From 3:00pm CST outside the CBOT Building:

The City of London starts a working group with banks to help them expand their already-in-motion plans to trade yuan in the city. Startup trading venue Quote MTF plans to provide the ability for traders to decline to participate with specific other parties, to help mitigate the influence of high-frequency activity. In the “Well, we have to do SOMEthing” department, the Obama administration adds their nomination to throw speculators under the oil-price bus. And in a jam-packed top section, you’ll find links from John Lothian on charitable giving; comments and links to oil-speculator-related articles; commentary from Jim Kharouf on the resurgence and potential value of the Occupy Chicago movement; and commentary from Doug Ashburn in yesterday’s JLN FX newsletter, discussing the situation in the eurozone.

By Jim Kharouf

The words from the guy with the microphone were muffled, but he got the crowd of a couple hundred protesters revved up in the mall area next to the Chicago Board of Trade building on Tuesday afternoon with the chant  “Shame on You.”

Among the pictures of Occupy’s “Most Wanted”  was CME chairman Terry Duffy. Who would’ve thought a kid from Chicago who rose through the ranks at CME would become the face for contempt by the 99 percent?

A 76-year-old grandmother from Chicago spoke to me during the rally and said she just paid her taxes on Tuesday and decided to come downtown to voice her support against what she, and virtually everyone else at the event,  deemed the inequity of the U.S. income tax structure.

“I’m seriously considering not paying my taxes next year,” said the slight, grey haired, blue-eyed woman, who would be better fit for a Norman Rockwell Easter dinner scene than a protest. “There should be a movement where we all decide that we don’t want to pay our taxes and see how many people get put in jail.”

By Jim Kharouf

In an elevator in the Chicago Board of Trade Building in Chicago, one guy was speaking with another.

“They ought to take everything he owns, sell it and add that to the money that he stole,” said the guy, referring to former MF Global CEO Jon Corzine. He paused for a moment. “But that’s not gonna happen.”

Bing! The doors opened and that was the end of the conversation.

Ride the elevators at the storied and proud CBOT for a while and you’re likely to hear some version of that conversation again and again. People are mad – no, angry, no – pissed off – yes, very pissed off. Take a step outside the CBOT and you’ll hear a more lively and vocal group of Occupy Chicago protestors, equally outraged – but directed at Wall Street and other assorted targets.

In the “important but unsurprising” department, MF Global appears to have improperly used customer funds for its own trading.  DB-NYSE Euronext confirms that they have submitted a proposal regarding their anticipated merger.  The CFTC’s Bart Chilton declares his support for voice broking with regard to SEF derivative deals, opposite the perspective of CFTC chairman Gary Gensler.  Mexico’s main exchange reveals plans to allow block trading of stocks to compete with dark pools in the U.S.  And underneath the headlines, the usual hum of news regarding European bank woes and the Occupy movement continues. Subscribe to the daily newsletter here.

Police evict Occupy Wall Street protesters from their campsite. Deutsche Börse accuses the LSE of imitating the DB business model, even as the LSE criticizes that strategy. BM&FBOVESPA is in the news for several reasons, from a lack of interest in sharing clearing services with others, to pressing ahead with high-speed technology.  European regulators consider establishing fines for traders who fail to complete deals they begin.  MF Global may have siphoned money away from customers days before declaring bankruptcy. And JLN’s Jonathan Matte, writing in his personal blog, discusses the muddled state of financial regulatory affairs, and a very simplistic change of thinking that could save the day.

Share volume on dark pools have dropped in favor of lit venues.  MF Global reports larger losses, and questions are raised about its recovery strategy and credit worthiness. In Europe, the EU proposes tougher-than-expected valuations on Greek debt, and hand-wringing over recapitalization continues.  Man Group suggests that hedge funds may see increasing redemptions following recent losses.  The Occupy phenomenon continues to occupy the blogosphere, as commentators try to categorize it and make sense of it, and comment-section mavens follow along with their own special brand of wisdom. Plus video interviews with Lauren Teigland-Hunt of Teigland-Hunt LLP and Alice Botis of Fidessa.

The EC’s MiFID II rules received a mixed response from the financial world. Deutsche Börse and NYSE Euronext are given an extra week to give the European Commission additional good reasons to allow the merger to proceed. The EU also outlined plans to revise the power and structure of rating agencies.  In the U.S., more bank quarterly results are in, Occupy Wall Street and bank bonuses lurk just beneath the non-financial blockbuster headlines, and Judge Rakoff gets a chance to make fun of Citigroup and the S.E.C. without admitting or denying a sense of delight. Jessica Titlebaum speaks with Interactive Data 7ticks at the 2011 FIA Expo. 

By John Lothian

Last week I gave a speech at the Chicago Federal Reserve to the publications groups from the various Reserve Banks around the country. The speech was held in the LaSalle Room on the 3rd floor of the Chicago Fed Conference Center. The room faced LaSalle Street and I could hear the Occupy Chicago protestors behind me as I spoke.

In my opening remarks I noted that the Occupy Chicago movement was using some of the oldest communications techniques around, including banging drums, playing horns and marching up and down.  I also noted that a quick look on the web showed them to be using some of the most modern communications tools available, including Twitter, Facebook, LiveStream, blogs, and websites; and that the New York group even had their own paper newspaper, the Occupied Wall Street Journal.