Editors letter
While Rome Burns
Editor’s Letter
Editor's Letter - In praise of the 't' word
Transparency is now the buy side's hottest buzzword. Actually, that's been the case for quite some time now. Naturally, every buy-side constituent has its own take on exactly what it means to them and their business, but one thing's for certain: as an…
Tough times call for new ideas
By now, readers are probably as sick of hearing about the recession as financial technology journalists are of writing about it. But, like it or not, the economic downturn defines and shapes every major technology decision currently being made at…
Seeding future competition
Last month this column noted new initiatives undertaken by the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS), the largest pension manager in the US, to significantly reform its processes for managing its $5.9 billion investments in hedge funds…
Oracle Bets on Sun
After weeks of watching IBM and Sun Microsystems attempting the mergers and acquisition dance, leave it to Oracle to cut in and steal the deal with a $7.4 billion offer ( see story, this issue ).
China in Your Hand
In the past week, I've eaten authentic Chinese bean curd and roast pigeon (served complete with beak!), donned a protective apron at a specialist tempura bar, been forcibly squeezed into a train on the Tokyo underground system, met a lot of data industry…
Here Be Pirates, Matey
The only piracy that financial technologist normally have to worry about is the unlicensed applications that have found homes within their firms. However, the maritime lawlessness happening off the shores of the Horn of Africa just may have a larger…
Speed Limits
As two of this week's top stories show, data isn't always about speed, but is often about making sure that the right data gets to the right people, with guaranteed uptime in the event of an outage from any one provider.
Seeding the Clouds
The eventual adoption of cloud computing is pretty much a no-brainer according to most financial technologists. Even adopting cloud offerings from third-party vendors is definitely in the cards. However, adopting a third-party cloud specifically designed…
Dude, Where's My Liquidity?
Finding liquidity isn't just about having the fastest data to find the best price on a particular venue; it's also about knowing where to look. And with a plethora of execution venues and data sources competing for order flow, the process of analyzing…
Shaking Up the Server Market
At press time, the industry is still waiting to hear if the rumors that have been circulating about a supposed $7 billion acquisition of Sun Microsystems by rival IBM are true. According to reports in the business press, IBM's management has signed off…
Latency Issues Continue to Drive Spend, Innovation
While the credit crunch has put the brakes on global economies, the financial markets show no signs of slowing down. Though firms are cutting back data spend wherever possible, latency remains an area where they simply can't afford not to keep spending,…
The New Gravity
Editor’s Letter
Editor's letter - The blind leading the blind
Recently Buy-Side Technology hosted a derivatives pricing panel discussion in London. Present were three technology vendors - NumeriX, SunGard and Calypso - all of whom have made significant strides in providing their buy-side clients with the…
Moving ahead while the SEC plays catch-up
The SEC clearly has its work cut out for it in terms of reforming the US financial system and cracking down on the myriad criminal acts now coming to light amid withering market conditions. By Stewart Eisenhart
To build or buy?
Ask most chief information officers whether they build or buy their technology and most would say they do a bit of both, with a heavy emphasis on the build side of the equation. Many firms have large in-house IT staffs - although those head counts are on…
Look Me in the Eye When You Say That
I would never question U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner's honesty before the U.S. Congress, but when he presented the Treasury Department's plan for financial services regulatory reform last week, it sounded like he was turning in former Treasury…
Teaching an Old Dog New Tricks
In today's fast-paced financial markets, one could be forgiven for thinking that speed of raw prices is the be-all-and-end-all of market data. In fact, old-school inputs like financial research and commentary are alive and well, and adapting to the new…
Merger of Giants?
Last week the business media reported rumors from "people familiar with the situation" that IBM is in discussions to acquire Sun Microsystems for $10 per share, which gave Sun stock a respectable mid-week boost. Since I have been running headlong into…
Exchange "Dinosaurs" Bite Back
Anyone who thought in recent years that exchanges might soon become a thing of the past in the face of start-up, bank-backed trading venues should check out the various exchange initiatives detailed in this week's Inside Market Data . Far from going the…
Avoiding the Bloodshed
Ever since the global credit balloon burst, those who work in investment banking have become the media's favorite whipping boy. Until recently, society had been willing to vent most of its hostility creatively through late-night comedians and green…
CEP = Complex Event Popularity
Commenting on the merger of complex event processing software vendors Aleri and Coral8 in last week's Inside Market Data , Aite Group senior analyst Adam Honoré said that one reason the merger made sense was to consolidate the two vendors' position…