Industry Issues & Initiatives
FPL Preps Updated FAST Spec
The Market Data Optimization Working Group of FIX Protocol Limited (FPL) has proposed a number of enhancements to the FIX Adapted for Streaming data (FAST) protocol, aimed at making the compression standard even more efficient for transmitting market…
Insults and injuries
Hedge fund and investment managers could have had a better start to 2009, but that apparently isn't on the cards for the industry.
Financial Crisis Puts Rating Agencies Under Fire
Rating agencies came under closer scrutiny from regulators during 2008, following last year's sub-prime mortgage disaster and the ensuing broader financial crisis.
That Was The Year That Was
If you're reading this on the date of publication (only three shopping days left ‘til Christmas!), then you're either a big fan of Inside Market Data , or you're stuck at your job trying to balance your firm's budgets with its data needs for next year,…
SEC Mandates XBRL for Filings Data
The Securities and Exchange Commission last week ruled to mandate the use of eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) as an interactive data format for financial filings from all publicly traded US companies, to make it easier for financial analysts…
Groups Urge Buy Side to Reduce Reliance on Rating Agencies
Three industry bodies published guidelines last week, advising asset managers to reduce their reliance on rating agencies when investing in structured credit products.
Report: Latency Spend to Continue
Financial institutions are continuing to invest more money in latency-reducing technologies, despite constrained budgets resulting from the ongoing financial crisis, according to a research report published last week by Datamonitor.
OTC Derivatives Oversight Strengthened
COMPLIANCE
IMA Calls for EC Action; Vendors Disagree
Research released last week by the UK's Investment Management Association has called for the European Commission to introduce a consolidated tape of European equity data that "is rigorously vetted for the accuracy and the integrity of data."
FISD Weighs on Exchange Fees for 'Internal' Data Use
Industry association FISD's Business Issues Policy and Practices Standards (BIPPS) working group has issued a best-practice recommendation addressing fees charged for use of market data outside of core, trading-related purposes.
Industry Ponders New Face of Regulation
NEW YORK-As a result of the turmoil on Wall Street, a substantial change in the U.S. financial industry regulatory environment is bound to take place, say observers.
Happy Birthday, Mifid!
As coverage of the global financial meltdown and the U.S. general election reaches a fever pitch, it's easy to forget that just 12 short months ago, the E.U. rolled out the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid).
'Issuer-Pays' Rating Model Draws Fire
Rating Agencies came under fire last week as former senior executives from Moody's and Standard & Poor's gave testimony to the US House of Representatives suggesting that potential conflicts of interest could have contributed to the sub-prime crisis.
Get Ready for APFIC
With the financial markets in turmoil, my girlfriend and I last week made our first foray into the commodities markets with the purchase of a diamond. Yes, it's an engagement gift, but it's also an investment that can become an heirloom and an item of…
Whither Exchanges
Now that we have reached the latter half of October, the multilateral trading facility (MTF) space is set to heat up as Bats Europe prepares to go live ( see story, page 11 ) and interdealer broker Icap announced its intention to bring yet another MTF…
FISD Details 'Fee-Free' Data, Preps Standards
Industry association FISD has posted the results of a survey of exchanges' policies around fees for data use in non-trading applications on its Web site, and is preparing a best practices document to promote an industry-wide standard around charging for…
JWG-IT: New Venues Prompt European Data War
The importance of managing market data has never been greater for European trading firms, according to a research note entitled, "Winning the RegTech Data War," recently published by industry think-tank JWG-IT.
ISE Price Glitch Sparks Opra BBO Error
A technical problem with a software update at the International Securities Exchange caused problems with the best bid and offer data calculated and distributed as part of the Options Price Reporting Authority's consolidated feed of US options quote and…
Associations Challenge SEC's Arca Data Fee Approval
Industry groups have expressed opposition to a proposal last month by the Securities and Exchange Commission to approve the introduction of market data fees by NYSE Arca, rejecting the SEC's argument that the fees are reasonable because the exchange…
Opra Predicts Slower Traffic Growth
The Options Price Reporting Authority has revised its traffic projections for January 2009 downwards, reflecting the success of quote mitigation strategies implemented by the US options exchanges to counteract the anticipated data volume increases…
Banks Stall on Exchanges' App Data Fees
New exchange policies that charge banks for using market data in non-display applications and creating derived data from real-time exchange feeds are being met with resistance by some banks, some of whom are stalling the process of signing new contracts,…