071706

The US Securities and Exchange Commission released its guidance on the services that buy-side firms can pay for using soft-commission arrangements with their broker-dealers last week. According to the SEC, despite requirements for best execution, an investment manager may pay more than the lowest available commission to a broker if they feel it is reasonable in relation to the value of services received. Services that can be paid for through "soft-dollar" arrangements include research reports and market data but not computer hardware or other unrelated "services."

Canadian IP routing system vendor Solace Systems is to create a new market data delivery system in partnership with Paritech, an Australian provider of market data and technical analysis software. The two will create intelligent routing within providers' networks using Solace's VRS/32 Value Added Services Routing System and Paritech's real-time platform. The system will deliver data from exchanges as well as news and research to end users of Paritech's workstation across multiple markets.

UK data vendor Exchange Data International and New Zealand's InfoDirect, which provides financial content via the Internet and mobile devices, have signed an agreement to develop the Worldwide Adjustment Factors service. The service, which supplies daily adjustment factors for more than 140 global exchanges, is designed to offer technical analysis software providers greater access to accurate, up-to-date information at a reduced cost.

Blue System, a London-based provider of direct market access software and trading arcades, is launching a wireless market data service, Blue Mobile, using the Real-Time Secure Communications Suite from London-based Gresham Computing to stream real-time data to desktops and mobile phones and support instant messaging and Voice over IP. The solution will deliver equities, commodities and futures data from more than 50 global exchanges, sourced from London-based Tenfore Systems, to PDA devices, BlackBerrys and smart phones via network provider Transaction Network Services.

Atlanta, Ga.-based commodities and derivatives exchange the IntercontinentalExchange has opened a new telecommunications hub for the New York area to improve access and cut the cost of connectivity. The hub, which follows the opening of similar hubs in Chicago in January, London in March and Singapore in May, is hosted at AT&T's Secaucus NJ data center.

Edgar Online has added a search tool dubbed Topics to its Edgar Pro and
I-Metrix products. Topics allows users to search by particular types of events such as "acquire using stock" or "earnings charge" rather than traditional keywords. Other changes to the products include a dashboard function to create and share custom views of company data, including 3D views of filings, compliance and financial data. Users can also set up email alerts to notify them of company disclosures, while the vendor has made it easier and faster for users to drill down to related data.

Hewlett Packard is claiming that the London Stock Exchange's new channel-based Infolect data delivery platform is the fastest in the world, with data latency of two milliseconds on delivery of 20 million messages per day to more than 100,000 terminals. Latency was cut from 30 milliseconds, officials say. HP is the hardware technology partner for the LSE's four-year technology roadmap project, which includes Infolect. The LSE is using about 100 HP Proliant servers across three London sites to power Infolect.