News Centre

OCC Selects Axoni To Modernize Securities Lending Infrastructure - New, Innovative Technology Provides Numerous Benefits To Clearing Member Firms

Date 05/05/2020

OCC, the world’s largest equity derivatives clearing organization, today announced that it has selected Axoni, a technology firm that specializes in multi-party workflows and infrastructure, to develop and implement a distributed ledger technology solution to replace its existing securities lending infrastructure. Today’s announcement marks another milestone for OCC’s transformation as this new, innovative technology addresses fundamental challenges in the securities lending industry and will benefit OCC’s clearing member firms by increasing efficiency and reducing reconciliation and associated costs.

Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer Index Drops Below 100 As Coronavirus Disrupts Agriculture

Date 05/05/2020

Coronavirus concerns, commodity price declines and supply-chain disruptions sink producer sentiment to a three-year low, according to the April Purdue University/CME Group Ag Economy Barometer. The barometer recorded a reading of 96, marking the first time the barometer has fallen below 100 since October 2016 registering 72 points below its record-high just two-months prior. The Ag Economy Barometer is based on responses from 400 U.S. agricultural producers and this month's survey was conducted from April 19-24, 2020.

UK Financial Conduct Authority: Update Of Position Limits For Certain Commodity Derivative Contracts

Date 05/05/2020

Members Exchange Receives SEC Approval To Operate U.S. Securities Exchange - Launch Remains On Track For Third Quarter 2020

Date 05/05/2020

Members Exchange (MEMX), a market operator founded by members to benefit all investors, announces today the receipt of U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission approval to operate a national securities exchange.

More Than Half Of Hedge Funds Use Alternative Data To Gain Competitive Edge

Date 05/05/2020

• Use of alternative data is on the rise, including analysis of consumer spending data and weather patterns
• 1 in 2 (53%) of hedge fund managers surveyed use alternative data
• Alternative data will be adopted within the industry within 1-5 years
• Regulatory headwinds could cloud the horizon, such as data owner consent and privacy

Tradeweb Reports Robust Trading Activity In April

Date 05/05/2020

ECB Takes Note Of German Federal Constitutional Court Ruling And Remains Fully Committed To Its Mandate

Date 05/05/2020

The Governing Council received a preliminary briefing by the governor of the Bundesbank and by the legal department of the European Central Bank (ECB). The ECB takes note of today’s judgment by the German Federal Constitutional Court regarding the Public Sector Purchase Programme (PSPP).

Breaking A Traditional Dilemma - Christian Reuss, Head Cash Markets At The Swiss Stock Exchange, Speaks In Favor Of Open Markets And Is Against A General Ban On Short Selling

Date 05/05/2020

A highly volatile trading environment usually leads to market participants opting for certainty of execution as opposed to seeking price improvements – a traditional dilemma. In his latest article published in the magazine "Best Execution", Christian Reuss, Head Cash Markets and Member of the Management Committee, Securities & Exchanges at SIX, explains how the Swiss Stock Exchange breaks with that long-standing trade-off: "Thanks to the unique sweep functionality, our non-displayed liquidity pool SwissAtMid allows users to achieve both – certainty of execution and price improvements – at the same time."

LuxSE Launches LGX Academy To Boost Sustainable Finance Education

Date 05/05/2020

Sustainable finance experts from the Luxembourg Green Exchange (LGX), the world’s leading platform for sustainable securities, today celebrated the official launch of the LGX Academy. The academy offers tailor-made lectures on a broad range of topics linked to sustainable finance, thereby allowing participants to enrich their knowledge in this field and gain a deeper understanding of sustainable finance market practices.

ECB Decisions On The Public Sector Purchase Programme Exceed EU Competences

Date 05/05/2020

In its judgment pronounced today, the Second Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court granted several constitutional complaints directed against the Public Sector Purchase Programme (PSPP) of the European Central Bank (ECB). The Court found that the Federal Government and the German Bundestag violated the complainants’ rights under Art. 38(1) first sentence in conjunction with Art. 20(1) and (2), and Art. 79(3) of the Basic Law (Grundgesetz – GG) by failing to take steps challenging that the ECB, in its decisions on the adoption and implementation of the PSPP, neither assessed nor substantiated that the measures provided for in these decisions satisfy the principle of proportionality. In its Judgment of 11 December 2018, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has taken a different stance in response to the request for a preliminary ruling from the Federal Constitutional Court; however, this does not merit a different conclusion in the present proceedings. The review undertaken by the CJEU with regard to whether the ECB’s decisions on the PSPP satisfy the principle of proportionality is not comprehensible; to this extent, the judgment was thus rendered ultra vires. As regards the complainants’ challenge that the PSPP effectively circumvents Art. 123 TFEU, the Federal Constitutional Court did not find a violation of the prohibition of monetary financing of Member State budgets. The decision published today does not concern any financial assistance measures taken by the European Union or the ECB in the context of the current coronavirus crisis.