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.
The digital currency (r)evolutionIf bitcoin is the BitTorrent of cryptocurrencies, what's going to be the Spotify?- MTS BondsPro API: Opening New DoorsMTS Markets International Inc. is the US subsidiary of the MTS Group. In the US corporate bond space they manage an ATS called BondsPro (formerly known as Bonds.com). While a screen-based version of MTS BondsPro has been available for some time, a more recent innovation has been the introduction of an API. Aly Kassam, CEO of Quantitative Support Services, and Andy Webb, founder of Automated Trader magazine, took it for a spin.
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.
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.
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
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.
UK Serious Fraud Office investigating BoE liquidity auctions SFO confirms investigation of financial crisis-era liquidity auctions.
UK wins euro clearing battle The UK has won a European court ruling after a lengthy battle against the ECB's location policy.
HFT: the 'Clayton Rule' on speed HFT doesn't suit a lot of people, often because of ignorance or self-interest, and it's a short step from that to an accusation of manipulation, writes the Streetwise Professor, Craig Pirrong.