- MF Global Inc. (MFGI) reached an agreement with MF Global UK Ltd. to resolve all claims between the two entities. The deal will return between $500 million and $600 million to MFGI. The broad agreement also resolved claims between MFGI and MF Global Holdings as well as between Holdings and the UK affiliate.
- The Hong Kong Futures Exchange (HKFE) revised margin requirements for futures contracts based on its normal procedures and standard margining technology. The changes will take effect on Jan. 2.
- IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) announced a definitive agreement to acquire NYSE Euronext in a transaction valued at $33.12 per NYSE Euronext share (roughly $8.2 billion). The exchanges also entered into a deal under which ICE Clear Europe will clear NYSE Liffe’s derivatives markets.
- Getco plans to acquire Knight Capital Group Inc. for $3.75 per Knight share, one-third of it in stock ($1.4 billion total). Knight has been independent for 17 years, but suffered losses of more than $450 million after a trading error in August.
- Morgan Stanley will make a strategic equity investment in Eris, a futures exchange offering interest rate swap futures. The financial terms of the arrangement, which is expected to close early next year, were not disclosed.
- CME Clearing Europe introduced two near over-the-counter (OTC) iron ore contracts for clearing: Iron Ore 62% CFR China Average Price Options and Iron Ore 62% CFR China Calendar Swaps.
- The European Energy Exchange plans to launch three new futures contracts for trading of hydroelectric power from the Scandinavian and Alpine regions, along with wind power from northern Europe.
- The Tokyo Commodity Exchange Inc. (TOCOM) and Nikkei Inc. launched new indexes based on their co-branded indexes. The Nikkei-TOCOM Leverage Index, which is available on a daily basis on TOCOM’s website, is designed to realize a high-risk/high-return investment strategy based on the expectation of a bullish market.
- On Dec. 10, ICE Futures Europe reopened the daily futures market for the carbon credit Phase II EU Allowances and Certified Emission Reductions, and launch a new daily futures contract for Phase III EU Allowances.
- The Hedge Fund Association announced that it has created a High Net Worth Advisory Board that will develop global educational programs and networking events for high net worth investors.
- The Miami Options Exchange (MIAX) launched on Dec. 7 after receiving regulatory approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission. It is the 11th U.S. equity derivatives market.
- The International Securities Exchange (ISE) will launch trading in Mini Options on March 18, 2013. ISE is the first exchange to confirm a launch date for the options, which will represent a deliverable of 10 shares of an underlying security. Mini Options will initially be listed on APPL, AMZN, GLD, GOOG and SPY.
- Thomson Reuters enhanced its FX matching platform designed to boost capacity, scalability and performance. New features include a graphical user interface and click to trade capability.
- Intercontinental Exchange (ICE) will launch two new cash-settled forex futures contacts for the Indian rupee (INR)/U.S. dollar and Brazil real/U.S. dollar beginning Jan. 28, 2013. ICE is the first U.S. exchange to launch an INR futures contract.
- NASDAQ launched SMARTS Broker market surveillance for commodities trading on the London Metal Exchange, including the go-live of two global broker-dealer customers, one of which is brokerage Newedge.
- SuperDerivatives, a provider of derivatives data and analytics, introduced DGX, its real-time cash and derivatives market data platform. DGX is designed to deliver cash and derivatives market data—including coverage of 800,000 bonds; 50,000 stocks, indexes and ETFS; and 4,000 CDS curves—to the user’s desktop, iPad and/or mobile device.
- NASDAQ will now include U.S. consumer demand data on the NASDAQ OMX Event-Driven Analytics service. The index, which will be delivered to the service five minutes before it is sent to other end-users, predicts trends in American consumer spending.
- SGX and Eurex will offer market access through their data center linkage beginning in January.
- The Hong Kong Securities and Futures Commission authorized the Osaka Stock Exchange to provide automated trading services through its securities and derivatives trading platforms.
- The Office of Fair Trading (OFT) approved LSE’s planned acquisition of LCH.Clearnet, saying that following a thorough investigation, it “concluded that the deal did not raise competition concerns.”
- The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) unanimously approved a determination requiring swap dealers to guarantee trades involving six classes of credit default and interest rate at registered clearinghouses.
- CME Group Inc. dropped a lawsuit challenging CFTC trade-data reporting rules after the agency withdrew certain requirements governing the routing of trade price and volume information.
