Fair PlayMajor trading venues have historically championed the idea of a level playing field, but critics say the pitch can be decidedly uneven these days. Adam Cox reports on an intensifying debate over whether markets are indeed fair, and what that debate could lead to.
The digital currency (r)evolutionIf bitcoin is the BitTorrent of cryptocurrencies, what's going to be the Spotify?
Market Surveillance, it's a Matter of Risk ManagementTechnology is making a sweeping transformation in trading styles from the accelerating use of algorithms. The increased automation overlaid on a complex market structure provides fertile ground to a broad spectrum of market manipulation and abusive behaviors. This has set the stage for increasing regulatory oversight where the burden of proof rests with market participants to demonstrate control over their trading activity. Surveillance consequently becomes a matter of risk management.
JWG regulatory trading digestAccording to data compiled by the Wall Street Journal, Reuters and The Huffington Post, since 2009, tier one banks have paid at least $128 billion to regulators in the US and Europe. Here at JWG we decided to do our own research into these astronomical figures, and we discovered that this, in fact, only tells part of the story. When we factor in the associated costs connected with these fines, such as legal fees and losses made by firms from the forced sale of assets, the price tag for the industry increases substantially to total well over $260 billion globally in the 2009 to 2014 period
demo-Quant-isationHFT democratisation was a big buzz-phrase a few years ago, and today high frequency technology is spreading across asset classes and geographies, and from signal generating algos to execution. meanwhile, there's talk that quantitative trading is next in line to be "democratised" and people are wondering whether there are any lessons to learn from the HFT experience. Anna Reitman reports.
Brazil: Cleared for take offThe heart of Latin America skipped a beat this year as Brazil, the world's seventh-largest economy, fell into recession. But the financial system that underpins the beleaguered economy is undergoing changes which could help bolster growth. Sophie Lewisohn reports.
Orchestral manoeuvres in the darkNew research findings suggest that US trading rules may be providing dark venues a regulatory advantage over traditional stock exchanges by allowing some traders to circumvent time priority. There's also some cynicism over whether the need to hide large block trades is overhyped amid calls for implementation of a "Trade At Rule". Europe, meanwhile, has its own dynamic, with major exchanges like the LSE starting buy side-only order types in its dark pool. Peter Barker reports.
MiFID II ready for blast off - JWG Group blog This month, ESMA hosted a broad cross-section of market participants for a final 'hearing' on the MIFID II technical standards they will send to Brussels for approval this summer. Of course, many attendees were surprised to find that, while they were en route to Paris to sit for 10 hours with 350 of their closest friends, another 355 pages of MiFID II technical standards consultation were issued for comment by 20 March. Less surprising, perhaps, was the open talk of a detailed cost/benefit questionnaire that is on its way this month.
Virtu Financial files for IPO again HFT firm Virtu Financial has filed IPO plans with the SEC, seeking to list on Nasdaq.
Japan Securities Summit: Tracing the virtuous circle Financial industry experts examined the results of Japan's economics programme at an event in London organised by the Japan Securities Dealers Association and the International Capital Market Association.