News Centre

"High-Wire Act" Statement By CFTC Commissioner Bart Chilton At The Open Meeting Of The Commodity Futures Trading Commission, Washington

Date 23/02/2012

This is our 24th meeting on Dodd/Frank Rules, and it’s not an illusion that, with each meeting and each new set of rules, the “regulatory balancing act” becomes trickier and the wire gets higher.  You can take the analogy a bit further, and query how strong the “safety net” is—believe me, we are taking that into consideration as well, with each new regulation we consider.

London Metal Exchange Runners And Riders Under Starters Orders

Date 23/02/2012

The London Metal Exchange (LME) board is meeting today to discuss takeover bids and trading fees.  According to market sources about 14 firms have expressed interest in acquiring the LME; we understand that about half of the firms expressing an interest have made non-binding bids.  Among the runners and riders are Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing (HKEx), the CME Group, NYSE Euronext and InterContinental Exchange (ICE).

Opening Statement By CFTC Chairman Gary Gensler On Commission Meeting For Consideration Of Rules Implementing The Dodd-Frank Act

Date 23/02/2012

Good morning.  This meeting will come to order.  This is a public meeting of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) to consider final and proposed rules under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act).  I’d like to welcome members of the public, market participants and members of the media, as well as those listening to the meeting on the phone or watching the webcast.

ICE U.K. NBP Natural Gas Futures Set Daily Volume Record

Date 23/02/2012

IntercontinentalExchange (NYSE: ICE), a leading operator of global regulated futures exchanges, clearing houses and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, announced today that the ICE U.K. National Balancing Point (NBP) Natural Gas Futures contract achieved a daily volume record of 68,495 (equivalent to 2 billion therms) on February 22, 2012, surpassing the previous record of 68,260 contracts on August 30, 2011.  

TriOptima And LCH.Clearnet Compression Of Cleared Interest Rate Swaps Exceeds $100 Trillion In Notional; $20.4 Trillion Compressed In 2012 Alone

Date 23/02/2012

TriOptima and LCH.Clearnet Limited (LCH.Clearnet) today announced that $110 trillion in total notional volume in EUR, JPY, GBP and USD interest rate swaps has been terminated by 21 SwapClear members using TriOptima’s triReduce service since the first cycle in 2008. In 2012 alone, $20.4 trillion has been eliminated, accelerating a trend to larger and more frequent termination cycles.   

European Commission Interim Forecast: Euro Area In Mild Recession With Signs Of Stabilisation

Date 23/02/2012

The unexpected stalling of the recovery in late 2011 is set to extend into the first two quarters of 2012. However, modest growth is predicted to return in the second half of the year. On an annual basis, real GDP in 2012 is now forecast to remain unchanged in the EU (0.0%) and to contract by 0.3% in the euro area. Uncertainty remains high and developments across countries are uneven. The inflation forecast for 2012 has been revised slightly upwards compared with the autumn, due to persistently high energy prices and increases in indirect taxes. It now stands at 2.3% in the EU and 2.1% in the euro area.

LMEswaps Volumes Strong In First Month Of Trading

Date 23/02/2012

The London Metal Exchange (LME) announces encouraging volumes in LMEswaps trading since launching the contracts on 23 January 2012. A total of 2,400 lots traded, of which 2,368 were in aluminium, 30 in copper and two in nickel.

ESMA Launches A Consultation On Key Concepts Of The Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive And Types Of AIFM

Date 23/02/2012

Responses to this discussion paper will help ESMA in finalising its policy approach. In light of the feedback received, ESMA will develop a consultation paper in Q2 2012 setting out formal proposals for draft regulatory technical standards on Article 4(4) of the AIFMD. The results of that public consultation will be used by ESMA in finalising the draft regulatory technical standards to be submitted to the European Commission for endorsement by the end of 2012.

EEX Carries Out Third Dutch Primary Market Auction

Date 23/02/2012

Today, the European Energy Exchange (EEX) carried outthe third primary market auction of European emission allowances (EUA) for the Netherlands.

HKFE Announces Revised Margins For Foxconn International Holdings Futures

Date 23/02/2012