Market data and the prisoner’s dilemma
The prisoner’s dilemma is an aspect of game theory that shows why two individuals might not agree, even if it appears that it’s best to do so. In its simplest version, two prisoners have to decide whether to assist or betray one another. If they co-operate then they both receive relatively light punishments, whereas a betrayal by one prisoner means that the other is severely punished whilst the betrayer goes free. It seems like a similar... Read More
FragINSIGHT – taking a closer look at Asia Pacific
Welcome to the September issue of FragINSIGHT which provides an in-depth study of the Japanese market and an update on developments in Australia, together with our regular analysis of fragmentation across the USA, Canada, Europe and Japan. Also included on page 4 is a useful at-a-glance summary of the global regulatory spectrum. Download your copy here. Thanks to everyone for their suggestions so far and please keep them coming – just email the... Read More
Divided we stand, united we fall
To say that it has been a turbulent time in global equities markets is something of an understatement, but the European picture provides some interesting pointers to the bigger geopolitical debate that’s going on. A couple of events in particular caught my attention. First, there was the ban on short-selling in banking stocks imposed by France, Italy, Spain and Belgium and the backlash that followed. Then came France’s abortive attempt to... Read More
European fragmentation in focus
It’s been interesting to watch the European MTFs jockeying for position over the summer. Seems like Chi-X is continuing to grow its market share of all European indices fairly steadily, whilst the relative market shares of Bats Europe and the LSE’s Turquoise could be starting to invert. This could possibly be down to Turquoise’s spangly new matching platform attracting the HFT folks, or perhaps it’s simply that the market is rebalancing... Read More
Australia joins the global fragmentation movement
I was a guest last week to mark the opening of the Australian Liquidity Centre which is not, as you might think, the latest trendy Sydney nightspot. Instead it’s the name chosen by ASX for its impressive new co-location facility and represents the exchange’s latest move to meet the imminent opening up of equities trading Down Under. The transfer of market supervision from the ASX to ASIC paved the way for alternative trading venue Chi-X... Read More
