News Centre

ISS Recommends GFI Shareholders Vote Against "Economically Inferior" Merger With CME - ISS Also Recommends That GFI Shareholders Tender Their Shares Into BGC's "Economically Superior" Offer

Date 21/01/2015

BGC Partners, Inc. (NASDAQ: BGCP) ("BGC Partners," "the Company," or "BGC"), a leading global brokerage company primarily servicing the financial and real estate markets, today announced that Institutional Shareholder Services ("ISS"), a leading independent proxy advisory service, has recommended that shareholders of GFI Group Inc. (NYSE: GFIG) ("GFI Group" or "GFI") vote AGAINST the merger agreement with CME Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CME) ("CME") at the special meeting of GFI shareholders scheduled for January 27, 2015.  

New York Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman Settles With Standard And Poor’s Over CMBS Credit Ratings - S&P Failed To Adhere To Its Own Published Criteria For Rating Securities - Settlement Achieved As A Result Of Joint Investigation With The SEC, Massachusetts Attorney General; Includes $12 Million In Penalties For New York - Nearly $80 Million Announced Today In Settlements With S&P

Date 21/01/2015

Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman today joined the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and the office of the Massachusetts Attorney General in announcing a settlement with Standard and Poor’s Financial Services LLC (“S&P”) regarding false and misleading statements made by S&P in connection with its rating of certain Commercial Mortgage Backed Securities (“CMBS.”) From February 2011 to July 2011, S&P loosened the criteria it applied to rate eight CMBS, failed to disclose this fact to investors, and misled market participants into thinking that the ratings for their investments were based on more conservative assumptions than was actually the case.

Venture Capital Firms Take Stake In Codestreet - Investment To Accelerate Adoption Of Codestreet Dealer Pool

Date 21/01/2015

SIFMA Statement On The State Of The Union Address

Date 21/01/2015

SIFMA today released the following statements from Kenneth E. Bentsen, Jr., president and CEO, on President Obama’s State of the Union address:

Cybersecurity: 
“SIFMA applauds the President's focus on cybersecurity as this is a top priority for the financial services industry, one that our members are dedicating significant resources to in order to protect the integrity of the markets and the millions who use financial services every day. Cyber attacks are increasingly a major threat to national security and the U.S. financial system. We believe a robust partnership between the private sector and government is the most effective way to mitigate cyber threats. The time is right for Congress to pass cybersecurity legislation that strengthens our nation’s cyber defenses by codifying liability protections that promote enhanced information sharing between the industry and government while balancing the need for important privacy protections for individuals.” 

SEC Announces Charges Against Standard & Poor’s For Fraudulent Ratings Misconduct

Date 21/01/2015

The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced a series of federal securities law violations by Standard & Poor’s Ratings Services involving fraudulent misconduct in its ratings of certain commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS).

Bank Wrongdoers Should Face Jail To Help Change Sector Culture, Says CISI Survey

Date 21/01/2015

Individual wrongdoers within banks must face the threat of being jailed to help change the culture of the scandal-hit sector, a survey by the Chartered Institute for Securities & Investment (CISI) shows.

Shanghai Stock Exchange Upgrades Online Voting System

Date 21/01/2015

It is learnt from the Shanghai Stock Exchange (SSE) lately that the SSE has completed optimization and upgrading of the SSE Online Voting System (OVS) for Shareholders’ Meetings of Listed Companies and added a new online voting platform (website: vote.sseinfo.com) after conducting several rounds of online testing together with securities companies. The new OVS will be put into formal use on January 26, 2015, after which investors can still vote online by logging on to trading terminals of securities companies designated by them, or log on to the above-mentioned online voting platform to vote after going through verification of shareholder identities. Besides, the SSE has revised the “SSE Detailed Rules for Online Voting at Shareholders’ Meetings of Listed Companies” (the “Detailed Rules” for short) for the new OVS, and specified relevant matters for online voting after the launch of the new OVS. The new “Detailed Rules” will be implemented on the same day of the initial operation of the new OVS.

ACER Issues An Opinion On ENTSO-E Draft Scenario Outlook And Adequacy Forecast

Date 21/01/2015

ACER has recently published an Opinion on the ENTSO-E's draft Scenario Outlook and Adequacy Forecast 2014-2030. 

Thailand Futures Exchange Welcomes Five New Market Makers For SET50 Options And Introduces "Options Wizard", A Settrade Trading Program

Date 21/01/2015

Thailand Futures Exchange PCL (TFEX), under the Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) group, welcomes five new market makers, which are KGI Securities (Thailand) pcl, Ausiris Futures Co., Ltd., Phatra Securities pcl, Trinity Securities Co., Ltd., and Maybank Kim Eng Securities pcl to manage liquidity for SET50 Options, as well as collaborating with its members in organizing seminars to provide SET50 Options knowledge to various target groups, from beginners to professional investors every week in the first quarter of 2015. TFEX also has introduced the "Options Wizard", a new Settrade internet-based trading program to support investors’ decision-making, enabling new investors to conveniently trade SET50 Options. This is in line with the strategic plan to enhance SET50 Options.

Hong Kong's Securities And Futures Commission Unveils Report On Asset Management

Date 21/01/2015

The Securities and Futures Commission (SFC) published today a second report in its risk-focused industry meeting series entitled Asset Management: Looking Forward.