Exchanges/ECNs Channel

Results Are in for NYSE's Retail Pilot Program

Sept 12, 2012  Traders Magazine  NYSE Euronext is trading about 6 million shares a day through a pilot program aimed at attracting retail investors, according to Michael Geltzeiler, the exchange operator's chief financial officer.

Commentary: Making Sense of Exchange Liability

Nasdaq Provides Blow-By-Blow Details of Facebook Fiasco

Aug 30, 2012  Traders Magazine  Take your time. That's the advice from the law firm of Entwistle & Cappucci for the Securities and Exchange Commission as the regulator decides whether or not to approve Nasdaq OMS Group's plan to reimburse trading firms hurt by the Facebook debacle.

Nasdaqs Benchmark Orders Plan Raises SEC Concerns

August 16, 2012  Securities Technology Monitor  The federal regulator has ordered a review of Nasdaqs proposal to create a type of order that would spawn child orders that would be presumably outside the control and supervision of the broker-dealer firm that entered the initial order.

BATS Files to Launch Retail Price Improvement Program

Aug 14, 2012  Traders Magazine  BATS filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission today to launch its own Retail Price Improvement (RPI) program on the BATS BYX Exchange. The filing today and program are a response to NYSE's recent installment of its own price program, the Retail Liquidity Program.

SEC OKs Nasdaq Plan to Speed Routing of Away Orders

Aug 13, 2012  Securities Technology Monitor  The Securities and Exchange Commission has approved Nasdaq OMXs plan to create a form of routable order that simultaneously executes trades against available shares on the Nasdaq Stock Market and routes it to other venues.

Nasdaq Shaves 2+ Microseconds, With 40G Connections

July 26, 2012  Securities Technology Monitor  Nasdaq OMX said that customers using recently introduced 40 gigabit a second connections at its data center in Carteret,N.J., are seeing order acknowledgment times drop by between two to seven millionths of a second.

Taker-Maker Takes Hold

July 25, 2012  Traders Magazine  The launch of the Nasdaq OMX BX options exchange, at the end of June, marked not only the debut of the industrys 10th exchange, but an expansion of the use of taker-maker pricing.

Nasdaq, BATS, Direct Edge Developing Retail Price Programs

July 19, 2012  Securities Technology Monitor  The exchange operators are developing strategies to deliver hidden orders to retail investors seeking lower prices when they buy and higher prices when they sell.

Debate on Playing Field Heats Up

July 16, 2012  Traders Magazine  Be careful what you wish for. Duncan Niederauer, chief executive of NYSE Euronext, one of the largest operators of stock exchanges, called on Congress in June to level the playing field between exchanges and brokers alternative trading systems.

NYSE retail program raises market structure questions - ITG

July 13, 2012  The Trade  Agency broker and technology vendor ITG has raised objections toUS regulator the Securities and Exchange Commission handling of NYSE Euronexts retail liquidity program, arguing it risks exposing investors to unintended consequences.

Buyside Exec Opposes Sub-Penny Pricing

July 12, 2012  Traders Magazine  There is nothing wrong with regulators experimenting with new pilot programs in order to improve the structure of the equity marketplace. But the one thing they should avoid at all costs is sub-penny pricing.

BATS Fastest in Executing Orders on NYSE Stocks

May 25, 2012  Securities Technology Monitor  Despite the well-publicized failure of its technology to handle the offering of its shares to the public earlier this year, BATS Global Markets two national exchanges rank as the fastest market centers in handling stocks issued on the New York Stock Exchange, according to Celent.

Cross-Border Trading, I: TMX Eyes Acquisition of Direct Edge

July 11, 2012  Securities Technology Monitor  The operator of theToronto andMontreal exchanges is reportedly looking at acquiring Direct Edge Holdings, the operator of two national exchanges in theUnited States.

Bigger Ticks for Smaller Stocks Get Warm Reception

July 10, 2012  Traders Magazine  Industry players are encouraged by new legislation that authorizes the Securities and Exchange Commission to increase the minimum trading increment for stocks of certain small companies.

SEC Approves NYSE Retail Liquidity Program

July 5, 2012  Traders Magazine  Securities and Exchange Commission on Tuesday approved controversial proposals by exchanges operated by NYSE Euronext that will enable them to compete with wholesalers for retail order flow.

SEC Approves Nasdaq Technical Error Policy

June 29, 2012  Securities Technology Monitor  The federal regulator has approved a rule change requested before the May 18 Facebook IPO that defines the responsibility of Nasdaq and its Nasdaq Execution Services affiliate for errant orders when a technical issue arises.

Panelists Call Facebook IPO a "Black Eye" for Industry

June 22, 2012  Traders Magazine  Nasdaq's botched initial public offering of Facebook has seriously damaged investor confidence, said several industry leaders at a conference in New York. The remarks came at the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association Tech Leaders Forum earlier this week.

Exchanges Need to Come Together After Failures Like Facebook

June 19, 2012  Securities Technology Monitor  In cases like the May 6 Flash Crash and most recently the failure of Facebook shares to launch for public trading smoothly, exchanges need to come together to prevent repeats of breakdowns, said the chief technology officer of BATS Global Markets. BATS had its own technical disruption that prevented its own shares from going public this year.

Make or break time for maker-taker

Did a Stuck Quote Prevent a Facebook Opening Day Pop?

May 25, 2012  Nanex  On 18-May-2012, within seconds of the opening in Facebook, we noticed an exceptional occurrence: Nasdaq quotes had higher bid prices than ask prices. This is called a cross market and occurs frequently between two different exchanges, but practically never on the same exchange (the buyer just needs to match up with the seller, which is fundamentally what an exchange does).

NYSE Invites Service Providers to Mahwah

May 24, 2012  Securities Technology Monitor  NYSE Euronext has announced that its is opening up its Mahwah, N.J.-based U.S. Liquidity Center to network providers and vendors such that they can acquire data center space and offer their services to customers of the center.

Writing on the wall for exchanges after Facebook IPO

Nasdaq seen struggling with aftermath of Facebook IPO

May 22, 2012  Reuters  Nasdaq OMX faces short-term costs from its botched handling of Facebook shares on their first day of trading but the longer term repercussions could be more expensive as it struggles to restore its image.

Nasdaq's Handling of Facebook: 'Not Our Finest Hour'

May 21, 2012  Securities Technology Monitor  Trading opened a half hour late on Friday. Orders placed on its IPO Cross system did not get delivered to the market. For about two hours, Nasdaq could not issue quotes on Facebook shares. And, yet, it continued trading in Facebook shares, a possible violation of Regulation National Market System.

Facebook: Nasdaq Offers Post-Mortem, Changes Some Practices

May 21, 2012  Barrons  The story of what happened Friday with Facebooks (FB) problematic first day of trading received its official explanation this morning.

US bourses seek revenue diversification

May 15, 2012  The Trade  Nasdaq OMX plans to launch new algorithmic services for its broker-dealer members, in further evidence that US bourses are looking to expand their businesses to maximise revenue.

US bourses seek revenue diversification

May 15, 2012  The Trade  Nasdaq OMX plans to launch new algorithmic services for its broker-dealer members, in further evidence that US bourses are looking to expand their businesses to maximise revenue.

NYSE Does Away With Most of Amex Brand

May 10, 2012  Securities Technology Monitor  NYSE Euronext (NYX) is renaming the small cap equities market NYSE Amex to NYSE MKT, effective May 14, 2012, subject to SEC approval. The options market will continue to do business under the name NYSE Amex Options.

Where Has All the Stock Trading Gone?

May 10, 2012  Bloomberg  Its been a rough few months for NYSE Euronext, owner of the countrys biggest stock exchange. In February, European regulators scrapped its planned $9.5 billion

Pipeline Trading Ceases Operations; Top Executive Steps Down

May 10, 2012  Traders Magazine  Troubled brokerage Pipeline Trading, which recently rebranded itself as Aritas Group, is selling its key technology assets and has stopped accepting orders. As a result, Aritas Group's executive chairman, Jay Biancamano, will be joining software vendor Portware.

NYSE Backs Payments for ETF Market Makers

What's Next For Exchanges After Fizzled Merger Plans?
April 16, 2012  Advanced Trading  In an interview with Advanced Trading, Tabb Group analyst Adam Sussman spellsout what's next for the global exchange industry after their best-laid merger plans were halted by regulators across the world.

Nasdaq Proposes Paying ETF Market Makers

April 13, 2012  Traders Magazine  Nasdaq OMX is pushing forward with a plan to allow issuers of exchange-traded funds to indirectly pay market makers for quoting, a proposal that could help bring greater liquidity to lightly traded ETFs.

SEC readies vote on circuit-breaker replacement

April 11, 2012  The Trade  On 4 April, the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced, after several extensions, that it would finally decide whether to approve a new volatility-mitigation plan for the US equities market by 31 May.

Did a Rogue Algo Cause BATS IPO Crash?

April 4, 2012  Advanced Trading  Research by a market data firm has traced the crash of BATS' IPO to a single algorithm that executed over 500 times on Nasdaq, driving its price from $15.25 to about two cents in less than a second.

Global Exchanges Strike Back at Abusive HFT Technique

March 29, 2012  Advanced Trading  A growing number of exchanges are fighting quote-stuffing with fees aimed at punishing high-frequency traders for excessive order cancellations.

BATS Regroups After Big Systems Glitch

March 26, 2012  Traders Magazine  BATS Global Markets is still reeling after a trading glitch last Friday embarrassed the exchange and led to the cancellation of its initial public offering as the company began trading on its own exchange.

Suffering a "Flash Crash," BATS Withdraws IPO

March 23, 2012  Advanced Trading  The debut of BATS Global Markets Exchange Inc on Friday was overshadowed by a series of blunders, including its own shares erroneously trading for less than a penny and confusing investors.

Nasdaq to Charge Heavy Quoters

March 8, 2012  Traders Magazine  Nasdaq OMX plans to start penalizing trading firms that quote excessively.

FINRA Dealt Setback in OTC Plan

Feb 7, 2012  Traders Magazine  The Securities and exchange Commission has halted plans by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority to impose a new quoting regime on the over-the-counter market, citing concers over market quality.

FSOC Tackles Market Structure

Feb 3, 2012  Traders Magazine  Trading desks are starting to get visits from Washington's new super regulator: the Financial Stability Oversight Council. Formed in 2010 by the Dodd-Frank Act, FSOC is an inter-agency regulatory body chaired by the U.S. Treasury and charged with identifying risks in the U.S. financial system.

EU Blocks "Near-Monopoly" of D.Boerse-NYSE Merger
February 1, 2012  Advanced Trading  EU regulators have blocked the tie-up of exchange operators Deutsche Boerse and NYSE Euronext to stop them taking a stranglehold on the European futures market.

Whats in Store for 2012?

Jan 13, 2012  Traders Magazine  As regulators start to press their agendas for the coming year, Traders Magazine asked some industry experts what they expect to be the biggest regulatory and market-structure issues of 2012.

Is a Shorter Trading Day the Cure for What Ails the Markets?

Jan 12, 2012  Advanced Trading  Volume at the close is way up, and retail investors are nowhere to be seen. Somethimes a sick market needs strong medicine. In this case, it could be a one-hour trading day.

Insight: SEC tightens leash on exchanges post "flash crash"

Jan 12, 2012  Reuters  The May 2012 "flash crash" was bad for almost everyone involved in the stock market, but for the Securities and Exchange Commission, it was a disaster.

Ed Knight of Nasdaq OMX Discusses ....

Jan 9, 2012  Traders Magazine  Ed Knight, general counsel and executive vice president at Nasdaq OMX, testified before the Senate Banking Committee in December during a hearing on the status of capital formation and job creation. Knight argued that the marketplace was overly fragmented and that exchanges needed government help in supporting the trading of small company stocks.

Top Stories 2011: Exchange Price War!

Dec 29, 2011  Traders Magazine  With volume slumping for the second year in a row, the industry's major stock exchanges competed aggressively for brokers' business. That meant cutting prices.

U.S. Clears NYSE-Deutsche Boerse Deal With Direct Edge Sale

Dec 28, 2011  Bloomberg  NYSE Euronexts acquisition by Deutsche Boerse AG was cleared by the U.S. Department of Justice, putting the transaction in the hands of European antitrust authorities who have resisted approval.

Industry Balks at NYSE Sub-Penny Plan

Dec 27, 2011 Traders Magazine  An NYSE Euronext proposal to permit its members to quote in sub-pennies is proving highly controversial. The exchange operator's "Retail Liquidity Program" would create dark pools at the New York Stock Exchange and NYSE Amex, where members could vie for retail order flow with quotes only a tenth of a cent better than the market's best displayed prices.

SEC Rejects Nasdaq's 'Paid-For-Market-Making' Proposal

Dec 23, 2011 Traders Magazine Nasdaq OMX, on the verge of creating a stock exchange for small companies, was dealt a setback by the Securities and Exchange Commission over a plan to ask issuers to pay market makers for quoting.

Designated Market Making Alive and Well at NYSE

Dec 23, 2011 Traders Magazine Floor trading might be in decline, but it's far from dead. In fact designated market makers on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange have been making headlines recently.

Nasdaq Buys Machine-Readable News Co.

Dec 21, 2011 Traders Magazine Nasdaq OMX has acquired the machine-readable news company RapiData, getting Nasdaq into the business of providing trading firms and financial institutions with the latest government and economic news.

Exchanges Say Colocation Is A Regulated Business

Dec 20, 2011 Wall Street and Tech All market participants are equidistant from the matching engines in colocation facilities, say exchange officials who've had to file their policies with regulators.

NYSE Retail Order Program May Spur Sub-Penny Quotes, Knight Says

Dec 7, 2011 Bloomberg Knight Capital Group Inc., one of the main market makers on the New York Stock Exchange, said an NYSE plan to offer retail investors better prices than those available to others could disrupt trading by dismantling a ban on quote increments of less than 1 cent.

NYSE Sub-Penny Proposal Dead on Arrival, Knight's CEO says

Dec 2, 2011 Traders Magazine An NYSE Euronext proposal to offer sub-penny trading at the New York Stock Exchange and NYSE Amex is unlikely to get the go-ahead from the Securities and Exchange Commission, according to a senior trading official.

Getco Grabs BofA Merrill’s DMM Unit

Dec 1, 2011 Traders Magazine Chicago-based Getco is expanding its market making operations with an acquisition of Bank of America Merrill Lynch's designated market maker business for the New York Stock Exchange. The acquisition will more than double Getco's designated market making services at the NYSE.

Analysis: NYSE stokes Wall St battle for "mom and pop" investors

Nov 27, 2011 Reuters The fight for mom and pop's stock orders is getting testy on Wall Street.

Boerse/NYSE Offer Concessions for Merger Approval

Nov 18, 2011 Advanced Trading Financial exchanges Deutsche Boerse AG and NYSE Euronext are offering to sell some businesses and give rivals access to a major derivatives clearing house to win support from antitrust regulators for their $9 billion merger.

Parity and Point of Sale Positioning Keeps Floor Brokers Relevant

Nov 6, 2011 Bloomberg Companies from Israel, the second- biggest source of foreign listings on the Nasdaq Stock Market behindChina, are favoring mergers over selling equity inNew York as a cheaper and easier way to generate cash.

Nasdaq OMX Plans Minimum Life Orders on PSX Stock Exchange

Oct 28, 2011 Bloomberg An exchange owned by Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. asked for permission to introduce a type of order for stocks that must last for a tenth of a second, 10 times longer than some of those placed by the fastest traders.

Exchanges Hesitant to Charge Heavy Quoters

Oct 21, 2011 Traders Magazine Despites complaints from brokers over soaring levels of market data, officials from some of the leading exchanges indicated they weren't enthusiastic about slamming on the brakes.

Ketchum Prods Sellside Over New Trading Ahead Rule

Oct 21, 2011 Traders Magazine Rick Ketchum, president and chief executive officer of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, advised broker-dealers on Thursday to ensure that their institutional customers understand the ins and outs of NYSE Euronext's new trading ahead rule.

New NYSE Front-Running Rules Alarm Buyside

Oct 11, 2011 Traders Magazine Recent rule changes by the exchanges operated by NYSE Euronext have some on the buyside worried about front-running by their brokers. In September, the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Amex, and NYSE Arca all changed their rules that prohibit trading ahead, or front-running, to mirror those of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority.

Working Through the Tension Between Exchanges and Brokers

Oct 6, 2011 Traders Magazine In order for the markets to work properly, stock exchanges and broker-dealers are going to have to manage the natural tension that exists between the two. That's according to experts who spoke earlier this week at a stock exchange conference held by Baruch College.

Deutsche Boerse Chief Sees Exchange Consolidation Continuing

Oct 5, 2011 Traders Magazine Reto Francioni, chief executive officer of Deutsche Boerse, said on Tuesday he sees the global consolidation of exchanges continuing, even as his own exchange moves closer to merging with NYSE Euronext.