A-Team Group provides the global community of IT and data professionals in financial markets with the business intelligence they need to excel in their roles. Through its unique mix of media channels – including print publications, online services and research reports, as well as its customised research and strategic marketing services – A-Team helps buyers and sellers of technology and data to understand the strategic and logistical issues involved in technology deployments across the financial services enterprise. Meanwhile, suppliers benefit from getting their message to A-Team’s loyal community of readers and customers.
Recent Articles
Oslo Deal with LSE to Add TradElect at Expense of Nasdaq OMX Platforms »
On 05 Dec 2008 in ET-Exchange Technology, Electronic Trading 
Oslo Borse has agreed to form a strategic partnership with London Stock Exchange, under which LSE will provide trading systems to the Norwegian exchange. The move appears to be a snub to long-time Oslo trading system supplier OMX, now part of Nasdaq OMX, which competes as an exchange with Oslo Borse.
SpryWare Releases Quote Mitigation Technology System »
On 05 Dec 2008 in MDI-Delivery Technologies, Market Data Insight
SpryWare last month released its new Quote Mitigation Technology (QMT), to manage bandwidth and CPU resources in an exploding market data volume environment.
EMS Provider InfoReach Adds Brokers to FIX Network »
On 05 Dec 2008 in A-Team Delivery Terms, A-Team Free, AMIT-Connectivity, AsiaMarketsIT.com, ET-Connectivity, ET-OMSs & EMSs, Electronic Trading 
Execution management system provider InfoReach has added over a dozen new independent brokers in to its InfoReach FIX Network in Asia and Europe.
Missed the FIMA reference data event of the year? Or attended but couldn’t make all the sessions? Want to know what your peers discussed over the three days? Click here to see A-Team Group’s (publisher of Reference Data Review) coverage of the event – all the news and views from all the sessions. And see if you recognise the faces of the delegates (or indeed yourself!) in our photo review. FIMA 2008 featured over 40 leading case studies and strategies all designed to improve data quality and reduce operational risk across your business, particularly in the current tumultuous climate.
BNY ConvergEx Unveils New ‘Grey’ Order Type as RP Taps Eze OMS »
On 05 Dec 2008 in ET-Algorithmic Trading, ET-OMSs & EMSs, Electronic Trading
BNY ConvergEx has released ‘Grey’, its latest TactEx order type. Designed to actively sweep available displayed liquidity while an order is marketable, Grey aims to capture liquidity as it appears while minimising impact in the market. It then posts the remaining balance across multiple dark pools, including BNY’s own VortEx platform.
MarketAxess Adds Markit Quotes to Trading Platform »
On 05 Dec 2008 in ET-Multidealer Systems, Electronic Trading, MDI-Market Data Services, Market Data Insight
MarketAxess has teamed with Markit to integrate Markit Quotes into the MarketAxess client-to-multi-dealer trading platform. Markit Quotes is a real-time quote parsing service that extracts indicative over-the-counter prices from electronic messages.
Ullink Connects to NYSE SmartPool Dark Pool »
On 05 Dec 2008 in ET-Connectivity, ET-Dark Pools, Electronic Trading
Ullink has become a fully certified provider of direct market access (DMA) connectivity technology to SmartPool, the multi-lateral trading facility set up by NYSE Euronext, BNP Paribas, HSBC and JPMorgan. SmartPool is dedicated to trading large blocks of stocks in 14 different European markets and Ullink’s gateway will support the full scope of functionality provided by the alternative platform as of the launch of this new trading service.
Nyfix Euro Millennium Posts Record Daily Volume »
On 05 Dec 2008 in ET-Dark Pools, Electronic Trading
Nyfix reported a record daily share volume for trading on its Euro Millennium dark pool. On the record day, December 2, the available liquidity in the pool exceeded 35.7 billion euros with more than 1,000 different European stocks being represented and 23 million shares matched.
Albert Fried Connects to Markets via TradingScreen EMS »
On 05 Dec 2008 in ET-Connectivity, ET-OMSs & EMSs, Electronic Trading, LL-Connectivity/Networking, Low-Latency.com
New York brokerage firm Albert Fried & Co. is integrating the TradingScreen execution management system (EMS) into its low-latency execution FIX environment.
Markit Launches Market Share Analysis Service for Post-MiFID Transparency »
On 05 Dec 2008 in MM-Multilateral Trading Facilities, MM-Transparency, MiFIDMonitor.com
Markit has launched its new market share analysis service, dubbed Markit MSA, aimed at bringing transparency to the fragmented European equity market post-MiFID. According to the vendor, the service attempts to track liquidity across trading venues, including alternative trading venues and dark pools, and was launched with the support of 11 financial institutions.
Markit and S&P’s Cusip Service Bureau Partner for Universal ID for Loan Market »
On 05 Dec 2008 in RDR-Securities Identifiers, RDR-The Corporation, Reference Data Review
Following its announcement at the start October that it would be partnering with Standard & Poor’s (S&P), Markit indicates the two vendors are now working together to create a universal identification system for the loan market. The vendor is partnering with S&P’s Cusip Service Bureau with the aim of improving transparency and liquidity in the syndicated loan market and will facilitating the clearing and settlement of trades, says Armins Rusis, executive vice president and global co-head of fixed income at Markit.
SuperDerivatives Claims a 250% Increase in Demand for Valuations Services »
On 05 Dec 2008 in RDR-The Corporation, RDR-Valuations, Reference Data Review
Despite the downturn in the market, derivatives valuations provider SuperDerivatives claims it has experienced a 250% increase in demand for its services over the past year. The vendor says there has been an increase in customer acquisition and sales over the past year as more institutions adopt third party evaluation as best practice.
Actuate Survey Points To Open Source Adoption In Financial Services »
On 04 Dec 2008 in A-Team Delivery Terms, A-Team Free, FTI-IT Delivery, FTI-Open Source, FinTech-Infrastructure.com
The third Annual Actuate Open Source Survey has just been published, detailing open source adoption in key geographies and verticals, including financial services. In the UK, nearly 47% of financial services firms are already using open source software, with another 5% planning to adopt it in the next 12 months. For North America, those figures are about 40% and 10% respectively. The bottom line is that open source has become a major component of the IT strategy for financial services players.
Xtrakter’s Trax to Provide MiFID Compliant Reporting for Complex Derivatives in UK in Q1 2009 »
On 04 Dec 2008 in MM-Trade Reporting, MiFIDMonitor.com
Xtrakter indicates that its post-trade, pre-settlement, trade matching and regulatory confirmation system Trax will facilitate the regulatory reporting of complex derivatives by the first quarter of 2009. The market utility, which has recently been purchased by Euroclear, says it will facilitate the reporting of exchange traded derivatives (ETD) and other complex derivatives to competent authorities throughout Europe in accordance with the requirements of MiFID.
Thomson Reuters Signs Agreement to Purchase GRC Vendor Paisley »
On 04 Dec 2008 in MM-The Corporation, MiFIDMonitor.com, RDR-Regulation and Compliance, RDR-The Corporation, Reference Data Review
Thomson Reuters has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Paisley, a US-based software provider of governance, risk and compliance (GRC) solutions. According to the financial information giant, once the deal has received the required regulatory approvals, Paisley will become part of its Tax & Accounting business.
Current Market Conditions Causing Increased Corporate Actions Complexity, Says FISD Panel »
On 04 Dec 2008 in RDR-Corporate Actions, RDR-Events, Reference Data Review
Corporate actions models and processes are being ‘pushed’ by the current financial market activity, and the increasing focus on risk and regulations is having an immediate and clear impact on the business of managing corporate actions information, according to a panel of specialists at Wednesday’s FISD Issue Brief event in London.
Markit’s Valuations Business Reports 8.9% Drop in Post-tax Profits for 2007 »
On 04 Dec 2008 in RDR-The Corporation, RDR-Valuations, Reference Data Review
Despite the attention that has been paid to the valuations business over the last couple of years, Markit Group’s post-tax profits for its derivatives valuations business over 2007 experienced a drop of 8.9% on the previous year. Although overall profits for the firm as a whole rose by 67% on the previous year’s figures, it seems that valuations were hit by increased staff costs and a rise in interest payments.
Japanese Regulator Orders BNP Paribas to Improve Internal Controls »
On 04 Dec 2008 in A-Team Delivery Terms, A-Team Free, AMIT-Regulation, AsiaMarketsIT.com
The Japanese Financial Services Authority (FSA) has ordered BNP Paribas to improve its internal controls following a deal between the bank’s Tokyo branch and a collapsed property developer that has garnered criticism over concerns that insider trading laws may have been breached. Although the bank has not been fined as a result of the incident, it has been ordered to take steps to improve its internal operations.
Nomura Appoints Ex-Lehman CEO Bhattal as Senior MD and Chairman for Asia »
On 04 Dec 2008 in A-Team Delivery Terms, A-Team Free, AMIT-Human Capital, AsiaMarketsIT.com
The former CEO of Lehman Brothers Asia, Jasjit Bhattal, has been appointed Nomura’s senior managing director and chairman of Asia. He will also be a member of the global wholesale committee, which comprises of longstanding Nomura employees.
Interactive Data Touts Daily Cost Basis Service for Reporting Requirements Under EESA »
On 04 Dec 2008 in RDR-Corporate Actions, RDR-Regulation and Compliance, Reference Data Review
Interactive Data’s Pricing and Reference Data business is touting its daily Cost Basis service as a solution for brokers required to file Form 1099-B to comply with the new broker basis reporting requirements under the Emergency Economic Stabilisation Act of 2008 (EESA). Charles Price, senior director, entity data products for Interactive Data, says the service can help the vendor’s clients to report a customer’s adjusted basis when reporting securities transactions.
ITG Launches Commission Sharing Arrangement Programme in Asia Pacific »
On 03 Dec 2008 in A-Team Delivery Terms, A-Team Free, AMIT-ECNs and ATSs, AMIT-Electronic Trading, AsiaMarketsIT.com
Investment Technology Group (ITG), a provider of technology-based trading services and transaction research, has launched its Commission Sharing Arrangement (CSA) programme in Asia Pacific. The vendor claims that interest in these programmes has increased as a result of broker consolidation and that in Asia Pacific in particular, it will increase further still as firms move towards unbundling research from execution.