The SEC turns its attention to ETF trading practices, seeking a connection between hedge fund or high frequency trading and ETFs that do not settle properly.  CME Group buys a fresh chunk of the Dubai Mercantile Exchange.  UBS announces the launch of a credit default swap trading platform.  Greece and the Eurozone agree on bailout terms to at least temporarily hold off a Greek default.  Italy’s bourse announces that they will restrict high-frequency trading, while Sweden says they haven’t seen any significant damage from the practice.  The NFA and others are offering and considering proposals discussing MF Global and ways to make customers whole after its collapse.

Reports are in that NYSE Euronext and CME Group (and possibly ICE) have made a bid for the London Metal Exchange. Regulators are expressing an interest in somehow regulating or punishing firms that let rogue orders into the market.  An unnamed bank in Canada allegedly named UBS, has told regulators there that traders were successful in manipulating LIBOR interest rates. In the top box, John Lothian writes about more fallout from MF Global (looks like nobody’s getting 1099 forms for last year); an article discusses customers who scrape excess funds out of their futures accounts each night, post MF Global; and Cinnober announces that they’ve got the top thumbtack on the board right now for, “Fastest Real-Time Index Engine”.

NYSE Liffe in London suggests that imposition of futures contract position limits, similar to what is currently done in the USA, would be a good idea.  UBS, in the glare of the LIBOR interrogation light bulb, suspends traders; UBS is also said to have asked Canadian regulators for immunity in that probe. NYSE Euronext, making good on its determination to go in new directions, buys a stake in Fixnetix, which provides high-speed trading tech. In today’s top box, Jim Ginsburg provides yet a third perspective on the wisdom (or lack thereof) of CME Group’s plan to dump the CBOT Building; and JLN’s Sarah Rudolph interviews Henry Schwartz of Trade Alert.

State Street announces that they plan to start up an OTC swaps trading platform, to go along with a previously-announced swap clearing facility.  NYSE-E and DB, no longer trying to live under the same roof, re-engage as competitors with a focus on trading technology and services.  CBOE announces plans to list volatility index products for Brazilian stocks and oil.  In ongoing stories, the dig into LIBOR-fixing continues to produce results; Volcker is still a household word; and MF Global’s bankruptcy trustee agrees to share nicely with others. In the top box, John Lothian unveils his latest plans for world travel, if not domination; and you’ll find an interview with Brad Mallon of Cole-Friedman & Mallon, who discusses legal services for managed futures and mutual funds.

Corporate bond investors find themselves managing liquidity issues as bank trading partners shed their holdings in advance of tighter regulations. Canada joins in the LIBOR price-fixing hunt. The US hears strident objections from overseas regarding the impending Volcker Rule, along with strident objections and support inside the country as well. Paul Volcker tells offshore worriers, “Seriously, dudes, chill,” using a somewhat more complete vocabulary.

Osaka Securities Exchange investors tell company management to demand more-bigger-better in the pending deal with TSE. NYSE-Euronext declares its interest in creating a full-on clearing service in London. The MF Global bankruptcy trustee, after using ALL the fingers, believes the shortfall is now around $1.6 billion, given anticipated difficulty in clawing money back out of Europe. Rumors suggest that LCH.Clearnet is nearing an announcement regarding a change of ownership. In the top box, JLN announces a new video service: John Lothian Productions; and JLN Metals and JLN FX newsletters and blogs find new editors in Nicole Rohr and Jon Matte, respectively.

The CFTC votes 4-1 to require commodity-including mutual funds to register with the agency. NYSE-E’s Duncan Niederauer faces a DB-less future, and surveys the coming challenges. In the latest episode of, “There Will Be Greece,” the Eurozone turns its back to the Mediterranean country’s latest budget cut package, calling it incomplete. In the top box, JLN Editor-in-Chief Jim Kharouf takes a swing at JLN Boss-of-All John Lothian’s opinion of CME Group’s CBOT Building deal; and John bids adieu to Jeremy Grant of the Financial Times (who is only moving to Singapore, not offworld).

CBOE Holdings provides details of a major internal reorganization of management roles. Eurex announces that since it won’t be merging with NYSE-Euronext, it will replace its trading engine at the end of 2012. The Libor price-fixing investigation continues, and brokers in London and Asia are suspended or fired as the inquiry deepens. In a fully-packed top box today, John Lothian shines a spotlight on MarketsReformWiki; he also takes aim at CME Group’s plans to sell the CBOT Building; Nicole Rohr has a piece about the upcoming Futures For Kids charity walk; and Sarah Rudolph provides a JLN Options interview with Steve Crutchfield of NYSE Amex.

Nasdaq OMX and IKON Global Markets launch a new spot gold futures product. The EU, hoping to make nice with the UK banking regulators, says that perhaps there’s room in future EU financial regulation to allow a nation to impose stricter local oversight. The European Central Bank agrees to concessions that should make a bailout of Greece more likely, and more likely to work. Direct Edge and ICAP Energy both win awards for being very good at what they do. And in the top box, JLN FX’s Doug Ashburn floats some explanations of the broad decline in FX volume.

Deutsche Boerse is planning to shut down its First Quotation Board small-cap listing board, in response to challenges in keeping the market clear of fraud. The swaps market may see the creation of its first exchange, trueEX. New details about the MF Global disintegration reveal that the company was using customer money for days before the bankruptcy filing, and on its final day faced a margin call that was bigger than its net worth. In the regulatory arena, the CFTC is racing to complete new rules that require mutual fund registration when fund holdings include commodity positions; and the SEC prepares new proposals for the money-market… market…