SCHWARZMAN GETS PERSONAL
By MARK DeCAMBRE
Buyout kingpin Stephen Schwarzman finds himself knocking on more doors and pressing more flesh than ever before as the private-equity boom grinds to a halt. Lately, Schwarzman has become the…
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12042008/business/schwarzman_gets_personal_142505.htm

J.P. Morgan Seizes Fund’s Collateral
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122835257996177659.html

Citadel Funds Said to Lose 13% in November, 47% Year-to-Date
By Saijel Kishan and Katherine Burton Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) — Citadel Investment Group LLC, the Chicago-based hedge-fund firm run by Kenneth Griffin, lost 13 percent in November, bringing the decline for the year to 47 percent, according to two people familiar with the matter.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aon5iPboyGaU&refer=home

Citadel’s November: -13%
Citadel Investment Group lost about 13% in November, bringing the Chicago hedge fund’s investment decline this year to 47%, according to investors.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122841405751279981.html?mod=testMod

Fortress, the Hedge Fund, Is Crumbling
By MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED
Shares in the Fortress Investment Group plummeted 25 percent, to $1.87, after the firm said that it had temporarily suspended redemptions at its largest fund.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/business/04place.html?ref=business

MONTANA FAILS TO COMPLETE
By MARK DeCAMBRE
Professional football Hall of Famers Joe Montana and Ronnie Lott are punting on a pair of hedge funds that got sacked by the blowups on Wall Street. HRJ Capital, founded by the two legendary San…more >
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12042008/business/montana_fails_to_complete_142513.htm

Money Market Fund Outlines Plans to Reimburse Investors
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/business/04reserve.html?ref=business

D.E. Shaw, Farallon Limit Client Withdrawals as Hedge Fund Freeze Deepens
D.E. Shaw & Co. LP, the investment firm run by David Shaw, and Farallon Capital Management LLC limited withdrawals by clients, joining more than 80 hedge-fund managers to impose restrictions in the past two months.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a9Tzhsya0YWE&refer=exclusive

Advisors can help individuals leave a legacy in a meaningful manner
Nearly half of Canadians 55 and older are considering leaving a life legacy, and financial advisors should talk to their clients about the options ava…
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?Id=47306&IdSection=3&cat=3

Reports

Briefing.com Economic Calendar
http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/MarketAnalysis/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

USDA Today
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/index.asp

Event Calendar
The CBOT Event Calendar provides a list of current US and global events for the upcoming year.
http://www.cbot.com/cbot/calendar/month

CBOE Events Calendar
http://www.cboe.com/AboutCBOE/EventCalendar.aspx

Economic Release Calendar
The Economic Release Calendar (PDF) is a schedule of government, academic and industry economic releases, provided as a service to CME customers.
http://www.cme.com/files/economicreleasecalendar.pdf

Asia-Pacific News
by Ted Naganawa
http://www.marketswiki.com/mwiki/Ted_Naganawa
http://groups.google.com/group/chinaheadlines

China Investment Corp. won’t invest massively overseas till uncertainty clears
China Investment Corp. (CIC), the nation’s state-owned forex investment firm, won’t seek a great amount of investment overseas amid financial crisis given the uncertainty brought by government policies in the United States and Europe, CIC Chairman Lou Jiwei said here Wednesday.
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90884/6546159.html

China’s CIC appoints real estate fund head -sources
HONG KONG, Dec 4 (Reuters) – China Investment Corp, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, has hired former managing director of Starr International as its head of real estate investment funds, said sources briefed on the appointment.
http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSHKG26644320081204

China, U.S. agree to further cooperate on energy, environment
A senior Chinese official said in Beijing on Thursday that China and the United States have reached consensus in five major areas to step up energy and environmental protection cooperation during the on-going fifth round of the Strategic Economic Dialogue (SED).
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90776/90883/6546852.html

Taiwan cabinet approves detailed rules on investment by China’s QDIIs
TAIPEI (XFN-ASIA) – The Executive Yuan, or cabinet, has approved regulations covering investments in stocks and futures markets by companies participating in China’s qualified domestic institutional investor program, officials said.
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/12/04/afx5777217.html

China sovereign wealth fund unit increases holdings in 3 state banks
Central Huijin Investment Co., a unit of China’s sovereign wealth fund, has invested CNY1.22 billion to increase its A-share holdings in three state banks, the state-run Shanghai Securities News reported Thursday, without citing sources.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/China-sovereign-wealth-fund-unit/story.aspx?guid=%7B0514D576-20C7-4ACB-B6A0-0FB858BA71E1%7D

Hong Kong-listed Chinese firm under fire
The Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEx) has ordered six directors of a small-cap Chinese company to take a three-year training course in corporate governance after finding that the firm regularly breached the listing rules over the last decade.
http://www.thecrossbordergroup.com/pages/1913/Breaking+news.stm?article_id=13088

Miscellaneous News

GLOBEOP SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETES SAS 70 TYPE II EXAMINATION FOR SECOND CONSECUTIVE YEAR
LONDON, UK; NEW YORK, NY, USA – 4 December 2008 – GlobeOp Financial Services (“GlobeOp®”, LSE:GO.) today announced that, for the second consecutive year, it has successfully completed a SAS 70 Type II examination of specified middle-, back-office and fund administration controls by accounting and auditing firm Ernst & Young LLP.
http://www.globeop.com/

innerExchange Opens Spanish Office in Barcelona
London, Barcelona, December 4th, 2008 – innerExchange, a leading provider of smart trading solutions and consultancy to the financial community, today announces the opening of an office in Barcelona. “We are confident that our Barcelona office will provide better access to our Spanish clients and prompt support and consultancy for our products and services,” said Mónica Sáiz, Country Manager for Spain. Sáiz adds, “innerExchange will now offer and provide local comprehensive services for all Spanish clients. They will profit from our products’ main key USPs including cost effectiveness and speed of implementation, where dependability, support and quality are maintained and exceed expectations.”
http://www.innerex.com/

CNBC MAY CUT STAFF
By PAUL THARP
NBC Universal’s cost-cutting moves may soon hit its CNBC unit. Sources say that as many as 80 staffers could be getting pink slips as early as today. The expected cuts are said to be across…more >
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12042008/business/cnbc_may_cut_staff_142516.htm

**** I would not cut Cramer, but I might want to kick him in the……..

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

Happiness is contagious: study
by Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Happiness is contagious, researchers reported on Thursday. The same team that demonstrated obesity and smoking spread in networks has shown that the more happy people you know, the more likely you are yourself to be happy. And getting connected to happy people improves a person’s own happiness, they reported in the British Medical Journal.
http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE4B400H20081205?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews

**** The happiest people I know in this business are the ones who give back to the industry, not the ones who just take from it. I try to give back by writing this newsletter and offering it in a voluntary pay format. I try to give back by co-founding Environmental Markets Newsletter and trying to education people about new solutions to our environmental challenges. I try to give back by creating MarketsWiki and running it like a not-for-profit, plowing the sponsor revenue back into the project. I try to give by volunteering my time to the Boy Scouts, to AYSO and other organizations. I try to give back in hoping that it makes for a better world to live in, a place that is happy, healthy and growing. I try to give back to be happy and hopefully to spread some of that happiness to others. To paraphrase the Declaration of Independence, we are endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights; among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. Remember to pursue happiness. Happy Friday!

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Time Off for Good Behavior
Want to be charitable in a big way? Consider tapping your employer for support. Although they often don’t advertise the fact, many companies are very flexible about backing employees’ volunteer efforts.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122764965722957617.html

***** This is a good time to explore opportunities to serve your community. Not only is it a good way to give back, but it is a good way to build friendships and improve your professional and personal networks. And maybe you will connect with some other happy people. Pursue Happiness!

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US foundations giving record amounts globally
SEATTLE – U.S. charitable foundations gave money to international causes at record levels in 2007 and their contributions are likely to increase again this year, says a report by an organization that monitors philanthropy.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081205/ap_on_bi_ge/foundation_giving;_ylt=Ano0hS8cmNxYBpRYhiM5dB1u24cA

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BATS Exchange completes successful first month
December 5th, 2008 – Reports matched market share of 10.37% compared with 6.90% a year ago
http://www.automatedtrader.net/algo-trading-news-5167.xhtm

BATS Exchange Sees Market-Share Gains Stall In November
BATS Exchange reported lower matched-share volume for November, the firm’s first month of operation as a exchange, than it did in the two prior months.
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200812041209DOWJONESDJONLINE000813_FORTUNE5.htm

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Harvard plans $600 million bond issue: report
(Reuters) – Harvard University is preparing a $600 million bond issue to partly repay existing debt and also to cancel certain interest rate swap agreements, the Wall Street Journal said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081205/bs_nm/us_harvard_bond;_ylt=AosZKqPgajPthLF2OUT9C_S573QA

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University Of Arizona Seeks Managers
The $600 million University of Arizona endowment is seeking managers for private equity, distressed debt and global hedge fund strategies. The moves are part of the efforts of CIO to modernize the portfolio he took over two years ago.
http://www.foundationendowment.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=2048551

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Google-Facebook entice websites to join their social circles
SAN FRANCISCO (AFP) – Google and Facebook have launched rival technology platforms that can be used to infuse websites with trendy social-networking features.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081205/bs_afp/usitinternetcompanygooglefacebook_081205021557;_ylt=AvnFz2466n_OwS.oMW0fiWymOrgF

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New York Commuters Use Bikes as Economy Sags, Now Need Place to Park Them
It costs Jamie Fisher about $25 for parking, $8 for tolls and another $8 for gasoline on days that he drives from his home in Bergen County, New Jersey, to his job in midtown Manhattan.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=aVeJmIGquBNE&refer=environment

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A Safe Bet?
Casinos are luring seniors with cheap meals and free buses. How to get in the game without losing your nest egg.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/171916

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Tips falling victim to financial crisis
http://www.reuters.com/article/newsOne/idUSTRE4B434W20081205

**** Even stock tips are down, good ones and bad ones.

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Lead Stories

Tokyo Commodity Exchange Marks A New Beginning As A Corporation
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) announced on 1 December that it was demutualized and transformed itself from a membership organization into a corporation and changed its name to Tokyo Commodity Exchange, Inc. effective December 1, 2008. It marked as the first commodity futures exchanges in Japan to implement such transformation.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79348

Sentinel Management bankruptcy trustee sues Citadel, Goldman Sachs
By Becky Yerak and Joshua Boak
Citadel Investment Group LLC and Goldman Sachs & Co. have been sued by the trustee in the bankruptcy last year of Sentinel Management Group Inc., the Northbrook-based cash-management firm. Filed in federal bankruptcy court in Chicago, the suit accuses Citadel and Goldman of benefiting from the actions of Sentinel insiders who made fraudulent transfers just before the firm collapsed. Citadel, a Chicago-based hedge fund, and Goldman, a New York investment banking firm, declined to comment. Instead of segregating customer funds and making safe and liquid investments, as required, Sentinel insiders “embarked on a massive leveraging and commingling scheme” for their own benefit, the suit said. As part of the scheme, the insiders acquired or controlled more than $3 billion in securities, the suit said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-fri-citadel-sentinel-dec05,0,2075639.story

3,000 bankers face jobless Christmas in latest City bloodletting
The banking bloodbath reached new heights yesterday after some of the City’s biggest firms unveiled plans to axe jobs. Nearly 3,000 bankers are set to lose their jobs before Christmas as Nomura, Dresdner Kleinwort and Credit Suisse slash their British headcount. And hundreds more could go at Merrill Lynch’s 4,500-strong London operation as Bank of America prepares a worldwide cull of up to 30,000 jobs following its rescue of the Wall Street firm.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/money/article-1092020/3-000-bankers-face-jobless-Christmas-latest-City-bloodletting.html

China Looks to Wall Street to Lure Back Native Talent
China, which has long sent its best and brightest abroad, is now siphoning talent from Wall Street. Professionals are peppering brokerages, banks and law firms in Beijing and Shanghai with résumés, and Chinese officials and executives are taking advantage. This month, officials from Shanghai will lead a delegation to New York, Chicago and London looking to poach specialists in risk management and other fields. At an earlier session in New York last month, Wall Street professionals packed a theater to hear pitches from Chinese regulators and mutual funds.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122844068134481801.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Citadel’s Losses Add to Mr. Griffin’s Pain
By GREGORY ZUCKERMAN and JENNY STRASBURG
Kenneth Griffin’s bad year just got a lot worse, making it even more difficult for him to collect the big fees that made him one of the country’s richest fund managers. Mr. Griffin’s Citadel Investment Group in Chicago lost about 13% in November, bringing its investment decline to 47% during 2008, according to investors. Tabulating those losses and client withdrawals, the firm’s total assets are expected to fall to $12 billion at year end from a peak near $20 billion in January, when the firm was planning an initial public offering. That plan was put on hold.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122841405751279981.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Managed Futures Funds Gain in Popularity and Performance
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Managed Futures is one of only two positive performing sectors within the Credit Suisse Tremont Hedge Fund Index (“Broad Index”) this year, returning 11.99% year to date versus a loss of 15.54% for the Broad Index. The sector has grown from a weight of 3.5% of the Broad Index in January to 4.2% at the end of October and total assets under management for the sector are now estimated at $225.5 billion1, representing a 22% increase over the past year.
http://tinyurl.com/managedfuturesfunds

Fed officials say not running out of policy tools
DEARBORN, Michigan (Reuters) – The year-long U.S. recession has taken a turn for the worse recently, two top Federal Reserve policy-makers said on Thursday, raising expectations for aggressive policy action by the central bank as soon as next week.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081204/bs_nm/us_usa_fed;_ylt=Ate7ULAGGsRKjc3mj_AQnl2573QA

Kashkari Says Treasury’s Rescue Plan Working, Banks Are Obligated to Lend
The U.S. Treasury’s $700 billion financial-rescue plan will benefit consumers and businesses because banks have an obligation to lend money they receive from the government, the head of the program said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=special_report&sid=aPDbEHTeKlnw

US Treasury Interim Assistant Secretary For Financial Stability Neel Kashkari Remarks On Financial Markets And TARP Update
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79359

Commodity Fundamentals Are ‘Unimpaired,’ Rogers Says (Update1)
By Nigel Stevenson and Brett Foley Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) — The fundamentals of commodities are “unimpaired” and prices will rebound when a lack of new supply leads to shortages, said Jim Rogers, chairman of Rogers Holdings. “Commodities will be the place to be if and when we come out of” the downturn, Rogers said yesterday in an interview from Miami. “The only thing where fundamentals are unimpaired are commodities. Farmers cannot get loans for fertilizer now. Nobody can get a loan to open a zinc mine. So we are going to have some serious, serious supply problems before too much longer.” The Reuters/Jefferies CRB Index of 19 commodities has plunged 53 percent from a record in July on concern that a global recession will sap demand for raw materials. The index almost doubled between its low in 2001 and the end of last year.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=adVtKx5tyEnA&refer=environment

Lack of trust still the key for companies
By Jeremy Grant
The Bank’s base rate is at its lowest point since 1951 but for Chris Davies, chief executive of SIG, a Sheffield-based distributor of insulation and other products to the construction industry, that is not going to solve the underlying problem in the business world: lack of trust.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/6e6f05a8-c26e-11dd-a350-000077b07658.html

Speech: Chairman Cox Calls for Financial Rescues Exit Strategy
http://www.sec.gov/news/speech/2008/spch120408cc.htm

U.S. must ensure market aid is temporary: SEC’s Cox
By Rachelle Younglai
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The federal government must plan an exit strategy for several programs it has put in place to help rescue the financial system, the chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission said on Thursday.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/04/AR2008120402975.html

Price of oil has no ‘floor’: OPEC president
MADRID (AFP) – There is no “floor” for the price for a barrel of oil, OPEC president Chakib Khelil said Wednesday as the price of crude tumbled under 45 dollars, its lowest level since February 2005.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081203/bs_afp/commoditiesenergyoilpricekhelil_081203194303;_ylt=Ahu8bZxDgnN2AeUp7AJ0YHSmOrgF

New breed of trader heads for Europe
By Jeremy Grant
A few weeks ago a team from the London Stock Exchange flew to Chicago on an unusual mission. The Midwestern city is widely acknowledged as the birthplace of financial derivatives and home to the loud pit traders long emblematic of the trading world.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/635d3c5e-c172-11dd-831e-000077b07658,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2F635d3c5e-c172-11dd-831e-000077b07658.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ft.com%2Fsearch%3FqueryText%3Djeremy%2Bgrant%26aje%3Dtrue%26dse%3D%26dsz%3D

Algorithmic trades heighten volatility
By Anuj Gangahar in New York
The growing use of new types of computer models that react more quickly to the latest moves in prices is exacerbating the historically high levels of volatility in equity markets, according to traders. Such “aggressive” algorithms that are based on the most up-to-date price data – often for just the previous hour or day on a particular stock – have replaced models using longer term valuation methods and historical data going back 10 years or more.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3f57311e-c246-11dd-a350-000077b07658.html

Banking spins destruction myth
James Saft
The banking myth, as expounded by insiders, is that we were hit by a perfect storm, a 1,000-year flood so unpredictable that we can’t possibly be held accountable for it. An act of god, rather than the folly of man.
http://blogs.reuters.com/great-debate/2008/12/05/banking-spins-destruction-myth-hoocoodanode/

Environmental Trading News

Proposed fee on smelly cows, hogs angers farmers
MONTGOMERY, Ala. – For farmers, this stinks: Belching and gaseous cows and hogs could start costing them money if a federal proposal to charge fees for air-polluting animals becomes law.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081205/ap_on_bi_ge/farm_scene_cow_tax;_ylt=AqrkbdvBxc67jDC9hQer0XsDW7oF

Utilities May Bid for Renewable-Energy Firms Stapped for Cash, KPMG Says
Power utilities may bid for renewable- energy companies, which will be strapped for cash because of the credit crisis, according to a specialist in mergers and acquisitions at advisory firm KPMG.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=aV3i4s0Gbi5s&refer=environment

U.K. Funds 2,000 Doctorate Students to Fight Climate Change, Economy Woes
The U.K. government is allocating 250 million pounds ($367 million) to train more scientists and engineers as it seeks to master the challenges of climate change and an economic downturn.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601130&sid=a6e07YO2i2So&refer=environment

Greening Australia a natural fit for carbon trading
MATT CAWOOD
Carbon trading promises grief of some kind for most businesses, but for Greening Australia it is a natural fit with the organisation’s brief of revegetating degraded landscapes.
http://qcl.farmonline.com.au/news/nationalrural/forestry/general/greening-australia-a-natural-fit-for-carbon-trading/1376342.aspx

EU Carbon Output Below Cap Until 2012, Deutsche Says (Update2)
By Mathew Carr Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) — Deutsche Bank AG forecast carbon dioxide output from factories and power stations in the European Union emissions-trading program, the world’s biggest, will be on average below the group’s limit in the five years through 2012.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601072&sid=aNy0LCUNyYwI

For more environmental trading news, subscribe to the Environmental Markets version of the John Lothian Newsletter edited by Jim Kharouf. Click here to subscribe: jimkharouf-request@johnlothiannewsletter.com?subject=subscribe

Exchange & ECN News

N.Y. Approves ICE Credit-Default Swap Clearing Plan (Update2)
By Matthew Leising Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) — New York approved Intercontinental Exchange Inc.’s application to form a state-regulated trust to guarantee trades in the $31 trillion credit-default swap market, boosting the company’s bid to beat rival CME Group Inc. in running a clearinghouse for the trades.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=awfvop52NfBM&refer=us

NYSE Euronext Launches Online Exchange-Traded ‘Screener’ For Issuers and Investors
Web-Based Exchange Tool Enables Efficient Product Identification by Product Type and Risk Level
http://www.nyse.com/press/1228475260780.html

SIX x-clear Introduces A New Pricing Model And Reduces Its Prices
SIX x-clear, the clearing company of SIX Group, is introducing on 1 January 2009 a new market friendlier pricing model for its services. This will immensely improve transparency and traceability. Simultaneous to the introduction of the new pricing model, SIX x-clear is reducing its prices by CHF 3 million, thus positioning the company as a leading clearing services provider in the European markets.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79355

MarketAxess Announces Monthly Volume Statistics for November 2008 http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/MarketAxess-Announces-Monthly-Volume-Statistics/story.aspx?guid=%7B22FC852A-61F9-4F6E-A1B0-80EE0156F904%7D

November 2008 On The Warsaw Stock Exchange
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79364

BM&FBOVESPA Monthly Operational Figures Report – November, 2008
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79363

Tokyo Financial Exchange Trading Volume In November 2008
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79350

Ljubljana Stock Exchange’s November 2008 Monthly Statistics Report
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79360

MCX Weekly Market Report – December 5, 2008
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79357

Malawi Stock Exchange Weekly Report
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79356

RTS Indices Monthly Review
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79361

IC08-197 December 2009 Index LEAPS Conversion Schedule
http://www.cboe.org/publish/InfoCir/IC08-197.pdf

Brokers & Dark Pools

Merrill Lynch shareholders approve sale to BofA
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081205/ap_on_bi_ge/bank_of_america_merrill_vote;_ylt=AmOhwUPAl0Z94J3TfLVTQmSyBhIF

BofA-Merrill merger vote may change Wall Street
By IEVA M. AUGSTUMS
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — When shareholders vote on Bank of America Corp.’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch & Co. on Friday, they are expected to transform the bank into a business befitting its name and change the face of Wall Street.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/12/04/AR2008120402829.html

Merrill May be Toughest Test for Bank of America’s Serial Dealmaker
Lewis Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Lewis’s takeover of Merrill Lynch & Co., the capstone of more than $100 billion in acquisitions he’s made since 2001, may prove the hardest to digest.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=agR.pLkND9RA&refer=exclusive

HSBC executive criticizes bank guarantees
By Keith Bradsher and Bettina Wassener
HONG KONG: The chief executive of HSBC’s Asian operations called on Friday for Asian governments to abandon as soon as possible their guarantees of bank deposits, saying they amount to inappropriate assistance to weak banks at the risk of imposing a costly burden on taxpayers.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2008/12/05/business/06hsbc.php

Bank of America Loses $141 Million Fraud Verdict (Update1)
By Joel Rosenblatt Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) — Bank of America Corp., the largest U.S. consumer bank, lost a $141 million jury verdict in a lawsuit over claims that one of its units defrauded investors who bought securities backed by a furniture retailer.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601127&sid=aBQzSIKlgzOU

Discover Accuses Morgan Stanley of Secret Talks With Visa
By David Glovin Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) — Discover Financial Services claims in a lawsuit that it was forced to agree to a $2.75 billion legal settlement because its former parent, Morgan Stanley, held secret, unauthorized talks with Visa Inc. and MasterCard Inc.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=aOR8JJe08g5o

NO BONUS FOR CITI EXECS THIS YEAR
By PAUL THARP
Robert Rubin and his colleagues running Citigroup are giving up any hopes of pocketing fat bonuses this year. Rubin, the nation’s highest-paid director of a public company, has been telling…
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12052008/business/no_bonus_for_citi_execs_this_year_142764.htm

ICAP Hires JPMorgan’s Bear to Head Alternative Trading System, `Dark Pool’
ICAP Plc, the world’s largest broker of trades between banks, named Daemon Bear to set up and lead an alternative trading system and so-called dark pool for stocks.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=asoif3sAZEQk&refer=worldwide

Morgan Stanley widens Goldman Sachs loss view
(Reuters) – Morgan Stanley widened its fourth-quarter loss estimate on Goldman Sachs Group Inc , citing a fall in equity, credit and real-estate asset values in November, and rising negative marks on the firm’s illiquid asset and principal investment portfolios.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081205/bs_nm/us_goldmansachs_research_morgan;_ylt=Ahhp_khwbyaDvojvEonB6lG573QA

Goldman Sachs Conference Call to Announce Annual and Fourth Quarter 2008 Results
http://www2.goldmansachs.com/our-firm/press/press-releases/current/2008-q4-call.html

Julius Baer CEO dies unexpectedly
ZURICH (Reuters) – Alex Widmer, the chief executive of Bank Julius Baer and a well respected figure in Swiss private banking, has died unexpectedly at the age of 52, the bank said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081205/bs_nm/us_juliusbaer;_ylt=AmxGNc31PBSKgcrtlD3pCvm573QA

William Blair reduces its workforce
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-fri-brf4-blair-dec05,0,5216514.story

Citadel trims 40 jobs, more cuts possible
http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=32087

HSBC buys back London HQ, earning £250m
LONDON (AFP) – HSBC said on Friday it had made a profit of about 250 million pounds after buying back its London headquarters 18 months after selling it.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081205/wl_uk_afp/britainspainbankingpropertycompanyearningshsbc_081205113510

The Last Word on Bear Stearns
Okay, so it’s not really the last word, but the legal case in the Supreme Court of New York against Bear Stearns’ officers and directors, arising out of its transaction with JPMorgan Chase, was dismissed Thursday by Judge Herman Cahn.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/05/the-last-word-on-bear-stearns/

Regulatory News

The SEC News Digest
The SEC News Digest provides daily information on recent Commission actions, including enforcement proceedings, rule filings, policy statements, and upcoming Commission meetings.
http://www.sec.gov/news/digest/2008/dig120508.htm

Former Refco Lawyer Collins Faces Additional Bank-Fraud Charges
By David Glovin Dec. 5 (Bloomberg) — Joseph Collins, a former Refco Inc. lawyer already under indictment for helping the futures brokerage hide more than $1 billion in bad debts from lenders and investors, faces new charges of bank fraud. The indictment accuses Collins, then a partner in Mayer Brown’s Chicago office, of helping Refco’s management conceal from lenders the existence of “round-trip loan transactions” that hid $2 billion in guarantees given by the New York-based firm.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601127&sid=a1UOhEySsMFE

Former Arlington CEO pleads guilty in US$40 million international Ponzi scheme
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?id=47311&IdSection=8&cat=8&BImageCI=1

TRAX to Provide Regulatory Reporting for Exchange-Traded Derivatives
By Leslie Kramer
Xtrakter, a provider of operational risk management, trade matching, regulatory reporting and data services, said that its TRAX solution, a post-trade, pre-settlement, trade matching and regulatory confirmation system in use by the OTC market, will facilitate the regulatory reporting of exchange traded derivatives (ETD) and other complex derivatives in accordance with the requirements of the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (MiFID) in Q1 09.
http://www.financetech.com/feed/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212202122&cid=RSSfeed_FTN_All

IMA calls for review of equity markets in wake of Lehman collapse
Leah Milner – 05-Dec-2008 The Investment Management Association has called on the FSA to urgently review the technical failings in the London equity markets shown up by the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/cgi-bin/item.cgi?id=177756&d=340&h=341&f=342

FINTRAC ramps up financial intelligence
Detection and deterrence of money laundering and terrorist activity financing strengthens Canada’s security
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?id=47308&IdSection=8&cat=8&BImageCI=1

Monetary Authority Of Singapore Appoints Financial And Legal Advisor
MAS has appointed Mr Davinder Singh, Senior Counsel and CEO, Drew & Napier, to advise MAS on the implications of the legal issues raised by the lawyers acting in the Chapter 11 proceedings for Lehman Brothers in the United States.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79349

Barnsley and Yorkshire Building Societies: merger confirmation hearing
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) today announced the arrangements for the hearing of the proposed transfer of the engagements of Barnsley Building Society to Yorkshire Building Society.
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2008/146.shtml

FSA confirms Cheshire Building Society merger with the Nationwide Building Society
http://www.fsa.gov.uk/pages/Library/Communication/PR/2008/145.shtml

ASIC commences action against Sydney mortgage broker
ASIC has commenced proceedings in the Federal Court of Australia against a Sydney mortgage broker and its sole director following concerns over potentially misleading or deceptive statements regarding a mortgage calculator, known as the EquityExcel Plan.
http://www.asic.gov.au/ASIC/asic.nsf/byHeadline/AD08-79%20ASIC%20commences%20action%20against%20Sydney%20mortgage%20broker?opendocument

Consent Order against CD Equisearch (Pvt.) Ltd. in the matter of M/s. Design Auto Systems Ltd
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2008/2008289.html

Consent Order against Infinity.Com Stock Broking Private Limited in the matter of M/s. Greenfield Trading & Finance Limited
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2008/2008291.html

Consent Order against Shri Samir R Shah in the matter of M/s. Hindustan Bio Sciences Ltd
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2008/2008290.html

Consent Order against Shri Sharad Chhotabhai Patel in the matter of M/s. Shree Rama Multi-Tech Ltd
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2008/2008288.html

Order against Shri Vidhyut B. Shah, Member, Ahmedabad Stock Exchange Ltd. in the matter of Manna Glass Tech Industries Ltd
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2008/2008287.html

Orders against Mr. Puroshattam Lal Kejdiwal and Mr. Dinesh Kumar Lodha, Members, Calcutta Stock Exchange in the matter of M/s. Adinath Bio-Labs Ltd
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2008/2008286.html

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Hedge fund “cowboys” damaging industry – Veritas
LONDON, Dec 4 – Hedge funds are suffering “tremendous” reputational damage because promises to make money whichever way markets move have not been fulfilled, although in the long run the industry will benefit from the shake-out, Veritas Asset Management manager Ezra Sun said.
http://www.financetech.com/feed/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212202102&cid=RSSfeed_FTN_All

November CTA Index Performance – STTI Up 0.88% Short-Term Traders Index Up 12.9% in 2008
Chicago, December 5, 2008 – Newedge today posted the monthly performance data for its Alternative Edge Short-Term Traders and CTA Indices. The AlternativeEdge Short-Term Traders Index (STTI) finished the month of November up 0.88 percent (12.916 percent YTD), while continuing to maintain its low correlation to equity-based indices. The S&P 500 was down 7.48 percent for the month and the correlation of daily returns during November between the two indices was -0.64. “CTAs have continued to exhibit strong performance this year using extremely liquid, exchange traded instruments. The STTI’s top performers for the month of November were Revolution Capital Management (Mosaic) 11.00 percent, AlphaQuest (Short Term Program) 3.53 percent and SCT Capital Management (Radix) 3.49 percent,” according to Brian Walls, Chairman of the Newedge Index Committee. The Newedge CTA Index continues to post positive performance for the year. The index was up 2.0392 percent in November and up 11.19 percent YTD.

For additional information on these indices or the AlternativeEdge Series of research, please email alternativeedge@newedgegroup.com .

Hedge funds chalk up more losses, big names suffer
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
BOSTON (Reuters) – Some of the biggest names in hedge funds lost money in November, including Dan Loeb and Kenneth Griffin, but John Paulson was among the few who made money for their investors.
http://www.reuters.com/article/hedgeFundsNews/idUSLNE4B402420081205

Currency hedge funds gain, but at expense of investors
The average return from hedge funds investing in foreign exchange rates was at its highest for five years in October, although the same market inflicted considerable pain to some investors in the funds of hedge fund sector.
http://www.wealth-bulletin.com/home/content/3452692209/

Reports

Briefing.com Economic Calendar
http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/MarketAnalysis/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

USDA Today
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/index.asp

Event Calendar
The CBOT Event Calendar provides a list of current US and global events for the upcoming year.
http://www.cbot.com/cbot/calendar/month

CBOE Events Calendar
http://www.cboe.com/AboutCBOE/EventCalendar.aspx

Economic Release Calendar
The Economic Release Calendar (PDF) is a schedule of government, academic and industry economic releases, provided as a service to CME customers.
http://www.cme.com/files/economicreleasecalendar.pdf

Asia-Pacific News

US, China pledge to jointly tackle global crisis
BEIJING – The United States and China pledged Friday to work together to tackle global financial turmoil as they wrapped up economic talks but left open whether the high-level dialogue will continue under President-elect Barack Obama.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20081205/ap_on_bi_ge/as_china_us_talks;_ylt=ArZrJyDF5HuaISP.lL77ar9u24cA

Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation to Launch New Measures to Reform Trading in 2008
TAIPEI, Taiwan, Dec 04, 2008 (BUSINESS WIRE) — The Taiwan Stock Exchange Corporation announced today that it will further extend the block trading periods in the near future as part of its efforts to effectively enhance the efficiency and convenience of market trading.
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/Taiwan-Stock-Exchange-Corporation-Launch/story.aspx?guid=%7B0426EA38-5A34-43B5-8883-8F85BCFD5FAC%7D

Shenzhen Stock Exchange: To Boost China’s Financial Derivatives Market
The 4th China (Shenzhen) International Futures Conference kicked off yesterday, during which SONG Li Ping, General Manager of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) delivered a speech on the topic of stable boost to establishment of China financial derivatives market system.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=79346

Frontier Markets

FTIL group’s public notice issued in interest of customers and investors
http://www.ftindia.com/public%20notice.pdf

MF schemes hike exposure to equity derivatives
MUMBAI: A bit of hedging and some speculative bets that hold the promise of good returns are prompting mutual fund schemes to increase exposure to equity derivatives. The past 10 months have witnessed several equity funds raising their investments in the derivatives segment to 15-28% of net assets managed. Industry watchers say much of the exposure is largely to derivatives, F&O, on the Nifty.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Personal_Finance/MFs_hike_exposure_to_derivatives/articleshow/3794417.cms

MCX-SX launches Hindi, Gujarati websites for currency derivatives
MCX-SX, the country’s new stock exchange offering currency derivatives, today launched its websites in Hindi and Gujarati languages to enable wider participation in the developing currency futures market in the country.
http://www.newkerala.com/topstory-fullnews-56684.html

Miscellaneous News

GUTFREUND STILL HAS NO ‘VISION’
One-time king of Wall Street and fallen Salomon Brothers chief John Gutfreund is facing another challenge to his leadership. Only this time the battleground is Cincinnati, Ohio, where Gutfreund serves on the board of the struggling laser-surgery chain LCA-Vision Inc.
http://www.nypost.com/seven/12052008/business/gutfreund_still_has_no_vision_142753.htm

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

ISE Launches Enhanced Options Trading Education Content on Website Comprehensive Suite of Educational Resources for Options Trading Now Available for Traders of All Experience Levels
NEW YORK, December 3, 2008 – The International Securities Exchange (ISE) announced today that it has launched a new options trading education section on its website, offering a comprehensive suite of enhanced educational tools and content for traders of all levels of options trading experience. New features include access to ISE’s webcasts, podcasts and YouTube videos that feature a wide spectrum of seminars on topics ranging from basic options, to FX options and index options, to advanced trading strategies as well as online education classes through the Options Industry Council (OIC). In addition, ISE has created an “Ask the Experts” tool, allowing investors to directly contact ISE’s renowned in-house educators, Alex Jacobson and Steve Meizinger, to ask the options trading questions that are most relevant to their individual needs. “Educating investors about how to use options as an effective tool to hedge risk within a portfolio has never been more important given the uncertainty and turbulence in the current market environment,” said Bruce Goldberg, Chief Marketing Officer of ISE. “ISE has been committed to providing investors with timely, high-quality options trading education since its inception, and our enhanced website offers even more efficient access to a broad range of educational tools through an expanded number of convenient mediums.” www.ise.com/education

++++

DUBAI MERCANTILE EXCHANGE ANNOUNCES HALF A MILLION CONTRACTS TRADED SINCE LAUNCH
Historic achievement in 18th month of trading benchmark Oman contract Dubai – 3rd December, 2008: The Dubai Mercantile Exchange Limited (DME) announced today that more than 500,000 lots of its benchmark DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract have traded since the launch of the Middle East’s premier energy futures and commodities exchange on 1 June 2007. At the close of trading on 2nd December 2008, the DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract had traded a total of 500, 495 contracts, equivalent to 500.495 million barrels of oil. www.dubaimerc.com

++++

Commodities prices at six-year lows
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8b8b2be8-c12f-11dd-831e-000077b07658.html

**** here bull market…..here bull…..come on back home bull….

++++

Fidessa Launches New BlueBox Algorithms Designed For Brokers In The Canadian Market
http://www.fidessa.com/corporate/product_news/product_news_04122008.asp

***** Blackbox, Graybox, now Bluebox? How about TiffaniesBlueBox next?

++++

EARTH CAPITAL PARTNERS LLP LAUNCHES TO APPLY HARD-HEADED INVESTMENT PRINCIPLES TO ENVIRONMENTAL ECONOMIC GROWTH
Stanley Fink, the driver behind Man Group’s growth to become the world’s largest hedge fund group, has announced the formation of Earth Capital Partners LLP (ECP), a new business with a specialist focus on environmental investment. “Our objective will be to deliver attractive returns by investing in projects, companies and financial instruments, which address sustainable development challenges, such as climate change, water scarcity and energy security,” said Stanley Fink, Chairman of the new group. “Sustainable Development – ‘meeting the needs of today without jeopardising the ability of future generations to meet their needs’ – is at the heart of our model,” he added.

+++++

CME Group Webinar: Opportunities in Trading Treasury and Swap Spreads
Tuesday, December 16, 2008, 3:00 p.m. CT In the current environment, which presents both risk and opportunity, efficient trading alternatives that allow you to quickly act on your market views are more important than ever. U.S. Treasury and Interest Rate Swap futures are effective tools for taking advantage of anticipated changes in the yield curve or movements in credit spreads, or to isolate and trade swap exposure. Join us as we discuss trading Treasury and Swap spreads to capitalize on your market views.

Topics include:

• The Treasury yield curve
• Correlations between Swap spreads and Treasury yields • What are the trading opportunities right now?
• Implied spread functionality
Speakers:

• Peter Barker, CME Group Director of Interest Rate Products and Services • Jack Walsh, Newedge Institutional Sales http://preview.tinyurl.com/PeterBarker

++++

Citi and Amazon.com in rewards program partnership
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – Financial services company Citigroup Inc said on Wednesday it had teamed its customer loyalty program with global online retailer Amazon.com Inc in what an executive said was the largest-ever rewards program.

**** Use your Citi card and receive a free Credit Defaults Swap….. Book.

++++++

Lead Stories

SEC Curtails Conflicts of Interest at Moody’s and S&P
By Jesse Westbrook Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) — The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, responding to criticism that Moody’s Investors Service and Standard & Poor’s Corp. contributed to the financial crisis, voted to reduce conflicts at credit-rating companies.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=afvqrTtSEiBs

**** If it were only that easy.

Harvard Endowment Loses About $8 Billion
By JOHN HECHINGER
Harvard University’s endowment, showing how the financial crisis is shaking U.S. higher education, has suffered investment losses of 22% since then end of the school’s fiscal year.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122832139322576023.html

Harvard’s Endowment Takes an $8 Billion Hit
The university’s endowment, the largest in the nation, has lost about 22 percent of its value as its U.S. and foreign stock portfolios have taken hits, school officials said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/business/04harvard.html?ref=business

UBS drops LCH.Clearnet in favour of X-Clear
By Jeremy Grant UBS, the largest single provider of trading liquidity on the London Stock Exchange, will next week become the first LSE user to switch its clearing from LCH.Clearnet to the Swiss clearing provider X-Clear. The Swiss-based bank’s move is also the first sign that market participants are taking advantage of a decision by the LSE to allow its users to choose where their shares are cleared.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/44e76276-c0c9-11dd-b0a8-000077b07658.html

US plea for credit trades harmony
By Jeremy Grant in London
Regulators and clearing providers on both sides of the Atlantic should work together to build a central clearing mechanism for over-the-counter (OTC) credit derivatives markets, a leading US congressman said yesterday. Collin Peterson, Democratic chairman of the House agriculture committee, also indicated the frustration felt in Congress over Wall Street’s role in the financial crisis, saying he “wouldn’t trust [Wall Street financiers] as far as I could throw them”.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/a6af0c62-c0dc-11dd-b0a8-000077b07658,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fa6af0c62-c0dc-11dd-b0a8-000077b07658.html&_i_referer=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ft.com%2Fsearch%3FqueryText%3Djeremy%2Bgrant%26aje%3Dtrue%26dse%3D%26dsz%3D

SEC adopts new rules aimed at stemming conflicts in credit-rating industry http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-sec-rating-agencies,0,2353887.story

Florida Federal Court Issues Preliminary Injunctions in CFTC Anti-Fraud Action against Florida Commodity Pool Operator Phoenix Diversified Investment Corporation, Inc., and its Principal Michael A. Meisner
Washington, DC – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced the issuance of consent orders of preliminary injunction by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida against Phoenix Diversified Investment Corporation, Inc. (Phoenix), a commodity pool operator (CPO) based in Boca Raton, Florida, and its former president and director Michael A. Meisner.
http://www.cftc.gov/newsroom/enforcementpressreleases/2008/pr5576-08.html

Elliot Smith Admits to Obstructing SEC Investigation (Update2)
By David Glovin Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) — Elliot Smith, a founding member of the Chicago Board of Options Exchange, pleaded guilty to criminally obstructing justice in a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission investigation, prosecutors said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a1SwuHey8V.8

CBOE Founding Member Pleads Guilty To Obstruction
NEW YORK -(Dow Jones)- A founding member of the Chicago Board Options Exchange pleaded guilty Tuesday to obstruction of justice in connection with a U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission insider-trading probe. At a hearing Tuesday, Elliot Joel Smith entered his plea before U.S. District Judge George B. Daniels in Manhattan.
http://news.morningstar.com/newsnet/ViewNews.aspx?article=/DJ/200812021707DOWJONESDJONLINE000642_univ.xml

Invest in both physical and human capital to boost productivity: Conference Board
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?id=47280&IdSection=147&cat=147&BImageCI=1

National Futures Association: Forex Customer Statements – Proposed Adoption of Compliance Rule 2-44 and Amendments to the Interpretive Notice Regarding Forex Transactions
http://www.nfa.futures.org/news/PDF/CFTC/CR2-44_Forex_Interp_Notc_112408.pdf

Commercial Mortgage Delinquencies to ‘Spike’, Barclays Says
Payments more than 60 days late on commercial real estate loans that were bundled together and sold as bonds increased to 0.69 percent last month, compared with 0.57 percent in October and 0.51 percent in September, Barclays data show.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=aoqh8a77ybHc

Merrill plans to halve year-end bonuses: report
(Reuters) – Merrill Lynch & Co , which is set to merge with Bank of America Corp , plans to cut year-end bonuses in half, Bloomberg News said, citing two people with knowledge of the situation.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081203/bs_nm/us_merrill_bonus;_ylt=At8I75jA3Fj5le4qCm5W.Ea573QA

Environmental Trading News

Canada unlikely to join the ‘global’ carbon marketplace in the next 10 years
By EBR Staff Writer
Achieving climate change ambitions is more likely if regulatory consistency can be established across major polluting nations on a global scale. However, the proposed Canadian federal emissions trading framework could undermine such efforts by failing to open to the wider carbon marketplace.
http://www.energy-business-review.com/article_feature.asp?guid=775AA97D-EF31-4969-B1C6-B261637D8BA6

Will our leaders ever lead?
The free markets will never tackle climate change effectively. We need bold innovations and interventions – now
http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/01/climatechange-fossilfuels

We Need a Global Carbon Tax
The cap-and-trade approach won’t stop global warming, write Ralph Nader and Toby Heaps.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122826696217574539.html

EEX trading results and new admissions in November_2008
Dec 3, 2008 • Electricity trading volume on the European Energy Exchange (EEX) in November 2008 totalled 106.0 TWh, compared with 113.5 TWh in November 2007. This includes 13,101,867 MWh (November 2007: 11,217,164 MWh) traded on the Electricity Spot Market, where the average base load price (Phelix Base Month) for the month was 63.72 Euro/MWh and the peak load price (Phelix Peak Month) 91.85 uro/MWh. Intraday volume in November 2008 was 223,954 MWh (November 2007: 211,445 MWh). On the Swiss ele
http://www.eex.com/en/Press%20Room/Press%20Release/press/40458

CRÉDIT AGRICOLE SIGNS UP TO THE CLIMATE PRINCIPLES AND CONFIRMS ITS COMMITMENT TO TACKLING CLIMATE CHANGE
http://www.calyon.com/sitegenic/medias/DOC/94509/2008_12_03_climate_group_eng.pdf

For more environmental trading news, subscribe to the Environmental Markets version of the John Lothian Newsletter edited by Jim Kharouf. Click here to subscribe: jimkharouf-request@johnlothiannewsletter.com?subject=subscribe

Exchange & ECN News

CBOT Nov volume slumps 53 pct to 52.2 mln contracts
CHICAGO, Dec 2 (Reuters) – Trading volume at the Chicago Board of Trade was 52.7 percent lower in November at 52,269,007 contracts, compared with 110,483,289 contracts traded in November 2007, the CBOT said in its monthly volume report. The year-to-date volume through November was 921,939,389 contracts, compared with 963,363,821 contracts for the same period in 2007, a decrease of 4.3 percent.
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/external/reuters/SIG=1165jh9eu/*http://www.reuters.com/legacyArticle?duid=mtfh31830_2008-12-02_22-02-51_n02287448_newsml&rpc=44&type=marketsNews

Direct Edge Monthly Volume for November 2008 Record ELP Volume
JERSEY CITY, NJ, December 3, 2008 – Direct Edge announced today statistical information regarding its volume for November 2008. Direct Edge reported 1.06 billion shares handled per day in November, representing a 63% year-over-year increase. Direct Edge’s handled market share in all U.S. equity securities was 9.80% for the month, with a 5.49% matched market share. http://www.directedge.com

DTCC Expands Services For Exchange Traded Funds to Allow Using Cash for Creates and Redeems
http://www.financetech.com/feed/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212201641&cid=RSSfeed_FTN_All

Nasdaq OMX Europe recruits ex-LSE executives
http://www.efinancialnews.com/usedition/tradingandtechnology/content/3452660108/

CME Group reaches out to New York area hedge funds
http://www.efinancialnews.com/usedition/people/content/3452662039/

Key figures SIX Swiss Exchange, SWX Europe and Scoach Switzerland: November 2008
http://www.six-swiss-exchange.com/media_releases/online/media_release_200812030730_en.pdf

Dutch Equity Options: New Strike Price Interval
http://www.eurexchange.com/download/documents/circulars/cf2932008e.pdf

NASDAQ Changes Trading Halt Status of Electro Energy, Inc.
http://www.nasdaq.com/newsroom/news/newsroomnewsStory.aspx?textpath=pr2008\ACQPMZ200812031042PRIMZONEFULLFEED155746.htm&cdtime=12%2f03%2f2008 10%3a42AM&title=NASDAQ Changes Trading Halt Status of Electro Energy, Inc.

NV Energy, Inc. Celebrates Recent Name and Symbol Change at the NYSE A live webcast of The Closing Bell® will be available at 3:59 p.m. ET.
http://www.nyse.com/events/1228216331557.html

Aretha Franklin Headlines the 85th Annual NYSE ChristmasTree Lighting
Ceremony Aretha Franklin performs songs from her newly-released Christmas Album. Also performing are Victoria Cuomo, Brendan James, the Monsignor Donovan Choir, Push Play, Tiffany Giardina, Gavin DeGraw, and the stars of the Broadway musical White Christmas.
http://www.nyse.com/events/1227697954115.html

OTC electronic broking volumes of $655.1 billion in November
http://www.icap.com/news/2008/otc-electronic-broking-volumes-of-655.1-billion-in-november.aspx

OneChicago Reports November Volume
Chicago, IL – December 2, 2008 – OneChicago, LLC today reported that 192,596 security futures contracts traded at the Exchange in November 2008. YTD volume stands at 3,757,778. Open interest stood at 134,938 contracts in November 2008.
http://www.onechicago.com/wp-content/uploads/content2008/volumenov081.pdf

Term for inter-month spread trading
http://www.ose.or.jp/e/news/0812/081203b.html

Advent of Last Trading Day for Futures & Options
http://www.ose.or.jp/e/news/0812/081203a.html

Four ProShares Funds List on NYSE Arca
http://www.nyse.com/press/1228216331690.html

Market Activity Report for November 2008 (PDF 63KB)
http://www.asx.com.au/about/pdf/ma_031208_mktannouncement.pdf

Nasdaq CEO sees markets turning by end of 2009
http://us.rd.yahoo.com/finance/external/reuters/SIG=1165jh9eu/*http://www.reuters.com/legacyArticle?duid=mtfh28999_2008-12-02_17-27-36_n02400902_newsml&rpc=44&type=marketsNews

ICE Announces Christmas and New Years Holiday Trading Schedule
http://ir.theice.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=351881

Brokers & Dark Pools

Deutsche Bank Shuts Zurich Stock, Derivative Unit, Reuters Says
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=av3llf3vk_D4

Citigroup Says “Core” Brokerage and Investment Bank Japanese Units Not for Sale
http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/financial-risk-management/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=XRPQKIOD4XY4YQSNDLPCKH0CJUNN2JVN?articleID=212201618&_requestid=1105

Vikram Pandit Scores a Great Deal for Citigroup
Vikram Pandit isn’t known for his deal-making on behalf of Citigroup shareholders, says Breakingviews. Even though he sold the bank his hedge fund, Old Lane, near the top of the market, the Citigroup chief executive was beaten by Wells Fargo in the battle for Wachovia two months ago. However, the publication says, as further details emerge on Citi’s government bailout, Mr. Pandit seems to have pulled off a truly fantastic deal.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/vikram-pandit-scores-a-great-deal-for-citigroup/

SEC Approves New Credit-Rating Rules
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122832289451476121.html?mod=testMod

Merrill Lynch Is Said to Reduce Year-End Bonuses by 50% as Revenue Slumps
Merrill Lynch & Co. plans to cut year- end bonuses in half after more than $20 billion of losses that forced the U.S. securities firm to sell itself to Bank of America Corp., two people with knowledge of the situation said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aqSGYyeo7e4g&refer=worldwide

China Fund Won’t `Dare’ Invest in Finance After Loss on Morgan, Blackstone
China’s sovereign wealth fund said it wouldn’t “dare” invest in foreign financial firms after losing $6 billion on stakes in Morgan Stanley and Blackstone Group LP.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=special_report&sid=a4qkZDueQTwA

Citigroup Said to Fire Most Asian Real Estate Bankers After Property Slump
Citigroup Inc. fired most employees at its real estate investment banking team in Asia after slumping property prices stifled share sales and acquisitions in the industry, three people familiar with the matter said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=special_report&sid=afjkpmbQDyaU

JPMorgan Trumps Goldman in Currying Clients’ Favor, Greenwich Survey Finds
JPMorgan Chase & Co., the largest U.S. bank by assets, won the highest ranking in nine U.S. capital- market and investment-banking categories, besting Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s six, a Greenwich Associates survey of clients found.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601170&refer=special_report&sid=aKavlnIIadsQ

Agency broking: Come back to cash
Christopher Street is backed by the inter-dealer broker GFI. Icap too has an agency broker, called Butler Securities. Hoare Capital is a wholesale broking …
http://www.euromoney.com/Article/2059831/CurrentIssue/65745/Agency-broking-Come-back-to-cash.html

Report: Goldman Taps Former Head of NY Fed for Chairman
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS: 65.00, -0.76, -1.16%) is looking to name Gerald Corrigan, a former head of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, as chairman of its newly created bank holding company, Financial Times said.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/story/markets/industries/finance/goldman-sachs-mulling-online-bank-funding-options/

Deutsche Bank head says there is no German credit crunch
FRANKFURT (AFP) – The head of Deutsche Bank, Germany’s biggest bank, said Tuesday that there was no German credit crisis, even though banks have been accused of not lending sufficiently to consumers and businesses.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081202/bs_afp/financeeconomygermanybankingcompanydeutschebank_081202232615;_ylt=AjVKPWgJuuGjIdGAYlNm_3amOrgF

Citic Pacific shares tumble as forex bet exposure grows
HONG KONG (AFP) – Shares in Chinese investment firm Citic Pacific fell sharply Wednesday after it said losses from failed foreign exchange bets were larger than previously estimated.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081203/bs_afp/forexchinahongkonginvestmentcompany_081203112553;_ylt=AsCKLYXFPgClKBb8WhdRJz6mOrgF

Goldman mulls online bank, open to deals: source
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Group Inc is considering launching an Internet bank and has not ruled out acquiring consumer banks, people familiar with the situation said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20081203/bs_nm/us_goldman_internetbank;_ylt=AlfdleNgNlBYkwoTlb1ACZS573QA

Investment Technology Group Expands Commission Sharing Arrangement Program to Asia Pacific
NEW YORK, December 3, 2008 – Investment Technology Group, Inc. (NYSE: ITG), a leading provider of technology-based trading services and transaction research, today announced that it launched its Commission Sharing Arrangement (CSA) program in Asia Pacific. Global interest in these programs has increased significantly in the wake of broker consolidation as clients look for ways to efficiently manage their trading relationships.
www.itg.com.

NYFIX Euro Millennium™ Sets Single Day Record, Matches Twenty Three Million Shares
NYFIX Euro Millennium Celebrates First Eight Months of Trading With Record Activity and Price Improvement London and New York, December 3, 2008: NYFIX, Inc. (Nasdaq: NYFX), a leading provider of innovative solutions that optimize trading efficiency, announced today a single-day record for the number of shares matched in its Euro Millennium dark pool crossing network.

BIDS Trading Connects to BNY ConvergEx Group’s Dark Desk
NEW YORK, NY – December 3, 2008 – BIDS Trading, the alternative trading system (ATS) designed to increase competition and liquidity in the U.S. equity block trading market, and BNY ConvergEx Group, LLC, a leading provider of global agency brokerage and investment technology solutions, today announced that ConvergEx’s Dark Desk has connected to BIDS Trading’s U.S. equity block trading platform.

Regulatory News

The SEC News Digest
The SEC News Digest provides daily information on recent Commission actions, including enforcement proceedings, rule filings, policy statements, and upcoming Commission meetings.
http://www.sec.gov/news/digest/2008/dig120208.htm

Mortgage collars may be unenforceable, says FSA
boss Mortgage lenders that try not to pass on interest rate cuts below a certain level through “collars” may breach the Financial Services Authority’s rules – a decision that could affect Halifax, Britain’s biggest home loan provider.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/personalfinance/borrowing/mortgages/3544437/Mortgage-collars-may-be-unenforceable-says-FSA-boss.html

Global Securitization Organizations Offer Immediate, Coordinated Industry Response to the Market Crisis
http://www.sifma.org/news/news.aspx?id=9462

SIFMA Encourages Continued U.S.-China Strategic Economic Dialogue
http://www.sifma.org/news/news.aspx?id=9478

Ontario seeks input on regulations for locked-in accounts
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?id=47242&IdSection=8&cat=8&BImageCI=1

Mexico to Require Companies to Detail Derivative Bets
By William Freebairn Dec. 2 (Bloomberg) — Mexico’s securities regulator will force companies to provide a more detailed explanation of their derivative holdings, mirroring a move by Brazil, after wrong-way bets triggered more than $3 billion in losses.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601086&sid=amrj.Kijng74&refer=latin_america

Sebi extends cross-margin facility to all categories of investors
The Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) on Tuesday extended the cross-margin facility to all categories of market participants. Earlier this year, the market regulator had introduced this facility only for institutional investors.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/sebi-extends-cross-margin-facility-to-all-categoriesinvestors/00/06/342042/

SEC Staff Reminds CEOs Of Registered Firms of Importance of Compliance Programs
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-283.htm
See also: Open Letter to CEOs
http://www.sec.gov/about/offices/ocie/ceoletter.htm

Donald M. Hoerl Named Regional Director Of SEC’s Denver Regional Office
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2008/2008-282.htm

SEC Open Meeting Agenda: December 3, 2008
http://www.sec.gov/news/openmeetings/2008/agenda120308.htm

ASIC review of 30 June 2008 reports and areas of focus for upcoming reporting period
We have issued guidance for entities preparing their 31 December 2008 financial and audit reports. 3 Dec
http://www.asic.gov.au/ASIC/asic.nsf/byHeadline/08-218%20ASIC%20review%20of%2030%20June%202008%20reports%20and%20areas%20of%20focus%20for%20upcoming%20reporting%20period?opendocument

Liechtenstein Allure to Wealthy Will Dim After Signing of U.S. Tax Accord
The United States and Liechtenstein plan to sign an agreement to share information on banking clients that will erode the principality’s allure to rich Americans trying to hide assets behind impenetrable bank-secrecy laws.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aewltPzw8E7Q&refer=exclusive

Credit Default Swap Regulation Overview
http://www.metrocorpcounsel.com/current.php?artType=view&artMonth=December&artYear=2008&EntryNo=9117

GAO finds ‘critical issues’ in US Treasury’s financial bailout
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The US Treasury’s new 700 billion dollar financial rescue program has serious accountability and transparency problems, a congressional watchdog said Tuesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081202/bs_afp/financeeconomyuspolitics_081202225229;_ylt=Ah2uI3YVMHCMU1E9f.SZRUimOrgF

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Fortress raises redemptions Drawbridge
A snake in the garden of Edens
http://nakedshorts.typepad.com/nakedshorts/

Get yer rubbish CDOs here
http://nakedshorts.typepad.com/nakedshorts/2008/12/get-yer-rubbish-cdos-here.html

Hedge fund assets fall $170 billion in third quarter
Global hedge fund industry assets fell by $170 billion in the third quarter of 2008 as negative returns of more than 10 percent combined with heavy net outflows, research firm Lipper TASS said.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Markets/Global_Markets/Hedge_fund_assets_fall_170_billion_in_third_quarter/rssarticleshow/3786380.cms

Hedge Fund Jobs Digest Compensation Report Reveals Job Market Insights
2008 Survey results suggest hedge fund employees saw writing on the wall with a 68 percent increase in satisfaction despite a small increase in compensation
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/081203/law001a.html?.v=3

Fortress Halts Withdrawals From Global Macro Fund (Update1)
By Larry Edelman Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) — Fortress Investment Group LLC halted withdrawals from its largest hedge fund after investors asked to pull $3.51 billion by year-end.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aLamnKaD_6M8

HSBC Fund Returns to Buying Gold to Hedge Against Inflation
By Chanyaporn Chanjaroen Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) — HSBC Investment Management’s $2.6 billion Absolute Return Service started buying gold again on expectations that inflation will accelerate and may start adding coffee, sugar and grains next year.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601012&sid=a_eGHXcUf5Z8

Highbridge Said to Limit Redemptions
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/jpmorgans-highbridge-to-limit-redemptions-report-says/

Odes to a Bursting Bubble
To most people, the markets’ meltdown is painful. But to one poet and, until recently, vice president at the giant hedge-fund firm D.E. Shaw, it is something else. “It’s Icarus, it’s ‘Faust,’ it’s Eros and vanitas. It’s ‘Star Wars’!” says Katy Lederer, whom The New Yorker has dubbed the John Paulson of poetry.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/03/odes-to-a-bursting-bubble/

Fund losses in November not as severe: Morningstar
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?id=47236&IdSection=147&cat=147&BImageCI=1

Hedge Funds Lower Fees, Lengthen Lockups on New Funds
By Bei Hu Dec. 3 (Bloomberg) — Artradis Fund Management Pte, RAB Capital Plc’s Northwest unit and Cannizaro (Hong Kong) Ltd. are cutting fees and locking up investors’ money for longer in new hedge funds that will buy bonds after prices fell in Asia.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=asQ4d66xij2o&refer=home

ProShares Launches First Short and First Leveraged ETFs Tracking Gold or Silver http://tinyurl.com/Proshares

Rich U.S. investors most bearish ever: survey
http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/081203/business_us_usa_economy_millionaires.html?.v=1

Reports

Briefing.com Economic Calendar
http://www.briefing.com/Investor/Public/MarketAnalysis/Calendars/EconomicCalendar.htm

USDA Today
http://www.nass.usda.gov/Publications/index.asp

Event Calendar
The CBOT Event Calendar provides a list of current US and global events for the upcoming year.
http://www.cbot.com/cbot/calendar/month

CBOE Events Calendar
http://www.cboe.com/AboutCBOE/EventCalendar.aspx

Economic Release Calendar
The Economic Release Calendar (PDF) is a schedule of government, academic and industry economic releases, provided as a service to CME customers.
http://www.cme.com/files/economicreleasecalendar.pdf

Asia-Pacific News
by Ted Naganawa
http://www.marketswiki.com/mwiki/Ted_Naganawa
http://groups.google.com/group/chinaheadlines

TFEX to inaugurate gold futures trading in February
The Thailand Futures Exchange hopes to introduce trade in gold futures on Feb 2.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/031208_Business/03Dec2008_biz37.php

China actively creating conditions for stock index futures launch – CSRC
BEIJING (XFN-ASIA) – The China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) said the authorities are actively creating conditions for the launch of stock index futures.
http://www.forbes.com/afxnewslimited/feeds/afx/2008/12/03/afx5770961.html

Foreign Banks May Be Allowed to Issue Renminbi Bonds
Foreign-funded banks with legal person status in Mainland China may be allowed to issue renminbi bonds in the mainland or Hong Kong, revealed people close to the People’s Bank of China (PBC), the central bank.
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2062663/

China to Build Sugar Stockpiles, Maintain Price Stability
The central and local governments will act to prevent further falls in sugar prices, Guo Shengkun, Communist Party head of southwest Guangxi Autonomous Region, told reporters in Beijing on Tuesday.
http://english.cri.cn/3130/2008/12/03/1601s429269.htm

China: Sovereign Wealth Fund Halts Western Investments
The head of China Investment Corp. (CIC), China’s sovereign wealth fund, said Dec. 3 that he no longer will funnel money into Western financial institutions because he has lost faith in them, media reported.
http://www.stratfor.com/sitrep/20081203_china_sovereign_wealth_fund_halts_western_investments

Bank opening to PRC may lead to huge fund outflow
Once the government gives the green light, most local banks will be able to move into the Chinese market “within three months,” resulting in a capital outflow of up to NT$300 billion (US$8.96 billion), a banker told a cross-strait banking seminar in Taipei yesterday.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2008/12/03/2003430197

Miscellaneous News

Web users ‘trading places’ with stockbrokers
The current global economic crisis has resulted in a spike in users at an online stock trading website. The site, City Odds, reports that it has seen a 50% increase in users since the banking crisis hit in late September. City Odds is an online binary betting service that gives users options to trade with real money on live markets including gold and oil, and trading leagues.
http://www.netimperative.com/news/2008/december/web-users-2018trading-places2019-with-stock

OTC Global Holdings Forms Pinnacle Derivatives Newest Portfolio Company Expands OTCGH’s Liquidity, Fortifies Industry Leadership in Energy Derivatives
HOUSTON & NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–OTC Global Holdings (OTCGH), the leading independent interdealer broker in the over-the-counter space, has announced the formation of its ninth portfolio company, Pinnacle Derivatives. Based in Jersey City, New Jersey, Pinnacle offers a complete range of traded instruments, including natural gas swaps and options to clients such as financial institutions, producers and end users.
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20081203005095&newsLang=en

75 Years of Big Deals Sealed at Coq d’OR Chicago Institution Saluted by ONN.tv and Grey Goose Vodka Coming This Friday
Date: Tuesday, December 02, 2008
Contact: Karen Bertoli, Public Relations, 312.399.7878 kbertoli@sema4group.com Chicago, IL – On Friday, December 5, 2008, 75 years of business dealings over cocktails will be celebrated at the Coq d’OR, in the Drake Hotel, by a special filming of ONN.tv’s Options Cocktail show. In addition, special guest, Fox News Channel Commentator and Hedge Fund advisor, Jonathan Hoenig, The Capitalist Pig, will join in this historical event for entertainment and libations in Chicago. The show will be filmed at 4:00PM.