EXCHANGE NEWSWIRE, 2 May 2011
LSE-TMX merger is being opposed by the Council of Canadians. The Council is concerned that the merger may affect Canada’s ability to regulate its financial markets, and that it may ultimately lead to the adoption of UK securities regulations in Canada, according to Garry Neil, executive director of the group.
ICE Clear Europe under investigation by EU antitrust authorities to see whether agreements between the clearinghouse and nine investment banks pose an incentive for banks to route swap trades through ICE Clear, and result in blocking other clearinghouses from entering the market.
ICE received regulatory approval in Brazil to offer access to ICE Futures Europe through ICE’s trading screens in Brazil.
NDAQ will tighten its supervision of reverse-merger companies before agreeing to list their shares amidst SEC scrutiny. NDAQ proposed that reverse-merger companies’ shares will have to maintain a minimum $4 bid price for at least 30 out of the 60 days prior to application to list, and that US-based companies must have filed at least two SEC reports, and foreign issuers at least one covering a six-month period.
SMX CEO Thomas McMahon resigned, possibly due to differences in opinion with its parent company, Financial Technologies Group, although the reason for his departure is not clear.
EQIX reported 1Q 2011 diluted EPS of $0.53 on revenues of $363.0m (+46% y/y) and EBITDA of $167.3m (+43% y/y). EQIX increased 2011 annual revenue guidance to more than $1,525m (up from above $1,500m) and also increased 2011 adjusted EBITDA guidance to greater than $685m (up from more than $675m). The firm guided 2Q 2011 revenues to be within $376m to $378m, with expected cash gross margins of 65%. Adjusted EBITDA is forecasted between $166m and $170m.
Computershare made a US$550m bid for Bank of New York Mellon’s investor services business. This deal may attract regulatory review as BNY Mellon and Computershare are number one and number two respectively in transfer agent services.
Fidessa extended its trading services to Canada on the Platform Equinix, which will be hosted in EQIX’s Toronto TR1 International Business Exchange data center.
GCAP agreed to acquire Deutsche Bank’s retail FX trading business, dbFX, and the terms of the agreement also include the referral of retail FX clients from Deutsche Bank to GCAP over a period of two years after the transaction is closed.
SEC and CFTC were informed by dealers that it could take up to two-and-a-half years to implement the new swaps market regulations, longer than G20’s end-2012 target for derivatives reforms to be operational. SEC and CFTC will hold two days of public meetings in Washington to decide on the timeline for reforms implementation.
EU antitrust authorities are investigating whether Markit Group and 16 investment banks are blocking competitors who distribute swaps price information. The European Commission suspects that the banks are giving raw swaps data only to Markit, which is partly owned by the 16 banks.
CFTC and SEC are considering stricter rules for HFT. SEC is planning fees on traders who practice “quote stuffing”, the act of placing and canceling thousands of orders per second, and CFTC may introduce a new report that will place additional checks on traders, exchanges and clearing firms before trades are sent into the marketplace, and also recommended the adoption of “price collars”.
Provided By: Equity Research Desk, www.erdesk.com
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