Where’s my TV remote?

The recently proposed cap on European dark trading has caused quite a stir. It also illustrates how MiFID II policy-making has descended into almost Eurovision song contest levels of farce. The basic idea is to put a cap (currently proposed at 8%) on the level of trading that occurs away from lit markets.... Read More

All set for a clear summer

There was an interesting footnote to the FT article on NYSE Euronext’s final shareholders’ approval of the ICE deal yesterday. It talked about how ICE Clear will be taking over clearing for Liffe as of 1st July. This is more than just a bit of corporate housekeeping and may well shape whether... Read More

A question of life and SEF

There has been a lot of debate around the role of SEFs in the global derivatives market. Some commentators are even claiming that the whole concept is dead and buried before the rules have even been finalised. But debating the viability or otherwise of SEFs is completely missing the point. The right... Read More

Dark matter 2

Welcome to the second issue of our European Dark Trading Analysis. In this report we provide a comparative performance analysis for the major European dark pools, together with a useful at-a-glance summary of the regulatory framework across the globe. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions so far... Read More

“It’s fragmentation, Jim, but not as we know it” – why Dodd-Frank won’t work

Interesting last week to see that GFI has applied to the CFTC to become a futures exchange. This follows on from ICAP’s purchase of Plus Markets (now ISDX) and so it surely can’t be too long before the other IDBs follow suit and execute their own regulatory hedges too. What they are worried about... Read More