Opinion
Paging the CLO
A little over a year ago, a couple exchange officials introduced me to a new C-level job description in the industry-chief optimization officer. The role, as it was explained to me, is to ensure that all trading systems within the investment bank deliver…
I Now Pronounce You Merged!
I'll admit, I sometimes get a little teary-eyed at weddings. There's something particularly moving about watching a happy couple exchange vows and prepare for a long future together. So you can imagine how excited I was at a sudden uptick in M&A activity…
A Sign of Eastern Promise?
One of the issues under fire at last month's Asia-Pacific Financial Information Conference in Hong Kong was China's proposals to effectively create a state-run monopoly on the flow of financial news and market data into the country, in an apparent effort…
Finding the Secret Ingredient
It seems that my editor's letter in DWT 's recent latency special report ( DWT , Nov. 10) in which I discuss the trend of hiring IT staff outside from the financial verticals and what impact that would have for organizations has gotten some push back…
Stand Up, Joe the Data Manager
Last week, Americans went to the polls to elect a new president, and voted for a platform of hope and change. So now that the election is finally over, I hope my evenings will change from being dominated exclusively by my fiance's recent diet of Wolf…
Welcome to the Brave New World
It seems clear that now that Barack Obama has been elected the 44 th president of the U.S., things will change. In the realm of geo-politics, there seems to be a breath of fresh air and hope on the global stage. However, now that the Democratic Party has…
As DJIA Sees Uptick, Indexes Face Change
A chill blew into New York City last week, blowing the leaves from the trees, and apparently blowing a wind of change into that key economic indicator, the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The Dow closed up 889.35 points (a 10.88 percent gain) on Tuesday…
The E-Discovery Challenge
Open Platform
Not End Times
Opinion
The Crash of '08
EDITOR'S LETTER
Information, Information, Information
Dilip Kumar and Michelle Warra suggest how to improve data quality
Editor's Letter - Once bitten twice shy
The speed and volatility of the changes we've experienced in the global equity markets over the past few weeks have been nothing short of spectacular. The Vix, the CBOE's volatility index, reached an all-time high of 81.17 on October 16, although by the…
Fear and populism
Plummeting stock prices, rising numbers of house foreclosures and steadily growing unemployment rates have led to loud calls for increased regulation. But countries should avoid knee-jerk reactions to the current financial crisis. By Emily Fraser
Interactive hedging
A low-inflation environment and an ageing population proved to be a fatal combination for pure-play bond and equity portfolios - the returns expected by corporate investors simply did not materialise. And so the days of target-based long portfolios have…
The hedge fund bubble
Now that the numbers have come in, it's safe to say that most of us have had better Septembers. By many accounts, worries among hedge fund managers that their investors would opt for redemptions in the face of uglier and uglier market conditions appear…
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).
Reaching for The Clouds
If you listen to financial technologists willing to speak in public, it sounds as if there is still a debate raging on whether investment banks and other financial institutions should adopt cloud computing. It reminds me of the arguments long ago about…
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…
Capacity Management: Voices from the Trenches
Today's complexity and enormously competitive requirements to predict and mange scale, quality of service (QoS) and cost, demand a new tooling discipline to truly transform the way we manage capacity, and to take it to the next level. Only by engineering…
Entering Uncharted Waters
Trying to discuss any financial technology issue while the Dow Jones Industrial Average has fallen more than 2,000 points in the past five days of trading is like trying to have a causal conversation over a wailing klaxon: It will be drowned out by…
Next Stop: iTrade?
With the Dow Jones Industrial Average plumbing depths even lower than US political campaigns, how do you keep in touch with fluctuating prices when you're not beside-or can't bear to look at-your data terminal?