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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…
Strong, But Possibly Lethal, Medicine
In the middle of last week, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) announced that it would raise the Section 31 transaction fee for exchanges and over-the-counter (OTC) markets to $25.70 per $1 million from its current $5.60 per $1 million,…
Tools of the Trade
Last week's Oscars had a more diverse tone than many previous ceremonies, with Aussie host Hugh Jackman moving from one role to another, from bargain-basement stage decoration to all-singing, all-dancing Broadway-style numbers, and with Slumdog…
... But Tie Up Your Camel
As President Barack Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act into law last week, it felt as if the U.S. had passed a major milestone in dealing with the current economic meltdown.
One Moment in Time
Hindsight is always 20-20, so the saying goes. Of course it is; when the time comes to look back, we have facts to hand that may not have been available when we had to take action. While some decisions should never be made on gut feeling, financial…
New Game, New Players
After months of anticipation about who lead the London Stock Exchange (LSE) Group in the post-Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid) world, exchange officials announced at press time that former Lehman Brothers executive Xavier Rolet would…
The Continuing Story of Stimulus Bill
Last week, Alex "A-Rod" Rodriguez, slugger for the New York Yankees baseball team, admitted to taking performance-enhancing substances while at the Texas Rangers. Many fans recoiled in shock and dismay, but others wondered how the buff-looking A-Rod had…
Automation Without Automatons
Automation has sometimes had a bad rap in our industry, especially when research reports raised the specter of trading algorithms displacing human traders in a Terminator -esque depiction of trading floors of the future. With a major economic stimulus…
Picking Your Poison
I've always found it prudent to stay away from holy wars, both the religious ones and the technological ones-be they Mac vs. PC, proprietary vs. open source, or Ethernet vs. Token Ring. These arguments always remind me of the conversations I had growing…
Trimming the Fat? Or Cutting to the Bone?
In the event that we're lucky enough not to know someone whose job has been directly affected by the financial crisis, the current layoff frenzy sweeping the entire economy serves as a reminder that although the recession may have been sparked by…
Trade Secrets
Shocking revelations broke last week that the US National Security Agency systematically spied on news organizations and collected data on ordinary citizens under the veil of national security. The amount of data alleged to have been collected is…
The Rise of the Boutiques
Nature truly abhors a vacuum and so do the markets. While Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit tolls the official death knell of the "supermarket model" for financial institutions as he cleaves his firm into Citigroup and Citi Holdings, many firms and vendors are…
Get on Your Bike and Buy a House... or Two
They say an Englishman's home is his castle. They also say that home is where the heart is. But over the past year, we've seen an awful lot of hearts broken and castles under seige-all for that symbol of success and security, a home of one's own.
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…
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…