The Headhunter

New Document Exchange Service from Markit

Banking Technology reports that a group of investment banks has backed a new document exchange service from Markit, the data, valuation and trade services specialist. The service is called Markit Document Exchange. It is backed by Bank of America, Citigroup, Deutsche Bank, JPMorgan, the combined RBS/ABN Amro, Eton Park Capital Management and Pimco.

Markit says that the service allows buy-side and sell-side institutions to comply with regulatory requirements and industry best practice relating to compliance, credit and regulatory documentation. By automating Know Your Client, Anti-Money Laundering and Compliance Certification processes, it will reduce the risks associated with these documentation requirements and bring operational efficiency and cost savings to the process.

Click here for the Markit press release.

LCH in Merger Talks with DTCC

The FT reports this morning that the Depository Trust and Clearing Corporation and LCH.Clearnet have held talks about a possible merger that would create the first post-trade services group straddling the Atlantic.

The article states that a merger with LCH.Clearnet - likely to be structured as a takeover by the DTCC - would create by far the largest clearing and settlement group in Europe. The FT also points out that the talks, which have been under way intermittently during the past nine months, were by no means likely to result in a deal.

Thomson Completes Acquisition of Reuters

Thomson today completes its acquisition of Reuters.

Tom Glocer, CEO of Thomson Reuters, is cited in the press saying this is "a very exciting day for our shareholders, customers and employees. Thomson Reuters will deliver the intelligent information needed to give businesses and professionals the knowledge to act. We call our information "intelligent" because it is not only insightful, highly relevant andtimely, but it is also made available in formats which applications can consume and to which they can add further value. We are witnessing the maturation of the information economy and content from Thomson Reuters will be its currency."

Click here for the new Thomson Reuters website.

Nyfix buys FIXCITY

A report yesterday announces NYFIX's acquisition of FIXCITY.

FIXCITY's flagship product ioinet is reportedly highly regarded for its sophisticated IOI (indications of interest) analysis, filtering and alerting capabilities.

NYFIX said that it would combine its IOI workflow expertise with FIXCITY's front end technology to deliver a liquidity discovery solution that will enable clients to swiftly capitalise on trading opportunities.

Here's the Nyfix press release.

Nyfix Launches Euro Millennium Dark Pool

A press release on the Nyfix website states that Nyfix Euro Millennium have today launched their neutral dark pool of liquidity for pan-European listed cash equities. They state this "strategically significant event extends NYFIX's track record of delivering innovative services that meet the demands of its global client community."

Last week FinancialNews gave coverage to NYSE Euronext's announcement  that they had launched a trading link that accesses rival dark pools in a bid to offer streamlined access to conventional and unconventional pools of liquidity in the US markets. Here is the NYSE Arca press release.

Last week Banking Technology reported that partner testing has begun of Project Turquoise. Member testing is expected to begin over the summer.

Who Dominates the Financial News Markets?

We have just read an AFP article that gives a good summary of market share in the financial news markets. The US and Europe are dominated by US firm Bloomberg and Canadian-British Thomson-Reuters (in the process of merging), who each have a third share of the global market. They are trailed at a distance by three US companies and one Swiss firm, according to Inside Market Data.

Here are some numbers from the article:

US-based Interactive Data, owned by British group Pearson, is the closest runner-up, with a five percent market share. Dow Jones, bought last year by News Corporation, holds a three percent slice, as does US rival FactSet. Switzerland-based Telekurs has a two percent share.

All these agencies provide financial information and services to finance professionals worldwide with the support of real-time data and electronic trading.

The global financial data market, excluding ratings, reached 12.5 billion dollars in 2006, according to Inside Market Data.

Here is the link to AFP's news article.

FT Reports Thomson Cleared for Reuters Tie

An FT report this morning states Thomson Corporation's £7.9bn bid for Reuters has been approved with minimal conditions by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic, paving the way for the creation of a bigger competitor to Bloomberg in financial information. Hemscott reports the merger is expected to complete in the week of April 13.

The article cites David Anderson of Inside Market Data Reference who points out "regulators have focused on the most obvious areas of overlap and it has to be said that overlap was always minimal...The bigger questions relate to whether the new merged Thomson Reuters entity can present a more effective competitive challenge to the seeming might of Bloomberg - not forgetting the recent rise of smaller competitors like Factset and Markit."

The FT goes on to say the regulators focused on activities away from the trading floors where Reuters and Thomson Financial make most of their revenues, looking instead at research and asset management.

Their concerns centred on aftermarket broker research reports, earnings estimates, fundamental financial data and economic data.

Thomson agreed to sell a copy of its Thomson Fundamentals (Worldscope) database and Reuters has agreed to sell copies of the Reuters Estimates, Reuters Aftermarket Research and Reuters Economics (EcoWin) databases.

Report Shows Financial Information and Analysis Spend Topped USD23 Billion in 2007

A report earlier this month by Burton Taylor International Consulting LLC shows the global spend for financial information and analysis topped USD23 billion in 2007. It states that roughly half this spend came from the Americas and almost 30% occurred in the Fixed Income/Foreign Exchange (FX) Sales & Trading segment.

The report claims that worldwide information and analysis spend by the corporate and financial services sectors grew 4.9% in 2007. They predict a growth rate of just over 6% for 2008, to USD24.4 billion.

They also comment on the pending merger of Thomson and Reuters. They cite the new combination will have a 32% share of this USD23 billion market.

Burton Taylor asks if the new combination seek to maintain a dominant position in the low margin Wealth Management segment. They wonder how the Investext, FirstCall and Multex franchises will be impacted? They ask which company will step-up alongside Thomson-Reuters and Bloomberg to form the new “Big 3?”

This news item is from Bobsguide.

Banks to Launch Derivatives Exchange

An FT report today announces that a group of Europe's biggest banks are preparing to launch a new trading platform for financial derivatives, going under the codename Project Rainbow, to compete with the region's exchanges. They cite the institutions involved include Barclays, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, MF Global, NewEdge and UBS.

The new platform is seeking to initially offer trading in two key contracts, the short-term interest rates futures denominated in sterling and in Euribor, competing with those among the most actively traded on Liffe, owned by NYSE Euronext.

Another report says Liffe has cited its technology and years of experience to defend itself against the impending threat of the new rival.

Turquoise - September 2008 Launch

At Finexpo yesterday, Turquoise's CEO, Eli Lederman, announced a launch date in September 2008 and trading will begin in 300 liquid stocks with a gradual roll-out to 1200 stocks in a darker liquidity pool.

Earlier this week the press reported that Turquoise is to work with Progress Software and Detica to provide surveillance data to root out trading irregularities, spot breaches of trading rules and deliver detailed analysis of trading on the platform. Click here for press release.

An AFX report yesterday cites Lederman's view that some shareholders in Turquoise Trading Ltd. are also backing rival share trading platform Chi-X as a 'sector bet' that both will be successful rather than a hedge in case one of them fails. AFX reference an interview to be published in A-Team's Electronic Trading.