Observations – Statistics – Commentary

NFA considering proposal to restore money lost by MF Global
By Lynne Marek – Crain’s
(Crain’s) — Two new reform-minded National Futures Association board members are pressing the group to help restore money lost by MF Global Inc.‘s futures-trading customers and require futures commission merchants to disclose daily where customer funds are held.
http://jlne.ws/yJk1bl

NFA has new sheriffs in town  
“No promise or assurance for future safety will have much meaning or credibility unless the 38,000 [MF Global] customers get 100% of their money back.”
That quote is part of a 14-page memo delivered to the National Futures Association (NFA) Board of Directors by its two newest members, Doug Bry and Ernest Jaffarian. The memo highlights many of the sordid details of the MF Global debacle and includes recommendations but it boils down to one thing, making customers whole.
http://jlne.ws/z24r81

MEMORANDUM
For: National Futures Association Board of Directors
From: Douglas Bry & Ernest Jaffarian CTA/CPO Representatives
Date: 13 February 2012
Re: MF Global Issues and Proposals
The MF Global bankruptcy and its aftermath have created the potential for irreparable harm to the futures industry, a key component of the global financial system.
http://jlne.ws/zEavG8

**** This is hard to do on a number of levels.  But it is the right thing to do on even more.  And the toughest trades are the right ones to make.  I applaud Douglas Bry and Ernest Jaffarian for taking the ball and running with it.

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Commodity Customer Protections and Regulations History and Potential Solutions for the Future
PFGBest white paper
PFGBEST presents a research white paper on solutions to be considered by the Commodity Customer Coalition striving to ensure that any government policy responses are appropriate and cost effective to protect customers and maintain the integrity of futures markets.
http://jlne.ws/yvAXIN

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Royal Exchange put up for sale by Anglo Irish
By Graham Ruddick – Telegraph
The Royal Exchange in the City was founded in 1565 by merchant Sir Thomas Gresham, who wanted to create a centre of commerce modelled on the stock exchange in Antwerp. The Irish Bank Resolution Corporation, formed last year by the merger of troubled Anglo and Irish Nationwide, has agreed a deal to sell the business to investment manager Key Capital, which will offload the properties on its behalf.
http://jlne.ws/wvCfRn

*** I can’t wait for the CBOT Building to become the new Royal Exchange and get a Hermes and Gucci.

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Neal L. Wolkoff, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Wolkoff Consulting Services, LLC Announces New Financial Services Consulting Firm
Press Release
Neal L. Wolkoff, who until recently was the Chief Executive Officer of ELX Futures, L.P., and was previously Chairman and CEO of the American Stock Exchange, and Chief Operating Officer and Executive Vice President of the NYMEX, is announcing the start of his new business, Wolkoff Consulting Services, LLC. Mr. Wolkoff who is also an attorney admitted in New York, will provide independent expertise to corporate and individual clients needing to understand and work within the new regulatory environments of the Dodd Frank era.
http://www.wolkoffconsulting.com/

**** There is life after ELX.

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Life after Wall Street
By William D. Cohan – Financial Times
Some 40,000 high-level bankers lost their jobs in the financial crisis. But questions on what the former Masters of the Universe did next are met with impenetrable silence
http://jlne.ws/zC5jge

**** Be prepared to have some time to read this article.  It is good, but long.

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Interactive Data Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2011 Results
Press Release
February 17, 2012 –Interactive Data Corporation today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2011. Interactive Data’s fourth-quarter 2011 revenue increased 6.8% to a record $222.1 million from $207.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.
http://jlne.ws/wC9fiC

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Regulators weigh thousands of pleas on Volcker rule
By Tracy Alloway in New York and Shahien Nasiripour in Washington – Financial Times
Paul Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman turned financial reformer, once described lying awake in his bed, “tossing and turning … thinking whatever we do, the banks will try to game us.” He must have been sleeping badly this week.
http://jlne.ws/w6IVOD

**** How much does a plea weigh?

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You know the deficit hawks. Now meet the deficit owls.
Washington Post
About 11 years ago, James K. “Jamie” Galbraith recalls, hundreds of his fellow economists laughed at him. To his face. In the White House. It was April 2000, and Galbraith had been invited by President Bill Clinton to speak on a panel about the budget surplus. Galbraith was a logical choice. A public policy professor at the University of Texas and former head economist for the Joint Economic …
http://jlne.ws/y11wxK

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Are commodity merchants “swap dealers” by any other name?
Reuters via Yahoo! News
Big energy companies like Royal Dutch Shell and commodity merchants like Cargill have a simple argument in pushing back against looming new swap market rules: We’re not a bank, so don’t regulate us like one.
http://jlne.ws/ydMK0D

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Futures Industry Association Goes Live With Association Anywhere, SaaS Association Management Software (AMS) From ACGI …
Marketwire via Yahoo! Finance
ACGI Software, the trusted leader in association management software (AMS), today announced the Futures Industry Association (FIA), a global trade organization whose members includes the world’s largest derivatives clearing firms as well as exchanges and clearinghouses from more than 20 countries, has gone live with Association Anywhere, the company’s software as a service (SaaS) association management system (AMS).
http://jlne.ws/wMRzXa

**** I am pleased to announce John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. has become an Associate Member of the Futures Industry Association.  In as such, I am no longer allowed to make snarky comments about the FIA or any of its events.  For example, I can’t say “FIA now has SaaS.”  OK, I’m done.

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ICAP Patent Brokerage Spring 2012 Catalog Now Available Online
ICAP Patent Brokerage, the global leader in intellectual property brokerage and a division of ICAP plc, the world’s leading interdealer broker, will auction patent lots covering technology across multiple industries at the upcoming Summit on IP Strategy at Terranea Resort near Los Angeles on March 28 & 29.
http://jlne.ws/AyUTTs

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Metrixx-Calculated Price: An Evaluation Tool for Professional Traders Webinar
Hosted by CQG
Join Jim Marzano, founder of Metrixx LLC, as he demonstrates the role of Metrixx’s real-time decision support tools and social business platform in defining market value.

Mr. Marzano will highlight:
* Metrixx integration with CQG for quoting, charting, and modeling, with more than 1,000 QFormulas;
* extensive pre-trade analysis and calculations for any globally-traded future, with special emphasis on financial futures; and
* Metrixx Community, a customizable social platform for trading professionals.

Webinar registrants will also receive a free trial subscription to the Metrixx Community.

Register at http://jlne.ws/A2rXHw

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MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Rogue order
http://jlne.ws/A4160m

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MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People 

George M. Bollenbacher; Tom Mallon; John King; Raymond L. D’Arcy; Karen Bertoli; Scott Caudell; Kevin Bohren; Joe Bigane

Companies, Organizations and Groups

Penson Futures; Interactive Data Corporation; Interactive Data 7ticks; Cinnober Financial Technology; The Price Group; MF Global Inc

Miscellaneous

Five Minutes With Bluford Putnam; Rogue order; Five Minutes; Five Minutes With Joe Bigane

Statistics

19,679,764 pages viewed, 6,702 articles, 137,170 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
_______________________________________________________

Lead Stories

SEC widens probe of exchange-traded funds
Reuters via Yahoo! News
U.S. securities regulators have widened their inquiry into the trillion-dollar market for exchange-traded funds, according to a person familiar with the matter. Prompted by a delay in a big trade at a popular ETF, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission is taking a closer look at a possible connection between high-frequency traders and hedge funds jumping in and out of ETFs, and …
http://jlne.ws/yGKQfv

CME raises stake in Dubai Mercantile Exchange
Reuters
Futures exchange operator CME Group Inc. and an Omani sovereign fund boosted their stake in the Dubai Mercantile Exchange after a cash infusion on Tuesday, diluting positions held by oil majors and the ruler of Dubai’s investment vehicle.
http://jlne.ws/zbjM5t

UBS Launches New E-Trading Platform For Credit-Default Swaps
By Katy Burne Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Seeing that a pending regulatory overhaul of the $708 trillion private derivatives market will bring down the curtain on the lucrative business of dealing in swaps, UBS is looking for a new way to stay in the game. In a wholesale shift in how credit derivatives have been traded, the Swiss banking giant has launched an electronic market for credit-default swaps, allowing customers to buy or sell the insurance-like instruments directly with other customers on-screen or trade with the bank’s own traders.
http://jlne.ws/wcrAcW

Italy to limit high-frequency orders
By Jeremy Grant and Rachel Sanderson – Financial Times
Italy’s stock exchange plans to charge traders if they send too many orders into its system, in an effort to curb what regulators see as excessive numbers of orders, according to people familiar with the matter.
http://jlne.ws/wGRXVM

Sweden finds HFT effects “limited”
By Philip Stafford in London – Financial Times
The emergence of high-frequency trading has a limited effect on equity markets but increased the potential for market abuse while supervision is “insufficient”, an investigation by Swedish regulators has concluded.
http://jlne.ws/AiM6Vu

Swedish Financial Supervisory Authority – Finansinspektionen: High Frequency Trading Not A Threat To Financial Stability
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/yPbiwh

Euro Zone Ministers Approve $171B Greek Aid Package
International Business Times
Euro zone finance ministers meeting in Brussels early Tuesday approved a $171 billion bailout package for Greece, sparing the nation a default and the continent a dramatic economic downturn.
http://jlne.ws/yuiupD

UBS Turning Whistleblower in Libor Probe Puts Pressure on Rivals
BusinessWeek
UBS AG’s decision to become first- confessor as regulators probe the alleged manipulation of interest rates will ratchet up the risks for other banks that set the benchmark for $360 trillion of securities worldwide.
http://jlne.ws/wJ8Hbq

Trustee Finds No Missing MF Global Customer Cash JP Morgan Account
By PATRICK FITZGERALD
Louis Freeh, the bankruptcy trustee overseeing MF Global Holdings Ltd.’s Chapter 11 case, determined that none of the estimated $1.6 billion in missing customer cash ended up in a company account at J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. that he was reviewing.
http://jlne.ws/xRuqbc

Fed Writes Sweeping Rules From Behind Closed Doors
BY VICTORIA MCGRANE AND JON HILSENRATH – WSJ
The Federal Reserve has operated almost entirely behind closed doors as it rewrites the rule book governing the U.S. financial system, a stark contrast with its push for transparency in its interest-rate policies and emergency-lending programs. While many Americans may not realize it, the Fed has taken on a much larger regulatory role than at any time in history.
http://jlne.ws/wk2HTR

Top Banks in EU Rush for Safety
By DAVID ENRICH – WSJ
LONDON—Top European banks, responding to new regulations and wary of lending, are stashing increasingly large sums of money at central banks around the world in a collective flight to safety.
http://jlne.ws/zS0nKN

Greece Wins Second Bailout as Europe Picks Aid Over Default
By James G. Neuger and Jonathan Stearns – Bloomberg
Debt-stricken Greece won a second bailout after European governments wrung concessions from private investors and tapped into European Central Bank profits to shield the euro area from a precedent-setting default.
http://jlne.ws/yyzgCz

Long odds on a happy ending to the Greek story
Howard Davies – Financial Times
There was a certain inevitability about the Greek bail-out deal struck in the early hours of Tuesday morning in Brussels. The negotiators clearly decided to stick to coffee for themselves, and bread and water for the Greeks, rather than reaching for bottles of Mort Subite [Sudden Death], a Belgian beer worthy of its name. When the brinkmen get so close to the edge, as they did last week, they rarely jump.
http://jlne.ws/xwmUzc

Statement By IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde On The Meeting Of The Euro Group
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/AlwO6H

Eurogroup Statement – Second Adjustment Programme For Greece
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/vZxSbu

Statement By Greece’s Deputy Prime Minister And Finance Minister Evangelos Venizelos About Today’s Eurogroup Meeting
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zAPRrY

Statement By Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner On Economic Reforms In Greece
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zlTHJm

Environmental Trading News

ICE makes UK carbon platform bid
By Philip Stafford – Financial Times
Three of the world’s largest exchanges are among those bidding to win the contract to auction Britain’s emissions trading allowances, after IntercontinentalExchange on Monday confirmed it had submitted a tender.
http://jlne.ws/xAXcUO

ICE Futures Europe Announces Status as Recognised Auction Platform
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/xALl7o

EU Nations Split on Climate Goals Before March Ministers Meeting
Bloomberg
European Union governments remain split on whether to support a pathway to long-term climate goals drafted by the bloc’s regulator that some investors say could bolster carbon prices, according to an EU document.
http://jlne.ws/ysNvRY 

**JK – It’s not really a split (as in 50-50), more like 19-8.

Q+A: Will Moscow talks unleash carbon trade war against EU?
Reuters
A group of nations opposed to an EU law forcing all airlines to pay for their emissions meets in Moscow this week to debate possible retaliation, raising the risk of a trade war.
http://jlne.ws/A8oA1p

**JK – Splashy headline, with rather subdued commentary within. Short answer to the above question – Not likely.

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

LME Committee To Dissect Bids Ahead Of Board Meeting-Source
By Andrea Hotter and Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Leaders of the London Metal Exchange will weigh preliminary bids next week for the commodity market ahead of a Feb. 23 board meeting, a person familiar with the matter said Friday.
http://jlne.ws/wZB8at

London Metal Exchange gets “good number” of first-round bids
Reuters via Yahoo! News
The London Metal Exchange (LME) has received a good number of first-round bids for the 130-year-old bourse, the world’s largest metals market place, an LME spokesman said on Friday. Separate sources familiar with the situation said the list includes NYSE/Euronext.
http://jlne.ws/z2N5bC

Bank of China moves closer to LME membership
International Business Times
Bank of China International is on track to become the first Chinese member of the London Metals Exchange – giving the bourse a boost while it is considering possible takeover bids – following authorization by the UK financial regulator.
http://jlne.ws/z04vlH

What’s next for the big exchanges?
Jaspal Dhillon and Minling Chen – FOW
Exchanges have traditionally relied on the revenue stream from execution spreads, however, with trading volumes declining (due, in part, to stagnant interest rates) and the new raft of regulation such as MiFiD, EMIR, Dodd-Frank entering the market, has the time come for exchanges to re-think their business models?
http://jlne.ws/yPFV3h

Deutsche Börse expands its global network
As part of the planned introduction of the new Eurex trading system in December 2012, Deutsche Börse Group will be gradually expanding its global network in the next few months. The financial centres of Amsterdam, Frankfurt/Main, London, Paris and Zurich will in future be linked via redundant 10 Gbps connections.
http://jlne.ws/wewjDF

CBOE and CFE to Expand ETF-Based Volatility Index Products
CBOE Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: CBOE) announced today that Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) and CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE) will each launch a new ETF-based volatility index product in the coming weeks:
http://jlne.ws/zJ7SyQ

Eurex Exchange to expand dividend derivatives segment
The international derivatives market Eurex Exchange is further expanding its successful dividend derivatives segment by launching a total of ten new dividend futures on 2 March 2012. These new futures are based on dividends from selected sector indices
http://jlne.ws/yLXWf7

Exchanges tap into Russian liquidity
Tim Cave – Financial News
Two of Europe’s largest exchanges, Deutsche Börse and the London Stock Exchange, have this week announced plans to improve their provision of Russia-focused services, as European operators look to benefit from increased investor appetite for Russian liquidity.
http://jlne.ws/zTj7nD

Slow going in new ICE Canada grain contracts trade
By Rod Nickel – Reuters
New Canadian grain derivatives that IntercontinentalExchange launched in late January have attracted only sparse trading so far, as uncertainty lingers over Western Canada’s move to an open grain market this year.
http://jlne.ws/xMw94g

CME Group Clearing Advisory
CDS Margin Parameter Change
http://jlne.ws/wIRD0v

NYSE Euronext welcomes ADOCIA to its European Market
http://jlne.ws/As0Ne3

INSIDE Secure admitted to NYSE Euronext in Paris
http://jlne.ws/wRzPe6

[CBOE] Trader E-News 
http://jlne.ws/zgUQC7

Borsa Italiana Welcomes Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti
http://jlne.ws/w3S1yJ

Share Of Investors In Trading In Financial Instruments On The Warsaw Stock Exchange In 2011
http://jlne.ws/z5ma6n

Meeting Of The MICEX-RTS Board Of Directors Held
http://jlne.ws/yn4NYc

MICEX-RTS Group Operating Schedule During The February Holidays
http://jlne.ws/y7gzCG

NZX Redemption Of Ordinary Shares
http://jlne.ws/zCp71E

NZX Redemption Of Restricted Shares
http://jlne.ws/wBEDap

NZX Redemption Of Restricted Shares
http://jlne.ws/wBEDap

TOM MTF Statistics Week 7 2012
http://jlne.ws/yP05zK

BM&FBOVESPA Special Trading Hours On Ash Wednesday
http://jlne.ws/A1rGNz

Banks, Brokers & Dark Pools

BGC Partners, Newmark Knight Frank and Grubb & Ellis Announce Strategic Transaction
PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance
BGC Partners, Inc.(“BGC”), the leading global financial services firm which acquired Newmark Knight Frank in October 2011, today announced that it has agreed to acquire substantially all the assets of Grubb & Ellis Company.
http://jlne.ws/yfFSTz

ICAP Shipping announces aquisition of Island Ship Brokers Pte Ltd
ICAP Shipping, the shipping arm of ICAP plc, the world’s leading interdealer broker, today announced that it has acquired Island Shipbrokers Pte Ltd, a shipbroking company based in Singapore, from Tim Madley, Allan Spangsberg and Mystic Enterprises Limited.
http://jlne.ws/wFNTA1

Goldman Sachs Australia & NZ Chairman to Retire
Wall Street Journal Blogs
News Ltd. Stephen Fitzgerald (L), pictured with current CEO Simon Rothery Goldman Sachs Australia and New Zealand chairman and advisory director Stephen Fitzgerald announced Tuesday he will retire after 20 years with the global bank.
http://jlne.ws/w6be0g

Goldman Sachs P.R. Chief’s Accidental Exit Interview
New York Times
A Dutch television program scored a surprisingly detailed 37-minute telephone interview with Lucas van Praag, who is retiring as Goldman’s P.R. chief at the end of March.
http://jlne.ws/y5bwNR

Nomura and Tradition launch new ETF trading platform
By Chris Flood – Financial Times
Nomura, the investment bank, and Tradition, the interdealer broker, have teamed up to launch an electronic platform to trade exchange traded funds which will be open to all market participants.
http://jlne.ws/Avo1OI

CPP says it could go bust in weeks
By Gill Plimmer and Alexandra Stevenson – Financial Times
CPP, the credit card insurer, has warned it could go bust within weeks after the Financial Services Authority indicated it was likely to impose one of the stiffest penalties yet for misselling.
http://jlne.ws/zQtPLQ

BNP Paribas Hires Johno From Citigroup for Japan Equity Coverage
BusinessWeek
BNP Paribas SA, France’s biggest bank, added two members to its Japan equities team, including former Citigroup Inc. Managing Director Toshiyuki Johno.
http://jlne.ws/wbIylz

Morgan Stanley leads pack on Facebook IPO
Fort Wayne Journal Gazette
Morgan Stanley may cement its status as the top underwriter for U.S. initial public offerings for a third year running with its lead role on Facebook’s planned $5 billion sale.
http://jlne.ws/wOnDMk

Bank of America: Back from the Dead or Still a Zombie?
BusinessWeek
The troubled banking behemoth’s stock has surged 50 percent this year
http://jlne.ws/AednvP

RBS, Lloyds to Return to Profit in 2012 After Last Year’s Losses
BusinessWeek
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc and Lloyds Banking Group Plc are set to post losses for 2011 this week before returning to profit as the state-controlled U.K. banks cut thousands of jobs and finish a series of writedowns.
http://jlne.ws/wQKi0R

Lloyds Banking Group Statement – Bonus Awards 2010
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/xrjYM4

HSBC considering walking away from U.K. government loan scheme, Telegraph says
Theflyonthewall.com via Yahoo! Finance
HSBC (HBC) is considering walking away from the U.K. government’s plans to offer government guarantees to up to GBP20 billion of bank loans for small firms, the Sunday Telegraph reports.
http://jlne.ws/AEZlh2

Citigroup Whistle-Blower Says Bank’s ‘Brute Force’ Hid Bad Loans
BusinessWeek
Four years after rotten mortgages helped trigger a global financial crisis, Sherry Hunt said her Citigroup Inc. quality-control team was still finding flaws in new loans that included altered tax forms, straw buyers and borrowers who listed fictitious employers.
http://jlne.ws/x3FtcU

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

SEC Surrender Continues With Bear Bankers Deal: William D. Cohan
Bloomberg
Once again, the Securities and Exchange Commission has embarrassed itself. Last week it let off the hook two hotshot former Wall Street hedge-fund managers who lost a bundle for the investors trusting them to manage their money responsibly.
http://jlne.ws/yaj9NC

SEC Settlements Continue to Let Garbage Pile High on Wall Street
Forbes
Once again, the Securities and Exchange Commission is looking worn out and toothless as it tries to clean up the messes piled high and wide on Wall Street. This week, the SEC settled with two former Bear Stearns hedge fund managers whose funds’ collapses marked the start of the financial crisis.
http://jlne.ws/wf36tG

Volcker Said to Lobby SEC Chairman Personally on Volcker Rule
BusinessWeek
Former Federal Reserve chairman Paul Volcker met in person with U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Mary Schapiro this week to discuss the proposed ban on proprietary trading named for him, according to a person familiar with the meeting.
http://jlne.ws/xKJVTT

Ex-Bond Highflier Is Warned by SEC
BY JEAN EAGLESHAM – WSJ
U.S. securities regulators have warned a former top architect of the structured-finance boom that they are considering civil charges alleging he misled investors in a mortgage-bond deal that imploded, people familiar with the situation said.
http://jlne.ws/ztgtaq

SEC Charges Oregon-Based Expert Consulting Firm and Owner with Insider Trading in Technology Sector
The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged John Kinnucan and his Portland, Oregon-based expert consulting firm Broadband Research Corporation with insider trading. The charges stem from the SEC’s ongoing investigation of insider trading involving expert networks.
http://jlne.ws/zjsAIC

CFTC Charges Mitchell Brian Huffman of North Carolina with Operating a Fraudulent $3.2 Million Commodity Pool Scheme
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced the filing of a complaint in federal court in North Carolina, charging defendant Mitchell Brian Huffman of Charlotte, N.C., with operating a fraudulent commodity pool scheme that defrauded participants of more than $3.2 million in connection with exchange-traded commodity futures contracts. Huffman has never been registered with the CFTC.
http://jlne.ws/yaNz9p

Santander fined £1.5 million for failing to clarify FSCS cover on structured products
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Santander £1.5 million for failing to confirm under which circumstances its structured products would be covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
http://jlne.ws/xatWLC

Iceland FSA Head Derides Investigation Into His Fitness for Job 
By Omar R. Valdimarsson – Bloomberg
The head of Iceland’s financial watchdog, Gunnar Andersen, questioned the motivation behind an investigation into his ability to lead the regulator that last week prompted its board to seek his resignation.
http://jlne.ws/xobJrL

When Will FINRA Get Serious About Unlisted REITs?
Forbes
Unlisted or “private” real estate investment trusts (REITs) have caused a number of problems for investors and regulators in recent years.
http://jlne.ws/zhk1TA

Allen Stanford Taking Stand Seen as Risk to Fraud Trial Defense 
By Andrew Harris and Laurel Brubaker Calkins – Bloomberg
A decision by R. Allen Stanford to testify at his investor fraud trial may focus juror attention on his credibility without helping him win acquittal, three white- collar criminal defense lawyers said.
http://jlne.ws/wQ3mFP

Santelli to Chilton: Will the SEC Serve Itself a Wells Notice Regarding an MF Global Bond Offering?
Zero Hedge
Last week on February 12th we witnessed a short, but really testy exchange between CNBC floor reporter, Rick Santelli and CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton. In the usual blitz fashion, Santelli asked Chilton where was the CFTC on Halloween and why the agency allowed the SEC to dictate policy over the it’s own regulatory mandate?
http://jlne.ws/z2zXZG

ESMA: Publication Of An Update To The Q&A On Money Market Funds
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zHl3wQ

IOSCO Consults On Principles For Ongoing Disclosure For Asset Backed Securities
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/xH6kTS

[AMF France] Publication of the report by the working group on general meetings held by listed companies and launch of a public consultation
http://jlne.ws/wEsCfP

[AMF Canada] Scholarships, awards of excellence and call for projects in financial education and research EGGF update!
http://jlne.ws/wdUpvG

ASIC Summer School 2012- opening statement
http://jlne.ws/y4RAsc

ASIC releases policy on enforcement and investigations
http://jlne.ws/AAFRLJ

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Small Hedge Funds Draw Investments as Bigger Rivals Stumble
BusinessWeek
Richard Maraviglia spent January flying to Zurich, New York, Chicago and Miami to raise $250 million for his hedge fund.
http://jlne.ws/wJJw60

Citigroup to Allow Managers to Own Part of Hedge-Fund Unit
BusinessWeek
Citigroup Inc., the third-biggest U.S. bank by assets, will let managers of its hedge funds own part of the business ahead of rules that limit shareholders’ cash in the unit, Chief Operating Officer John Havens said.
http://jlne.ws/wvAnuF

Closures, Losses Push Back Asia Hedge Fund Industry
CNBC
A rough year for Asian hedge funds in 2011 exposed the long-only bias of many managers’ portfolios, leaving the industry fighting a tough battle to retain clients as assets shrink and fund closures accelerate.
http://jlne.ws/ws6vUv

Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Sells $250 Million Stake to Texas Fund
BusinessWeek
Bridgewater Associates LP, the hedge fund run by Ray Dalio, agreed to sell a $250 million equity stake to Texas Teacher Retirement System as the firm diversifies ownership from its founder.
http://jlne.ws/y8uoaL

BC Partners Raises $8.6 Billion Fund
By MARK SCOTT – NY Times
LONDON — The European private equity firm BC Partners said on Tuesday that it had raised 6.5 billion euros ($8.6 billion) in one of the largest fund-raising efforts on the Continent since the beginning of the financial crisis.
http://jlne.ws/x6gYpd

Funding pressure eases for trading houses
By Javier Blas, Commodities Editor – Financial Times
The European Central Bank’s longer-term refinancing operations, a three-year loan programme launched in December that has helped ease funding pressures on eurozone banks, is behind the improvement, industry executives say.
http://jlne.ws/A0EPMm

Permira Sifts for Bargains, Even in Europe’s Periphery
By MARK SCOTT – NY Times
LONDON — Kurt Björklund does not seem worried about Europe’s sovereign debt crisis. As competitors pull back from the troubled market, his private equity firm has doubled down on the region, picking through distressed companies from Dublin to Dubrovnik.
http://jlne.ws/zCXoFb

Chuck Jaffe: Managed futures fund isn’t for all investors
Market Watch
Managed futures funds may have a place in a portfolio, but buyers need sophistication and knowledge – not just an adviser’s sales pitch, writes Chuck Jaffe.
http://jlne.ws/AmIx6G

Jim Rogers Loves Him Some Euros
Nasdaq
Dull media outlets can always count on Jim Rogers for a good sound bite.
http://jlne.ws/zAoJ4r

TIAA-CREF and Wellesley College Team Up to Update Retirement Program
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
Wellesley College and TIAA-CREF, a leading financial services provider, are working together to re-launch the school’s retirement program by offering employees an expanded menu of investment options.
http://jlne.ws/ydC4pt

Timothy Taylor Named CalPERS Chief Of Enterprise Solutions Development
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/y0A1IW

Thomson Reuters Launches New Model To Predict Fund Managers’ Stock Picks
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/Ajeoo4

Nordic Currencies Stung in Crisis as Ingves Reverses 
By Lucy Meakin – Bloomberg
Sweden and Norway are losing their appeal as havens from Europe’s debt crisis at a time when the krona and krone are more overvalued than at almost any point in the past 40 years.
http://jlne.ws/ADRh6J

Gold Imports by India May Drop From Record on High Prices 
By Madelene Pearson and Swansy Afonso – Bloomberg
Gold imports by India are poised to decline for the first time in three years as rising prices deter jewelry buyers and investors, potentially allowing China to overtake the country as the world’s largest consumer.
http://jlne.ws/yn1Tsg

Platts Expands Its Forward-Dated European Oil Price Assessments – Extends Its Forward Curves Coverage To Thirty Six Months Out
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zaLD1o

EDHEC-Risk Alternative Indexes: Overview January 2012 – Hedge Funds Start The Year On The Right Foot
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/yyemnc

FTSE Group Lanches FTSE WPU: A Stable Global Currency Unit For Wealth Preservation
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zLEeuu

12 new Commerzbank ETNs launched on Xetra 
http://jlne.ws/w0VJY8

Standard & Poor’s Announces Changes In The S&P/TSX Canadian Indices
http://jlne.ws/zomMng

Technology News

Interactive Data Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2011 Results
Press Release
Interactive Data Corporation today reported its financial results for the fourth quarter and full year ended December 31, 2011. Interactive Data’s fourth-quarter 2011 revenue increased 6.8% to a record $222.1 million from $207.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.
http://jlne.ws/wC9fiC

Renell selects Orc Trading solution for Euronext trading
Orc Group (SSE: ORC), the leading provider of technology and services for the global financial industry, today announced that Renell Wertpapierhandelsbank AG, an independent brokerage and corporate finance firm based in Frankfurt am Main, has selected an Orc Trading solution to support the expansion of its trading operations.
http://jlne.ws/zIAq9P

Orc Group AB (publ) delisted 9 March 2012 
http://jlne.ws/A9YXqw

QuantHouse Offers Co-Location And DMA Services To CME Group
Press Release
QuantHouse, the leading provider of next generation trading solutions, announced the availability of its co-location and DMA services within the recently opened CME Group co-location facility in Aurora; allowing systematic trading firms to benefit from close proximity to the CME Globex match engine, reduced latency and direct access to the exchange’s liquidity centre.
http://jlne.ws/AgkjFd

Datacom Systems Introduces New Network Monitoring Device Targeted At Proximity Hosting Service Providers In The High Speed Trading Environment
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/w0XKyu

Kevin Formby Joins Datacom Systems As Their New CEO
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/xlZNd4

Media News

Ex-Goldman Analyst Writes White Collar Crime Tale
International Business Times
The Darlings tells a fictional tale about the downfall of a hedge fund and the wealthy family that owns it during Wall Street’s 2008 meltdown, but many aspects of the novel are drawn straight from author Cristina Alger’s reality.
http://jlne.ws/Ar4tGA

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

Citigroup Appoints New Japan Markets Head After Libor Suspension
BusinessWeek
Citigroup Inc. appointed a new head of its Japanese markets business as Chief Executive Officer Vikram Pandit seeks to rebuild in the country after receiving the third regulatory punishment in seven years in December.
http://jlne.ws/yTPzyh

Q+A: How closed are China’s commodity futures markets?
Reuters via Yahoo! News
Chinese authorities keep a tight grip on the country’s commodity exchanges as part of efforts to deter speculators from driving up food and resource prices. The three commodity futures exchanges, in Shanghai, Dalian and Zhengzhou have only a small window to foreign participation. Financial institutions are barred from participating, and brokers cannot take positions. …
http://jlne.ws/yelINF

Private Equity Firm Bets on Asia’s Frontier Markets
CNBC
As investors chase yields by investing in high growth emerging markets, private equity firm Leopard Capital is looking beyond traditional economic powerhouses like China and India, to less talked about frontier markets including Myanmar, Bangladesh and Cambodia based on their future growth potential.
http://jlne.ws/zngVw6

Hong Kong Bourse to Offer Asia’s First Volatility Index Futures From Today
Bloomberg
Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd. will begin offering futures tracking the HSI Volatility Index (VHSI) of options prices today. Futures (VHSH2) on the benchmark, which tracks expected equity- market volatility over the next 30 days, are the first of their kind based on an Asian market, according to Calvin Tai, head of trading at the Hong Kong exchange.
http://jlne.ws/yGREr2

UBS Facing Real Estate Headache in Hong Kong
New York Times
Estimates are that the Swiss bank’s annual rental costs will jump the equivalent of $42 million when its lease expires.
http://jlne.ws/xCYywE

Bank of Korea Policy Board Will Have New Members in Majority
BusinessWeek
Bank of Korea board changes will put new members in the majority as early as April, prompting criticism that the central bank is putting its credibility and policy consistency at risk.
http://jlne.ws/xzwkhq

SGX welcomes Hong Leong Finance as Full Sponsor on Catalist
Singapore Exchange (SGX) is pleased to welcome Hong Leong Finance Limited (“HLFL”) as a Full Sponsor on Catalist, its sponsor-supervised board for growth companies. As a full sponsor, HLFL will be able to introduce new listings to the Catalist board and oversee the company’s compliance with SGX listing rules.
http://jlne.ws/ws8TKS

Tokyo Grain Exchange: In Regards To Rice Deliverable On The Rice Futures Contract Following The Implementation Of New Regulation Value For Radioactivity
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/xVNYwc

Shenzhen Stock Exchange Issues A Notice Of 3rd Cross-Market ETF Whole-Network Testing, Rolling Out SSE-SZSE 300 ETF On Countdown
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/yvZvCc

Frontier Markets

CME Group and Oman Investment Fund to increase investments in Dubai Mercantile Exchange, Dubai Holding Retains 9% Stake
CME Group, the world’s leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, and Oman Investment Fund, a sovereign wealth fund of the Sultanate of Oman, today announced that they will increase their investments in the Dubai Mercantile Exchange to enable it to continue growing its business.
http://jlne.ws/cjpXe7

PMEX announces first trades in Sugar Futures Contract
By Shahid Abbasi – The News Tribe
Karachi: Pakistan Mercantile Exchange Limited announced the commencement of trading in the Sugar Futures Contract this week. Trading started in the February contract. PMEX has currently three contracts at the months of March, April and May.
http://jlne.ws/xBcKkw

DIFC Closes 2011 With Strong Performance And Stable Signs Of Growth
The Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), the financial and business hub connecting the region’s emerging markets with the developed markets of Europe, Asia and the Americas, updates the market today on its positive performance in 2011.
http://jlne.ws/wtcIkX

Dubai Financial Market: Announces Its Board of Directors Meeting To Be Held On 26 February 2012
http://jlne.ws/xTZFqN

Thirty Four (34) Of Forty Six (46) Listed Companies On The Palestine Exchange (PEX) Achieved Profits In 2011
http://jlne.ws/Am5RvX

Tehran Stock Exchange’s Listing Activities
http://jlne.ws/vYZF2Q

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

Miscellaneous News

Balancing Business and Human Rights
New York Times
Angela Merkel rolled out the red carpet for the president of Kazakhstan, and German companies are eager to do business with China. Will talk of human rights be swept under the rug?
http://jlne.ws/wLyn9R

Krugman Embraces Keynesian Label to Defend Government Spending
BusinessWeek
Nobel-prize winning economist Paul Krugman maintained his calls for government spending to create jobs after being labeled a “crude Keynesian” by fellow academic Jeffrey Sachs.
http://jlne.ws/zwdVhc

Commodities: How Important are Commodity Futures Speculators?
By Don Dawson, Inside Futures
I have been involved in Commodity Futures trading now for 24 years and have had the opportunity to see first-hand the significance of my participation as a speculator. Many of you are probably wondering what significance one trader could have on something as big as the Commodity Futures markets. And I would expect that kind of question from traders who have only traded on an electronic trading platform. While my trading activity alone does not create the market liquidity needed to keep the world Commodity markets trading daily, collectively, our trades make up the required liquidity to make the markets function the way they were intended to some 200 years ago.
http://jlne.ws/y7TriE

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

There is No Accounting for Chaos
By John J. Lothian

Wednesday, just before 4 p.m., an email arrived at The Price Group. MF Global 1099s would be delayed, it said. The deadline to send out the 1099s to clients, February 16, would be missed and an extension had been filed.

A short time later, I learned from sources close to the matter that no 1099s are likely to be issued by MF Global for 2011. One of the leading MF Global GMI technologists had been let go Wednesday, so were other senior employees. They said the online account interface Emidas was dead and the back office system GMI was going to be shut down.

The gist of the conversation was this. The trustee was told by MF Global staff they needed to send out 1099s, to which the trustee responded, no they did not. Because the firm is in bankruptcy, the trustee said, they don’t have to issue 1099s. Not only was the bankruptcy trustee not interested in sending them out, but they were letting go of the key people necessary to produce these reports.

So the message is clear to me. MF Global customers will not get 1099s, pending a change of heart by the trustee, according to sources I find very credible.

A few months back I addressed this issue with some industry colleagues. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to offer a specialized service to produce 1099s for MF Global customers.  They passed on the idea because they believed the trustee had a legal obligation to issue these reports. There would be no need, they said.

It is not the end of the world if MF Global customers have to figure out their own profits and losses for tax purposes, but it is a big headache.

You could argue that some customers may be better off calculating their own numbers, rather than depending on MF Global’s accounting. But there are some clients, those who were flat going into the October 31 bankruptcy, for whom the information should be accurate.  For those with open positions, the 1099s would at least serve as another tool to help them compute their own figures.

There may be good reason for the trustee to delay, or indeed cancel, the 1099 duties of MF Global. But in the end, it’s another insult to the customers who have endured plenty of hardship already, now 3 and a half months after it declared bankruptcy.

++++

Cinnober Releases World’s Fastest Real-Time Index Engine – Microsecond Continuous Updates With Superior Flexibility
Press Release
Cinnober today announces the launch of TRADExpress Index Engine, the financial industry’s fastest real-time index engine. As the latest addition to the suite of products based on Cinnober’s proven TRADExpress platform, it will permit exchanges and other actors to rapidly develop new indexes to fit their markets and attract new business.
http://jlne.ws/zmyPao

**** I love fast match engines.  In fact, I think I want to co-locate with this one.  February does strange things to one’s love life.

++++

CBOE Hosts 28th Annual Risk Management Conference, March 11 – 13 in Bonita Springs, Florida
30 Top Professionals Present on Latest Trends in Risk Management
CHICAGO, February 16, 2012 – The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) will host its annual Risk Management Conference from Sunday, March 11 through Tuesday, March 13, 2012, at the Hyatt Regency Coconut Point Resort and Spa in Bonita Springs, Florida. Now in its 28th year, CBOE’s Risk Management Conference (RMC) is the most sophisticated event of its kind, providing end-users of equity derivatives with an educational forum to explore the latest policies, trends and techniques in risk management.
http://jlne.ws/xGjjyJ

**** Back to back with Boca.  If you are looking for a reason to go to Florida on business, here is your chance.

++++

Video: Terry Duffy Interview with Maria Bartiromo
CME Group – Open Markets
CME Group Executive Chairman Terry Duffy sat down today with Maria Bartiromo on CNBC to discuss the latest on the MF Global situation, CME Group’s Farmer and Rancher Fund, and where future growth for CME Group will come from.
http://jlne.ws/zj6oQ9

**** Was Terry sitting down in this interview?

++++

After MF Global, traders hold tight to excess collateral
Reuters via Yahoo! News
NEW YORK (Reuters) – Until last October, farmers and fund managers rarely lost sleep over the extra money that they habitually maintained in their brokerage accounts, confident that it would be there the next morning. Now, stung by the loss of customer money from the failure of MF Global Inc, many cannot sleep soundly without transferring every spare cent into their own banks overnight.
http://jlne.ws/yMDAgW

**** This is a megatrend.  Customers are responding to the MF Global bankruptcy before regulators are.  This has the potential to reshape the futures industry from a retail perspective.

++++

LME bidders face catch-22 over trading model
FOW Editorial
FOWintelligence reported today that sources close to the London Metal Exchange have said that the race to buy the exchange will be run not only on price but also on showing “empathy” to the existing structure of trading.

This injects and interesting dynamic into the bid. When the IntercontinentalExchange bought out the International Petroleum Exchange in 2001, a condition of the deal was the closure of the pit. This was not achieved until 2005, in the meantime IPE was effectively paying ICE to run the exchange without the deal completing and money changing hands. ICE will have no such luxury should it be successful in its bid to acquire the LME.
http://jlne.ws/xG0mNk

**** CME and NYSE Euronext want to buy a ring in February, how romantic.

++++

US regulator poised to soften derivatives curbs
By Gregory Meyer in New York – Financial Times
US regulators are poised to increase 20-fold the amount of derivatives a company can sell before it is subject to strict new rules for the biggest traders, softening a significant plank of financial market reform.
http://jlne.ws/xkV59t

**** Derivatives are like cream cheese.  It is best when it is spreadable.  Chunky, not so good.

++++

TSE punishes president for trading glitch
By Ben McLannahan in Tokyo
Tokyo Stock Exchange president Atsushi Saito has had his pay docked, following a trading glitch earlier this month that knocked out an entire morning’s trading session.
http://jlne.ws/y9OHGT

**** Who is going to pay for the Globex outage this week?

++++

Court Overturns Conviction of Ex-Goldman Programmer
By PETER LATTMAN – NY Times
A federal appeals court reversed the conviction late Thursday of Sergey Aleynikov, a former Goldman Sachs programmer found guilty of stealing proprietary code from the bank’s high-frequency trading platform.
http://jlne.ws/xj6gaW

++++

JLN Interest Rates Newsletter

Big Banks Expected Fed to Keep Rates Low Longer
WSJ.com
Ahead of the last Federal Reserve meeting, Wall Street’s biggest banks expected the central bank to lengthen the period it saw interest rate rates staying very low, although not by as much as the Fed actually delivered. In a survey of the primary dealer banks that serve as counterparties to Fed market interventions, the median projection of the banks was that the Fed will raise interest rates in the second quarter of 2014. The survey of dealers was conducted in advance of the Jan. 24-25 Federal Open Market Committee. Dealers got the questions on Jan. 12, with the responses received by Jan. 17.
http://jlne.ws/woiILz

Federal Reserve minutes show members divided over bond buys
Los Angeles Times
The Federal Reserve appears open to the idea of a third round of bond purchases to boost a still-modest recovery. But members remain divided over when or whether to take that step.
http://jlne.ws/AvQKzq

Moodys Unveils Broad Ratings Review of Major Banks
By JULIA WERDIGIER – NY Times
LONDON Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, UBS and more than 100 other financial institutions might have their credit ratings cut by Moody’s Investors Service because of increasingly challenging market conditions.
http://jlne.ws/xIykdJ

++++

MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Marc P. Berger
http://jlne.ws/z9fcUz

++++

MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People 

John L. Pietrzak; Marc P. Berger; Robert Zoellick; Junius Peake; Chris Ferreri

Companies, Organizations and Groups

Tradeweb; Penson Futures; Wholesale Markets Brokers’ Association Americas Inc.

Statistics

19,498,734 pages viewed, 6,699 articles, 137,095 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
_______________________________________________________

Lead Stories

NYSE Euronext and CME kick off race for LME
By Jeremy Grant, Jack Farchy and Anousha Sakoui in London – Financial Times
NYSE Euronext and CME Group, the two US exchange groups, have submitted bids for the London Metal Exchange, valuing it at up to £1bn and kicking off a contest for the commodities business, according to people familiar with the matter.
http://jlne.ws/zMVT6s

US Regulators Take Aim At Trades Made In Error
By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
U.S. regulators are preparing to clamp down on firms that send so-called rogue orders into the stock market, citing concerns that an erroneous trade could ricochet across exchanges and ensnare investors.
http://jlne.ws/yeTqi3

Traders Manipulated Key Rate, Bank Says
BY JEAN EAGLESHAM, PAUL VIEIRA AND DAVID ENRICH – WSJ
A group of traders and brokers successfully managed to manipulate an interest rate that affects loans around the world, one of the banks being investigated has told regulators. In a court filing in Ottawa, Canada’s Competition Bureau said a bank it didn’t identify has told the agency’s investigators that people involved in the alleged scheme “were able to move” interest rates.
http://jlne.ws/zjOCos

Libor probe shines light on voice brokers
By Michael Mackenzie – Financial Times
Computers and Bloomberg terminals dominate trading floors, but the human element remains a crucial feature of transacting across derivatives and other parts of the global financial system. This is no better illustrated than by the presence of so-called “voice brokers” who act as middle men for banks trading swaps and other fixed income securities in financial centres that link Asia, Europe and the US.
http://jlne.ws/z4rkRX

[Video] Europe Unrewarded for Austerity, HSBC’s King Says
Bloomberg
Feb. 17 (Bloomberg) — Stephen King, chief economist at HSBC Holdings Plc, talks about the economic outlook for Greece and the rest of the euro zone. King also discusses the impact of the European debt crisis on emerging economies.
http://jlne.ws/Ap0yZX

Eurozone central bankers and the taboo subject of losses
By Gillian Tett – Financial Times
Fifteen years ago, a little-known tragedy hit the Bank of Japan. In the mid-1990s, during the early stages of Japan’s banking crisis, BoJ officials decided to use some of the central bank’s own yen to prop up a failing finance company in a desperate effort to paper over problems and buy time.
http://jlne.ws/wCgXYV

China wants say in World Bank choice
By Simon Rabinovitch in Beijing – Financial Times
China has said that the next World Bank president should be chosen on merit, seeking to challenge a tradition that the bank’s chief be a US citizen, though it did not suggest a candidate.
http://jlne.ws/w8xx3n

Environmental Trading News

EU politicians agree compromise text on CO2 allowances
Reuters
European parliamentarians have agreed to compromise wording ahead of a vote this month that is expected to increase pressure on the Commission to remove carbon allowances to prop up prices on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme which have plumbed record lows.
http://jlne.ws/xljz7v

Carbon Set-Aside Option Endorsed by Europe Parliament Groups
Bloomberg
The European Parliament is poised to signal support for the option of withholding some carbon permits to bolster prices after political parties in the assembly reached a compromise tied to draft energy legislation.
http://jlne.ws/z0E7mR 

UBS Immunity, EU Carbon Trading Plan, Pentagon Capital Ruling: Compliance
Bloomberg
UBS AG (UBSN), Switzerland’s biggest bank, sought immunity from prosecution by Canadian regulators probing a potential conspiracy to rig the price of derivatives worldwide, three people with knowledge of the inquiry said.
http://jlne.ws/zpPr2j

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

Exchange & ECN News

CME Group Said to Submit Bid to Purchase London Metals Exchange
By Matthew Leising and Nina Mehta – Bloomberg
Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) — CME Group Inc., the world’s largest futures exchange, has made a bid for the London Metals Exchange, according to a person with knowledge of the offer.
http://jlne.ws/xBAVby

CME bids for London Metal Exchange: report
Crain’s Chicago Business
(Reuters) – CME Group Inc., which operates the world’s largest futures market, has made an offer for the LME.
http://jlne.ws/AqxrBl

ICE Announces March 5 Launch of 7 New Cleared OTC Contracts
Press Release
ATLANTA, Feb. 16, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE), a leading operator of global regulated futures exchanges, clearing houses and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, today announced the launch of 7 new cleared OTC contracts for natural gas liquids, North American natural gas, North American power, crude and refined petroleum products.
http://jlne.ws/yRafw9

NYSE Liffe Consults On New Regime For London Commodity Contracts
Michael Haddon, Dow Jones Newswires
LONDON (Dow Jones)–The NYSE Liffe exchange Thursday proposed a new regime for the monitoring and regulation of London’s commodity contracts which would include accountability levels and delivery limits, in an attempt to maintain market confidence and enhance transparency.
http://jlne.ws/xOXtlF

Vienna Stock Exchange Wins A New Customer: Eurex Derivatives Exchange
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zvqRYB

CME Clearing – Performance Bonds / Margins
Performance Bond Requirements: Coal, Crude Oil, Ethanol, NGLs, and Refined Products Inter-Commodity Spread Credits- Effective Tuesday, February 21, 2012
http://jlne.ws/xOO5Vl

Program Trading Averaged 28.0 Percent of NYSE Volume during Feb. 6-10
http://jlne.ws/wOQ18X

NYSE Euronext welcomes EOS imaging to its European market
http://jlne.ws/AirjN8

TMX: The MiG Report January 2012
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/y49qVG

KDPW Poland: Increase Of The Number Of Securities Accounts In January 2012
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/AmL0Zb

NYSE Euronext Statement on H.R. 3606
http://jlne.ws/yKcFmD

NASDAQ OMX Statement On H.R. 3606
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/AciB7F

NASDAQ OMX Statement Following Markup Of H.R. 3606
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/y2m4q0

Banks, Brokers & Dark Pools

GFI Group Inc. Announces Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2011 Results and Completion of Restructuring
Press Release
GAAP net revenues were $204.6 million for the fourth quarter of 2011, an increase of 4.2% from $196.4 million in the fourth quarter of 2010. On a non-GAAP basis, net revenues increased 0.6% to $192.6 million from $191.5 million in the fourth quarter of 2010.
http://jlne.ws/x8jQLy

Macquarie Expands North American Futures Trading Capability
Marketwire via Yahoo! Finance
MONTREAL, QUEBEC– – Macquarie Group today announced the launch of a Canadian futures business as part of its North American futures franchise. The new business comprises a team of senior sales professionals …
http://jlne.ws/xaqVgg

European Banks to Suitors: Hands Off the U.S.
By ROBIN SIDEL And DAVID ENRICH – WSJ
European banks are keeping “for sale” signs off the lawns of their U.S. branches. Despite deep financial problems that are forcing them to unload assets around the world, most big European banks consider their U.S. retail divisions to be among their most stable operations. That means—at least for now—big banks such as Banco Santander SA, Royal Bank of Scotland Group PLC and Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria SA want to hang onto these businesses.
http://jlne.ws/A9hmGo

Goldman Said to Delay Samurai Bond Sale
Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) delayed its proposed sale of Samurai bonds until Feb. 21 at the earliest after Moody’s Investors Service said it’s reviewing the bank’s rating, according to a person with direct knowledge of the matter.
http://jlne.ws/wFtF17

Citigroup whistleblower: I have no regrets
Reuters via Yahoo! News
(Reuters) – It wasn’t Sherry Hunt’s original intent to go public on the shoddy quality control at a mortgage unit at Citigroup Inc , her employer since 2004. But by March 2011, as it became apparent to her that the problems were getting worse and not being addressed, the Missouri quality assurance manager decided enough was enough.
http://jlne.ws/yGTTub

BofA Said to Add Citigroup’s McKee for Energy Corporate Banking
BusinessWeek
Bank of America Corp., the second- biggest U.S. lender by assets, hired Citigroup Inc.’s J. Nicholas McKee to help the firm lend money in the energy industry, said two people with knowledge of the matter.
http://jlne.ws/yCzDVp

Morgan Stanley’s Roach Retiring to Focus on Scholarly Work
BusinessWeek
Stephen Roach, Morgan Stanley’s former chairman for Asia and chief economist, is retiring from the firm to focus on scholarly pursuits.
http://jlne.ws/wp5xfd

Ex-Merrill broker boss slams bank on client focus
By Joseph A. Giannone – Reuters
(Reuters) – Lyle LaMothe, who last year retired as head of brokerage giant Merrill Lynch, is warning his former employer and other banks that obsessing over corporate goals at the expense of brokers and investors will ultimately damage their business.
http://jlne.ws/Avt87X

TD Ameritrade Announces Results of Annual Stockholders Meeting
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
TD Ameritrade Holding Corporation announced the results of the voting by stockholders at its 2012 annual meeting, held Tuesday, Feb. 14, 2012 in Omaha, Neb. At the m
http://jlne.ws/ywkinj

Bernanke says community banks have strengthened
Associated Press via Yahoo! News
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday that the health of the nation’s community banks has strengthened, despite what he described as a frustratingly slow economic recovery.
http://jlne.ws/yZiDRM

SecondMarket Launches Pilot Program for Private Community Banks
PRWeb via Yahoo! News
Platform for alternative investments expands its private company stock market.New York, NY (PRWEB) February 16, 2012 SecondMarket, the leading marketplace for alternative investments, including private company stock, announced today that it has launched a new pilot program for private community banks.
http://jlne.ws/AuLuxf

Madoff Trustee May Struggle to Undo HSBC Ruling, Lawyers Say
BusinessWeek
The liquidator of Bernard Madoff’s firm asked an appeals court to reinstate $30 billion of his claims against banks including HSBC Holdings Plc and JPMorgan Chase & Co.
http://jlne.ws/xZsfoG

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 Updates Rule on Commodity Pool Operator Exemption to Boost Transparency
Business Wire
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) released updated rules to Part 4 of its regulations dealing with registration and compliance obligations for commodity pool operators.
http://jlne.ws/wuk2KI

SEC Removes Value of Investors’ Homes From Minimum Net Worth Requirement for Fees
Financial Planning.com
Going forward, investment advisors will no longer be able to include the value of an investor s home in a new $1 million minimum of investable assets now required to charge performance fees, according to the SEC, which is tightening its rule around fees.
http://jlne.ws/xWnz74

CFTC to Hold Open Meeting to Consider Two Final Rules and One Proposed Rule
Washington, DC – The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) will hold a public meeting on Thursday, February 23, 2012, at 9:30 a.m., on the following topics:
http://jlne.ws/wCazXX

ESMA Issues Discussion Paper On Future Technical Standards For EMIR
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/ybtMDI

IOSCO Consults On Revised CIS Valuation Principles
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/wUzJSF

Tech Analyst Arrested in Insider Trading Crackdown
By AZAM AHMED and BEN PROTESS
The government’s crackdown on insider trading has ensnared one of the most vocal critics of the campaign to root out illegal information swapping on Wall Street. John Kinnucan, a technology analyst who gained notoriety last year for openly challenging federal authorities, was arrested on Thursday night by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. His lawyer could not be immediately identified.
http://jlne.ws/xu0fFt

Federal Court Orders Texas Resident Robert D. Watson to Pay $31 Million for Defrauding Customers, Misappropriating Millions of Dollars, and Providing Fictitious Records in Forex Scheme
Watson’s business entities ordered to pay disgorgement of $21 million, and Texas resident Daniel J. Petroski ordered to pay more than $550,000 for his role in the scheme
In a related criminal matter, Watson was sentenced to 20 years in prison on February 10, 2012
http://jlne.ws/wLxl2y

Former corporate broker at Merrill Lynch fined £350,000 for disclosing inside information
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has fined Andrew Osborne, former Managing Director in Corporate Broking at Merrill Lynch International (now Bank of America Merrill Lynch International) £350,000, for engaging in market abuse by improperly disclosing inside information ahead of a significant equity fundraising by Punch Taverns Plc (Punch) in June 2009.
http://jlne.ws/x9GnRW

L&G employee arrested in trading probe
By Kate Burgess and Caroline Binham – Financial Times
A 44-year-old man employed at Legal & General Investment Management, one of the UK’s largest investment firms, has been arrested by the Financial Services Authority. It is the regulator’s ninth arrest in two years in connection with its largest operation against alleged insider trading.
http://jlne.ws/A8p3tC

Further arrest in FSA and SOCA insider dealing investigation
Searches were conducted today at one London business address and two domestic premises in London and Kent. A 44 year old man has been arrested and interviewed under caution at a London police station. He has been released on bail pending further enquiries.
http://jlne.ws/yZgNga

BCSC panel confirms sanctions against former director of public company
Vancouver – A British Columbia Securities Commission panel has confirmed the expiry date of orders made against a former director of a company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange (TSX-V) following an appeal to the British Columbia Court of Appeal.
http://jlne.ws/AkX3JS

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Global Hedge Funds Find Success in Emerging Markets: Report
CNBC
Global hedge fund assets are off to a fairly good start this year, with a total of $2.01 trillion in assets under management, and a global median up 1.52 percent since January 1 – according to Deutsche Bank’s Monthly Hedge Fund Trends Report February 2012.
http://jlne.ws/Acwfvu

Hedge funds faulted for not being short-term enough
Reuters via Yahoo! News
LONDON (Reuters) – Used to criticism for caring only about short-term profit, hedge funds are now being faulted for a failure to think short-term enough after losing out badly in last year’s volatile markets.
http://jlne.ws/AfJWDi

Hedge Funds Forgiven for Slump by Insurers Shunning Low-Yield Bond Wagers
Bloomberg
Policyholder-owned insurer FM Global plans to boost the allocation to hedge funds in its $10.5 billion portfolio this year, after the bets “didn’t really deliver too well” in 2011, said Paul LaFleche, the company’s senior vice president of investments.
http://jlne.ws/yTA3Dp

Citigroup’s Havens Says Managers to Own Part of Hedge-Fund Unit
BusinessWeek
Citigroup Inc., the third-biggest U.S. bank by assets, will let managers of its hedge funds own part of the business ahead of rules that limit shareholders’ cash in the unit, Chief Operating Officer John Havens said.
http://jlne.ws/y0FCgY

Bill Gross’s Dual Play In Treasury Bonds Pays Off
Wall Street Journal Blogs
Although Bill Gross may have missed the broad rally in Treasurys, the manager of the world’s biggest bond fund has found ways to extract decent returns from that market and recover from a poor performance last year.
http://jlne.ws/ydkzB4

Glencore reveals more IPO rewards
By Javier Blas, Commodities Editor – Financial Times
The extent of the wealth created by Glencore’s initial public offering has been highlighted afresh, with the company identifying a further seven executives each holding stakes of more than $500m.
http://jlne.ws/xe3Dtf

[Xetra] Nine UBS bond index ETFs launched 
http://jlne.ws/zZIqts

Dow Jones Indexes’ Dow Jones Golden Crossover U.S. Large-Cap Total Stock Market Index To Begin Increasing Its Equity Allocation To 100% From 25%
Press Release
Dow Jones Indexes announced that, beginning today, the equity weighting of its Dow Jones Golden Crossover U.S. Large-Cap Total Stock Market Index would increase over the next four days to 100% from 25%.
http://jlne.ws/wo0tR9

STOXX Information On Index Calculation Issues
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/y4qPD3

Technology News

London tech firm gets MF Global windfall
Tom Osborn – Financial News
FFastFill, the London-listed trading technology vendor, has signed a deal to provide execution software to commodities trading house ED&F Man, as the technology vendor sweeps up new clients in the wake of MF Global’s collapse.
http://jlne.ws/A8dLnQ

Muscat Securities Market and NYSE Technologies Celebrate Successful Launch of MSM’s New Trading Platform
http://jlne.ws/y8GiJD

Orc Group AB (publ) files for delisting
Press Release
Cidron Delfi Intressenter AB (“Cidron Delfi Intressenter”), an indirectly wholly-owned subsidiary to Nordic Capital VII Limited, has on 31 January 2012 completed the public tender offer for Orc Group AB (publ) (“Orc” or the “Company”).
http://jlne.ws/xVkEIx

RTS Realtime Systems Connects to Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange (HKMEx)
Press Release
RTS Realtime Systems Group, a leading global trading solutions provider, today announced that the company now offers market access to the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange (HKMEx), China’s international commodity marketplace.
http://jlne.ws/xgkbca

Caplin Presenter – A New Product To Improve The Development Of Financial Web Applications – Easily Incorporate And Test HTML Components In Your Trading Interface
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/z4pOFw

Media News

How Google Tracked Safari Users
By Jennifer Valentino-DeVries – WSJ
Google and other advertising companies have been following iPhone and Apple users as they browse the Web, even though Apple’s Safari Web browser is set to block such tracking by default.
http://jlne.ws/wffVds

Reports

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

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

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

Economic Release Calendar
The Economic Release Calendar (PDF) is a schedule of government, academic and industry economic releases, provided as a service to CME customers.
http://www.cmegroup.com/tools-information/calendars/

Asia-Pacific News

Tokyo Stock Exchange: Measures To Prevent Recurrence And Other Matters Concerning The Failure In The Equity Trading System
Press Release
Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) would like to offer its deepest apologies for the inconvenience and concern caused to investors and other market users by the failure in the equity trading system on February 2, 2012.
http://jlne.ws/xBEEvw

Japan’s Financial Services Agency: International Conference On Asian Market Integration And Financial Innovation
Press Release
The Financial Services Agency (FSA), in cooperation with the Japan Securities Dealers Association and the Tokyo Stock Exchange Group, Inc., held an international conference on “Asian Market Integration and Financial Innovation” on February 10, 2012.
http://jlne.ws/xHMfW4

Shanghai Gold Exchange Cutting Margins
International Business Times
The Shanghai Futures Exchange (SHFE), China’s biggest metals bourse, will lower trading margins for gold and revise its tiered margin system from March 1 to make it cheaper for investors to trade.
http://jlne.ws/yi1dOk

Hedge fund pioneer back for Asia venture
By Sam Jones in London – Financial Times
William Bollinger, one of the pioneers of London’s hedge fund industry, has come out of retirement to launch a new venture – in Singapore.
http://jlne.ws/wtZoCr

Singapore’s FX exemption welcomed as a sign of global consistency
FX Week
A proposal by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) to exempt foreign exchange swaps and forwards from the mandatory clearing element of over-the-counter derivatives reforms has been welcomed by market participants for its consistency with the proposed approach in the US, which it is hoped will be replicated in Europe.
http://jlne.ws/AlQKTN

SGX Welcomes Hong Leong Finance As Full Sponsor On Catalist
Press Release
Singapore Exchange (SGX) is pleased to welcome Hong Leong Finance Limited (“HLFL”) as a Full Sponsor on Catalist, its sponsor-supervised board for growth companies.
http://jlne.ws/zAgqCw

Thai Bourse Joins SCB To Enhance E-Dividend
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zCExzO

Thai Bourse’s Websites Operate Normally
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zRYjex

Frontier Markets

Sri Lanka May Remove Stock Trading Limits, Exchange Chief Sellahewa Says
Bloomberg
Sri Lanka may remove a 10 percent price trading limit on some stocks listed on the Colombo Stock Exchange, according to its chief executive officer.
http://jlne.ws/zlF6jV

MCX Weekly Market Report February 10, 2012 – February 16, 2012
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/wEqn9C

Yesterday, just before 4 p.m., an email arrived at The Price Group. MF Global 1099s would be delayed, it said. The deadline to send out the 1099s to clients, February 16, would be missed and an extension had been filed.

A short time later, I learned from sources close to the matter that no 1099s are likely to be issued by MF Global for 2011. One of the leading MF Global GMI technologists had been let go the day before, so were other senior employees. They said the online account interface Emidas was dead and the back office system GMI was going to be shut down.

The gist of the conversation was this. The trustee was told by MF Global staff they needed to send out 1099s, to which the trustee responded, no they did not. Because the firm is in bankruptcy, the trustee said, they don’t have to issue 1099s. Not only was the bankruptcy trustee not interested in sending them out, but they were letting go of the key people necessary to produce these reports.

So the message is clear to me. MF Global customers will not get 1099s, pending a change of heart by the trustee, according to sources I find very credible.

A few months back I addressed this issue with some industry colleagues. I thought it was the perfect opportunity to offer a specialized service to produce 1099s for MF Global customers.  They passed on the idea because they believed the trustee had a legal obligation to issue these reports. There would be no need, they said.

It is not the end of the world if MF Global customers have to figure out their own profits and losses for tax purposes, but it is a big headache.

You could argue that some customers may be better off calculating their own numbers, rather than depending on MF Global’s accounting. But there are some clients, those who were flat going into the October 31 bankruptcy, for whom the information should be accurate.  For those with open positions, the 1099s would at least serve as another tool to help them compute their own figures.

There may be good reason for the trustee to delay, or indeed cancel, the 1099 duties of MF Global. But in the end, it’s another insult to the customers who have endured plenty of hardship already, now 3 ½ months after it declared bankruptcy.

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

Guest Commentary: CME Group knows location matters…
By Jim Ginsburg

Last week in this newsletter, Messrs. Lothian and Kharouf argued the merits of CME Group’s sale of its iconic real estate holdings at the foot of LaSalle Street.  At issue was whether CME should deploy its capital on real estate.  Mr. Lothian says “buy real estate, not sell it.”  Mr. Kharouf retorts: “CME isn’t a real estate company.”  However, if one paid close attention to CME’s earnings presentation two weeks ago, they would have discovered that CME is a real estate company and it owns some “trophy” properties other than 141 West Jackson.

A decade ago, when electronic trading truly started to replace floor trading, investors began to look at the potential of for-profit exchanges.  At that time, part of the attraction of an investment in CBOT was its ownership in the LaSalle Street building.  The $150 million property could provide meaningful downside protection to an investment in CBOT in the event the exchange could not successfully make the transition from floor-based trading to electronic trading.  Those were dangerous times for CBOT as it had not fully embraced technology.  Their direct competitor, the electronic exchange Eurex, was handing out free iPods to traders in an attempt to steal the CBOT’s treasury futures business and the Clearing Corp, CBOT’s clearing house, actually “bet the house” that Eurex would succeed.

Unrealized at the time, was that the exchanges owned real estate more prized than the buildings housing the trading pits.  This real estate was far more valuable than “Class A” office space and, in the burgeoning age of electronic trading, would become even more valuable in the future.  Owned by exchanges was the real estate adjacent to where customer orders enter the marketplace.

For the rest of the commentary, visit the John Lothian Newsletter blog at http://jlne.ws/w6KcQQ

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CME Group Inc. Names Slate of Director Nominees
CHICAGO, Feb. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ – CME Group today announced its slate of candidates for election to serve on the company’s board of directors. CME Group shareholders will vote for directors at the company’s annual meeting to be held Wednesday, May 23, 2012.
http://jlne.ws/cjpXe7

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Fidessa Named Best Equities Trading Platform: Technology Provider At The Inaugural Wall Street Letter Institutional Trading Awards
Press Release
Fidessa group plc, provider of high-performance trading, investment management and information solutions for the world’s financial community, has today announced that its equities trading platform has been named best in its class at the inaugural Wall Street Letter Institutional Trading Awards. The results of these highly competitive awards, determined by a panel of independent judges, were announced at a reception held at Cipriani, 42nd Street, New York on the evening of Monday, February 6th.
http://jlne.ws/wzlxF3

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ED&F Man looks to grab MF Global UK customers
By Philip Stafford – Financial Times
ED&F Man Capital Markets, one of London’s largest commodities trading houses, is preparing to attempt to win back customers of MF Global UK, the failed futures broker, by upgrading to a trading platform capable of executing deals across asset classes.
http://jlne.ws/zSUXRk

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ICAP’S Chris Ferreri is Elected New Chair of the WMBAA; GFI’s Chris Giancarlo Will Serve as Vice Chair
Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C.; February 14, 2012 – The Wholesale Market Brokers’ Association Americas announced today Chris Ferreri has been elected Chair of the Association. Mr. Ferreri is Managing Director of Hybrid Trading at ICAP. He succeeds Tullett Prebon Senior Managing Director Shawn Bernardo.
http://jlne.ws/wxbHjK

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Tokyo Grain Bourse May Cease as Rice Trade Fails to Boost Volume
By Aya Takada and Yasumasa Song – Bloomberg
Feb. 16 (Bloomberg) – Tokyo Grain Exchange Inc., operator of Japan’s second-largest commodity bourse, is under pressure from shareholders to cease operation and transfer trading of farm futures to rivals because of declining volumes.
http://jlne.ws/zDodMk

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Exchange demutualisation has not impacted market surveillance
Philip McBride Johnson – FOW
Much has been written recently about whether the public offering of exchange shares has impaired the ability of exchanges to police their users. The argument is that, facing shareholders who wish to maximise exchange profits, the markets may go easy on large customers when enforcing their rules.
http://jlne.ws/yPd44o

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Derivative CDs Backed by FDIC Tempt Savers as Banks Reap 8% Fees
By Matt Robinson – Bloomberg
Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) — A gray-haired woman picking a flower with a young girl adorns the cover of an HSBC Holdings Plc brochure that promises investors both “the growth of the market” and “the security of FDIC Insurance.”
http://jlne.ws/yKGMdu

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UK starts extra action on clearing houses
By Jeremy Grant – Financial Times
The UK has taken further legal action to prevent the European Central Bank from findings ways to force clearing houses operating in London to relocate to the eurozone as a dispute between the two sides simmers.
http://jlne.ws/xV9Xy9

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China set to become biggest gold market
By Jack Farchy in London – Financial Times
China is set to overtake India this year as the world’s largest consumer of gold, the World Gold Council predicted, underscoring the surge in Chinese demand that has revolutionised the bullion market.
http://jlne.ws/yZ16IY

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In Memory Of Junius ‘Jay’ Peake – A career on “The Street”: From heretic to sage
Press Release
This is the last article Jay contributed to Mondo Visione. We are republishing it in his memory.
http://jlne.ws/zWwAhd

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Henry Schwartz – Trade Alert [INTERVIEW]
MarketsWiki.tv
Henry Schwartz is the President and Founder of Trade Alert, a real-time option flow analytics firm that serves Wall Street sell-side derivative desks, floor brokers, market makers, hedge funds, and proprietary trading firms. He previously worked at Banc of America Securities, where he was responsible for electronic market making on the start-up ISE. Trade Alert was founded in 2005. Schwartz spoke with JLN Options editor Sarah Rudolph about the OptionAlert analytics system, technology challenges for clients and firms, and fragmentation in the options markets.

Watch the video >

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MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Chris Ferreri
http://jlne.ws/ABHQnP

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MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People 

J. Christopher Giancarlo; Chris Ferreri; Henry Schwartz; Martin Abbott

Companies, Organizations and Groups

Wholesale Markets Brokers’ Association Americas Inc.

Miscellaneous

Swap execution facility

Statistics

19,462,949 pages viewed, 6,698 articles, 137,066 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
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Lead Stories

NYSE Liffe proposes position limits
By Emiko Terazono and Javier Blas – Financial Times
NYSE Liffe, the London-based derivatives market home of benchmark cocoa, coffee and sugar contracts, has proposed limits to the number of contracts that speculators and physical can hold, replicating measures already in place in US commodities markets.
http://jlne.ws/Ap22Nu

UBS suspends traders in Libor probe
By Megan Murphy and Cynthia O’Murchu – Financial Times
UBS has suspended some of its most senior traders in connection with an international probe into the possible manipulation of interbank borrowing rates, in the latest controversy to hit the Swiss bank since the financial crisis.
http://jlne.ws/yEaO5Z

NYSE Euronext buys into UK tech firm Fixnetix
Market Watch
NYSE Euronext (NYX) has purchased a stake in Fixnetix, the U.K.-headquartered high-speed trading technology vendor, as the Big Board looks to beef up its technology business and globalise its franchise following the collapse of its merger with Deutsche Boerse (DB1.XE).
http://jlne.ws/wG25c9

Wanted to Buy: MF Global Claims
By DAN STRUMPF – WSJ
Since MF Global Holdings Ltd. filed for bankruptcy protection last year, some customers of its failed brokerage have had little choice but to wait for the full return of their cash. That is beginning to change. Lately, investors that gobble up claims in bankruptcy or other distressed situations have begun approaching former MF Global customers with offers to buy their claims for cash, at a discount.
http://jlne.ws/zLvyhi

Moody’s Unveils Broad Ratings Review of Major Banks
By JULIA WERDIGIER – NY Times
LONDON — Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, Deutsche Bank, UBS and more than 100 other financial institutions might have their credit ratings cut by Moody’s Investors Service because of increasingly challenging market conditions.
http://jlne.ws/xIykdJ

Money-Fund Plan Gets Cold Shoulder
BY KIRSTEN GRIND – WSJ
Regulators’ latest plan to shore up the $2.7 trillion money-market mutual fund industry is getting an icy reception from some individual investors. As part of a proposal being floated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, investors who wish to sell all their holdings in a money-market fund would only be allowed to receive 95% to 97% of their cash back immediately. The remaining money would be returned to them after 30 days, according to the SEC.
http://jlne.ws/x76wKO

Economix Blog: Simon Johnson: Paul Volcker vs. the Bank of Canada
New York Times
In opposing an American regulation limiting banks’ proprietary trading, the Canadian central bank recommends an approach that would seriously undermine financial stability in the United States, Canada and other countries, an economist writes.
http://jlne.ws/zcPejl

The Volcker Rule’s Unusual Critics
New York Times
While Wall Street is the chief critic of the rule, which bans banks from trading with their own money, the financial industry is finding sympathy from some unexpected quarters, including the owners of Red Lobster, Macy’s and Safeway.
http://jlne.ws/w1I5We

Goldman Sachs Analyst Inquiry Said to Show U.S. Focus on Taiwan
BusinessWeek
The investigation of a Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst shows U.S. officials have intensified their focus on banks and Taiwan in a multiyear insider-trading probe that has implicated hedge funds, technology company employees and consultants, a person familiar with the matter said.
http://jlne.ws/xhgyi2

Preet Bharara’s Latest Obvious, Cosmetic Investigation Into Goldman’s Henry King
Gary Rivlin – Daily Beast
Preet Bharara has been credited with busting Wall Street, but by looking into Goldman tech analyst Henry King, Bharara is still not going after the frauds that practically took down the global economy in 2008, writes Gary Rivlin.
http://jlne.ws/AlbacV

Greek rhetoric turns into battle of wills
By Kerin Hope in Athens and Peter Spiegel in Brussels – Financial Times
The battle of wills between Athens and its eurozone lenders has intensified, with Greece’s finance minister accusing “forces in Europe” of pushing his country out of the euro while his German counterpart suggested postponing Greek elections and installing a new government without political parties.
http://jlne.ws/xKPAtf

Only a full IMF programme can save Greece from default
Lorenzo Bini Smaghi – Financial Times
When discussing Greece, some policy officials and market participants have suggested that ‘the markets are now better prepared to deal with a default’. When was the other time such statements were being made? Probably in mid-September 2008, a few days before the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
http://jlne.ws/AyRR1H

European Parliament: Eurobonds And Shorter-Term Solutions Needed For Eurozone Stability
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zUNXcK

Opening Statement Of U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner Before The House Ways And Means Committee On The President’s FY2013 Budget
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/xNU3mK

Minutes Of The Federal Open Market Committee, January 24-25, 2012
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zWVoJS

Environmental Trading News

Carbon Traders Group Urges Overhaul of EU Cap-and-Trade Plan
Bloomberg
The European Union should change its carbon-trading plan by introducing a mechanism to allow changing the bloc’s pollution cap to reflect economic conditions, the International Emissions Trading Association said.
http://jlne.ws/zWDvEG

IETA position on the state of the EU ETS
IETA
IETA members strongly support the EU ETS and believe that the market responds as intended: it delivers emission reductions at lowest costs to society and adjusts to economic conditions.
http://jlne.ws/y2sr8v

POLL: Set-aside could double EUA prices by 2014
Point Carbon
Withdrawing carbon permits from the EU Emissions Trading Scheme could cause European carbon prices to double by the end of next year, a poll of analysts showed Wednesday.
http://jlne.ws/w5wyMD

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

NYSE purchase marks start of new strategy
By Philip Stafford – Financial Times
NYSE Euronext will take the first steps in pursuit of its new strategy following the failure of its merger with Deutsche Börse, with the purchase of a stake in Fixnetix, a fast-growing UK trading technology company.
http://jlne.ws/xuguLp

NYSE Euronext Announces Acquisition Of Strategic Shareholder Interest In Fixnetix
Press Release
NYSE Euronext today announced an agreement to subscribe for shares in Fixnetix Limited, a leading service provider of ultra-low latency data provision, co-location, trading services and risk controls for more than 50 markets worldwide.
http://jlne.ws/Ak4tKh

Eurex To Introduce Derivatives On Russian Blue Chip Index RDX USD Cooperation With The Vienna Stock Exchange – Launch On 19 March 2012
Press Release
Eurex Exchange, the international derivatives market, will introduce futures and options contracts on the RDX USD equity index on 19 March 2012. The new RDX USD derivatives will be based on the Vienna Stock Exchange’s RDX USD Index, which tracks the price performance of the most liquid depositary receipts (DRs) on Russian shares listed on the London Stock Exchange.
http://jlne.ws/zS9E8P

BM&FBovespa: Rival Exchanges Face Years-Long Slog To Compete
By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
BM&FBovespa S/A (BVMF3.BR) said rival exchange operators will have to wait several years before they can compete for business in Brazil’s fast-growing stock market. Executives at Brazil’s dominant exchange operator, the world’s third-largest by market value, said they had to finish an overhaul of back-office systems before opening the market to new entrants.

EU Discussed Extending Deadline For NYSE-D.Boerse Merger Ruling 
By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
European Union lawmakers discussed further extending the Feb. 9 deadline for ruling on the proposed merger of NYSE Euronext (NYX) and Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1.XE, DBOEF) before ultimately choosing to block the deal, according to records of the European Commission’s Feb. 1 meeting.
http://jlne.ws/yy2MSp

CME Group Asks Regulators to Exempt Futures From Volcker Rule
By Matthew Leising
Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) — CME Group Inc. is asking regulators to include futures contracts in a list of exempted investments that won’t be prohibited under the Volcker rule’s limits on proprietary trading. [...] Leaving futures contracts off the list probably was “inadvertent,” CME Group Chief Executive Officer Craig Donohue wrote to regulators in a Feb. 13 letter.

What Crashed CME’s Oil Trading Platform?
BusinessWeek
Was CME the victim of a trading algorithm “gone berserk”? Or did a glitch in its software bring down its oil trading platform?
http://jlne.ws/xGd7FE

Bovespa continues run of weak Brazilian earnings
By Joe Leahy in São Paulo – Financial Times
Brazil’s BM&FBovespa exchange reported weaker than expected profit for the final quarter of 2011, continuing a disappointing run of earnings from companies in Latin America’s largest economy.
http://jlne.ws/yzqilf

BM&FBOVESPA S.A. Announces Results For The Fourth Quarter 2011
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/xHEyD6

TMX Group Acquires Over 90% Of Razor Risk Technologies
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/Ao1aIh

TSX Venture Exchange Announces its 2012 TSX Venture 50
The 2012 TSX Venture 50 is a ranking of strong performers on TSX Venture Exchange. It is comprised of ten companies from each of the following five sectors: Mining, Oil & Gas, Diversified Industries, Clean Technology and Technology & Life Sciences.
http://jlne.ws/AALb37

NYSE Euronext welcomes EOS imaging to its European market 
http://jlne.ws/yN8J2W

ASX Ltd’s Half-Year Results Analyst Presentation
http://jlne.ws/w51cKA

ASX Ltd’s Half-Year Results Media Release
http://jlne.ws/wQVD4C

ASX Ltd’s Interim Dividend Announcement
http://jlne.ws/y2hlTz

ASX Ltd’s Half-Year Report 2012
http://jlne.ws/wf3Zpx

[ASX] Appendix 4D Half-Year Report
http://jlne.ws/zTcqBZ

CME Group Clearing Advisory
Holiday Clearing Schedule-Presidents’ Day Monday, February 20, 2012
http://jlne.ws/yOpygF

[CBOE] Restrictions on Transactions in Software HOLDRs Trust (“SWH”) 
http://jlne.ws/wPKH87

NZX: Alison Gerry – Independent Director
http://jlne.ws/wG5ALB

First Results Of Trading In Government Securities In MICEX Stock Exchange
http://jlne.ws/yYxLcb

Suávitas Receives Favourable Report From Mercado Alternativo Bursátil
http://jlne.ws/xeAabP

Banks, Brokers & Dark Pools

Zoellick to leave World Bank
By Alan Beattie in Washington – Financial Times
Robert Zoellick, president of the World Bank since 2007, announced on Wednesday he would step down when his current term ends on June 30. His departure will start a battle for a prized position that has traditionally been in the gift of the US but for which an emerging market candidate may make a bid.
http://jlne.ws/wTbZEx

Osborne Said to Look Beyond Bank of England for King Successor as Governor
Bloomberg
Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne is considering looking outside the Bank of England for a successor to Mervyn King, which would be the first such move in 30 years, according to two people with knowledge of the matter.
http://jlne.ws/yJimMj

UBS Said to Have Sought Immunity in Canada Libor Investigation
BusinessWeek
UBS AG, Switzerland’s biggest bank, sought immunity from prosecution by Canadian regulators probing a potential conspiracy to rig the price of derivatives globally, three people with knowledge of the inquiry said.
http://jlne.ws/yHFIGK

Citigroup Mortgage Unit to Pay $158.3 Million in Settlement
BusinessWeek
Citigroup Inc.’s Citimortgage unit agreed to pay $158.3 million to settle claims tied to its actions in a federal home-loan insurance program, the Manhattan U.S. Attorney’s office said.
http://jlne.ws/AmbSdT

Deutsche Bank Sued in New York Over $512 Million in Mortgage Securities
Bloomberg
Deutsche Bank AG’s Ace Securities was sued in New York state court for fraud for allegedly misrepresenting the quality of $512 million worth of residential mortgage-backed securities by Phoenix Light SF Ltd.
http://jlne.ws/yzWt1h

Audit Uncovers Extensive Flaws in Foreclosures
By GRETCHEN MORGENSON – NY Times
Anecdotal evidence indicating foreclosure abuse has been plentiful since the mortgage boom turned to bust in 2008. But the detailed and comprehensive nature of the San Francisco findings suggest how pervasive foreclosure irregularities may be across the nation.
http://jlne.ws/wn7pvO

Morgan Stanley and Citi face losses on block trades
By Robin Wigglesworth, Capital Markets Correspondent – Financial Times
Morgan Stanley and Citigroup face potentially painful losses on two recent European share sales that went awry, highlighting the dangers of the currently aggressive bidding by banks for so-called ‘block trade’ work.
http://jlne.ws/Akb3Vn

Citi Wins Mandate to Provide Administration Services for $28 billion of US-based Alternative Investment Assets for …
Business Wire
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Citi today announced an agreement with Credit Suisse’s Asset Management division to provide a comprehensive suite of middle office, custody and hedge fund administration services to support a portion of its US-based Alternative Investments business.
http://jlne.ws/ylobIA

Societe Generale Quarterly Net Drops 89% on Investment Bank Loss
BusinessWeek
Societe Generale SA, France’s second-largest bank, said fourth-quarter profit declined 89 percent as the investment bank posted a loss.
http://jlne.ws/yUxJhF

Demand For UBS Hybrid Capital Bond Seen Primarily from Asia
FOX Business
The hybrid capital bond issued by Swiss bank UBS AG (UBS) saw interest garnered mostly from Asian investors and private banks, a person familiar with the deal said Thursday.
http://jlne.ws/zK6Nmg

TradeStation to Exhibit New Platform Updates at the International Traders Expo in New York
GlobeNewswire via Yahoo! Finance
PLANTATION, Fla. — TradeStation, the award-winning broker-dealer and futures commission merchant, will unveil updates to TradeStation 9.1, the latest, most powerful version of its award-winning trading …
http://jlne.ws/w12nzO

US Judge Approves Lehman-JP Morgan Deal To Slash $710 Million Claim
FOX Business
A judge on Wednesday signed off on a deal between J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. (JPM) and Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. (LEHMQ) that calls for J.P. Morgan to slash most of a $710 million claim it filed against Lehman’s bankruptcy estate, money that Lehman plans to distribute to creditors soon.
http://jlne.ws/y1vfgc

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

Banks, brokers and exchanges jostle over OTC reforms
By Luke Jeffs – Reuters
(Reuters) – Europe’s top banks, futures brokers and exchanges are poised to pile into the shadowy over-the-counter market once regulators shine a light on a vast industry where toxic assets change hands virtually unchecked.
http://jlne.ws/wenuLU

U.S. Attorney’s Office Names New Chief of Securities Fraud Unit
By BENJAMIN WEISER – NY Times
Marc P. Berger, a veteran federal prosecutor, on Wednesday was named to be the new chief of the securities fraud unit for the United States attorney’s office in Manhattan.
http://jlne.ws/wApPjO

FSA managing director, Margaret Cole, to leave this year
The Financial Services Authority (FSA) today announced that managing director and Board member, Margaret Cole, will leave the organisation later this year, after nearly seven years at the UK regulator.
http://jlne.ws/wJZq06

Regulators Re-Elect Jean Guill, Kurt Pribil And Fernando Restoy To ESMA’s Management Board
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zPTDaU

SEC Tightens Rules on Advisory Performance Fee Charges
Washington, D.C., Feb. 15, 2012 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced it is tightening its rule on investment advisory performance fees to raise the net worth requirement for investors who pay performance fees, by excluding the value of the investor’s home from the net worth calculation.
http://jlne.ws/xvNSme

ESMA Launches A Consultation On Short Selling And CDS, And Announces An Open Hearing On 29 February
Press Release
The purpose of this consultation is to seek comments on the technical advice that ESMA proposes to give to the European Commission on a number of possible delegated acts concerning the Regulation as listed in the Commission request for advice.
http://jlne.ws/AlOHKv

FESE: Response To ESMA’s Consultation On Short Selling And Certain Aspects Of Credit Deault Swaps
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/xkmspr

ISDA Paper: MiFID/MiFIR And Transparency For OTC Derivatives
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/xmte7F

CFTC Charges Puerto Rico Resident Angel F. Collazo and his Companies, ACJ Capital Inc. and Solid View Capital LLC, in Forex Fraud Ponzi Scheme
Washington, DC — The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) today announced that on February 8, 2012, it filed a federal court action in the District of Puerto Rico charging Angel Fernando Collazo of Salinas, Puerto Rico, and his companies, ACJ Capital, Inc. (ACJ) and Solid View Capital LLC (Solid View), both of San Juan, with fraud and misappropriation in a $1 million off-exchange leveraged foreign currency (forex) Ponzi scheme
http://jlne.ws/z75kY8

NFA Enforcement and Registration Actions
Harvest Investment Group Inc. and Haochun Ku
http://jlne.ws/x1hWqi

Deloitte Taps Deborah Bailey to Lead Banking and Securities Regulatory Practice
PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance
NEW YORK, Feb. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Deborah Bailey, who led the first round of stress tests in 2009 as the deputy director of the Federal Reserve Board’s supervision and regulation division, has been …
http://jlne.ws/x1keMz

ASIC brings criminal charges against former Kleenmaid directors
http://jlne.ws/wbVZ0n

ASIC releases policy on indirect self-acquisitions
http://jlne.ws/xETqWJ

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

Tri-Party Repo Task Force to Take Diminished Reform Role
BusinessWeek
A Federal Reserve-sponsored group working to improve efficiency in the market for borrowing and lending securities will take a diminished role in efforts to cut systemic risk in the market for dealer financing.
http://jlne.ws/wTrQ2D

Macquarie to Provide Third Party Hedge Fund Capital Raising Services
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
Macquarie Group today announced that it will begin offering hedge fund capital-raising services to external hedge funds through its Alternative Investment Strategies division.
http://jlne.ws/z89zWp

Spanish debt market continues to thaw
By Miles Johnson in Madrid – Financial Times
Spain’s government hailed a E4bn sale of its debt on Thursday as a sign of revived investor confidence in its economic reform programme at a time of accelerating unease over the outcome for Greece.
http://jlne.ws/xG9lit

John Paulson misses bank stocks, again
CNN Money
The hedge fund manager who called the crash continues to struggle in the recovery.
http://jlne.ws/yhawQM

Paulson Joins Vinik Selling SPDR Gold Shares as Soros Buys
Bloomberg
Paulson & Co., the hedge fund founded by billionaire John Paulson, cut its stake in the SPDR Gold Trust for the second straight quarter, while billionaire investor George Soros increased his holdings.
http://jlne.ws/wBFGPy

Hedge Funds Warm to Bank Stocks
New York Times
Several large hedge funds took or increased their stakes in bank stocks during the fourth quarter of 2011, betting that the industry would recover and send stock prices upward.
http://jlne.ws/zR21Dz

$22 Billion Hedge Fund Puts Its Money on a Stronger Economy
TheStreet.com
BOSTON (TheStreet) — Thomas Steyer, the billionaire environmentalist and founder of hedge fund Farallon Capital Management, has made a big bet on a rebound in the economy by buying energy and industrial stocks, including El Paso and Goodrich.
http://jlne.ws/xLv3yK

EDHEC-Risk Institute Research Provides Insights Into Optimal Hedge Fund Allocation
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/xKnkng

Technology News

Arqaam Capital extends use of Orc Trading solution
Successful, longtime partnership with Orc and E2E Infotech renewed to address future needs of leading Middle East investment bank.
http://jlne.ws/ybwDcu

pbb Deutsche Pfandbriefbank Chooses Numerix’s Award Winning CVA Solution
Press Release
Numerix CVA selected for accurate, near real-time credit risk valuations
http://jlne.ws/xcEh9J

Progress Software and FFastFill Partner to Deliver First Low-latency Hosted FX Aggregation and Algo Trading Solution
Business Wire
LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Progress Software Corporation, a leading software provider that enables enterprises to be operationally responsive, today announced that FFastFill, the leading provider of application services for the electronic trading and risk management community, has extended its existing partnership agreement with Progress Software
http://jlne.ws/xVSXK3

RTS Realtime Systems Connects to Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange (HKMEx)
RTS Realtime Systems Group, a leading global trading solutions provider, today announced that the company now offers market access to the Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange (HKMEx), China’s international commodity marketplace.
http://jlne.ws/cGW5zW

Media News

Google must remember our right to be forgotten
By Richard Falkenrath – Financial Times
Last month the European Commission proposed adding a new “right to be forgotten” to privacy law. This deceptively simple idea is a ticking time-bomb in the booming internet economy. It is also essential – both for Europeans and Americans – to protect personal privacy in the age of pervasive social media and cloud computing.
http://jlne.ws/wMXu2X

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

Shanghai launches U.S.-style OTC market, faces challenges
By Samuel Shen and Jacqueline Wong – Reuters
Feb 15 (Reuters) – Shanghai launched its own version of the U.S. OTC Bulletin Board (OTCBB) market on Wednesday, kicking off trading in the first batch of 19 start-ups outside the city’s stock exchange.
http://jlne.ws/zcNj6q

Thai Bourse’s Website Access Restored
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/yMb0Lu

Frontier Markets

India’s ‘bumble bee’ defies gravity
By David Pilling – Financial Times
Who is the most powerful person in India? Manmohan Singh, the 79-year-old prime minister whose second term has been a washout? Not likely. Sonia Gandhi, the Italian-born torchbearer of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty? Possibly. How about S.H. Kapadia? Who, you might ask, is S.H. Kapadia? Well, he is chief justice of the supreme court, which this month set all of India chattering when it revoked 122 second-generation (2G) mobile licences.
http://jlne.ws/woi6Fs

Johannesburg Stock Exchange Proactive Monitoring Of Financial Statements Report Released
Press Release
The JSE wishes to announce that is has published a report which provides an overview of the proactive monitoring activities in 2011.
http://jlne.ws/ycdglB

Royal Investment Bank and Bridgehead Administration in Joint Venture to Raise Fund Capital in the Middle East
GlobeNewswire via Yahoo! Finance
http://jlne.ws/vZMkqn

DFSA Receives Delegation of Powers from the DIFC Registrar of Companies
http://jlne.ws/9LW62j

Tehran Stock Exchange Offers Parsian Oil & Gas Development Co.
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zOIKOV

Miscellaneous News

CAIA Association Appoints Jane Buchan of Pacific Alternative Asset Management Co. as Chairman of the Board of Directors
PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance
AMHERST, Mass., Feb. 15, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — The Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) Association, sponsor of the CAIA charter, the benchmark for alternative investment education worldwide, …
http://jlne.ws/xhsIHa

Before you give up the day job…
By Ross Tieman – Financial Times
Few people think of Thomas Edison, inventor of the first practical light bulb, as a social engineer. Yet the ability to work or play when our bodies used to sleep has transformed working hours around the globe.
http://jlne.ws/winqq1

Last week in this newsletter, Messrs. Lothian and Kharouf argued the merits of CME Group’s sale of its iconic real estate holdings at the foot of LaSalle Street.  At issue was whether CME should deploy its capital on real estate.  Mr. Lothian says “buy real estate, not sell it.”  Mr. Kharouf retorts: “CME isn’t a real estate company.”  However, if one paid close attention to CME’s earnings presentation two weeks ago, they would have discovered that CME is a real estate company and it owns some “trophy” properties other than 141 West Jackson.

A decade ago, when electronic trading truly started to replace floor trading, investors began to look at the potential of for-profit exchanges.  At that time, part of the attraction of an investment in CBOT was its ownership in the LaSalle Street building.  The $150 million property could provide meaningful downside protection to an investment in CBOT in the event the exchange could not successfully make the transition from floor-based trading to electronic trading.  Those were dangerous times for CBOT as it had not fully embraced technology.  Their direct competitor, the electronic exchange Eurex, was handing out free iPods to traders in an attempt to steal the CBOT’s treasury futures business and the Clearing Corp, CBOT’s clearing house, actually “bet the house” that Eurex would succeed.

Unrealized at the time, was that the exchanges owned real estate more prized than the buildings housing the trading pits.  This real estate was far more valuable than “Class A” office space and, in the burgeoning age of electronic trading, would become even more valuable in the future.  Owned by exchanges was the real estate adjacent to where customer orders enter the marketplace.

During the heyday of pit trading, the member community knew that “pit real estate” that was adjacent to where customer orders entered the marketplace was extremely valuable.  Being first to trade with a customer order was often the difference between success and failure– and key to being first was to be close to the order.  Exchange members who wanted to “own” that valuable real estate did so, through a combination of seniority and relationships, as well as intimidation and muscle.  Altercations, verbal and physical, for control of the pit real estate were common.  So valuable was the real estate, that upon one trader’s retirement, he attempted to sell his prime, 2 ft. sq. “spot” to another member for $1 million.

What is now becoming clear from CME’s recent earnings presentation is how valuable real estate at the entrance to the marketplace has become in the current iteration of electronic trading.  The success of many types of electronic trading strategies is still predicated on being first to a trade.  For many of today’s top trading firms, having their trading computers close to the CME matching engine is critical.  Now however, the valuable real estate near the entrance to the marketplace is not “owned” by a few burley members; it is owned by CME, which charges traders dearly to rent this prime space.

CME recently presented some information on the value of the real estate adjacent to the entrance of the electronic marketplace.  In a slide on “co-location services,” CME states that it expects to receive $40-$45 million of revenue from the expanded co-location business in 2012.  The Phase II real estate build-out will take place in the 2H 2012.  In the not too distant future, CME expects to receive $100 million in revenue per year from these services.  Assuming 50% of co-location revenue drops to CME’s bottom line and using CME’s current public valuation metric of 16x earnings, the value of this service to the CME will soon be worth $800 million, or approximately 5x the value of the LaSalle Street building.

While the importance of the CBOT building to the CME can be debated, there is no question that the bigger CME real estate play is taking place in data centers a short distance away from LaSalle Street.  Location does matter and CME is effectively deploying its capital on prime real estate.

Jim Ginsburg
Managing Partner
Vernon & Park Capital

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

Onward to Budapest

The Association of Futures Markets has asked me to deliver a keynote address at their 15th annual conference in Budapest, Hungary.  The subject of my speech will be lessons learned from the MF Global bankruptcy.  The conference runs from March 7 to 9.  Here is a link for the program: http://jlne.ws/wUbxpm.

I will be in Budapest until March 11, return home that night, then get on a plane for FIA‘s Boca Raton International Conference on March 13.  I will return from Boca Raton late the night of the 16th and get up the next morning to take the Boy Scout Troop on a campout to near Rockford, IL.  If I survive that schedule, I will be back in the office on March 19.  Whew!

Thank you to the great John Lothian News team for their work while I am traveling.  Contact Jon Matte at jonmatte@johnlothian.com with any news for JLN while I am away.

About AFM

The Association of Futures Markets (AFM) is a not-for-profit association formally established in 1998 in Buenos Aires, Argentina founded by 10 members: Budapest Commodity Exchange, the Central Clearing House and Depository Ltd. of Budapest, the Romanian Commodities Exchange, the Buenos Aires Futures Exchange, the Amsterdam Commodity Exchange, South African Futures Exchange, the Warsaw Commodity Exchange and the Malaysian Derivatives Exchange).

The prime objective of the Association is to promote and encourage the establishment of new derivative and related markets and to organize international conferences in order to promote communication among members, to strengthen their relationship and to transfer information and experience among them.

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New Study Compares 25-Year Performance of Options Strategy Benchmarks to Traditional Indexes
CHICAGO, Feb. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — The merits of using options-based strategy benchmark indexes to construct a diversified portfolio is the subject of a new study — “An Analysis of Index Option Writing for Liquid Enhanced Risk-Adjusted Returns” — released today by investment-advisory firm Asset Consulting Group.
http://jlne.ws/xL8oHI

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US Cash Equities Lose the Battle Of Order Flow for Third Straight Year – TABB Group’s State Of The Institutional Equities Industry Research Points To A Single-Stock Volume Rebound By Fourth Quarter 2012
Press Release
The US cash equities market has been losing the battle for order flow for three years in a row, forcing institutional equity brokers in 2011 to see their third annual decline in commission. According to new research from TABB Group, execution-only commissions will fall more precipitously in 2012 as the buy side continues to squeeze every dollar out of their constrained wallets.
http://jlne.ws/xiQC4F

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Nymex oil traders go back to the floor
By Gregory Meyer in New York – Financial Times
It was like old times. For a few minutes this week, the capacious floor of the New York Mercantile Exchange was again the beating heart of the US oil market.
http://jlne.ws/xbfoe6

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Making a Theoretical Case About Volcker
By PETER EAVIS – NY Times
Show, don’t tell. That approach is often the best way to explain a complex subject — and persuade people of your case. But it seems to have been underdeployed in the letters submitted to regulators on the Volcker Rule, which attempts to stop proprietary trading at financial firms that enjoy a government backstop.
http://jlne.ws/wcCcQn

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Quick View: Singapore’s stance
By Jeremy Grant – Financial Times
Land grab or an outburst of pragmatic regulation? This week, the Monetary Authority of Singapore published long-awaited proposals for how Singapore will meet its G20 commitments to clean up the financial system by overhauling the over-the-counter derivatives markets.
http://jlne.ws/yZcpKC

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MarketAxess Appoints Robert Hammond as Head of Sales and Dealer Relationship Management for Europe and Middle East
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
MarketAxess Holdings Inc., the operator of a leading electronic trading platform for U.S. and European high-grade corporate bonds, emerging markets bonds and other types of fixed-income securities, today announced it has appointed Robert Hammond as Head of Sales and Dealer Relationship Management for Europe and the Middle East.
http://jlne.ws/Af7WN3

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Coal Miner Turns Dealmaker at London Metal Exchange: Commodities
By Agnieszka Troszkiewicz – Bloomberg
Feb. 15 (Bloomberg) – Martin Abbott has been a fashion journalist, advertising salesman, pub manager, security guard and coal miner. The chief executive officer of the London Metal Exchange, the biggest metals market, may soon be a dealmaker.
http://jlne.ws/wz7KQk

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Financial Regulation Of Derivatives Could Be Handled Like Drug Approvals, Experts Say
The Huffington Post
Are exotic financial derivatives as risky as untested prescription drugs? Two University of Chicago economists say possibly.
http://jlne.ws/xkW1yU

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Bart Mallon – Cole-Frieman & Mallon [INTERVIEW]
MarketsWiki.tv
Bart Mallon is a partner and co-founder of Cole-Frieman & Mallon, a San-Francisco-based law firm specializing in hedge fund and alternative investment legal services. His areas of specialization include setting up offshore hedge funds and separately managed structured accounts, compliance and registration issues. Mallon is also the author of the Hedge Fund Law blog. John Lothian News Editor-in-Chief Jim Kharouf spoke with Mallon about managed futures mutual funds, CFTC Regulation 4.5, the Volcker Rule and other compliance issues related to managed futures.

Watch the video >

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MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Junius Peake
http://jlne.ws/zaRi8l 

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MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People 

Junius Peake; Richard Rafferty

Miscellaneous

Upcoming Events

Statistics

19,430,857 pages viewed, 6,697 articles, 137,031 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
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Lead Stories

State Street plans OTC derivatives platform
By Jeremy Grant – Financial Times
State Street, the investment management and custody company, plans to challenge Wall Street banks in the business of derivatives trading with the launch of an electronic trading platform for over-the-counter (OTC) swaps.
http://jlne.ws/wtCBUe

NYSE, Deutsche Boerse Set To Vie For Technology Business
By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NYSE Euronext (NYX) and Deutsche Boerse AG are squaring up to compete again after burying their merger plan, and both see selling technology and market services to other exchanges and traders as key to their independent futures.
http://jlne.ws/yqSFP4

CBOE to List Futures on Brazil, Oil Volatility Indexes
By Nina Mehta and Jeff Kearns – Bloomberg
CBOE Holdings Inc. (CBOE), owner of the largest U.S. venue for equity derivatives, will list futures and options tracking volatility indexes on Brazilian stocks and crude oil, according to a statement on the exchange’s website.
http://jlne.ws/y7jKVa

MF Global trustee to share info with investigators
Reuters via Yahoo! News
(Reuters) – The trustee for bankrupt MF Global Holdings Ltd agreed to share internal documents with officials investigating a massive shortfall in the firm’s customer accounts, resolving weeks of negotiations over access to the information.
http://jlne.ws/zkr1RR

Libor Probe Said to Expose Collusion, Lack of Internal Controls
BusinessWeek
Global regulators have exposed flaws in banks’ internal controls that may have allowed traders to manipulate interest rates around the world, two people with knowledge of the probe said.
http://jlne.ws/z8OSFi

JPMorgan, HSBC Implicated by Informant Bank in Canada Libor Case
BusinessWeek
JPMorgan Chase & Co., Deutsche Bank AG and HSBC Holdings Plc are among at least seven firms accused by another bank of participating in a conspiracy to manipulate the price of derivatives worldwide for more than three years.
http://jlne.ws/xJLxDv

Eurozone divisions threaten Greece aid
By Joshua Chaffin and Peter Spiegel in Brussels and Gerrit Weisman in Berlin – Financial Times
Eurozone officials have called off an emergency meeting of finance ministers to approve a vital E130bn bail-out for Athens amid a growing fight among the country’s European creditors about the merits of allowing Greece to go bankrupt.
http://jlne.ws/Az7226

Pressure rises on private equity bosses’ tax
By Daniel Schäfer in London and Richard McGregor in Washington – Financial Times
Pressure is rising across the globe to raise taxes for private equity bosses, with German and Swedish authorities pushing for legislative changes and a leading US pension fund investor calling the 15 per cent rate in America “indefensible”.
http://jlne.ws/xqb2id

Equities trading costs under pressure
By Philip Stafford – Financial Times
Costs for finalising equities trades are coming under renewed pressure after one of the region’s at-cost clearing houses said its market share had grown due to brokers keen to cut overall trading costs.
http://jlne.ws/yzP2di

Portugal’s Debt Efforts May Be Warning for Greece
By LANDON THOMAS Jr. – NY Times
LISBON — As debt-plagued Greece struggles to meet Europe’s strict terms for receiving its next round of bailout money, the lesson of Portugal might bear watching.
http://jlne.ws/zhnBVK

EU to Ban Iran Banks From Financial Network
By JAY SOLOMON – WSJ
WASHINGTON—The European Union is moving to ban blacklisted Iranian entities from using a Belgium-based financial communications and clearing system in a move that will drastically cut Tehran’s ability to conduct global financial transactions, according to senior U.S. and European officials.
http://jlne.ws/xdMXGB

Environmental Trading News

EEX: Third Auction for Lithuania to take place on 15 March
The European Energy Exchange (EEX) will carry out the third primary market auction for Lithuania on Thursday 15 March 2012. In the framework of the extension agreement between the Lithuanian Ministry of the Environment and EEX of 16 December 2011, a further 850,000 EU emission allowances (EUA) will be auctioned off on the EEX Spot Market.
http://jlne.ws/A3dP1K

Green Exchange Holiday Hours for Presidents’ Day Holiday
GreenX Contracts listed for trading on CME Globex and for submission for clearing through CME ClearPort will have revised trading hours for the upcoming Presidents’ Day holiday. Please see the information below for further details.
http://jlne.ws/AdBZfp

Emissions trading: Cheap and dirty
Financial Times
When the European Union decided last month to press ahead with a plan to force foreign airlines to pay for the carbon pollution generated by each flight landing at its airports, Brussels policymakers justified their action as the only way to forge a global solution to one of the fastest-growing sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
http://jlne.ws/xrqDDr

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

Deutsche Boerse to Return Capital After NYSE Deal Fails
By Nandini Sukumar – Bloomberg
Deutsche Boerse AG, blocked from buying NYSE Euronext by European competition regulators this month, pledged to return capital to shareholders after posting a fourth-quarter profit.
http://jlne.ws/zHejJM

Deutsche Boerse CEO: No Reason To Step Down; Plans To Stay Full Term
Ulrike Dauer, Dow Jones Newswires
FRANKFURT -(Dow Jones)- Deutsche Boerse AG Chief Executive Reto Francioni said Tuesday he sees no reason to step down after the company’s planned merger with NYSE Euronext (NYX) failed, having been blocked by the European Union.
http://jlne.ws/A6gGyW

Deutsche Börse chief upbeat on new strategy
By James Wilson in Frankfurt – Financial Times
The chief executive of Deutsche Börse has claimed total supervisory board backing to lead a new strategy for growth after EU competition watchdogs blocked plans for a transatlantic merger with NYSE Euronext.
http://jlne.ws/xCOHVC

Spanish MTF PAVE Temporarily Postponed
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/AAgwsD

Bulgarian Stock Exchange To Synchronize Trading Hours With The International Markets
Press Release
The Bulgarian Stock Exchange has announced today a change in its trading timetable. The purpose is to synchronize the exchange’s trading session hours with the European markets and thus fulfilling one of the objectives set in the “BSE Development Strategy until 2012″. Under the plan, the time interval for executing trades on the exchange will be extended.
http://jlne.ws/yxn76O

CME Group Clearing Advisory
NYMEX Options Expiration Operational Procedures for the Trading Floor and Clearing Members (LO, PAO, PO) – Effective Wednesday, February 15, 2012
http://jlne.ws/xls2Et

[CBOT] Registration and Qualification Requirements 
http://jlne.ws/wCsU5n

[CBOT] EEM Opening Settings on VXEEM Futures Settlement Days 
http://jlne.ws/zKb9QX

Direct Edge Trading Notice #12-09: New Date – Direct Edge Updates FIX Short Sale Order Marking Requirements Effective March 15, 2012
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/A0b9MU

CBOE, C2, CFE, And CBSX Trading Schedule For Presidents’ Day Holiday
http://jlne.ws/z3RdQJ

OneChicago Holiday Notice – Presidents Day 2012
http://jlne.ws/yJYHyP

Banks, Brokers & Dark Pools

ANZ CFO Marriott Resigns, Sparks Management Reshuffle
Dow Jones Newswires
SYDNEY – Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. (ANZ.AU) Wednesday announced a senior management reshuffle sparked by the resignation of veteran Chief Financial Officer Peter Marriott.
http://jlne.ws/zo21QH

Goldman Sachs Seeks Exemption for Bank Stakes in ‘Credit Funds’
BusinessWeek
Goldman Sachs Group Inc., which says it owns the world’s largest family of so-called mezzanine loan funds, is asking regulators to loosen proposed limits on bank investments in such pools.
http://jlne.ws/z0cQk4

Goldman Sachs Banking Partner Jeffrey Moslow to Retire From Firm at Age 47
Bloomberg
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (GS) ‘s Jeffrey Moslow, an investment banker to companies such as Tyco International Ltd., plans to leave the firm. Moslow, 47, a partner based in New York, is a former head of the investment-banking services group and joined the firm in 1994, Goldman Sachs said today in an internal memorandum disclosing the move.
http://jlne.ws/AEAx9p

Goldman analyst probed for leaking inside info: report
Reuters via Yahoo! News
(Reuters) – A Goldman Sachs technology analyst is under investigation by federal authorities for leaking inside information to hedge funds, the Wall Street Journal said, citing people close to the situation.
http://jlne.ws/znHObl

DealBook: Fed Approves Capital One’s Deal for ING Direct
New York Times
But the move came with an order that the bank’s risk-management and compliance structure take account of the growth and complexity of the firm.
http://jlne.ws/AkylWD

UBS Tests Demand For Hybrid Capital Bond
Dow Jones Newswires
Swiss bank UBS AG (UBS) Tuesday was providing the most recent test of investor appetite for a type of debt regulators hope will help eliminate taxpayer-led bailouts for struggling banks.
http://jlne.ws/zR4hgM

ABN Amro May Reduce 15% of Clearing Division Jobs in Reorganization
Bloomberg
ABN Amro Group NV, the Dutch lender nationalized in 2008, said it may cut about 15 percent of jobs at the firm’s clearing unit amid an overhaul.
http://jlne.ws/zlYBfO

BNP Paribas’s CEO Bonnafe Says 2011 Bonus Pool Reduced by Half
BusinessWeek
BNP Paribas SA, France’s largest bank, joined Credit Suisse Group AG and Deutsche Bank AG in cutting 2011 bonuses after quarterly profit plunged at its corporate- and investment-banking unit.
http://jlne.ws/xLGHwj

Handelsbanken shines among Nordic banks
By Michael Stothard in Stockholm – Financial Times
Strong results from Handelsbanken were a bright spot in an otherwise uncertain fourth-quarter earnings season for the Nordic banking sector, with the Swedish bank reporting a rise in earnings and dividends.
http://jlne.ws/AEJRuf

European banks look to wealthy Asians
By Paul J Davies in Hong Kong – Financial Times
European banks are joining their governments in calling on Asian investors to help them shore up their balance sheets which have been damaged by the financial crisis, according to bankers.
http://jlne.ws/z9U2co

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

CME warns of Volcker rule impact on Treasuries
By Telis Demos in New York – Financial Times
The CME Group has warned that the proposed Volcker rule could impede the primary dealer system used by the US Treasury to sell government debt.
http://jlne.ws/xVHGi0

Ex-Citigroup CEO Says Volcker Rule Needs ‘Severe Penalties’
BusinessWeek
John S. Reed, who helped engineer the merger that created Citigroup Inc., said the U.S. should make the proposed Volcker rule stronger by targeting bank traders’ pay and using “severe penalties” to enforce it.
http://jlne.ws/zyYuDI

Tri-party repo fears unresolved
By Tracy Alloway and Michael Mackenzie in New York – Financial Times
The financial industry task force assigned to reform part of the shadow banking system in the US is set to deliver final recommendations without fully resolving a key issue of concern for regulators.
http://jlne.ws/zSxZf1

Pension funds back SEC over reforms
By Dan McCrum in New York – Financial Times
Several of the world’s largest pension funds have urged the US’s Securities and Exchange Commission to finish the job of implementing financial reform in the face of resistance from industry, the Republican party and corporate legal challenges to the introduction of new rules.
http://jlne.ws/x96fji

Remarks Before The PLI Investment Management Institute 2012 By Eileen P. Rominger, Director, Division Of Investment Management, U.S. Securities And Exchange Commission
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/xtsVyG

Statement Of Dissent By CFTC Commissioner Jill E. Sommers And CFTC Commissioner Scott D. O’Malia – Fiscal Year 2011 Annual Performance Report
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/xHi3cO

Bank Tax Continues To Be Wrong Policy, SIFMA Says
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/vZqTL4

ESMA: Publication Of The Responses Received To The Consultation On Short Selling And CDS
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/yXTGOm

[AMF] CPPS-IOSCO release final report on OTC derivatives data reporting and aggregation requirements
http://jlne.ws/wHEbZQ

[AMF] End of the short selling ban regarding French securities of the financial sector
http://jlne.ws/zn8p3i

ASIC suspends AFS licence of ‘Aussie Rob’s’ Lifestyle Investor Services
http://jlne.ws/AcLSzn

Investor Alert: BCSC investigating Rashida Samji and Arvindbhai B. Patel
Vancouver – The British Columbia Securities Commission is investigating Rashida Samji and Arvindbhai B. Patel (also known as Arvin Patel) in regards to their involvement in an investment scheme.
http://jlne.ws/yeZZ58

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

AlphaMetrix Survey: Majority of Investors in Hedge Funds, CTAs and Private Equity Plan to Increase Allocations in 2012
Business Wire
CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AlphaMetrix LLC, founder and operator of the AlphaMetrix Global Marketplace (AGM), the leading secure online marketplace for private investments, today released results of a survey that found a majority of investors in hedge funds, commodity trading advisors and private equity funds expect to increase their allocations to those private investments in 2012.
http://jlne.ws/y6lHAS

BofA Merrill Lynch Fund Manager Survey Finds Renewed Confidence in Global Equities
Business Wire
NEW YORK & LONDON–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Investors are showing renewed confidence in global equities amid radically improved market conditions and growing hopes of economic growth, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers for February.
http://jlne.ws/y0sWhk

Palmer Square Signs Investment Deal with LNG Capital
PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance
Palmer Square Capital Management, along with Montage Investments and Atlantic Asset Management, today announced a partnership with LNG Capital, a long/short European credit firm based in London that focuses on European corporate credit investments.
http://jlne.ws/AlH5fl

Barclays, BlackRock Chase $9 Billion in Mexican Pension Assets
Carlos Manuel Rodriguez | Bloomberg
Barclays Plc, BlackRock Inc. and Deutsche Bank AG are vying to tap as much as $9.3 billion in Mexican regulated pension assets that are poised to invest in commodities following regulatory changes.
http://jlne.ws/Av4lU5

BlackRock Announces Board Approval of Prospective Registered Closed-End Fund Liquidations
Business Wire
http://jlne.ws/xZih0s

Och-Ziff Capital Management Group LLC Reports 2011 Fourth Quarter and Full Year Results
PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance
http://jlne.ws/yZ8yrq

Yale University Bought China Exchange-Traded Fund Last Quarter
Bloomberg
Yale University, whose endowment strategy has been a model for U.S. schools, bought new shares of a China exchange-traded fund last quarter.
http://jlne.ws/x6WzeD

Hedge Fund Managers Ramping up Mock Due Diligence Audits in Preparation for First Post Dodd-Frank SEC Examinations
Business Wire
NEW YORK–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Chelsea Technologies has seen a recent increase in hedge fund managers commissioning third-party due diligence audits ahead of the March 30th hedge fund registration deadline with the SEC
http://jlne.ws/zA2QWV

[NYSE Euronext] 6 ETF Launches: iShares
http://jlne.ws/yXypon

Technology News

NYSE Technologies Introduces Trade Exception Radar for Post-Trade Monitoring
New York, NY – Feb. 14, 2012 – NYSE Technologies, the commercial technology unit of NYSE Euronext (NYX), today announced the U.S. launch of its new post-trade monitoring tool, Trade Exception Radar. The product, hosted in the NYSE Technologies U.S. Liquidity Center in Mahwah, is designed to offer fully automated surveillance and compliance capabilities across asset classes. Trade Exception Radar provides real-time performance with a complete audit trail. It helps firms collect and analyze trading patterns, detect and identify potential trading issues, and monitor trading patterns in real-time.
http://jlne.ws/wDwAbZ

Flaw Found in an Online Encryption Method
By JOHN MARKOFF – NY Times
SAN FRANCISCO — A team of European and American mathematicians and cryptographers have discovered an unexpected weakness in the encryption system widely used worldwide for online shopping, banking, e-mail and other Internet services intended to remain private and secure.
http://jlne.ws/wmsJk6

US exchange websites attacked
By Telis Demos in New York – Financial Times
The public web sites of some US securities exchanges experienced outages after cyber-attacks on Monday and Tuesday, but their trading systems were unaffected.
http://jlne.ws/x17i6P

Nasdaq OMX: Signs Of Attempts To Block Access To Websites 
By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. (NDAQ) on Tuesday confirmed attempts by unknown parties to block access to the exchange company’s websites, though there were no signs that security was breached.
http://jlne.ws/yQP6H5

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

Ex-Citigroup Executive Denies Wrongdoing in Tibor-Fixing Probe
BusinessWeek
An ex-Citigroup Inc. executive accused in a probe by Japanese regulators of suspected interest- rate manipulation denied wrongdoing and said authorities never questioned him before they issued findings.
http://jlne.ws/AvXyRk

Shanghai Futures Exchange Lowers Gold Margins to Boost Trading
By Bloomberg News
The Shanghai Futures Exchange, China’s biggest metals bourse, lowered the margins on gold for trading the contract in the final month before its expiry to boost volumes and attract more investors.
http://jlne.ws/ywpGEN

Bird-Watching CEO Gupta Seeks Returns as DBS Expands in Asia
BusinessWeek
Piyush Gupta, chief executive officer of DBS Group Holdings Ltd., Southeast Asia’s largest bank, picked banking over a passion for bird-watching three decades ago. Now his plans for regional expansion are taking flight.
http://jlne.ws/zdjfbW

Shanghai Stock Exchange Holds Talkfest For Small, Medium-Sized Investors
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/A3awYU

Frontier Markets

Popularity of Rupee futures rises among NRIs in Middle East
Economic Times of India
DUBAI: A surge in investors’ interest in Indian rupee futures is contributing majorly to the growth at the Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange, the only exchange outside India where rupee futures can be traded.
http://jlne.ws/ws1N1p

Notification 2: Bursa Malaysia’s Website Access Restored To Normal
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zUAEIQ

Henry Schwartz is the President and Founder of Trade Alert, a real-time option flow analytics firm that serves Wall Street sell-side derivative desks, floor brokers, market makers, hedge funds, and proprietary trading firms. He previously worked at Banc of America Securities, where he was responsible for electronic market making on the start-up ISE. Trade Alert was founded in 2005. Schwartz spoke with JLN Options editor Sarah Rudolph about the OptionAlert analytics system, technology challenges for clients and firms, and fragmentation in the options markets.

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

Derivatives reform: We are none the wiser
By Jeremy Grant – Financial Times
It has been like watching paint dry, but Europe has finalised sweeping G20 reforms of the over-the-counter derivatives markets. Or has it? Last week the clumsily named European Market Infrastructure Regulation (Emir) was agreed by the European Commission.
http://jlne.ws/yjP1kd

**** Is it a Masterpiece?

++++

Junius Peake, Early Advocate of Electronic Trading, Dies at 80
By Laurence Arnold – Bloomberg
Feb. 13 (Bloomberg) — Junius Peake, one of the finance industry’s earliest and most persistent proponents of electronic trading, has died. He was 80.
http://jlne.ws/wUl6q7

***** And not one trading platform named “Junius.”

++++

Biggest winner of MF Global accounts expands more
Tom Polansek | Reuters
CHICAGO (Reuters) – Independent Chicago broker R.J. O’Brien, which got more former accounts from bankrupt rival MF Global than any other merchant, built on that success in December, while other brokers lost some of that extra business, data showed on Monday. Total segregated funds at the end of December were $145.5 billion, down 2.4 percent from the end of November and 4.9 percent from the end of October, CFTC data show.
http://jlne.ws/ys71CC

**** Right Here!!!!!

++++

CME Group: Globex Crude Markets Halted Due To Technical Issues
By Jerry A. DiColo and Dan Strumpf – WSJ
Exchange operator CME Group Inc.‘s electronic Globexoil-trading platform failed due to “technical issues” on Monday, halting all electronic trading and sending traders scrambling to place bets on the New York Mercantile Exchange trading floor.
http://jlne.ws/z5TOjX

**** A much reported halt.

++++

Singapore diverges on OTC regulation
By Jeremy Grant in London – Financial Times
Singapore on Monday laid out its plans for meeting G20 commitments for over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives reform but diverged from the US and Europe by not requiring that derivatives be traded on formal platforms.
http://jlne.ws/xxbhpL

**** Jeremy Grant is not even in Singapore yet, but he can’t help himself.

++++

Broker to launch electronic stock issuance
By Telis Demos in New York – Financial Times
Rodman & Renshaw, an independent US brokerage, has acquired an investor relations firm as it seeks to launch an all-electronic platform for raising equity capital directly from investors.
http://jlne.ws/zwEh16

**** Now there is a name from the past.

++++

Insight: Wall St commodity talent wars: Return of the merchants
Barani Krishnan | Reuters
NEW YORK (Reuters) – When it comes to hiring top commodity traders, what goes around comes around. Wall Street, after years of poaching the best and brightest from specialized commodity firms, is losing the war to keep the essential traders who know how to arbitrage copper or store crude.
http://jlne.ws/yTYy3L

++++

Outside the Box: Investor protection agency protects scam artists
Market Watch
SIPC‘s history and recent behavior suggests that SIPC isn’t particularly concerned about investors, writes Ron Stein.
http://jlne.ws/xpFQ5t

**** With all the calls for insurance in futures, this is an important story to read.

++++

NYSE Technologies’ Live Online Buy-side Panel Discussion 

Trading Toronto: Big Opportunity, Little Friction 
Join a panel of Canadian industry leaders to discover why the time is now to trade in Toronto. Register today for this WEB EVENT from NYSE Technologies.
Date: February 16, 2011
Time: 10 AM EST / 3 PM GMT

NYSE Technologies recently launched its Toronto-based Global Liquidity Center (read press release). The Liquidity Center reduces the contractual commitment and cost of algorithmic trading in the Toronto markets for trading firms worldwide. Simultaneously, local and global market factors have increased the trading opportunity in Toronto.

We’ve gathered a panel of experts from the Canadian trading community to discuss the tremendous opportunities in the Toronto market today:
* Robert Fotheringham, Head of Trading, TMX Group
* Jos Schmitt, Chief Executive Officer, Alpha Group
* Robert Cancelli, Executive Director of Prime Services Group, CIBC
* Nick Thadaney, Chief Executive Officer, ITG Canada

We’ll ask this panel thought-provoking questions about the pros and cons of the Canadian market and help you better understand how it’s easier than ever before to gain access to this potentially very profitable market. You’ll also have the opportunity to pose your own questions to our industry experts!

Register now for this LIVE WEB EVENT at: http://jlne.ws/z8p1Ix

++++

MarketsWiki Page of the Day
Andrei Kirilenko
http://jlne.ws/x3uw79

++++

MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People 

Richard Rafferty; Bart Mallon; Andrei Kirilenko; Patrick L. Young

Companies, Organizations and Groups

Liquidnet; Numerix

Miscellaneous

Rand

Statistics

19,400,268 pages viewed, 6,696 articles, 137,011 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics

Lead Stories

Deal Size Becoming A Bigger Deal In Investment-Grade Bond Issues
By Katy Burne Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
Crowded into a corner by the pullback in trading on Wall Street, corporate-bond investors are finding there’s safety in bigger deals. How easy it is to trade a bond has long influenced the performance of risky high-yield debt. But until recently, the investment-grade corporate bond market has remained relatively immune to concerns about liquidity,
http://jlne.ws/wJkwXU

Canada Examines How Benchmark Rates Get Set
BY BEN DUMMETT, PAUL VIEIRA AND JEAN EAGLESHAM – WSJ
Canada’s top antitrust watchdog said it is investigating allegations of collusion in the setting of key benchmark interest rates, joining law-enforcement authorities across the globe in a probe of how the rates are set.
http://jlne.ws/zxM5xa

Foreign outcry over ‘Volcker rule’ plans
By Shahien Nasiripour in Washington and Tracy Alloway and Telis Demos in New York – Financial Times
US regulators are facing a flood of foreign complaints about the “Volcker rule” aimed at banning proprietary trading at banks, increasing the chances that the measure may be watered down.
http://jlne.ws/z7Gked

Foreign critics should not worry about ‘my’ rule
By Paul Volcker – Financial Times
I confess total surprise about the complaints by some European and other foreign officials about the restrictions on proprietary trading by American banks embedded in the Dodd-Frank Act – now dubbed the “Volcker” Rule.
http://jlne.ws/zyS8CQ

DealBook: At Volcker Rule Deadline, a Strong Pushback From Wall St.
New York Times
Regulators in charge of writing the Volcker Rule, which would ban banks from trading with their own money, were inundated with complaints and suggestions from the financial industry.
http://jlne.ws/zdsbzM

Financial Trade Groups Want Volcker Redone
By David Benoit – WSJ
The financial services industry wants to revise the “Volcker Rule.” The Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, or SIFMA, teamed up with the American Bankers Association, the Financial Services Roundtable and the Clearing House Association to deliver a 173-page letter laying out their objections to the Volcker Rule and how it goes about setting up the ban on proprietary trading. The groups, the major trade associations for the financial world, also filed separate letters on other aspects of the rule.
http://jlne.ws/y30eaV

MSCI Launches Probe Into ISS Employee’s Alleged Sale Of Data 
By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
MSCI Inc. (MSCI) has launched an internal probe into allegations that an employee of its Institutional Shareholder Services unit sold details of client company votes to firms that seek to influence the outcome of merger proposals and other corporate decisions.
http://jlne.ws/x1lAIH

France to push on with trading tax
By Scheherazade Daneshkhu in Paris – Financial Times
France is determined to press ahead with a financial transaction tax inspired by the UK’s stamp duty and supported by at least eight other eurozone countries, the country’s finance minister has said.
http://jlne.ws/xZCs2w

Europe crisis tops agenda as China, EU leaders meet
AFP via Yahoo! News
Chinese and EU leaders will meet Tuesday for a major summit set to be dominated by Europe’s debt crisis, as an increasingly worried Beijing considers coming to the rescue of the embattled continent.
http://jlne.ws/zjn883

Greece far from safe even after debt swap
By Willem Buiter – Financial Times
On Sunday night, as Athens burned, the Greek parliament voted to approve an omnibus bill. It contained the main elements of an agreement with the Troika on fiscal austerity, privatisation and structural reform, and the recapitalisation of Greek banks. Was this a ‘make or break’ moment for Greece?
http://jlne.ws/x6TC35

Merkel Backs Indirect Regulation Of Shadow Banks
FOX Business
BERLIN — German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Monday backed a proposal to indirectly regulate the shadow banking system prior to imposing direct regulation on institutions such as hedge funds and money-market funds that have traditionally been outside the scope of financial supervision.
http://jlne.ws/z38ufu

Moody’s threatens to downgrade UK
By Michael Mackenzie and Vivianne Rodrigues in New York and Jim Pickard in London – Financial Times
Moody’s put the UK, France and Austria on negative outlook late on Monday night, raising the prospect that the three countries would lose their triple A ratings due to exposure to the eurozone debt crisis.
http://jlne.ws/ApCsDQ

Rating Action: Moody’s Adjusts Ratings Of 9 European Sovereigns To Capture Downside Risks
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/yEattM

Environmental Trading News

EU open to talks but won’t scrap carbon tax
AP
Europe is willing to discuss its new carbon emissions tax for airlines with disgruntled governments but has no plans to scrap the levy, top EU officials said Monday.
http://jlne.ws/AqipcZ

China Shale Delay to Boost LNG Imports in Boon for Exxon: Energy
Bloomberg
China’s ambitions to unlock the natural gas trapped in shale rocks are likely to take longer than planned, boosting the nation’s reliance on overseas suppliers from Exxon Mobil Corp. to Royal Dutch Shell Plc.
http://jlne.ws/xz63E0 

Norway’s Statkraft bucks trend by expanding CO2 desk
Point Carbon
Norwegian utility Statkraft has added two staff to its carbon desk in the past two months, bucking a downsizing trend triggered by plunging carbon prices and waning confidence about the market’s future.
http://jlne.ws/wIj5v0 

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

Deutsche Boerse Raises Dividend, Adds To Share Buyback 
By Ulrike Dauer Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
FRANKFURT (Dow Jones)–German exchange operator Deutsche Boerse AG late Monday raised its regular dividend for 2011, added a special dividend and set plans to buy back shares worth up to EUR200 million in the second half of the year.
http://jlne.ws/y2hqdL

Deutsche Boerse Plans Dividend, Buyback After NYSE Deal Fails
BusinessWeek
Deutsche Boerse AG, blocked from buying NYSE Euronext by European competition regulators this month, pledged to return capital to shareholders after posting a fourth-quarter profit.
http://jlne.ws/wwmbBb

Deutsche Boerse AG Releases Preliminary Results For 2011
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/w2EEg4

ISE Introduces Premium Access Connectivity
New York, February 13, 2012 – The International Securities Exchange (ISE) is now offering a Premium Access connection in its primary data center. Premium Access subscribers will connect to ISE over Juniper Networks’ high performance, ultra-low latency 10 gigabit Ethernet switches.
http://jlne.ws/wzA8Vp

Steffen Köhler appointed as New Member of the EEX Board
Press Release
In its meeting last Friday, the Supervisory Board of the European Energy Exchange (EEX) appointed Mr. Steffen Köhler as a new member of the Management Board of EEX AG.
http://jlne.ws/zyxtpO

Supervisory Board Of Deutsche Boerse AG Extends Executive Board Contract With Gregor Pottmeyer
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/yskfgB

CME Group Clearing Advisory
Additions to the FIXML Product Reference File for OTC FX Forwards
http://jlne.ws/xFlOnZ

[SIX] Investigation against Bergbahnen Engelberg-Trübsee-Titlis AG
SIX Exchange Regulation initiates an investigation against Bergbahnen Engelberg-Trübsee-Titlis AG on the grounds of possible breaches of the rules governing the disclosure of management transactions.
http://jlne.ws/xxDPGw

Toronto Stock Exchange, TSX Venture Exchange, Montreal Exchange and TMX Select Closed for Family Day
http://jlne.ws/zGeZJB

SIFMA Market Close Recommendation For Presidents’ Day Holiday In The US, UK And Japanese Markets
http://jlne.ws/wMRJ5G

Direct Edge Trading Notice #12-08: Market Holiday Reminder – President’s Day
http://jlne.ws/xjnpQ7

BM&FBOVESPA Announces Market Makers For Options On Stocks Of PDGR3, CSNA3 And CYRE3
http://jlne.ws/zgZOVF

Kansas City Board Of Trade: Presidents’ Day Trading Hours – Schedule For Days Surrounding The Presidents’ Day Holiday
http://jlne.ws/wSFltA

Banks, Brokers & Dark Pools

Instinet Named Best Overall Broker-Dealer
Press Release
NEW YORK – February 13, 2012 – Instinet Incorporated, a global leader in electronic trading and agency-only brokerage services, today announced that its US brokerage subsidiary, Instinet, LLC, has been named “Best Overall Broker-Dealer” in Wall Street Letter’s Institutional Trading Awards. Voted on by a panel of independent judges, the WSL awards recognize excellence and innovation among providers to the institutional trading community.
http://jlne.ws/yRezm3

Interdealer-brokers fight to be heard
Michelle Price – Financial News
Europe’s interdealer-broker community is squaring up for what is fast becoming a significant scrap over new rules that could determine the future of voice trading in Europe.
http://jlne.ws/zOYnq2

Leverage cap has the power to reshape banking
By Brooke Masters – Financial Times
In the real world, leverage means power over someone or something. In banking, it stands for the ability to support a wide variety of lending and investment activities using only a relatively small amount of capital.
http://jlne.ws/zNjSq3

Goldman Sachs Ends Hana Investment With $331 Million Sale
BusinessWeek
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. sold its entire 3.9 percent stake in Hana Financial Group Inc. for 372 billion won ($331 million), exiting its seven-year investment in the South Korean bank.
http://jlne.ws/xaX4mj

Top Goldman dealmaker to retire
Reuters via Yahoo! News
(Reuters) – Goldman Sachs Group said on Monday that George Mattson, a co-head of the firm’s global industrials group, will retire after an 18-year career at the investment bank. Mattson will be succeeded in that role by Dusty Philip, who was named co-head of mergers and acquisitions in the Americas last year, Goldman announced in a series of internal memos reviewed by Reuters.
http://jlne.ws/Atd8QF

Deutsche Bank Names Binky Chadha Chief Global Strategist and Hires David Bianco as Chief US Equity Strategist
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
Deutsche Bank today announced that Binky Chadha has been named Chief Global Strategist. In his new role, he reports to David Folkerts-Landau, Global Head of Research. In this newly created position, he will publish in-depth views on key issues across asset classes and regions and look at strategic and tactical opportunities.
http://jlne.ws/zKZ75d

Deutsche Bank Said to Settle Kirch Case for About $1 Billion
BusinessWeek
Deutsche Bank AG and the heirs of media entrepreneur Leo Kirch are close to settling a 10-year-old dispute for about 800 million euros ($1 billion), according to a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations.
http://jlne.ws/zKR2GQ

Swedbank to Cut Costs as Profit Dips
BY GUSTAV SANDSTROM – WSJ
STOCKHOLM—Swedish bank Swedbank AB Tuesday said it will focus on cost efficiency to tackle global economic uncertainty as it posted falling net profit from a year earlier.
http://jlne.ws/y60aot

State Street Global Markets Intends To Join LCH.Clearnet’s SwapClear Service
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/z5UN9I

Direct Edge Introduces EdgeBook Cloud, A New Historical Trade And Quote Data Service
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/xVRUkD

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/2012/dig021412.htm

Confusion Over Exchanges
By Ulrike Dauer – Dow Jones
Just a week after Brussels ruled that exchange-traded derivatives don’t compete with their over-the-counter cousins, lawmakers reached a ground-breaking pact that will mush them all together. Confused?
http://jlne.ws/xCZ51C

Renewed User Fee Proposal For CFTC Budget Boost
By Andrew Ackerman, Dow Jones Newswires
WASHINGTON — The Obama administration’s fiscal 2013 budget plan renews a user fee proposal on entities policed by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission as a way to boost the CFTC’s funding as it begins to oversee the $600 trillion over-the-counter derivatives market.
http://jlne.ws/AE741q

SEC drops Lonza-Arch insider trading case, for now
Jonathan Stempel | Reuters
(Reuters) – A U.S. market regulator is for now dropping insider trading cases against three Swiss asset managers, despite accusations that two of the defendants improperly thwarted its investigation, including by throwing out a BlackBerry.
http://jlne.ws/wNEijc

NFA Comment Letters
Retail Commodity Transactions Under the Commodity Exchange Act RIN 3038-AD64
http://jlne.ws/AlDDrO

Institutional Investors Call On U.S. Securities And Exchange Commission To Implement Financial Market Reforms
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zBjLNU

SIFMA Offers Ideas To Reorient Proposed Volcker Rule Regulations
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/wkOTBm

Chairman’s Letter, President’s Budget And Performance Plan For Fiscal Year 2013 – CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zGKErE

Statement Of Dissent, FY 2013 President’s Budget And Performance Review – CFTC Commissioner Scott D. O’Malia
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zSNoIE

Allen & Overy Submits Comments On Behalf Of Non-U.S. Banks Challenging Volcker Rule
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/A3ch7G

SIFMA Urges Rule 621 Framework Not Impair Recovery Of Securitization Markets
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/AyaVZP

“Heart Of The Matter: Resources” – Statement Of CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton On The Administrations FY 2013 Budget
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/xZxuZq

[SEC] Proposed FY13 SEC Budget Information
http://jlne.ws/x3lyBD

Director Of L.A. Office Rosalind Tyson To Retire After 30 Years Of SEC Service
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/wK2wbN

ESMA Extends The Deadline For The Consultation On The Considerations Of Materiality In Financial Reporting
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/xKpqFG

[ASIC] Online searching unavailable Tuesday night, 14 February.
http://jlne.ws/9QReML

[ASIC] Self-managed super adviser faces criminal charges following ASIC investigation
http://jlne.ws/wPShvD

Improving consumer and investor confidence: A speech by Peter Kell, Commissioner, ASIC, delivered to the Association of Superannuation Funds of Australia (ASFA) NSW February Luncheon Briefing, 14 February 2012
http://jlne.ws/xCY2ww

ASIC releases guidance on advertising
http://jlne.ws/w1uKGE

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

SEC May Speed ETF Approvals
ETF Trends via Yahoo! Finance
The Securities and Exchange Commission may be getting closer to giving the green light to many exchange traded funds awaiting regulatory approval after recently hiring an attorney who previously worked for leveraged and inverse ETF provider ProShares , according to a report Monday.
http://jlne.ws/AverKI

Dow Jones Introduces News Analytics to Institutional Trading Community
Press Release
NEW YORK, Feb. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Dow Jones today introduced News Analytics, a series of product solutions to help traders, quantitative analysts and risk managers build better, more predictable trading models based on news sentiment. News sentiment analytics quantify the impact of market-moving news, in real time or coupled with historical news models.
http://jlne.ws/wmTWmX

Direxion Launches Managed Futures Strategy Mutual Fund Tied to Next Generation Index
BOSTON, Feb. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Direxion, a leader in alternative investment solutions, has expanded their lineup of “buy and hold” alternative strategies with the launch of the Direxion Indexed Managed Futures Strategy Fund (Ticker: DXMAX). The Fund gives investors a liquid, transparent, and cost-efficient way to invest in managed futures.
http://jlne.ws/xub2wq

Secretive hedge fund legend to surface
CNN Money
FORTUNE — It’s a humbling time for Louis Moore Bacon. The 55-year-old founder of the $15 billion Moore Capital Management — and one of the premier hedge fund investors of the past two decades — just weathered his second down year in the past four after a particularly ragged run in the markets.
http://jlne.ws/x62dPP

Van Eck Plans Momentum Commodities ETF
Nasdaq
New York-based asset manager Van Eck Global filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to bring to market a futures-based multicommodities fund that uses a momentum strategy
http://jlne.ws/w4VtIH

Semerci Quits Duet to Start Boutique EMEA Capital
PR Newswire
LONDON, Feb. 14, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — Former Merril Lynch Banker, Osman Semerci, has stepped down as chief executive of alternative asset manager Duet Group to launch EMEA Capital: A boutique financial advisory firm specializing in investment management and capital markets.
http://jlne.ws/yy0cmI

Northern Trust Strengthens Alternatives Group
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
Northern Trust announced key appointments today to the Northern Trust Alternatives Group, building its capabilities in hedge fund and private equity management for institutional and individual clients.
http://jlne.ws/wrVlCV

The Hartford Mutual Funds’ Board Approves Move Of 11 Fixed Income Funds To Sub-advisor Wellington Management
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
The Hartford Mutual Funds’ board of directors approved moving 11 of its fixed income funds to sub-advisor Wellington Management. The move is part of The Hartford’s previously announced strategy to accelerate growth in the mutual funds business.
http://jlne.ws/wChxOt

Manulife Asset Management Tapped to Manage US$140 Million in Global Fixed Income for Kentucky Retirement Systems
PR Newswire via Yahoo! Finance
http://jlne.ws/wZ7vTM

‘They’ Don’t Move the Market
Smart Money
Hoenig: The belief that savvy speculators can manipulate the markets is flawed. Investors should instead focus on how stocks are moving.
http://jlne.ws/zj0Gp3

Robusta coffee wrongfoots speculators
By Emiko Terazono – Financial Times
Robusta coffee has risen more than 10 per cent over the past four trading days to a five-month high, leaving speculators who had bet the market would fall scrambling to cover bearish positions.
http://jlne.ws/z0hTlG

Technology News

SunGard Enhances Trading Execution Services with the Addition of its Fox River Technology
SunGard has enhanced its execution services with the addition of its Fox River Execution Solutions to help improve execution quality, minimize information leakage and decrease overall execution costs.
http://jlne.ws/xXIg0h

SunGard Launches Trade Approval Mobile Application for SGN Short-Term Cash Management Portal
SunGard has added a mobile trade authorization capability to the SunGard Global Network (SGN) Short-Term Cash Management portal.
http://jlne.ws/wkhTGm

Deutsche Boerse Developing New Business Area – All Data And IT-Related Activities Pooled Management Change In IT
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zshYHD

MIK Fund Solutions Experiences Record Annual Growth And Expands To The West Coast
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/yUVXEl

Futures Industry Association Goes Live with Association Anywhere, SaaS Association Management Software (AMS) from ACGI …
PRWeb via Yahoo! News
FIA’s New AMS Unlocks Value of Member Data, Helping Washington DC-Based Global Trade Organization Streamline Operations and Boost Member Satisfaction
http://jlne.ws/ABqa3r

Finland’s Sp-Fund Management Selects Charles River IMS to Support New In-House Asset Management Operations
Business Wire
http://jlne.ws/xxkrSM

OnX Announces Leadership Role in Technology Consortium Focused on Accelerating FIX Protocol Messaging for High Performance Trading
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
http://jlne.ws/wT2OGX

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

Newedge Joins Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange As Latest Broking And Clearing Member – Membership Addition To Significantly Boost Exchange Liquidity
Press Release
The Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange (HKMEx) announces today a major milestone with the addition of Newedge, one of the world’s largest futures brokerages, to its roster of members.
http://jlne.ws/zKrlOt

Instinet Records Significant Asian Liquidity Growth in 2011
HONG KONG – February 14, 2012 – Instinet Incorporated, a global leader in electronic trading and agency-only brokerage services, today announced that the alternative liquidity pools operated by its brokerage subsidiaries in the Asia-Pacific region experienced considerable growth in 2011. Instinet’s BLX Hong Kong grew 591%, CBX Hong Kong more than 350% and CBX Japan nearly 225% throughout the year
http://jlne.ws/wzF45s

Singapore Proposed Derivatives Rules Offer Flexibility Vs US, Europe Ones
Dow Jones
SINGAPORE (Dow Jones)–Singapore Monday proposed new rules for financial derivatives that, while somewhat less rigid than those put forth in the U.S. and Europe, will nonetheless impose a raft of new requirements on the banks that deal in more sophisticated financial products.
http://jlne.ws/xP3VAc

Chinese Regulator Reviewing E Fund’s Application for H-Share ETF
BusinessWeek
The China Securities Regulatory Commission is vetting an application from E Fund Management Co. to start the mainland’s first exchange-traded fund tracking the Hong Kong-listed shares of Chinese companies.
http://jlne.ws/wHPzhV

Osaka Securities Exchange: Operational Status Of The Derivatives Trading System
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/w5HHpv

HKEx Announces Market Makers, Margin Rates And Information Vendors’ Access Codes For HSI Volatility Index Futures
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/w78J83

HKEx Launches Founding Members Programme For Hosting Ecosystem At Next Generation Data Centre
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/wI2o6D

Monetary Authority Of Singapore Reviews Regulation Of The Derivatives Market In Singapore
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zS15Nv

Frontier Markets

Kuwait central bank governor resigns
By Tom Gara in Abu Dhabi and Camilla Hall in London – Financial Times
Kuwait’s long-serving central bank governor resigned on Monday, ending his 25-year run at the lender with sharp criticism of what he said were “unprecedented” increases in government spending.
http://jlne.ws/xR9tV3

Notification 1: Bursa Malaysia’s Website Target Of Distributed Denial Of Service
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/wY2dJz

NASDAQ Dubai Monthly Trading Report: January 2012
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/y63mjl

Miscellaneous News

Wall Street’s Reputation Still Falling
By KEVIN ROOSE
More than three years after the financial crisis, Wall Street banks are still in the doghouse. In a survey intended to track the reputations of leading companies, only 17 percent of respondents had a positive impression of the financial services industry, according to Harris Interactive, a consulting firm.
http://jlne.ws/xzziZo

Where’s the Boss? He’s in a Meeting
By RACHEL EMMA SILVERMAN – WSJ
What do chief executives do all day? It really is what it seems: They spend about a third of their work time in meetings. In one sample of 65 CEOs, executives spent roughly 18 hours of a 55-hour workweek in meetings, more than three hours on calls and five hours in business meals, on average.
http://jlne.ws/xkbeo9

Bart Mallon is a partner and co-founder of Cole-Frieman & Mallon, a San-Francisco-based law firm specializing in hedge fund and alternative investment legal services. His areas of specialization include setting up offshore hedge funds and separately managed structured accounts, compliance and registration issues. Mallon is also the author of the Hedge Fund Law blog. John Lothian News Editor-in-Chief Jim Kharouf spoke with Mallon about managed futures mutual funds, CFTC Regulation 4.5, the Volcker Rule and other compliance issues related to managed futures.

Observations – Statistics – Commentary

John Lothian News Personnel Changes
by John J. Lothian

I am pleased to announce the following promotions and role changes at John Lothian News.

Nicole V. Rohr and Jon Matte are assuming new roles for John Lothian News. Nicole, a 2010 graduate from the masters program at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, has been promoted to editor and producer and editor of JLN Metals. As the new editor of JLN Metals, she replaces Alan DiNovo who left the firm.

Jon Matte will take on the role of editor of JLN FX. Matte is currently John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. chief operating officer and associate editor of the flagship John Lothian Newsletter. Jon, a former Commodity Trading Advisor and futures broker, will be assisted by JLN Editor at Large Doug Ashburn and Contributing Editor Jeff Bergstrom.

Jeff, who holds a journalism degree from Drake University, also serves as Chief Information Officer for the company. He will also continue to contribute to JLN Options and now JLN Metals as well.

Nicole’s role at the company continues to progress and develop. She was hired as an intern in 2011 to help Doug Ashburn develop MarketsReformWiki and has become involved in nearly all aspects of John Lothian News, including video production and editing, MarketsWiki editing and enterprise reporting for the John Lothian Newsletter.

Jon, who developed a currency trading model that I acquired when I bought his CTA business back in 2004, is a MarketsWiki co-founder.

We all thank Alan DiNovo for his contributions to John Lothian News over the last year and wish him well.

Also, JLN Metals is now freely available for any firm or exchange to become a sponsor. We previously had an exclusive sponsorship deal with NYSE Liffe US. The exclusive portion of that deal ended at the end of January. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor of JLN Metals, or any of our publications or websites, please contact me at johnlothian@johnlothian.com.

++++

Introducing John Lothian Productions

John J. Lothian & Company, Inc. is pleased to introduce a new division of the company focused on custom video production work. John Lothian Productions is now in operation producing custom videos and seeking new clients for this service.

After the introduction of MarketsWiki.tv from John Lothian News in May of 2011 and the successful run of the MarketsWiki Questions: Exploring Financial Technologies series, we were approached by several clients and sponsors to shoot, edit and produce custom videos for them. John Lothian Productions was created for this express interest, and is separate from our news organization.

Additionally, with dedicated video facilities in our new offices in the Chicago Board of Trade Building, we now have the studio at the ready to shoot video for John Lothian News or John Lothian Productions.

One of our first offerings aimed at Brokerages, Commodity Trading Advisors and others is video profiles. We believe the customer experience for brokers and CTAs would be enhanced by them having online video profiles to share with clients.

As an example of this new service, we shot a video profile of our own Jim Kharouf. Jim is president of John Lothian News and its Editor in Chief. He sat down in our new studio with our head of video production Patrick Lothian and JLN Editor and Producer Nicole V. Rohr for this profile: http://blip.tv/johnlothianproductions/jln-profile-of-jim-kharouf-5920929.

If you are interested in this new service, please contact me at johnlothian@johnlothian.com.

++++

Analysis: CME Group prepares to slim super-sized board
By Ann Saphir and Tom Polansek – Reuters
CME Group Inc‘s super-sized board of directors is about to go on a diet, but the results are going to take a while to show.
http://jlne.ws/xw5IO9

**** Jenny Craig here we come.

++++

Quick View: A NYSE-LCH alliance?
By Jeremy Grant – Financial Times
Duncan Niederauer says he did have a Plan B all along. The chief executive of NYSE Euronext revealed on Friday that a team led by Larry Leibowitz, chief operating officer, had been working on a range of initiatives that could be sprung into life if the Deutsche Börse deal failed.
http://jlne.ws/wjr5Ze

**** First there was plan DB, then Plan B.

++++

MF Global: It’s Not Over Until It’s Over
Francine McKenna – Forbes
Despite several reports over the last few weeks to the contrary, I don’t believe the missing client assets at MF Global have “vaporized” nor do I believe the trail to the truth – and civil or criminal prosecutions – has gone cold. What has disappeared is any will on the part of regulators and prosecutors to act on the information staring them in the face.
http://jlne.ws/x8kJ0v

**** They need a pair of vegetables, to quote “Red Solo Cup.”

++++

FIA January 2012 US/December 2011
International Monthly Volume and Open Interest Reports
http://jlne.ws/as3iYF

++++

Liquidnet Europe Appoints Exchange Leader Patrick Young As Non-Executive Director
Press Release
Liquidnet, the global institutional trading network, today announced the appointment of Patrick Young as Non-Executive Director of Liquidnet Europe. In this role, he will provide strategic counsel to Liquidnet as it continues to expand its business across the region and further expand its exchange partnership strategy globally.
http://jlne.ws/wATctv

**** Patrick Young is a one-man capital markets revolution.

++++

David Nuelle of Hun Investments to HTG Capital Partners
David Nuelle and the entire domestic options trading division of Hun Investments has joined HTG Capital Partners. As part of the transaction, Hun has made an investment in HTG. David can be reached at DNuelle@htgcap.com.

++++

Making Shareholders Liable for Big Banks – Economic View
New York Times
Expanding the liability of shareholders in financial institutions now deemed “too big to fail” may be a better solution than splitting up the companies.
http://jlne.ws/wlas59

++++

SEC Said to Look at Smaller Firms in Review of Private Equity Valuations
By Joshua Gallu and Cristina Alesci – Bloomberg
The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s review of how private equity firms value assets and market their funds is so far looking at mainly smaller firms, omitting some of the industry’s largest, publicly traded companies, said a person familiar with the inquiry.
http://jlne.ws/wfU3HB

++++

#FedValentines
By BINYAMIN APPELBAUM – NY Times
It would appear that even economists can’t resist the lure of Valentine’s Day. The Twitterverse has been sparkling for several hours now with #FedValentines, love notes written in the language of central banking. And for once, it would appear that the rest of the world can’t resist the lure of economics: The topic is among the most popular subjects of conversation on Twitter right now.
http://jlne.ws/yd6Pba

++++

Time for Cash to Cash Out?
By DAVID WOLMAN – WSJ
There are no atheists in the modern economy. You may not have God or Buddha in your life, but you very much have faith—in money. I don’t mean that you worship money in the greed-is-good sense. No, you have faith in its value. Your trust in it depends on everyone else’s, which means that our faith in money’s value is really about trust in each other—a belief in shared purpose, or at least a shared hallucination.
http://jlne.ws/yT7N7K

**** I like cash.

++++

MarketsWiki Page of the Day
China Financial Futures Exchange (CFFEX)
http://jlne.ws/x5v9A6

++++

MarketsWiki Recent Updates

People

Nicole V. Rohr; Jeffrey Bergstrom; Jonathan Matte; Paul Stephens; John Dempsey; Eric Frait; Max Colas

Companies, Organizations and Groups

China Financial Futures Exchange; Catalys

Products

MarketsWiki.tv; MarketsReformWiki.com; John Lothian Newsletter; Environmental Markets Newsletter; JLN Metals; JLN Interest Rates; JLN Options; JLN Managed Futures

Miscellaneous

The History of MarketsWiki; Upcoming Events

Statistics

19,364,450 pages viewed, 6,695 articles, 136,992 edits
MarketsWiki Statistics
_______________________________________________________

Lead Stories

Opposition to Japanese Bourses Tie-Up Mounts
By Ben McLannahan in Tokyo – Financial Times
Investors in the Osaka Securities Exchange are challenging management to push for better merger terms from the Tokyo Stock Exchange, in a rare outbreak of shareholder activism in Japan.
http://jlne.ws/A1CGvD

NYSE sets ‘full service’ clearing house for London
By Telis Demos in New York and Philip Stafford and Jeremy Grant in London – Financial Times
NYSE Euronext has pledged to make building up a “full service” clearing house in London a priority as the US-exchange operator sought to draw a line under its failed tie-up with Deutsche Börse.
http://jlne.ws/y4MEp9

MF Global Trustee Sees $1.6 Billion Customer Shortfall
By BEN PROTESS – NY Times
MF Global commodity customers whose cash vanished when the firm collapsed last year are owed $1.6 billion — up significantly from previous estimates — the trustee tasked with recovering the money said on Friday. The revised figure reflects growing concerns that the trustee will not be able to claw back $700 million in customer money trapped overseas.
http://jlne.ws/zuTgfI

Superfast trading heads to Malaysia
By Jeremy Grant in London – Financial Times
Malaysia is set to let high-frequency traders into its share markets after the country’s main exchange, Bursa Malaysia, said it was preparing to allow the ultra-fast style of dealing later this year. The move is a sign that high-frequency trading, which uses computers to trade in and out of shares and other asset classes at the blink of an eye, is spreading to equity markets in Asia.
http://jlne.ws/w9Vcdd

LCH.Clearnet/LSE talks near endgame
By Jeremy Grant in London – Financial Times
LCH.Clearnet is expected to make an announcement “shortly” on months of talks with the London Stock Exchange that could see the UK bourse taking a controlling stake, the Anglo-French clearing house’s chief executive said on Friday.
http://jlne.ws/A9mkQR

LCH.Clearnet Exclusive Discussions
Press Release
LCH.Clearnet Group Limited confirms that it continues to be in exclusive discussions with London Stock Exchange Group plc regarding a possible transaction. There can be no certainty that the discussions will result in any transaction.
http://jlne.ws/zBii07

Greek Parliament Passes Austerity Plan as Riots Rage
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
ATHENS — After violent protests left dozens of buildings aflame in Athens, the Greek Parliament voted early on Monday to approve a package of harsh austerity measures demanded by the country’s foreign lenders in exchange for new loans to keep Greece from defaulting on its debt.
http://jlne.ws/yO8oER

China says Europe debt crisis is now ‘critical’
AFP via Yahoo! News
Europe’s debt crisis has reached a “critical juncture”, Beijing said on Monday, a day ahead of talks between Chinese leaders and European Union officials.
http://jlne.ws/zZjahn

Bankers arrested in UK tax fraud probe
By Daniel Schäfer in London – Financial Times
Tax authorities have arrested a number of investment bankers at Royal Bank of Scotland and other banks in an inquiry into alleged fraud.
http://jlne.ws/xZe6wd

Draghi’s $158 Billion Free Lunch to Boost European Bank Profits
BusinessWeek
Banks are benefiting from a European Central Bank subsidy that could reach 120 billion euros ($158 billion), enough to pay every bonus at financial firms in London for the next 24 years at today’s levels.
http://jlne.ws/wyqiAR

Georges Ugeux: Is the European Central Bank Playing With Fire?
The Huffington Post
Never in the history has so much money been poured in the direction of banks, most of which don’t need it. It is becoming clear that European banks will use it, not to boost the economy, but to manage their balance sheet.
http://jlne.ws/xPlE3l

Environmental Trading News

Japan Adds to Supply of Kyoto CO2 Offsets Faster Than AAUs
Bloomberg
Japan last year added to its stockpile of United Nations emission offsets at a faster pace than Assigned Amount Units, suggesting the nation or its emitters have not started swapping the credits for cheaper AAUs.
http://jlne.ws/zJxdpU

26 countries jointly boycott EU ‘carbon tax’
China’s People’s Daily Overseas Edition
According to a report, 26 countries, including China, the United States, Russia and India, will hold a meeting in Moscow on Feb. 21 to discuss about dealing with the European Union’s unilateral Aviation Carbon Emission Trading System.
http://jlne.ws/zbDdt2

A Carbon Allowance in Every Pot
The New York Times
Imagine carbon allowances as a playground commodity, like the marbles and baseball cards of earlier generations.That’s a subset of an idea from Ian Gough, a researcher at the London School of Economics.
http://jlne.ws/xZhPPk

THE REPORT:
By Ian Gough for the UN Research Institute for Social Development
http://jlne.ws/AxpGY1

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

NYSE Outlines Growth Path After Failed Merger Effort
By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
The top executive of NYSE Euronext (NYX) on Friday sought to play down near-term threats to the exchange company’s business and direct investors’ attention toward renewed growth plans, on the heels of the Big Board’s scuttled merger plan with Deutsche Boerse AG (DB1.XE, DBOEF).
http://jlne.ws/vZFD7g

NYSE Sees More Dealmaking In Standalone Strategy
By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
The top executive of NYSE Euronext said Friday further dealmaking remains on the table as the Big Board parent looks to bulk up technology and trading services in the wake of its scuttled merger with Deutsche Boerse AG.
http://jlne.ws/wlSa5I

ICE’s Sprecher: Global Exchange Deals Can Still Be Done
By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
The top executive of IntercontinentalExchange Inc. (ICE) said that it was still possible for exchange companies to do major cross-border mergers, though satisfying a myriad of constituencies in the process has proven extremely tricky.
http://jlne.ws/AfTwot

NYSE Euronext Has Contingency Plan For Euro Breakup–CFO
By Jacob Bunge Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NYSE Euronext (NYX) has drawn up contingency plans for its European markets in the event of an upheaval in the euro currency, a senior executive said Friday. The Big Board parent isn’t preparing for an imminent dissolution of the 17-nation currency regime, but has in place steps that could be taken to migrate business in products that are tied to the euro.
http://jlne.ws/zTIMKB

Expansion of the German equity option product suite
Eurex: The international derivatives market Eurex Exchange introduced new equity options on 17 shares last Friday, 10 February 2012. 14 of the new options are based on shares which belong to the German mid-cap index MDAX.
http://jlne.ws/xS0hyt

NASDAQ OMX to Deliver OTC Clearing and Risk-Management System to Poland’s Leading Clearing House
STOCKHOLM, Sweden, Feb. 13, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced that it has been selected to deliver a risk management solution to KDPW_CCP, Poland’s primary securities clearing house and CCP (Central Counterparty).
http://jlne.ws/xFuzpS

MICEX-RTS Stock Exchange Launches A Futures Contract On RDRs On United Company RUSAL Plc Stocks
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/xSulTA

London Stock Exchange Announces RNS Customer Consultation Process
Press Release
London Stock Exchange today announces that it has begun a detailed customer consultation process in respect of its Regulatory News Service, RNS.
http://jlne.ws/ytTGAs

LCH.Clearnet to gain from market reforms
By Jeremy Grant – Financial Times
Ask Ian Axe about the business he inherited last year and he answers with a biblical reference. “It was a bit of a Noah’s Ark. There were two of everything,” says the chief executive of LCH.Clearnet, the London-based clearing house.
http://jlne.ws/xmJ8Iy

LCH.Clearnet Group Limited Results 2011
http://jlne.ws/yMy4os

Chicago Stock Exchange gets broader post-MF Global powers
Crain’s Chicago Business
(Crain’s) -Spurred by the MF Global debacle, the Securities and Exchange Commission has given the exchange more authority to suspend a firm’s trading privileges immediately.
http://jlne.ws/wwifxa

NZX Salutes Lloyd Morrison
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/wyXhBN

January 2012 FIF Market Share And Market Dynamics Reports – Executive Summary
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/wm6Y1Z

Burgundy Monthly Report January 2012
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/wVzFy0

TOM MTF Statistics Week 6, 2012
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/A2B6wY

[CBOE] Trader E-News
http://jlne.ws/w242Cz

Thomson Reuters Global Equities Monthly Market Share Data Updated To Reflect December 2011 Activity
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/wLteIl

Banks, Brokers & Dark Pools

Penson Worldwide, Inc. Appoints Robert S. Basso as Independent Director
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
The Board of Directors of Penson Worldwide, Inc. announced the appointment of Robert S. Basso, 66, a highly experienced securities industry executive with extensive knowledge of the clearing business, as an independent Director effective February 9, 2012.
http://jlne.ws/xKiotl

DealBook: Senior Goldman Executive Is Said to Be Set to Retire
New York Times
George N. Mattson, a partner and a top producer for the company is set to retire, according to people briefed on the matter, joining a growing number of high-level executives who have left the bank.
http://jlne.ws/yPgYyU

UBS Announces the Retirement of Senator Phil Gramm as Vice Chairman of the Investment Bank
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
UBS today announced that Senator Phil Gramm has retired from the bank but will continue to support the bank as a consultant.
http://jlne.ws/yx1qYB

The Deal Is Done, but Hold the Applause
By GRETCHEN MORGENSON – NY Times
FIVE big banks finally reached a deal with government authorities last week over dubious mortgage practices and foreclosure abuses.
http://jlne.ws/xjQFPo

RBS Said to Dismiss Bankers as Libor Probe Expands to Brokers
BusinessWeek
Royal Bank of Scotland Group Plc, the U.K.’s largest government-owned lender, dismissed at least four employees in connection with a probe of potential interest- rate manipulation, two people briefed on the move said.
http://jlne.ws/zZ9lNh

Australia’s ANZ bank to slash 1,000 jobs
AFP via Yahoo! News
ANZ Bank Monday said it will slash some 1,000 jobs in response to a tougher global environment as profits are squeezed by higher funding costs and lower demand for financial services.
http://jlne.ws/wTkydq

Goldman Sachs To Raise Up To $334 Million From Sale Of 9.5 Million Shares In Korea’s Hana Financial
Dow Jones
Goldman Sachs Group Inc (GS) is selling 9.5 million shares in Hana Financial Group (086790.SE) in a block trade that could raise between KRW368 billion and KRW375 billion ($328 million-$334 million), according to a term sheet seen by Dow Jones Newswires.
http://jlne.ws/ywdzTN

UBS Denies Helping U.S. in Tax Probes of Other Banks
Accounting Today
Swiss bank UBS sought to distance itself from a U.S. investigation of rival Swiss private banks on Thursday, saying that it did not hand over data on rival banks directly to U.S. officials when it settled a U.S. crackdown on taxpayers holding secret offshore accounts two years ago.
http://jlne.ws/Awem7Z

Deutsche Bank Says Strauss Named Head of Global Communications
BusinessWeek
Deutsche Bank AG said Thorsten Strauss, 44, will join Germany’s biggest bank March 1 and succeed Stefan Baron as global head of communications from June.
http://jlne.ws/zq5NCv

Deutsche Suspends Creations On 7 ETNs
Nasdaq
Deutsche Bank, the sponsor behind PowerShares DB exchange-traded products, is suspending creations, effective immediately, on seven futures-based commodity ETNs in that product family that together have more than $40 million in assets in part to stay ahead of potential problems related to changing position-limit regulations.
http://jlne.ws/xXm2ZE

E*TRADE Financial Appoints Rodger A. Lawson and Rebecca Saeger to Board of Directors
Business Wire via Yahoo! Finance
E*TRADE Financial Corporation today announced Rodger A. Lawson and Rebecca Saeger have been appointed to the Company’s Board of Directors effective February 10, 2012.
http://jlne.ws/z5R5nB

Stephen Hester deserves a bonus for good language
By Lucy Kellaway – Financial Times
Last Monday, after writing a column about a ludicrous ethical statement printed on the back of a menu in the UBS client dining room, I got a message from a reader complaining that it is too easy to mock such hyperbole and disingenuity from bankers. Why didn’t I ever write an article analysing a great piece of communication instead?
http://jlne.ws/z6TJR2

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/2012/dig021312.htm

Private Equity Industry Attracts S.E.C. Scrutiny
By PETER LATTMAN – NY Times
In recent years, the private equity industry has escaped much of the regulatory scrutiny that has been directed toward hedge funds and Wall Street banks. But that appears to be changing.
http://jlne.ws/yaPSor

Review Of EU Financial Markets Legislation Has A Significant Impact On Data Protection
Press Release
The European Data Protection Supervisor (EDPS) today published a package of four opinions on Commission proposals for the reform of the financial sector in the EU. The four proposals all concern monitoring of financial data, which has a significant impact on the fundamental right to protection of personal data.
http://jlne.ws/AsS8KN

High-Frequency Traders May Win EU Reprieve
BusinessWeek
The European Parliament may scrap European Commission plans to avert flash crashes by forcing firms that trade with algorithms to continue trading all day
http://jlne.ws/xe4X8b

A brighter view of banking under Volcker
By Tracy Alloway in New York – Financial Times
Some 1,400 questions. A total of 298 pages. One proposal. Monday is the deadline for financial market participants to submit final responses to the Volcker rule, the eponymous legislation aimed at banning speculative trading at commercial banks. The authorities can expect a deluge of feedback.
http://jlne.ws/zX8ALM

U.S. Is Asked to Review Bankruptcy Bonuses
BY MIKE SPECTOR AND TOM MCGINTY – WSJ
The top Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee asked Attorney General Eric Holder to examine the Justice Department’s efforts to enforce a law limiting executive pay in certain bankruptcy cases.
http://jlne.ws/zwxNG2

Obama seeks $308 million budget for CFTC
By Christopher Doering | Reuters
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The White House will propose a budget for the U.S. futures regulator of $308 million for fiscal year 2013, a funding increase to help the agency implement new financial reforms and investigate the collapse of MF Global, according to an official with knowledge of document.
http://jlne.ws/yyGxsV

For SEC, investigating insider trading in Congress presents complications
Washington Post
Financial regulators have built an elaborate computer apparatus to scan stock markets for signs of insider trading , but the radar isn’t pointed at Congress. Instead, it is designed to detect more conventional forms of insider trading – a corporate lawyer acting on advance word of a merger or an accountant leaking details about a company’s earnings . A senator who calls his broker after …
http://jlne.ws/ymmEgN

Louis Freeh, Ex-FBI Chief, Taps Old Skills in New Job
BY DEVLIN BARRETT – WSJ
Louis Freeh is a big name who likes to keep his business small. After eight years as director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Mr. Freeh now runs his own investigative firm and law practice, Freeh Group International Solutions LLC.
http://jlne.ws/zZZzof

SEC Charges California Hedge Fund Manager Connected to Galleon Insider Trading Case
Washington, D.C., Feb. 10, 2012 — The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a hedge fund manager and his Menlo Park, Calif.-based firm for their involvement in the insider trading ring connected to Raj Rajaratnam and hedge fund advisory firm Galleon Management.
http://jlne.ws/zVF9YX

The AMF updates the list of unauthorised websites offering binary options trading
http://jlne.ws/wPuu0D

CSA publishes findings and recommendations for the segregation and portability of customer positions and related collateral in over-the-counter derivatives clearing [CSA]
http://jlne.ws/y00zfw

Investments – Indexes – Managed Futures – Managed Funds

‘Co-Co’ Debt Finds Favor in Euro Zone
BY SARA SCHAEFER MUÑOZ AND PATRICIA KOWSMANN – WSJ
A new breed of bank debt that turns into equity if a lender hits trouble is becoming the instrument of choice for some Southern European governments as they prop up their ailing banks.
http://jlne.ws/zIttxq

Hedge Fund Manager Charged With Insider Trading
International Business Times
A California-based hedge fund manager surrendered to FBI agents on insider-trading charges on Friday, the latest in a series of cases brought by the U.S. government in recent years against money managers and traders.
http://jlne.ws/zID1Y7

How Listening To Warren Buffett Can Be Dangerous For Your Portfolio
John Hempton, Bronte Capital – Business Insider
Warren Buffett recently wrote an article in Fortune (a cut from his forthcoming shareholder letter) which explains why he prefers owning businesses (either outright or through the stock market) than owning currency based investments (bonds, cash) or gold.
http://jlne.ws/ycI0ev

Crisis in Japan Transforms Global Natural-Gas Market
BY MARI IWATA AND PETER LANDERS – WSJ
Just as the U.S. is preparing to crank up sales of its vast natural-gas supplies abroad, the global market is being reshaped by Japan—which is suddenly retreating from nuclear power after last year’s earthquake.
http://jlne.ws/wxmDEb

Texas Drought Expected to Hit Cotton Production
BY LESLIE JOSEPHS – WSJ
FORT WORTH, Texas—U.S. farmers are expected to plant 13.6 million acres of cotton this spring, down 7.5% from last year amid lower prices for the fiber, while poor weather threatens production, an industry group said.
http://jlne.ws/x17aXJ

Drippy No More
Once viewed as filler for mass-market brands, Brazilian coffee is hot. A look at its sweet and nutty charms
BY KATY MCLAUGHLIN – WSJ
James Freeman, owner of the roaster and Oakland, Calif.-based cafe chain Blue Bottle Coffee Company, just got back from a coffee-buying spree in Brazil. He visited a family-run coffee farm and bought beans he calls “velvety,” “beautiful” and “voluptuous.” He will soon begin selling the coffee for about $20 a pound, the same price as his best Ethiopian beans.
http://jlne.ws/yp45Zq

CalPERS Changes Board Committee Line-Up
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/yR10w5

Standard & Poor’s Announces Changes In The S&P/TSX Canadian Indices
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/yOR0nt

Standard & Poor’s Announces the Semi-Annual Review of the S&P/TSX Venture 30 Index
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/wWA6Dx

MICEX-RTS Indices Weekly Review
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/wBZEPR

Trade Me To Replace Methven Limited In The NZX 50 Index
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/znnE60

Technology News

Notice to attend Orc Group AB’s (publ) Extraordinary General Meeting (1)
The shareholders of Orc Group AB (publ), reg. no. 556313-4583, are hereby invited to attend the Extraordinary General Meeting to be held on Monday 12 March 2012 at 1.00 p.m. (CET) at the offices of Orc Group AB (publ), at Kungsgatan 36, 5th floor, Stockholm, Sweden. Registration will commence at 12.30 p.m. (CET).
http://jlne.ws/xud4RM

MarketPrizm Hires Experienced Industry Executive Jon Yates As Head Of Sales And Marketing As It Continues Its Commercial Expansion In EMEA And APAC
Press Release
MarketPrizm, a leading provider of market data and trading infrastructure services today announced the appointment of Jon Yates as Head of Sales and Marketing.
http://jlne.ws/Am2Y42

Media News

Disruptions: So Many Apologies, So Much Data Mining
By NICK BILTON
Path, the mobile social network, has apologized for mining personal data, but the privacy violation is yet another indication of Silicon Valley’s lack of concern about its protection of customers and their personal data.
http://jlne.ws/ww3sUy

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

Green light for Nomura mainland move
By Paul J Davies in Hong Kong – Financial Times
Nomura has won regulatory approval to take over a finance company from GE Capital’s China business, the first step in the Japanese bank’s attempt to launch banking products into the mainland Chinese market.
http://jlne.ws/y7yABh

MarketPrizm Announces The Launch Of PrizmNet Asia In Q1, 2012 – Pan Asian Ultra Low Latency Trading Infrastructure Service Will Connect Japan, Australia And Singapore Markets Initially
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/wRPXeI

SGX welcomes HSBC as new Member
Singapore Exchange (SGX) said The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited (HSBC) has joined its derivatives market as a Trading and Clearing Member.
http://jlne.ws/wfoV65

First RMB ETF To Debut At HKEx
Press Release
Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) welcomes the pending listing of the first Exchange Traded Fund (ETF) to be traded in RMB on The Stock Exchange of Hong Kong Limited (the Exchange), a wholly-owned subsidiary of HKEx, tomorrow (Tuesday) when Hang Seng Investment Management Limited (HSIM) lists its Hang Seng RMB Gold ETF.
http://jlne.ws/ytcn36

Analysis:China offshore yuan market booms even as yuan bets fade
By Saikat Chatterjee – Reuters
HONG KONG (Reuters) – Three years after China launched its most ambitious experiment yet to give its currency more global clout, some market watchers are writing its epitaph, saying Beijing is not loosening its grip on the yuan fast enough to attract sustained interest.
http://jlne.ws/wExNqI

Jim Rogers or Jim Chanos: which billionaire investor is right about China?
Nasdaq
Jim Rogers says that China will ease itself through rough economic times, much like it did in 2008. Jim Chanos sees the entire Chinese banking system as ready to collapse as it is built
http://jlne.ws/wnr0m4

Hong Kong Mercantile Exchange Surpasses One Million Contract Mark – Exchange Turnover Hits US$50 Billion
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/AuTno5

Hong Kong’s Securities And Futures Commission Concludes Short Position Reporting Rules
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/wFdr2J

Professor Michael Brennan Appointed Monetary Authority Of Singapore Term Professor In Economics And Finance At The National University Of Singapore
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/zPAqsp

Tokyo Commodity Exchange: Good Delivery Material Price Differential For February 2012 Rubber Contract
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/Alg8bz

Frontier Markets

Tehran Stock Exchange Bulletin January 2012
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/ys7rCk

Dubai Gold & Commodities Exchange Weekly Market Commentary – February 12, 2012
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/xOommz

Malawi Stock Exchange Weekly Report – Week Ending 10th February, 2012
Press Release
http://jlne.ws/y2P5hZ

Miscellaneous News

For Once, a Bank Run Is a Good Thing
By KEVIN ROOSE – NY Times
Wall Street bankers are used to living and working in Manhattan skyscrapers. But unless the power goes out, most aren’t used to taking the stairs. On Wednesday night, they did just that as part of the 35th annual Empire State Building Run-Up, a charity event that had more than 600 people racing up the 1,576 stairs of the tallest building in New York in support of a multitude of charities and nonprofit organizations.
http://jlne.ws/yADq6s