Observations – Statistics – Commentary

NYSE Euronext Rolls Out New Brand Identity
NYSE Euronext today unveiled a new brand identity that underscores the company’s growing role in unlocking the potential of its global community. The new look was unveiled today across its exchanges and other locations around the world as well as online.
http://jlne.ws/JuThpX

**** This is really well done. I liked the video pop up very much, including the music.

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New ICE Grains are live and trading
QV Codes: http://jlne.ws/Jd8p7F
Full details and contract specs: http://jlne.ws/KWfpXJ

***** They live!!

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CME Group Announces the Launch of Short-Dated New Crop Options on Grain and Oilseed Futures
CME Group, the world’s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced the launch of Short-Dated New Crop Options on CBOT Corn and Soybeans futures to begin trading Monday, June 4. Short-Dated New Crop Options on CBOT Wheat futures will be listed for trading beginning Tuesday, September 4. These contracts are listed with, and subject to, the rules and regulations of CBOT.
http://jlne.ws/JuThpQ

**** Short dates never did too much for me.

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Fidessa Adds To US Executive Team – Appoints David Polen As Head Of Business Development
Fidessa group plc, provider of high-performance trading, investment management and information solutions for the world’s financial community, has today announced the appointment of David Polen as Head of Business Development. Mr. Polen is responsible for Fidessa’s strategic development efforts in the US, and reports to Mark Ames, CEO of Fidessa’s US business.
http://jlne.ws/JuThGk

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ISE Elects New Member To Board Of Directors
The International Securities Exchange (ISE) today announced that Sylvain Mirochnikoff was elected by the Board of Directors for a one-year term to fill a vacancy. Mr. Mirochnikoff, who is Managing Director of the Institutional Equity Division for Morgan Stanley, will serve as an industry director representing ISE’s Primary Market Makers (PMMs).
http://jlne.ws/JuTfy4

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Five Minutes With Peter Weibel, CEO, TriReduce Division Of TriOptima
Doug Ashburn, editor-at-large of John Lothian News and lead project manager for MarketsReformWiki, talked with Peter Weibel, CEO, triReduce division of TriOptima, about how the regulatory environment encourages compressions and how about 75 percent of trades on a typical bank’s portfolio are dead wood.

Q. How is the Dodd-Frank mandate toward central counterparty clearing affecting the business of portfolio compression?

A. As far as Dodd-Frank is concerned, the regulatory environment actually encourages compressions to take place. More and more trades will be going into CCPs, which means that the number of compression services to be provided in the cleared environment will increase. Nevertheless, we still do quite a bit of bilaterals at well. That is something that has been going on ever since LCH has offered its services in the early 2000s. So from that perspective there’s no change at all as far as our services are concerned.

Q. How exactly do compression services work, and why do banks desire to compress their trades?

A. An active trading bank trades in and out everyday, meaning that in its portfolio, there’s an accumulation of trades of very similar risk profile. From experience, we can say that probably about 75 percent of all those trades on a typical bank’s portfolio are exactly that – the part we can call “dead wood.” In order to represent the position that the banks actually want to have, probably 25 percent of all its trades will be sufficient to replicate or to have that risk value in their portfolio. Everything else has been bought, sold over the time and really just bears risk and cost. That’s the rational reason why terminations are actually very much in demand.

What we do is that we invite banks to sign up on our website, to signal that they want to take part in a compression or terminal exercise All the banks participating in triReduce compression service know that they should submit or extract the trades versus, let’s say, all other 19 counterparties if there was a cycle of 20 participants. They all extract the data and submit it to TriOptima, and we make sure that we have the opposite trades for each. That subset of what we call “linked” or “matched” trades will then go through the actual compression process, with the aim that at the end of this exercise, you and I will have hundreds if not thousands of fewer trades on our portfolio without having changed our market risk profile.

For the rest of the interview, visit MarketsWiki at http://jlne.ws/IRGY8V

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Busson’s London Hedge Fund Charity Raises 14.5 Million Pounds
Bloomberg
Absolute Return for Kids, the charity founded by hedge fund investor Arpad Busson, raised 14.5 million pounds ($23.4 million) in London last night, 2.7 million pounds less than last year, as the hedge fund industry struggles to pare losses due to the European sovereign debt crisis.
http://jlne.ws/JuThGv

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High-frequency trading firm accuses rival of defrauding customers
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
A Milwaukee firm engaged in high-frequency trading is accusing a Texas rival of violating securities law and defrauding customers. The rival calls the accusations wild, false and defamatory.
http://jlne.ws/JuTiKu

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Analysis: Over-complex Europe keeps making same mistakes
Paul Taylor | Reuters
Americans call it a Rube Goldberg machine, Britons a Heath Robinson contraption and the Danes a Storm P machine. The European Union’s policy-making system often resembles one of those cartoon designs of an implausibly convoluted system for achieving a simple task – held together by sticking plaster, string, frequent tinkering and plenty of wishful thinking.
http://jlne.ws/JuThX1

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Group Calls on Companies to Focus on Long-Term Goals
By JULIA WERDIGIER – NY Times
Companies should help reduce income inequality and focus more on long-term goals, a new group of supporters of capitalism said on Monday. In its first paper, the group, called the Henry Jackson Initiative for Inclusive Capitalism, suggests companies should stop reporting earnings quarterly to encourage investors to think over the longer term.
http://jlne.ws/JuTg59

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Rebuild the pillars of 1930s Wall Street
By Frank Partnoy – Financial Times
Last Thursday was Groundhog Day, again, in US markets. A large sophisticated institution surprised everyone with a 10-figure loss on derivatives, its stock price crumbled, a few pundits said “I told you so”, and some politicians clamoured for reform. The same happened in 1995 with Barings Bank, in 1998 with Long-Term Capital Management, in 2000 with Enron, and in 2008 with several Wall Street businesses, notably Lehman Brothers and AIG. Four days ago it happened with JPMorgan Chase, which stunned investors with a $2bn derivatives loss.
http://jlne.ws/JuTitQ

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Paul MacGregor of NYSE Liffe Discusses New Products & the Interest Rate Market Outlook
MarketsWiki.tv
NYSE Euronext continues to develop its interest rate offerings, challenging competitors in the space, such as CME Group. Paul MacGregor, executive director, head of fixed income, NYSE Liffe (the global derivatives business of NYSE Euronext) sat down recently with JLN’s Managing Editor, Christine Nielsen, to discuss the outlook for the interest rate market and new products on the horizon for the exchange.

Watch the video >

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WILD Chicago Teams Up with Dress For Success
Drop off a suit and pick up a pastry on your way to work!

WHO: Women in Listed and OTC Derivatives
WHAT: Dress for Success Drop-Off
WHEN: Thursday, May 17, 7:00am – 8:30am (CT)
WHERE: Rittergut, 30 S. Wacker Drive, 1st Floor

WILD Chicago is sponsoring a drop-off of clothing and accessory items that will benefit the Chicago chapter of Dress For Success (DFS). WILD Chicago has teamed up with the Dress For Success organization which enables disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support and the career development tools to help women thrive in the workplace and in life. Our donations of gently used clothing and accessories allow these women to interview and, in turn, enter the workforce. Please consider donating to help make a difference in their lives.

Below is a list of items most needed by DFS:
* Interview-appropriate suits and related separates (the greatest need is for apparel size 14+)
* Handbags large enough to hold a file folder for resumes!
* Career appropriate footwear in brown, black or navy. All shoes must be closed-toe with no heels higher than 3 inches. Sizes 8 and up are always in great need.
* Hosiery and undergarments (particularly in plus sizes). Must be brand new (tags still on).
* Tote bags, portfolios or briefcases
* Solid color blouses to be worn under suits

***JM: Jessica Titlebaum asks me to clarify that while this clothing drive is limited to women’s clothing, men are welcome to be the couriers. The important part is the donation, not who brings it.

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MarketsWiki Spring Cleaning Party – May 18, 2012
Join the MarketsWiki staff on Friday, May 18 as we clean up our most popular pages and take suggestions from MarketsWiki users all day.

Help us by participating in one of three ways:

(1) Help us edit – Spend some time on May 18 to help update a page. We’ll give you (and your organization) a shout out in the newsletter and on the front page of MarketsWiki during the party. Don’t have a MarketsWiki account? You can start a FREE MarketsWiki account for this event. Send Jeff Bergstrom an email to get signed up. We’ll also have help available all day for those new to wiking (or are a bit rusty).

(2) Suggest a page to clean up – Tweet your suggestion to @MarketsWiki with the #MWParty hashtag on (or before) May 18. You can also suggest a page at http://jlne.ws/MWSuggest.

(3) Spread the word – Contact colleagues that might have suggestions or want to become MarketsWiki editors. For a quick explanation of MarketsWiki, send them our short animated video: http://jlne.ws/WhatIsMW. Use the the #MWParty hashtag on Twitter to help us spread the word about our newly updated pages on May 18.

We hope you’ll join us on May 18, and remember to watch our progress by following the #MWParty hashtag on Twitter or visiting MarketsWiki.com.

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MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Dennis McLaughlin
http://jlne.ws/IZ4NKV

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MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People

Laurence E. Mollner; Peter Weibel; Stefen Choy; Ron Horwath; Dennis McLaughlin; Vincent Cicco; Russ Chrusciel; Paul MacGregor

Companies, Organizations and Groups

Boston Options Exchange; Livevol; JPMorgan Chase & Co.; LCH.Clearnet Group Limited

Miscellaneous

Five Minutes With Peter Weibel, CEO, TriReduce Division Of TriOptima

Statistics

23,433,925 pages viewed, 6,870 articles, 140,005 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
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Lead Stories

Fear grows of Greece leaving euro
By Ralph Atkins in Frankfurt – Financial Times
Eurozone central bankers have talked publicly for the first time of managing a possible Greek exit from Europe’s monetary union as stalemate in Athens talks on a coalition government raises the prospect that Greece will renege on the terms of its international bailout.
http://jlne.ws/JuTg5k

Three to Exit J.P. Morgan
BY DAN FITZPATRICK AND GREGORY ZUCKERMAN – WSJ
Three high-ranking officers at the center of J.P. Morgan Chase & Co.’s giant trading blunder are expected to leave the firm this week, said people familiar with the situation, and losses on the trade have grown. Expected to leave as soon as Monday are Ina Drew, who has run the risk-management group tied to the losses since 2005; Achilles Macris, who was in charge of the London-based operation that placed the questionable trades; and trader Javier Martin-Artajo.
http://jlne.ws/JpVq9b

Analysis: Spain faces corrosion not collapse from euro crisis
Reuters via Yahoo! News
Students are protesting on Barcelona’s elegant boulevards, public-sector wages are being cut for the second time in three years and resentment is growing against the central government and beneficiaries of bank bailouts. Such is the daily fallout from the euro zone’s debt crisis.
http://jlne.ws/JuTj0P

Poland’s Top Bank CEO Says Euro Crisis Heading For Climax
Dow Jones Newswires
The euro-zone debt crisis is heading to a climax that will likely be as bad as the collapse of Lehman Brothers at the onset of the global financial crisis in 2008, said Zbigniew Jagiello, chief executive of PKO Bank Polski SA, Poland’s largest bank by assets.
http://jlne.ws/JuTjhi

For Many in Greece, Austerity Is a False Choice
New York Times
A growing number in Greece argue that they can keep the euro and reject harsh budget measures.
http://jlne.ws/JuTjhn

Greece can’t reject bailout and keep euro: Finland
Reuters via Yahoo! News
Greece cannot stay in the euro zone if it tears up its bailout deal, as envisaged by the leader of the country’s leftist SYRIZA grouping, Finland’s European affairs minister said. “I think that is an impossible equation and I think in that sense it is an irresponsible statement,” Alexander Stubb said on Monday.
http://jlne.ws/JuTgCp

German voters reject austerity in key poll
By Quentin Peel in Berlin – Financial Times
Angela Merkel’s centre-right Christian Democratic Union suffered a bruising defeat on Sunday night in the election of a new parliament in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany’s most populous state, when the centre-left opposition of Social Democrats and Greens won a clear majority.
http://jlne.ws/JuTjxS

Eurodämmerung
Paul Krugman – NY Times
Some of us have been talking it over, and here’s what we think the end game looks like:
http://jlne.ws/JuTjhv

Futures Movers: Oil closes at lowest level of the year
Market Watch
Crude-oil futures decline Friday as weak data out of China and ongoing demand concerns combined to pull prices to their lowest settlement of the year. Prices lost 2.4% for the week.
http://jlne.ws/JuTjxZ

Environmental Trading News

Brazil’s economists predict ‘huge’ growth of carbon markets
Business Green
Brazil’s new carbon market could experience “huge” growth in the next eight years, as the government seeks to curb emissions from deforestation and industry.
http://jlne.ws/KivvOq

UN warns Asia’s giant cities over carbon emissions
The Sydney Morning Herald
The United Nations has delivered a stark warning that Asian mega-cities can no longer develop first and rein in carbon emissions later.
http://jlne.ws/JbTBWR

THE REPORT:
UNDP
http://jlne.ws/JbTBWR

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

Exchange & ECN News

Nasdaq OMX Conducts IPO Test Ahead Of Facebook Debut
By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. on Friday conducted a test of its initial public offering auction systems ahead of Facebook’s hotly anticipated public debut, set for May 18.
http://jlne.ws/JuTmcY

CFTC’s Chilton Voices Caution On Extended Grain-Trading Hours
By Jacob Bunge and Ian Berry Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
A top U.S. futures-market regulator on Friday urged caution as the main exchange for trading corn, soybeans and wheat sought a longer trading day on its electronic systems.
http://jlne.ws/JuTmd5

Nasdaq set to take on US banks
By Telis Demos in New York – Financial Times
Nasdaq OMX is moving into direct competition with banks and brokerages, filing plans to make basic trading algorithms available as part of its US equity trading platform. It also aims to expand its small futures market to trade Treasury futures later this year, joining rival NYSE Euronext in taking on the CME Group in the market for listed interest rate derivatives.
http://jlne.ws/JuTjOA

PLUS Markets Group PLC: Closure Of Formal Sale Process And Commencement Of Orderly Run-Off Of The Business Of PLUS-SX
http://jlne.ws/JuTjOB

Cleartrade Exchange Information On Your Mobile – Cleartrade Exchange Uses OpenText Wave Platform To Deliver Secure, Real-Time Market Information To Traders’ Mobile Devices
http://jlne.ws/JuTmtC

Revised NZX Buyback/Cancellation Share Split Memo
http://jlne.ws/JuTmtJ

CME Group Clearing Advisory
NYMEX Options Expiration Operational Procedures for the Trading Floor and Clearing Members (A) – Effective Monday, May 14, 2012
http://jlne.ws/JuTk58

CME Clearing – Performance Bonds / Margins
Performance Bond Requirements: Energy Volatility Scan Rates – Effective Monday, May 14, 2012
http://jlne.ws/JuTmK6

[CBOE] NATO Summit Update
http://jlne.ws/JuTklE

[CBOE] Trader E-News
http://jlne.ws/InuPci

[CBOE] Change in Product Definition Type for SPY Products
http://jlne.ws/JuTkC6

[CBOE] Amendments to Rule 9.24-Telephone Solicitation
http://jlne.ws/JuTkCa

[CBOE] CFLEX 2.0 Rollout SPY FLEX Option Class
http://jlne.ws/JuTkSo

MEFF Repo Volumes – April 2012
http://jlne.ws/JuTkSq

TOM MTF Statistics Week 19 2012
http://jlne.ws/JuTkSx

TMX Group Inc. Reports Results For The First Quarter 2012
http://jlne.ws/JuTkSC

TMX Group Inc. Declares Dividend Of $0.40 Per Common Share
http://jlne.ws/JuTkSH

Montreal Exchange: New Functionalities For The Futures Market: Implementation Of User-Defined Strategies And Inter-Group Strategies On SOLA
The Montréal Exchange (MX) announces new user-defined strategy and inter-group strategy functionalities for its futures market on SOLA. These functionalities will be implemented in the production environment on May 14, 2012.
http://jlne.ws/JuTnhe

Banks, Brokers & Dark Pools

Size matters and matters even more
By Gillian Tett – Financial Times
Whatever else you might say about Jamie Dimon, nobody could accuse him of hiding his feelings. Last week, as news broke about JPMorgan’s unexpected $2bn of losses, his anger erupted on a conference call. And Sunday, those pugnacious emotions were on display again.
http://jlne.ws/JuTl8Y

AND NOW WE KNOW THE TRUTH ABOUT WALL STREET: It’s Just Kids Playing With Dynamite
Henry Blodget | Business Insider
Yesterday’s JP Morgan blowup has now put any lingering questions to rest. Wall Street banks simply cannot be trusted to manage the massive risks they are taking.
http://jlne.ws/JuTl93

J.P. Morgan loss blemishes Dimon reputation
Market Watch
Few on Wall Street expect the trading loss to lead to the resignation or firing of Dimon, mostly because of his past record in steering the bank through rough times. However, the loss is bound to have an impact on his reputation.
http://jlne.ws/JuTfOI

JP Morgan Debacle A Huge Black Eye For Wall Street Risk-Taking
Forbes
Suffice it to say; if JP Morgan can lose $2 billion– that might become $3 billion, or even more– then supervision of trading positions is lax, the risk control boys were asleep, and the notion that JP Morgan was the bank to buy, the king of Wall Street, is challenged but good.
http://jlne.ws/JuTnhl

JPMorgan’s Drew Embraced Risk Before ‘Egregious’ Trading Loss
By Max Abelson – Bloomberg
JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s Chief Investment Officer Ina R. Drew, head of the unit responsible for a $2 billion trading loss, built a 30-year career at the largest U.S. bank by embracing risk and avoiding the spotlight.
http://jlne.ws/JuTlpt

Fed Officials Seek More Information on JPMorgan Trade
By Craig Torres and Caroline Salas Gage – Bloomberg
Federal Reserve officials are gathering more information about the trading position that led to a $2 billion loss at JPMorgan Chase & Co. (JPM), which they have known about for several weeks, according to a person familiar with the matter.
http://jlne.ws/JuTlpA

For Volcker Rule, JPMorgan’s $2 Billion Loss Says It All
Bloomberg
It’s never polite to say I told you so, but JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s $2 billion trading loss has proponents of a tougher proprietary trading ban saying . . . well, you know what.
http://jlne.ws/JuTnxM

What Jamie Dimon Won’t Tell You
The Huffington Post
More than a year ago, we published this piece from the Stanford finance expert Anat Admati in which she presciently warned of the dangers of continuing to tolerate high levels of leverage in the banking system.
http://jlne.ws/JuTnxR

Don’t Forget About JPMorgan’s Other Huge Derivatives Losses
Business Insider
In an August 2010 commentary about JPMorgan’s losses in coal trades I wrote: “The commodities division isn’t the only area in which JPMorgan is vulnerable. Credit derivatives, interest rate derivatives, and currency trading are vulnerable to leveraged hidden bets.
http://jlne.ws/JuTnO6

FDIC Too Big To Fail Guidelides
Clarke Camper – Inside the Beltway
At the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago Bank Structure Conference, FDIC Acting Chairman Martin Gruenberg outlined his agency’s plans to implement the new authority granted under Dodd-Frank for the “orderly resolution of systemically important financial institutions (SIFIs).”
http://jlne.ws/JuTlFX

IMF Managing Director Welcomes Spain’s Measures To Strengthen The Banking Sector
http://jlne.ws/JuTnO9

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.shtml

Trading desks face tighter regulations
By Brooke Masters in London and Tracy Alloway in New York – Financial Times
The size and scale of the surprise $2bn loss at JPMorgan Chase last week is likely to accelerate plans by global regulators to force banks to improve their trading risk models – a move that could sharply push up costs and capital requirements for large banks worldwide.
http://jlne.ws/JuTlG5

Call for US banks to shed risky units
By Shahien Nasiripour – Financial Times
Wall Street banks should be forced to cease their trading operations, a US bank regulator has said, spurring renewed fears among bank executives that government officials will force them to shed lucrative units in the wake of JPMorgan Chase’s shock trading losses.
http://jlne.ws/JuTlG7

Analysis: Fed regulators in hot seat over JPMorgan loss
Reuters via Yahoo! News
JPMorgan’s $2 billion-plus trading loss raises serious questions about whether the New York Federal Reserve and other regulators were asleep at the wheel or whether it is asking too much of them to keep up with the financial engineering conducted by complex institutions with diverse, global operations.
http://jlne.ws/JuTo4D

JPMorgan Chase loss will be scrutinized, SEC’s Mary Schapiro says
Everett Herald
WASHINGTON — Regulators are looking into the $2-billion trading loss by JPMorgan Chase & Co., the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission said Friday as lawmakers and analysts said the bank’s revelation would increase pressure for tighter financial rules.
http://jlne.ws/JuTo4I

CFTC Charges Michael J. Leighton of Torrance, Calif., with $1.6 Million Commodity Pool Fraud
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced the filing of an enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, charging Michael J. Leighton of Torrance, Calif., with solicitation fraud and issuing false statements in connection with the operation of a commodity trading pool.
http://jlne.ws/JuTo4M

Schwab loses lawsuit to halt FINRA action
Reuters via Yahoo! Finance
A federal court judge threw out a lawsuit by Charles Schwab Corp that had sought to stop its regulator from disciplining the brokerage for trying to take away customers’ rights to sue it in class actions.
http://jlne.ws/JuTo4O

Ex-Citadel programmer indicted in trade secret theft
By Ameet Sachdev – Chicago Tribune
A former programmer for Citadel LLC has been indicted on federal charges of stealing trade secrets from the Chicago-based hedge fund.
http://jlne.ws/JuTo4T

FSA fines and bans Scottish broker £335,204 for insurance fraud and bans and censures his wife
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Donald McKee Morgan, a partner in the firm of Donald Morgan Insurance Services (DMIS), £335,204 for committing insurance fraud. Morgan, who was based in Ayrshire, Scotland, has also been banned from carrying out any regulated financial services activity in the future.
http://jlne.ws/JuTol8

DERIVATIVES TRADER: Here’s The REAL Reason Why Financial Regulators Are Just Plain Stupid
Business Insider
Joris Luyendijk at The Guardian’s banking blog is back with another candid report of the banking life in London. This time, Luyendijk spoke with a derivatives trader in his 30s, who gave him an honest, fluff-free account of life on the trading floor , how the profession works and what powers the alpha male personas on the job.
http://jlne.ws/JuTolb

Statement Concerning Publication By IOSCO On April 27, 2012 Of The “Consultation – Report Of The IOSCO Standing Committee 5 On Money Market Funds: Money Market Fund Systemic Risk Analysis And Reform Options.”
http://jlne.ws/JuTolk

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Credit Traders Drive Up Swaps Index Linked to JPMorgan’s Loss
By Mary Childs – Bloomberg
Derivatives traders seeking to profit on speculation JPMorgan Chase & Co. is unwinding positions tied to its $2 billion trading loss are driving up a vintage credit- default swaps index to the highest in more than three months.
http://jlne.ws/JuToSb

What Beached the London Whale? Credit Indices
Wall Street Journal Blogs
J.P. Morgan’s blown trade, and its $2 billion bill, has everyone’s attention. At its core was a bet on an abstruse corner of the credit market. Here’s a quick guide to the credit indices that beached the London Whale.
http://jlne.ws/JuToSe

Ex-Goldman Flamand’s hedge fund misses rally: letter
Reuters via Yahoo! News
Edoma Partners, the hedge fund run by ex-Goldman Sachs star Pierre-Henri Flamand, has lagged behind rivals this year after a “frustrating” period when it missed out on a rally in stock and bond markets, a letter to its investors showed.
http://jlne.ws/JuToSk

Dow Jones Indexes To License “distributing” version of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
http://jlne.ws/JuTrxs

Technology News

42 Financial Services Chooses Trayport’s Globalvision Broker Trading System To Drive Growth In Central And Eastern Europe
Trayport, a leading provider of energy trading solutions to traders, brokers and exchanges worldwide today announced that 42 Financial Services are using Trayport’s GlobalVision Broker Trading SystemSM (BTS) for expansion into Central and Eastern Europe (CEE).
http://jlne.ws/JuTp8J

Guggenheim Investments Selects Milestone Group’s pControl For NAV Validation And Reporting – End-To-End Automation Of Key Fund Administration Processes Enhances Efficiency, Control And Risk Management
Milestone Group, the specialist provider of optimised fund processing solutions to the global funds industry, has today announced that Guggenheim Investments, the investment management business of Guggenheim Partners LLC, which has approximately $127 billion of assets under management, has selected its pControl platform to automate the management and control of its NAV production and validation processes.
http://jlne.ws/JuTrxw

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

Hong Kong’s Securities And Futures Commission Gazettes Amendment Notice To Expand And Update Lists Of Specified Futures And Stock Exchanges
http://jlne.ws/JuTrNP

Shenzhen Stock Exchange Continues To Strengthen Investors Appropriateness Management
http://jlne.ws/JuTrO0

Frontier Markets

NSE says Nifty futures trading back to ‘normal’
Reuters via Yahoo! Finance
The National Stock Exchange said trading in Nifty futures was now “normal”, and that prior issues involving the confirmation of orders had been resolved.
http://jlne.ws/JuTrO6

Kuwait Stock Exchange Launches NASDAQ OMX Powered Trading Platform
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) announced that the Kuwait Stock Exchange (KSE) has successfully rolled out its new NASDAQ OMX powered trading platform. KSE’s new trading platform is based on NASDAQ OMX’s proven X-stream technology and will initially support trading of cash equities and forwards, with additional derivatives products and bonds to be added in the next phase. NASDAQ OMX has also provided KSE with index calculation technology and a SMARTS powered surveillance solution.
http://jlne.ws/JuTs4s

ITIDA And “NILEX” Sign An MOU Supporting The Listing Of ICT Companies
The Information Technology Industry Development Authority “ITIDA” and The Egyptian Exchange “EGX” Signed a Memorandum of Understanding “MOU” as a mean of cooperation to support the IT industry companies, specially those interested in listing on SMEs market “NILEX”.
http://jlne.ws/JuTs4x

What is the difference between a developed, emerging, and frontier market?
Nasdaq
For amateur investors, discerning what exactly differentiates developed, emerging, and frontier markets can be challenging. Today, we’ll try to clarify some of these important distinctions for
http://jlne.ws/JuTs4C

Bahrain Financial Exchange Wins Top Forex Product Award – The BFX Wins The ‘Most Innovative Forex Product Award 2012′ At The 7th Jordan Forex Expo & Award (JFEX) 2012
http://jlne.ws/JuTpFV

Securities Commission Malaysia: Group Audit Dominates Discussions On Implementation Of ISA 600
The Audit Oversight Board of Malaysia (AOB) hosted regulators from Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand, other related agencies and representatives from the Big-4 audit firms, at a roundtable in Kuala Lumpur today, to discuss issues relating to the implementation of the International Standards in Auditing No 600 (ISA 600).
http://jlne.ws/JuTpWe

Invest Malaysia 2012 To Showcase Growth Of Malaysia’s Multinationals – Exclusive Opportunity For Investors To Understand How They Can Capitalise On Malaysia’s Strength As A Key Driver Of ASEAN
http://jlne.ws/JuTskT

Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange Weekly Market Commentary – May 13, 2012
http://jlne.ws/JuTpWp

Egyptian Exchange (EGX) Board Approves A Proposal To Exempt Companies From Listing Fees And Submit A Proposal To EFSA Concerning A Mechanism For Large Volume Deals
http://jlne.ws/JuTsl4

Malawi Stock Exchange Weekly Trading Report -Week Ending11th May, 2012
http://jlne.ws/JuTsBn

Miscellaneous News

‘London Whale’ in JPMorgan spotlight a ‘nice bloke’
By Matt Scuffham and Lionel Laurent – Reuters
Bruno Iksil was dubbed the “London Whale” in credit markets due to the size of the trading positions he took, but for years he stayed well below the surface avoiding detection. Friends, colleagues and fellow traders describe an unassuming man, a far cry from the brash image normally associated with traders staking huge bets in fast-moving financial markets, including derivatives.

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

JPMorgan Reports $2 Billion Trading Loss on Synthetic Positions
By Dawn Kopecki, Michael J. Moore and Christine Harper – Bloomberg
JPMorgan Chase & Co. Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon said the firm suffered a $2 billion trading loss after an “egregious” failure in a unit managing risks, jeopardizing Wall Street banks’ efforts to loosen a federal ban on bets with their own money. The firm’s chief investment office, run by Ina Drew, 55, took flawed positions on synthetic credit securities that remain volatile and may cost an additional $1 billion this quarter or next, Dimon told analysts yesterday. Losses mounted as JPMorgan tried to mitigate transactions designed to hedge credit exposure.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5SRT

**°° There is nothing to see here, please move along.

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David Weidner’s Writing on the Wall: J.P. Morgan’s losses reveal market chaos
Market Watch
Credit-default swaps, interest-rate swaps, massive derivative hedging bets, dark pools all run by algorithms – the markets are so run amok that they are humiliating the smartest guys on Wall Street. And there is none smarter than Jamie Dimon at the top of an institution. And then there were none. J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., the last bank on Wall Street with any semblance of industry dignity for how it managed and comported itself in the financial crisis, on Thursday became the latest confidence-shaking bank on Wall Street to get waylaid by today’s financial system. It’s a system that by now is so obviously out of control that you have to wonder if we should just call off the charade of regulation.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5PWu

**** Yes, there is blood all over, but please move along.

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NYSE Amex LLC To Be Renamed NYSE MKT LLC – NYSE Amex Options Market Will Retain Its Current Name
NYSE Euronext today announced that NYSE Amex LLC, the self regulatory organization, will be renamed NYSE MKT LLC effective May 14, 2012, subject to SEC filing. NYSE MKT is the premier U.S. equities market for listing and trading of small growth companies. NYSE MKT’s associated options market will continue to do business under the name NYSE Amex Options.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5PWv

**** I would like to buy a vowel please.

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Paul MacGregor of NYSE Liffe Discusses New Products & the Interest Rate Market Outlook
MarketsWiki.tv
NYSE Euronext continues to develop its interest rate offerings, challenging competitors in the space, such as CME Group. Paul MacGregor, executive director, head of fixed income, NYSE Liffe (the global derivatives business of NYSE Euronext) sat down recently with JLN’s Managing Editor, Christine Nielsen, to discuss the outlook for the interest rate market and new products on the horizon for the exchange.

Watch the video >

**** This interview was shot in the office of John Lothian News on the 30th floor of the Chicago Board of Trade Building on Jackson Blvd. in Chicago, or as we now call it “30 Jack.” 30 Jack Rocks!!

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LCH.Clearnet appoints Dennis McLaughlin as Group Chief Risk Officer
LCH.Clearnet Group Limited has appointed Dennis McLaughlin Group Chief Risk Officer, reporting to Ian Axe, Group CEO. The appointment is a further investment by LCH.Clearnet in enhancing its world-class risk management offering.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5QcI

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MGEX Announces Single-Click Spread Functionality Between MGEX and CBOT Wheat Contracts
MGEX, a Designated Contract Market and Derivatives Clearing Organization, today unveiled new functionality involving its Hard Red Spring Wheat (HRSW) futures contract. At the request of market participants, MGEX collaborated with the Chicago Board of Trade (CBOT) to introduce single-click trading functionality between the MGEX HRSW futures and CBOT Soft Red Winter Wheat (SRWW) futures contracts.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5SS6

**** How far is it between Chicago and Minneapolis? One click.

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May 2012 InBOX
This is the May issue of InBOX, your news source from inside the BOX Options Exchange. This monthly publication will provide convenient summaries of recent developments at BOX.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5SS8

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Oops – there goes another Black Swan
Allan D Grody – FOW
During MF Global’s debacle, the Trustee reported it transferred 10,000 commodities customer accounts representing $1.5 billion in collateral supporting three million open positions having a notional value of $100 billion. One could think small potatoes when looking at trillion dollar notional values in OTC derivatives markets. However, the Trustee went on to say this represented 40% of all commodity futures exchange activity in US markets and had they not acted swiftly it could have caused serious market disruption. While this says much about quick regulatory response it says a lot more about SIFI and Global-SIFI (G-SIFI) designations based on asset size that doesn’t yet accommodate all significant financial institutions failures.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5T8o

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Low trading volumes force Chi-East closure
By Jeremy Grant in Singapore – Financial Times
Chi-East, the first pan-Asian “dark pool” trading platform, on Thursday succumbed to persistently low trading volumes in the region after its two biggest backers, Nomura and the Singapore exchange, closed down the venture.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5QcS

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Exclusive: SEC investigator on leave after threat allegations
Reuters via Yahoo! News
The new lead investigator at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission‘s watchdog office has been placed on administrative leave after he talked openly about wanting to carry a concealed firearm at work and some employees complained he was a physical threat, according to people familiar with the matter.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5QcW

**** I would not want to wear a bullet proof vest if I was at the SEC, I would want a helmet for all the %^&*() falling from the sky there. What is next?

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Private Equity Explained, in a Cartoon Video
By WILLIAM ALDEN – NY Times
The 1980s are officially over, as far as private equity is concerned. The industry’s lobbying group, the Private Equity Growth Capital Council, has released an educational video portraying buyout firms as friendly business partners that give struggling companies a helping hand. Absent is any trace of the swagger that the private equity industry projected in its heyday. Instead, with animated whiteboard drawings and an upbeat soundtrack, the video makes the industry appear wholesome. In one scene, there’s even a beaming cartoon sun — with a smiley face.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5T8s

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Unpaid Internships: Bad for Students, Bad for Workers, Bad for Society
Derek Thompson | The Atlantic
The economics of unpaid internships are obvious. Employers are desperate for cheap work, and “free” is pretty cheap. Workers are desperate for, well, anything, and students and recent grads are willing to negotiate their wages down to zero. But the ethics aren’t so clear-cut.
http://jlne.ws/KVc7TV

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MarketsWiki Spring Cleaning Party – May 18, 2012

Join the MarketsWiki staff on Friday, May 18 as we clean up our most popular pages and take suggestions from MarketsWiki users all day.

Help us by participating in one of three ways:

(1) Help us edit – Spend some time on May 18 to help update a page. We’ll give you (and your organization) a shout out in the newsletter and on the front page of MarketsWiki during the party. Don’t have a MarketsWiki account? You can start a FREE MarketsWiki account for this event. Send Jeff Bergstrom an email to get signed up. We’ll also have help available all day for those new to wiking (or are a bit rusty).

(2) Suggest a page to clean up – Tweet your suggestion to @MarketsWiki with the #MWParty hashtag on (or before) May 18. You can also suggest a page at http://jlne.ws/MWSuggest.

(3) Spread the word – Contact colleagues that might have suggestions or want to become MarketsWiki editors. For a quick explanation of MarketsWiki, send them our short animated video: http://jlne.ws/WhatIsMW. Use the the #MWParty hashtag on Twitter to help us spread the word about our newly updated pages on May 18.

We hope you’ll join us on May 18, and remember to watch our progress by following the #MWParty hashtag on Twitter or visiting MarketsWiki.com.

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JLN Interest Rates Newsletter

U.S. Senate fails to vote on student loan interest rates
DiamondBack Online
The U.S. Senate failed to pass a bill yesterday that would keep student loan interest rates from doubling, leaving many students uncertain of their educational and financial futures. Several student leaders from University System of Maryland institutions — including Student Government Association President Sam Zwerling — and activist organizations traveled to Washington yesterday to talk to legislators and urge them to keep college affordable.
http://jlne.ws/KT5dhW

30-year mortgage rate hits record low of 3.83%
MarketWatch
Following weak jobs data and stability concerns for Europe, mortgage rates hit record lows in the week ending May 10, with the 30-year fixed-rate mortgage average ticking down to 3.83% from 3.84% in the prior week, Freddie Mac said Thursday in its weekly report. These data go back to 1971.
http://jlne.ws/IW6lGo

ISDA Said to Begin Biggest Revision to Credit Swaps Since 2009
By Matthew Leising – Bloomberg
Credit-default swaps users will meet this week in New York and London to discuss changes to the contracts in what may become the biggest revisions since 2009, according to people familiar with the situation.
http://jlne.ws/IMGsZZ

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MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Ron Grossman
http://jlne.ws/IMchNe

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MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People

Thomas Chlada; Ron Grossman; Paul MacGregor; Jay Biancamano

Companies, Organizations and Groups

NYSE Liffe; Aritas Securities

Products

Scila Surveillance; TRADExpress; TRADExpress RealTime Clearing

Miscellaneous

Upcoming Events; Five Minutes With Peter Weibel, CEO, TriReduce Division Of TriOptima

Statistics

23,226,394 pages viewed, 6,867 articles, 139,942 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
_______________________________________________________

Lead Stories

NYSE Liffe reclassifies trading positions
By Emiko Terazono – Financial Times
The newsletter laid out changes surrounding the London-based derivatives market’s reporting on traders and investors’ buying and selling. [...] The changes, which amended the classification of some accounts and altered the positions held by various players in the market, only seems to have deepened the scepticism among some participants in the London-based soft commodities market surrounding the figures.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5QcX

Nasdaq Details Plan To Strike Back At ‘Dark’ Trading
By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) is planning a range of new stock-trading services designed to strike back at private trading platforms like “dark pools,” escalating the competition for stock orders of retail-level traders and institutional investors.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5QcZ

Instinet co-chief to leave amid shake-up
Michelle Price – Financial News
Anthony Abenante, co-chief executive of Instinet, is set to leave his role at the Nomura-owned agency brokerage following a management shake-up, according to two sources familiar with the situation.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5Qd0

DealBook: In Europe, Entry Closes on Start-Ups With Their Foot in the Door
New York Times
An unregulated offshoot of the Frankfurt Stock Exchange that gives small companies access to capital markets is closing because of fraud complaints, leaving hundreds of companies scrambling to find an alternative.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5Qti

Investors losing faith in commodity hedge funds
By Tommy Wilkes and Eric Onstad – Reuters
Investors in some of the best-known commodity hedge funds are getting increasingly frustrated by their performance, with some heading for the exit as managers rack up a second year of losses.
http://jlne.ws/K5VjgB

S&P warns of $46tn refinancing challenge
By Mary Watkins in London – Financial Times
European companies could face serious challenges refinancing a wall of maturing debt over the next few years as the region’s banks deal with the impact of regulation and fallout from the eurozone debt crisis, according to a new report from Standard & Poor’s.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5Qtl

Bank Foreign Branches Said to Face Tougher U.S. Swaps Rules
By Matthew Leising and Silla Brush
The main U.S. swaps regulator may determine how much of a bank’s foreign trading activity will be subject to regulation under the Dodd-Frank Act based on whether the firm conducts the trades from branches or affiliates, according to people familiar with the discussions.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5T8D

FDIC Outlines Plan For Financial Rescues
By Alan Zibel and Victoria McGrane, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
The head of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp on Thursday made the case that his agency is up to the task of handling the failure of a major financial firm, providing new details of how the agency would seize the parent company but allow its subsidiaries around the world to keep operating.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5T8G

EU: Signs of Recovery, Risks Remain
By FRANCES ROBINSON and VANESSA MOCK – WSJ
The European Commission said there are initial signs of a recovery in the bloc’s growth next year, although risks remain from the sovereign-debt crisis or a global increase in oil prices, the executive arm of the 27-nation bloc said Friday.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5ToY

Spain set to miss deficit target
By Alex Barker in Brussels – Financial Times
Spain will badly miss its budget deficit target for this year and next year, according to European Union forecasts released on Friday that mean Madrid will have to adopt even deeper austerity measures if it is to avoid big fines from Brussels.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5Qtt

Decoding the latest OTC derivative BIStimates
Posted by Lisa Pollack – FT Alphaville
The latest Bank of International Settlement’s over-the-counter derivatives survey came out on Wednesday. The data are available in half-yearly chunks, so this report takes us up to the end of 2011.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5QJK

Raising Oil Futures Margins May Boost Price Volatility, IEA Says
By Sherry Su – Bloomberg
Rising margin requirements in oil futures trading may increase volatility and concentrate market share in the hands of large speculators, the International Energy Agency said. CME Group Inc. (CME), the world’s largest futures exchange, is raising margins for non-hedged accounts from May 7 to comply with new regulations. Members will be treated as speculators for outright positions, paying a higher margin, the exchange said in a statement on May 2.
http://jlne.ws/IIfXAQ

ART CASHIN: These Are The Warning Signs Of Contagion
Business Insider
UBS’s Art Cashin offered his take on what contagion would look like in the eurozone if Greece is forced to abandon the euro in favor of its own currency.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5Tpc

Repression on bonds heralds masochism
Gillian Tett – Financial Times
Almost exactly a year ago, the economists Carmen Reinhart and Belén Sbrancia wrote a path-breaking International Monetary Fund paper about “financial repression”. It initially caused many western investors to blink. For while such “repression” has been extensively discussed in emerging markets in recent years, not many people in America knew what this dark-sounding phrase meant
http://jlne.ws/KQ5QJT

Environmental Trading News

California and Quebec Near an Agreement for Trading of Carbon Permits
The New York Times
California and Quebec moved to knit together their fledgling carbon markets on Wednesday as California proposed a new regulation allowing cross-border trading of the permits that industries must acquire to cover their emissions of greenhouse gases.
http://jlne.ws/JDQWJU

**RKB — Target date: November. Draft language highlights: calls for mutual acceptance of compliance instruments like allowances and offset credits between the two jurisdictions. Calls for common allowance registry and auction, including provisions for tracking allowances which are designed to enhance market security.

California takes step toward linking CO2 market to Quebec
Reuters
California on Wednesday released an updated draft of its cap-and-trade regulations that for the first time includes language that would link its carbon market to a similar scheme in the Canadian province of Quebec.
http://jlne.ws/JhBOUD

Quebec joins California in cap and trade market
SF Gate
California may not have to go it alone on cap-and-trade after all. Under rules proposed Wednesday by state regulators, the Canadian province of Quebec will link its cap-and-trade system to California’s in November. The joint market will allow businesses in both California and Quebec to trade permits to emit the greenhouse gases behind global warming.
http://jlne.ws/IXbgGX

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

Exchange & ECN News

LCH.Clearnet to appoint Magnus Spencer as Group General Counsel
LCH.Clearnet Group Limited (“LCH.Clearnet Group”) is to appoint Magnus Spencer as Group General Counsel, reporting to Ian Axe, Group CEO. Magnus will be joining LCH Clearnet’s Executive Committee and will be based in London.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5WkG

NYSE Liffe Announces First Colocation Customer From Asia
Amsterdam, Brussels, Hong Kong, Lisbon, London, Paris: Friday, 11 May 2012: NYSE Liffe, the European based derivatives business of NYSE Euronext, is pleased to announce GF Futures Co. Ltd, a Hong Kong based subsidiary of GF Group, as its first colocation customer from Asia.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5QJY

Burgundy Launches Competitive Clearing
Burgundy is pleased to announce today’s launch of a competitive clearing service which enables our customers to choose between EMCF and SIX x-clear, both leading European clearinghouses.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5WkM

Shareholder group OKs executive pay at CME
Lynne Marek – Crain’s
CME Group Inc. won Institutional Shareholder Services support for its compensation policies this year, fending off a repeat of last year’s battle over the issue.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5TFr

NZX Limited (“NZX”) Buyback/Cancellation And Share Split
http://jlne.ws/KQ5TFs

[NYSE Arca] North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Summit
The City of Chicago will be hosting the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) summit on May 20 and 21, 2012. NYSE Arca does not anticipate any interruptions to trading or operations during the summit period. Clients should use current contact information for NYSE Arca support during the summit period. NYSE Arca expects service and responsiveness to be at customary levels.

April 2012 FIF Market Share And Market Dynamics Reports – Executive Summary
http://jlne.ws/KQ5WkT

BM&FBOVESPA S.A. Announces Results For The First Quarter 2012 – Bovespa Segment’s Average Daily Trading Value Reached All-Time High
http://jlne.ws/KQ5WB8

Bucharest Stock Exchange’s Net Profit Is Up By 26% In The First Quarter Of 20121
http://jlne.ws/KQ5TFB

Senior Solution Lists On Bovespa Mais
http://jlne.ws/KQ5WBd

E.MEFF 26 – Trading Hours Extension For IBEX 35 Futures
http://jlne.ws/KQ5WBi

BM&FBOVESPA 1Q12 Financial Statements
http://jlne.ws/KQ5WBn

CNSX Markets – Victoria Day Schedule
http://jlne.ws/KQ5WBp

Program Trading Averaged 30.4 Percent Of NYSE Volume During Apr. 30-May 4
http://jlne.ws/KQ5TVZ

Banks, Brokers & Dark Pools

Jamie Dimon makes a drama out of a credit crisis
by John Gapper – Financial Times
JP Morgan’s sudden conference call to disclose, and to try to explain, the $2bn trading loss that it racked up in only six weeks was one of the most absorbing bits of live financial theatre since the 2008 crash. The star of the show, naturally, was Jamie Dimon, the bank’s ebullient and outspoken chief executive, who has been out in front leading the industry’s defence of “too big too fail” banks and pushing back against new capital requirements. Oops.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5TW5

Others in the Spotlight After JPMorgan’s Big Trading Loss
By MICHAEL J. DE LA MERCED – NY Times
Almost immediately after JPMorgan Chase disclosed that a trading group had suffered a “significant” loss because of complex credit investments, analysts and investors began pondering which executives might come under fire.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5TW6

JPMorgan Chase: London whale swallows $2B
CBS News
Jill Schlesinger: How can a $2B trading loss occur? The answer: JPMorgan Chase blew it
http://jlne.ws/KQ5WRI

JPMorgan faces backlash over ties to Sudan
By Hibah Yousuf – CNNMoneyInvest
For the second year in a row, JPMorgan Chase is recommending shareholders vote against a proposal calling for the bank to stop investing in companies that “substantially contribute to genocide or crimes against humanity.”
http://jlne.ws/M3sOCh

Deutsche Bank to settle mortgage suit for $202 mln
Market Watch
Deutsche Bank will pay $202.3 million to settle a civil fraud lawsuit with the U.S. government in connection with misconduct by its subsidiary Mortgageit in handling mortgages, the Department of Housing and Urban Development said in a statement on Thursday.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5WRM

Greek exposure hits Crédit Agricole
By Scheherazade Daneshkhu in Paris – Financial Times
Crédit Agricole reported a 75 per cent fall in first quarter net profits after taking another hit from its exposure to Greece through Emporiki, its lossmaking Greek bank.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5TWc

Investment banks await ratings verdict
By Tom Braithwaite and Tracy Alloway – Financial Times
The investment banks are on trial. For the past 12 weeks the titans of Wall Street have been pleading their case to a modest bunch of analysts from Moody’s Investors Service.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5Ucu

If downgraded, Goldman could be on hook for $2.2B
Associated Press via Yahoo! News
Goldman Sachs could owe up to $2.21 billion on its derivatives deals if its credit rating is downgraded by two notches, the company said in a regulatory filing Thursday.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5Ucz

Goldman moves to pre-empt Volcker
By Tracy Alloway in New York – Financial Times
Goldman Sachs has begun shedding some of its investments ahead of upcoming rules that will limit banks’ ability to keep money in hedge funds and private equity.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5UcD

UBS Hires J.P. Morgan Real Estate Banker
Wall Street Journal Blogs
UBS has hired a new top banker in its real-estate, leisure and lodging investment banking unit, according to an internal memo.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5X8k

Morgan Stanley Weighs Derivative Options As It Awaits Moody’s Action
By Brett Philbin, Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
As a potential credit-rating downgrade draws closer, Morgan Stanley (MS) Chairman and Chief Executive James Gorman may have a few cards up his sleeve, but Wall Street isn’t sure if it’s a good hand.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5UsZ

E*TRADE Financial Corporation Announces Results of Annual Meeting of Stockholders
http://jlne.ws/KQ5XoI

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.shtml

US swaps regulator delays block trading rule
By Telis Demos in New York – Financial Times
The US futures and swaps market regulator has responded to concerns expressed by exchanges, delaying a proposed rule that would have limited block trading and forced some contracts to be delisted. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s rule, known as core principle nine, would have required that at least 85 per cent of a listed future or swap’s volume to be traded in small lots on an exchange’s floor or electronic order book, rather than in large blocks outside the exchange.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5XoN

CFTC Proposes Order Amending the Effective Date for Swap Regulation Order Issued on July 14, 2011
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today voted to propose an Order regarding the effective date for swap regulation. The Order is a six-month extension from certain provisions of the Commodity Exchange Act that otherwise would have taken effect on July 16, 2011, the general effective date of Title VII of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act . Today’s order further narrows the scope of the Order because some rules, for example the further definition of swap dealer and major swap participant, have become effective.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5XoR

Open Commission Meeting For Consideration Of Rules Implementing The Dodd-Frank Act – CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler
http://jlne.ws/KQ5Utg

Statement On The Proposed Exemptive Order Regarding Certain Dodd-Frank Effective Dates – CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler
http://jlne.ws/KQ5Uth

Concurrence Statement On The Amendment To The July 17, 2011 Exemptive Order – CFTC Commissioner Scott D. O’Malia
http://jlne.ws/KQ5UJu

CFTC Commissioner Jill Sommers Opening Statement Regarding The Twelfth Open Meeting To Consider Final Rules Pursuant To The Dodd-Frank Act
http://jlne.ws/KQ5XFg

“Lettuce Produce” Statement Of Commissioner Bart Chilton At The CFTC Public Meeting On Dodd/Frank Rulemaking, Washington, Dc
http://jlne.ws/KQ5XFh

Opening Statement On CFTC Open Meeting Regarding Core Principles And Other Requirements For Designated Contract Markets – CFTC Commissioner Mark P. Wetjen
http://jlne.ws/KQ5XFp

Opening Statement, Open Meeting To Consider One Final Rule On Core Principles And Other Requirements For Designated Contract Markets – CFTC Commissioner Scott D. O’Malia
http://jlne.ws/KQ5V03

Group Disputes FINRA’s SRO Cost Estimates
Financial Planning.com
FINRA is substantially underestimating the costs to set up a self-regulatory organization for investment advisors, according to a review by the Boston Consulting Group commissioned by the Certified Financial Planner’s Board.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5V08

Two Stock Promoters, a Stock Trader, and a Securities Lawyer Sentenced to Prison for Their Roles in a $7 Million Fraudulent Stock Manipulation Scheme
U.S. District Judge Richard W. Goldberg in Miami sentenced Michael Krome, 50, a securities attorney from New York, to 34 months in prison. Stock promoters Timothy Barham Jr., 44, of Tennessee; and Robert Weidenbaum, 46, of Miami, were sentenced by Judge Goldberg to 30 months and 26 months in prison, respectively.
http://jlne.ws/JlCXXo

SEC Charges Scotland-Based Firm for Improperly Boosting Hedge Fund Client at Expense of U.S. Fund Investors
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Scotland-based fund management group for fraudulently using one of its U.S. fund clients to rescue another client, a China-focused hedge fund struggling in the midst of the global financial crisis.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5XVP

FSA Fines Martin Currie £3.5 Million For Failing To Manage A Conflict Of Interests Between Clients
http://jlne.ws/KQ5V0f

Financial Stability Board: Formation Of The Enhanced Disclosure Task Force
http://jlne.ws/KQ5V0j

deVere Group Comes Out In Support Of Increased Industry Scrutiny By UK’s Financial Services Authority
http://jlne.ws/KQ5Ycf

Martin Wheatley addresses the Building Societies Association’s Annual Conference
Martin Wheatley, managing director of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) and CEO designate of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), yesterday stressed that building societies must continue to be committed to their members, and that the regulator would “treat everyone the same, big or small, bank or building society”.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5Ycg

The Draft CFTC 2012 Rulemaking Schedule
http://jlne.ws/KQ5VgC

ESMA Chair Steven Maijoor Delivers Keynote Speech To 35th European Accounting Association Annual Congress
http://jlne.ws/KQ5VgH

Call For Tender – Temporary Workers At ESMA
http://jlne.ws/KQ5VgM

[ASIC] Offers of vanilla bonds – extension of relief
http://jlne.ws/KQ5VgP

Canadian securities regulators strengthen over-the-counter rules [CSA]
http://jlne.ws/KQ5Vx8

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Funds dash to clearing houses for swaps
By Telis Demos and Tracy Alloway in New York – Financial Times
Big money managers are rushing towards third-party clearing of swaps trades before a possible downgrade of their bank trading partners’ credit ratings. The moves could vindicate regulators’ belief that private derivatives trades may be a source of counterparty risk.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5Ycv

Commods investors, fund managers grow less patient
By Barani Krishnan – Reuters
Three prominent commodity hedge funds have closed in the last month, signaling that both fund managers and investors are growing less patient with unspectacular returns than they were even five years ago, the head of hedge funds at European asset manager Feri said on Thursday.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5Vxc

Huge Institutional Investors Shifting Capital Allocation
CNBC
The largest institutional investors in the world are increasingly looking for investments that generate positive “contractual” cash flows, as opposed to mark-to-market paper gains, according to both panelists and attendees at the Skybridge Alternatives Investor Summit.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5YsN

Credit Suisse’s Asset Management Division Launches Credit Suisse Liquid Alternative Fund
PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance
Credit Suisse’s Asset Management Division announced the launch of the Credit Suisse Liquid Alternative Fund. This innovative product seeks to offer access to hedge fund-like returns, with the flexibility of daily liquidity, increased transparency and 1099 tax reporting.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5YsT

Fidelity starts new Global Equity Income fund
Boston Globe
Fidelity Investments said it’s launching a new Global Equity Income fund, in an effort to provide investors a portfolio of larger, less-volatile stocks that also pay dividends.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5YsY

Deutsche Bank,Guggenheim Partners Talks Focus On Potential RREEF Sale
Dow Jones
Deutsche Bank AG (DB) said Friday that exclusive talks with Guggenheim Partners are now centering on a potential sale of RREEF, its global platform for alternative investments, such as in real estate and infrastructure, while talks on the sale of three other asset management units have ended.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5Vxl

Hedge Fund Trade of the Day: Long Portugal, Short Ireland
CNBC
One of the more unexpected ideas to emerge from the Skybridge Alternatives investor summit has been investing in bonds issued by the government of Portugal.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5YJg

Morgan Stanley bailed on hedge-fund firm: WSJ
Market Watch
In 2010, Morgan Stanley (MS) helped Zoe Cruz, the co-president pushed out of the firm three years earlier, launch a hedge fund by writing her a $20 million check and expressing willingness to pour in more money later.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5YJo

Julian Robertson On His Investment Strategy And What It Takes To Get Him To Invest In Your Fund
Business Insider
Julian Robertson started legendary hedge fund Tiger Management . He is the father of over 40 Tiger Cubs (like Chase Coleman and other uber talented hedgies). In short, he is a hedge fund king.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5VNF

European Regulation Is Forcing A Change In Direction For The Use Of Market Surveillance Tools, Says TABB Group
http://jlne.ws/KQ5YJu

Investors Say Geopolitical Concerns Will Be The Biggest Driver Of Market Performance In 2012
http://jlne.ws/KQ5YZK

SPDR ETF on Asian government bonds launched on Xetra
http://jlne.ws/KQ5VNI

Technology News

Dynegy Selects Updata Analytics for Natural Gas and Power Trading
Dynegy, a leading US power generator, has chosen to use Updata Professional, a suite of advanced analytics, on their power and natural gas trading desks.
http://jlne.ws/J3KpDR

Media News

Facebook Instagram deal delay threat
By April Dembosky in San Francisco – Financial Times
A competition probe into Facebook’s $1bn acquisition of photo-sharing service Instagram threatens to postpone the closure of the deal beyond the second quarter, the target set by the company in its initial public offering documents.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5Z01

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 inflation eases, as economy slows further
Channel 8 San Diego
China’s economy is slowing further, defying hopes it may have “bottomed out,” with data for April showing sharper than expected declines in investment and industrial production.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5VNO

Challenges of new Cambodia stock exchange
CNN
I visited the Cambodian Stock Exchange (CSX) last September in the heart of Phnom Penh. It had officially “opened” a few months prior but no companies were listed yet. The trading room was filled with new desks and computer monitors, waiting for someone to power them on.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5VNR

Dalian Commodity Exchange Starts Simulation Options Trading
http://jlne.ws/KQ5W44

ISDA Japan Annual Collateral Survey 2012
http://jlne.ws/KQ5W45

Frontier Markets

MCX Weekly Market Report May 04, 2012 – May 10, 2012
http://jlne.ws/KQ5W48

Miscellaneous News

Joseph Stiglitz Talks To Alec Baldwin On The Financial Crisis, Reaganomics, And Why He Became An Economist
Business Insider via Yahoo! Finance
Alec Baldwin talked with Joseph Stiglitz on his WNYC show Here’s The Thing. Baldwin quizzed the Nobel prize winning economist and professor on the financial crisis, Reaganomics, growing up in Indiana, and what he sees in students now.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5W4c

A cautionary tale of inflation and growth
By Mark Carney – Financial Times
The financial crisis has shaken the world economy and prompted questions that strike at the heart of monetary economics. As governments, banks and households in advanced economies struggle to reduce debt, growth has plummeted. Weak growth is undermining efforts to repair balance sheets and causing more austerity. This vicious circle is creating problems for all economies.
http://jlne.ws/KQ5W4e

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

Comment: The need to measure market fairness
By Mike Aitken – Financial Times
Amid disruptions like the “flash crash” and the advent of high-frequency trading and dark pools, regulators around the world are under pressure to give investors reassurance that markets retain their integrity. They have talked about circuit breakers and restrictions on high-frequency trading, short sales and further examination of dark pools to ensure that these practices and tools are as trustworthy as their supporters claim. But what evidence do we have that markets are clean or fair?
http://jlne.ws/IEIw2d

**** Back when New York futures markets were open outcry, I believed them to not be fair. One only needs to receive a 14 minute fill in cocoa once to come to this conclusion. I told people not to trade these markets then. I also was an outspoken proponent for electronic markets to help level the playing field. The playing field may be leveler, but some traders still have an edge. Speed has always been edge and always will be. What is different is that we are much more dependent on exchange staff and regulators to police our markets than in the self-regulating days of open outcry. Of course, that self-regulation can fail too, as I believed in New York markets. Can the exchanges and regulators keep up in the arms race that is electronic trading, dark pools and even payment for order flow schemes? Just throwing the book at some traders in big cases is not enough. In fact, that only hurts the markets perceptions in this climate. But maybe we need to hit the low of the market before the bad news starts to be good.

**** I am beginning to believe we need a new regulatory regime replacing the SEC and CFTC. We tried to fix the markets problems in Dodd-Frank, but we did not address our regulatory structure problems. And I am not sure that Dodd-Frank is going to make our regulatory structure problems any better. Why not start from scratch?

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Ron Grossman to retire from ADM
Ron Grossman, Vice President of Sales for ADMIS, has accepted an early retirement offer from ADM that was effective April30th. Grossman joined ADMIS 16 years ago as Director of Trading Floor Operations. His career begin 37 years ago at Heinold Commodities at the CME, and has since worked on several committees at the CBOT and the FIA Chicago. Ron plans to continue to stay active doing B to B consulting within the futures industry. He has also begun volunteering for the Daniel Murphy Scholarship Fund.

**** Congrats to Ron on his “retirement” and best of luck with his new endeavors.

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Opponents Of Expanded Grain Futures Hours Threaten Boycott
By Ian Berry Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
An online petition circulating among grains futures traders threatens a boycott of the IntercontinentalExchange Inc.‘s new grains contracts amid discontent over expanded trading hours that are set to start this month.
http://jlne.ws/IMGtNr

**** Resetting when the rooster crows is not easy.

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London’s Futures And Foreign Exchange Communities Walk To Work On May 18th – London’s Futures And Options Industry Joins Forces With The Foreign Exchange Community To Slog 35 Miles Plus On 4 Routes To The City For 4 Children’s Charities
Press Release
Despite the bad weather, country lanes, public footpaths and bridleways around the Home Counties and beyond have seen a marked increase in use by an intrepid bunch of futures and options and foreign exchange industry executives in recent weeks. The reason? The Futures for Kids ‘Walk to Work’ and the sudden awareness that a good pair of walking shoes and a few plasters to ease the pain of those blisters will not suffice to drag those ageing legs some 35 miles to the City of London.
http://jlne.ws/IMGu3R

**** Please donate to Futures for Kids and support one of these walkers effort.

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JLN Options Newsletter: A Chat with Russ Chrusciel, Head of Sungard Valdi Options
On April 30, Sungard announced that its Valdi Options Risk Manager now supports options traded on international exchanges. JLN Options editor Sarah Rudolph spoke with Russ Chrusciel, the head of Valdi Options U.S., at the Options Industry Conference last week in New Orleans about the recent changes to the Valdi offering and the prospects for the options exchange space in the coming years.

Q: What is the role of Sungard Valdi Options?

A: We work with options traders and risk managers to create options risk management solutions, options valuation solutions, and solutions that serve the needs of general options traders.

Q: What is your latest addition to the Options Risk Manager?

A: Three things are new. First, options risk manager now supports analysis and valuation for foreign-listed options. We had previously been solely focused on U.S. listed options.

Second, we have introduced an extension of functionality that gives each user the ability to look at individual option Greeks and specific theoretical values.

Third, the solution is offered in ASP, or what some people call a “hosted” solution. That reduces the hardware costs, and reduces infrastructure maintenance costs over time.

These changes were officially launched in the past week.

Q: Which international options do you cover?

A: There are about 80 or 90 foreign exchanges. We don’t include them all at this point, but we have the capability through our Sungard global network and our in-house data providers to support a listed options market if the customer demand is there. Our primary focus is and will continue to be options exchanges that have a critical mass in volume and that our customers are seeking to be involved with. A couple of examples are the Montreal Exchange and the Eurex Exchange.

For the rest of the interview and detailed coverage of the options sector, visit the JLN Options website at http://jlne.ws/IR2CZP

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(Another) New daily record in the Eurex KOSPI Product: 9 May 2012
Press Release
New daily record turnover on 9 May 2012: 731,889 contracts
Previous daily record on 8 May 2012: 525,781 contracts

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Former CFTC Acting Chairman And Commissioner Michael V. Dunn Appointed Chairman Of DTCC’s U.S. Swap Data Repository
The Depository Trust & Clearing Corporation today announced that former Commodity Futures Trading Commissioner Michael V. Dunn will join the company, effective May 12, to serve as the non-executive Chairman of its U.S. Swap Data Repository. Dunn will report to DTCC President and CEO-elect Michael Bodson, recently named to succeed Donald F. Donahue in July.
http://jlne.ws/IMGukr

**** I never saw Mike Dunn as a data swapper.

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The Thing Is: Speech Of CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton Before Citizens For Financial Reform, Washington, DC
http://jlne.ws/IMGuky

***JM: While I don’t agree with Bart’s viewpoint on market mechanics, this speech overall is very good, and makes solid points about what is necessary in order for a diverse group to actually accomplish something.

***JJL: Bart Chilton could definitely be a data swapper.

++++

Hedge funds head for big banana skin
By Hugh Hendry – Financial Times
For the moment, let us forget the chances of a hard landing in China. Forget the drama of Europe’s circus of politically inspired economic incompetency. Forget that the good news of the US economy’s succession of positive economic surprises is really bad news as fixed income managers have sold copious amounts of too cheap volatility and because it has made equity investors turn bullish, sending stock market volatility back to 2007 levels. This is dangerous. Improved US data may represent a classic short-term cyclical upturn amid a profound global deleveraging cycle.
http://jlne.ws/IMGsJg

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Exchanges: Threat averted for London
By Philip Stafford – Financial Times
Pittsburgh is a long way from Europe but a G20 meeting in the US city more than three years ago has set off a game of chess on the old continent. It served as a backdrop as policymakers from the world’s leading economies thrashed out a series of measures designed to safeguard the financial system. They included pushing more of the vast, opaque over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market on to electronic trading venues, having the trades processed through clearing houses and the deals reported to trade repositories.
http://jlne.ws/IMGsJn

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Round-up: Big hubs keep the wheels of industry turning
An analysis of the state of, and challenges facing, the financial hubs of Paris, London, Frankfurt and Zurich.
By Scheherazade Daneshkhu, James Pickford, James Wilson and Haig Simonian – Financial Times
http://jlne.ws/IMGuB0

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Teaching financial experts about the cost of bad investments
Gail MarksJarvis – Chicago Tribune
Americans would like an apology from Wall Street for the financial crisis. They probably aren’t going to get it. But how about giving the number crunchers and investment managers a “time out” to reflect a little on the era of financial alchemy and greed that did so much damage?
http://jlne.ws/IMGuB2

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Webinar: Arbitrage Trading of Soft Commodity and Agricultural Futures
Join NYSE Liffe, Complete Commodity Solutions Ltd and RTS Realtime Systems for an interactive webinar on the opportunities of arbitrage trading in soft and agricultural commodities. Our experts will look at a variety of contracts, analyze price relationshops and discuss the impact of the currency exposure of commodities such as coffee, cocoa, wheat and sugar. Using popular wheat contracts as an example, our experts will demonstrate how to successfully capture opportunities using low latency trading solutions.
http://jlne.ws/IIAbw9

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MarketsWiki Spring Cleaning Party – May 18, 2012

Join the MarketsWiki staff on Friday, May 18 as we clean up our most popular pages and take suggestions from MarketsWiki users all day.

Help us by participating in one of three ways:

(1) Help us edit – Spend some time on May 18 to help update a page. We’ll give you (and your organization) a shout out in the newsletter and on the front page of MarketsWiki during the party. Don’t have a MarketsWiki account? You can start a FREE MarketsWiki account for this event. Send Jeff Bergstrom an email to get signed up. We’ll also have help available all day for those new to wiking (or are a bit rusty).

(2) Suggest a page to clean up – Tweet your suggestion to @MarketsWiki with the #MWParty hashtag on (or before) May 18. You can also suggest a page at http://jlne.ws/MWSuggest.

(3) Spread the word – Contact colleagues that might have suggestions or want to become MarketsWiki editors. For a quick explanation of MarketsWiki, send them our short animated video: http://jlne.ws/WhatIsMW. Use the the #MWParty hashtag on Twitter to help us spread the word about our newly updated pages on May 18.

We hope you’ll join us on May 18, and remember to watch our progress by following the #MWParty hashtag on Twitter or visiting MarketsWiki.com.

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MarketsWiki Page of the Day
David Setters
http://jlne.ws/J1cRq1

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MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People
Tim Lankford; Matt Amberson; Rodrigo Rato; Michael Babel; Debbie Baratz; David Setters; Maurisa Baumann; Frank Bednarz; James Benincasa; Ron Boehm; James Bohrer; Christine Bookmyer; Rob Brogan; Michael Burbach; Daniel Busby; Ken Byrne

Companies, Organizations and Groups
Touradji Capital Management; Bloomberg, L.P.; Minneapolis Grain Exchange, Inc.; ConvergEx RealTick

Products
The Options Insider

Statistics
23,170,844 pages viewed, 6,864 articles, 139,906 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

Lead Stories

NYSE Euronext Scrutinizing Portfolio In Bid To Cut Costs – COO
By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NYSE Euronext (NYX) is reviewing a list of about 25 investments and ventures, weighing the sale or closure of several efforts as the transatlantic exchange operator works to cut $250 million in annual costs by 2014.
http://jlne.ws/Kbh3ZN

ISDA Said to Begin Biggest Revision to Credit Swaps Since 2009
By Matthew Leising – Bloomberg
Credit-default swaps users will meet this week in New York and London to discuss changes to the contracts in what may become the biggest revisions since 2009, according to people familiar with the situation.
http://jlne.ws/IMGsZZ

CFTC analysis nixes emergency trading restrictions on oil
Reuters
The U.S. futures regulator has concluded it cannot currently use its emergency authority to impose trading curbs on speculators in the oil markets, according to people familiar with a recent internal legal analysis. The Commodity Futures Trading Commission conducted the study as it faces pressure in an election year from lawmakers to crack down as soon as possible on oil market speculation that they blame for driving up gasoline prices.
http://jlne.ws/IMGuRj

Magic numbers to determine fate of derivatives
By Huw Jones – Reuters
Two numbers at the heart of an overhaul aimed at cutting risk in the $700 trillion (434 trillion pounds) derivatives industry will determine how much more users such as airlines, banks and pension funds must pay. The industry is waiting for what David Clark, chairman of the Wholesale Markets Brokers’ Association (WMBA), told Reuters were the “magic numbers”.
http://jlne.ws/IMGvVt

Volcker: Big Banks are too big, but that’s OK
CNN Money
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker told lawmakers at a hearing Wednesday that the big banks are too big, but he stopped short of endorsing measures that force the banks to be broken up.
http://jlne.ws/IMGuRo

Volcker: Overly liquid markets hurts banking
Market Watch
Former Federal Reserve Chairman Paul Volcker said overly liquid markets are not constructive to the core business of banking, responding to critics who argue that the anti-speculation regulation that bears his name would hamper needed liquidity to the markets.
http://jlne.ws/IMGuRr

Swedish Banks Pummel EU Peers Wallowing in Laxer Rules
Bloomberg
Far from languishing under stricter capital rules, Swedish banks are thriving.
http://jlne.ws/IMGwbS

Euro Zone May Delay Greek Bailout Payment-report
MarketWatch
Euro zone nations are debating whether to delay a 5.2 billion euro payment to Greece because some governments in the currency bloc are concerned about making payments to the debt stricken country before political upheaval there settles down, Dow Jones reported on Wednesday.
http://jlne.ws/IMGv7O

Spain takes 45% stake in Bankia
By Miles Johnson in Madrid and David Oakley in London – Financial Times
Spain has taken a 45 per cent stake in Bankia, the country’s third-largest bank by assets, as worries over the financial system sent equity and bond markets falling on Wednesday.
http://jlne.ws/IMGv7T

Roubini: EU To Break Up Once Contagion Hits Italy And Spain
Forbes
With the European sovereign debt crisis having flared up in full force on the back of a divided Greek election, Nouriel Roubini aka Dr. Doom said he expects Spain to lose market access next year, while he pins the fate of the EU on contagion not hitting Spain and Italy too hard.
http://jlne.ws/IMGv7V

Critics Weigh in on High-Frequency Trading on Flash Crash Anniversary
Gino Vicci – Huffington Post
Two years ago in early May, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged nearly 1,000 points within just a few minutes before recovering, an event known as the “Flash Crash.” Since then, critics charge, little has been done by regulators or the exchanges to prevent a similar event, which many blame on a type of trading that uses powerful computers to execute a large number of orders at lightening speeds of a few milliseconds.
http://jlne.ws/Je3xTiWays to develop low-carbon economy in China
People’s Daily
On February 16, United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, United Nations Environment Program and the Asian Development Bank jointly reported that economic growth in the Asia-Pacific region has been increasing for 20 years, but resource consumption of the region is the highest in the world.
http://jlne.ws/JgJGjK

Former MF Global Carbon Head MacGiffin Joins ClimateCare
Bloomberg
Grattan MacGiffin, a former head of voluntary and new carbon at MF Global Holdings Ltd., has joined ClimateCare, an emissions offsetter in Oxford, England.
http://jlne.ws/IK2doa

Carbon market will be announced in Rio de Janeiro Rio +20
Instituto Carbono Brasil
The state government of Rio de Janeiro is preparing several announcements related to sustainable development to mark the completion of the Rio +20 in June and among them is the creation of the first mandatory carbon market in Brazil.
http://jlne.ws/ILJGwO

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.LME To Hold Board Meeting Thursday To Discuss Bids – Sources
Dow Jones
The London Metal Exchange has called a meeting of its board Thursday to discuss the bids it has received for the exchange, people familiar with the matter said, accelerating the process to potentially sell the 135-year old business.
http://jlne.ws/IMGwcb

New CME CEO doesn’t plan widespread fee increases
Reuters
Phupinder Gill, the new chief executive of CME Group, said on Tuesday the massive exchange operator would not try to compensate for sagging trading volumes with widespread fee increases for customers.
http://jlne.ws/IMGwst

Top General Counsel Honored during Annual Legal Recognition Dinner
Corporate Board Member, publisher of Corporate Board Member magazine, and global business advisory firm FTI Consulting, Inc. (NYSE: FCN ) hosted the fifth annual Legal Recognition Dinner last tonight at the Grand Hyatt in New York City, honoring distinguished general counsel (GC) and the top 25 national corporate law firms.
http://jlne.ws/IMGwsy

EEX to launch GASPOOL Season Contracts
The European Energy Exchange (EEX) is expanding the range of tradable maturities on the Natural Gas Derivatives Market. From 18 June on, the trading participants will also have the possibility to trade in GASPOOL Season Futures.
http://jlne.ws/IMGv83

NYSE Euronext To Present At UBS Global Conference; Webcast At 2:20 PM ET
RTTNews
http://jlne.ws/IMGv87

CBOE Holdings To Present At UBS Securities Conference; Webcast At 10:40 AM ET
RTTNews
http://jlne.ws/IMGvon

Federation Of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges April Newsletter
http://jlne.ws/IMGvor

Warsaw Stock Exchange Derivatives Market In April 2012
http://jlne.ws/IMGwJ6

NYSE Amex Issues Short Interest Report
http://jlne.ws/IMGwJ9

NYSE Group Inc. Issues Short Interest Report
http://jlne.ws/IMGwJd

NASDAQ Announces End-Of-Month Open Short Interest Positions In NASDAQ Stocks As Of Settlement Date April 30, 2012
http://jlne.ws/IMGwZt

Bucharest Stock Exchange Newsletter April 2012
http://jlne.ws/IMGvEU

NZX Receives Approval From High Court For Return Of Capital
http://jlne.ws/IMGwZwKnight Capital Group Loses Shareholder Vote On Pay
By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Knight Capital Group Inc. (KCG) shareholders on Wednesday voted against the executive pay structure at the U.S. brokerage and trading firm’s annual shareholder meeting. Shareholders voted down an advisory vote on Knight’s executive compensation by a margin of around 2 to 1.
http://jlne.ws/IMGwZE

Natixis plans to shut commodities brokerage unit
Reuters via Yahoo! Finance
French bank Natixis said it plans to close its commodities trading division, as one of the oldest ringdealing members of the London Metal Exchange becomes the latest victim of the European debt crisis.
http://jlne.ws/IMGvEW

Deutsche tops FX industry poll but loses ground to Citi
Reuters via Yahoo! Finance
Deutsche Bank was rated the top bank for foreign exchange transactions for the eighth straight year but its market share shrank as Citi leapt into second place from fourth, an industry poll showed.
http://jlne.ws/IMGvF0

Tullett forced to cuts more jobs
By Philip Stafford – Financial Times
Tullett Prebon, the UK interdealer broker, is cutting a further 60 jobs as weak confidence in trading on global markets resulted in flat revenues for the first four months of the year.
http://jlne.ws/IMGxg0

Bundesbank signals softening on inflation
By Ralph Atkins in Frankfurt – Financial Times
The Bundesbank, the most hawkish of central banks, has signalled it would accept higher inflation in Germany as part of an economic rebalancing in the eurozone that would boost the international competitiveness of countries worst-hit by the region’s debt crisis.
http://jlne.ws/IMGxg2

Managing Financial Crises: The Role Of The ECB – Speech By Peter Praet, Member Of The Executive Board Of The ECB At The 40th Economics Conference Of The Oesterreichische Nationalbank, Vienna, 10 May 2012
http://jlne.ws/IMGxg6

Marex Spectron To Acquire Schneider Trading Associates Pro-Trader Division
Marex Spectron Group (“Marex Spectron” or “the Company”) has agreed to acquire the Pro-Trader division of Schneider Trading Associates (“STA”) in a transaction that is expected to complete before the end of May 2012.
http://jlne.ws/IMGyAw

HSBC in talks over possible sale of Latam operations
Reuters
HSBC plc is in talks over possible sale of its operations in Colombia, Peru, Uruguay and Paraguay, as the Europe’s biggest bank continues to retreat from non-core markets.
http://jlne.ws/IMGyAx

Queen’s Speech – British Bankers’ Association Response
http://jlne.ws/IMGxgeThe 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.shtml

SEC Charges Deloitte & Touche in Shanghai with Violating U.S. Securities Laws in Refusal to Produce Documents
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced an enforcement action against Shanghai-based Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu CPA Ltd. for its refusal to provide the agency with audit work papers related to a China-based company under investigation for potential accounting fraud against U.S. investors.
http://jlne.ws/JZrO08

SEC Charges Former Detroit Officials and Investment Adviser to City Pension Funds in Influence Peddling Scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged former Detroit mayor Kwame M. Kilpatrick, former city treasurer Jeffrey W. Beasley, and the investment adviser to the city’s public pension funds involved in a secret exchange of lavish gifts to peddle influence over the funds’ investment process.
http://jlne.ws/IMGxwv

SEC Charges New York Man With Manipulating Biopharmaceutical Stocks and Conducting Unregistered Sales of Securities
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Manhattan resident with carrying out a complex market manipulation scheme in biopharmaceutical stocks after he was kicked out of the brokerage industry for fraud.
http://jlne.ws/IMGyAF

CFTC Charges New York Firm Madison Dean, Inc., And Its Principals, George Athanasatos And Laurence Dodge, With Forex Fraud
Press Release
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced the filing of a civil enforcement action in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York charging
http://jlne.ws/IMGyAG

NFA Enforcement and Registration Actions
TMA Asset Management LLC
http://jlne.ws/IMGyAKReshuffling the pack
By Anousha Sakoui – Financial Times
The wave of political change that unseated the French and Greek governments has stirred up new worries about the future of the eurozone. This uncertainty sets up another barrier to dealmaking and also explains why the market for mergers and acquisitions has not recovered – and is not predicted to this year.
http://jlne.ws/IMGyR2

At hedge fund confab, talk of devaluing the euro
Reuters via Yahoo! Finance
Economists gathered in Las Vegas for a hedge fund conference were focused on the crap games going on in Europe. “Europe is a huge mess,” Jeremy Siegel, professor of finance at the Wharton School of Business in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania said at the annual Skybridge Capital hedge fund conference here.
http://jlne.ws/IMGyR4

Zoe Cruz’s Voras Capital hedge fund shutting down: source
Reuters via Yahoo! Finance
Zoe Cruz, the former Morgan Stanley co-president, is closing her Voras Capital Management hedge fund and returning investor money, a source familiar with the fund said.
http://jlne.ws/IMGyR7

Ex-Deutsche Securities Banker Plans Commodities Hedge Fund
By Tomoko Yamazaki and Komaki Ito – Bloomberg
Ryo Ishiyama, a former Deutsche Securities Inc. banker, plans to start a hedge fund investing in global commodities futures as early as July using a strategy he employed on his own personal investments.
http://jlne.ws/IMGxwJ

Shift Now Underway in How Capital is Allocated
John Carney – CNBC
The largest institutional investors in the world are increasingly looking for investments that generate positive “contractual” cash flows, as opposed to mark-to-market paper gains, according to both panelists and attendees at the Skybridge Alternatives Investor Summit.
http://jlne.ws/IMGxMY

Hedge Fund Manager Eric Sprott Demonstrates How To Avoid A Question Like A Boss
Business Insider
This little gem just happened on CNBC’s “Fast Money: Half-Time Report” at the SALT Conference in Las Vegas when Scott Wapner asked Canadian hedge fund manager Eric Sprott about silver.
http://jlne.ws/IMGxN1

Philip Falcone Voices Concern Over China
CNBC
Harbinger hedge fund manager Phil Falcone says his view of Europe isn’t entirely dire. He’s also concerned about China.
http://jlne.ws/IMGxN7

EDHEC-Risk Institute: Equity And Bond Index Investors In Asia-Pacific Region Show Dissatisfaction With Their Indices, And Concerns Exist Over Index Transparency
http://jlne.ws/IMGyRc

Invesco Ltd. Announces April 30, 2012 Assets Under Management
http://jlne.ws/IMGyRh

New Amundi ETF launched on Xetra
http://jlne.ws/IMGxN9

SPDR ETF On Asian Government Bonds Launched On Xetra
http://jlne.ws/IMGxNdGFI Group Releases Latest Generation Fenics Professional
GFI Group announced today the release of FENICS Professional version 12.2, a new generation of the award winning FX option platform which brings together pricing, distribution, bilateral trading and risk management capabilities for FX options.
http://jlne.ws/K312RU

Wolverine Execution Services Launches New Multi-Asset Spread Trading Tool That Provides Advanced Automation and Efficiencies
Wolverine Execution Services (WEX), a leading provider of premier technology and execution services, today announced the launch of WEX Spread Agent, an advanced trading applet focused on spread and pairs trading.
http://jlne.ws/IMGz7B

Portware To Acquire Technology Assets Of Aritas Group, Inc. – Predictive Analytics Adds Broker-Neutral Intelligence To Automated Trading Workflows
http://jlne.ws/IMGz7D

Will Supercomputer Watson Be A Superhero For Banking?
Forbes
Banking has been in the dumps since the financial crisis of 2008. The road ahead doesn’t look much more promising. What with increased regulation, fewer significant profit centers ( prop trading, for example) and an extremely challenging commercial and residential real estate market, banks don’t seem to have a lot to look forward.
http://jlne.ws/IMGz7EWhy I’m thrilled Mark Zuckerberg is annoying the bankers
CNET
The horror! Facebook’s CEO apparently wore a hoodie to a meeting. Let’s face it: He could dress like Thor, wield the fabled hammer Mjolnir in presentations, and they’d still want in on the company’s IPO. Originally posted at News – Internet & Media
http://jlne.ws/IMGy3C

Facebook admits to mobile weakness
by April Dembosky – Financial Times
Facebook said the migration of its users to mobile platforms is compromising its ability to make money from them, according to additions the company made to its IPO regulatory filing on Wednesday.
http://jlne.ws/IMGy3GBriefing.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/China’s Latest Reforms Not a Sign of Economic Strength
Bloomberg
This year, China has announced a flurry of financial liberalization measures that were perceived by many in the U.S. and Europe as a sign of confidence among Chinese leaders about their economy’s growth prospects.
http://jlne.ws/IMGz7O

China unveils accounting sector overhaul
By Simon Rabinovitch in Beijing – Financial Times
Foreign auditing firms will have to appoint a Chinese national as their chief partner in China as part of a sweeping overhaul of the country’s accounting industry. The regulations, unveiled on Thursday, are aimed at localising the mainland operations of foreign auditing firms, but they also provide for a lengthy transition period and wiggle room to limit controversy over the changes.
http://jlne.ws/IMGy3J

Three Chinese banks expanding in U.S.
CNN Money
The Federal Reserve gave three state-owned Chinese banks its stamp of approval Thursday to expand their presence in the United States.
http://jlne.ws/IMGz7P

Vietnam ETF up 44%, beating all others
Nasdaq
http://jlne.ws/IMGyk3

SGX-ST fully and substantively accorded Mr Yeap Wai Kong a fair hearing
The Singapore High Court has dismissed the application of Mr Yeap Wai Kong, a former director of China Sky Chemical Fibre Co Limited (China Sky), to quash the SGX-Securities Trading Limited’s (SGX-ST) public reprimand of him on 16 December 2011. The High Court found that the SGX-ST fully and substantively accorded Mr Yeap a fair hearing by giving him notice of its intention to reprimand, particulars of the case against him and full opportunities to be heard.
http://jlne.ws/IMGzo9

Summary Of April 2012 Activities At Tokyo Commodity Exchange
The Tokyo Commodity Exchange (TOCOM) announced today that April 2012 trading volume averaged 92,493 contracts per day. This was down 22.4% from March 2012 and was broadbased, affecting all listed commodities except Gas Oil.
http://jlne.ws/IMGzod

Monetary Authority Of Singapore Modifies The Regulatory Requirements Governing The Marketing And Sale Of Listed And Unlisted Investment Products
http://jlne.ws/IMGzog

Hong Kong’s Securities and Futures Commission Proposes To Enhance Sponsors Regulatory Regime
http://jlne.ws/IMGBfI

Shenzhen Stock Exchange Warns The Risks Of Speculation On New Shares Again, And Urges Conscientiousness From Brokers
http://jlne.ws/IMGzol

Tokyo Grain Exchange: SPAN Parameters Effective From May 16, 2012 To May 31, 2012
http://jlne.ws/IMGBfN

Tokyo Commodity Exchange: Good Delivery Material Price Differential For May 2012 Rubber Contract
http://jlne.ws/IMGzEA

Taiwan Futures Exchange Monthly Newsletter – May 2012
http://jlne.ws/IMGBfUOrc provides low-latency market connectivity to Indian exchanges
Orc, a leading provider of technology and services for the global financial industry, today announced new market gateways to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. (NSE).
http://jlne.ws/IMGBfX

IMF mission to visit Malawi, recommend new loans
AFP via Yahoo! News
An IMF mission hopes to recommend new loan programmes for Malawi following a visit next week, an official said Wednesday, after the country devalued its currency to boost the economy.
http://jlne.ws/IMGzEG

Dubai Financial Market Empowers Public And Private Companies To Further Embrace Investor Relations And Corporate Governance
http://jlne.ws/IMGBwjHappy Europe Day! Well, Not in Greece
By Peter Coy – Bloomberg
Today is officially Europe Day, honoring a proposal by French Foreign Minister Robert Schuman on May 9, 1950, that led eventually to the formation of the European Union. Break out the deflated balloons!
http://jlne.ws/IMGBwk

London’s futures and options industry joins forces with the foreign exchange community to slog 35 miles plus on 4 routes to the City for 4 children’s charities

Despite the bad weather, country lanes, public footpaths and bridleways around the Home Counties and beyond have seen a marked increase in use by an intrepid bunch of futures and options and foreign exchange industry executives in recent weeks. The reason? The Futures for Kids ‘Walk to Work’ and the sudden awareness that a good pair of walking shoes and a few plasters to ease the pain of those blisters will not suffice to drag those ageing legs some 35 miles to the City of London.

The FFK Walk to Work 2012 is raising funds for four children’s charities with a mix of local, regional and international coverage – Demelza House, Hope  HIV, Everychild and Variety.

The inaugural 2011 Walk consisted of a single route from Tunbridge Wells and 25 walkers raised £48k from friends, colleagues and customers. This year, instead of spending the day worrying about the next Eurozone crisis and pontificating about straight through processing, latency or the ‘flash crash’ some  one hundred City executives will ‘walk to work’ to the City on 4 routes from  Tunbridge Wells, Guildford, Tring and Billericay on Friday May 18^th.

A broad spectrum of market participants has joined the team including executives from brokerage houses, banks, proprietary trading firms and software vendors. They are boosted by a very strong contingent of senior management from London-based derivatives and stock exchanges and trade associations including Futures and Options Association CEO, Anthony Belchambers , the COO of the London Stock Exchange owned trading venue Turquoise, Adrian Farnham , as well as representatives from Deutsche Boerse subsidiary Eurex,  NYSE Liffe, Nasdaq OMX, Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange and Singapore Exchange. 

The team hope to be striding (or limping) into Paternoster Square after a long day’s ‘yomp’ between 5 and 7.30 pm to celebrate their efforts with the beneficiary charities and support groups at a Finish Line party sponsored by Eurex (who are also supporting the checkpoints on the 4 routes) and to receive awards sponsored by ICAP-owned post-trade software company, Traiana.

Unless they intend to trade on their mobile telephones they won’t actually be working, of course, but they will be doing much to raise the profile of the caring side of the City. FFK believes it is well on its way to its target of 100 walkers raising £100k between them for the 4 charities and already has over £32k in pledges.

Those individuals and companies wishing to contribute can select their favourite futures and foreign exchange industry characters at http://www.justgiving.com/teams/ffkw2w2012

Contacts – David Setters david@contango.co.uk 07710 271291/Emma Davey davey@foa.co.uk  0207 090 1348

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

The Right Way to Do Things

There is a right way to do things and a wrong way to do things. When you are headed to a book signing and you have been given an advance copy of the book, the right way to do things is to read the book ahead of time. This is especially true if you happen to be mentioned in the acknowledgements. Or, the wrong way to do things would be to not read the book ahead of time and find out at the book signing that you are mentioned in the book, in the acknowledgements.

Yesterday I had lunch with Dr. Richard Sandor and had to admit that I had not read his book yet. He sent me the galley in March (while I was traveling extensively) and I had yet to read it. I did take a quick look at it before heading to the book signing Monday and noted that my associate Jim Kharouf was mentioned in the book on page 466.

Dr. Sandor’s “Good Derivatives” is going to be a great read, after having read the first couple of chapters last night. Doc, as he is affectionately known, shared the story of his childhood and early years at the beginning of the book. Here are just a couple of facts from the book.

• Doc and a friend had a winning record playing chess versus a boy named Bobby Fischer. Yes, that Bobby Fischer.
• He met Fred Arditti in Berkeley. Arditti recommended Doc take a look at commodity trading.
• Doc writes extensively about trying to set up an electronic commodity exchange in the late 1960s and early 1970s. He sounded like a young Jeff Sprecher, but for coconut oil.
• A class he taught on innovation would visit the R&D offices of Hewlett Packard and Bill Hewlett would even address the class.

I always get energized after speaking with Dr. Sandor. He is just full of positive energy and vigor for our markets. I am going to meet with Doc every day by reading “Good Derivatives” and get recharged. With all the negative news about our markets and the challenges we face, “Good Derivatives” promises to be a shot in the arm of positive perspective on exchange traded markets and those that share its values.

I tell my scouts the right way to do things is to admit your mistakes. And now I have admitted this one. Only 47,000 more to go.

~John J. Lothian

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CME tells CFTC it saw no major opposition to longer grains trading
Reuters
CME Group has notified federal regulators by letter that there were “no substantive opposing views” to its plan for nearly around the clock grains futures and options trading. However, the nation’s largest grain group has said it has concerns because the longer hours will increase costs for its members and create competitive disadvantages for some.
http://jlne.ws/IIA43y

*** There is something funny about this story.

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Nine sign up for T2S agreement
By Philip Stafford in London and Ralph Atkins in Frankfurt – Financial Times
Monte Titoli, Clearstream Banking and Iberclear are among the nine European central securities depositories that have signed up to the ambitious project to streamline the region’s securities settlement system.
http://jlne.ws/JZ47F4

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MarketsWiki Spring Cleaning Party – May 18, 2012

Join the MarketsWiki staff on Friday, May 18 as we clean up our most popular pages and take suggestions from MarketsWiki users all day.

Help us by participating in one of three ways:

(1) Help us edit – Spend some time on May 18 to help update a page. We’ll give you (and your organization) a shout out in the newsletter and on the front page of MarketsWiki during the party. Don’t have a MarketsWiki account? You can start a FREE MarketsWiki account for this event. Send Jeff Bergstrom an email to get signed up. We’ll also have help available all day for those new to wiking (or are a bit rusty).

(2) Suggest a page to clean up – Tweet your suggestion to @MarketsWiki with the #MWParty hashtag on (or before) May 18. You can also suggest a page at http://jlne.ws/MWSuggest.

(3) Spread the word – Contact colleagues that might have suggestions or want to become MarketsWiki editors. For a quick explanation of MarketsWiki, send them our short animated video: http://jlne.ws/WhatIsMW. Use the the #MWParty hashtag on Twitter to help us spread the word about our newly updated pages on May 18.

We hope you’ll join us on May 18, and remember to watch our progress by following the #MWParty hashtag on Twitter or visiting MarketsWiki.com.

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Newsflash – New Daily Record In The Eurex KOSPI Product On 8 May 2012
Press Release
New daily record turnover on 8 May 2012: 525,781 contracts
Previous daily record on 9 November 2011: 387,935 contracts
http://jlne.ws/JZ44ZZ

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PENSON WORLDWIDE INC – Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing
On May 1, 2012, Penson Worldwide Inc. (the “Company”) received written notice from The NASDAQ Stock Market LLC (“NASDAQ”) indicating that, for the last 30 consecutive business days, the bid price for the Company’s common stock had closed below the minimum $1.00 per share required for continued inclusion on The NASDAQ Global Select Market under applicable NASDAQ listing rules. [...] The Company intends to actively monitor the bid price for its common stock and will consider all available options to resolve the deficiency and regain compliance with the NASDAQ minimum bid price requirement.
http://jlne.ws/JQHiiu

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John Feffer: Waiting for Copernicus
The Huffington Post
It’s happening in Buenos Aires. It’s happening in Paris and in Athens. It’s even happening at the World Bank headquarters. The global economy is finally shifting away from the model that prevailed for the last three decades.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4503

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What Hollande must tell Germany
By Martin Wolf – Financial Times
The elections in France and Greece tell us that austerity fatigue has set in. This is not surprising. For many countries no plausible exit exists from depression, deflation and despair. If the currency union were a normal fixed exchange rate arrangement, it would collapse, as did the gold standard in the 1930s and the Bretton Woods system in the 1970s. The question is whether the fact that it is a monetary union will do more than delay that outcome.
http://jlne.ws/JZ47Vu

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Deal Professor: In Blocking Activists, the Fed Protects Poorly Performing Banks
New York Times
In recent matters involving struggling banks, the Federal Reserve has sought to limit the ability of shareholder activists to nominate directors, which some investors view as an instrument of good corporate governance.
http://jlne.ws/JZ45gk

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Robert Teitelman: The New York Times Worries About Stock Trading
The Huffington Post
The real problem here is not necessarily the underlying economy — does anyone really think stock markets accurately reflect the state of the real economy? — but the structure and dynamics of the markets themselves.
http://jlne.ws/JZ47VB

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The banking brontosaurus is nibbling at its own tail
By Martin Taylor – Financial Times
Perhaps the most surprising thing about the shareholder revolts on pay is that they took so long to come. After all, it is years since the financial experiences of bank executives (comfortable, let us say) and bank shareholders (dreadful) decisively parted company. By failing to handle a business problem at the proper time, the boards of banks have managed to turn it into a wider social issue that is resonating well beyond the banking industry.
http://jlne.ws/JZ47VJ

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For Hire: Ex-Employees of a Notable Failure
BY JULIE STEINBERG – WSJ
When Dan Whiteford worked at MF Global Holdings Ltd., he made sure trades cleared and tackled questions from the company’s clients and trading desks. The firm’s collapse last October has forced him to look for work wherever he can find it. The 45-year-old Mr. Whiteford interviewed for a cashier job at Target Corp. and $10.50-an-hour spot on a Chrysler Group LLC assembly line.
http://jlne.ws/JZ47VM

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Orc & Montreal Exchange Canadian Trading Webinar
Tuesday, May 15, 4:15pm ET / 3:15pm CT

Trading in Canada’s markets has become both more popular and more demanding in recent years. As market volumes increase, the need for a better understanding of the market and how to use high-performance trading solutions becomes more important. In this webinar, Orc and Montreal Exchange will discuss what is currently happening in the Canadian trading market and how firms can use solutions like Orc Market Maker and Orc Spreader to stay competitive. Orc will also demonstrate how firms are leveraging our solutions to take advantage of market opportunities in Canada.

Register through this link: http://jlne.ws/KPyfPL

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MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Robert L. D. Colby
http://bit.ly/JVJ863

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MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People

Douglas Ashburn; Chris McMahon; Jessica Titlebaum; Christine Marie Nielsen; Robert L. D. Colby

Companies, Organizations and Groups

Touradji Capital Management; Minneapolis Grain Exchange, Inc.; MarkitSERV; Freddie Mac; Fannie Mae; Federal Housing Finance Agency; Federal Home Loan Banks

Miscellaneous

Upcoming Events

Statistics

23,112,951 pages viewed, 6,851 articles, 139,856 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

Lead Stories

NYSE Sees Danger Of Exchanges Becoming ‘Showrooms’ For Prices
By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
U.S. stock exchanges are in danger of becoming “showrooms” for prices in an equities market that’s increasingly moving behind closed doors, the head of NYSE Euronext (NYX) warned Tuesday. NYSE Euronext Chief Executive Duncan Niederauer said the rising volume of stock trades taking place off-exchange resembled challenges faced by bricks-and-mortar retailers from online rivals, and he reiterated calls for regulators to be more vigilant over the trend.
http://jlne.ws/JZ48c1

HFT curbs may take Europe ‘back 7 years’
By Philip Stafford – Financial Times
Europe risks setting its markets “back at least 7 years” and undoing many of the improvements in market efficiency with curbs on high-frequency trading, a trade association warned on Tuesday.
http://jlne.ws/JZ48c5

Hedge funds may be allowed direct access to China markets
Samuel Shen and Nishant Kumar – Reuters
A proposed plan by China’s regulators could allow hedge funds, for the first time, to directly trade in mainland stocks and bonds, opening up one of Asia’s biggest capital markets to the $2 trillion industry.
http://jlne.ws/JZ45gB

CME CEO: Commitment From CME To Draw Business To Dubai Merc
Dow Jones
Trading on a small Dubai futures market backed by CME Group Inc. (CME) could pick up more steam after the Chicago-based exchange operator boosted its stake in the platform earlier this year, according to CME’s new chief executive.
http://jlne.ws/JZ48ca

$1bn collected for MF Global UK creditors
By Philip Stafford – Financial Times
MF Global UK’s administrator has collected more than $1bn of non-segregated funds but said most of the outstanding funds were frozen at four banks. KPMG said the funds comprised cash balances, liquidated assets and proceeds from counterparties, exchanges and clearing houses’ closing positions.
http://jlne.ws/JZ45wS

Few Options if Europe Turns Away From Austerity
New York Times
Everyone in Europe seems to agree that government austerity has been overdone. Now comes the hard part: finding someone to pay for less of it.
http://jlne.ws/JZ48cb

Analysis: Greek euro exit seen manageable, not catastrophic
Reuters via Yahoo! News
Greek voters’ rejection of pro-bailout political parties in Sunday’s election has raised the chances of Greece leaving the euro but this unprecedented step is seen as manageable rather than catastrophic for the currency bloc.
http://jlne.ws/JZ45wY

German Patience With Greece on the Euro Wears Thin
By NICHOLAS KULISH and LIZ ALDERMAN – NY Times
Just weeks ago, the idea that Greece would leave the euro zone was almost unthinkable. Now, with Greece’s newly empowered political parties refusing to abide by the terms of the country’s international loan agreement and Europe’s leaders talking tough, that outcome is looking increasingly likely.
http://jlne.ws/JZ45x1

Bankia in the coalmine, looking like a dodo
Posted by Lisa Pollack – FT Alphaville
The Spanish government may be bailing out Bankia by injecting cash in return for contingent convertibles to the tune of some E7-10bn, but many analysts have reacted with something along the lines of: “Haha! That’s cute! They are like ever so slightly less delusional about the trouble their banking sector is in! Adorable!”
http://jlne.ws/JZ48sy

Electorates cannot have it both ways
By John Plender – Financial Times
Does the relatively calm bond market response to François Hollande’s victory in the French presidential election mean that even bond vigilantes have come round to the idea that more growth and less austerity in the eurozone might be a good thing?
http://jlne.ws/JZ45x7

Pennies add up when brokers choose wrong exchange
By Herbert Lash and Jonathan Spicer – Reuters
Investors spend a lot of time and money on stock selection when trying to get that extra edge to build a winning portfolio, but a bigger concern in these days of high-speed electronic markets may be the money lost in trade execution.
http://jlne.ws/JZ45Nn

U.S. Millionaires Told Go Away as Tax Evasion Rule Looms
Bloomberg
Go away, American millionaires. That’s what some of the world’s largest wealth-management firms are saying ahead of Washington’s implementation of the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act, known as Fatca, which seeks to prevent tax evasion by Americans with offshore accounts. HSBC Holdings Plc, Deutsche Bank AG, Bank of Singapore Ltd. and DBS Group Holdings Ltd. all say they have turned away business.
http://jlne.ws/JZ47VE

Environmental Trading News

Canada set to miss modest emissions goals:watchdog
Reuters
Canada is acting too slowly to combat climate change and has little chance of achieving its modest 2020 target for cuts in greenhouse gas emissions, Parliament’s environmental watchdog said on Tuesday.
http://jlne.ws/JeAbBR

THE REPORT:
Meeting Canada’s 2020 Climate Change Commitments
Office of Auditor General
http://jlne.ws/K9Lxvd

EU’s Rehn Says Carbon Investments Won’t Risk Financial Crisis
Bloomberg
Companies with high-carbon emissions are unlikely to fall suddenly in value and threaten the financial stability of the European Union, Commissioner for Economic and Monetary Affairs Olli Rehn said.
http://jlne.ws/IWKHmC

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

Creditex and Markit to Conduct First Credit Event Auction in Chinese Corporate Credit Market; Sino-Forest Corp. CDS on May 9
IntercontinentalExchange’s Creditex subsidiary and Markit will conduct a Credit Event Auction to facilitate settlement of credit default swaps (CDS) trades on Sino-Forest Corp. on May 9, 2012. This will be the first credit event auction conducted to settle CDS trades outside of North America, Europe and Japan.
http://jlne.ws/JZ45Ns

Table Of Key LME Shareholders Eligible To Vote On Sale
Andrea Hotter – Dow Jones Newswires
London Metal Exchange shareholders could vote later this year on a bid from one of CME Group Inc., IntercontinentalExchange Inc., Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd., and NYSE Liffe, the London-headquartered derivatives arm of NYSE Euronext.
http://jlne.ws/JZ45Nv

Monte Titoli signs ECB T2S framework agreement
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE Group) today announces that Monte Titoli has signed the European Central Bank’s (ECB) T2S Framework Agreement at a ceremony in Frankfurt. The signing ceremony was hosted by Mario Draghi, ECB President and Peter Praet, member of ECB Executive Board responsible for T2S.
http://jlne.ws/JZ45Nw

BM&FBOVESPA announces winner of the bidding process for use of the new IBOVESPA ETF
Caixa Econômica Federal won the bidding process that BM&FBOVESPA held to license use of the BOVESPA Index for a new ETF based on IBOVESPA. The Exchange opened the proposals and announced the results of the process. Three institutions participated.
http://jlne.ws/JZ45NA

BM&FBOVESPA Announces April 2012 Market Performance
http://jlne.ws/JZ4bod

Deutsche Börse to hold annual Investor Day on 1 June 2012
Deutsche Börse will hold its annual Investor Day for financial analysts and institutional investors on Friday, 1 June 2012 at its headquarters in Eschborn. A live video webcast will be available on www.deutsche-boerse.com/ir_e (no password or registration is required).
http://jlne.ws/JZ4bog

EEX creates Solution for Market Participants in Fulfilling REMIT Reporting Requirements
The European Energy Exchange (EEX) responds to the challenges of a market environment which is increasingly shaped by regulatory requirements. This does not only concern exchanges and over-the-counter platforms but, in particular, the market participants.
http://jlne.ws/JZ48J6

TOM Insight April 2012
http://jlne.ws/JZ4bok

NASDAQ OMX Commodities And Nord Pool Spot Monthly Market Report April 2012
http://jlne.ws/JZ4bon

NZX Market Supervision Publishes Guidance Note On Independent Appraisers
http://jlne.ws/JZ4boq

Hellenic Exchanges 11th Annual General Meeting: Modification Of The Articles Of Association
http://jlne.ws/JZ48Ji

Hellenic Exchanges Publishes Its Monthly Statistics Bulletin For April 2012
http://jlne.ws/JZ4bov

Banks, Brokers & Dark Pools

Merrill $315 million mortgage pact wins OK from Rakoff
International Business Times
A federal judge has given final approval to Bank of America Corp’s agreement to pay $315 million to settle claims by investors who said they were misled about mortgage securities offerings by its Merrill Lynch unit.
http://jlne.ws/JZ48Zz

Commerzbank Profit Drops 56% as Europe’s Crisis Curbs Earnings
Bloomberg
Commerzbank AG (CBK) posted lower-than- estimated first-quarter profit as trading income declined and Germany ‘s second-biggest lender reported losses at its ABF business that includes its Eurohypo unit.
http://jlne.ws/JZ48ZH

Commerzbank Must Pay Bonuses Promised to Dresdner Bankers
Bloomberg
Commerzbank AG (CBK) must pay bonuses promised to more than 100 Dresdner Kleinwort bankers who sued the German lender after it refused to honor awards of as much as 2 million euros ($2.6 million), a U.K. judge said.
http://jlne.ws/JZ48ZK

Nomura Targets 100 Top Executives In Investment Banking
Bloomberg
Nomura Holdings Inc. (8604) , Japan ‘s largest brokerage, plans to almost triple the number of senior executives in its Americas investment-banking division as competitors retrench.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4bEO

Morgan Stanley Income Securities Inc. Today Declared a Monthly Income Dividend
http://jlne.ws/JZ4bEP

Thomson Reuters Global Equities Monthly Market Share Data Updated To Reflect April 2012 Activity
http://jlne.ws/JZ48ZP

TD Ameritrade Reports Monthly Metrics
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
http://jlne.ws/JZ4bEV

TradeStation, Leading Online Broker, Unveils Multimillion-Dollar Integrated Marketing Campaign Touting Its Powerful Platform
Award-winning broker-dealer and futures commission merchant TradeStation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Monex Group, Inc., today launched a new integrated marketing campaign, highlighting its award-winning platform.
http://jlne.ws/JZ48ZQ

Address At The Event Marking The First Signatures To The T2S Framework Agreement – Peter Praet, Member Of The Executive Board Of The ECB, Frankfurt Am Main, 8 May 2012
http://jlne.ws/JZ49g5

Address At The Event Marking The First Signatures To The T2S Framework Agreement – Mario Draghi, President Of The ECB, Frankfurt Am Main, 8 May 2012
http://jlne.ws/JZ49gc

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.shtml

Wealth managers face regulatory crackdown
Reuters via Yahoo! News
Investment managers are risking fines, career-long bans and even jail time by unwittingly breaking compliance rules, consultants and lawyers warn, as the regulator starts to get tough.
http://jlne.ws/JZ49gh

Managing Regulatory Risk a Major Hurdle for Banks
Forbes
The global banking industry is facing challenging times. The financial crisis-coupled with the determination of regulatory authorities not to put taxpayers on the hook for another round of bailouts-has led to a proliferation of new regulatory measures.
http://jlne.ws/JZ49gi

Securities Firm Regulator FINRA Responds To Its Critics
Forbes
Executive V.P. Howard Schloss claims Forbes contributor was “gratuitous and inaccurate” in describing FINRA board member’s disciplinary case.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4bVk

Hong Kong Proposes Jail For I.P.O. Sponsors Over Prospectus Lies
By NEIL GOUGH – NY Times
Bankers in Hong Kong, the world’s biggest market for initial public offerings, could face as long as two years in prison and fines of more than $100,000 if false or misleading information is included in the listing documents filed by companies they bring to market.
http://jlne.ws/JZ49gk

Fitch: Derivative Reform Rife With Uncertainty
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) are finalizing their cohesive definition of “swap dealer,” a key part of the new Dodd-Frank regulatory framework for over-the-counter derivatives, but Fitch Ratings believes that many uncertainties remain, as other critical parts of the Dodd-Frank rules on derivatives are finalized over the coming year.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4bVn

SEC Charges Movie Producer and Ring of Relatives and Business Partners with Insider Trading
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against a Hollywood movie producer along with his brother, cousin, and three others in his circle of friends and business partners for insider trading in the stock of a company for which he served on the board of directors.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4bVp

CFTC Obtains Default Judgment against Former Florida Resident Juvenal E. Machado and His Company, Invers Forex, LLC, for Off-Exchange Forex Scam
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that Judge Marcia G. Cook, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida, entered an order of default judgment and permanent injunction against Juvenal Eduardo Machado (Machado) (aka Juvenal Eduardo Machado Bogadi, Edward Kaufman, and Eduardo Machado), whose last known address in the United States is Miami, Fla., and his company, Invers Forex, LLC. Neither defendant has ever been registered with the CFTC.
http://jlne.ws/JZ49wF

Insider dealer ordered to pay £570,000 in confiscation
A Confiscation Order of £572,283.21 has today been made against Rupinder Sidhu. A costs order was also made in favour of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) who brought the case. This follows his conviction at Southwark Crown Court on 15 December 2011 for 22 counts of insider dealing, for which he was sentenced to 2 years in prison.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4bVw

ASIC figures show corporate insolvencies remain high
http://jlne.ws/JZ4cbL

ASIC updates guidance for investing in mortgage schemes
http://jlne.ws/JZ49wM

BCSC Executive Director’s Bulletin: Securities regulator issues notice of hearing and temporary order against B.C. man alleging illegal distribution
http://jlne.ws/JZ4cbN

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

DealBook: Man Group Reshuffles Executives at Flagship Fund
New York Times
The struggling hedge fund giant Man Group appointed Douglas Greenig as chief risk officer at its AHL fund, as the firm looked to stem an outflow of investor money.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4cbO

The Continuing Reign of Wilbur Ross
By WILLIAM ALDEN – NY Times
Wilbur L. Ross Jr. still plans to run his show. Mr. Ross, 74, who has been batting away questions about a successor lately, said on Tuesday that he recently signed a contract to stay on as head of his private equity firm, W.L. Ross & Company.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4cbP

Hedge Fund Billionaire John Arnold’s Fund Was Up When He Announced He Was Getting Out
Forbes
The hedge fund world was abuzz last week with news that its star natural gas trader John Arnold was retiring at age 38, causing some to wonder if there was more to the story and if something went wrong in the past few months. That does not seem to be the case, despite the fact that natural gas prices have been plummeting due to a glut of supply.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4cbS

Centaurus Trader to Launch Hedge Fund
CNBC
A founding trader from John Arnold’s flagship energy fund is looking to start his own hedge fund, according to a source close to the situation. Arnold’s fund, the Centaurus Energy Master Fund is currently in the process of unwinding positions and returning money to investors.
http://jlne.ws/JZ49Nc

Riley Paterson Shuts Only Hedge Fund After Assets Slide
Bloomberg
Riley Paterson Investment Management Pte, which generated a 21 percent return in the global industry’s worst year, decided to shut its only hedge fund because assets are expected to decline to a 10th of its peak.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4cbT

2012 Will Be A Year Of Disruption For US Hedge Funds Trading Equities, Says TABB
Press Release
After enduring 2011’s bruising markets, US hedge funds trading equities tell TABB Group that 2012 will be a year of disruption with market conditions, sell-side broker economics and regulation creating a triangle of change, already reshaping their trading environment.
http://jlne.ws/JZ49Nf

ETF/ETN Monthly Report For April 2012
http://jlne.ws/JZ4cbW

Dow Jones Indexes To License Yield-Oriented, Multi-Asset Class Index For New Arrowshares ETF
http://jlne.ws/JZ49Nk

Arrow Makes Its Exchange Traded Fund Debut With the Launch of the Arrow Dow Jones Global Yield ETF (GYLD)
http://jlne.ws/JZ4cc1

Deutsche Boerse: ETF Tracks S&P 500 With Currency Hedging
http://jlne.ws/JZ4csk

STOXX Launches STOXX+ Minimum Variance Indices In Collaboration With Axioma
http://jlne.ws/JZ4csn

Technology News

Greenline Partners with Casa de Bolsa Finamex to Deliver VeriFIX
Greenline Financial Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of electronic trading marketplace solutions, today announced that Casa de Bolsa Finamex, Mexico’s premier brokerage firm for multi-asset execution services, has selected Greenline’s VeriFIX for automated and reliable business-wide system testing.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4csp

Princeton Financial Systems Enhances Flexibility and Functionality of DVS Publisher Suite
Princeton Financial Systems, a global leader in providing accounting, compliance and reporting solutions to the investment industry, has introduced enhancements to its DVS Publisher Suite that have improved the overall user experience and added functionalities for diagrams with a variable number of data series as well as for layout tables.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4a3K

Swedbank Chooses Numerix CrossAsset for Structuring and Pricing Complex Derivatives & Model Validation
Numerix (www.numerix.com), a provider of cross-asset analytics for derivatives valuations and risk management today announced that Swedbank, a leading bank in the Nordic and Baltic countries has selected Numerix CrossAsset for pricing complex structures and model validation.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4a3M

RTS Announces Global Launch of RTD Tango QUANT
RTS Realtime Systems Group (RTS), a leading global trading solutions provider, today announced the global launch of RTD Tango QUANT, its first product geared toward quantitative traders.
http://jlne.ws/KlABsK

NeXXCom Wireless’ Technology Provides Improved Latency Solutions for High Frequency Trading
Marketwire
Transmission Occurs Approaching the Speed of Light Offering an Advantage Over Traditional Connectivity Routes
http://jlne.ws/JZ4a3U

Media News

Thomson Reuters Launches Intraday FX Analysis And Commentary Service
Reuters FX Buzz To Provide Unrivalled Insight Into Market-Changing Foreign Exchange Price Action And Developments
http://jlne.ws/JZ4ak9

Falling online ad rates are good for someone, and it’s not Google
Steve Hendershot – Crain’s
The recent news seemed ominous for digital media: Google Inc.’s search-advertising prices plunged 12 percent in the first quarter from a year earlier. If Google can’t charge more for online ads, what does that mean for everyone else in the market? Actually, Google’s situation may signal a coming revolution in the search business and a corresponding opportunity for advertisers.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4ake

Twitter fights request for Occupy protester’s data
Reuters
Twitter Inc. filed a motion in a New York criminal court on Tuesday seeking to quash a subpoena for Tweets and account records associated with Malcolm Harris, a Twitter user who was arrested last fall on the Brooklyn Bridge during an Occupy protest.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4akh

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

Silver Contracts Coming to Shanghai Futures Exchange
International Business Times
Chinese investors will soon have direct domestic access to silver futures. Could this development be a game changer?.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4aki

U.S. sees China pushed to let market forces work
Reuters via Yahoo! Finance
China will be compelled to let market forces play a larger role in managing its economy as it faces complicated challenges ranging from an aging population to rising wages and prices, a senior U.S. Treasury Department official said on Tuesday.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4cIZ

HKEx Welcomes SFC Consultation Paper On The Regulation Of Sponsors
http://jlne.ws/JZ4akm

Thai Bourse Market Report For April
http://jlne.ws/JZ4cJ3

HKEx And Shandong Financial Services Office Sign MOU
http://jlne.ws/JZ4cZi

Frontier Markets

Nigeria bourse bought Rolexes, yacht: regulator
Reuters via Yahoo! News
Nigeria’s stock exchange was at the heart of a web of fraudulent accounting that saw share-price manipulation, insider trading and millions of dollars misspent on a yacht and Rolex watches, the regulator said.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4aAE

The frontier beyond BRICs: an introduction
Nasdaq
There was fast money, mid-term investing, long term investing. Then came BRICs, and then CIVETS (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey, South Africa) made their debut back in late 2009, to now even longer term plays known as frontier markets (encompassing 26 countries) with arguably everything in between.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4aAF

Myanmar: a goldmine with frontier risks
AFP via Yahoo! News
As Myanmar prepares for an economic resurgence following the end of decades of military rule, wide-eyed firms from all over Asia are competing for a piece of the potentially lucrative pie.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4cZn

Ithmaar Bank Selects SunGard’s Ambit for Integrated Risk and Performance Management
Ithmaar Bank, a leading Bahrain-based Islamic retail bank, has selected SunGard’s Ambit Risk & Performance Management solution to help it establish an enterprise-wide view of its risk.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4aAO

Volumes Soar On Dubai Mercantile Exchange As New Players Enter Market
http://jlne.ws/JZ4aAT

The Egyptian Exchange (EGX) Monthly Statistical Report April 2012
http://jlne.ws/JZ4aRc

Istanbul Stock Exchange Signs A Memorandum Of Understanding With Macedonian Stock Exchange
http://jlne.ws/JZ4cZq

Miscellaneous News

Baha Calling Gundlach ‘Jerk’ Bolsters Standing
By Mary Childs – Bloomberg
Calling a person who outranks you a jerk isn’t usually a smart step if you want to climb the ladder to success. It worked for Bonnie Baha. Back in the 1990s, Baha was a vice president on the trading floor of TCW Group Inc., listening to Jeffrey Gundlach, a managing director, dressing down one of her colleagues. “Jeffrey,” she recalls asking him, “why are you such a freaking jerk?” Gundlach gave her a sharp look and ignored the question, Bloomberg Markets magazine reports in its June issue. The next morning, when he strolled into her office, Baha says she thought he was going to fire her. Instead, he explained his behavior.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4aRf

Occupy London Tour Shows Bankers Profiting Amid Poverty
Bloomberg
Bank security guards in London lock the doors when they see Liam Taylor coming. At a time of protests in March 2011, the secondary school teacher and a dozen others pushed through the revolving doors of Barclays Plc (BARC)’s headquarters in the Canary Wharf financial district of London. He led placard-waving chants to protest bonuses and tax avoidance.
http://jlne.ws/JZ4aRi

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

Sandor Speaks at Northwestern

Dr. Richard Sandor spoke yesterday at Northwestern University in Evanston, IL about his new book “Good Derivatives.” Addressing a crowd of university students and industry veterans, Sandor made the case why exchange traded derivatives, and derivatives that share many of their values, are good derivatives. See the video interview John Lothian News did with Dr. Sandor in March about his book. The book is now available on Amazon.com.

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US Appeals Court Revives ISE Patent Case Against CBOE
By Brent Kendall and Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
A federal appeals court on Monday revived an International Securities Exchange patent lawsuit against rival Chicago Board Options Exchange, giving new life to a five-and-a-half year old dispute over trading technology.
http://jlne.ws/IY9Slw

**** If I had to do it all over again, I would want to come back as a lawyer for either the ISE or CBOE.

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ICE Expanding Default Fund as Risk, Volatility Climb
Bloomberg
ICE Futures U.S., home to markets for commodities including sugar, cotton and orange juice, said it will increase the size of a fund created to protect members against trading defaults after an increase in volatility and risk during the past year.
http://jlne.ws/IY9UK8

**** Putting more sugar in the jar.

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JLN FX Newsletter: The Opposite of Austerity?
by Douglas Ashburn
The tallies are in and voters in France and Greece have spoken. Austerity is OK for others, but not for us. France has said “non!” to another stint with Nicolas Sarkozy and have instead elected Francois Hollande to become its first Socialist president since Francois Mitterrand left office in the 1995. Greece has been thrust into turmoil as the two center-most parties, Pasok and New Democracy, failed to hold enough of a majority to continue the current coalition government. It now becomes likely that new elections will be required; the latest bailout agreement is in now jeopardy.

Perhaps the most significant development throughout the eurozone, however, is the collapse of the center. As the crisis drags on, voters are moving in droves to the wings – left wing, right wing, any wing. From Marine Le Pen of the far-right French National Front to the radical leftist Syriza party, which surpassed Pasok to finish second in this weekend’s election in Greece, the populace is moving to the extremes. Scary times indeed.

What’s interesting is that the anti-austerity crowd had been gaining ground in recent weeks, often in subtle ways. For example, several recent news stories paint austerity as the opposite of a growth-oriented policy. I have read many articles and commentary lately that suggest the choice is between fiscal discipline or the promotion of economic growth. But, is it fair?

The first rule we learn about economics is that growth is good. Growth is your friend. Growth lifts the masses out of the grinding poverty that kept our ancestors downtrodden. Who wouldn’t choose growth as an alternative to just about anything, let alone something like austerity, which can be quite painful in the short term. The unfortunate answer, however, is that the opposite of austerity is not growth. The opposite of austerity is indebtedness.

For the rest of the commentary and daily news from the currency sector, visit the JLN FX website at http://jlne.ws/Jb8IWW

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Cinnober launches Scila Compliance
Cinnober today launches Scila Compliance, a new multi-asset monitoring and trade surveillance system for investment banks and brokers that builds on its established success with trade surveillance in the world of exchanges. With tailored alerts and reports, Scila Compliance provides market participants an efficient way to ensure they act in accordance with regulations, market rules and their own internal principles and risk policies. The solution can also be used for performance measurements, aggregated position monitoring, and as an extensive statistical and reporting tool.
http://jlne.ws/IY9UK9

**** This is cool stuff.

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Are there any alternatives to austerity? Six ideas for fixing Europe
Washington Post
Roughly speaking, here’s the euro zone’s current approach to its debt crisis: Individual countries are pursuing austerity measures to shrink their budget deficits. There’s a bailout fund for countries in truly terrible shape, such as Greece and Portgual. And the European Central Bank is propping up the continent’s rickety banks. Basically, muddle through and hope for the best.
http://jlne.ws/IY9SC0

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Futures and Options Association Engages In Debate On Direct Market Access And HFT
The Futures and Options Association is participating at a key event today in the European Parliament on algorithmic and high-frequency trading, and direct electronic access to markets. The invitation-only QED Communication event, sponsored by FOA and hosted by Swedish MEP Olle Schmidt, comes just two days before the 10th May deadline for MEPs to submit their amendments to the MiFID review.
http://jlne.ws/IY9UKh

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Stanford Credit-Swap Revamp Seeks to Correct Flaw in Payouts
By Matthew Leising – Bloomberg
A Stanford University professor and student are seeking to fix a flaw in credit-default swap contracts that threatens to leave buyers with only part of their losses covered from a sovereign debt restructuring.
http://jlne.ws/IY9SC4

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Brokers reel from FSA crackdown
By Daniel Schäfer in London – Financial Times
Corporate brokers in the UK are reviewing internal procedures and controls in the wake of a crackdown on the sector by the Financial Services Authority. A £450,000 fine from the FSA last month against Ian Hannam, former JPMorgan Cazenove banker, has prompted a number of groups, including Numis Securities and Hoare Govett, to rethink how they operate, several bankers said.
http://jlne.ws/IY9UKm

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Here’s where all the oil hedgers have gone…
Kate Mackenzie – FT Alphaville
Last week we wrote about John Kemp’s column pointing out that CFTC data suggests hedgers — those who are exposed to physical prices through their business operations — fuel resellers and others hedge against their operational exposure to oil prices — collectively had the smallest net short position in six years in late April.
http://jlne.ws/IY9V0M

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High-Frequency Traders Like ‘Rats’ in a Grainery: Munger
Matthew J. Belvedere – CNBC
Allowing high frequency computer traders into the stock market is like letting “rats in the grainery,” Warren Buffett’s right-hand man said in an exclusive CNBC interview.
http://jlne.ws/IY9V0V

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In which Downtown Josh Brown solves the volume riddle
Joshua Brown – Forbes
“Where is everybody?” The New York Times dredges up the open secret that no one is in the stock market anymore. Nathaniel Popper plaintively lays out the statistics and then consults a handful of sources to understand what’s going on…
http://jlne.ws/IY9Vhd

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MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Collar
http://jlne.ws/KAtNuf

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MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People

Holly Duran; Edward J. Joyce

Companies, Organizations and Groups

Miami International Holdings, Inc.; MarkitSERV; Minneapolis Grain Exchange, Inc.

Miscellaneous

Upcoming Events; Collar

Statistics

23,064,941 pages viewed, 6,846 articles, 139,780 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
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Lead Stories

CME said to be among bidders for London Metals Exchange
Reuters
The London Metal Exchange has received a number of detailed proposals from a short-list of bidders regarding a potential acquisition of the exchange, it said on Tuesday.
http://jlne.ws/IY9Vhi

Hong Kong markets must adapt, SFC says
By Jeremy Grant – Financial Times
Hong Kong’s stock market must adapt to the growth of high-frequency trading and “dark pools”, the territory’s securities watchdog said, hinting that the local exchange may face challenges to its dominance in share trading.
http://jlne.ws/IY9VxO

Deutsche Boerse Reports Delay to Start of Xetra Trading
Bloomberg
Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1) said the start of trading on its Xetra system is delayed until further notice because of unspecified “technical problems.” The Frankfurt-based exchange made the annoucement on its website today.
http://jlne.ws/IY9T94

Investment banks increase hiring
By Brian Groom, Business and Employment Editor – Financial Times
A ray of hope has emerged in the depressed City jobs market as investment banks, buoyed by better results, have stepped up hiring in some parts of their operations.
http://jlne.ws/IY9T99

Trading volumes limp along despite upturn
UPI
Data showing rising prices in U.S. stock markets have not increased trading volumes, which plummeted as the financial crisis took shape.
http://jlne.ws/IY9VxT

Flash-Crash Story Looks More Like a Fairy Tale
Bloomberg
Two years after the frightening spring day when the Dow Jones Industrial Average lost and regained about 600 points in a matter of minutes, we still don’t really know why. This is a problem, because it means something similar — or worse — could happen again.
http://jlne.ws/IY9T9j

IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde Calls For Anchoring Stability To Sustain Higher And Better Growth
http://jlne.ws/IY9VOm

Are central banks creating the ‘wrong’ kind of money?
by Gavyn Davies – Financial Times
Central bank balance sheets in the major economies now range from 20 to 30 per cent of GDP, two-thirds of which is due to the emergency measures that have been taken to stimulate economies since the crisis began. As far as I am aware, the global scale of this action is completely unprecedented.
http://jlne.ws/IY9VOp

Monetary policy is no panacea for Europe’s ills
By Jens Weidmann – Financial Times
Now that fiscal stimulus has reached the bounds of feasibility in many countries, monetary policy is often seen as the “last man standing”. Having seemingly conquered inflation in the past decades, central banks are now making a substantial contribution to combating the financial, economic and sovereign debt crises, and still more is being asked of them.
http://jlne.ws/IY9TpI

Boutique banks come back into fashion
By Daniel Schäfer in London – Financial Times
A string of investment banking rainmakers, including Ken Moelis, Robert Greenhill and Roger Altman, have left bulge-bracket banks and used their contacts to set up their own advisory firms.
http://jlne.ws/IY9TG5

Cost-Benefit Analysis Puts the Brakes on Dodd-Frank
By Steven Sloan – Bloomberg
Business lobbyists and Republican lawmakers who failed to stop the Dodd-Frank Act from becoming law have managed to put the brakes on many of its provisions a second way: cost-benefit analysis.
http://jlne.ws/IY9TGh

MF Global Singapore Ex-Employees Sue Over Information
By Andrea Tan – Bloomberg
A group of former employees at MF Global Holdings Ltd. (MFGLQ)’s Singapore unit claim in a lawsuit that they’re not being informed about how they’ll be paid money they are owed. The unit of the bankrupt company, once run by Jon S. Corzine, was sued by seven former employees, including the head of sales for Asia, seeking more financial information.
http://jlne.ws/IY9TGm

Environmental Trading News

Aussies confirm carbon link to NZ
NZ Herald News
Australia has confirmed it will link its emerging carbon market with New Zealand’s greenhouse emissions trading scheme, after similar assurances to the European Union.
http://jlne.ws/IFfR0F

CRISPIAN OLVER: Africa at cutting edge in carbon markets
Business Day
The capacity to develop Clean Development Mechanism projects in Africa has grown and Africa seems poised to grow its share of the global market sevenfold.
http://jlne.ws/IT3Be5

Kenya now hires carbon credits advisor
The East African
Kenya has contracted Camco Advisory Services to raise private sector awareness of the impact of climate change on different sectors of the economy. The company, contracted by the Office of the Prime Minister and the Ministry of Environment will train personnel in the private sector on project implementation, verification and negotiating carbon credit transactions to increase sales of carbon credits.
http://jlne.ws/K7tGoI

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

Exchange & ECN News

LME Transaction Update
Press Release
The Chairman of the London Metal Exchange (LME) has today issued an update to its shareholders regarding the potential acquisition of the Exchange. The Board of the LME has received a number of detailed proposals from shortlisted parties in line with the process being conducted on its behalf by Moelis & Company. The Board will now consider the proposals and provide shareholders with further information as appropriate.
http://jlne.ws/IY9WBP

UPDATE 2-HKEx chief confident on buying LME; Q1 profit dips
By Denny Thomas and Lawrence White – Reuters
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd said it was confident of winning an auction to take over the London Metal Exchange (LME), the world’s largest metals trading market, as it looks to China to drive new business growth in the face of declining stock market activity.
http://jlne.ws/IY9Wlv

NYSE Euronext Announces Trading Volumes for April 2012
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
NYSE Euronext today announced trading volumes for its global derivatives and cash equities exchanges for April 20121. Trading volumes were mixed both year-over-year and month-over-month across most venues, but reflected some strengthening relative to weak first quarter 2012 levels.
http://jlne.ws/IY9ZgV

Deutsche Börse opens Entry and General Standard Conference
Deutsche Börse opened the 8th Entry and General Standard Conference in Frankfurt today. The event takes place from 7 to 9 May 2012 and is aimed at listed companies in the Entry and General Standards as well as investors and analysts. Over 70 young companies and SMEs will present their business models and the figures from their latest annual financial statements as part of an investor and analysts’ conference. In addition, current financing and capital market issues will be discussed in relation to the needs of exchange-listed SMEs.
http://jlne.ws/IY9WSi

Clearstream’s April 2012 figures
In April 2012, the value of assets under custody held on behalf of customers registered a decrease of 2 percent to E 11.1 trillion (compared to E 11.3 trillion in April 2011). Securities held under custody in Clearstream’s international business increased by 2 percent from E 5.9 trillion in April 2011 to E 6.0 trillion in April 2012 – while domestic German securities held under custody decreased by 6 percent from E 5.4 trillion in April 2011 to E 5.1 trillion in April 2012.
http://jlne.ws/IY9WSo

NYSE Euronext to Present at the 2012 UBS Global Financial Services Conference
NYSE Euronext (NYX) today announced that Lawrence Leibowitz, Chief Operating Officer, NYSE Euronext will present at the UBS Global Financial Services Conference at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, in New York City, NY on Wednesday, May 9, at 2:20 p.m. E.T.
http://jlne.ws/IY9Zxt

SIX Securities Services Signs A Memorandum Of Understanding With Turkey’s Post-Trade Infrastructure – Takasbank And MKK
http://jlne.ws/IY9ZxC

EEX Creates Solution For Market Participants In Fulfilling REMIT Reporting Requirements
http://jlne.ws/IY9ZxH

Borsa Italiana Monthly Update – April 2012
http://jlne.ws/IY9ZO4

Trading On The Warsaw Stock Exchange: April 2012
http://jlne.ws/IY9ZOf

Vienna Stock Exchange Monthly Statistics Derivatives Market April 2012
http://jlne.ws/IYa04D

Vienna Stock Exchange Monthly Statistics April 2012
http://jlne.ws/IYa0kZ

Athens Exchange Derivatives Market Monthly Statistical Bulletin April 2012
http://jlne.ws/IYa0l5

Ljubljana Stock Exchange Monthly Statistical Report April 2012
http://jlne.ws/IYa0lb

Banks, Brokers & Dark Pools

Spain to spend billions on bank rescue
By Miles Johnson in Madrid – Financial Times
Spain is planning a state bail-out of Bankia, the country’s third biggest bank by assets, in a move likely to involve the injection of billions of euros of public money into the troubled lender.
http://jlne.ws/IYa0Bv

Bank Chief Steps Down as Spain Considers Rescue
New York Times
Rodrigo Rato of Bankia, Spain’s largest real estate lender, is the most prominent Spanish banker to quit since the start of the European sovereign debt crisis.
http://jlne.ws/IY9XG0

DealBook: Wells Fargo’s Play for Prime Brokerage Prompts Skepticism
New York Times
Moody’s Investors Service raised concerns on Monday about the bank’s recent move outside its comfort zone of consumer lending.
http://jlne.ws/IY9XWl

Fixed income traders face risk model change
By Brooke Masters, Chief Regulation Correspondent – Financial Times
Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, UBS and other European banks with big fixed income desks are likely to be hit hardest by the global proposal to change the way banks measure risk in their trading books, bankers and analysts said.
http://jlne.ws/IYa0BM

Citigroup Board Must Listen To Shareholders On Pandit’s Pay
Forbes
Outgoing Citigroup Chairman Richard Parsons rushed to the nearest lectern to assuage concerned shareholders. He wanted them to know that the board took very “seriously” the non-binding vote to soundly reject (55% to 45%) Citi’s 2011 executive compensation packages, most notably for CEO Vikram Pandit. Parsons’ attitude was outrageously patronizing. Who does he think he’s talking to? The shareholders are the OWNERS of the company.
http://jlne.ws/IYa0S2

Morgan Stanley outlines downgrade costs
International Business Times
Morgan Stanley said on Monday that credit rating agency downgrades of its long-term debt would have required the company to provide additional collateral and make termination payments under derivatives contracts ranging from $868 million to $7.2 billion as of March 31.
http://jlne.ws/IYa0S3

Morgan Stanley Had Trading Losses on Four Days in First Quarter
Bloomberg
Morgan Stanley (MS) , owner of the world’s biggest brokerage, lost money in its trading businesses on four days in the first quarter, up from three days in the year- earlier period.
http://jlne.ws/IY9YcU

HSBC Profit Beats Analysts’ Estimates on Emerging-Markets
Bloomberg
HSBC Holdings Plc (HSBA) , Europe’s largest bank, said first-quarter pretax profit rose 26 percent, beating analysts’ estimates, as the lender incurred fewer impairment charges on its U.S. business and grew in emerging markets.
http://jlne.ws/IYa0Sc

BofA’s New Black-Belt Data Chief Targets Blinding Gaps
Bloomberg
John Bottega’s path to becoming Bank of America Corp. (BAC) ‘s first data chief started two decades ago in a smoke-filled back office of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc.
http://jlne.ws/IY9Yd1

Barclays rolls out online bank accounts in U.S.
Market Watch
Barclays PLC’s U.S. operation is getting into the online-banking business as it works to diversify funding for its growing credit-card operations. The British bank said Monday it is offering a high-yield savings account and certificates of deposit through its Barclays Bank Delaware subsidiary.
http://jlne.ws/IYa18F

Sandy Weill just wants to move on
CNN Money
Former Citigroup CEO Sandy Weill, who pushed to repeal the Glass-Steagall Act, is among those blamed for the financial crisis. Today Weill says it’s time to stop blaming and instead focus on the future.
http://jlne.ws/IY9Ytr

Perella Weinberg Adds Ex-Goldman Banker To FIG Group
Wall Street Journal Blogs
Perella Weinberg Partners added ex-Goldman Sachs banker Alexander Schnieders as a managing director and part of its financial institutions group.
http://jlne.ws/IYa1p7

Citigroup Board Must Listen To Shareholders On Pandit’s Pay
Forbes
The company belongs to the shareholders. Don’t disregard them.
http://jlne.ws/IYa0S2

Is Goldman Actually Relieved?
Zacks via Yahoo! Finance
According to Bloomberg, the federal judge in New York partly rescinded the bid filed by The Goldman Sachs Group Inc. regarding the dismissal of claims under a lawsuit charged against it.
http://jlne.ws/IY9Yty

Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Congratulates Clients Gamesa, Google and Skanska on Global Equity Organization Industry Awards
http://jlne.ws/IYa1pk

BNY Mellon Adds Automated Notification Enhancements to Margin DIRECT Liquidity Management Product
http://jlne.ws/IY9YJZ

Citigroup sponsors New York bike-share program
New York Daily News
This summer, you can ride your Citi Bike around New York Citi. Mayor Bloomberg named Citigroup on Monday as the corporate sponsor of the bike-share program the administration will initially launch in Manhattan and expand to Brooklyn in July.
http://jlne.ws/IY9YK7

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.shtml

FINRA Names Robert L. D. Colby Chief Legal Officer
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) announced today that it has hired Robert L. D. Colby as its Chief Legal Officer. Colby will oversee the corporate and regulatory functions of the Office of General Counsel, along with the Regulatory Policy Group, which, among other things, is responsible for implementing FINRA’s Corporate Financing and Advertising rules. Colby will join FINRA on June 18.
http://jlne.ws/IYa1FQ

Regulators Seek Plan B on Money Funds
By ANDREW ACKERMAN And VICTORIA MCGRANE – WSJ
WASHINGTON—Federal regulators are increasingly worried that the Securities and Exchange Commission could fail to complete more-stringent rules on money-market mutual funds, forcing officials to confront how else to rein in the $2.6 trillion industry.
http://jlne.ws/IYa1W7

SEC Charges Montana-Based Paralegal and Her Father in Insider Trading Scheme
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a former paralegal at a Kalispell, Mont.-based semiconductor company and her father with insider trading on confidential information about the 2009 acquisition of the company.
http://jlne.ws/J9Sjy5

Inquiry Ordered of SEC Watchdog
BY JEAN EAGLESHAM – WSJ
The Securities and Exchange Commission has ordered an independent inquiry into allegations of sexual misconduct by current and former staff working for its office of the inspector general, according to a person familiar with the matter.
http://jlne.ws/IYa2cB

Advocating For Greater Federal And State Securities Regulatory Cooperation And Collaboration By Commissioner Luis A. Aguilar, U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission
http://jlne.ws/IYa2cI

Joint Statement On Regulation Of OTC Derivatives Markets
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/IYa2cL

FMA publishes ESMA guidelines
systems/controls in an automated trading environment for trading platforms, investment firms and competent authorities
http://jlne.ws/IYa4Bo

Gupta Seeks to Exclude Rajaratnam Wiretaps From Trial
Bloomberg
Former Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) director Rajat Gupta , facing trial on insider-trading charges, asked a judge to exclude as evidence wiretap phone recordings that he said don’t relate to the charges against him.
http://jlne.ws/IYa2cS

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Altegris’ Strategic Investment Conference Draws Leaders From Across The Financial Industry
Altegris, providers of premier alternative investments, held its ninth annual Strategic Investment Conference from May 2-4, 2012 at the Park Hyatt Aviara Resort in Carlsbad, CA. The conference was co-hosted by renowned financial expert John Mauldin and brought together some of the world’s top economic minds in addition to over 400 professional and qualified individual investors.
http://jlne.ws/IYa2td

The Hedge Fund And Private-Equity Stock Train Wreck
Nathan Vardi – Forbes
Will the stocks of big hedge funds and private equity firms ever rebound?
http://jlne.ws/IYa4RS

D.E. Shaw to Start Fund to Buy Europe Bank Loans, Mortgages
Bloomberg
D.E. Shaw & Co., the $26 billion New York-based hedge fund that uses computer models to pick trades, plans a fund whose investments will include European loans.
http://jlne.ws/IYa2tl

Billion-Dollar Traders Quit Wall Street for Hedge Funds
Bloomberg
In the five years that John Silvetz made about $700 million for Deutsche Bank AG by trading corporate bonds and credit derivatives, the amount of his annual bonus paid in cash dropped to 20 percent from almost 70 percent.
http://jlne.ws/IYa58g

After strong start to year, hedge funds fall in April
Reuters via Yahoo! Finance
Hedge funds lost some ground in April, after the industry stormed into 2012 with the best first-quarter of performance since 2006. The HFRI Fund Weighted Composite Index fell 0.36 percent last month, according …
http://jlne.ws/IYa2JI

Economy Keeping Investors Out of the Market: Cohen
CNBC
Investors are turning their fear of the economy into an aversion to stocks, avoiding the stock market despite its aggressive recovery from the credit crisis lows, Goldman Sachs’ strategist Abby Joseph Cohen told CNBC Monday.
http://jlne.ws/IYa2JQ

Greek Bonds Monkeyhammered As Hedge Funds Slash Hands Catching Falling Knives
Zero Hedge
About two years ago the Norwegian sovereign wealth fund did something truly remarkable: it invested for infinity : “Norway, which has amassed the world’s second-biggest sovereign wealth fund, says Greece won’t default on its debts. The Nordic nation’s $450 billion Government Pension Fund Global has stocked up on Greek debt, as well as bonds of Spain, Italy and Portugal.
http://jlne.ws/IYa3gF

ISDA: Perfecting Security Interests In Cash Collateral – Comment To Ontario Minister Of Consumer Services
http://jlne.ws/IYa3gP

MIK White Paper On Portfolio Management And Data – Using Every Bit To Byte: Leveraging Data To Generate Alpha
http://jlne.ws/IYa5FB

Calamos Asset Management, Inc. Reports First Quarter 2012 Results and Declares Dividend
http://jlne.ws/IYa3xt

IndexIQ Announces April 2012 Performance of Its IQ Hedge Family of Investable Benchmark Hedge Fund Replication Indexes
http://jlne.ws/IYa3NS

BM&FBOVESPA Announces Portfolios For The IBOVESPA And Other Indices For May-August 2012
http://jlne.ws/IYa6cp

BM&FBOVESPA Announces Third Previews For The Ibovespa Theoretical Portfolio And Other Indexes
http://jlne.ws/IYa44p

New OMX Helsinki Benchmark Portfolio Selected – The New Portfolio Of The OMX Helsinki Benchmark Index Will Become Effective On June 1, 2012
http://jlne.ws/IYa6t1

New OMX Copenhagen Benchmark Portfolio Selected – The New Portfolio Of The OMX Copenhagen Benchmark Index Will Become Effective On June 1, 2012
http://jlne.ws/IYa4l0

Technology News

Greenline Delivers VeriFIX to Bursa Malaysia
Greenline Financial Technologies, Inc., a leading provider of electronic trading marketplace solutions, today announced it has partnered with Bursa Malaysia to deliver automated FIX protocol testing. Bursa Malaysia selected Greenline’s VeriFIX automated testing tool and testing advisory services.
http://jlne.ws/IYa7gx

ConceptONE selects Asset Control to enhance its Regulatory Reporting Practice
ConceptOne is pleased to announce that its recently completed full integration of Asset Control, a provider of financial data management solutions and services, will be instrumental in its efforts to enhance the firm’s OPERA reporting service and its Regulatory Reporting solutions.
http://jlne.ws/IYa7wZ

Misys wins Asian Banker Award for “Best Back-office System” Technology Implementation for Global China Construction …
PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance
Misys plc, the global application software and services company today announced that it has won the “Best Back-Office System” in The Asian Banker Technology Implementation Awards 2012. The award was won for the successful implementation of Opics at China Construction Bank (CCB).
http://jlne.ws/IYa709

Eze Castle Integration Opens Hong Kong Office to Further Expand Availability of its Premier Hedge Fund IT Services in …
Eze Castle Integration, Inc., a leading provider of strategic IT services, technology solutions and strategic consulting to hedge funds, today announced the opening of its Hong Kong office.
http://jlne.ws/IYa9Vz

PT. Bank QNB Kesawan Adopts FinArch’s IFRS Accounting Engine And Its General Ledger, And Anabatic’s Central Bank Reporting System
http://jlne.ws/IYa7NB

KVH To Appoint Edward Higase As President, Chief Executive Officer And Representative Director
http://jlne.ws/IYa9VM

New OMX Stockholm Benchmark Portfolio Selected – The New Portfolio Of The OMX Stockholm Benchmark Index Will Become Effective On June 1, 2012
http://jlne.ws/IYa840

Media News

Al Jazeera English closes China bureau
By Robin Kwong in Beijing – Financial Times
China has withdrawn the press credentials of an Al Jazeera English journalist, forcing her exit from the country, the first such action by the communist government in more than a decade.
http://jlne.ws/IYa849

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

Barclays Seeks Securities Partner In China – Report
FOX Business
British bank Barclays PLC (BCS) is seeking a mainland partner to set up an investment banking venture that will take advantage of the fast growth of China’s capital market, South China Morning Post reported Tuesday citing unnamed people familiar with the matter.
http://jlne.ws/IYaacg

Clara Lee to join ITRS sales team in Hong Kong
The leading global provider of specialist Application Performance Monitoring (APM) technology to the world’s financial community, ITRS Group Ltd, has appointed Clara Lee as account director in the Hong Kong sales team.
TSE News: ETF/ETN Monthly Report for April 2012
http://jlne.ws/IYa8ky

HKEx 2012 First Quarter Results
http://jlne.ws/IYa8kB

HKEx Monthly Market Highlights – April 2012
The average daily turnover for the first four months of 2012 was $60,253 million, a decrease of 21 per cent when compared with $76,742 million for the same period last year.
http://jlne.ws/IYa8kF

Hong Kong’s Securities And Futures Commission: Broker Wong Chiu Wan Banned For Life For Misappropriation Of Client Assets
http://jlne.ws/IYaasH

HKEx On-Floor & Off-Floor Trading Statistics
http://jlne.ws/IYaasM

Frontier Markets

Volumes soar on DME as new players enter market
CPI Financial
The Dubai Mercantile Exchange (DME) has announced that its flagship DME Oman Crude Oil Futures Contract continued the growth that it has delivered through the first part of 2012 with new volume records for April.
http://jlne.ws/Jnbk1D

Dubai Financial Market Announces The Results Of Its Board Of Directors Meeting Held On 7 May 2012
http://jlne.ws/IYaasS

National Stock Exchange Introduces New Pricing Schedule And Market Data Revenue Sharing
http://jlne.ws/IYa8Ba

Delegation From Top UK Business School Visits DIFC, Highlighting Ever-Closer Ties Between London And Dubai Financial Centres
MBA Students From Cass Business School In London Visit DIFC During Five-Day Tour Of Dubai And Abu Dhabi
http://jlne.ws/IYaaJo

Dubai Financial Market Welcomes The Listing Of Two Government Of Dubai Sukuk With Total Value Of US$ 1.250 Billion
http://jlne.ws/IYa8RA

Dubai Financial Market Performance – April 2012
http://jlne.ws/IYabg9

DIFC Discusses The Commercial Dispute Resolution Options Available At Its Knowledge Series Event – Experts Advise DIFC Audience How To Ensure Their Contracts Are Enforced
http://jlne.ws/IYa982

Help us by participating in one of three ways:

(1) Help us edit – Spend some time on May 18 to help update a page. We’ll give you (and your organization) a shout out in the newsletter and on the front page of MarketsWiki during the party. Don’t have a MarketsWiki account? You can start a FREE MarketsWiki account for this event. Send Jeff Bergstrom an email to get signed up. We’ll also have help available all day for those new to wiking (or are a bit rusty).

(2) Suggest a page to clean up – Tweet your suggestion to @MarketsWiki with the #MWParty hashtag on (or before) May 18. You can also suggest a page at http://jlne.ws/MWSuggest.

(3) Spread the word – Contact colleagues that might have suggestions or want to become MarketsWiki editors. For a quick explanation of MarketsWiki, send them our short animated video: http://jlne.ws/WhatIsMW. Use the the #MWParty hashtag on Twitter to help us spread the word about our newly updated pages on May 18.

We hope you’ll join us on May 18, and remember to watch our progress by following the #MWParty hashtag on Twitter or visiting MarketsWiki.com.

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

Debut of new exchanges could hurt options industry
Reuters
With nine exchanges already battling for a piece of the U.S. options market, as many as three new competitors this year may entry the market this year. The new entrants face the challenge of offering innovation and better ways of managing option order flow, amid a decline in U.S. options volumes, driven by subdued volatility. Volume is down nearly 8 percent this year.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3gKR

**** The more is not the merrier?

++++

Stock Trading Is Still Falling After ’08 Crisis
By NATHANIEL POPPER – NY Times
Even though American stocks have doubled in price in the last three years, investors and traders large and small keep giving the market the cold shoulder.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3ilZ

***** Like real estate prices, exchange traded volumes can go down. You would not know this from recent history, but it it true. And they can trend this way for an extended period of time. The much needed regulatory overhaul after the financial crisis of 2007-08 continues to hang over the markets, leading to uncertainty about new investments and businesses. Low interest rates, a key factor in every stock or commodity, continues to stifle volatility. The impact of MF Global and the security of customer funds should not be underplayed. The wealth effect, which was helped by decades of rising housing prices and financial innovation allowing people to tap into this wealth, has been reversed as housing prices continue to sag and banks are much tighter with credit than pre-crisis. The financial crisis does not end until the problems in housing prices end.

++++

Quick View: Retreat to move forward
By Telis Demos – Financial Times
Industry lobbies are usually understood to be in the business of celebrating the growth of their activity. But a common theme at the just-ended annual meeting of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association in Chicago was the industry’s slimmer profile.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3im2

**** See our video interview with ISDA’s Robert Pickel. The link is below and it is on the front page of MarketsWiki.

++++

Rebates to Brokers Are Seen As a Conflict of Interest
New York Times
The so-called rebates that stock exchanges pay Wall Street firms could give those firms an incentive to profit at the expense of investors, experts find.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3gKZ

**** I am shocked!!

++++

Two Years After The Flash Crash, Are Markets Any Safer?
Forbes
Twenty-four months later, opinions are split on whether letting machines drive market volume is a good thing, or setting us up for another blowup.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3im5

++++

Customer Divide at MF Global
BY AARON LUCCHETTI – WSJ
In the fight to get their missing money back, not all customers at MF Global Holdings Ltd. were created equal. Andrew McCormick, a commodity-fund manager in Seattle, had about $480,000 at MF Global when the firm collapsed in October. Half of his money was invested in the U.S., and the other half went into non-U.S. investments.
http://jlne.ws/JKCrzq

“Instead of hunting for new clients, he spends more time trying to get his money back and making sure other brokerage firms are safe to deal with.”

**** How is that for an industry growth driver? Much of the industry is doing just that same thing.

++++

Understanding the King’s Speech
BY SIMON NIXON – WSJ
Mervyn King chose an odd way to open his first radio lecture: He reminded listeners that the last governor of the Bank of England to address the nation in this way was Montagu Norman in 1939. It was an illuminating reference.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3im7

++++

Norway state fund sells eurozone debt
By Richard Milne in Oslo – Financial Times
Norway’s oil sovereign wealth fund has sold all its holdings of Irish and Portuguese government debt and reduced its ownership of Spanish and Italian bonds as part of a continuing protest over its forced participation in Greece’s debt restructuring.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3h1n

***JM: If you’re holding a rope, and somebody tied the other end to a rock and threw it overboard, wouldn’t YOU let go?

++++

U.S. Fiscal Cliff
Clarke Camper – Inside the Beltway
The buzz over the impending fiscal cliff the U.S. is heading towards at the end of this year continues to grow louder inside the Beltway. In today’s Washington Post, Pimco’s Mohamed El-Erian warns that the coming combination of spending cuts mandated by the 2011 debt ceiling compromise and the expiration of income, payroll and capital gains tax cuts would “derail the U.S. recovery and undermine the well-being of the global economy.”
http://jlne.ws/Jr3iCr

++++

Robert Pickel of ISDA Discusses Dodd-Frank & the Global Picture for OTC Derivatives
MarketsWiki.tv
Robert Pickel, CEO of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), sat down with John Lothian News Editor-in-Chief Jim Kharouf to talk about regulatory reforms, swap rules recently passed by the CFTC, the cost of regulation and the global picture for OTC derivatives.

Watch the video >

++++

Why College Football Should Be Banned
By BUZZ BISSINGER – WSJ
The average student gets nothing from football programs that remain sacrosanct despite tuition increases. In more than 20 years I’ve spent studying the issue, I have yet to hear a convincing argument that college football has anything do with what is presumably the primary purpose of higher education: academics. That’s because college football has no academic purpose. Which is why it needs to be banned. A radical solution, yes. But necessary in today’s times.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3h1u

**** Get ready to hear this debate more.

++++

Executive profile: Holly Duran
Understanding all angles of a commercial real estate deal gives Holly Duran an edge, keeps clients loyal
http://jlne.ws/Jr3h1x

**** CME Group Real Estate advisor Holly Duran gets some press.

++++

Webinar: ICE U.S. Grains Product Overview and Grains Forecast
Tuesday, May 8, 2:00 PM CT/3:00 PM ET

Join Ray McKenzie, VP at ICE Futures U.S., for an overview of the new contracts and a discussion of the benefits of trading in the ICE Futures U.S. trading environment offering a matching engine with sub-millisecond transaction times. After the product overview, well-respected ag analysts Dan Basse and William Tierney of the AgResource Company present a grain market forecast in advance of the important May 10 USDA supply and demand report.

A Q+A session follows the program.

Register at http://jlne.ws/Jr3h1B

++++

MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Edward J. Joyce
http://jlne.ws/yBscak

++++

MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People
Edward J. Joyce; John Edge; Dirk Forrister; Henry Derwent

Companies, Organizations and Groups
International Emissions Trading Association; Calypso Technology; Miami International Holdings, Inc.

Miscellaneous
Upcoming Events

Statistics
23,014,910 pages viewed, 6,846 articles, 139,759 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

Lead Stories

Happy Flash Crash
By JIM MCTAGUE | Barrons
Investors with IRA and 401(k) retirement accounts who held onto equities in 2007-2008, when panic in the markets erased about 26% of their accounts’ values, have profited from a rebound that began in March 2009. Gene Sperling, director of President Obama’s National Economic Council, says that assets in the retirement accounts of individual Americans are now at a record $17.9 trillion, about 3.3% higher than they were in 2007, when the credit markets froze, sending the economy into a dive. Investors who added to their stock holdings during those bleak days have enjoyed higher returns.
http://jlne.ws/JOWSQ1

Nasdaq to Launch New Stock-Options Trading Venue
By Kaitlyn Kiernan – Dow Jones
Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. will launch a new stock-options trading venue that aims to capture more business from individual investors, the company was set to announce Friday. The new exchange, expected to launch in June pending approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission, will be known as Nasdaq OMX BX Options.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3hhU

Bids for the London Metal Exchange Due Monday
New York Times
Bidders have until Monday to make an offer, but the member firms that own the exchange could face increases in trading fees if the exchange is sold and may band together to block a proposed deal.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3hhZ

Confusion Still Reigns on ‘Volcker Rule’ Date
BY SCOTT PATTERSON – WSJ
The Federal Reserve’s attempt to clarify the “Volcker rule” is only creating more confusion. At issue is whether the Fed is requiring banks to start scaling back on making bets with their own money almost immediately, or whether they can continue until the ban on such activities goes into effect in two years.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3iCz

SEC Extends Review Of NYSE Retail Trading Proposal By 60 Days
By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
U.S. stock-market regulators will take another two months to review a proposal by NYSE Euronext (NYX) that would allow the exchange group a new way to compete for retail investors’ trading business.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3iCD

Mounting Remuneration ‘No’ Votes Keep Europe Financial AGMs In Focus
Dow Jones
Executives at several European banks and insurers will be watching anxiously for signs of investor discontent at upcoming annual meetings, as a wave of “no” votes on pay gathers momentum in the financial services sector.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3iSU

Euro tumbles as Greek vote threatens austerity
Reuters via Yahoo! News
The euro fell heavily across the board on Monday after Greek and French elections cast doubt on politicians’ commitment to austerity plans aimed at tackling the euro zone debt crisis.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3kdD

The only solution to the eurozone crisis
By Wolfgang Münchau – Financial Times
It is easy to solve the eurozone crisis on a piece of paper. I have done it many times. It is also easy to invent new institutions: a fiscal union, a treasury secretary, a common sovereign bond and a banking union. I would welcome most of these. But we must subject these discussions to a reality check. While these institutions will emerge from this crisis, none of them can solve it. That will have to be the job of the existing institutions.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3iSZ

Risk assets shunned after eurozone votes
By Neil Dennis in London – Financial Times
Monday 13.00 BST. The euro fell and banks came under pressure on equity markets after France elected a new president and support for pro-Europe parties in Greece collapsed.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3kdG

Spain May Pump Public Funds into Banks
BY JONATHAN HOUSE AND SANTIAGO PEREZ – WSJ
Spain may pump public funds into its banking system to revive lending and its recessionary economy, Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy said Monday, signalling a policy U-turn.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3kdI

Environmental Trading News

Carbon Market Lobbyist Criticizes ‘Whopping Falsehoods’
Bloomberg
The carbon market has been damaged by three “whopping falsehoods” that slowed its growth and caused European lawmakers to question their belief in the system, said the retiring head of a carbon market lobby group.
http://jlne.ws/IxDSSc

**RKB — In this must-read Bloomberg piece, Henry Derwent, who weathered some of the steepest carbon market highs and lows, has a few words of advice for the industry and incoming IETA president Dirk Forrister, former U.S. White House official and carbon fund manager. Best of luck, Henry, in your next endeavors. Henry easily earned the quote spotlight above. Perhaps only an outgoing lobbyist has the liberty to really tell it like it is, but here, summed up, the three “whopping falsehoods” that aggravate this climate market champion: 1. Climate science is exaggerated and unimportant. 2. Nations shouldn’t protect the climate because others aren’t. 3. Markets are not the best solution.

EU green power needs market access to thrive – draft
Reuters
Free access to emerging renewable energy markets such as Brazil, China and India will be a major factor in helping the European Union maintain its lead in green energy, according to draft documents seen by Reuters.
http://jlne.ws/Kb4D2r

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

Exchange & ECN News

CME: Eyes Global Futures, Options Market Dominated By 3 Firms In 10 Years
Alex MacDonald – Dow Jones Newswires
In ten years there will be three major futures and options exchange groups around the world, each dominating one of three key geographic regions: North America, Europe, and Asia, an executive of U.S.-based CME Group Inc. (CME) said Friday.
http://jlne.ws/IJZIIs

LME bid would test Hong Kong Exchanges Li’s M&A mettle
Reuters
Monday promises to be a big day for Charles Li. The 50-year-old former journalist and investment banker is likely to report lower quarterly earnings at Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd (HKEx), where he is CEO, and faces a deadline to bid for the world’s largest commodities exchange.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3kdN

LME Wants Warehouses in China as Asia Growth Lifts Demand
Bloomberg
The London Metal Exchange expects to receive multiple takeover offers when a deadline closes on May 7, and shareholders may assess the bids on price as well as the advantages a potential buyer may bring, the chief executive said.
http://jlne.ws/KvK11r

Nasdaq OMX wins NZ exchange deal
By Philip Stafford – Financial Times
Nasdaq OMX, the transatlantic exchanges operator, has added to a string of recent technology contract wins with a deal to provide the trading platform for the New Zealand Stock Exchange.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3ku4

Trading isn’t NYSE
New York Post
The New York Stock Exchange is on life support as profits get creamed by plummeting trading volume – exactly two years after the electronic Flash Crash sent the storied mart into a near-death spiral. Trading executives fear the clock is finally ticking for the city’s most famous financial landmark – the…
http://jlne.ws/Jr3iT9

LSE Monthly Market Report – April 2012
London Stock Exchange Group (LSE.L) sits at the heart of the world’s financial community, offering international business unrivalled access to Europe’s capital markets. In April a total of 31.1 million trades were carried out across the Group’s electronic equity order books, an increase of 42 per cent on April 2011. They had a combined value of £154.3 billion (E187.7 billion), down 4 per cent on April 2011 (£161.1 billion).
http://jlne.ws/Jr3ku8

CME Group Chief Executive Officer and Chief Financial Officer to Present at UBS Global Financial Services Conference May 8
CME Group announced today that Chief Executive Officer Phupinder Gill and Chief Financial Officer Jamie Parisi will present at the UBS Global Financial Services Conference, to be held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City on Tuesday, May 8, at 2:20 p.m. (Eastern Time).
http://jlne.ws/Jr3kuc

The NYSE Liffe U.S. mini MSCI Futures Report
This edition includes:
* Customer Q&A with Olivier Chameau, Head of 1 Delta Trading for Europe, Societé Generale
* mini MSCI Open Interest and Volume Update
* March Roll Data
* Focus On: Market Quality
* BIC Trading Passes $1 Billion
* European Market Making Program Launched
http://jlne.ws/Jr3kud

NZX: Resignation Of Officer – Caroline Leckie, Head Of Market Supervision
http://jlne.ws/Jr3kKx

ISE Weekly Listings – May 4, 2012
http://jlne.ws/Jr3kKy

TOM MTF Statistics Week 18 – 2012
http://jlne.ws/Jr3kKC

BM&FBOVESPA: ISE Bulletin
http://jlne.ws/Jr3jqd

Vienna Stock Exchange: ATX-Watchlist For April 2012
http://jlne.ws/Jr3kKH

NYSE Amex Weekly Bulletin – 05/04/12
http://jlne.ws/Jr3kKM

NYSE Arca Weekly Bulletin – 05/04/12
http://jlne.ws/Jr3jGy

CME Clearing – SPAN Software
PC-SPAN Upgrade
http://jlne.ws/Jr3l14

[CBOE] Trader E-News
http://jlne.ws/Jr3l1a

TMX Group Equity Financing Statistics – April 2012
http://jlne.ws/Jr3jGK

Athens Exchange Monthly Statistical Bulletin April 2012
http://jlne.ws/Jr3jX0

Banks, Brokers & Dark Pools

European Banks Stash Their Cash
BY DAVID ENRICH AND MAX COLCHESTER – WSJ
LONDON—Some of Europe’s biggest banks are increasingly hoarding their cash at central banks, anxious the continent’s crisis could intensify and leave them with bigger problems.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3jX1

BofA Names Ashok Krishnan Head of Execution Services
By Nandini Sukumar – Bloomberg
Bank of America Corp. (BAC), the second- largest U.S. lender, promoted Ashok Krishnan to lead its execution services business globally, succeeding Roger Anerella who is leaving the firm.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3lhA

ICAP Reports Total Electronic Broking Volumes On BrokerTec And EBS Platforms Of US$714.2bn For April
http://jlne.ws/Jr3jX7

Commonwealth Bank Australia Retail Bank Head To Resign
FOX Business
The head of Commonwealth Bank of Australia’s (CBA.AU) group retail banking services has resigned to take over as the chief executive of U.K. retail at the Royal Bank of Scotland.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3lhQ

Judge refuses to dismiss case against UBS
UPI
A federal judge in Manhattan said he would not dismiss a lawsuit against Swiss bank UBS filed by the federal regulator for two giant U.S. mortgage brokers.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3ly8

Barclays to offer online U.S. savings accounts: FT
International Business Times
British bank Barclays is moving into the U.S. retail banking market for the first time in decades with the launch of an online savings account, the Financial Times said on Monday.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3ly9

Deal Professor: Ignoring the Real Money in the Bank of America Lawsuits
New York Times
The focus following Bank of America’s acquisition of Merrill Lynch has been on the lawsuit by shareholders. But another federal securities lawsuit out there is where the real money is.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3lyb

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.shtml

US ‘flash crash’ measures suffer delays
By Telis Demos in New York – Financial Times
Two years after the “flash crash” on Wall Street, US regulators have still not implemented some of the key measures aimed at preventing further wild swings in stock prices that have harmed market confidence.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3lyc

UK’s Financial Services Authority:
Martin Wheatley, managing director of the Financial Services Authority (FSA), told an audience last night there are still unresolved issues around how customers are treated across financial services and getting to grips with them is central to rebuilding confidence and trust.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3mSJ

ESMA Publishes Its 2012 Regulatory Work Programme
http://jlne.ws/Jr3lye

ESMA Launches A Call For Evidence On Transaction Reporting
http://jlne.ws/Jr3lyh

Systems Managed Accounts
Clearing Participants are advised that recent amendments to the Rules of both ICE Futures Canada and ICE Clear Canada for Systems Managed Accounts (SMAs) have received non-disapproval from The Manitoba Securities Commission.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3lyj

Former directors of companies within Dollarforce Group to stand trial
http://jlne.ws/Jr3lOC

ASIC suspends financial services licence of New South Wales insurance broker
http://jlne.ws/Jr3lOD

[BCSC] Portfolio manager agrees to pay $90,000 for gross negligence
http://jlne.ws/Jr3n9i

SIFMA Applauds Progress In S&ED Talks
http://jlne.ws/Jr3n9q

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Hedge Funds Bet Wrong Before Biggest Slump in 2012: Commodities
Bloomberg
Hedge funds raised bets on higher commodity prices for the first time in six weeks, just before the biggest three-day slump since October as U.S. jobs data fell short of expectations and European manufacturing contracted.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3lOM

Hedge Funds Fell 1% in April as Global Markets Decline
Bloomberg
Hedge funds fell 1 percent in April, tracking stocks worldwide, as renewed concern that the European sovereign-debt crisis would worsen and global economic growth would stall halted an equity-market rally earlier in the year.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3lOP

OUCH: Paulson’s Big Fund Bludgeoned By Gold
Business Insider
May 5 (Bloomberg) — John Paulson, the billionaire hedge- fund manager seeking to reverse record losses in 2011, lost 6.7 percent last month in one of his largest funds as gold-mining stocks dropped, said two people briefed on the returns.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3m56

Berkshire Derivatives Risk to Shrink Under New CEO, Buffett Says
Bloomberg
Warren Buffett , who accumulated more than $7 billion of liabilities on equity-index puts, said the risk from derivatives at his Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRK/A) will decline under the company’s next leaders.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3m59

Buffett Is Out of Step
BY JASON ZWEIG – WSJ
Same old Buffett, different market. Warren Buffett gave the investors at Berkshire Hathaway’s annual meeting on Saturday the identical message he has conveyed for decades: Invest in good businesses at great prices, and the market will take care of itself.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3m5c

Cattle Futures Rebounding From Mad Cow, ‘Pink Slime’
BY MARSHALL ECKBLAD – WSJ
U.S. cattle futures are starting to rebound from a spate of bad news in the beef industry, including a case of mad-cow disease and controversy over an additive derided as “pink slime.”
http://jlne.ws/IHgkyj

Remarks By U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner At The Close Of The Fourth Strategic And Economic Dialogue
http://jlne.ws/Jr3nGe

NASDAQ OMX Starts Trading In New ETFs From Swedbank Robur
http://jlne.ws/Jr3m5g

U.S. Treasury Announces Public Offering
http://jlne.ws/Jr3nGj

Latin America ETF/ETP Industry As At End Of April 2012 – Preliminary Findings
http://jlne.ws/Jr3m5h

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

Dalian Exchange to start mock options trading – paper
Reuters
Sources close to the Dalian Commodity Exchange said the bourse will launch an options trading simulation programme for all products from Monday, the China Securities Journal reported.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3nGq

Silver futures trading to start on Thursday
Eastday
THE Shanghai Futures Exchange, China’s biggest metals bourse, will offer silver futures from next week after draft contract rules received a positive response from potential investors, according to an executive.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3nGr

HKEx: Appointment Of Listing Committee Members
The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the Exchange), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx), announces the appointment of members to the Listing Committee of the Main Board and Growth Enterprise Market
http://jlne.ws/Jr3mlD

Asia Pacific (Ex-Japan) ETF/ETP Industry As At End Of April 2012 – Preliminary Findings
http://jlne.ws/Jr3nGv

Korea Exchange Fee Schedule – Effective From May 2, 2012
http://jlne.ws/Jr3mlR

Fourth Meeting Of The U.S.-China Strategic And Economic Dialogue – U.S. Fact Sheet – Economic Track
http://jlne.ws/Jr3nWK

Frontier Markets

DGCX Establishes New Monthly Volumes Record in April 2012
April volumes on the Dubai Gold and Commodities Exchange (DGCX) registered a 146% growth from the same month in 2011 to reach 559,781 contracts, the highest ever monthly volumes registered by the Exchange. This is the second consecutive month in which DGCX has achieved record-breaking monthly volumes. April volumes represent a value of $22.42 billion.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3nWM

Conrad de Aenlle’s Funds For Thought: The case for frontier markets
Market Watch
There’s investing for the long term, and then there’s investing as though you won’t need to cash out until the day after forever. A recent report by Citigroup offers ideas for anyone who has a time horizon that’s not quite so long but is nevertheless in no hurry to reap gains.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3nWR

India to deliberate tax measures as investors fret
Reuters via Yahoo! Finance
MUMBAI (Reuters) – Whatever its intentions in cracking down on abuse of tax havens, India has alienated overseas investors with the timing and communication of its measures when it can ill afford to do so.
http://jlne.ws/Jr3mCi

Morgan Stanley Frontier Emerging Markets Fund, Inc. Announces Intention to Convert to an Open-End Fund
http://jlne.ws/Jr3mCp

Tehran Stock Exchange Bulletin April 2012
http://jlne.ws/Jr3nWU

Istanbul Stock Exchange Starts Calculating IPO Index On May 7
http://jlne.ws/Jr3nWV

Malawi Stock Exchange Weekly Trading Report-4th May, 2012
http://jlne.ws/Jr3nX0

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

Edward J. Joyce to be honored at the 2012 Options Conference in New Orleans
Edward J. Joyce, former president and chief operating officer of the Chicago Board Options Exchange, is the recipient of this year’s Joseph W. Sullivan Options Industry Achievement Award, to be presented at the 2012 Options Industry Conference in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was unavailable for an interview, so JLN Options spoke with just a few of the many people in the options industry who have known him since way back when, and they shared some of their impressions and memories.

Read comments from Ed Boyle of Getco, Gary Katz of ISE, and Bill Brodsky of CBOE on the JLN Options website at http://jlne.ws/IImVuj

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JLN Interest Rates Newsletter: When Worlds Collide: ISDA AGM Chicago 2012The International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) held its annual meeting in Chicago this week. Coincidentally or not, this comes at a time when Dodd-Frank and other regulatory changes are pushing the over-the-counter (OTC) and listed derivatives markets into closer alignment. Illustrating this point, the conference drew a record number of attendees this year – more than 950 in all – with much of the talk involving how the industry is going to meet the new mandates.

Yesterday’s JLN Interest Rates newsletter was packed full of content from JLN’s Christine Nielsen, Doug Ashburn and Jim Kharouf, including commentary and news stories from the conference, and links to relevant papers and background information. For an in-depth look at the ISDA conference (as well as a roundup of all the news in the interest rates sector), see the online version of the newsletter on the JLN Interest Rates website at http://jlne.ws/IJDHs2. Also, take a look at the MarketsWiki.tv interview just below, with Robert Pickel, CEO of the ISDA.

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Robert Pickel of ISDA Discusses Dodd-Frank & the Global Picture for OTC Derivatives
MarketsWiki.tv
Robert Pickel, CEO of the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA), sat down with John Lothian News Editor-in-Chief Jim Kharouf to talk about regulatory reforms, swap rules recently passed by the CFTC, the cost of regulation and the global picture for OTC derivatives.

Watch the video >

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ISE Introduces Implied Order Functionality
The International Securities Exchange (ISE) announced today that it has introduced Implied Order functionality*. With Implied Orders, ISE will significantly enhance the execution of multi-legged strategy orders by enabling greater interaction of the complex order book with the regular order book. The result will be an increased fill rate for multi-legged strategy orders as well as tighter spreads and increased liquidity on the regular order book.
http://jlne.ws/K6lPpL

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ICE Announces Brent Crude Option Open Interest of One Million Contracts and Daily Trading Volume Record
IntercontinentalExchange, a leading operator of global regulated futures exchanges, clearing houses and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, today reported that open interest in ICE Brent Crude options on futures crossed one million contracts for the first time, closing at 1,004,699 contracts on May 1.
http://jlne.ws/K6lRxI

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CME wins reprieve on CFTC margin rules
By Philip Stafford in London – Financial Times
CME Group, the world’s largest futures exchange by value, has been granted a 90-day extension to implement regulatory changes in margin requirements for speculative traders. The reprieve was granted by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, the US futures regulator, a day after the CME said new rules would be implemented from Monday.
http://jlne.ws/K6lPG3

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Book review: Richard Sandor’s Good Derivatives
FOW
Richard Sandor is a man who does not let failure get in the way of his ambition. From his early days as an academic to the establishment of the world’s leading climate exchange, his story, recounted in his newly released autobiography Good Derivatives: A Story of Financial and Environmental Innovation, stands testament to what can be achieved through vision and perseverance.
http://jlne.ws/K6lPG9

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NFA Arbitrator Training Opportunity on June 12, 2012
Arbitration is a popular dispute resolution alternative to time consuming and costly litigation. The success of NFA‘s arbitration program is directly tied to the quality of the individuals who serve as arbitrators. There are currently over 2,400 individuals on the NFA roster. They come from various professions and walks of life, but the skills they share are integrity, impartiality and sound judgment. Technical expertise in the commodity futures markets is not a requirement. If you’re interested in the program, learn more by using the resources contained in our publication library.
http://jlne.ws/K6lRxP

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Beware pitfalls of rule-makers pursuing their agendas
By Gillian Tett – Financial Times
Over the past year, the phrase “American money market fund” has made European bankers squirm. For as the eurozone crisis has deepened, US funds have fled European bank bond markets, exacerbating their funding woes. US money market funds are provoking another debate – for a subtly different reason.
http://jlne.ws/K6lRxR

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In Soros mold, ex-Enron gas trade whiz Arnold turns giver
Reuters via Yahoo! News
Tired of struggling to eke out gains in a natural gas market that has been deluged by an unyielding surplus of supply, Arnold announced on Wednesday that he would wind down his Centaurus hedge fund after a decade of unparalleled returns. The fund was flat this year through March, according to an industry source.
http://jlne.ws/K6lPWz

***JM: I have a theory, totally unsupported by any real facts, that pretty much every investor under the sun will experience a long, cold winter at some point (even Warren Buffet, our Oracle, missed the S&P performance yet again). The only way to avoid this, my theory states, is to walk away when you’re way ahead. So to me, this looks like a really smart move.

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Nominees Announced for Managed Futures Pinnacle Awards
CME Group and BarclayHedge proudly announce the firms nominated for the Managed Futures Pinnacle Awards. Managers were nominated for a total of 25 awards, based on quantitative data from BarclayHedge. All winners will be announced and presented a “BTOP” award during the awards ceremony on Monday, June 11.

For the complete list of nominated companies, details about the event, and to register for MFA’s Forum 2012, visit http://jlne.ws/K6lROb

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WILD New York Invitation: Join us for a wine tasting and to hear Denise Shull, author of Market Mind Games
WHO: Women in listed and OTC derivatives
WHAT: Wine Tasting, Speaker, & Membership Drive
WHEN: Wednesday May 23, 2012
5:30 pm: Sign-in, mingle, & enjoy a glass of sparkling wine
6:00 – 6:45 pm: Speaker: Denise Shull, TraderPsyches/The ReThink Group/Author of Market Mind Games

Topic: Your Brain on Risk: Surprising Findings from Decision Science
Denise Shull curates the relevant information in emotion neuroscience to bring us the latest in the rapidly-expanding world of perception, judgment, and decision-making science. She explains the important value of emotional context as well as the answer to “why (or how) did I do that again?”

6:45 – 8:00 pm: Enjoy wine tasting, light hors d’oeuvres, & book signing with Denise

WHERE: City Winery (in the Winery Room) ,155 Varick Street (corner of Varick and Vandam), New York, NY 10013, 212-608-0555
RSVP: Email us at events@womeninlistedderivatives.org by May 14th
COST: $10 – You can pay securely through PayPal here: http://jlne.ws/KuqBtI or by cash or check at the door

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MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Miami International Holdings, Inc.
http://jlne.ws/Jh1rQG

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MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People

Robert Pickel; Rita Maloney; Richard Prager; Fujio Nishio; Elie El Hayek; Nicole V. Rohr

Companies, Organizations and Groups

TriOptima; International Swaps and Derivatives Association Inc.; Miami International Holdings, Inc.

Miscellaneous

Upcoming Events

Statistics

22,878,179 pages viewed, 6,843 articles, 139,710 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
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Lead Stories

CFTC Said to Delay Derivatives Exchange Rule Opposed by CME
By Silla Brush – Bloomberg
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission may delay a final vote on regulations governing derivatives exchanges amid internal dissent on a rule that may restrict CME Group Inc., owner of the world’s largest futures exchange, according to four people briefed on the matter.
http://jlne.ws/K6lPWC

LME could introduce yuan settlement in 2014: CEO
Clementine Wallop – MarketWatch
The London Metal Exchange could introduce yuan settlement on its metals contracts in 2014, the bourse’s chief executive said Friday. The LME would offer yuan settlement as part of its move to build its own clearinghouse, known as LMEclear, Martin Abbott told Dow Jones Newswires.
http://jlne.ws/K6lROj

Banks face tougher trading capital rules
By Brooke Masters, Chief Regulation Correspondent – Financial Times
Bank trading desks face a new threat to their profitability after global regulators unveiled proposals on Thursday to force them to hold more capital against the risk of heavy losses when markets freeze. The Basel Committee on Banking Supervision’s “fundamental review of the trading book” aims to close loopholes that have allowed banks to cut capital requirements by parking assets in their trading books.
http://jlne.ws/K6lROn

Canadian exchange deal takes step forward
By Telis Demos in New York – Financial Times
The Canadian exchange deal inches further toward completion. Draft orders by a provincial regulator would require an independent board and pre-approval of market rule changes as conditions for the acquisition of TMX Group by a consortium of Canadian banks and pension funds.
http://jlne.ws/K6lRxV

$1.6 Billion for London Metal Exchange? CEO Says Maybe
CNBC
The London Metal Exchange, the world’s largest metal-trading platform, should be able to get an offer of at least a billion pounds ($1.6 billion), CEO Martin Abbott told CNBC.
http://jlne.ws/K6lPWM

DealBook: In Europe, Parallels to Japan’s ‘Lost Decade’
New York Times
Analysts at Barclays examined whether Europe’s debt crisis would affect its local banks in the same way that Japan’s economic downturn hurt that country’s financial institutions.
http://jlne.ws/K6lROp

SEC reforms ‘will kill’ money market funds
By Beagan Wilcox Volz – Financial Times
The money market fund industry is arming itself for a possible court battle with the Securities and Exchange Commission over new reforms of the product. The weapons chosen take a seemingly benign form – hundreds of pages of comment letters filed with the regulator. In them, the Investment Company Institute, Federated Investors, Fidelity Investments, Charles Schwab and others present research that could buttress an eventual court challenge to any new rules.
http://jlne.ws/K6lSSe

Environmental Trading News

British Columbia Rethinks Its Pioneering Carbon Tax
National Geographic
British Columbians are feeling a little lonely in their bid to save the planet. Five years ago, the Canadian province enacted a bold set of climate change policies designed to reduce its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions dramatically. At the time, B.C. lawmakers assumed the United States would follow suit with federal climate change policy. To the south and east, a coalition of seven U.S. states and four Canadian provinces were establishing the Western Climate Initiative (WCI), with a regional carbon cap-and-trade system.
http://jlne.ws/IvYYWi

TransCanada expected to reapply for Keystone pipeline permit as soon as Friday
Washington Post
The Canadian firm behind the controversial Keystone XL pipeline will reapply as early as Friday for a federal permit to ship carbon-intense crude oil from Alberta to the United States, according to people familiar with the company’s plans.
http://jlne.ws/J4CQkr

Blue chips again urge EU to prop up carbon price
Business Green
A coalition including some of the world’s leading businesses will today issue a direct call for the EU to redouble its efforts to drive green growth in order to bring struggling member states out of recession.
http://jlne.ws/J0ZYgF

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

Exchange & ECN News

New U.S. Grains and Oilseeds at ICE Futures U.S.
ICE Futures U.S. launches trading in cash-settled futures for corn, wheat, soybeans, soybean oil and soybean meal on May 14, and options on cash-settled grain futures on May 15, pending regulatory review.
http://jlne.ws/K6lSSn

CME Group Receives 90-Day Extension for Margin Changes to August 5, 2012
CME Group today requested and received a 90-day extension for implementing margin changes announced yesterday in order to comply with CFTC Regulation 39.13(g)(8)(ii), as it applies to customers that are exchange members (member-customers) and omnibus accounts.
http://jlne.ws/K6lSSq

CME Group Must Delay Start Of New Grain Hours – CFTC
By Ian Berry Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
CME Group Inc. (CME) plans to begin expanded trading hours in grain futures on May 21, a week later than first disclosed as it awaits final regulatory clearance. The exchange had said on Tuesday that it would begin the expanded 22-hour trading day on May 14, but until Thursday it hadn’t filed a necessary “self-certification” form disclosing its plans to the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The exchange filed the notice on Thursday morning
http://jlne.ws/K6lSSs

CME Group Adds Ethanol to Expanded CBOT Grain and Oilseed Trading Hours on CME Globex
CME Group, the world’s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced it will expand electronic trading hours for its CBOT Denatured Fuel Ethanol futures and options on CME Globex in line with recently announced plans to expand CBOT grain and oilseed trading hours.
http://jlne.ws/K6lS4I

KCBT HRW Wheat Futures & Options Electronic Trading Hours Expanded
http://jlne.ws/K6lS4J

MGEX Announces Expanded Trading Hours
MGEX, a Designated Contract Market and Derivatives Clearing Organization, today announced expanded trading hours for all futures and options contracts, including its Hard Red Spring Wheat (HRSW) contract, beginning Sunday, May 20, 2012 for trade date May 21, 2012.
http://jlne.ws/IJE45S

ICE Futures Canada mulls changing trading hours
Reuters via Yahoo! News
ICE Futures Canada is meeting with traders and brokers to assess whether to change the exchange’s trading hours, said President and Chief Operating Officer Brad Vannan on Thursday, after its key competitors said this week they would expand hours.
http://jlne.ws/K6lT8M

NASDAQ OMX Selected as Trading Technology Partner for the New Zealand Market – NZX
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. today announced that it has been selected as technology partner for the New Zealand market. NASDAQ OMX will deliver its widely deployed X-stream technology to power NZX’s trading platform.
http://jlne.ws/K6lT8O

Proposed Acquisition of TMX Group by Maple Group Acquisition Corporation – AMF Issues Certain Decisions and Launches Consultation on CDS
The Autorité des marchés financiers is today publishing certain decisions related to the transaction proposed by Maple Group Acquisition Corporation to acquire TMX Group Inc.
http://jlne.ws/K6lT8Q

NZX Board And CEO Announcement
http://jlne.ws/K6lS4R

EEX Trading Results in April
http://jlne.ws/K6lS4U

EPEX SPOT / EEX Power Derivatives: Power Trading Results in April
http://jlne.ws/K6lSla

Program Trading Averaged 27.9 Percent of NYSE Volume during Apr. 23-27
http://jlne.ws/K6lTpm

Toronto Stock Exchange and TSX Venture Exchange Continue 2012 Canadian Financing Series in Kitchener Waterloo
http://jlne.ws/K6lTpo

Top 20 Largest Consolidated Short Position Report – April 30, 2012
http://jlne.ws/K6lSlk

Banks, Brokers & Dark Pools

BGC Partners Reports First Quarter 2012 Financial Results
BGC Partners, Inc., a leading global brokerage company primarily servicing the wholesale financial markets, today reported its financial results for the quarter ended March 31, 2012.
http://jlne.ws/K6lSlp

Swiss Banks Can’t Become Arm Of Foreign Tax Authorities – UBS Head
FOX Business
Switzerland mustn’t become a financial center for tax evaders, but at the same time Swiss banks can’t serve as the extended arm of foreign tax authorities, the chairman of UBS AG (UBS) said Thursday.
http://jlne.ws/K6lTpw

RBS net loss triples to £1.52 bn on debt charge
AFP via Yahoo! News
State-rescued Royal Bank of Scotland on Friday announced a first quarter net loss of £1.52 billion (1.87 billion euros, $2.46 billion), almost three times the amount posted a year earlier.
http://jlne.ws/K6lSBL

Hester dashes hopes for RBS share sale
By Adam Jones – Financial Times
The chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland has signalled that taxpayers and ordinary shareholders will need to remain patient with its rehabilitation as it prepares to pass two key recovery milestones.
http://jlne.ws/K6lSBM

Former State Street futures chief joins London broker
Tom Osborn – Financial News
The former head of the London futures unit at custody bank State Street has joined futures specialist brokerage GH Financials as its new chief operating officer, as the firm continues its expansion push in European and Asian derivatives markets.
http://jlne.ws/K6lTFQ

Goldman Sachs Said to Prepare Trading System for Corporate Bonds
Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) will start an electronic trading system for corporate bonds this month as the fifth-biggest U.S. bank adapts to regulatory changes and competition, according to a person familiar with the plans.
http://jlne.ws/K6lSBQ

Goldman loses bid to dismiss CIFG breach of contract claims
Reuters via Yahoo! Finance
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. failed to win dismissal of breach of contract claims in a lawsuit brought by CIFG Assurance North America Inc over $275 million in mortgage-backed securities that it insured.
http://jlne.ws/K6lTFW

DealBook: Once Remote, Goldman Sachs Puts on a Friendly Public Face
New York Times
By stepping into the spotlight even a little, Goldman’s chief executive, Lloyd C. Blankfein, appears to be embarking on a subtle campaign to help repair the company’s reputation.
http://jlne.ws/K6lSBX

BNP Paribas closes in on Basel target
By Scheherazade Daneshkhu in Paris – Financial Times
BNP Paribas reported a 9.6 per cent rise in first-quarter net profits, boosted by the sale of a stake in Klépierre, the property company, which helped France’s largest bank by assets achieve the bulk of its plan to boost capital.
http://jlne.ws/K6lTG3

Jamie Dimon: Obama’s Persecution Of Oil Speculators Is ‘Ridiculous’
Forbes
In an action packed dialogue, JPMorgan chief Jamie Dimon spoke about everything, criticizing the Volcker rule, asking people to support Simpson-Bowles, noting the US is in better footing than Europe, and adding he agrees with some points pursued by the Occupy movement.
http://jlne.ws/K6lTWh

UBS faces pay backlash as Weber becomes chairman
Reuters via Yahoo! News
UBS became the latest bank to face the anger of its shareholders over executive pay on Thursday, as investors queued up to voice their complaints in a packed meeting that echoed recent protests at Credit Suisse and Barclays.
http://jlne.ws/K6lSBY

HSBC Bank USA is suspected of giving free rein to money launderers
MSNBC: Field Notes
Criminals found an easy place to launder money at HSBC Bank USA, according to allegations contained in documents from a federal investigation of the bank, Reuters news agency reported Thursday.
http://jlne.ws/K6lSBZ

Deutsche senior banker Heaton to join Morgan Stanley
Reuters via Yahoo! News
Eric Heaton, a veteran investment banker who has worked on some of the banking industry’s largest merger deals, has left Deutsche Bank to join Morgan Stanley , according to people familiar with his plans.
http://jlne.ws/K6lTWo

Barclays Says Head of Loan Capital Markets for Asia to Retire
Bloomberg
Richard Palmer will retire as head of loan capital markets for the Asia-Pacific region at Barclays Plc (BARC) , according to Angie Tang, a Hong Kong-based spokewoman at the London-listed bank.
http://jlne.ws/K6lTWr

No rubber stamp for Lehman executives’ settlement
Reuters via Yahoo! News
With a nod to country singer Kenny Rogers, a federal judge has refused for now to allow insurers for former officers and directors of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc to pay $90 million to settle a fraud lawsuit brought by investors.
http://jlne.ws/K6lTWs

Results Of The Annual General Meeting Of UBS AG
http://jlne.ws/K6lVxr

TD Ameritrade CEO to Speak at the UBS Global Financial Services Conference
http://jlne.ws/K6lTWx

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.shtml

CFTC to Hold Open Meeting to Consider a Final Rule on Core Principles and Other Requirements for Designated Contract Markets and a Proposed Order Amending the Effective Date for Swap Regulation
The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will hold a public meeting on Thursday, May 10, 2012, at 9:30 a.m., to consider a Final Rule on Core Principles and Other Requirements for Designated Contract Markets and a Proposed Order Amending the Effective Date for Swap Regulation.
http://jlne.ws/K6HrBf

CFTC Charges Utah Residents Christopher Hales, Eric Richardson and their Company, Bentley Equities, LLC, with Fraud and Misappropriation
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced the filing of a federal court action in Utah charging Bentley Equities, LLC (Bentley), a Delaware corporation, and its principals, Christopher D. Hales and Eric A. Richardson, with fraud and misappropriation in connection with commodity futures trading. Richardson resides in Cedar Hills, Utah, and Hales is currently an inmate at the Florence, Colo., Federal Correction Complex. None of the defendants has ever been registered with the CFTC.
http://jlne.ws/K6lUcO

CFTC Charges Illinois Resident Dimitry Vishnevetsky and His Company, Oxford Capital, LLC, with Commodity Pool Fraud
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that on May 1, 2012, the Honorable Ruben Castillo, of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, entered an order freezing the assets of defendants Dimitry Vishnevetsky of Chicago, Ill., and his company, Oxford Capital, LLC (OCL), a defunct Wisconsin limited liability company. The court’s order also prohibits the destruction of books and records.
http://jlne.ws/K6lVxx

SEC Reopens Comment Period for Proposed Amendments to Its Net Capital, Customer Protection, Books and Records, and Notification Rules for Broker-Dealers
http://jlne.ws/K6lUcU

Speech By SEC Staff: Address At The Private Equity International Private Fund Compliance Forum By Carlo V. di Florio, Director, Office Of Compliance Inspections And Examinations, U.S. Securities And Exchange Commission
http://jlne.ws/K6lVxC

Space Between Walls – Speech By CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton To The Finance, Credit And International Business Association International Credit Executives Conference, Chicago, IL
http://jlne.ws/K6lUcZ

SEC begins inquiry into Chesapeake Energy
Associated Press via Yahoo! News
The Securities and Exchange Commission is reviewing a compensation program at Chesapeake Energy Corp. that created potential conflicts of interest for its CEO.
http://jlne.ws/K6lVNT

ASIC consults on revised financial requirements for electricity derivative issuers
http://jlne.ws/K6lVNV

Former Bustan Chairman sentenced
http://jlne.ws/K6lUd5

Basel Committee On Banking Supervision: Fundamental Review Of The Trading Book – Consultative Document
http://jlne.ws/K6lVNY

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Markets and regulator keep industry on its toes
By Andrew Greene – Financial Times
The US mutual fund industry has no shortage of challenges, both near-term and long-term. On the competition front, exchange-traded funds and other passively managed products have siphoned off a sizeable chunk of assets from actively managed mutual funds. The shift into beta products – as well as the steady growth of fixed income assets – has put a squeeze on expense ratios.
http://jlne.ws/K6lVO7

Global winner Traders Trophy Worldwide 2012
Today Peter Amos, student at the Wharton School (US) won the global edition of the Traders Trophy Worldwide, the search for World’s Best Student Trader. During the Global Final at NYSE Euronext in Amsterdam Peter beat 19 fellow students, winning two years intensive career counseling and training by Oxyor and Sherpazz.
http://jlne.ws/K6lUtr

Optimism About the Economy Improves Among U.S. CFOs in Latest Bank of America Merrill Lynch CFO Outlook Survey
Business Wire
U.S. financial executives are much more optimistic about the national economy than they were last fall, with nearly two-thirds expecting it to grow in 2012, but they remain cautious about the global economy, according to the latest Bank of America Merrill Lynch CFO Outlook survey.
http://jlne.ws/K6lUtu

Barclays commodities chief quits for rival
By By Javier Blas, Commodities Editor – Financial Times
Roger Jones has resigned as global head of commodities at Barclays Capital to join Mercuria, the Geneva-based trading house that is expanding from its initial focus on oil into natural gas, power, metals and agricultural commodities, according to two people familiar with the matter.
http://jlne.ws/K6lUtz

Hedge-Fund Millionaire Diggle Targets $150 Million for Farm Fund
Bloomberg
Vulpes Investment Management, the Singapore company set up by hedge-fund manager Stephen Diggle, plans to raise as much as $150 million over the next few months for a fund that invests in farms around the world.
http://jlne.ws/K6lW4p

Duff Said to Struggle to Raise Money for Massif Fund
Bloomberg
Philip N. Duff, founder of hedge fund FrontPoint Partners LLC, is struggling to attract assets for his latest money-management venture. More than half of his three dozen employees have left or been cut, according to two people with knowledge of the company.
http://jlne.ws/K6lUJU

2012 Hard Red Winter Wheat Tour Estimate for Kansas at 49.1 Bushels per Acre
The final estimate for the 2012 Hard Red Winter wheat tour sponsored by the Wheat Quality Council was announced today at the Kansas City Board of Trade. The final participant estimate for the three-day tour average was a yield of 49.1 bushels per acre, 11.7 bushels higher than the 2011 estimate of 37.4 bushels per acre.
http://jlne.ws/K6lW4u

Montreal Stock Exchange: The Futures Invoice Spread: Taking A View On A Swap Spread And Hedging An Interest Rate Swap Using Government Of Canada Bond Futures
Press Release
The notional dollar amount traded on the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market is growing at a remarkable rate. According to the Bank for International Settlements, total amounts outstanding of OTC derivatives have reached more than US$700 trillion at the end of Q2 2011.
http://jlne.ws/K6lW4v

db x-trackers bond index ETFs on euro zone and German government bonds launched on Xetra
http://jlne.ws/IIA97v

OIC Announces Latest Study Findings Showing Collar Strategy Improves Performance And Reduces Risk
http://jlne.ws/K6lW4w

Technology News

NASDAQ OMX Agrees to Acquire BWise, a Leading Governance, Risk Management and Compliance (GRC) Software Solution
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. today announced that it has agreed to acquire BWise, a global leader in enterprise governance, risk management and compliance (GRC) software.
http://jlne.ws/K6lW4y

Omgeo Named Securities Services Technology Provider of the Year in Custody Risk Americas Awards 2012
Omgeo, the global standard for post-trade efficiency, today announced that it has been named the “Securities Services Technology Provider of the Year” in the Custody Risk Americas Awards 2012.
http://jlne.ws/K6lW4z

FTEN Adds Real-time Risk Analytics for Options Risk Management
FTEN, Inc., a NASDAQ OMX company, today announced at the Options Industry Conference the addition of real-time risk analytics for options trading, enhancing its cross-asset, cross-market, and cross-system risk management capabilities.
http://jlne.ws/K6lW4D

Media News

AgriCharts and IRON Solutions Form Ag Media Alliance
AgriCharts, the agricultural division of Barchart.com, Inc., which provides market data, agribusiness website hosting and technology solutions to the agricultural industry, announces an exclusive partnership with IRON Solutions, the leading provider of on-demand business intelligence and technology services for the agricultural and equipment industry, to form an agricultural media alliance.
http://jlne.ws/K6lWkZ

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 stocks battle the growth paradox
By Simon Rabinovitch in Beijing – Financial Times
When it announced new stock listing rules over the weekend, the Chinese securities regulator was trying to end a decade of underachievement. The best economic growth story of the 21st century has been a poor investment play. While its gross domestic product has shot up, China’s equity market has languished.
http://jlne.ws/K6lWl5

SGX derivatives and clearing volumes grow
Singapore Exchange (SGX) today said derivatives and clearing volumes grew in April from a year earlier but securities activity declined.
http://jlne.ws/K6lWl9

Hugh Hendry predicts crisis will spread to Asia
Reuters via Yahoo! Finance
Hugh Hendry, one of the hedge fund industry’s most outspoken managers, has warned that the economic crisis is headed for Asia, with the region’s largest economy, China, struggling under a bursting property bubble and tumbling demand for its exports.
http://jlne.ws/K6lWBv

Shanghai Stock Exchange Select Industries Indices, SSE Leading Consumption And Services Index And SSE Banks Index To Be Launched
Press Release
Designed to serve as new investable benchmarks for investors, SSE and CSI today announced the upcoming launch of SSE Select Industries Indices, SSE Leading Consumption and Services Index and SSE Banks Index on May 28th 2012.
http://jlne.ws/K6lWBy

Hong Kong’s Securities And Futures Commission: New Regulatory Measures Take Effect Under Securities And Futures (Amendment) Ordinance
http://jlne.ws/K6lWBz

Frontier Markets

NASDAQ OMX and the Egyptian Exchange Extend Technology Agreement
GlobeNewswire via Yahoo! Finance
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc and the Egyptian Exchange (EGX) have entered an agreement that extends their relationship for a further five years.
http://jlne.ws/K6lV0A

MCX Weekly Market Report – April 27, 2012 – May 03, 2012
http://jlne.ws/K6lVgS

Palestine Exchange Monthly Newsletter
http://jlne.ws/K6lVgT

NASDAQ OMX And The Egyptian Exchange Extend Technology Agreement
http://jlne.ws/K6lWS2

Palestine Exchange Investor Monthly Newsletter Issue #25, April 2012
http://jlne.ws/K6lVgU