Observations – Statistics – Commentary

How Overhauling Derivatives Died
By RANDALL SMITH and SARAH N. LYNCH
Lobbying by Wall Street has blunted efforts to step up regulation on derivatives trading by carving out exceptions or leaving the status quo in place.  Derivatives took blame for some of the worst debacles of the financial crisis. But a year after regulators and critics began calling for an overhaul in the way they are traded, some efforts have been shelved and others have been watered down.
http://online.wsj.com

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CDS market is far less opaque than presumed
From Mr Stewart Macbeth.
Sir, Your article on sovereign credit default swaps, “CDS market needs reform if more drama is to be avoided” (December 18) erred when it said “nobody really knows exactly how low volumes are (or not) since this is an over-the-counter market, conducted away from any exchange”.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/4deac67c-f351-11de-a888-00144feab49a.html

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Letters to the FT:

Regulatory systems do need regular pruning
From Mr Simon Gleeson.
Sir, Economists are familiar with the “lump of labour” fallacy – the idea that workers are an undifferentiated mass, so that it makes sense to talk about “too much” or “not enough” labour. An equivalent fallacy appears to be taking root in discussions about financial regulation.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/11a06758-f351-11de-a888-00144feab49a.html

The duty of judgment rests with the shareholder
By Andrew Hill
The Financial Services Authority‘s reform of hedge fund and private equity listings has been clumsy at best. But one good thing has come out of it: a proper review of the quality of companies now listing on the London Stock Exchange.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b9d6289c-e312-11db-a1c9-000b5df10621.html

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End of ‘broker votes’ promises reform
Mundane elections of company board members are about to get a lot more interesting. Starting next year, the New York Stock Exchange is banning so-called “phantom votes,” or votes cast without guidance from shareholders in elections of corporate directors. Also known as “broker votes,” they can swing the outcome of an election in favor of sitting directors keeping their jobs — even as regular shareholders are calling for those directors’ ouster.
http://www.nypost.com

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Concerns grow over sovereign debt risk
Attention shifting to managing risk of country defaults
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/5a407d26-f311-11de-a888-00144feab49a.html

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Wall Street casualties savor time off the treadmill
By Samantha Gross
Eighteen months without a job. Fourteen months. Twelve. It’s been a long dry spell for many of the suit-clad Wall Streeters who were handed their pink slips before hardly anyone was talking recovery. But sit down with a handful of ex-finance-industry workers volunteering to work for free as interns in a city-sponsored retraining program, and they seem almost … happy.
http://www.washingtontimes.com

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Lessons from the decade that shocked the stock market
It has been a decade that many investors would rather forget. On December 31, 1999 the FTSE100 closed at 6,930 and 10 years on it still has some distance to go before it regains this peak, sitting at around just 5,300 last week.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk

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Asset assessment
On the threshold of a new decade, Srikumar Bondyopadhyay wonders what investors gained from assets in the year gone by
The first decade of the new millennium draws to a close. The decade was remarkable in its extremes. Financial markets rose to heights never seen before and it toppled over like a house of cards in no time at all. But all’s well that ends well. The year 2009 was one of recovery, of crawling out of the debris left behind by the global financial crisis and start building anew.
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091228/jsp/business/story_11905448.jsp

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Back from the brink (but watch your step)
NEW YORK, Dec 28 — Unless you’re Tiger Woods, 2009 has probably been a heck of a lot better than 2008.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/

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The US no longer makes Australia’s world go round
Ross Gittins
WHETHER you look back on the past year or forward to the coming decade, you reach the same conclusion: it’s the developing countries of Asia and elsewhere that now do most to drive the world economy and most to influence our economy’s growth.
http://www.theage.com.au/

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Gold: the commodity of the year
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/

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Lord Mayor denied knighthood after backing bankers’ bonuses
http://www.telegraph.co.uk

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Jeers to you! The 14th annual Lump of Coal Awards
Chuck Jaffe’s Lump of Coal Awards recognize managers, executives, firms, watchdogs and other fund-world types for action, attitude, behavior, execution or performance that is misguided, bumbling, offensive, disingenuous, reprehensible or just plain stupid.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/

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MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People

David Hale; Bernard Dan; Thomas M. Harte; Leo Melamed; Juan Carlos Botero; Ismael Caram; Mark Gonzalez; Paul Britton

Companies, Organizations and Groups

MF Global, Inc.; CME Group Competitive Markets Advisory Council; Rosario Futures Exchange; Capstone Holdings Group, LLC

Products

CME Group Center for Innovation

Miscellaneous

Open interest

Lead Stories

War on Wall Street as Congress Warms to Turn Clock Back to Glass-Steagall
A one-page proposal gaining traction in Congress could turn back the clock on Wall Street 10 years, forcing the breakup of banks, including Citigroup Inc.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=aeQNTmo2vHpo

Regulators Take Aim at Dark Pools
Dark pools have come under fire as the SEC sets forth three new proposals to rein in the dark venues.
By Cristina McEachern Gibbs
Dark pools have carried an ominous connotation since the term was first coined about five years ago. But despite the unfortunate moniker, dark liquidity pools — which actually have been around since the late 1980s — serve a highly useful purpose for buy-side traders looking to trade large blocks of stock with minimal market impact.
http://www.financetech.com/feed/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222100088&cid=RSSfeed_FTN_All

Key U.S. senators see deal on regulatory reform
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top Democrat and Republican on the U.S. Senate Banking Committee said on Wednesday they hoped to resolve their differences on financial regulatory reforms before the Senate reconvenes in January.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BM3ZX20091223

Bill would cap credit card rates at 16%
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-biz-credit-card-caps-dec28,0,2697600.story

**** Welcome to the $250 shipping and handing fee for your credit card bill.

Saudi King Abdullah ‘satisfied with oil price’
RIYADH (AFP) – Saudi king Abdullah described oil prices as satisfactory in an interview published on Saturday, at a time when the largest OPEC producer is seeking price stability.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091226/bs_afp/energyoilsaudikingeconomy_20091226114233

Obama yet to put dent on lobbyists’ influence
WASHINGTON, Dec 28 — President Barack Obama is preparing to uncork the bubbly as he closes the deal on his most important domestic agenda item — health-care reforms. Celebrating quietly alongside are lobbyists who shaped key parts of the legislation that will overhaul a sector accounting for a sixth of the American economy.
http://www.themalaysianinsider.com/index.php/world/47741-obama-yet-to-put-dent-on-lobbyists-influence

Environmental Trading News

The Lawyers Win in Global Warming
Carbon dioxide air emissions is one of the big issues in global warming debate. However, before you start controlling by putting the carbon in the ground, you first have to put lawyers in a room to argue.
http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/40873

Middle East/Med Region Could Solar Power World
Middle Eastern and North African countries, often referred to under the umbrella term MENA countries, have the potential to create more than 3 times the world’s power needs, according to a new study reported in the Dubai-based Khaleej Times.
http://www.enn.com/business/article/40872

S Korea to start carbon emissions trading late next year
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/28/content_12716964.htm

Sir Richard Branson: ‘we need a low-carbon world capable of growth, otherwise society will fall apart’
By Rowena Mason
With a certain sense of irony, the billionaire part-owner of five airlines has just jetted into Copenhagen, battleground of the international climate change talks, to warn fellow business leaders, politicians and campaigners about this apocalyptic scenario.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/transport/6900494/Sir-Richard-Branson-we-need-a-low-carbon-world-capable-of-growth-otherwise-society-will-fall-apart.html

Pay for that big carbon footprint
UPS joins others offering customers ways to offset pollution
By James Bruggers
Airline passengers concerned about the environmental impact of their jetting around have found more options in the last three years to shrink their “carbon footprint.” Now, United Parcel Service, with its international air cargo hub in Louisville, is giving its shipping customers something similar for packages sent throughout the United States.
http://www.courier-journal.com/article/20091225/BUSINESS/912250350/1003/rss03

For more environmental trading news, subscribe to the Environmental Markets version of the John Lothian Newsletter edited by Jim Kharouf.
Visit http://www.jlnenvironmental.com to subscribe.

Exchange & ECN News

[CBOE] 3:00 p.m. Close on Last Day of Trading for Expiring QIXs
http://www.cboe.org/publish/InfoCir/IC09-357.pdf

[CBOE] 2010 Liquidity Provider Transaction Fee Sliding Scale, 2010 Firm Proprietary Transaction Fee Sliding Scale and 2010 Fee Changes
http://www.cboe.org/publish/RegCir/RG09-147.pdf

Revised:  New Year’s Holiday Clearing Schedule-Friday, January 1, 2010.
http://www.cmegroup.com/tools-information/lookups/advisories/clearing/Chadv09584.html

Banks, Brokers & Dark Pools

Goldman Denies Betting Against Clients
Goldman Sachs has published a response to a recent New York Times story that the firm profited by betting against certain clients.
http://news.hereisthecity.com/news/business_news/9718.cntns

Swiss bank secrecy emerges from 2009 with holes
GENEVA (AFP) – Switzerland’s finance minister acknowledges that he had a rough time this year after the Swiss bowed to international pressure on banking secrecy under the onslaught of US lawsuits and a crackdown on tax evasion.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091227/bs_afp/switzerlandbankingsecrecyoecdg20_20091227050926

Lehman Brothers wants one of its own to handle securities sale
LINDA SANDLER
Lehman Brothers, the investment bank liquidating itself in bankruptcy, asked a judge to let it hire its Neuberger Berman money management unit to sell $US180 million ($203 million) in asset-backed securities, says a court filing.
http://www.businessday.com.au/business/lehman-brothers-wants-one-of-its-own-to-handle-securities-sale-20091227-lg81.html

Deal over Lehman Brothers’ UK debts moves closer
The Lehman Brothers’ UK adminstration plan, which will return more than $11bn (£7bn) of assets to hedge funds that lost out when the US bank collapsed last year, looks set to be agreed.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/financetopics/lehman-brothers/6890246/Deal-over-Lehman-Brothers-UK-debts-moves-closer.html

Restaurateurs Slam U.K. Banks on Tight Lending as Diners Return
By Richard Vines
Dec. 25 (Bloomberg) — London restaurateurs are not optimistic they can get financing from banks for new eateries, even though they have fared better in the recession than they expected, said Richard Corrigan, owner of Corrigan’s Mayfair.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601093&sid=a2BRQA4TR3vc

As Goldman Sachs thrives, is an ethos fading?
Recently, Lloyd Blankfein hosted a reunion of one of the most elite clubs in American finance: former partners of Goldman Sachs, the Wall Street giant he has led, with controversial success, since 2006.
http://momaha.com/article/20091225/MONEY/712259951

Pali Capital Names Tim Strazzini Head Of Derivatives
NEW YORK — Pali Capital, Inc., an independent global financial services firm, announced today that Tim Strazzini has been named Head of Derivatives. Mr. Strazzini, who has served as Pali’s Head of U.S. Equity Strategic Sales for the past three years, has extensive experience in the derivatives space, first at Susquehanna and then at Merrill Lynch. Mr. Strazzini replaces Richard Anthony who resigned from the firm.
http://www.dbusinessnews.com/shownews.php?newsid=197516&type_news=past

Aiful Credit Swaps Ruling May Come Next Week After UBS Request
Dec. 26 (Bloomberg) — UBS AG’s request for a ruling on credit contracts linked to Aiful Corp. was accepted by an international group governing swaps and derivatives, paving the way for debt holders of the Japanese company to get repaid.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=agKPoFBHnMbA

RBS Could Sell $4.8B of Foreign Assets
Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS Quote) is planning 3 billion pounds ($4.8 billion) worth of asset sales in the new year, with its Asian operations likely to secure a buyer before the end of the year, the Observer reported Sunday.
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10652900/1/rbs-could-sell-48b-of-foreign-assets.html?puc=_tscrss

Aberdeen eyes RBS asset business – sources
Cecilia Valente and Douwe Miedema
Aberdeen Asset Management is interested in buying the funds arm of Royal Bank of Scotland , two sources familiar with the situation said, in a deal worth up to 100 million pounds.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20091224/tbs-uk-rbs-aberdeen-03c9bed.html

Morgan Stanley Sees 5.5% Note as U.S. Faces Deficits (Update2)
By Oliver Biggadike and Daniel Kruger
Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) — If Morgan Stanley is right, the best sale of U.S. Treasuries for 2010 may be the short sale.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601015&sid=a7I0yRLF4adQ

Banks getting bum rap on lending, some say
By Bernard Condon and Stevenson Jacobs
Unlike big-city bankers, Stan Wilmoth didn’t make lots of dumb loans during the boom. After the crash, he accepted not a dime of taxpayer money for his bank. His salary? “Substantially less” than the $1 million the former head of Merrill Lynch spent remodeling his office, he says. He credits his grandfather, a Protestant minister, with giving him “moral fiber.” But judging from the rhetoric coming out of the Obama administration, Wilmoth, the folksy 58-year-old president of Heritage Bank of Reno, Nev., should be scorned, not praised. His sin? He’s shirking his patriotic duty by not lending enough money to his community.
http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20091228/BIZ/912280303/

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/2009/dig122809.htm

Ponzi payoff probe
Billionaire R. Allen Stanford may not be going anywhere for a while. The jailed accused fraudster — who last week was denied a request to be released, in which he cited symptoms of a nervous breakdown — is under investigation by the.
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/ponzi_payoff_probe_oRbYVafWS0RXCTourPYd8O

UBS whistleblower seeks prison postponement
MIAMI (Reuters) – A key informant in the U.S. tax evasion case against Swiss bank UBS AG has asked a federal court in Florida to postpone the scheduled January 8 start of his prison term so that he can cooperate further with the U.S. government to uncover tax cheats.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091227/bs_nm/us_ubs_tax_birkenfeld

JPMorgan, BNP Paribas Sue K1 Invest, Kiener, Say They Lost $152 Million
JPMorgan Chase & Co. and BNP Paribas sued K1 Invest Ltd. and K1 Group founder Helmut Kiener, claiming they lost money through a “fraudulent circular investment scheme” conducted by K1 and its affiliates.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601127&sid=acgw64nEcFtE

FSA publishes Newsletter No.81
http://www.fsa.go.jp/en/newsletter/2009/09a.html

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

New Hedge Funds Start to Emerge
Investors’ appetite for hedge-fund start-ups is returning, but some managers are raising smaller amounts and granting concessions.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703766404574620862501460446.html?mod=WSJ_hps_LEFTWhatsNews

2010 set to be year of indices trading
Rajesh Bhayani
Index products like fixed-income, volatility and weather to broaden basket for hedging.
A fixed-income index, a volatility index (VIX) and indices of commodities and weather (rainfall, temperature and moisture) will be available for trading from 2010.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/2010-set-to-be-yearindices-trading/380944/

Hedge fund chiefs’ pay boost after stellar year
By Louise Armitstead
Hedge funds, many of which only narrowly survived the financial crisis of 2008, have over the past 12 months generated stellar returns that will convert to multi-million pound rewards for their star managers.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/6890721/Hedge-fund-chiefs-pay-boost-after-stellar-year.html

Brazil’s Top Hedge Funds Dump Homebuilders on Interest-Rate Rise Concerns
JGP SA and Polo Capital Gestao de Fundos Ltda., two of Brazil’s best-performing hedge funds, are paring holdings of homebuilders on concern higher interest rates next year may weaken the industry after shares rose 196 percent.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=aLWKuZeTltYs

Macquarie Group to Acquire Wholesale Electric Marketing and Trading Portfolio from Integrys Energy Services
http://www.tradingmarkets.com/.site/news/Stock%20News/2751882/

Most Profitable CEOs Get Smallest Gains in S&P 500 (Update2)
By Alexis Xydias
Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) — Brown-Forman Corp.’s Paul Varga and Johnson & Johnson’s William Weldon are among chief executive officers left behind in the 2009 stock-market rebound even after they created the most value for their companies.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=a54w_ypmiCwM

Soft commodities prices at historic highs
Rise set to send retail prices higher
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/92f4cad6-f31c-11de-a888-00144feab49a.html

Ken Kam On Asset Allocation
The memory of getting burned badly in stocks is receding, but systematic risks still lurk and could bite the unprotected.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/08/asset-allocation-bernanke-personal-finance-sneak-peek-10-investing.html?feed=rss_finance

Out with the Aughts: ‘D’ is for death
Peter J. Thompson
One day you will die. This is sad. It is also an investment opportunity.
http://www.financialpost.com/markets/news_releases/story.html?id=2380756

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

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.cmegroup.com/tools-information/calendars/

Asia-Pacific News

ASEAN, Japan, China Form $120 Billion Reserve Pool (Update1)
By Aki Ito and David Yong
Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) — The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, together with Japan, China, and South Korea, signed an agreement to create a $120 billion foreign-currency reserve pool.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601068&sid=ayyiso8ssyb8

Renminbi set to replace US dollar for trade in Asia Pacific
http://www.risk.net/asia-risk/news/1566563/renminbi-set-replace-us-dollar-trade-asia-pacific

‘Hot Money’ Adds to China Asset Volatility, Fan Says (Update1)
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2009-12-28/-hot-money-adds-to-china-asset-volatility-fan-says-update1-.html

Beijing stuck with a fistful of dollars
In the second of a three part series, Satyajit Das explores the unstable co-dependency of the Chinese and US economies.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/business/beijing-stuck-with-a-fistful-of-dollars-20091228-lh74.html

Nathaniel Rothschild Said to Be Rusal IPO Investor (Update1)
By Simon Casey, Bei Hu and Maria Kolesnikova
Dec. 28 (Bloomberg) — Nathaniel Rothschild’s private investment company may buy shares in United Co. Rusal’s $2 billion Hong Kong initial public offering, said three people familiar with the plan.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2009-12-28/nathaniel-rothschild-said-to-be-rusal-ipo-investor-update1-.html

In Southeast Asia, Unease Over Free Trade Zone
By LIZ GOOCH
KUALA LUMPUR — When the clock strikes midnight on New Year’s Eve, China and 10 Southeast Asian nations will usher in the world’s third-largest free trade area. While many industries are eager for tariffs to fall on everything from textiles and rubber to vegetable oils and steel, a few are nervously waiting to see whether the agreement will mean boom or bust for their businesses.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/29/business/global/29trade.html?partner=rss&emc=rss

Thailand should watch out for the year of the tiger
The year 2009 has been a nightmare for bankers even though the financial markets have been rebounding since March in the aftermath of the collapse of Lehman Brothers. Thailand, meanwhile, has suffered few deep wounds from the global crisis because local banks and corporations had learned difficult lessons in 1997.
http://www.asianewsnet.net/news.php?id=9253&sec=3&t=

Tokyo Stock Exchange: Revisions To The Index Guidebook Regarding Stock-Swaps And Absorption-Type Mergers
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87665

HKEx Announces Temporary Holiday Risk Management Arrangements
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87663

Frontier Markets

How emerging markets came out on top in 2009
Garry White
Investor sentiment this year was dominated by fear for the first three months, but March saw the nadir of this emotion and greed was back in charge. World markets have rallied since these lows, but by far the best investment has been in emerging markets. This is partly because they suffered from a stronger sell-off in 2008, but it is also down to the fact that these economies will return to growth faster than Europe and the US.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/marketreport/6900488/How-emerging-markets-came-out-on-top-in-2009.html

Taking Financial Markets to the Masses
The topic means different things to different people—to some, it means financial inclusion and reaching basic banking services to every Indian. To others, it means using technology and microfinance to either provide or improve livelihoods across the country. To those in the capital market, it is the need to increase India’s investor population by eliminating fear and distrust, now that technology has created the capacity to expand reach. All this was reflected in the views of the panelists.
http://www.moneylife.in/article/2969.html

Kuwait’s Global Distressed Fund ranked among top ten worldwide
Global Investment House (Global) announced on Monday that the Global Distressed Fund was ranked within the top ten funds in the world by Eurekahedge and BarclayHedge.
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093292242

POWER PLAY
Trading would help investment in electricity
http://www.telegraphindia.com/1091228/jsp/opinion/story_11915733.jsp

The Dubai shock: What to learn from our previous bubbles
By TERUHIKO MANO
With one real estate megaproject after another, including an man-made resort island shaped like a coconut tree and the world’s tallest skyscraper, Dubai has been aiming to turn the tiny emirate into the financial center of the Middle East.
http://search.japantimes.co.jp/rss/nb20091228jp.html

Kuwait Turkish Participation Bank (Dubai) Limited Joins The DIFC – Bank To Provide Full Range Of Islamic Finance Banking Services Out Of DIFC
Kuwait Turkish Participation Bank (Dubai) Limited has received a licence from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to provide a full range of Islamic finance banking services out of the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87662

The Indian Stock Market 101
by Manoj Singh
Mark Twain once divided the world into two kinds of people – those who have seen the famous Indian monument the Taj Mahal, and those who haven’t. The same could be said about investors. There are two kinds of investors – those who know about the investment opportunities in India and those who don’t. India may look like a small dot to someone in the U.S., but upon closer inspection, you will find the same things you would expect from any promising market.
http://www.investopedia.com/articles/stocks/09/indian-stock-market.asp

Bahrain bourse to become shareholding firm
Bahrain Stock Exchange (BSE) has been given the green light to operate as a shareholding company, to be regulated within six months, Gulf Daily News reported.
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093291946

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

12 Days of Gift-Giving Cost True Love $21,466
By ELIZABETH OLSON
Gold rose almost 43 percent this year, lifting the price of the carol’s five rings to $500.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/business/economy/24index.html?ref=business

**** Myrrh futures will be the big thing of 2010!

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‘Sam Spade of Money Management’ sues Delray Beach police pension board
WEST PALM BEACH — An Ocean Ridge man who describes himself as “the Sam Spade of Money Management” and “the Pension Detective” is suing the pension board of the Delray Beach police and firefighters for nearly $1 million, claiming it didn’t pay him for work that helped it launch a $9 million lawsuit against its investment consultant.  In the lawsuit filed this week in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, attorney turned scam-detector Edward Siedle claims he was hired by Delray’s pension board to investigate suspicions that it was being duped by Salomon Smith Barney, which oversaw its $120 million investment portfolio from 1995 to 2006.
http://www.palmbeachpost.com

**** How old do you have to be to call yourself the “Sam Spade” of money management?

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Citigroup’s Crystal Ball Too Fogged Up to Work: Jonathan Weil
Dec. 24 (Bloomberg) — When the Treasury Department shelved its plans to sell $5 billion of Citigroup Inc. common stock in a public offering last week, the news came only two days after the bank had said the sale was a go. The delay was a reminder that predicting the future can be a tough exercise.
http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=anefWPpQeCUk

*** To paraphrase an old trading saying, “You don’t need to have a crystal ball when you have the government’s iron nuts.”

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Federal Court in Florida Imposes More Than $5.4 Million in Restitution and Fines in CFTC Action Charging Commodity Options Fraud
Zurich Futures and Options, Inc. and Florida resident Michele LaBruce fraudulently solicited more than $1.4 million from at least 60 customers
http://www.cftc.gov/newsroom/enforcementpressreleases/2009/pr5764-09.html

**** Firms with problems often have names that sound impressive or slightly familiar.  Zurich Futures and Options, Inc. fits that category.

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FT’s Person of the Year: Lloyd Blankfein
Master of risk who did God’s work for Goldman Sachs but won it little love
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/479ac4ba-eb32-11de-bc99-00144feab49a.html

*** Regardless of whether he should be “Person of the Year,” this is an excellent story about Blankfein from the FT.

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Blankfein, Dimon Will Be Among First to Testify at Financial Crisis Panel  
The chief executive officers of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Goldman Sachs Group Inc., and Morgan Stanley will headline the inaugural hearing of a congressional panel investigating Wall Street’s financial crisis.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=a5NB5suN_HaM

**** I hope I get my chance to talk to them too.

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Will BSE succeed in its guerrilla war?
Asia’s oldest stock exchange has started taking on newer rival NSE, trying to regain ground it has lost
Mumbai: At a recent technology conference in Mumbai, James Shapiro, marketing head of Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE), Asia’s oldest bourse, alleged that its younger rival National Stock Exchange (NSE) had been trying to stifle competition by illegally blocking its algorithm customers from accessing trades at BSE.
http://www.livemint.com/2009/12/23235033/Will-BSE-succeed-in-its-guerri.html

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Madoff & Sanford News

Stir crazy like a fox
Going bonkers! That’s the claim of accused Texas swindler R. Allen Stanford, who says he’s cracking up behind bars and simply must get out in time for Christmas. Indicted for allegedly running a $7 billion Ponzi scheme, the financier
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/stir_crazy_like_fox_OWoEVRrfFnZbuRuEB5jd7H

Allen Stanford Fails to Win Bail After Doctor Finds Him Close to Breakdown  
R. Allen Stanford, the accused Ponzi mastermind, won’t be released from jail before his fraud trial in 2011, a U.S. judge ruled after reviewing a doctor’s report that the financier is close to “a complete nervous breakdown.”
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601127&sid=a0Uu2M2q5QaU

Madoff mystery illness
It isn’t exactly a taste of his own medicine, but Bernard Madoff could spend his first Christmas behind bars in a backless hospital gown. The evil…
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/madoff_mystery_illness_oroEsODNdeyLA8hje27c9N

The Latest On Rogues & Alleged Rogues
Reuters reports that fraudster Bernie Madoff has now been moved to the medical wing of Butner Federal Correctional Complex, where he is currently serving 150 years for his $65bn Ponzi scheme. There have been reports that Madoff has told other inmates that he has cancer, and doesn’t expect to ses out his sentence.
http://news.hereisthecity.com/news/business_news/9713.cntns

Madoff, Wall Street’s Toll on Hungry Starts at 100,000 Unfunded Meals  
Last December, Marcia Stein, the executive director of Citymeals-on-Wheels, got a call from Barbara Picower saying her Picower Foundation would be giving the New York food charity $100,000.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601014&sid=a3Mp4aiTxqmg

Bernie Madoff Moved to Medical Center at Butner Federal Prison, U.S. Says  
Bernard Madoff, the con man who operated the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, has been moved to the Federal Medical Center at the Butner Federal Correctional Complex in Butner, North Carolina.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601014&sid=asTvqN6NoH9I

++++

For crying out loud: From open outcry to the electronic screen  
There is a saying that goes, “The winners get to write history.” CME Group Chairman Emeritus Leo Melamed and his band of renegades won the battle for the future of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange back in the early part of this century. Melamed recounts the machinations that went on as he actively moved to change the direction of the CME as it transitioned to a for-profit organization and prepared for an initial public offering in his latest book, “For Crying out Loud.”
http://www.futuresmag.com/

**** I knew everything I needed to know about “class” of this book on the first page when Leo Melamed thanked every CME CEO and President he had worked with, except for Jim McNulty.  That said it all right there.

MarketsWiki Recent Updates

Lead Stories

Banks Bundled Bad Debt, Bet Against It and Won
By GRETCHEN MORGENSON and LOUISE STORY
Investigators are trying to determine whether banks like Goldman Sachs intentionally sold their clients especially risky mortgage-linked assets.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/business/24trading.html?hp

Banks Bundled Bad Debt, Bet Against It and Won
In late October 2007, as the financial markets were starting to come unglued, a Goldman Sachs trader, Jonathan M. Egol, received very good news. At 37, he was named a managing director at the firm.
Mr. Egol, a Princeton graduate, had risen to prominence inside the bank by creating mortgage-related securities, named Abacus, that were at first intended to protect Goldman from investment losses if the housing market collapsed. As the market soured, Goldman created even more of these securities, enabling it to pocket huge profits.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/banks-bundled-bad-debt-bet-against-it-and-won/

U.S. probes banks on sale of risky securities: report
(Reuters) – U.S. regulators and legislators are investigating whether Wall Street investment banks deliberately sold risky structured securities to clients, and then bet on the securities failing, the New York Times reported on Wednesday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091224/bs_nm/us_banks

CBOE to offer members early share buyback: source
Jonathan Spicer
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Chicago Board Options Exchange will offer to buy back shares from former members shortly after its planned initial public offering (IPO) next year, said a source close to the company
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BN1WE20091224

Natural Gas Rises to Highest Level in Almost Year as Oil Gains
By Reg Curren
Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) — Natural gas futures settled in New York at their highest level in almost a year on speculation of rising energy demand after crude oil stockpiles fell more than forecast.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aO0KSYjrZHx0

Bipartisan talks raise regulation deal hopes
US Senators look to bridge differences on bank rules
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/67728cea-f015-11de-833d-00144feab49a.html

Agricultural Commodities, Bullion Push up India Commodity Futures Turnover  
The Multi Commodity Exchange of India Ltd. and its domestic rivals posted a 48.6 percent jump in trading volumes in the eight-and-half months ended Dec. 15, led by agricultural goods.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601012&sid=aBCqHeXn4lJ4

Bombay Stock Exchange Plans Price Cuts to Boost Market Share
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2009-12-24/bombay-stock-exchange-plans-price-cuts-to-boost-market-share.html

Five things that should keep you awake at night about the unfolding economy
Economists outline potential hazards
Looking into the economic crystal ball, the vast majority of private sector and institution forecasts agree that the scary global recession of last ye…
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?Id=51884&IdSection=148&cat=148

Rolet’s new broom sweeps LSE
By Jeremy Grant
Xavier Rolet, chief executive of the London Stock Exchange, ushers a visitor into the office on the top floor of the exchange’s headquarters once occupied by his predecessor, Dame Clara Furse.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7238b4c2-f02b-11de-833d-00144feab49a.html

Picard’s math puts Madoff victims first
Be careful what you wish for. That’s the message the Securities Investor Protection Corp. had for some victims of convicted Ponzi schemer Bernie…
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/picard_math_puts_madoff_victims_cnNc1J9y5xO4NzFC4ljsAI

U.K. Issues Fresh Bonus-Tax Guidance
By LAURENCE NORMAN
LONDON — The U.K. government has issued further clarification on its tax on bankers’ bonuses, exempting even more financial-sector employees from the levy.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704039704574615791074824718.html

Coal for Christmas, SEC Freezes Accounts of Frenchmen for Sanofi-Aventis – Chattem trades
The Securities and Exchange Commission announced today that it has frozen the assets of Nicolas Patrick Benoit Condroyer and Gilles Robert Roger. The…
http://www.hedgetracker.com

Head of C.B.O.E. Says Finance Reform Off Base
Bill Brodsky, head of the Chicago Board Options Exchange, thinks lawmakers have it wrong when it comes to regulation. In an interview with The Financial Times, he said Congress was putting “undue political pressure” on government agencies to regulate areas that had nothing to do with the financial crisis.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/head-of-cboe-says-finance-reform-off-base/

Environmental Trading News

Sparx to Set Up Investment Partnership With Japan Wind for Ecology Fund  
Sparx Group Co., Asia’s biggest hedge-fund company, will set up an investment partnership with Japan Wind Development Co. for a fund aimed at investing in Japanese environmental technology firms.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601014&sid=aJPveaWJonDI

Visit http://www.jlnenvironmental.com to subscribe.

Exchange & ECN News

BNY ConvergEx Execution Solutions LLC and The Salvation Army Greater New York Division Visit the NYSE
http://www.nyse.com/events/1261479941703.html

RG09-148 Professional Orders
http://www.cboe.org/publish/RegCir/RG09-148.pdf

Position Adjustment Deadlines for the January 2010 Metal and Energy Contracts-NYMEX Chapter 8, Rule 854
http://www.cmegroup.com/tools-information/lookups/advisories/clearing/Chadv09585.html

Performance Bond Requirements – CME and CBT Ag Products – Effective Monday, December 28, 2009
http://www.cmegroup.com/tools-information/lookups/advisories/clearing/Chadv09-583.html

New Year’s Holiday Trading Schedule-Friday, January 1, 2010
http://www.cmegroup.com/tools-information/lookups/advisories/clearing/Chadv09584.html

Banks, Brokers & Dark Pools

Lehman Brothers Still Hiring, Giving Bonuses The collapsed investment bank has been given permission by a judge to spend $50 million in bonus pay for 230 traders who are reconciling Lehman Brothers accounts, and the bank will also hire new employees.
http://www.wallstreetandtech.com/

Just in Time for Christmas: Wells Fargo, Citi Pay Back TARP Funds
On the eve of Christmas eve, Wells Fargo & Co. and Citigroup each announced Wednesday that they had completely paid back the federal government for the funds they received in the past year from its Troubled Asset Relief Program.
http://www.securitiesindustry.com/news/-24437-1.html

Macquarie eyes European units
By Daniel Schäfer in Frankfurt
Macquarie is set to buy the equity trading and derivative operations of Sal Oppenheim, the troubled German private bank, boosting its presence in Europe.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/09fa7c56-f02b-11de-833d-00144feab49a.html

Bob Diamond sells £5m of Barclays shares
Bob Diamond, Barclays president, has for the first time reduced his multi-million pound stake in the bank.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk

State Street Ordered to Pay $58 Million in Lehman Damages to Pension Fund  
An Amsterdam court ordered State Street Global Advisors Ltd. to pay 40 million euros ($58 million) in damages related to Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. to Stichting Pensioenfonds OPG.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601014&sid=ajCf12VT1pdI

Bear Stearns Alumni Stage Holiday Parties as Goldman Sachs Cancels Again  
While Goldman Sachs Group Inc. scrapped its holiday party for a second straight year and some JPMorgan Chase & Co. bankers had their yuletide gathering in a cafeteria, staffers of Bear Stearns Cos. reunited at a velvet- roped bar that sells bottles of Cristal champagne for $450.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aCgeerW..FLY

`Squawk Box’ Broker Ken Mahaffy Seeks New Trial, Saying U.S. Hid Evidence  
A former broker at Merrill Lynch & Co. and Citigroup Inc. who was convicted of selling access to his brokerages’ internal “squawk boxes” will seek a new trial because, he says, prosecutors hid evidence of his innocence.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=aEMg7hj_dFI4

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/2009/dig122309.htm

CHRONOLOGY-U.S. CFTC road to reform
Dec 23 (Reuters) – The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission is expected to decide soon whether to issue regulations to rein in speculation in the energy and commodity
markets by imposing contract position limits.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2316400320091223

2 Broward doctors settle insider trading case
Two Fort Lauderdale physicians will pay to settle a civil complaint brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for their role in a stock-trading scheme.
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/southflorida/story/1396748.html

CBOE: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to Increasing the Session Fee for the Regulatory Element of Continuing Education Requirements (Release No. 34-61232; File No. SR-CBOE-2009-094; December 23, 2009)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/cboe/2009/34-61232.pdf

FINRA: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change to Extend the Date by which Eligible Registrants Must Complete a Firm-Element Continuing Education Program to Qualify to Engage in a Security Futures Business (Release No. 34-61231; File No. SR-FINRA-2009-092; December 23, 2009); see also Exhibit 5
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/finra/2009/34-61231.pdf

FINRA: Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change to Amend the Hearing Location Rules of the Codes of Arbitration Procedure for Customer and Industry Disputes (Release No. 34-61217; File No. SR-FINRA-2009-073; December 22, 2009)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/finra/2009/34-61217.pdf

ISE: Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change to List and Trade Options on the ETFS Gold Trust and the ETFS Silver Trust (Release No. 34-61228; File No. SR-ISE-2009-106; December 22, 2009)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/ise/2009/34-61228.pdf

NASDAQ: Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change to Amend IM-2110-7 To Reflect Changes to Corresponding FINRA Rule (Release No. 34-61224; File No. SR-NASDAQ-2009-110; December 22, 2009)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nasdaq/2009/34-61224.pdf

NASDAQ OMX BX: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change Relating to the Fee Schedule of the Boston Options Exchange Facility (Release No. 34-61229; File No. SR-BX-2009-083; December 22, 2009); see also Exhibit 5
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/bx/2009/34-61229.pdf

NSX: Notice of Filing and Immediate Effectiveness of Proposed Rule Change to Amend NSX Rule 11 Governing Round Lots, Odd Lots and Mixed Lots (Release No. 34-61221; File No. SR-NSX-2009-08; December 22, 2009); see also Exhibit 5
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nsx/2009/34-61221.pdf

NYSE: Order Approving the Proposed Rule Change, As Modified by Amendment No. 1, Amending NYSE Rule 123C to Modify the Procedures for Its Closing Process and Making Conforming Changes to NYSE Rules 13 and 15 (Release No. 34-61233; File No. SR-NYSE-2009-111; December 23, 2009)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nyse/2009/34-61233.pdf

NYSE: Notice of Filing and Order Granting Accelerated Approval of a Proposed Rule Change Proposing to Amend Section 703.22 of the Listed Company Manual (Release No. 34-61230; File No. SR-NYSE-2009-124; December 23, 2009)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nyse/2009/34-61230.pdf

NYSE Arca: Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Relating to the Listing of Grail McDonnell Fixed Income ETFs (Release No. 34-61227; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2009-114; December 22, 2009)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nysearca/2009/34-61227.pdf

NYSE Arca: Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Amending Rule 5.3 (Release No. 34-61222; File No. SR-NYSEArca-2009-110; December 22, 2009); see also Exhibit 5
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nysearca/2009/34-61222.pdf

NYSEAmex: Notice of Filing of Proposed Rule Change Amending Commentary .10 to Rule 915 and Commentary .11 to Rule 916 (Release No. 34-61223; File No. SR-NYSEAmex-2009-86; December 22, 2009); see also Exhibit 5
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/nyseamex/2009/34-61223.pdf

Phlx: Order Approving Proposed Rule Change, as Modified by Amendment No. 1 Thereto, to Amend Rules Relating to Conduct of Business on the Exchange (Release No. 34-61207; File No. SR-Phlx-2009-84; December 18, 2009)
http://www.sec.gov/rules/sro/phlx/2009/34-61207.pdf

SEC Freezes Assets of French Citizens Within Days of Insider Trading
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2009/2009-275.htm

Arrangements between Christmas and New Year
ASIC offices will be closed from Christmas Day to 3 January 2010, re-opening on Monday 4 January 2010
http://www.asic.gov.au/ASIC/asic.nsf/byHeadline/Christmas%20closedown?opendocument

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Pali’s Derivatives Chief Richard Anthony Leaves Brokerage for BGC Partners  
Richard Anthony, head of global derivatives at Pali Capital Inc., left the New York-based brokerage to join BGC Partners Inc.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=aazHXW6ADnOA

Pali Capital Names Tim Strazzini Head Of Derivatives
NEW YORK, Dec. 24 /PRNewswire/ — Pali Capital, Inc., an independent global financial services firm, announced today that Tim Strazzini has been named Head of Derivatives. Mr. Strazzini, who has served as Pali’s Head of U.S. Equity Strategic Sales for the past three years, has extensive experience in the derivatives space, first at Susquehanna and then at Merrill Lynch. Mr. Strazzini replaces Richard Anthony who resigned from the firm.
http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/pali-capital-names-tim-strazzini-head-of-derivatives-80057387.html

Glencore Considers Initial Offering After Crisis Delivers `Wakeup Call’
Glencore International AG, the world’s largest commodity trader, is considering an initial public offering after the credit crisis and tumbling commodity prices threatened to curb its funding.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=aZhBpYq6YRjY

Hedge Funds See $150 Billion Inflows in First Nine Months of 2009; Mid-Sized Funds Most Attractive for Investors, Says Barclays Capital
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091214006119/en

Technology News

SunGard Names New CFO
Financial software and IT services company SunGard has appointed Robert Woods as chief financial officer of the company, effective January 1, 2010. He succeeds Michael Ruane who has been named chief financial officer of the companys Availability Services business.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/7/20091224/ttc-sungard-names-new-cfo-78e70a2.html

Media News

Murdoch sees better 2010 for News Corp: report
MILAN (Reuters) – News Corp (NWSA.O) would do better in 2010 than the previous year thanks to the strong performance of its cable and film businesses, the international media group’s head Rupert Murdoch told an Italian newspaper.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091224/bs_nm/us_newscorp_profit

Facebook plans for more growth in 2010
For Facebook, 2009 was a year of extraordinary growth in which it transformed from a fad to a phenomenon that reaches more than 350 million users globally.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-tc-biz-facebook-1223-1224-dec24,0,4020677.story

Twitter buys Mixer Labs to map tweet locations
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/twitter/6878414/Twitter-buys-Mixer-Labs-to-map-tweet-locations.html

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

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.cmegroup.com/tools-information/calendars/

Asia-Pacific News

Investors offered 80% payout for Lehman products
For angry investors, the nightmare triggered by the collapse of US investment giant Lehman Brothers last year may be finally over after two banks offered to pay 80 HK cents for every dollar of their investment.
http://www.theedgemalaysia.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=156305&Itemid=79

India’s Securities Board to Revisit Depository’s Role in IPO Scam
The Securities and Exchange Board of India, India’s securities watchdog, is expected in January to review a previous ruling on a case involving the suspected involvement of the National Depository Services Ltd. in a 2005 scam involving initial public offerings.
http://www.securitiesindustry.com/news/-24438-1.html

Shenzhen Stock Exchange Again Imposes Trading Restriction On Accounts Suspected Of Rigging ChiNext Stocks
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87651

TOCOM to Reopen Gas Oil Futures Contract in May 2010
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091223005672/en

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

CFTC Trades Up for ‘The Regulator’ as Its New Top Lawyer
With the Obama administration in office, there have been changes at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). CFTC chair and Obama appointee Gary Gensler is pushing for tighter regulations of the markets. Now the commission has tapped an attorney with a long history of improving government oversight to head up its legal team. In June, the CFTC named Dan Berkovitz its general counsel. He replaces Terry Arbit.
http://bit.ly/7ZYhc1

++++

Traders circle high-frequency wagons
Spurred by the prospect of a crackdown by the Securities and Exchange Commission on high-frequency trading, a new transaction tax and commodities position limits, at least 25 proprietary trading firms have formed a lobbying arm of Wall Street’s industry group for exchange-traded derivatives, the Futures Industry Association, Reuters reports.
http://bit.ly/4RcO3d

++++

Financial reform is flawed, says CBOE chief
By Hal Weitzman in Chicago
US lawmakers are putting “undue political pressure” on regulators to tighten oversight of trading practices that had little to do with the financial crisis, while the bigger issues of systemic risk are not being adequately addressed, the head of the US’s biggest options exchange has warned. In an interview with the Financial Times, Bill Brodsky, chief executive of the Chicago Board Options Exchange, said the debate on Capitol Hill over reforming financial regulation had focused on the wrong issues.
http://bit.ly/6MlBUh

++++

2000-2009: The decade of electronic trading
Whatever else its legacy might be, the noughties was a decade that revolutionised how the buy-side executed trades in the global equity markets. To put the scale and nature of the shift from voice-broked to electronic trading into context, theTRADEnews.com asked six influential industry figures to chart the milestones reached and the benefits achieved, as well as the challenges to come
http://bit.ly/5HcGuJ

++++

Financial Regulation: Common Sense, Please
Reinstate Glass-Steagall? Nope. Columnist Chris Farrell suggests a different approach to keep risk-taking firms from spreading damage
http://bit.ly/8QQ4ok

++++

3 strategies for outsmarting the market
As you try to figure out how to put your money to work in a market that veers from depression to mania, you’re confronted with two opposing facts that lead to opposing investing strategies.
http://bit.ly/87wURw

++++

Incredible Disappearing Oranges
By TOM SELLEN
Florida is growing its second-smallest orange crop this decade, forcing futures traders to focus on two key elements—fruit size and weather—as the calendar flips to 2010.
http://bit.ly/88jwyG

++++

MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People

John Allen; Peter Nielsen; Chris Haworth; Barry White; Henk Huitema; John Fingleton; Frederick H. Waddell; Sherry S. Barrat; William A. Osborn

Companies, Organizations and Groups

Assent LLC; Association for Financial Markets in Europe; Patsystems Plc; Office of Fair Trading; Dubai Financial Market; Chicago Board Options Exchange; Lehman Brothers; BATS Europe; National Association of Manufacturers

Products

VIX

Miscellaneous

Momentum; Upcoming Events; Commodity Channel Index

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Lead Stories

CBOE chief plots the path to change
By Hal Weitzman in Chicago
Next year will be busy for Bill Brodsky. The Chicago Board Options Exchange, the biggest options exchange in the US – of which he is chairman and chief executive – is planning to launch a fully electronic options-trading platform alongside its traditional exchange.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/7211658e-ef27-11de-86c4-00144feab49a.html

ISE Expects Eurex Options Link In Early 2010 – CEO
By Jacob Bunge
The U.S.-based International Securities Exchange is close to completing a trading and clearing link with German parent Eurex and expects regulatory approval early next year, according to its top executive. The planned link would provide ISE with a pipeline of new business at a time when its number-two ranking in the U.S. options business is being challenged by growing platforms run by rival NYSE Euronext (NYX).
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091222-708638.html

Financial crisis has strained fiscal rules: IMF
WASHINGTON (AFP) – The International Monetary Fund said Tuesday that rules to keep budget deficits in check can help improve member countries’ finances that have been strained by the global economic crisis.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091222/bs_afp/financeeconomyimfrules_20091222195531

Greek Default Beats Bailout, Lehman Lesson Shows: Mark Gilbert
Commentary by Mark Gilbert
Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) — There’s a theory making the rounds comparing Greece with Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. Letting Lehman go broke, the story goes, was the worst policy error of the credit crisis; with that lesson learned, the global authorities will do anything to stop a European Union member from defaulting.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2009-12-23/greek-default-beats-bailout-lehman-lesson-shows-mark-gilbert.html

Environmental Trading News

What on Earth happened?
My, how things have changed! In 2000 scientists from the Worldwatch think-tank in Washington teamed up with the United Nations to spot the greatest threats to the planet in the coming years. Top of the list was ecosystem collapse, such as deforestation and the demise of corals; second were health and diseases; and third was global poverty.
http://www.mg.co.za/article/2009-12-23-what-on-earth-happened

EU carbon-trading scheme puts a price on pollution
With climate experts still reeling from the disappointment of the Copenhagen climate summit, negotiations to develop a strong carbon market continue. The European Union’s system could set an example for the world.
http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,5052358,00.html?maca=en-rss-en-all-1573-rdf

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 Rival ELX To List Ultra Long Bond Futures On Jan 11
By Howard Packowitz
CHICAGO -(Dow Jones)- Start-up exchange ELX Futures LP plans to introduce a new long-term Treasury futures contract on the same date that rival CME Group Inc. (CME) intends to launch an identical product.
http://bit.ly/7La4HX

ELX Futures To Launch New Ultra Long-Term U.S Treasury Bond Futures Contract In January – New Ultra Long-Term Bond Futures Contract To Begin Trading January 11, 2010
ELX Futures, L.P. (ELX Futures), a new fully electronic futures exchange, announced today that it will launch its new Ultra Long-Term U.S. Treasury Bond Futures contract on Monday, January 11, 2010. The new Ultra Long-Term bond contract will join ELX’s suite of U.S Treasury futures products already trading, including the 2, 5 and 10 Year Notes and the 30 Year Bond.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87636

ICE Announces January 25 Launch for 23 New Cleared OTC Energy Contracts
ATLANTA, Dec 23, 2009 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX News Network/ — IntercontinentalExchange, Inc. (NYSE: ICE), a leading operator of global regulated futures exchanges, clearing houses and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, announced today it will introduce 23 new cleared OTC North American natural gas and power contracts. The new cleared swaps and options will be available for the trade date of Monday, January 25, 2010.
http://ir.theice.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=432386

Buy Deutsche Boerse
Peter Lampert at Mawer Investment says the stock of the exchange should rise with the growth in the derivatives market, a specialty of the Deutsche Boerse
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/e-zines/globe-investor-magazine/buy-deutsche-boerse/article1409061/

ASX checks on turbocharged traders
Early next year, Robert Elstone’s market watchers at the Australian Securities Exchange will let Tony D’Aloisio’s sleuths at the Australian Securities and Investments Commission know what they think of the contest between man and machine.
http://www.smh.com.au/business/asx-checks-on-turbocharged-traders-20091223-lddc.html

OneChicago is pleased to announce the listing of 40 new products available for trading December 23, 2009.
http://www.onechicago.com/wp-content/uploads/content2009/december23-new-products1.pdf

NZX Again Found Good By Commission
The Securities Commission’s fourth oversight review of NZX describes NZX’s discharge of its regulatory obligations, once again, as “good”.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87627

[SIX] Investigation of Bank Coop Ltd
http://www.six-swiss-exchange.com/media_releases/online/media_release_200912230729_en.pdf

Banks, Brokers & Dark Pools

Luxembourg bank to sell derivatives unit to Macquarie
FRANKFURT — The Luxembourg-based investment bank Sal. Oppenheim said Wednesday it had sold its equity trading and derivatives business to the Australian bank Macquarie.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i0ugxAynnVT04yiGEEdE1T3n9Mgg

Macquarie to Buy Sal. Oppenheim Derivatives Business (Update1)
By Aaron Kirchfeld
Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) — Macquarie Group Ltd., Australia’s biggest investment bank, agreed to buy Sal. Oppenheim Jr. & Cie.’s equity trading and derivatives unit, the company’s first acquisition in Germany.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=acmsSuRgErgw

Citigroup Denies Theft Report
Citigroup denied a report in the Journal that federal authorities are investigating the theft of tens of millions of dollars from customer accounts by hackers, and sought to reassure its clients that their funds are safe.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126152915252002233.html?mod=WSJ_hps_LEFTWhatsNews

Citigroup Denies That Hackers Stole Millions
Citigroup denied a The Wall Street Journal story that the F.B.I. was investigating the theft of tens of millions of dollars from customer accounts by Russian hackers.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/citigroup-denies-that-hackers-stole-millions/

Morgan Stanley Appoints 212 New Managing Directors
http://www.morganstanley.com/about/press/articles/5fa5614c-ef41-11de-aec2-33992aa82cc2.html

ABN AMRO expects to sign Deutsche Bank deal this week
http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=7683072&subject=economic&action=article

Barclays’s Diamond Sells 1.8 Million Barclays Shares
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=astn9Hlky6JE

Deutsche Bank Cuts Jobs at Private Wealth, FT Deutschland Says
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=ax6NLrq5gd4k

Banks stocks attract heavy trading in 2009
By Denise Law
Bank stocks have dominated a top ten list of most traded shares this year compiled by TD Waterhouse, the broker.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/44a7f060-efb6-11de-833d-00144feab49a.html

Dark Pools, Derivatives and HFT Top Buy Side’s Regulatory Agenda
Buy-side traders oppose regulations that hinder high-frequency trading and reduce liquidity in dark pools, but they welcome heightened oversight of derivatives.
By Ivy Schmerken
http://advancedtrading.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222002715

Barclays boss defends huge bonuses because banks have “mouths to feed”
By James Lyons
The boss of Barclays bank sparked anger yesterday by defending huge bonuses. Chairman Marcus Agius whined that banks have “mouths to feed”. And he claimed that hefty City payouts were needed to ensure Britain competes with other countries.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2009/12/22/barclays-boss-defends-huge-bonuses-because-banks-have-mouths-to-feed-115875-21915154/

Volatility Dip Speaks Volumes
Wall Street Firms Face Earnings Pinch as Trading Falls to August 2008 Levels
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704157304574612511863802416.html

Banco Santander hires RBS bond duo
Spain’s Banco Santander has hired two of Royal Bank of Scotland’s most senior bond syndicate bankers as part of a renewed drive to build out its debt capital markets business.
http://www.efinancialnews.com/homepage/index/content/1056121309

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/2009/dig122309.htm

SEC Charges Austin-Based Investment Adviser in Fraudulent Scheme Utilizing Football Stars
Washington, D.C., Dec. 22, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today filed securities fraud charges against an Austin, Texas investment adviser and two businesses he controls for operating a multi-million dollar scam that used former professional football players to promote its offerings.
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2009/2009-274.htm

Rajaratnam objects to scheduling of Galleon cases
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Lawyers for Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam objected on Tuesday to the government’s request to schedule his criminal trial ahead of a parallel SEC case, saying the move could compromise the defense’s case.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091222/bs_nm/us_galleon

Teamsters Request SEC Review YRC Credit-Default Swaps
By Pierre Paulden and Shannon D. Harrington
Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) — International Brotherhood of Teamsters President James Hoffa is asking the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission and New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to review “questionable promotion” of credit- default swaps tied to trucking company YRC Worldwide Inc.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aKKPvOT2pMm0

SEC Proposes Rule Amendments to Facilitate Access to Capital Markets
Washington, D.C., Dec. 22, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced that it has proposed amendments to Rule 163 under the Securities Act to further facilitate the ability of certain large companies to communicate with broader groups of potential investors and gauge the level of interest in the market for their securities offerings.
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2009/2009-273.htm

George Möller New Chairman Of The AFM Supervisory Board
Minister of Finance Bos has appointed G. Möller, effective 1 January 2010, as chairman of the Supervisory Board of the Netherlands Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM).
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87641

Indiana Political Donor Timothy Durham Faces Suits, Probes on Ponzi Claims
Indiana businessman Timothy S. Durham, a Republican political contributor whose holdings include National Lampoon Inc., has been targeted in lawsuits and investigations over claims he funded a luxurious lifestyle with the proceeds of a Ponzi scheme.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601127&sid=aOQd9ye8ZJoQ

ASIC grants conditional relief to improve access to capital for investors in frozen mortgage funds
ASIC today announced its intention to grant conditional relief for investors in frozen mortgage funds. Under the move, investors will be granted relief from some of the requirements of the withdrawal provisions in the Corporations Act 2001(The Act). The purpose of the relief is to improve investor access to their money in frozen mortgage funds.
http://bit.ly/7K3MtI

ASIC’s proceedings against Fortescue Metals Group Ltd and Andrew Forrest dismissed
The Federal Court in Perth today has found that Fortescue Metals Group Ltd (FMG) and its CEO Mr Andrew Forrest did not engage in misleading and deceptive conduct or fail to comply with their continuous disclosure obligations. As a result the Court also found that Mr Forrest did not breach his duties as a director of the company.
http://bit.ly/8Qh625

Allocation of limits to FIIs/Sub-accounts for investment in Government Debt
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2009/4062009.html

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Macro hedge funds, stockpickers tipped for 2010
Laurence Fletcher and Svea Herbst
Hedge funds making big bets on currencies, commodities and equities are favoured by fund selectors in what is likely to be a more testing 2010 after a bumper year for hedge fund returns.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20091223/tbs-uk-hedgefunds-outlook-4210405.html

Investors earmark $1 billion for Citadel
By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
BOSTON (Reuters) – Investors are ready to bet big again on superstar hedge fund manager Kenneth Griffin, having told his Citadel Investment Group that they plan to commit $1 billion early next year, people familiar with the matter said.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091222/bs_nm/us_hedgefunds_citadel_2

Bill Gross Turns Over Management of Pimco’s High-Yield Bond Fund to Jessop
Bill Gross, who stepped in to run the $7.61 billion Pimco High Yield Fund in May after its former manager left the company, will hand over the reins to Andrew Jessop at the start of next year.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601014&sid=aJ2DJKHsDbSM

Fund manager Shaughnessy ignores her index
By Aaron Pressman
BOSTON (Reuters) – Maura Shaughnessy, manager of the MFS Utilities fund, has bicycled across New Zealand and Italy and in the Grand Canyon, not to mention completing an annual 192-mile charity ride in Massachusetts 16 times.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091223/bs_nm/us_mfs_shaughnessy_1

Foreign-Exchange Funds Had Losses in November, Parker Global Index Shows
Currency funds posted losses in November, as U.S. dollar volatility whipsawed investors, according to the Parker FX Index.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601014&sid=a9nLnWFZVmck

Passport Capital’s gold experiment
By Alistair Barr, MarketWatch
SAN FRANCISCO (MarketWatch) — This summer, John Moran picked up 100 ounces of gold from a locker run by the Comex exchange in New York. The bars, which were light enough to carry in a backpack, marked the culmination of a $95,000 experiment by Passport Capital, a San Francisco-based hedge fund where Moran is director of business operations and strategy.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/passport-capitals-gold-experiment-2009-12-23?siteid=rss&rss=1

Glencore bond deal paves way for IPO
World’s largest commodity trader has taken the first step towards becoming a public company by selling $2.2bn in convertible bonds, a move that values the company at $35bn
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/b4eef802-efbe-11de-833d-00144feab49a.html

David Yarrow: founder of the ‘celebrity’ hedge fund
By Andrew Pierce
David Yarrow, a member of the Yarrow shipbuilding dynasty which created the Royal Navy’s first destroyers, is the founder member of the London-based Clareville Capital. It’s known in the Square Mile as the “celebrity hedge fund”.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6607957/David-Yarrow-founder-of-the-celebrity-hedge-fund.html

Billionaire Paulson Leads Fund Managers Betting on the Yield Curve
John Paulson and Julian Robertson are among managers looking to capitalize on growing inflation and higher yields.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Billionaire-Paulson-Leads-indie-2771117898.html?x=0&.v=1

Buffett’s Berkshire Sells Moody’s Shares for Sixth Time After Profit Drop
Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Inc. cut its stake in Moody’s Corp. for the sixth time since July after the ratings company was hit by profit declines, lawsuits and criticism from regulators.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=aLztAhA9VIzQ

Flaherty Says Russia, China May Buy Canadian Dollars to Diversify Reserves
Canada’s Finance Minister Jim Flaherty said China, with the world’s largest currency reserves of $2.3 trillion, may be poised to buy Canadian dollars as it seeks to shield its reserves against the U.S. dollar’s decline.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=acEKkQa7qJl0

Barclays Wealth debuts UK Accumulator
Barclays Wealth has launched a product paying a potential capital return of 60% after six years of investment with lock-ins for given rises in the underlying index.
http://www.trustnet.com/News/DisplayStory.aspx?id=51871

Fairfield Greenwich Group Asks Judge to Toss Madoff Due Diligence Suits
Fairfield Greenwich Group, the hedge funds co-founded by Walter Noel that earned an estimated $919 million in fees from investments with Bernard Madoff, asked a U.S. judge in New York to dismiss lawsuits against it accusing it of not doing due diligence and seeking to recover losses, according to a court filing.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601127&sid=a2SYG84.FlJk

Hedge fund manager to net £1.5bn from battered banks
By Chris Salih
American hedge fund manager David Pepper is set to bag £1.5bn after investing heavily in the battered banking sector earlier this year.
http://www.moneymarketing.co.uk/hedge-fund-manager-to-net-%C2%A315bn-from-battered-banks/1004376.article

Trade Like A Hedge Fund Master
Emily Lambert
Simple techniques can limit losses–but at a cost.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/23/stock-options-personal-finance-individual-trading.html?feed=rss_finance

Russell adds 75 IPOs to global index
U.S. broad-market Russell 3000 accounts for 37% of global total
TACOMA, WA, DECEMBER 23, 2009 – Russell Investments has added 75 initial public offerings (IPOs) to the Russell Global Index for the fourth quarter of 2009, including 28 IPOs to the U.S. broad-market Russell 3000 Index. Among the U.S. stocks that qualified for inclusion for the fourth quarter, six rank high enough in terms of market capitalization for addition to the large-cap Russell 1000a Index. These IPOs are A123 Systems, Dollar General, Education Management, Hyatt Hotels, Talecris Biotherapeutics and Verisk Analytics.
Tel Aviv Stock Exchange: Updating The Composition Of Stock Exchange Indices
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87637

Technology News

BlackBerry Internet Service Disrupted Again
By IAN AUSTEN
For the second time in a week, BlackBerry users found themselves without e-mail and Internet service.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/24/technology/companies/24blackberry.html?ref=business

SunGard Releases New VPM Portfolio Accounting Solution For Hedge Funds
http://www.financetech.com/news/wallstreet/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=1S2LYIQABQBRNQE1GHOSKH4ATMY32JVN?articleID=222002958

Media News

Yahoo to shut down most operations for a week to cut costs
U.S. employees can use vacation time or take unpaid leave Dec. 25 through Jan. 1. Christmas and New Year’s Day will still be paid holidays.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/la-fi-yahoo23-2009dec23,0,3007627.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

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.cmegroup.com/tools-information/calendars/

Asia-Pacific News

Japan emperor turns 76, concerned over financial crisis
TOKYO (AFP) – Japanese Emperor Akihito turned 76 on Wednesday, wishing his people an early economic recovery in the coming year and voicing hope that the country would not be crippled by a resurgent swine flu pandemic
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091223/wl_asia_afp/japanroyalsemperor

HKEx Welcomes Government Appointment Of Peter Wong To Its Risk Management Committee
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) welcomes the Government’s appointment of Peter Wong to succeed Benjamin Hung as a member of HKEx’s Risk Management Committee (RMC). The two-year appointment, which was made under the Securities and Futures Ordinance, will take effect from 20 January 2010.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87631

China Slaps European Steel With Tariffs
BEIJING (AP) — China imposed anti-dumping duties on some European steel products Wednesday and accused Europe of protectionism for extending curbs on imports of Chinese shoes, adding to tensions fueled by the slump in global trade.
http://www.manufacturing.net/News-China-Slaps-European-Steel-With-Tariffs-122309.aspx

China Studies Tighter Supervision of Financial System (Update1)
by Bloomberg News
Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) — China’s central bank plans to study how to strengthen oversight of risks across the financial system, an effort that echoes measures under way in the U.S. and Europe in the aftermath of the crisis.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601110&sid=aRv5X.6jLceA

Morgan Stanley Says Korea Banks May Fund More Takeovers in 2010
By Bomi Lim
Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) — South Korean banks may become more willing to finance acquisitions next year as the economy rebounds, said Morgan Stanley Executive Director Peter Chang.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2009-12-23/morgan-stanley-says-korea-banks-may-fund-more-takeovers-in-2010.html

Chinese Speculators Play on: Is Gold the Next Bubble?
There is a feverish quality to Chinese speculative investing, a tendency for the herd to rush into the next asset or instrument as though this for certain going to be the Bonanza Strike, the one that puts us over the top.
http://www.chinastakes.com/2009/12/chinese-speculators-play-on-is-gold-the-next-bubble.html

Copper Rallies as China Arbitrage Traders Exploit LME Price Gap
By Glenys Sim
Dec. 23 (Bloomberg) — Copper rebounded as investors in China stepped up arbitrage trading to take advantage of the price gap between London and Shanghai. The metal has lost 0.2 percent on the London Metal Exchange this month, while Shanghai prices have climbed 1.4 percent, as the dollar’s strength damped demand for commodities priced in the U.S. currency. Arbitrage traders profit from disparities in prices of equivalent securities or commodities that are traded on more than one market.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=aNhIkTVrjFeQ

Ex-HSBC Official Goes to Prison for Bribe-Taking
A former HSBC Holdings executive, Chen Ching-hsiao, was sentenced to 20 months in prison by a Hong Kong court for taking a bribe from a Taiwanese client seeking credit facilities, Bloomberg News reported.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/ex-hsbc-official-goes-to-prison-for-bribe-taking/

2009 IN REVIEW: Malaysia bourse turns in strong performance
MALAYSIA’S stock market turned in a strong performance this year after a slow start as investors began betting ahead on a recovery from one of the world’s worst recessions.
http://www.btimes.com.my/Current_News/BTIMES/articles/stockye2/Article/index_html

Frontier Markets

Dubai’s Finance Center Consolidates
December 23, 2009, 4:15 am
Dubai is learning the harsh truth about financial centers. The emirate’s effort to build a stand-alone international stock exchange from scratch has basically failed, writes Breakingviews. Nasdaq Dubai, which was set up in 2005 and has just three primary equity listings, is being acquired by its larger local rival, Dubai Financial Market.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/dubais-one-strong-market/

UAE to Open Trade Office in India
ABU DHABI – The UAE will open a trade office in India soon, Minister of Foreign Trade, Shaikha Lubna bint Khalid Al Qasimi, said at the Federal National Council (FNC) session on Tuesday.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/displayarticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2009/December/theuae_December661.xml&section=theuae&col=

Najd Investments Receives Licence To Operate From The Dubai International Financial Centre
Najd Investments Ltd today announced the opening of its Dubai office following the award of a licence by the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to operate from the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC).
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87638

Dubai Financial Market Welcomes The Listing Of Kuwait’s HITS Telecom
Dubai Financial Market (DFM), the first regional exchange to go public and the first global shariah compliant market, announced today the listing of Kuwait’s HITS Telecom Company.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87639

Gulf Finance Bought Back $9 Million of Sukuk in Fourth Quarter
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601104&sid=aQ4EimM2ij9M

Barclays to offer scholarship at Dubai uni
http://www.ameinfo.com/219517.html

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

Derivatives trade matching faces challenges – study
By Karen Brettell
NEW YORK, Dec 21 (Reuters) – Frequent trade matching is touted as one initiative that can help reduce risk in the $450 trillion, privately traded derivatives markets, though a number of challenges may complicate its wider practice, according to an industry study released on Monday.
http://bit.ly/8hDlax

++++

Bankers fear sovereign risk in 2010
By Gillian Tett in London
In normal circumstances, the question of how banks manage their collateral deals with other financial players is not of interest to ordinary mortals.
http://bit.ly/7LKKcw

**** I hear the Duchy of Grand Fenwick is in real trouble.

++++

Bank on little change
By Martin Hutchinson
It must surely have become obvious from both the catastrophes of 2008 and the bumper profits of 2009 that the investment banking/trading business, whether through independent behemoths or within even larger commercial banks, simply isn’t working.
http://bit.ly/4DJfEz

++++

Potential and Unintended Consequences of the Financial Transaction Tax
By Irene Aldridge
Much of the U.S. manufacturing has already moved to China, leaving behind scores of unemployed factory workers and foremen. The U.S. financial services system has stepped in to replace manufacturing as one of the key and too-big-to-fail pillars of the U.S. economy. Yet, a new threat to the U.S. financial services and, as a result, domestic economy as a whole comes in the form of Financial Transaction Tax (FTT).
http://bit.ly/51RFWA

**** Off-shore will soon mean in the U.S.

++++

Financial instruments could be spiked with unfindable risks
by Steven Schultz
(PhysOrg.com) — In a result that may have implications for financial regulation, researchers from computer science and economics have revealed potentially impenetrable problems with the pricing of financial derivatives. They show that sellers of these investments could purposefully include pieces of bad risk that no buyer could detect even with the most powerful computers.
http://bit.ly/5X2Vie

**** Slipped the old Mickey CDS.  Yikes!

++++

Baffled by company accounts? You’re meant to be
Take a look at the report and accounts of that large company you have shares in. Ignore the happy smiling people. Can you understand the figures?
By Neil Collins, Reuters Breakingviews
Can you, with reasonable non-accounting knowledge, tell whether last year was good, bad or indifferent? Can you say whether the enterprise is more valuable at the end than it was at the start? Increasingly, the answer to these questions is: dunno.
http://bit.ly/4Ow11q

++++

Noughty boys on trading floor led us into debt-laden fantasy
LARRY ELLIOTT
It started with a bust and it ended with an even bigger bust. In between was sandwiched an unsustainable boom. Banks have been humbled. Economists have been found wanting. Geopolitical power began to shift from west to east. That was the noughties that was.
http://bit.ly/6O1oIw

**** Who has debt-laden fantasies?  Mine are all paid for.

++++

Treasury Cover-Up of Goldman’s Role in AIG Crisis?
In November 2009, I wrote the Huffington Post that Goldman Sachs Group nearly bankrupted AIG. In December, the Wall Street Journal explained to the general public that Goldman fueled AIG’s gambling and played a much bigger role in the mortgage bets that nearly felled American Insurance Group (AIG) than the Treasury, the Fed, or Goldman itself publicly disclosed.
http://bit.ly/7ChJ5V

++++

Millers body seeks curbs on oilseeds futures
High prices have squeezed crushing margins of millers.
The Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) has sought curbs on the futures trade in oilseeds, saying high prices have squeezed crushing margins of millers in a statement today.
http://bit.ly/6U78CA

++++

Hedge fund manager wants his $9 back
A portfolio manager at a San Francisco-based hedge fund is reportedly in a tussle with a US solar-power company over a $9 (E6.3) taxi fare, after he was turned away from an analyst presentation given by its management.
http://bit.ly/7XaaLZ

**** The $9 must have been part of his rainy day fund.

++++

Reuters kills hedge fund story after pressure
Reuters editors last week killed a story by investigative reporter Matthew Goldstein about hedge fund trader Steven Cohen after Cohen complained to top Thomson Reuters executives that he was being persecuted by the news agency’s reporting, sources at Reuters said.
http://bit.ly/8VVemH

**** Rule number one.  Never do anything that would attract Matt Goldstein’s attention.

++++

TV’s Ratigan apologizes
MSNBC host Dylan Ratigan apologized yesterday for his “very rude” conduct last week during an interview on health care with a Florida congresswoman..
http://bit.ly/5NyVLM

++++

Druids, pagans mark shortest day of year
LONDON – Hundreds of people have celebrated the winter solstice at Stonehenge, braving snowy travel conditions and a morning fog.
http://bit.ly/52R5rX

**** The low is in.  Even the Druids and Pagans are short.

++++

MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People

John Koltes III; Michael McClain; Dennis Woods; Tom Chatoney; Robert Newhouse; Mark Monahan; James B. Lange; Stanley A. Dash; Kevin B. Kroeger; Salomon Sredni; Brian Coffaro; Paula A. Tosini; Donald R. Wilson, Sr.

Companies, Organizations and Groups

National Association of Manufacturers; Archelon Group; Ballista Securities LLC; Istanbul Stock Exchange; National Stock Exchange; Jaypee International Inc.; RTS Realtime Systems Group; Intellectual Property Exchange International

Miscellaneous

Sponsored Access

Lead Stories

SEC Approves Chicago Board Options Exchange’s C2 Platform
By Jacob Bunge
CHICAGO (Dow Jones)–The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved a new electronic market developed by the Chicago Board Options Exchange,officials confirmed Monday. The new exchange, known as C2, was slated to go live this year but was put on hold as regulators considered a raft of new rules for U.S. financial markets,and exchanges worked to implement expanded penny pricing of options contracts.
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/djf500/200912211610DOWJONESDJONLINE000320_FORTUNE5.htm

Options Brokerages Upbeat As Market Evolution Looms In 2010
By Jacob Bunge
CHICAGO (Dow Jones)–U.S. options brokerage firms are bullish on a host of changes coming to the market in 2010, amid growing volume that has helped the sector sidestep a broader slowdown in derivatives trading.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091221-709003.html

Dubai Financial Market buys Nasdaq Dubai
Dubai Financial Market is buying Nasdaq Dubai, its less successful international-focused rival, in a $121m deal as the Gulf emirate seeks to take on regional bourses amid its continuing debt crisis
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/cf47e5de-eed2-11de-92d8-00144feab49a.html

NASDAQ OMX Participates in Combination of NASDAQ Dubai into Dubai Financial Market; Accepts Shares in DFM
New York, December 22, 2009 – The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) today announced an agreement with Borse Dubai Limited (Borse Dubai) which will change the ownership structure of NASDAQ Dubai to become a wholly owned subsidiary of the Dubai Financial Market (DFM).
http://ir.nasdaqomx.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=432009

Dubai financial market bids for Nasdaq Dubai
DUBAI (AFP) – The Dubai Financial Market, Dubai’s principal stock exchange, announced on Tuesday that it has offered 121 million dollars to acquire Nasdaq Dubai, the emirate’s second market.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091222/bs_afp/uaedubaieconomystocksmergernasdaq_20091222111526

NASDAQ OMX participates in combination of NASDAQ Dubai into Dubai Financial Market; accepts shares in DFM
December 22nd, 2009 – NASDAQ OMX Group and Borse Dubai agree to change ownership structure of NASDAQ Dubai to become wholly owned subsidiary of the Dubai Financial Market
http://www.automatedtrader.net/headlines/27611/nasdaq-omx-participates-in-combination-of-nasdaq-dubai-into-dubai-financial-market-accepts-shares-in-dfm

Nasdaq OMX sells Dubai stake to DFM
Dubai Financial Market (DFM), the exchange subsidiary of government-owned holding company Borse Dubai, has agreed a deal to purchase Nasdaq OMX’s stake in Nasdaq Dubai.
http://www.thetradenews.com/trading-venues/exchanges/4036

Dubai Financial Market Offers to Acquire Nasdaq Dubai for $121 Million
Dubai Financial Market PJSC, the only Gulf Arab stock market to sell shares to the public, offered $121 million to buy Nasdaq Dubai as it aims to boost liquidity and as Dubai government-owned entities restructure.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=aDPCb7Z3Qzas

Investors cool on audit convergence
By Rachel Sanderson in London
Convergence of US and international accounting standards is less important than making accounting rules more relevant to investment decisions, according to a poll of investors.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8a39bd16-ee62-11de-944c-00144feab49a.html

Environmental Trading News

After Copenhagen
In the wake of the failure of the Copenhagen Climate Change conference, we’re starting to see some more thoughtful analyses which go beyond the proximate causes of the imbroglio to gesture to more structural factors.
http://larvatusprodeo.net/2009/12/22/after-copenhagen/

EPA finishes study on carbon dioxide absorption by trees
By Vincent Y. Chao
The Environmental Protection Administration (EPA) yesterday released the results of a study on the carbon emissions absorbed by 22 different species of trees that they hope will help the government and the public plan green initiatives. Several species, including the Taiwan zelkova, Indian rosewood and Chinese Pistachios, were found to have the greatest efficiency in absorbing carbon — more than 0.5mg of the pollutant per second — the study found.
http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/taiwan/archives/2009/12/23/2003461625

Emissions trading best way to go, say economists
BEN CUBBY
AN emissions trading scheme is the cheapest and most efficient way to achieve the greenhouse gas cuts the Federal Government is aiming for from the Copenhagen Accord, economists believe.
http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/environment/climate-change/emissions-trading-best-way-to-go-say-economists-20091222-lbrt.html

Low carbon price threatens investment crucial to meet UK green goals
By Sarah Arnott
Copenhagen turned out to be a damp squib – derided by the Prime Minister yesterday as “at best flawed, at worst chaotic”. But the failure to reach a global deal also left UK electricity generators calling for the Government to guarantee the carbon price, or face missing its ambitious green targets.
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/news/low-carbon-price-threatens-investment-crucial-to-meet-uk-green-goals-1847397.html

Carbon prices drop in wake of climate talks
Conference disappointment hits market
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/64bab3da-ee24-11de-a274-00144feab49a.html

Africa’s first carbon credit scheme
Africa’s first carbon credit scheme launches in the wake of Copenhagen and aims protects the continents rain forests. South African banking group Nedbank and international Non Government Organisation, Wildlife Works Incorporated, announce they will be running the scheme.
http://www.edie.net/news/news_story.asp?id=17448

For more environmental trading news, subscribe to the Environmental Markets version of the John Lothian Newsletter edited by Jim Kharouf.
Visit http://www.jlnenvironmental.com to subscribe.

Exchange & ECN News

Eurex to Launch Dividend Futures on Single Stocks
The international derivatives exchange Eurex announced today that it will offer futures contracts based on particular dividends of individual shares from 11 January 2010. Eurex will launch Dividend futures on the constituents of the Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50. Following the successful introduction of the index dividend futures on the Dow Jones EURO STOXX 50 in June 2008, Eurex further expands its offering. Thus, for the first time in Europe the pure dividend component of the underlying stocks of a benchmark equity index are available for exchange trading and clearing as a stand-alone product.
http://bit.ly/7vvJs6

Deutsche Boerse: Eurex To Launch Div Futures On Single Stocks
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091222-703498.html

Turquoise deal exposes rivals’ weakness
Deal still leaves six rivals
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ef9b87a0-ee69-11de-944c-00144feab49a.html

Direct Edge Year End Update
http://www.directedge.com/AboutDirectEdge/Announcements/ViewNewsletterDetail.aspx?NewsletterID=125

BATS Europe announces new pricing for 2010
Mark Hemsley, CEO, BATS Europe: “We are committed to meeting the trading needs of market participants and look forward to delivering further enhancements.” BATS Europe has announced a new European fee schedule for trading equities, ETFs and ETCs on its integrated book, effective 4th January 2010.Under the new programme, BATS Europe participants who remove liquidity will be charged 0.28 bps, while participants who add liquidity will be rebated 0.18 bps. Pricing for the BATS Europe Dark Pool remains un
http://www.automatedtrader.net/news/mtf-news/27614/bats-europe-announces-new-pricing-for-2010

ASX calls on regulators to close dark pool loopholes
The Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) has today released its submission to the Treasury consultation on Reforms to the supervision of Australia’s financial markets.
http://bit.ly/5Jhgtc

CBSX Trader News Update CBSX to Update Pricing Effective January 4, 2010
http://www.cboe.org/publish/InfoCir/IC09-356.pdf

New Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) on SIX Swiss Exchange
http://www.six-swiss-exchange.com/media_releases/online/media_release_200912220730_en.pdf

SIX Swiss Exchange Sanction Commission reprimands Belimo Holding AG
http://www.six-swiss-exchange.com/media_releases/online/media_release_200912220728_en.pdf

Banks, Brokers & Dark Pools

Collapsed Lehman pays out big bonuses
Pay-outs to aid reconciling millions of transactions
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/a4b10cf6-ee6e-11de-944c-00144feab49a.html

Lehman pays out big London bonuses
By Jennifer Hughes, Financial Times
London, England (FT) — Lehman Brothers, the collapsed Wall Street investment bank, is hiring bankers and paying generous bonuses in London to stop employees defecting.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/BUSINESS/12/22/london.bonus.lehman.ft/index.html?section=cnn_latest

Lehman’s special payouts set to spark fresh bonus row
The City faced a fresh bonus row today over bankers at Lehman Brothers’ European arm getting special payouts. As the collapsed Wall Street investment bank’s European business is being unwound, more staff are being hired in the capital with the offer of sizeable bonuses.
http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23787091-lehmans-special-payouts-set-to-spark-fresh-bonus-row.do

Lehman’s London Unit Pays More to Keep Staff
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/lehmans-london-unit-on-hiring-spree/

Lehman Unit LB Somerset Files Bankruptcy With $1 Billion in Assets, Debt
An affiliate of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., LB Somerset LLC, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings in a New York court listing assets and debt of more than $1 billion owed to more than 100,000 creditors.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601127&sid=a3D8lzhE4sUY

Bank charges challenge is dropped by regulator
OFT chief executive John Fingleton: “We haven’t given up”
The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) has decided to drop its investigation into the fairness of bank overdraft charges.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8425766.stm

U.K. Banks Won’t Face Challenge on Overdraft Fees (Update3)
By Lindsay Fortado
Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) — HSBC Holdings Plc, Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and six other U.K. lenders won’t face a further challenge to overdraft fees after a court ruling forced an antitrust regulator to drop its investigation.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601127&sid=aH.2DaNeBtFk

CIBC, Brokerages to Pay C$134 Million to Settle Probe of Commercial Paper
Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce, National Bank of Canada and brokerages agreed to pay a total of C$134 million ($126 million) in fines and penalties to settle regulators’ claims they improperly sold asset-backed commercial paper in Canada just before the market collapsed in 2007.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601127&sid=aO7yadzR9uz0

FBI Probes Reported Hacker Attack at Citigroup
http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/fbi-probes-reported-hacker-attack-at-citigroup/19290596/

Hack From Russia Led to ATM Looting in New York
Citibank officials noticed a spike in fraudulent withdrawals last year and after a couple of lucky breaks, investigators discovered it all
http://www.portfolio.com/views/blogs/daily-brief/2009/12/22/hack-from-russia-led-to-atm-looting-in-new-york

FBI Investigates $10 million Citigroup hack
http://www.financetech.com/news/wallstreet/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222002956

Macquarie nears deal on Sal. Oppenheim unit
http://www.smh.com.au/business/macquarie-nears-deal-on-sal-oppenheim-unit-20091222-law7.html

Robert Maxant Rejoins Deloitte as a Partner
NEW YORK, Dec. 21 /PRNewswire/ — Robert Maxant, an experienced leader in providing finance function, risk and regulatory advisory services to financial services institutions, has rejoined Deloitte as a partner.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Robert-Maxant-Rejoins-prnews-2849425460.html?x=0&.v=1

Dublin Court May Combine Cases Over HSBC’s Fiduciary Duty to Madoff Fund
An Irish judge said he may combine cases brought by investors that lost assets in a Dublin fund linked to Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme to determine HSBC Holdings Plc’s duties as the fund’s custodian.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601014&sid=ad9k2kTq_yeQ

Bank of America Merrill Lynch Offers 2010 Predictions
By Dan Seymour
Although Bank of America Merrill Lynch does not foresee municipals repeating this year’s performance in 2010, the bank’s strategists see a few prominent roles for municipals in their main investment themes for the year.
http://www.financial-planning.com/news/BofA-Merrill-2010-prediction-2665181-1.html

State Street to Buy Securities Business of Italian Bank
State Street said that it would buy the securities services business of the Italian banking group Intesa Sanpaolo for about $1.87 billion in cash.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/23/business/global/23security.html?ref=business

In Brit fit, Goldman sees Spain
Goldman Sachs is so angry over a steep bonus surcharge being levied in London that it is vowing to move more than 1,000 highly paid employees to Spain. Under new rules, Goldman would have to pay a 50-percent tax on any employee bonuses over..
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/in_brit_fit_goldman_sees_spain_1STAXV7K6fseow6fxNO7eL

Thomas Weisel to Deliver Sponsored Access in New Year
December 22, 2009 – Thomas Weisel Partners is ready to provide services to high-frequency trading shops and expects to offer filtered sponsored access to clients during the first quarter of 2010.
http://www.tradersmagazine.com/news/thomas-weisel-partners-sponsored-access-high-frequency-trading-104878-1.html

CIT Group CFO retires, 4 new directors named
CIT Group Inc. on Tuesday said its chief financial officer is retiring, and added it is closer to filling out its new board. The commercial lender, which emerged from bankruptcy protection on Dec. 10, said CFO Joseph M. Leone will retire April 30. A replacement has not yet been named.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2009/12/22/financial/f071215S86.DTL

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/2009/dig122209.htm

Ponzi Probe Ensnares Indiana Businessman
FBI Raids Two of Timothy Durham’s Companies in Inquiry Into Allegations; ‘Rise of the Super-Rich’
By DAVID KESMODEL
An Indiana businessman whose lavish lifestyle was featured on a television special about the super-rich is under investigation for running an alleged Ponzi scheme that sold supposedly safe, but high-yielding, notes to elderly investors and used the money to invest in other companies he controls.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703344704574610571204462690.html?mod=WSJ_hps_LEFTWhatsNews

Inter dealer brokers, traders are FINRA targets
WASHINGTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) – The U.S. brokerage watchdog expects to soon file enforcement actions against a number of inter-dealer brokerages or inter-dealer traders suspected of collusion, a person familiar with the probe told Reuters on Monday. The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, which supervises nearly 4,800 brokerage firms, has been investigating communications between the inter-dealer brokerages and brokers for months.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSN2125668820091221

Dark Pools, Derivatives and HFT Top Buy Side’s Regulatory Agenda
Buy-side traders oppose regulations that hinder high-frequency trading and reduce liquidity in dark pools, but they welcome heightened oversight of derivatives.
http://www.financetech.com/feed/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=222002715&cid=RSSfeed_FTN_All

Galleon Founder and Hedge Fund Manager Plead Not Guilty in Insider Case
By ZACHERY KOUWE
Raj Rajaratnam and Danielle Chiesi were charged with securities fraud and conspiracy in an extensive insider trading ring.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/business/22insider.html?ref=business

Orders obtained against SISS Business Systems Limited and its director
ASIC has obtained declaratory orders and a permanent injunction in the Federal Court of Australia in Melbourne against SISS Business Systems Limited (SISS) and one of its directors, Mr John Christopher Knorr.
http://www.asic.gov.au/ASIC/asic.nsf/byHeadline/09-267AD%20Orders%20obtained%20against%20SISS%20Business%20Systems%20Limited%20and%20its%20director?opendocument

Reporting of short position information – FIX Rules of Engagement
On 25 November 2009, the Federal Government issued Corporations Amendment Regulations 2009 (No 8) to supplement the short selling disclosure in Division 5B of Part 7.9 of the Corporations Act 2001.
http://www.asic.gov.au/ASIC/asic.nsf/byHeadline/Reporting-short-position?opendocument

ASIC offices will be closed between Christmas and New Year
ASIC offices will be closed from Christmas Day to 3 January 2010 (inclusive), re-opening on Monday 4 January 2010. Here’s how this may affect you:
http://www.asic.gov.au/ASIC/asic.nsf/byHeadline/Christmas%20closedown?opendocument

CESR Issues Advice On Mergers, Master-Feeder Structures And Cross-Border Notification Of And KID Methodologies For UCITS
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87609

FSA publishes English translation of “Annual Supervisory Policies for Major Banks for Program Year 2009″
http://www.fsa.go.jp/en/news/2009/20091222-2.html

FSA publishes English translation of “Annual Supervisory Policies for Regional Financial Institutions for Program Year 2009″
http://www.fsa.go.jp/en/news/2009/20091222-3.html

FSA publishes English translation of “Annual Supervisory Policies for Financial Instruments Business Operators, etc. for Program Year 2009″
http://www.fsa.go.jp/en/news/2009/20091222.html

FSA publishes English translation of Annual Supervisory Policies for Insurance Companies, etc. for Program Year 2009
http://www.fsa.go.jp/en/news/2009/20091222-4.html

Sixth AMF Annual Conference
http://www.amf-france.org/documents/general/9270_1.pdf

Consent Order on the application submitted by Express Securities Pvt. Ltd. in the matter of M/s. Roofit Industries Ltd
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2009/4032009.html

Order in respect of H.B. Securities Ltd. in the matter of Jindal Steel and Power Ltd.
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2009/4052009.html

Order in the matter of illegal trading – dealings by Shri Bhadresh Sanghvi, Sub-Broker of M/s. Anand Rathi Share & Stock Brokers Ltd.
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2009/4042009.html

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Goldman leverages up flagship fund as conditions improve
Goldman Sachs Asset Management has become one of the first fund managers to allow its prime broker to lend out more than the total asset value in one of its listed hedge funds, indicating a return of confidence to the sector.
http://www.efinancialnews.com/homepage/content/1056109885

Ex-Millennium’s Ee Plans to Start Macro Hedge Fund in Singapore
By Netty Ismail
Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) — Albert Ee, a former managing director of Millennium Management LLC’s Asian business, said he plans to set up a hedge fund in Singapore that will seek to profit from bets on broad economic trends.
http://bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=a3sNJjNyTm4c

US trader rakes in £2.5bn
Hedge fund manager David Tepper to be paid $2.5bn (£1.55bn) after betting global banks would recover in 2009.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/6861063/US-trader-rakes-in-2.5bn-as-bet-on-banks-pays-off.html

Ireland passes new legislation for hedge funds
http://www.menafn.com/qn_news_story_s.asp?StoryId=1093290262

December 2009 “Market’s Measure” – Preliminary Report – A Monthly Report From Dow Jones Indexes And STOXX Ltd. On The Performance Of U.S., European, Asia And Other Global Stock Market Indexes
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87610

Technology News

ABR Financial Selects Chi-Tech’s MarketPrizm Ultra Low Latency Trading Infrastructure Service
Chi-X Global Technology, LLC (“Chi-Tech”), the technology services unit of Chi-X Global Inc., today announced that its MarketPrizm infrastructure service has been selected by ABR Financial to power its high frequency and algorithmic trading applications.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87606

Dutch market maker selects Chi-Tech’s high-frequency trading technology
http://www.thetradenews.com/trading-execution/algorithmic-trading/4035

iPhone Game Developer Reports $1M in Sales — Per Month
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2009/12/iphone-game-developer-reports-1m-in-sales-per-month/

Media News

The PhD in financial journalism
Did you know that it’s possible to get a PhD in financial journalism? Lennie Fuller does — he’s a former Lehman executive who’s now thinking of doing exactly that at Stirling University. He asked me if I had any ideas about possible thesis topics, and I thought in my bloggy way that throwing the question open might be interesting. So what do you think the big open questions in or about financial journalism are?
http://blogs.reuters.com/felix-salmon/2009/12/22/the-phd-in-financial-journalism/

Gorkana US Alert: Tuesday 22nd December 2009
CBS MoneyWatch
Jack Otter has been named Executive Editor of CBS MoneyWatch. He will head day-to-day operations of the CBS owned personal finance site. Jack, who was previously the Deputy Editor of Rodale’s Best Life, can now be reached at jack.otter@cbs.com

Reuters Breakingviews
Reuters Breakingviews launched earlier this month following Thomson Reuters’ acquisition of Breakingviews, a leading provider of agenda-setting financial insight. The combined Reuters and Breakingviews commentary team provides concise, relevant and sophisticated commentary on all major economic and business news, including key developments in monetary and fiscal policy, mergers and acquisitions, capital markets, commodities and energy. Pierre Briançon is a Reuters Breakingviews’ Columnist based in Paris, with Jason Bush in Moscow, Fiona Maharg-Bravo in Madrid and John Foley and Wei Gu in Hong Kong.

GX USA
GX, an international poker, betting and lifestyle title amongst men ages 18 to 40 in Germany, Spain, China and the UK, will now be launching in the USA early 2010. GX USA is a monthly title that strives to bring together quality lifestyle content on travel, cars, sports, music and gadgets, as well as gaming content. Included are interviews and features on the industry’s top players, advice, tips & strategy, as well as a host of current news stories from the world of poker and betting. Stephen Price, Publishing Director of GX, can continue to be reached on +44 (0)20 7351 1818 and stephen@gamblingexclusive.com. Additional information is available at www.gamblingexclusive.com
http://www.gorkana.com/

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

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.cmegroup.com/tools-information/calendars/

Asia-Pacific News

Tokyo Bourse Will Appeal 10 Billion Yen Damages Award for Mistaken Order
The Tokyo Stock Exchange Inc. will appeal a Dec. 4 court ruling that requires the bourse to pay 10.7 billion yen ($117 million) in damages to Mizuho Securities Co. over a mistaken sell order.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601127&sid=a48dX5dz3k6Q

Liberal norms and lower margins may help SGX retain edge in futures trades
http://bit.ly/8rfVsI

Ex-HKMA Chief Yam Joins Think Tank Overseen by PBOC (Update2)
By Bloomberg News
Dec. 22 (Bloomberg) — Retired Hong Kong Monetary Authority chief Joseph Yam joined a think tank overseen by China’s central bank and said today the yuan should take a bigger role in the global monetary system.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601089&sid=ah5q7qZH7Sl4

Asia Hedge Funds Lead Pack This Year
Asian start-up hedge funds have returned an average 22 percent this year, beating global peers and boosting their chances of attracting investors in 2010, Bloomberg News reported.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/asia-hedge-ahead-of-the-pack-this-year/

Chinese fund’s form gives it edge in turf war
By Jamil Anderlini in Beijing
Only a year ago, Beijing pundits were betting on how long it would take for the management of China Investment Corp, the country’s sovereign wealth fund, to lose their jobs.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bb9f6e34-ee88-11de-944c-00144feab49a.html

Chinese are doing a sterling job of promoting currency
By Barry Eichengreen
CHINA is making a big push to encourage greater international use of its currency, the renminbi. It has an agreement with Brazil to facilitate use of the two countries’ currencies in bilateral trade transactions. It has signed renminbi swap agreements with Argentina, Belarus, Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea and Malaysia.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/news/Chinese-are-doing-a-sterling.5929734.jp

Shanghai Stock Exchange Governor Geng Liang : Further Drive Development Of Blue-chip Stock Market
With the total over RMB260 billion fund raised at the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) this year next only to that in 2007 in its 19-year-old history, the SSE, next year, will boost the development of blue-chip stock market to provide a more standard and varied platform for listing and operation of large and medium sized enterprises, said SSE Governor Geng Liang at the 8th China Corporate Governance Forum yesterday.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87600

8th China Corporate Governance Forum Kicks Off
The 8th China Corporate Governance Forum, hosted by the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) under the auspices of the State-owned Assets Supervision and Administration Commission (SASAC) of the State Council and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), was held in Shanghai on December 18 to celebrate the 19th anniversary of the SSE.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87604

Shanghai Stock Exchange President Zhang Yujun: Listed Companies Are Expected To Give Their Top Priority To Shareholders’ Interests
The basic goal of corporate governance is to protect the rights and interests of investors, particularly the small and medium investors, and the SSE expects all listed companies to give top priority to shareholders’ rights and interests in their daily operation, said President Zhang Yujun of the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) at the 8th China Corporate Governance Forum on December 18 while presiding over the session themed “corporate control market and industrial structure adjustment”.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87602

Chinese Withdraw Offer for Nevada Gold Concern
By ERIC LIPTON
Federal officials had raised “serious, significant and consequential national security” concerns about the purchase of Firstgold, a small Nevada mine.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/22/business/global/22invest.html?ref=business

Small banks rush to list on the bourse
VietNamNet Bridge – Previously, only large banks wanted to list their shares on the stock market, but now small banks are also joining the race. It is expected that some 10 banks will list on the bourse in the time to come.
http://english.vietnamnet.vn/biz/200912/Small-banks-rush-to-list-on-the-bourse-885643/

Frontier Markets

NSE: No Plans to Extend Trading Hours
By AMITHA RAJAN
MUMBAI — The National Stock Exchange of India is not planning on extending trading hours for index futures, the bourse’s managing director and chief executive, Ravi Narain, said Tuesday.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126147546673101355.html

NSE Ravi Narain: No Plans To Extend Market Trade Beyond 1000GMT
http://bit.ly/64yEnY

Scotiabank Becomes First Canadian Bank To Operate In The Dubai International Financial Centre
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) today announced that Scotiabank, one of North America’s leading financial institutions, has received a license from the Dubai Financial Services Authority (DFSA) to operate within the financial district.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87608

Scotia precious metals division to open branch in Dubai
ScotiaMocatta to operate in Dubai International Financial Centre
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?Id=51872&IdSection=149&cat=149

New Study Underscores Dubai’s Growing Stature As A Leading International Financial Centre – Dubai International Financial Centre Ranked Seventh
The ‘International Financial Centres Competitive Assessment Report’, a competitive study of 15 key global and regional financial centres, was released today by the Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC) in association with KPMG in the UAE.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87594

LIC, Central Bank to boost trade in interest futures
The interest rate futures (IRFs) trading in the country will get a boost in coming days, as Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and Central Bank of India have agreed to provide support to the exchange-traded product. Both these will ensure adequate liquidity on the National Stock Exchange (NSE)— the bourse where IRFs are traded.
http://www.business-standard.com/india/news/lic-central-bank-to-boost-trade-in-interest-futures/380271/

Miscellaneous News

Mets Affiliate Challenges Madoff Trustee’s Method for Determining Claims
An affiliate of New York Mets baseball team owner Sterling Equities Inc., which profited from Bernard Madoff’s fraud, asked a judge to reject the way victims’ claims are being set in the liquidation of the con man’s firm.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601014&sid=aBBxWknImdmU

Cyclone Closes Telfer Gold Mine
By ELISABETH BEHRMANN
SYDNEY– Cyclone Laurence has made landfall in Australia’s eastern Pilbara region Tuesday morning, forcing the closure of Newcrest Mining Ltd.’s Telfer gold mine, while major iron ore export terminal Port Hedland has reopened.
http://bit.ly/5h2Wyb

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

New exchange can be a game-changer, but will need good patents to thrive
The Intellectual Property Exchange International – or IPXI for short – has announced that Gerard Pannekoek has been appointed as its president and CEO. Previously, Pannekoek was behind the groundbreaking Chicago Climate Exchange, which describes itself as “North America’s only cap and trade system for all six greenhouse gases”.
http://bit.ly/4sjcJC

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NYSE Trading Surges to Record on Expiration, S&P 500 Changes
By Jeff Kearns and Elizabeth Stanton
Dec. 19 (Bloomberg) — New York Stock Exchange trading surged to a record 3.15 billion shares as derivatives expiration and changes to the Standard & Poor’s 500 Index lifted volume to more than double this year’s average.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a2YAbZ0RMc5Y

**** News from late Friday.  Always tough to get news out on a Friday near a holiday.

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Icap to pay $25 mln to settle SEC fraud charges
By Robert Daniel, MarketWatch
TEL AVIV (MarketWatch) — The U.S. subsidiary of the London inter-dealer broker Icap PLC settled fraud charges brought by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission by paying $25 million in penalties, the company and agency said.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/icap-pays-25-mln-to-settle-sec-charges-2009-12-20?reflink=MW_news_stmp

..”In a Friday statement, the SEC said that Icap brokers on its U.S. Treasury desks “displayed fictitious flash trades, also known as ‘bird’ trades, on Icap’s screens and disseminated false trade information into the marketplace [to] attract customer attention to its screens and encourage actual trading by these customers.”

**** I got a “bird” for you right here.

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Carbon Permit Prices Tumble After Copenhagen Accord Misses `Modest’ Goals
European and United Nations carbon prices fell the most since February after the Copenhagen climate accord didn’t set targets that would boost demand for permits.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=ajK.ezdOauO0

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FT Trading Room Video: Capital Requirements to hit trading volumes
http://bit.ly/AtdPY

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Is the ‘Empty Creditor’ Theory Itself Empty?
Critics of credit-default swaps like the “empty creditor” hypothesis, Breakingviews says. The theory is that buyers of credit insurance can profit by allowing — or even encouraging — companies to file for bankruptcy. It’s used as an argument for banning or severely restricting the $31 trillion market for credit-default swaps. In reality, the empty creditor hypothesis is probably half-empty itself, according to the publication.
http://bit.ly/5I9MX2

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SCENARIOS-What could the CFTC do on position limits?
WASHINGTON, Dec 18 (Reuters) – The U.S. regulator of futures markets is expected to announce soon measures clamping down on excessive speculation in energy trading by restricting the investment positions of big players.
http://bit.ly/7Qk6zP

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My Half-Baked Bubble
By JOSHUAH BEARMAN
Every day at lunchtime the cafeteria turned into an informal marketplace. My classmates laid out their wares on one of the big tables, displaying a panoply of forbidden processed delights. While I was busy trying to open my indestructible sardine can with a sharp rock, a brisk trading economy was under way.
http://bit.ly/4uwd6B

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Of financial bubbles and risk management
While the world was still recovering from the US financial crisis, the financial markets were recently rattled by Dubai’s [ Images ] debt crisis. Let’s understand what such events of financial enormity have to teach.
http://bit.ly/8BKGTQ

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Investors Hope the ’10s Beat the ’00s
Since End of 1999, U.S. Stocks’ Performance Has Been the All-Time Clunker; Even 1930s Beat It
By TOM LAURICELLA
The U.S. stock market is wrapping up what is likely to be its worst decade ever. In nearly 200 years of recorded stock-market history, no calendar decade has seen such a dismal performance as the 2000s. Investors would have been better off investing in pretty much anything else, from bonds to gold or even just stuffing money under a mattress. Since the end of 1999, stocks traded on the New York Stock Exchange have lost an average of 0.5% a year thanks to the twin bear markets this decade.
http://bit.ly/6a8cKZ

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A Very Geithner Christmas
Michael Maiello
The days leading up to Christmas 2009 were fraught with anxiety and anticipation for me, and the days when I had felt snug and secure in my position as the CEO of Santagroup seemed far in the past. But I knew I only had to jump through a few more hoops to get out from under the thumb of the U.S. government. I remembered what it was like to be a child again, anticipating the appearance of presents under the Christmas tree.
http://bit.ly/64DV5i

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Light Reform Keeps Credit Derivatives, Rating Agencies in Shadows
By Heather Landy, American Banker
Corporate greed, moral hazard, lax oversight and foolhardy underwriting all contributed to the crisis in finance. Another factor, less useful for sloganeers but no less insidious, was the simple mispricing of risk.
http://bit.ly/4pKP0x

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THE OPTIONS CLEARING CORPORATION ANNOUNCES THREE OFFICER PROMOTIONS
CHICAGO (December 21, 2009) – In a year when the importance of effective risk management and efficient operations was unequivocal, The Options Clearing Corporation (OCC) today announced the promotions of three officers in these critical areas.
http://bit.ly/GSkwI

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Patsystems Announces Connectivity to EDX London
London: 21 December 2009 – Patsystems is pleased to announce that it now offers connectivity to the equity derivatives exchange, EDX London. Patsystems’ new exchange gateway to EDX London is fully compliant with SOLA, TMX Group’s technology platform on which EDX London started trading on the 7th December 2009.
http://bit.ly/2R3HK0

Patsystems connects to EDX London
December 21st, 2009 – Patsystems announces connectivity to EDX London
http://bit.ly/6tW76y

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Year’s best business books to make sense of financial crisis
http://bit.ly/82CcgN

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London Banker Exodus to Geneva Runs Into Housing Shortage, 44% Income Tax
Geneva, touted as a haven for London bankers facing heavier U.K. taxes, may lure fewer than predicted thanks to a housing shortage, crowded schools and a 44 percent income-tax rate.
http://bit.ly/5d6Ohq

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MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People

Kevin Kroeger; James B. Lange; Jim Pappas; Jeff Waters; Stanley A. Dash; Kevin Baldwin; Raymond L. D’Arcy; John King; Peter Randall; Paula A. Tosini

Companies, Organizations and Groups

NYSE Arca Europe; Eldorado Trading; Jaypee International Inc.; London Stock Exchange Group plc; Turquoise; Macquarie Futures USA Inc.; Istanbul Stock Exchange; Oslo Børs; Equiduct Systems Ltd.; Interactive Data; BATS Global Markets; Upcoming Events

Miscellaneous

Job Postings

Lead Stories

LSE buys Turquoise share trading platform
By Jeremy Grant
The London Stock Exchange has never to date offered trading in shares across Europe. But that is set to change as exchanges and smaller trading platforms fight for survival in a region beset with low trading volumes and stiff competition.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/3234208e-ed72-11de-ba12-00144feab49a,s01=1.html

LSE poised to acquire Turquoise
By Jeremy Grant
The London Stock Exchange has never to date offered trading in shares across Europe. But that is set to change as exchanges and smaller trading platforms fight for survival in a region beset with low trading volumes and stiff competition.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bab8632c-edcf-11de-ba12-00144feab49a.html

*** Here you get the before and after versions of Jeremy Grant’s stories.

LSE Will Own 60% of Turquoise in Merger With Baikal (Update2)
By Nandini Sukumar
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) — London Stock Exchange Group Plc agreed to merge its Baikal dark pool unit with Turquoise in a deal that will give LSE 60 percent of the new pan-European trading venture.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=a5GhG_3WCQBI

LSE takes 60 percent stake in Turquoise platform
LONDON (Reuters) – London Stock Exchange has agreed a deal to take a 60 percent stake in loss-making trading platform rival Turquoise and will merge it with its own “dark pool” platform, Baikal, to create a new pan-Europe venture.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091221/bs_nm/us_lse_turquoise

London Stock Exchange acquires Turquoise, announces merger with Baikal London Stock Exchange acquires Turquoise, announces merger with Baikal
December 21st, 2009 – London Stock Exchange Group and global investment banks to partner in pan-European trading venture
http://www.automatedtrader.net/headlines/27446/london-stock-exchange-acquires-turquoise–announces-merger-with-baikal

LSE to Take Majority Stake in Turquoise
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704107604574609300573762632.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

London Stock Exchange seals Turquoise deal
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/markets/6855729/London-Stock-Exchange-seals-Turquoise-deal.html

Dollar Strength Seen in Stocks 1st Since Lehman Died (Update2)
By Matthew Brown and Ye Xie
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) — The dollar is rallying in tandem with stocks and commodities for the first time since before Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.’s bankruptcy last year sparked the financial crisis, signaling the worst may be over for the greenback.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20603037&sid=aNMrW2ZZvjHA

Timothy Geithner
By Daniel Gross
The Treasury secretary was largely responsible for directing the federal government’s response to the financial crisis. He’s still got his work cut out for him.
http://www.newsweek.com/id/227740?from=rss

Dodd tacks new course on Senate bank bill
Seeks to bring GOP on board
http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2009/12/21/gop_critics_in_senate_shaping_financial_overhaul_bill/

Lawmakers Weigh A Wall Street Tax
By JOHN D. MCKINNON
WASHINGTON—Lawmakers are considering a financial-transactions tax that takes aim at Wall Street to help Main Street. But the tax could wind up striking others, too, including pension funds, commodity-dependent businesses, and even ordinary investors.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB20001424052748704247504574604053568517692.html

Murphy lauded for work on derivative bill
By MAURY THOMPSON
The National Association of Manufacturers praised U.S. Rep. Scott Murphy, D-Glens Falls, for an amendment he pushed through that exempts small businesses and manufacturers that trade in derivatives, as a means to hedge risk, from new regulatory oversight that would apply to large banks that speculate in the risky financial instruments.
http://www.poststar.com/business/local/article_90584a9e-ed01-11de-8184-001cc4c03286.html

Big four accountants face call for fees inquiry
Nick Mathiason
Britain’s top accountancy firms face calls for an Office of Fair Trading investigation after it emerged that they earn hundreds of millions of pounds in services from the firms they audit.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/dec/20/british-audit-firms-conflict-of-interest

Environmental Trading News

Ricard Sandor on Nightly Business Report – PBS
http://bit.ly/8Q7fdc

U.N. climate talks end with bare minimum agreement
U.N. climate talks ended with a bare-minimum agreement on Saturday when delegates “noted” an accord struck by the United States, China and other emerging powers that falls far short of the conference’s original goals.
http://www.enn.com/pollution/article/40841

Leaders need to re-engage the public
By Clive Cookson
The talk in and around Copenhagen for the past two weeks has inevitably revolved around national governments: what countries can do to cap emissions, promote carbon trading, finance adaptation and mitigation in the developing world, and so on.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/8199abc0-ec3d-11de-8070-00144feab49a.html

PwC: London v New York in carbon trading
A PricewaterhouseCoopers partner has warned that New York could challenge the UK for its title as carbon trading capital.
http://www.accountancyage.com/accountancyage/news/2255331/pwc-london-v-york-carbon

London faces carbon trading challenge from New York
The Copenhagen agreement on climate change will pave the way for New York and Chicago to overtake London as the global centre of carbon trading, according to PricewaterhouseCoopers.
http://bit.ly/7pv0xc

Critics wonder if emissions trading will work to actually reduce GHGs
http://www.fresnobee.com/green/story/1754802.html

Carbon prices drop sharply after Copenhagen
Disappointment at outcome of conference
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/64bab3da-ee24-11de-a274-00144feab49a.html

Dutch have a simple answer to energy crisis — working together
While tens of thousands of politicians and activists gathered hopefully in Copenhagen last Friday, a minor success was scored by eight men in wellingtons, standing on a barge beside the Afsluitdijk — the dyke that stops the North Sea from flooding the Netherlands.
http://www.enn.com/energy/article/40845

For more environmental trading news, subscribe to the Environmental Markets version of the John Lothian Newsletter edited by Jim Kharouf.
Visit http://www.jlnenvironmental.com to subscribe.

Exchange & ECN News

CME Group Fines MF Global $495,000 Over Rogue Wheat Trades
By Jacob Bunge, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
CHICAGO -(Dow Jones)- CME Group Inc. (CME) fined brokerage firm MF Global Ltd. (MF) $495,000 related to rogue wheat futures trading that roiled the futures broker nearly two years ago.
http://bit.ly/57SiYU

Options Brokerages Upbeat As Market Evolution Looms In 2010
By Jacob Bunge
CHICAGO (Dow Jones)–U.S. options brokerage firms are bullish on a host of changes coming to the market in 2010, amid growing volume that has helped the sector sidestep a broader slowdown in derivatives trading. The Chicago Board Options Exchange and BATS Global Markets are set to launch new markets next year, joining seven established platforms, while the expansion of trading in one-cent increments leads regulatory developments that executives view as conducive to retail trading.
http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091221-709003.html

BATS Europe Announces New Pricing For 2010
BATS Europe, an innovative, wholly-owned subsidiary of BATS Global Markets, today announced a new pan-European fee schedule for trading equities, ETFs and ETCs on its integrated book, effective 4th January 2010.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87581

Regulation of derivatives trading will be boon for Montreal Exchange
Miquelon says the idea now is to create an open and transparent market.
By PETER HADEKEL, Freelance
Reform of the financial system is going to create some big new opportunities for the Montreal Exchange, argues its president and chief executive officer, Alain Miquelon.
http://bit.ly/5p7PRo

[CBOE] Prearranged Trades
http://www.cboe.org/publish/RegCir/RG09-146.pdf

Banks, Brokers & Dark Pools

Banks earned $5.7B in 3Q trading
By MARCY GORDON
WASHINGTON — U.S. banks earned $5.7 billion trading derivatives and cash investments in the third quarter, as the level of credit risk continued to decline in the global market, a government report released Friday shows.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ju66OABjQrBVZVWFtIUfgxL4s2ygD9CLUP4G0

Hair of the dog: Derivatives fueling bank paydays
Partly to blame for economic crisis, financial tool now fuels bank payday
BY MARCY GORDON
WASHINGTON — U.S. banks earned $5.7 billion trading derivatives and cash investments in the third quarter, as the level of credit risk continued to decline in the global market, a government report released Friday shows.
http://www.suntimes.com/news/nation/1948199,CST-NWS-banks19.article

Goldman Warns London Over Taxes
They’re not going to take it sitting down. Goldman Sachs told the British Treasury that it would move up to 20 percent of its London staff to Spain if the government does not relent on plans for a windfall tax on bonuses, The Independent writes.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/goldman-warns-london-over-taxes/

Bank of America’s Potential Merrill Conflict
By Dan Freed
NEW YORK (TheStreet) — Bank of America’s (BAC Quote) acquisition of Merrill Lynch last year has drawn plenty of controversy already, but the brouhaha that cost CEO Ken Lewis his job may just be a warm up, according to a seasoned observer of the money management industry.
http://www.thestreet.com/story/10650209/1/bank-of-americas-potential-merrill-conflict.html?puc=_tscrss

UBS, Credit Suisse Said to Face Tougher Rules on Liquid Assets
By Elena Logutenkova
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) — UBS AG and Credit Suisse Group AG may have to almost triple the amount of cash they hold in relation to customer deposits under new proposals from Swiss regulators, two people familiar with the matter said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601206&sid=agVJsoRO72oE

Taxpayers Help Goldman Reach Height of Profit in New Skyscraper
By Christine Harper
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) — In the first six months of 2010, about 6,000 employees of Goldman Sachs Group Inc. will take a break from their spreadsheets and move across the southern tip of Manhattan to a new 43-story, steel-and-glass skyscraper.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601015&sid=aaLwI2SKYQJg

Citigroup ‘Lottery Ticket’ Warrants May Pay U.S. Lowest Return
By Peter Eichenbaum
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) — Warrants the U.S. holds in Citigroup Inc., once the most valuable bank in the nation, may provide the lowest return for taxpayers who stepped in with $45 billion to save the company when no one else would.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=a4ngHgXKAzsc

Citigroup: Not Currently Seeking Buyers For EMI; Not In Talks
http://bit.ly/8dgcn3

Citigroup to suspend foreclosures and evictions
PASCO COUNTY (Bay News 9) — Citigroup has announced it is suspending foreclosures and evictions for 30 days for about 4,000 borrowers.
http://www.baynews9.com/

Banks Shuffle Prime Brokerage as Hedging Rebounds
In the latest prime-brokerage appointments at big-name banks, Patrick Mortimer, who resigned in March as Morgan Stanley’s U.S. prime-brokerage head, has been reportedly been named senior relationship manager at UBS’s prime-brokerage unit, while Morgan Stanley has reportedly tapped Chris Duffy to head up its prime brokerage business in Japan.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/banks-shuffle-prime-brokerage-as-hedge-funds-rebound/

Morgan Stanley’s New CEO Is a Switch
By AARON LUCCHETTI
Before his first day at Morgan Stanley in 2006, James Gorman went to Las Vegas to play poker. He watched Texas hold ‘em for hours, without ordering a drink. Once he started playing, he won hundreds of dollars, says a person who was there.
http://online.wsj.com/

French to send data back to Switzerland
AIX-EN-PROVENCE, France (AP) — France will send Swiss authorities a list of bank accounts that HSBC’s Swiss private banking unit says was stolen by a former employee, the prosecutor’s office in Aix-en-Provence said Monday.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/French-to-send-data-back-to-apf-4111776643.html?x=0&.v=1

Russia transfers $1 Bln worth gold to Central Bank
By Nataliya Vasilyeva
MOSCOW (AP) — Russia’s Finance Ministry has sold 30 metric tons of gold to the country’s Central Bank for $1 billion, an official said Monday, saying the cash will be use to help ease the crisis in the country’s budget.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Russia-transfers-1-Bln-worth-apf-2703694638.html?x=0&.v=2

E*Trade Names Druskin Interim CEO After Failing to Find Layton Successor
E*Trade Financial Corp. named Robert Druskin as chairman and interim chief executive officer after failing to find a permanent replacement on time for Donald Layton, who helped save the online brokerage from collapse.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=a0vLrDEYC_YM

ETF Securities not raising fees on Swiss Gold and Silver ETFs following speculation
* ETF Securities’ SGOL and SIVR are physically-backed products giving direct exposure into the underlying precious metals. This is in contrast to other US products that offer synthetic exposure(6) into underlying precious metals using derivative instruments.
* SGOL and SIVR continue to be the lowest-priced ETFs in the US market offering exposures into physically-backed gold and silver.
* ETFS Physical Swiss Gold Shares (SGOL) will maintain an expense ratio of 0.39%.
* ETFS Silver Trust (SIVR) will maintain the expense ratio of 0.30%
http://www.etfsecurities.com

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/2009/dig122109.htm

Rajaratnam pleads innocent in Galleon case
By Edith Honan
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Galleon hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam and co-defendant Danielle Chiesi pleaded innocent on Monday to charges of securities fraud in what U.S. prosecutors describe as the biggest hedge fund insider trading case ever.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091221/bs_nm/us_galleon_1

Hot Seat for SEC Chief Schapiro Won’t Cool Off: Susan Antilla
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=azRxaKTa4qRA

FSA Fined Companies, Individuals Record $56 Million in 2009, Law Firm Says
Britain’s financial regulator levied a record 34.8 million pounds ($56.1 million) of fines in 2009 on companies and people who breached its rules.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601127&sid=akbAG1a0edK8

$10m fine reveals depth of MF Global’s failure
http://www.risk.net/risk-magazine/news/1566673/usd10m-fine-reveals-depth-mf-global-failure

Icap arm in $25m deal over SEC claims
By Joanna Chung in New York and Jim Pickard in London
The US subsidiary of Icap, the UK broker founded and run by Michael Spencer, the Conservative party treasurer, has agreed to pay $25m (£15.5m) to settle allegations by the Securities and Exchange Commission in New York.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/408100c0-ec3d-11de-8070-00144feab49a.html

Former Newcastle director convicted
Mr Hugh Charles Gordon, the former head of Newcastle investment company, Whet Investments Ltd, has been convicted in the Sydney District Court on four charges laid by ASIC.
http://www.asic.gov.au

CESR Publishes An Update On The Assessment Of The Proposals For MiFID Pre-Trade Transparency Waivers
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87583

ASIC seeks feedback on disclosure requirements for non-standard margin lending facilities
ASIC has today released a Consultation Paper designed to help retail investors better understand the risks involved with non-standard margin lending facilities.
http://www.asic.gov.au/

ASIC releases new best practice proposals for the handling of confidential information and conduct of market soundings
ASIC today released proposed best practice guidelines to help improve market practices relating to the handling of confidential information by listed entities. The guidelines are an important part of ASIC’s work to promote confidence in Australia’s capital markets.
http://www.asic.gov.au

AMF Financial Regulation Newsletter – 4th Quarter 2009
http://www.amf-france.org/Default.asp?lang=en

AMF approves the “Provisions” section of the AFG Code of Good Practice and extends them to the entire industry
http://www.amf-france.org/documents/general/9266_1.pdf

AMF updates its guide to preparing registration documents and publishes a Q&A
http://www.amf-france.org/documents/general/9264_1.pdf

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

How Fund Boss Made $7 Billion
David Tepper’s hedge-fund firm has racked up about $7 billion of profit so far this year. Behind the wins: a bet that the U.S. would avoid another Great Depression.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126135805328299533.html?mod=WSJ_hps_LEFTWhatsNews

Tepper’s Appaloosa hedge fund made $7 bln this year – WSJ
NEW YORK, Dec 20 (Reuters) – Hedge fund firm Appaloosa Management, run by David Tepper, has made about $7 billion of profit so far this year, the Wall Street Journal reported on Sunday, citing people familiar with the situation.
http://www.iii.co.uk/news/?type=afxnews&articleid=7678827&subject=general&action=article

Hedge Funds Distance Themselves from Stevie Cohen as Cohen’s Ex-Wife Alleges Insider Trading
Prominent hedge funds, including Blue Ridge Capital, Greenlight Capital, Third Point Management Company, Glenview Capital Management, and Maverick Capital,..
http://www.hedgetracker.com/

Funds still favour alternatives, bonds slip
British fund managers continued to build positions in alternative investments as commodities remain in favour though some have started to express concerns about overvaluation, according to a Reuters poll.
http://uk.news.yahoo.com/22/20091221/tbs-uk-funds-poll-britain-4210405.html

Hedge bit hitter goes for liquid launch
By Suchita Nayar
Hedge fund management heavyweight DE Shaw is preparing to launch a new fund that will be more liquid and transparent than its widely followed flagship macro-oriented fund.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/bfc19c24-ed90-11de-ba12-00144feab49a.html

Stalking stocks pays off for hedge fund
BY DAVID ROEDER Sun-Times Columnist
Chicago’s Kovitz Investment Group runs a hedge fund in which the managers don’t merely buy stocks. They stalk them.
http://www.suntimes.com/business/1948250,CST-FIN-curious20.article

Record year for top five crude traders
Estimated total earnings of $4bn
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/67f02a72-ed8d-11de-ba12-00144feab49a.html

Banks link up to enter ETF market
A consortium of banks will today announce they are entering Europe’s increasingly crowded market for exchange traded funds as demand for these low-cost, passive investment products continues to balloon.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ce6d62ec-ecc5-11de-8070-00144feab49a.html

Nathan Vardi On Financial Services
The hedge fund industry will be stronger than ever. And muni bonds will be tested as never before.
http://www.forbes.com/

New Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) on SIX Swiss Exchange
http://www.six-swiss-exchange.com/media_releases/online/media_release_200912210729_en.pdf

SunGard Releases Latest Version of VPM Portfolio Accounting Solution for Hedge Funds
SunGard has released a new version of its VPM portfolio accounting solution for hedge funds. SunGard’s VPM version 9.0 provides hedge funds with an enterprise-level portfolio accounting application that is built on a service-oriented architecture for plug-and-play integration with a firm’s existing applications and scalability to address future business needs. It also provides a new user interface focused on increasing operational efficiency, simplifying workflows and providing intuitive access.
http://www.sungard.com/pressreleases/2009/vpm122109.aspx

Technology News

Interactive Data provides real-time market data from NASDAQ Dubai, via XData
NASDAQ Dubai has announced that it will be supplying real-time market data to Interactive Data Corporation (NYSE:IDC), the provider of financial market data, analytics and related solutions, through a new agreement with XData, a market data solutions provider for the Middle East and Africa (MEA) region. XData will provide Interactive Data with listed equities, derivatives and structured products data from NASDAQ Dubai, the international stock exchange serving the Middle East. The data will be available via
http://www.automatedtrader.net/news/data-news/27457/interactive-data-provides-real_time-market-data-from-nasdaq-dubai–via-xdata

Deutsche Börse Systems utilizes Corvil to provide latency transparency
December 21st, 2009 – First Exchange to provide latency distribution statistics and member latency ranking
http://www.automatedtrader.net/headlines/27443/deutsche-brse-systems-utilizes-corvil-to-provide-latency-transparency

Deutsche Börse to use Corvil latency ranking capabilities
Deutsche Börse Systems, the IT subsidiary of Deutsche Börse, has signed up to use a latency management and reporting service from Corvil, a supplier of electronic trading latency monitoring tools.
http://www.thetradenews.com/trading-venues/exchanges/4034

Alpari (Us): Alpari Group Launches Institutional Trading Platform Alpari Direct Pro Powered By Currenex Technology
http://news.yahoo.com/s/prweb/20091221/bs_prweb/prweb3367194_1

Media News

Twitter Is Said to Be Profitable After Gaining $25 Million in Search Deals
Twitter Inc. will make about $25 million from Internet-search deals with Google Inc. and Microsoft Corp. announced in October, enough to push the site into profitability, people familiar with the matter said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=a1jwVtGQmErk

Content-Search Deals Make Twitter Profitable
Data-mining deals signed in October will bring in $25 million in exchange for rendering Twitter’s tweets searchable
http://www.businessweek.com/technology/content/dec2009/tc20091220_549879.htm

Gorkana US Alert: Monday 21st December 2009
The Wall Street Journal
Rebecca Blumenstein has been appointed Deputy Managing Editor, International, for The Wall Street Journal. She begins her new position January 11. Rebecca will directly oversee the WSJ’s global network of bureaus and correspondents and will also take on the leadership of the financial coverage produced by the Journal’s Money & Investing team. Rebecca will report to Robert Thomson, Editor-in-Chief of Dow Jones & Company and Managing Editor of The Wall Street Journal. Rebecca has held her current role as Managing Editor of WSJ.com since June 2009. Previously, she served as International News Editor since December 2008. Prior to that, Rebecca was the Journal’s China Bureau Chief in addition to serving as Bureau Chief and Deputy Bureau Chief for the technology group in New York. She can now be reached on +1 (212) 416 3058 and rebecca.blumenstein@wsj.com

The Wall Street Journal
Kevin Delaney has been named Managing Editor of WSJ.com. Kevin, who begins his new position January 11, will be responsible for overseeing the editorial operations of the website. He will report to Alan Murray, Deputy Managing Editor and Executive Editor, Online, for The Wall Street Journal. Kevin, who was most recently Senior Deputy Managing Editor of WSJ.com, can now be reached on +1 (212) 416 2336 and kevin.delaney@wsj.com

Dow Jones Investment Banker
Edward Tan is joining Dow Jones Investment Banker as a Senior Columnist. He was previously at Moody’s Investors Service where he served as a Senior Analyst and Vice President of the energy and utilities team for eight years. Prior to Moody’s, he was a Managing Director at Bank of America. Ed, who will be based in the New York newsroom, will focus on energy, natural resources and industrials. He can now be reached on +1 (212) 416 2104 and ed.tan@dowjones.com
http://www.gorkana.com/

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

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.cmegroup.com/tools-information/calendars/

Asia-Pacific News

China Considers Extra $200 Billion for Sovereign Wealth Fund, FT Reports
China Investment Corp. may receive a capital injection of up to $200 billion from the country’s foreign-exchange reserves, the Financial Times reported, citing government officials and people familiar with the fund.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601014&sid=aBIwnf68.R8o

Chinese fund to receive new capital
CIC expected to receive around $200bn
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1e85473e-edae-11de-ba12-00144feab49a.html

China Minsheng to issue new H-shares
China Minsheng Banking announced Saturday that it would issue an additional 117.57 million H shares to institutional investors in order to raise confidence and stabilize its shares after its trading prices fell following the company’s initial public offering (IPO) on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange last month.
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90778/90859/6847448.html

Asia adopts new CDS coupon conventions
http://www.creditflux.com/Trading/2009-12-21/Asia-adopts-new-CDS-coupon-conventions/

New CDS system to help volumes,liquidity in Asia-ISDA
By Umesh Desai
HONG KONG, Dec 21 (Reuters) – Credit default swaps in Asia will now follow a standardised trading format designed to facilitate centralised clearing, improve transparency and in the long-run raise transaction volumes, a trade body said on Monday.
http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINTOE5BK09420091221

HKEx Publishes Market Statistics In Response To Media Requests
In response to requests from some news organisations which are preparing their year-end reviews, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) published today (Monday) a set of market statistics for 2009 (up to 15 December) on its website.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87582

HKEx Aims To Revise Market Making Obligations In Its Stock Options Market
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87584

Tokyo Commodity Exchange: Margin For January 2010
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87586

Frontier Markets

Mumbai to wake earlier, while Bharti Airtel rings up Warid
Commentary: Brokers argue over market hours, while watching for Bharti deal
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/mumbai-brokers-prepare-to-awaken-earlier-2009-12-20?reflink=MW_news_stmp

Guide To Issuing Sukuk From The DIFC Is Published
The Dubai International Financial Centre Authority today announced the release of the “DIFC Sukuk Guide” – a comprehensive introduction to various sukuk structures, as well as legal and regulatory information on issuing sukuk from the DIFC and listing sukuk on NASDAQ Dubai.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87585

Indian millers seek curbs on oilseed futures
MUMBAI, Dec 21 (Reuters) – India’s Solvent Extractors Association (SEA) has sought curbs on futures trade in oilseeds saying higher prices of the commodity has squeezed crushing margins of millers, it said in a statement on Monday.
http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINSGE5BK0BB20091221

BSE cuts transaction charges for its equity derivatives segment
http://www.moneylife.in/article/8/2884.html

Dubai World to meet lenders to discuss repayment plans
Dubai World officials will tomorrow meet representatives of up to 100 banks, including a handful from Britain who were among its biggest lenders, to begin the process of restructuring the debt laden conglomerate.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2009/dec/20/dubai-world-meets-lenders

Dubai World meets creditors, offers no proposal
By Rachna Uppal and Nicolas Parasie
DUBAI (Reuters) – State-owned Dubai World (DBWLD.UL) did not ask creditors for a standstill on its $22 billion debt at a meeting on Monday, adding to uncertainty for investors who have been in the dark for weeks and hurting local bank shares.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091221/bs_nm/us_dubai_2

Dubai disappoints creditors with tepid progress
DUBAI — Dubai World disappointed creditors on Monday by making little progress on securing standstill on US$22-billion of debt, as a key creditor meeting turned out to be a tame affair with less than half the expected attendees showing up.
http://www.financialpost.com/story.html?id=2366566

Currency futures trading sees nine-fold jump in turnover
http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2009/12/21/stories/2009122152840100.htm

Kenya May Have Currency Futures Exchange Next Year (Upate1)
By Eric Ombok
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) — The Global Board of Trade Ltd., a company that operates multiasset exchanges, plans to set up a currency futures market in the Kenyan capital Nairobi next year.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601116&sid=ahsuDW3PyFSA

Dubai Gold Securities: Gold Investments Continue To Shine Despite New Price Highs
The outlook for gold investment remains positive and will continue to be underpinned by inflation, economic uncertainty and investors’ search for diversification, Rozanna Wozniak, Investment Research Manager at the World Gold Council stated in a webinar on Gold Demand Trends.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87569

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

CBOE CHAIRMAN AND CEO WILLIAM BRODSKY RECEIVES INDEXING LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD AT SUPER BOWL OF INDEXING CONFERENCE
CHICAGO, December 17, 2009 – William J. Brodsky, Chairman and CEO of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE), has received the William F. Sharpe Indexing Lifetime Achievement Award for his career-long support of index products as risk-management tools. The award was presented earlier this month at the Super Bowl of Indexing Conference in Phoenix, Arizona.
http://bit.ly/7To6rn

**** Second CBOE Executive receives a Lifetime Achievement Award in the same month (and lifetime).

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CIBC Miracle Day raises $3.5 million for kids’ charities
Fees and commissions go to support children in need
http://bit.ly/8wyV9A

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High frequency trading lacks transparency
From US Senator Edward E. Kaufman.
Sir, It is odd to me how anyone can assure the readers of the FT that high frequency trading is “natural” and produces only benefits for all investors (“High-frequency trading is a natural part of market evolution”, Burton Malkiel and Gus Sauter, Insight, December 15), when at the same time the Securities and Exchange Commission has admitted that it currently has no transparency into high frequency practices.  Indeed, SEC chairman Mary Schapiro wrote to me in a December 3 letter that the Commission will soon propose a rule to “implement the Commission’s ‘large trader’ reporting authority, so the Commission has better baseline information about high frequency traders and their trading activity”.
http://bit.ly/4x7QkK

***** Hmmm.  This is one of those things where practice, law and language confuse things.  Normally, large trader refers to entities holding large positions, either stock or futures.  It can also mean participation level, so “large trader” could mean “active participant” or something of that sort.  Many high frequency traders are day traders who are flat by the end of the day.  It is all about speed, not about holding risk overnight.

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Former Chi-X chief moves to Equiduct 
Peter Randall, former chief executive of Chi-X, the alternative trading platform, was on Friday appointed as the new head of Equiduct, a rival “multilateral trading facility” , or MTF, majority owned by US-based Citadel Securities and Börse Berlin.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/942b82ba-ebc3-11de-930c-00144feab49a,s01=1.html 

Citadel Picks Trading Pioneer Randall to Run European Platform
By Nandini Sukumar
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) — Citadel Investment Group LLC named Peter Randall, who brought so-called alternative trading systems to Europe in 2007, as the chief executive officer of Equiduct Systems Ltd. to spur growth at the eight-month-old business.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aoSQTJPYQpdk

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Industry report casts doubt on CDS link to bankruptcy process
By Jennifer Hughes, Senior Markets Correspondent
The use of credit default swaps is not systematically altering the bankruptcy process, according to a study commissioned by an industry group. The report examined concerns about the so-called “empty creditor theory” which posits that creditors who have hedged their economic exposure to a company collapse are changing the nature of bankruptcies.
http://bit.ly/4GprTo

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The Case for Commodities
By Lewis Braham
Oil, gold, corn, wheat — perhaps the most attractive thing about commodities is they seem so concrete. Investors know that a barrel of oil may be worth more or less at the end of the day, but it will never disappear. In an age when major financial institutions can go bust overnight, that holds a lot of appeal.
http://bit.ly/8ZCNW0

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Secrets strengthen case for CDS exchange
By Gillian Tett
Until recently, not many western politicians – let alone those in Greece – knew much about sovereign credit default swaps. Even fewer cared. But I suspect that is about to change. This year the CDS spreads on sovereign debt have swung sharply, as investors have turned to these products to hedge themselves against the danger of a government default (or quasi default). In the case of Greece, for example, the spread is currently about 240 basis points, compared with 5bp three years ago.
http://bit.ly/5JF72I

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Harvard’s Interest-Rate `Swaps’ So Toxic Even Summers Won’t Explain Them 
Anne Phillips Ogilby, a bond attorney at one of Boston’s oldest law firms, on Oct. 31 last year relayed an urgent message from Harvard University, her client and alma mater, to the head of a Massachusetts state agency that sells bonds. The oldest and richest academic institution in America needed help getting a loan right away.
http://bit.ly/6h4fvS

**** This is an excellent story.  It spells out a lot of the risks that Harvard took on.  It tells the story about putting a large trade on, being wrong, and having to come up with the margin payments in order to maintain the losing position.

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The Myth of the ‘Typical’ Investor
Who is Mrs. Cohen and should Israelis care where she puts her money?
http://bit.ly/6bcxpz

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For suicidal Japanese, help is finally at hand
KURIHARA, Japan – Four years ago, suicides in this northern city were running at nearly double the national rate, and as the global financial meltdown hit Japan, they might have been expected to go even higher.
http://bit.ly/4Ka2mP

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RBS Christmas Party Cash Buys `Two Pints of Beer and a Packet of Crisps’ 
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, recipient of the world’s biggest banking bailout, is contributing 10 pounds ($16) a head toward employee Christmas parties this year, enough to buy two pints of lager and a packet of potato chips.
http://bit.ly/6BIjFp

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MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People 

George Ruhana; R. Jason Weller; William J. Brodsky; Johann Kaemingk; Bob Kirkland; Bill Disomma; Ben Bernanke; Ann Saphir

Companies, Organizations and Groups

OptionsHouse, LLC; RTS Realtime Systems Group; Optiver; Chi-X Global Inc.; Chi-X Europe Limited; Interactive Data; Jump Trading; Chi-X Global Technology; Interactive Data Corporation; 7ticks; Options News Network; PEAK6 Investments, L.P.; LCH. Clearnet Group Ltd.; ICAP; Spot Trading

Miscellaneous

Gold

Lead Stories

BATS Exchange to launch IPO service
Challenge to rivals NYSE and Nasdaq
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/539e555a-eb6a-11de-bc99-00144feab49a.html

BATS To Compete with NYSE and Nasdaq for Listings
http://www.financetech.com/news/wallstreet/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=1K4GZI5AOXTR5QE1GHPCKH4ATMY32JVN?articleID=222002679

Quick View: BATS and the big exchange dilemma 
Is it possible that the next corporate giant – like a Microsoft – could start life as a publicly listed company on a platform launched by a bunch of tech dudes from Kansas City?
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/ae020460-ebec-11de-930c-00144feab49a,s01=1.html 

BATS Exchange To Launch Us Primary Listings Market – Third-Largest Us Equities Exchange To Enter Primary Listings Markets To Better Meet Needs Of Public Companies
BATS Exchange, a leading and innovative U.S. securities exchange, today announced plans to launch a listings market by summer of 2010.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87537

Agencies in a Brawl for Control Over Banks 
By DAMIAN PALETTA
WASHINGTON — In the darkest days of the financial crisis a year ago, Sheila Bair was hailed for having predicted the housing bust. Today, the chief of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. is fighting for her agency’s future.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126091986848592805.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Industry Awaits SEC’s Concept Release
December 18, 2009 – As the year winds down, anticipation in the trading industry is on the rise. Why? The Securities and Exchange Commission is getting ready to signal its views with a concept release that could change the game of trading once again.
http://www.tradersmagazine.com/news/sec-concept-release-dark-pools-104832-1.html

Treasury Official Outlines Exit Strategies for TARP Investments
By MICHAEL R. CRITTENDEN
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government continues to reluctantly hold sizable investments in a handful of auto companies and financial firms, but hopes to exit from those positions in the next several years, a top Treasury Department official said Thursday.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB126106369698195549.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

Secrets strengthen case for CDS exchange
Insight: The movement of spreads is starting to grab attention
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/37651d68-eb35-11de-bc99-00144feab49a.html

Wall Street Trade Huddles Probed 
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703323704574602501348756642.html?mod=WSJ_hps_LEFTWhatsNews

Questions on Security Mar Foreign Investments
By ERIC LIPTON
Foreign investors’ moves to buy U.S. industrial assets are getting a wary reaction from the Obama administration.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/business/18invest.html?ref=business

Environmental Trading News

No Deal Yet in Copenhagen, But US Announces Aid of 100 billion by 2020
The United States tried to break a deadlock in UN climate talks on Thursday with a pledge to help mobilize $100 billion a year by 2020 to assist poor nations, but pointedly warned China it must accept tough requirements.
http://www.enn.com/business/article/40835

Why We Need a Performance Benchmark Standard for Offsets
By Dan Kalafatas
One of the major issues facing delegates working on a new international climate change treaty at COP15 is how we can improve carbon offset trading programs, both in reference to the current Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) protocols and proposed protocols such as those for Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD).
http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/12/17/why-we-need-performance-benchmark-standard-offsets

China ready for hardships in carbon battle 
by Xinhua Writers Zhang Zhengfu and Liu Min
BEIJING, Dec. 17 (Xinhua) — Seen by some as the last chance to save the planet, the United Nations climate talks in Copenhagen entered the final stage when 110 world leaders are arriving in the Danish capital to seek an agreement on a post-Kyoto regime.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-12/17/content_12662589.htm

NASA, Google eye ways to track climate gases
Agency seeks $330 million for satellite; company shows off forest database
COPENHAGEN – The question is a potential deal-killer: If nations ever agree to slash greenhouse gas emissions, how will the world know if they live up to their pledges? The answer is in space, experts say — both outer space and cyberspace.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34465210/ns/us_news-environment/

For more environmental trading news, subscribe to the Environmental Markets version of the John Lothian Newsletter edited by Jim Kharouf. 
Visit http://www.jlnenvironmental.com to subscribe.

Exchange & ECN News

BATS Europe Announces New Pricing for 2010
Fast-Growing MTF to Rebate 0.18 Basis Points for Adding Liquidity and Charge 0.28 Basis Points for Removing Liquidity
LONDON & KANSAS CITY, Mo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–BATS Europe, an innovative, wholly-owned subsidiary of BATS Global Markets, today announced a new pan-European fee schedule for trading equities, ETFs and ETCs on its integrated book, effective 4th January 2010.
http://finance.yahoo.com/news/BATS-Europe-Announces-New-bw-523150948.html?x=0&.v=1

Bats Europe to Raise Some Trading Fees After Members Double
By Nandini Sukumar
Dec. 17 (Bloomberg) — Bats Europe, a unit of the fourth- largest U.S. equity market, will raise some fees in 2010 after it doubled the number of members signed to its system this year.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601084&sid=ahHgbQWtrjbM

Euro BTP Futures – A Post Launch Review
Eurex’s Euro BTP Futures launched successfully on 14 September 2009. More than 310,000 contracts have traded until mid December 2009. Average daily volume is around 4,600 contracts. The first contract maturity (Dec’09) has just gone through a successful delivery and open interest in the March 2010 contract already stands at 11,825 contracts. The Dec 2009 contract reached an open interest of 18,000 contracts at its peak.
http://www.eurexchange.com/trading/products/INT/FIX/FBTP_en.html

Warsaw Exchange Plans IPO After Rejecting German Bid (Update2)
By Pawel Kozlowski
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) — The Warsaw Stock Exchange, central Europe’s biggest bourse, plans to offer shares to the public in the first half of 2010 after halting its sale to Deutsche Boerse AG last month, Chief Executive Officer Ludwik Sobolewski said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601013&sid=awzWEIBKC4UU

Peter Randall confirmed as new CEO at Equiduct
http://www.thetradenews.com/trading-venues/mtfs-ecns/4021

Equiduct Names Peter Randall CEO – Industry Veteran Joins Equiduct To Lead Next Stage Of Growth
Equiduct Systems Ltd., majority owned by Citadel Securities and Börse Berlin AG, announced today that Peter Randall has been named Chief Executive Officer of the electronic trading platform.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87545

Øivind Amundsen Appointed As Senior Vice President – Legal Affairs At Oslo Børs
Øivind Amundsen (42) has been appointed Senior Vice President – Legal Affairs at Oslo Børs. He is currently a partner in Advokatfirmaet Selmer DA, where he assists Norwegian and international clients in connection with securities transactions and issues related to stock exchange and securities law.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87548

BM&FBOVESPA launches stock index to measure returns on Brazilian financial sector 
Beginning on the first trading day of 2010, the BM&FBOVESPA Financial Index will be calculated and disclosed, in real-time.
São Paulo, 18 December 2009 – The Brazilian Securities, Commodities and Futures Exchange will begin, on 4 January 2010, to calculate and disclose the BM&FBOVESPA Financial Index, in real-time. This is the Exchange’s 15th stock index and it will trade under the ticker symbol IFNC.

[TMX] Top 20 Largest Consolidated Short Position Report – December 15, 2009
http://www.tmx.com/en/news_events/news_releases/12-18-2009_TSX-ShortReportDec15-09.html

Agreement reached between SIX Exchange Regulation and ABB Ltd.
http://www.six-swiss-exchange.com/media_releases/online/media_release_200912180729_en.pdf

Holiday Reminder
Closed for Christmas
http://www.directedge.com/AboutDirectEdge/Announcements/ViewNewsletterDetail.aspx?NewsletterID=122

Warren Bank AS New Member On Oslo Børs, Oslo Axess And Oslo ABM
The Norwegian bank, Warren Bank AS, will start direct trading in equities and bonds on Oslo Børs, Oslo Axess and Oslo ABM (Alternative Bond Market) from Monday 21 December.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87551

RTS Standard Trading Volume Exceeds USD680 Million
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87543

Banks, Brokers & Dark Pools

Moynihan Rises to Top Spot at Bank of America After Four Jobs in One Year 
Brian Moynihan ascended to the top spot at Bank of America Corp. by accepting four job assignments in a year and surviving a public search process that had him all but disqualified by some critics after his performance before a congressional hearing last month.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=aJsSA.sQ9fM8

At Bank of America, a Chief Steps in Where Few Can
By LOUISE STORY
Bank of America’s new chief, Brian Moynihan, in many ways has had a career of falling into bigger jobs at the bank when executives were fired or shunted aside.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/18/business/18bank.html?ref=business

Basel Committee proposals aim to strengthen resilience of the banking sector
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?id=51827&IdSection=8&cat=8&BImageCI=1

U.S. Bank Revenue Rises 11% in Over-the-Counter Derivatives
By Matthew Leising
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) — U.S. commercial bank revenue from trading over-the-counter derivatives and securities rose 11 percent in the third quarter from the prior three months to $5.7 billion.

Deutsche Bank staff to share burden of bonus tax
FRANKFURT (AFP) – Global staff at Germany’s largest bank, Deutsche Bank, will share the burden of a 50 percent British tax on bonuses, chairman Josef Ackermann was quoted as saying in a press report Friday.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091218/bs_afp/germanybritainbankingpaycompanydeutschebank_20091218072827

Deutsche Bank to ‘globalise’ bonus pain
Burden of UK supertax to be spread across world operations
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1c0163c2-eb55-11de-bc99-00144feab49a.html

Goldman’s Inner Conflicts Also Need Unraveling: David Reilly 
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) — Let’s make banking boring again. That is the noble goal of those calling for a return to the days when the Glass-Steagall Act separated commercial and investment banking.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601039&sid=acB6gG_pifUY

Mack Tells Morgan Stanley He Won’t Take 2009 Bonus (Update2)
By Michael J. Moore and Christine Harper
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) — John Mack, Morgan Stanley’s chairman and chief executive officer, won’t accept a bonus for a third straight year amid predictions his bank will report an annual loss and public pressure to rein in Wall Street pay.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103&sid=aaDgGaUoM_zE

Marsh & McLennan to buy HSBC’s brokerage for $218M
NEW YORK – Marsh & McLennan Cos. said Friday its insurance brokerage business will acquire the brokerage unit of HSBC Bank for about $218 million in stock and cash.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091218/ap_on_bi_ge/us_marsh__mclennan_hsbc_1

Credit Suisse Accuses Ex-Researcher of Stealing Company Valuation Method 
Credit Suisse Group AG sued one of its former researchers, David Trainer, accusing him of stealing its method for valuing companies and trying to patent it.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601127&sid=akG0QzWz_0Bc

Banks to be hit by harsh new global rules
Banks will be forced to pay lower bonuses and dividends under new international rules.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/banksandfinance/6835511/Banks-to-be-hit-by-harsh-new-global-rules-on-capital.html

M.Stanley sees $1 billion revenue potential for clearinghouses
(Reuters) – Morgan Stanley said it expects central clearing of over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives to provide a $1 billion revenue opportunity for clearinghouses starting in 2012.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE5BG2OJ20091217

Update: Experts Reexamine UBS Recruiting Plan
By Helen Kearney, On Wall Street
UBS’s recruitment package may actually be higher than the 280% currently being reported, according to recruiters and UBS branch managers. UBS hasn’t officially released its recrutiment plan, and hadn’t responded to calls for comment at press time, but details are beginning to trickle out.
http://www.financial-planning.com/news/UBS-recruitment-bonuses-2665117-1.html

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/2009/dig121809.htm

SEC Charges Ernst & Young and Six Partners for Roles in Accounting Violations at Bally Total Fitness
Washington, D.C., Dec. 17, 2009 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged Ernst & Young LLP and six of its current and former partners, including three who are members of the firm’s national office, for their roles relating to an accounting fraud at Bally Total Fitness Holding Corporation. The SEC finds that E&Y knew or should have known about Bally’s fraudulent financial accounting and disclosures.
http://www.sec.gov/news/press/2009/2009-271.htm

Former El Paso Traders Sentenced in Fraud 
By ÁNGEL GONZáLEZ And ANN DAVIS
HOUSTON—A former head of natural-gas trading and two natural-gas traders for El Paso Corp. were sentenced to lengthy prison terms by a U.S. federal court in Texas on Thursday for fraud in attempts to influence the price of the commodity.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703323704574602763649285546.html

MF Global Fined $10 Million by CFTC for Risk Failures 
By JACOB BUNGE
U.S. regulators fined MF Global Ltd. for a series of risk-management failures and ordered the futures broker to conduct another independent review of its back-office processes. The $10 million penalty imposed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission is the latest fallout from rogue wheat-futures trades in 2008 that forced the company to take a $141.5 million charge, triggering a restructuring that led to the departure of its chief executive, Kevin Davis.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704238104574602241284613768.html?mod=googlenews_wsj

MF Global faces $10m CFTC fine
By Hal Weitzman in Chicago
US regulators on Thursday slapped MF Global, one of the world’s biggest commodities brokers, with a $10m fine for risk-management failures that led to the largest rogue-trading scandal in agricultural markets.
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/37d88a12-eb46-11de-bc99-00144feab49a.html

MF Global ‘violations’ bring $10 million fine
CFTC cites 4 instances, including unauthorized wheat trading that cost firm $141.5 million
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-fri-mf-global-1218-dec18,0,7127357.story

Dan takes it on the chin as CFTC fines MF Global $10m for violations 18 Dec 2009
http://www.fointelligence.com/Article/2361098/Dan-takes-it-on-the-chin-as-CFTC-fines-MF-Global-10m-for-violations.html

CFTC fines MF Global $10 mln for poor supervision
http://www.forbes.com/feeds/reuters/2009/12/17/2009-12-17T180145Z_01_N17177971_RTRIDST_0_CFTC-MFGLOBAL-UPDATE-1.html

U.K. watchdog fines TD $12M
By John Greenwood
The U.K banking watchdog has hit Toronto-Dominion Bank with a $12-million fine, one of its largest ever, for repeated systems failures around to the pricing of credit derivatives.
http://www.canada.com/business/fp/watchdog+fines/2353448/story.html

U.S. FINRA launches inquiry into firms’ trading tips: report
(Reuters) – U.S. securities regulator FINRA has launched an inquiry into how Citigroup (C.N), J.P. Morgan Chase (JPM.N), Morgan Stanley (MS.N) and others offer stock ratings and research, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20091218/bs_nm/us_finra_inquiry

The Magic of RICO
White Collar Watch’s Peter J. Henning takes a look at the lawsuit filed by the ex-wife of Steven A. Cohen of SAC Capital and finds that it has some big hurdles to clear if it’s to move forward in court.
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/12/17/the-magic-of-rico/?ref=business

Steven Cohen’s ex-wife dished to FBI
Hedge-fund billionaire Steven Cohen’s ex-wife Patricia Cohen alerted the FBI of his alleged trading shenanigans more than two years before filing her explosive lawsuit accusing him of profiting from nonpublic information as far back as
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/wife_dished_to_fbi_qKtBRWgO0S9GEwxBrEyz1N

French prosecutor suspects money laundering in Swiss row: report
GENEVA (AFP) – A French prosecutor said in a newspaper interview published Thursday that bank data obtained from a former employee of HSBC Private Bank in Switzerland appeared to contain evidence of money laundering.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20091217/bs_afp/switzerlandfrancediplomacytaxbankingjusticelaunder_20091217202653

Brooklyn’s Madoff lite
An alleged Ponzi schemer dubbed “the Brooklyn Madoff” was in court yesterday to face charges that he scammed 800 investors out of $45 million..
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/brooklyn/brooklyn_madoff_lite_AXc0ZxhtvSnDIdjyfHuP3I

BCSC permanently bans man who raised millions for Forex trading
Vancouver – The British Columbia Securities Commission has settled with a B.C. man who admitted he contravened various securities laws when he raised US $34 million from investors to purportedly trade spot foreign exchange (Forex) contracts.
http://www.bcsc.bc.ca/release.aspx?id=9388

BCSC permanently bans man who illegally raised millions for FX trading
http://www.investmentexecutive.com/client/en/News/DetailNews.asp?id=51828&IdSection=8&cat=8&BImageCI=1

ASIC grants approval to the Financial Ombudsman Service Limited for its new single terms of reference
ASIC has today approved new Terms of Reference (TOR) for the Financial Ombudsman Service Limited (FOS). This will give consumers increased access to the independent financial services dispute resolution body for new complaints received from 1 January 2010.
http://www.asic.gov.au/ASIC/asic.nsf/byHeadline/09-263AD%20ASIC%20grants%20approval%20to%20the%20Financial%20Ombudsman%20Service%20Limited%20for%20its%20new%20single%20terms%20of%20reference?opendocument

ASIC releases guidance for credit licensees
ASIC today released further regulatory guidance on the implementation of the National Consumer Credit Protection Act (National Credit Act). This release is the second package of regulatory guidance on the implementation of the National Consumer Credit regime.
http://www.asic.gov.au/ASIC/asic.nsf/byHeadline/09-262AD%20ASIC%20releases%20guidance%20for%20credit%20licensees?opendocument

AMF recommendations regarding financial statements for 2009
http://www.amf-france.org/documents/general/9263_1.pdf

FSA releases Publication of ”The Draft Blueprint for the Development of Institutional Frameworks Pertaining to Financial and Capital Markets”
http://www.fsa.go.jp/en/news/2009/20091218-2.html

Grant of exemption for the proposed increase in shares/voting rights of promoter and promoter group in M/s. Gujarat Petrosynthese Limited
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2009/2009399.html

Order against Shri J. R. Desai in the matter of Axel Polymers Ltd
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2009/2009402.html

Order in respect of Mr. Dilip Nabera, Mrs. Sadhna Nabera and Adhunik Finance Private Limited in the matter of Sun Infoways Ltd
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2009/2009400.html

Order in the matter of M/s Prime Capital Market Ltd
http://www.sebi.gov.in/press/2009/2009401.html

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Washington Swings at Reform
By Theo Francis
Before seasoned investors buy or sell, they run through a checklist of considerations. Here’s an important one: New regulations. “Every time we look at an investment, we ask ourselves in what way the tentacles of U.S. or foreign government are going to interact with this investment,” says Craig Perry, chairman of Sabretooth Capital Management, a $150 million hedge fund in New York.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20091218/bs_bw/0952b4161056162685

Pimco’s Gross Boosts Cash to Most Since Lehman Failed (Update4)
By Wes Goodman and Garfield Reynolds
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) — Bill Gross, who runs the world’s biggest bond fund, cut government debt holdings and boosted cash to the most since Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. collapsed in 2008 amid increasing speculation that interest rates will rise.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20603037&sid=aZjZKKYfNaxQ

Brewer Investment Group Launches Retirement Plan Administration Business with Appointment of Industry Veteran
http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20091217005892/en

New Finance’s Opus Commodities Fund of Funds Receives Highest Feri Ranking 
New Finance Capital LLP’s Opus Commodities Fund managed by David Mooney topped the performance ranking of 45 funds of commodity hedge funds surveyed by Feri Institutional Advisors GmbH, an investment adviser.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=akJiNWsgXl5g

Tudor Capital, Brookside Capital & Woodbine Capital flush with inflows, stop taking new assets
Paul Tudor Jones’ Tudor Capital Management, Bain Capital’s Brookside Capital Partners and recently launched Woodbine Capital Advisors have stopped..
http://www.hedgetracker.com/article/Tudor-Capital-Brookside-Capital-Woodbine-Capital-flush-with-inflows-stop-taking-new-assets

Investors Flock To Gold ETFs
Gold prices have risen as retail investors have embraced ETFs.
http://www.forbes.com/2009/12/17/gold-etf-shares-markets-commodities-dollar.html?feed=rss_popstories

Morgan Stanley sees gold over $1300 as bull market matures
NEW YORK: The bull market in gold is maturing and could peak above $1,300 an ounce next year, before a stronger US dollar from higher interest rates forces a retreat, Morgan Stanley said on Wednesday.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/5345253.cms

Yale Professor and UBS Alumni Start ‘Dynamic’ Commodity Index
By Asjylyn Loder
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) — K. Geert Rouwenhorst, a Yale University professor whose research spurred a rush into commodities investing, has joined up with UBS alumni to launch a new “dynamic” commodity index. The SummerHaven Dynamic Commodity Index will pick monthly a mix of 14 commodities from a roster of 27, including futures for energy, precious and industrial metals, grains, livestock, and other agricultural commodities such as coffee and cotton, SummerHaven Index Management LLC said in an e-mailed statement.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601072&sid=aNTUUHFPIFhQ

Alternative Assets for the Masses
By Tara Kalwarski
Institutional investors have long used private equity and hedge funds to achieve overall returns far higher than those eked out by individuals. In the 10 years ended Dec. 31, 2008, Hedge Fund Research’s Fund Weighted Composite Index gained 7% per year, on average, while the Thomson Reuters U.S. Private Equity Performance Index returned an annual average of 17%. That compares with a 13% cumulative loss for the Standard & Poor’s (NYSE:MHP – News) 500-stock index.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20091218/bs_bw/0952b4161082191026

How Should Investors Play the Dollar?
By Ben Levisohn
The defining event for the world’s currencies through most of 2009 was the steady and steep decline of the dollar. In 2010 the dollar will be center stage again — only this time it will be a highly volatile greenback that challenges investors.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20091218/bs_bw/0952b4161074180150

Market Cap Segment Review at NASDAQ OMX Nordic Exchanges
Copenhagen/Helsinki/Reykjavik/Stockholm, December 18, 2009 – NASDAQ OMX reports that the semi-annual review of its Nordic market capitalization (market cap) segments has been completed. The revision is based on average market cap value in November 2009.
http://ir.nasdaqomx.com/releasedetail.cfm?ReleaseID=431378

Technology News

Xtrakter reshuffles management as Milne quits
Xtrakter, a provider of capital markets data, operational risk management, trade matching and regulatory reporting services, has announced a raft of changes to its leadership team.
http://www.thetradenews.com/operations-technology/4023

Media News

Wikipedia’s Jimmy Wales launches personal appeal to help protect the site
Jimmy Wales, the founder of Wikipedia, has launched a personal appeal for donations to help “protect” the online encyclopedia.
http://bit.ly/80ngvG

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

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.cmegroup.com/tools-information/calendars/

Asia-Pacific News

China’s Currency Regulator Hires Pimco Manager Zhu (Update1)
By Sree Vidya Bhaktavatsalam
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) — China’s currency regulator, which oversees the world’s largest foreign-exchange reserves, appointed Pacific Investment Management Co. hedge-fund manager Changhong Zhu as its chief investment officer.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=awcjTnefFaNQ

China index futures coming at “appropriate” time-CSRC
BEIJING, Dec 18 (Reuters) – China will introduce index futures and margin trading at an “appropriate time”, the top securities regulator said on Friday, vowing continuing reforms to the mainland’s financial markets.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTOE5BH01V20091218

China Banks’ Capital Likely `More Strained’ Than Appearances, Fitch Says 
Chinese banks’ capital strength is probably more “strained” than it appears as lenders use more off-balance sheet transactions to make room for loan growth, Fitch Ratings said.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=aqZ4G7to5Xu0

Ex-Morgan Stanley Banker Du to Appeal Hong Kong Insider Trading Conviction 
Former Morgan Stanley managing director Du Jun will appeal against his conviction in Hong Kong for insider trading in Citic Resources Holdings Ltd. shares in 2007, according to Johnny Mok, one of his lawyers.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601127&sid=aJYbq2Grv1cI

Riley Paterson Closes Fund to Investors After Growth (Update1) 
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) — Riley Paterson Investment Management Pte said it closed its Asian hedge fund to investors after assets under management swelled 15-fold to $300 million.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601080&sid=aOhUqt.bT2QM

Rusal’s IPO Said to Be Approved by Hong Kong Bourse (Update2)
By Bei Hu and Yuriy Humber
Dec. 18 (Bloomberg) — United Co. Rusal’s application for a $2 billion initial public offering on Hong Kong’s stock exchange received conditional approval from the bourse, helping to clear the way for it to become the first Russian company listed in the city, said two people familiar with the matter.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601013&sid=aItmod1bSEGE

Shanghai Stock Exchange Corporate Bond 30, Overseas-listing A Shares, State-Owned 100 Indices Launched
The Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) and China Securities Index Co., Ltd. (CSI) have recently announced that nine new indices will be launched on the first trading day of 2010, namely, the SSE Corporate Bond 30 Index, the SSE Overseas-listing A Shares Index, the SSE Local State-owned Enterprises 50 Index, the SSE State-owned Enterprises 100 Index, the SSE Large & Mid & Small Cap Growth, Value, Relative Growth and Relative Value Indices and the SSE Shanghai Enterprises Index. All these indices will provide more targets for such index products as index funds and ETFs.
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87540

HKEx Publishes Consultation Conclusions On Proposals To Accelerate Rights Issues And Open Offers
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87549

HKEx: Exchange Participants Statistics – Stock Exchange Participants’ Market Share Report 
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87546

China Businesswoman Sentenced To Death for $56m Investor Fraud
http://www.financetech.com/news/wallstreet/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=1K4GZI5AOXTR5QE1GHPCKH4ATMY32JVN?articleID=222002693

Frontier Markets

Emerging Markets: Brazil, China — and Pakistan?
http://news.yahoo.com/s/bw/20091218/bs_bw/0952b4161066170068

Not Yet Time to Write Out Dubai, Says Mark Mobius
DUBAI – Don’t write out Dubai, its debt problems are manageable, as concrete steps taken by the government to be more transparent, will go a long way in restoring investor confidence, said a top executive of a major global investment company.
http://www.khaleejtimes.com/biz/inside.asp?xfile=/data/business/2009/December/business_December419.xml&section=business&col=

Manager focus: Tom McGrath
Earlier this week, after Abu Dhabi announced it would bail out its debt-ridden neighbour Dubai, McGrath bought into the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) region. He has allocated some assets to the Franklin Mena fund and the Silk African Lions fund, which account for a total of 6% of his multi-manager portfolio.
http://www.trustnet.com/News/DisplayStory.aspx?id=51448

SBP to launch electronic bond trading next year
KARACHI (December 18 2009): State Bank of Pakistan Governor Syed Salim Raza on Thursday said the central bank intends to introduce an electronic bond trading platform early next year.
http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=997602&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

Zimbabwe: Political Sneeze Gives ZSE the Cold
Bernard Mpofu and Leonard Makombe
WHEN politicians sneeze, the Zimbabwe Stock Exchange (ZSE) catches a cold. The year 2009 will be remembered as a season that market forces, driving the local bourse, were delicately responsive to the politics of the day.
http://allafrica.com/stories/200912180719.html

Malawi Stock Exchange Weekly Report
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87550

MCX Weekly Market Report – December 12 – December 17, 2009
http://www.exchange-handbook.co.uk/index.cfm?section=news&action=detail&id=87544