Editors letter
Filling Clara's Shoes
At press time, the business press was reporting that the London Stock Exchange (LSE) has sped up its search for a new CEO. According to the Financial Times , exchange insiders are looking for an outside candidate from a brokerage or technology firm to…
Will the Changes of 2008 Drive Innovation in 2009?
Welcome to 2009, which will be the Chinese year of the ox. Last year, of course, will be remembered as the year of the MTF.
Starting the Year Right
It's that time of year again when we squint at ourselves in the bathroom mirror and promise that we'll shed those layers of winter insulation in time for the start of the swimsuit season, get more organized in our personal and professional lives and stop…
2008 is Dead; Long Live 2009
If proof were needed that people are keen to forget last year, with all of its crises and collapses, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed up 108 points on Dec. 31, the highest percentage rise on a year's last day of trading since 1974. But with 2008…
A Bold Resolution
EDITOR'S LETTER
Editor's Letter - What's in a name?
Seeing the financial services industry is so fond of acronyms, here's one that describes the state of the hedge fund industry: FUBAR (Fouled Up Beyond All Repair). It's not particularly refined, but few would argue that it's not pertinent.
Insults and injuries
Hedge fund and investment managers could have had a better start to 2009, but that apparently isn't on the cards for the industry.
Idiosyncrasies of counterparty risk
Out of all the skeletons now hanging (thankfully) in the 2008 closet - from Lehman Brothers and Bear Stearns to Jérôme Kerviel, Samuel Israel III and, of course, Bernard Madoff - one lesson should have been universally learnt: when you're investing money…
That Was The Year That Was
If you're reading this on the date of publication (only three shopping days left ‘til Christmas!), then you're either a big fan of Inside Market Data , or you're stuck at your job trying to balance your firm's budgets with its data needs for next year,…
So Long to All That
Like most in the industry, I'm glad that 2008 is finally winding down. Although I'm not eagerly awaiting 2009, I believe most of us are well braced for the coming annus horribilis . Money can be made as a bull or a bear, but it's the uncertainty that is…
The Secret Is Knowing Where to Look
It's perhaps not the most appropriate film to be thinking of during the holiday season, but I can't seem to get Monty Python's Life of Brian out of my head. I'm thinking specifically of when Eric Idle sings, "Always Look on the Bright Side of Life" at…
Making Measurement Work, Making Ends Meet
This week, Inside Market Data contains a special report on the importance of low-latency market data in today's modern trading environment. Yet in the same issue, we detail the problems at latency monitoring software vendor Trading Metrics, which is…
Are We Ready for Low-Tech Terrorism?
Over this past Thanksgiving holiday, instead of watching the traditional football games, my eyes were glued to the cable news networks and the horrible events that unfolded on the other side of the planet in Mumbai.
The Gift That Keeps on Giving
The appearance of Santa Claus outside the New York Stock Exchange last week alongside NYSE chief executive Duncan Niederauer for NYSE's annual Christmas tree-lighting ceremony was no coincidence. Christmas certainly came early last week for NYSE, in the…
The Year of Living Dangerously
EDITOR'S LETTER
Editor's Letter - Carrying on regardless
It's been a tough year. Of that there is no doubt. And if the City boys are even moderately accurate in their 2009 predictions, next year is set to be even tougher, which means, for the time being at least, there's not much good news on the horizon. But…
Head in the clouds
By the time the glasses were raised and the soup was served at last month's Buy-Side Technology Awards lunch, I don't think I was alone in sensing a slight air of tension in the dining room of London's Lanesborough hotel. That wasn't because of the…
Stifling "innovation"
Now that the adults are set to retake charge of the US federal government next January, the likelihood of more substantive regulation of the financial services industry has become all the more probable, even though we still have only vague notions of…
Gobble, Gobble
If you're reading this over coffee and turkey bagel after the Thanksgiving holiday, chances are you're also facing a week of turkey sandwiches, turkey salads, turkey chili and turkey meatloaf, which just goes to prove that you can have too much of a good…
Where Have All the Margins Gone?
I spoke last week with Brent Weisenborn, president and CEO of the Agora-X ECN, about the launch of his firm's new platform ( see story, page 1 ) and his description of a "tsunami of regulation coming out of Washington, D.C." caught my attention. It is an…
Paging the CLO
A little over a year ago, a couple exchange officials introduced me to a new C-level job description in the industry-chief optimization officer. The role, as it was explained to me, is to ensure that all trading systems within the investment bank deliver…
I Now Pronounce You Merged!
I'll admit, I sometimes get a little teary-eyed at weddings. There's something particularly moving about watching a happy couple exchange vows and prepare for a long future together. So you can imagine how excited I was at a sudden uptick in M&A activity…