Hybrid News

NYSE Euronext is a member of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, and today — World AIDS Day — we and many, many other companies have signed onto the following “Pledge to End HIV Discrimination and Stigma:”

As a member of the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, my company is committed to fight HIV/AIDS discrimination and stigma in our workplace.

We pledge that our hiring, promotion and retention decisions will not be influenced by an individual’s actual or perceived HIV status.

We pledge to take prompt and meaningful action to improve our performance should we determine it falls short of these goals.

Recognizing the power of leadership by example, we pledge to use every opportunity to encourage other business leaders to make the same commitment.

Can companies put words such as these into action to break down barriers and offer opportunity? They can, and they must. The financial-services and technology industries, which historically have not been the most open and inclusive, know that as well as or better than most.

I see the pledge as consistent with our corporate commitment to diversity, which is one of our core values. Inside our company, we see diversity as a means of ensuring our business competitiveness and success, as well as a means of signaling the importance of openness and inclusiveness in our markets and our industry.

I see as well that we’re in good company on this pledge; following is the list of CEOs/ companies that have signed on:

Miles D. White, Abbott
Aigboje Aig-Imoukhuede, Access Bank Plc
Gilles Pelisson, Accor
Cynthia Carroll, Anglo American plc
Margery Kraus, APCO Worldwide
Anne Lauvergeon, AREVA Group
Kabelo Antony Ebineng, Associated Fund Administrators Botswana (Pty) Ltd
David R Brennan, AstraZeneca
Rahul Bajaj, Bajaj Auto
Peter Munk, Barrick Gold Corporation
Werner Wenning, Bayer AG
Edward J. Ludwig, BD (Becton, Dickinson and Company)
Vimal B.Shah, Bidco Oil Refineries Limited
Stephane Bancel, bioMérieux
Birger Sorensen, Bionor Immuno
Debra L. Lee, Black Entertainment Television (BET)
Bill Downe, BMO Financial Group
Dr. Alessandro Banchi, Boehringer Ingelheim
Shumeet Banerji, Booz & Company
Tony Hayward, BP
Michael T. Dan, The Brink′s Company
James Cornelius, Bristol-Myers Squibb
Michael Predeaux, British American Tobacco
Mark Penn, Burson-Marsteller
Dave O′Reilly, Chevron Corporation
Gerald T. McCaughey, CIBC
Vikram Pandit, Citigroup
Muhtar Kent, The Coca-Cola Company
Samer Khoury, Consolidated Contractors International Company S.A.L. (CCC)
Dr. Dieter Zetsche, Daimler AG
N. F. Oppenheimer, De Beers
Blackie Marole, Debswana
Michael Dell, Dell
James H. Quigley, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu
Gerald Mahinda, East African Breweries Limited
Gennady Gazin, EastOne LLC
Richard Edelman, Edelman
Christian Kemp Griffin, EDUN
John Lechleiter, Eli Lilly and Company
Phirwa Jacob Maroga, Eskom
Martin Vial, Europ Assistance Holding
Rex Tillerson, Exxon Mobil Corporation
Jacqueline Mugo, Federation of Kenyan Employers
Glen K. Murphy, Gap Inc.
Jonathan D. Klein, Getty Images
Alexander Saint-Amand, Gerson Lehrman Group
Andrew P. Witty, GlaxoSmithKline
Dong Soo Hur, GS Caltex Corporation
P. Igathe, Haco Industries Ltd
William A. Haseltine, Haseltine Global Health
Jean-Francois van Boxmeer, Heineken N.V.
Richard Plepler, Home Box Office (HBO)
Victor Y. Yuan, Horizon Research Group
Frank Ireri, Housing Finance Company of Kenya Limited
Anthony L. Howard, Independent Newspapers (Pty) Ltd
Heather Reisman, Indigo Books & Music Inc.
Corrado Passera, Intesa Sanpaolo
Jena Gardner, JG Black Book of Travel
William C. Weldon, Johnson & Johnson
Gerard J. Inzerillo, Kerzner International
Derek J. Oatway, KK Security (Kenya Kazi Services Ltd)
Bruno Lafont, Lafarge
John Anderson, Levi Strauss & Co.
Beatrice Dautresme, L’Oréal
John Demsey, MAC Cosmetics / MAC AIDS Fund
Ian E.L. Davis, McKinsey & Company
Richard Clark, Merck & Co., Inc.
L W Nkuhlu, Metropolitan
Dennis Pinto, Micato Safaris
Samir Modi, Modicare
William H. Roedy, MTV Networks
Robert J. Coury, Mylan Inc.
Gary Ginsberg, News Corporation
Mark Parker, Nike, Inc.
David Stern, National Basketball Association (NBA)
Daniel Vasella, M.D., Novartis
Duncan L. Niederauer, NYSE Euronext
Marcia Silverman, Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide
Douglas A Michels, OraSure Technologies
Jeff Kindler, Pfizer Inc.
Christie Hefner, Playboy Enterprises Inc.
Naresh S. Mehta, Power Technics
Neil Mehta, Premier Medical Corporation
Maurice Levy, Publicis
Malvinder Mohan Singh, Ranbaxy
Thomas H. Glocer, Reuters
Tom Albanese, Rio Tinto
Simon Cooper, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company
Gordon M. Nixon, Royal Bank of Canada
Dr. Ganesh P. Rane, RRR Industries
Matthew J. Wright, Russell Reynolds Associates
Graham Mackay, SABMiller plc
Fred Hassan, Schering-Plough Corporation
Rick Waugh, Scotiabank Group
Ai Lianghua, Shanghai Desano Pharmaceuticals Holding Company Ltd
Pete Ruegger, Simpson, Thacher &amp Bartlett
Christian Jourquin, Solvay
Gary Watts, SSL International plc
Clive Tasker, Standard Bank
Peter Sands, Standard Chartered Bank
Hiromasa Yonekura, Sumitomo Chemical
Scott Mullin, TD Bank Financial Group
Carol Johnston, Times Media Group
Christophe de Margerie, Total
John Noel, Travel Guard
Marie-Christine de Saragosse, T͡
Patrick Cescau, Unilever
Henri Proglio, Veolia Environment
Mikkel Vestergaard Frandsen, Vestergaard Frandsen
Phillippe Dauman, Viacom International
Sir Richard Branson, Virgin
Martin Winterkorn, Volkswagen
S. Shiryaev, Vostok-Service
Lev Partskhaladze, XXI Century Investments
Mick Davis, Xstrata
Dr. Subhi Quraishi, ZMQ Software Systems

Your thoughts, as always, are welcome.

A hat tip to bloggers Mad Professah and David Mixner for spotting this news.

Original post by Tim Allik

“Latensanity” is a made-up word inspired by a headline in the September issue of Waters magazine on a column by Rob Daly, “Stop the Latency Insanity” (sorry, no link available). Excerpt:

The one universal law for trade execution seems to be that it can’t be fast enough, cheap enough or easy enough. But please, people, get a grip — there is only so much that physics can do with most firms′ existing architecture. …

Vendors and trading venues have begun liberally peppering their marketing materials with the prefix “micro” — and in a few cases, “nano” — but most firms won’t be able to take advantage of sub-millisecond capabilities without a major investment in their infrastructure.

On the “insanity” angle, Rob reports that some direct-market-access clients have asked the CFTC for permission to remove their pre-trade risk filters in order to shave off a few more milliseconds. In today’s volatile and highly automated markets, that strikes me as less than prudent.

I′m not a techie and though I know that NYSE Euronext is working on making our own trading platforms ever faster, I don’t follow this issue that closely. But that was the first time I remember anyone raising the question of whether the industry’s need for speed is approaching a point of diminishing returns. Rob concludes:

While reducing latency is an ever-present concern for firms, it must be addressed in a rational manner, balancing the potential return with its potential costs. Firms will likely see a greater return investing in better risk management or smart order routing technologies rather than spending resources on the expensive game of low-latency one-upmanship.

No sooner had I read the Waters column than I see in today’s Financial Times, “Turquoise plays down the need for speed.” Excerpts:

“The marginal benefits have reached diminishing returns,” [Turquoise CEO Eli] Lederman yesterday told a European exchanges conference…”Speed absolutely does matter, it’s just that it’s beocoming commoditised. In itself it is no longer a differentiator.” …

Simon Brickles, chief executive of Plus Markets, a mainly small and mid-cap UK stocks exchange, said: “People are now looking at other issues, like what are the total costs of trading on a platform.”

What do you think? I’d love to hear from folks in technology, trading, operations: are we approaching the point of diminishing returns on investing in reducing latency? And if so, what impact will that have on business?

Original post by Bill Wrinn

Writing, when properly managed (as you may be sure I think mine is), is but a different name for conversation.
– Laurence Sterne, 1713-1768

This post is all about the comments on this blog, and a replay of the latest ones, which I found to be pretty interesting (mine notwithstanding).

It’s been kinda busy in the PR shop here this week, as you might imagine, so I really haven′t been on the blog as much as I’d like. I have, nevertheless, been trying to keep up with the comments. The blog and our Web site overall have gotten record page views lately, driven in part by the recent market volatility, and the comment box has been more active than usual. I think that a lot of newcomers to NYSE.com have happened upon Exchanges (welcome!), and I’d like to reiterate the comment ground rules for everybody (newcomers and veterans of this spaces alike). From our “About” page:

We may edit comments for length, foul language, grammar, personal attacks or other reasons.

“Other reasons” is very broad, I know, but here are two specific characteristics of comments I’ve chosen not to run this week: endorsements of political candidates or parties; and analysis of NYSE Euronext’s stock. You’ll see a couple of the latter below, but I’m putting everyone on notice, no more. This space is about the markets, products and services of NYSE Euronext. There are plenty of message boards out there for those who want to talk about stock prices and politicians. Thanks for your cooperation with this.

Also: I used to make a regular practice of turning comments and questions into new posts, to make the multi-logue a little more visible. I′ve gotten away from that but will try to get back to it on occasion, because however cranky and thin-skinned I might seem at times, an original goal of the blog was to engage people in conversation instead of talking at them. And I still think the give-and-take of the comment box is the best part of Exchanges.

For those who read the new posts but not the comments, here are the comments on a recent post, to give you a flavor for what I’m talking about. Enjoy. Have a good weekend, and let’s hope for prosperous and stable markets next week. Hope to see you in the comment box soon.

Speaking to volatility…

A NYSE floor broker, from Rosenblatt securities was interviewed on CNBC, and called into question the new electronic rules.

To summarize, he was speaking about the buyer of last resort. In the past this was always the specialist, and as the market model moved toward speed, his/her role changed or diminshed.

As a result, the structure on the floor changed, and volatility increased tremendously. He also seemed the think that this very change in structure is an issue most are not speaking about as a potential reason for some added stress to markets. I could not agree more. To say the least, Hybrid/NMS have had some intended and unintended consequences to the way trading is conducted nowadays.

(I tried my best to summarize his points accurately, from a television interview a couple hours ago with 4 positions on)

by jt on October 6, 2008 3:39 PM

Ray,

In 1928 the Dow divisor was 16.67. When I started in the business 30 years ago, the divisor was also a real divisor when it was well above 1. Now it is a multiplier at 0.12. For every little move in each Dow stock, the divisor accentuates the Dow’s overall move. All this is a result of stock splits and replacements in the DJIA components. A one point move in DJIA components makes for a much larger move in the Average than just 20 years ago. In short, you are losing or making a lot less money for every 500 point DJIA move than yesteryear.

by Bart Ward on October 6, 2008 4:31 PM

I suggest that until the Nov elections this market will be unsteady. Why this is this? We have two persons one of which has no experience in the markets and one that does. I like many people have bought stocks that has a sound base, the rest is in cash. That will possibly lose some value.

by D H Stubbs on October 6, 2008 6:54 PM

Hey Ray,

Write an article about how the stock price of Nasdaq has accomplished to pass the stock price of the NYSE! Stock Prices tell the ENTIRE story and it will be interesting to hear your view on why the NYSE Euronext stock price is about to fall below the Nasdaq stock price! NDAQ appreciates faster and falls slower than NYX! 99% of the time this means it is a better company, contrary to all your posts!… Any questions?

by Mark T. on October 7, 2008 2:14 PM

Mark — Oh no, you’ve got me there! Yes, stock price is the one criterion of which company is “better,” and you obviously have a crystal ball as to which stock is going where! Yes, just disregard any other criteria, like market cap, which would appear to indicate NYX as far more valuable a company what does market cap know? Woe is poor me.

Seriously, please forgive me, I must not be making myself clear. I′m writing about the markets, products and services of NYSE Euronext, and on occasion, how those offerings stack up to the competition’s. I′m not here to write about whose stock price is going where, as I don’t think that means very much (if at all) to our customers and prospective customers, plus I have no expertise in it.

I have never said — and never will — that our company is “better” than another, contrary to what you say above. But I have indeed stated when I believe that one of our markets or features is better than that of competitors, and I back that up with facts.

If you want to talk stock price, I’d suggest one of the online message boards. If you want to talk markets and services, I always welcome you to do that here.

And no, no questions, thanks very much. Thanks for writing, Mark.

by Ray Pellecchia on October 7, 2008 2:46 PM

Hindsight is always 20/20, but why should America as a whole have to bail out big banks doing bad business? If the banks can′t cover the loans they are giving out, that’s just bad business. Every red-blooded American works hard for their money. If they lose their jobs, I understand it’s not good for the economy, but why then is it the responsibility of those of us fortunate enough to have a job and pay taxes to have to pay more taxes to bail out companies that made poor choices? The “Bailout″ put an end to America being a supply and demand economy and turned us toward the road of being a socialism. WHAT HAPPENED TO AMERICA?

by Chris on October 7, 2008 5:36 PM

Ray,

I’d like to speak to Mark T’s point for a second.

In time, both stocks will be worthless. Give them, oh, two or three more weeks.

-DT

by Dinosaur Trader on October 7, 2008 9:24 PM

Thanks, DT. I feel the love washing over me like, um, well, er… there are just no words.

Me, I hope we all (even Nasdaq!) survive this awful market long enough to laugh about it in our old age. I’m no spring puppy but I’m not ready for extinction, to borrow your theme a bit.

Hey, while I have you: when is DinoSister making a return visit? She’s my favorite guest blogger of all time.

by Ray Pellecchia on October 7, 2008 11:16 PM

Ray,

I will let Dinosister know she has a fan. I′m sure that once the market quiets a bit she will embarrass me with another post or two.

Crazy market… I’d love to get some color on what it’s like on the floor right now.

-DT

by Dinosaur Trader on October 8, 2008 5:39 PM

DT — Crazy indeed. I won’t speak for the traders, but from my perspective, lately the floor has been more intense and energized than it’s been in months. There’s been a definite uptick in the noise level.

I’m usually there for the open and the close, and the faces I see at those times are driven, intently watching and working the news stocks. There’s a sense that the news is huge every day, and that it’s all around us, from the feds, from the companies, from overseas, all at the same time. People are walking a little faster and talking both a little faster and a little louder. The sound of a broker tapping a stylus on his wireless order-management device is a little more staccato. Brokers seem like they’ve got a lot more orders to work, or bigger orders. There are more and bigger crowds around specialists. It feels like people are in overdrive.

I thought that the huge gyrations in the market might have numbed people a bit after a month of this, day after day, but I think it’s done just the opposite and renewed their sense of purpose, that what they’re doing is important to their customers.

You ought to come in sometime when you have a day off. Would be happy to give you the nickel tour.

by Ray Pellecchia on October 8, 2008 6:15 PM

Ray,

How busy was the floor today?

by Scott M on October 9, 2008 4:08 PM

EXCELLENT.
NOTHING the gov does can stop this PLUNGE.
In fact, every additional sneaky bailout ploy they use can only accelerate the plunge, just like pouring gas on a fire.

What you are seeing, as a direct result of congress’ obscene ‘bailout’ act, is EVERY legitimate business and decent individual who has held stock BAILING OUT of this totally CORRUPT market, leaving behind ONLY the worst looters.

NO recovery of any kind will happen until ALL these pigs are GONE.
If it takes a complete monetary collapse too, then so be it.
The average American has nothing to lose anymore, and they are expressing their fury

YES, here is the BAIL OUT the country really needs!
WE THE PEOPLE are BAILING OUT of the criminal, corrupted bush regime and their crooked markets.

by Stephen Minnich on October 9, 2008 6:32 PM

Ray,

I loved that description… very nicely done, thank you.

I would love to get in there. Perhaps near the holidays when my office has their party, I’ll get in touch. They’re right on Broad somewhere.

And as for the “nickel″ tour, I know my blog is third-tier, that we’re about to enter a new Depression and that our currency is worthless, but we can do a little better than that, no?

-DT

by Dinosaur Trader on October 9, 2008 7:50 PM

Scott M. — I was on the floor for the close, and the mood seemed subdued, but the volume was very heavy. There were big sell imbalances, and a lot of stabilizing interest came in to respond; some stocks with big imbalances actually closed higher as a result.

I got to the floor at 3:45 p.m., looked up at the board and NYSE volume was around 1.5 billion shares. A few minutes after the bell, I looked up again and it was a little over 2 billion. Our CEO Duncan Niederauer was asked about it by TV reporters on the floor, and he said the volume concentration on the close often is indicative of fund redemptions.

All I know is that I’ve never seen anything like this.

DT — Thanks, and LOL about the “nickel″ tour. I don’t want to overpromise. Time spent with me is either priceless or worthless; you’ll have to be the judge. I look forward to it.

by Ray Pellecchia on October 10, 2008 7:52 AM

I honestly feel that the adv person will not invest in this market until they feel secure in this country.

They are disappointed by CEOs and their incredible salary packages, especially with those companies that are Financial and Insurance holding.

(as well, no one should be funding up the Oil Futures, this does not mean you shouldn’t invest, however don’t slaughter an already inflated nation with a weak economy)

Why don’t the leaders in these sectors, instead of hiding… start talking to the people through TV ads. Tell the people they are going to take serious changes cuts, and insure safety in their markets to make them sound.

This just may be the key to off set this 24 hour Hype-Time News.

It is not up to the Federal Government to fix these issues. Companies need to reassure the people.

by dar on October 10, 2008 8:50 AM

Original post by Tim Allik

Latest dispatch from the intersection of mindless, robotic “news” and markets:

Apple stock falls on false iReport (AJC.com)
CNN site said Steve Jobs had ‘major heart attack’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Friday, October 03, 2008

Apple shares fell more than 5 percent, then rebounded on Friday in the wake of an erroneous report about chief executive Steve Jobs’ health on CNN’s iReport.com citizen journalist Web site, Bloomberg News reported.

The iReport.com item said Jobs had suffered “a major heart attack” and was rushed to a hospital. It cited an anonymous source.

The report was “not true,” Apple spokesman Steve Dowling told Bloomberg.

The report was later removed from the iReport Web site.

By early afternoon Apple shares were up nearly 4 percent.

The subhead on the iReport site says: “Unedited. Unfiltered. News.” Hmmm. If it’s unedited and unfiltered, is it really news? In the same sense that a CNN report is news?

The iReport “About” page says:

The views and content on this site are solely those of the iReport.com contributors. CNN makes no guarantees about the content or the coverage on iReport.com!

Lots of people argue about what constitutes news. But, really, it’s just something that happens someplace to someone. Whether that something is newsworthy mostly depends on who it affects — and who’s making the decision. On iReport.com, that is you!

That doesn’t appear to be a very high bar, especially given that “no guarantees” disclimer, complete with explanation point. Also easily cleared appears to be the bar of what moves markets these days, or at least what can move Nasdaq in terms of non-news, as we’ve discussed here and here. Algos meet no-gatekeeper market and fall in love.

So now we have a system in which a hoaxter can anonymously post “news,” which can be read by and acted on by tradebots, whose orders move robotic markets. I guess none of this should really be news to any of us.

Original post by Tim Allik

Bobby Murcer with his wife Kay (Photo: amNewYork.com)

I went to a gathering at a neighbor’s house yesterday afternoon and missed the end of the Yankee game. When I got home I went online to see how the game finished up, and saw the news that Bobby Murcer had died. My sincere prayers and condolences go out to his family and friends.

Bobby was my boyhood idol when he was a player and my touchstone to Yankee tradition and class when he was a broadcaster. I had the privilege to meet him once, when he brought some of his childhood friends from Oklahoma to visit NYSE, as recounted in this post. I had the honor of meeting them at the door, and I remember being completely awestruck when I shook his hand. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Murcer,” was all I could stammer out. “Please, just call me Bobby,” he said with a big smile, instantly putting me at ease. I think his real greatness was in exactly that regular-guy connection he had with people.

Not that he hadn’t done great things in his career. For years and years he was an excellent player, the best guy on Yankee teams that otherwise were anything but excellent. He was exciting to watch — fast as a colt, good power, sure center fielder. He was an All-Star in both leagues, once hit .331, hit 252 lifetime homers, and once hit four consecutive homers over the course of a double-header I remember listening to on a little transistor radio.

And of course, there was 6 Aug. 1979, the day of the funeral of his friend and Yankee captain Thurman Munson, who had died when his small plane crashed. The entire team attended the service, where Lou Piniella and Bobby gave eulogies, then flew back to New York to play Baltimore that night. Bobby hit a three-run homer and a walkoff, two-run single in the ninth inning to knock in all five runs in a 5-4 comeback win. What accounts for the ability to do such things in such situations, I wonder — adrenaline? Luck? God? All I know is that it was something special, and it always shone around Bobby Murcer.

The day he was at NYSE, Gordon Charlop, one of our brokers, walked Bobby and his friends around the trading floor. People stopped what they were doing to come over and talk with him. They got his autograph, they asked him how the Scooter was doing, what did he think of the Yanks’ chances for the playoffs, did he remember the time when this or that happened. More frequently than anything else, I heard people thank him, for being a player and announcer they enjoyed, for always conducting himself well. Bobby was a modest man and could tell he appreciated the outpouring of affection.

The following Christmas Eve we read the news that Bobby had brain cancer. Ever since, we have followed his battle with the disease. His comeback to the Stadium after his surgery. His stated goal of being at Opening Day at the new Stadium next year (I’m sure he indeed will be there). And most notably, the news reports of his trading letters and phone calls with others battling cancer, sharing his experiences, affirming theirs, gently urging them to have faith and hope. That he should think of others at such a difficult time for him seemed completely in character.

I looked up to Bobby when I was a kid, and even more so as an adult. It is a rare person who lives up to what you imagine them to be, and more. For that, I thank you, Bobby Murcer.

Original post by zach

A classic product of a fine NYSE-listed company, of course!

This post marks the debut of The Nasdaq Decoder Ring, an occasional feature in this space. In each episode, we’ll take one of Nasdaq’s marketing claims and pass it through this neat Nasdaq Decoder Ring that I got in a box of Cracker Jack. You look through the Decoder Ring viewfinder and apply a little lemon juice, and the reality becomes clearly visible.

If you’ll forgive a plug, I’m proud to say Cracker Jack happens to be made by Frito-Lay, which is part of PepsiCo, Inc. (NYSE: PEP). But I digress.

I lent the ring to my colleague Christiaan Brakman earlier today, and here’s what he reported back:

Hey, want to be the biggest, largest or have the most?

Just keep on saying it, in hopes that one day people might believe it, like Nasdaq OMX tried once again this morning, announcing in a press release that Nasdaq “attracted more new listings than any other U.S. exchange” in second-quarter 2008.

Fact is, in the month of June 2008 alone, NYSE Euronext’s U.S. markets attracted 42 new listings — as many as Nasdaq did in the entire second quarter 2008.

NYSE Euronext new listings data is available in our monthly volume release, announced last Tuesday, July 8.

For those really interested in this side of the business: IPO proceeds raised on NYSE Euronext markets in the first half of 2008 were the most of any exchange in the world, approximately 28 times the value raised by IPOs on Nasdaq OMX.

Thanks, Christiaan. That’s one cool ring, huh? Get it back to me when you have a chance. I have a feeling it’s going to come in handy.

Original post by zach

I learned something when I got an e-mail last night from the Webby Awards people, announcing the list of Webby recipients (which did NOT, repeat NOT, include your humble blogger, but I’M REALLY OK WITH THAT, REALLY I AM).

The thing I didn’t know is that all the Webby acceptance speeches have to be five words or fewer. I never realized this because I don’t pay a lot of attention to the Webbys. Which appears to be mutual. Your humble blogger still humbly awaits his first nomination. Gonna be a long, long, long wait, I think.

Anyway. All kinds of brilliant, creative, funny people (again, by definition, not me, but I’m OK with it) win Webbys and get to say things like this:

“Me, me, me, me, me.”
- Stephen Colbert (Webby Person of the Year)

“Mr. DJ, can you play another song?”
- David Byrne (Webby Lifetime Achievement)

“Now we know we can.”
- will. i. am (Webby Artist of the Year)

“Five words is not enough.”
- Lorne Michaels (Webby Film & Video Lifetime Achievement)

“Keyboards are full of germs.”
- Michel Gondry (Webby Film &amp Video Person of the Year)

All of which gave me a chuckle and got me thinking. What if they start a new Webby category that neatly defines my niche, i.e., financial-market blog, large-nosed author? I need to get my five words ready!

If that unlikely day comes to pass, if my years of lonely blogging somehow pay off, if the Webby people someday deign to acknowledge my existence, if they one day bestow that chrome Slinky trophy upon my shaking hands, here is what I would say:

There must be some mistake.

Original post by zach

Apologies for multiple XBRL-related posts in one day, but your no-longer-quite-so-humble blogger was honored to be invited on the SEC’s conference call this afternoon with a dozen bloggers about interactive data reporting, ahead of Monday’s expected action by the Commission on this more-accessible type of financial disclosure.

Am jammed at the moment and will write more about this later, but for the moment just wanted to tell you that Chairman Christopher Cox joined the end of the call. He talked about how the reporting language would make it easier for investors to sift, compare and analyze data from companies, and that it will also make easier the exchange of financial information globally in addition to domestically. He said, “It’s going to be so breathtakingly different from what people even in recent years have been used to, that it’s sometimes hard to get people to focus on the big change that’s in store.”

If no one else has blogged about this yet, then I have one word to add:

Scoop!

Cox used to be the first SEC chairman to write into a blog (Jonathan Schwartz’s); he’s now also the first to participate in a teleconference with bloggers, which also was the first the SEC has ever conducted.

Glad they had the call; I learned a lot; will share more later. Smart move on their part, too, to have the chairman join the call. He’s walking the talk. Or, for a call, is it talking the talk? Anyway, he’s obviously committed to this worthy initiative.

Original post by zach

I’ve ranted here now and again about how public companies should join the move to report their financial disclosures in an interactive data format (known as XBRL, or eXtensible Business Reporting Language) to make the information easier for investors to search and analyze online. More to come on that shortly: on Monday, the SEC is scheduled to decide on its plans for any requirements and timeline for public companies to file their financial statements in the format.

Disclosure: NYSE Euronext has been filing its own financial statements in XBRL, as a participant in the SEC’s pilot program on interactive reporting.

If you thought I was all geeky-excited about this, I think my enthusiasm pales compares to that of Cate Long of the ShopYield blog, whose post on the subject brings to mind that Meg Ryan scene from “When Harry Met Sally.” You know the one. Excerpt:

CFO.com is reporting that the SEC will vote on Monday whether to require public companies to make their financial statement filings in XBRL …

To the Commissioners … YES … YES … YES …

Although it’s often hard to communicate the benefits of data standardization it is so powerful… one can point to the use of hyper text markup language in the development of the Internet… who would have guessed the information hurricane that was unleashed…

Poor CFOs and IT folks will groan … one more mandate for their overworked departments… it’s true it will be more work… but the markets and public will benefit … for decades to come … YES … YES … YES …

Okaaaayyyy. Come on, Cate, tell us how you really feel! : )

Back here on the ground, I’m taking next week off — or at least I’m supposed to, though the working world sometimes gets in the way — so posting here will be at least lighter than usual. Be good and be well, my friends. A little shot of trivia before I go:

Today in NYSE History
18 April 1980 — The NYSE’s first female specialist, Amy W. Newkirk, is admitted to membership.

I continue to be blown away by that. Happy that it ever happened, completely ashamed that it didn′t happen until 1980, 17 years after Muriel Siebert became the first woman member in 1967, which in itself was way, way too long in coming. Clubs become better places for opening their doors.

Original post by shamit

Our CEO Duncan Niederauer was just interviewed on PBS’s Nightly Business Report. Sorry for the lack of notice; I knew it was coming but got the date wrong.

NBR co-anchor blogged about the interview here. She says: “The word ‘authentic’ has been overused lately. But it’s about the best word I can come up with to describe the CEO of the New York Stock Exchange who I interviewed for the first time today.” Excerpt:

Niederauer talks and acts like a stock trader. His style is breezy and friendly. Minutes after I shook his hand, we were already talking about his years at Goldman Sachs, his three kids, and why he’s a fan of the Cleveland Indians (His mother is from Brooklyn and doesn’t like the Yankees, forcing him to pick any other team to root for. He was attracted to the underdog Indians.) He’s starkly different from Thain, who is reserved and formal. I found it revealing that Niederauer chose not move into the grand office that Thain occupied — with a combination of antique English furniture and a stock ticker — preferring a more modest space down the hall.

Before and during the interview, Niederauer spoke candidly and directly. It’s refreshing to talk to a CEO who’s unscripted and unrehearsed. He says what he thinks. He even told me that he got in trouble recently for being too candid. At a gathering in Washington DC on the same day that the Federal Reserve slashed interest rates by three-quarters of a percent, Niederauer commented that a half percent cut would have done the job. Well, his off the cuff remark was widely quoted, and he was criticized. His comments were considered inappropriate because he is not an economist. Niederauer told me he’s more careful about what he says now. I just hope he won’t get too careful. It will be a shame if he becomes predictable and programmed like so many American CEOs.

I think I can speak for many who work with Duncan when I say: Predictable and programmed? Rest easy, Susie, not much chance of that happening.

Hey, but Cleveland? I mean, Cleveland? After the Joba playoff game last year, that one bugs this ol’ Yankee fan. Oh well. Guess you have to respect anyone in New York who roots for the Indians and admits it.

Will add to this post a link to the interview when NBR puts one up, which I understand will be around 9ish tonight.

Original post by admin

Last year at about this time, Bob Wright, co-founder of Autism Speaks, came here to ring the NYSE Closing Bell to mark Autism Awareness Month. Prior to that, my only familiarity with autism was through living next door to a family with an autistic child. I had no idea how widespread this neurological disorder was until I had the honor of meeting Bob and walking him around the trading floor. I remember being surprised at how many members and others on our trading floor — literally, dozens — went out of their way to talk with Bob and share how autism had touched their lives and those of friends and family members. Bob was completely engaged with them, validating their experiences, providing tips on resources, and encouraging them to hang in and keep working.

Bob was back today with his co-founder, his wife Suzanne, to promote the same cause, but now the U.S. has officially declared April 2 World Autism Awareness Day. Among those joining him was my boss, Duncan Niederauer; his wife Alison, who is joining the Autism Speaks board; and their son Liam, 10, who has autism.

Check out this CNBC interview with the group. Chief, you’re good on TV, but you’ve got nothing on your kid.

The Wrights have 25 countries around the world involved today with awareness events, and have moved this cause forward in ways beyond measure. Duncan committed to marking this day every year at NYSE; I can’t wait to see the progress by 2009.

Original post by admin

This post has nothing to do with markets; it’s just something I found weird.

Despite the best efforts of my SFTCs (spam-filtering techie colleagues), the Exchanges blog gets a good deal of spam through the comment box. You, gentle reader, never see it here because I cull it out from the comments I publish. The other day, while separating this chaff from the wheat as I was waiting to not be picked to serve on a jury, I was struck by a unique feature of these blog spams.

Blog spams hawk many of the same things that get spammed through e-mail: prescription drugs, porn, penny stocks, etc. But blog spam has something that e-mail spam doesn’t: the introductory compliment.

Virtually every blog spam begins with a comment about how wonderful the blog is, or what a terrific post that was, etc. I guess the fake kudo is an attempt to evade the filters by taking on the guise of a real comment.

Here’s a sample of the spams that came into Exchanges one day last week. Each comment is followed by the pseudonym of the very kind commenter, and the product they were selling. Note, I have not cleaned up any of the grammar or spelling.

The site’s very professional! Keep up the good work! — Odysseus (free web hosting)

Fantastic work! — Alan Mjyml (foreign-exchange trading software)

Here is intresting people… Lets talk! — Themestoclis (porn)

Wow, super site here! — Jana (foreign-exchange trading software)

This is a cool site! Thanks and wish you better luck! Brilliant but simple idea. — Loukianos (free web hosting)

This is one of the best sites I have ever found. Thanks!!! Very nice and informal. I enjoy being here. — Zaharias (porn)

Really great site with alot of good information!! Keep up the good work!!!! — Spyros (free web hosting)

Hi! Guys how you manage to make such perfect sites? Good fellows! — Arion (free web hosting)

This is one of the best sites I have ever found. Thanks!!! Very nice and informal. I enjoy being here. (porn)

Tnx for you job! It has very much helped me! — Liamsmubmar (online music)

Your site is the best one! — Alan Bnrch (foreign-exchange trading software)

Thanks for the welcome I spent 2 hours to find information you have on this site!! — Sheaffica (online prescription drugs)

hi… just droppin’ by your site… it’s really cute… nice work! — Athones (porn)

Ah, if only they really meant it.

Hey, do any other bloggers out there get this stuff?

Original post by admin

Just came from a meeting where some NYSE managers were saying that not all the floor brokers were aware of the pricing change we announced on Friday, which I blogged about here.

What? People aren’t reading my stuff? Heresy! I mean, WTH? (That’s what the heck — after all, this is a family blog.)

My feelings are so hurt.

OK, I’m over it. Maybe this is what happens when you announce something on a Friday: it gets lost amid the weekend anticipation. Or maybe I haven’t been posting frequently enough, and people are falling out of the habit. Anyway, this post is a reminder.

And while we′re on the topics of reminders and missed information, don’t forget, it’s easy to subscribe to Exchanges via e-mail or RSS.

Friday’s post did draw a comment and a question, which I replay here to let you know that at least someone is reading (sniff-sniff!).

Ray, can you clarify…will the floor brokers receive a rebate only if their orders are posted in the Open Book? Are they able to have reserve size and still receive the rebate? Thanks

by Ron on February 29, 2008 5:58 PM

Good Stuff Ray, about time the NYSE starts taking care of thier own. Maybe now we can start getting more liquidity in the stocks which would make a better overall trading market. Next we need the specialists to step up the level of price improvement & matching and you will see the NYSE market share start to gain ground again. I would really love the NYSE to once again become the premier exchange for traders like it used to be. Keep it coming Ray your customers have been waiting a long time for positive changes. Take care.

by tony dey on February 29, 2008 7:41 PM

Tony — Thanks for the comment. We do indeed plan to keep it coming. More to follow soon.

Ron — Brokers will receive the credit if their orders are posted on the Display Book, the book of pending limit orders. And yes, they can be reserve orders.

Important to note that not everything in the Display Book is visible on OpenBook. For example, brokers can gain the credit by posting an e-Quote, and these are not visible on OpenBook. Hope that answers it. Thanks for writing!

by Ray Pellecchia on March 3, 2008 9:07 AM

Happy Monday, folks. Hope your outlook is as sunny as today is in New York.

Financial Flashback (WSJ.com)
March 3, 1997 — Merrill Lynch & Co., after insisting that its clients weren’t interested in on-line trading, is expected to offer the service to its clients by the middle of next year. Big full-service brokerage firms have resisted the move toward on-line trading.

And hey, Alexander Graham Bell was born On This Day in 1847(NYTimes.com). Call someone you love today, and thank Mr. Bell for making it so easy.

Original post by admin

NYSE has just filed a change in our fees that will provide floor brokers with a credit when they add liquidity. Excerpt:

The Exchange proposes to amend its equity transaction fees, for implementation on March 1, 2008.

Member organizations will receive a $.0004 per share credit for execution of orders sent directly to the floor broker for representation on the NYSE when adding liquidity to the NYSE Display Book system (including Percentage Orders).(2)

Technological limitations(3) make it impossible for floor brokers to post orders on other markets while at the point of sale on the Exchange. Therefore, unlike other Exchange users, they are unable to benefit from the incentives certain other markets provide to customers who provide liquidity. The time that would elapse if a floor broker sent the order to his booth or upstairs trading desk for execution on another market means that, if the floor broker utilized this alternative, the trade would likely not get executed at the desired price. The Exchange believes this disparity places floor brokers at a competitive disadvantage to other Exchange customers and believes that the proposed credit will mitigate the effects of that disadvantage while also attracting additional liquidity to the Exchange.

The Exchange believes the credit is justified because of the importance of the floor brokers to the continuation of the floor as an integral part of the Exchange’s market model. The Exchange’s market model integrates the auction market with automated trading. Essential to this model is the interaction between the specialists, floor brokers and orders in the Display Book system, which creates opportunities for price improvement, provides information about changing market conditions and serves as a catalyst to trading. The Exchange believes that this incentive will allow floor brokers to remain competitive.

(2) An order adds liquidity to the market if it is posted on the book for execution against incoming orders on the contra side. Generally, Exchange customers are able to send their orders to other markets to avail themselves of incentives those markets provide to customers who provide liquidity. Floor brokers add liquidity to the market by posting orders either as eQuotes or as DOT or Percentage Orders. Non-electronic trades on the Exchange floor do not add liquidity to the book and are either charged a fee of $.0004 per share (if they are non-electronic agency transactions of less than 10,000 shares between brokers in the crowd) or are free (if they are non-electronic trades of 10,000 shares or more).

(3) The Exchange’s order management system on the floor, the Broker Booth Support System® (BBSS), is not configured to route orders away from the floor to another market.

This is another in a series of steps to enhance the value of our market. Again, there’s more to come. Will keep you posted. Hope this one will be of help to our brokers, from a perspective of competing, adding liquidity to the market, and providing a valuable service to customers — actually they’re all intertwined.

Happy Friday, my friends. Unless you’re long, it seems at the moment. Hey, just remember, things can always change. Consider how different things are today from not so long ago:

Financial Flashback (WSJ.com)
February 29, 2000 — The euro’s oft-cited “potential to appreciate″ is becoming more of a joke than a mantra. The only thing appreciating Monday was sales volume, as “panic selling” sent Europe′s single currency to an all-time low.

Original post by shamit

I’m just back from an extended holiday weekend and wanted to share a couple of timely items from the last couple of days:

First item: NYSE Euronext enters valuation race (FT.com) Excerpt:

NYSE Euronext, the world’s largest stock exchange group, has entered the race to establish the industry standard platform for evaluating complex structured products and illiquid securities.

The launch yesterday of the exchange’s new Prime Source valuation service is designed specifically to meet the needs of large buy-side market participants’ to value large, global portfolios of such securities.

Regulators and market participants are grappling with the best way to value a range of complex fixed income instruments such as credit default swaps and mortgage-backed securities, which have wreaked havoc in the markets since the middle of last year. Problems with controlling and determining the extent of exposure to such instruments have contributed to huge writedowns at investment banks and have led to several hedge fund blowups and volatility in capital markets.

The launch of the platform comes just weeks after Duncan Niederauer, chief executive of NYSE Euronext, told the FT that the exchange had been approached by US regulators about how its systems might be used to boost transparency in fixed-income markets. …

Roland Bellegarde, head of European cash markets at NYSE Euronext, said: “The hub provides a combination of valuation services that gives users the possibility to find in one independent, neutral place all the information they need to facilitate their valuation process.” …

Appears to me that we’re again diversifying within our space, and just as important, it looks like we’re doing so in a timely fashion, given this from today’s Wall Street Journal:

Gauging the Worth of ‘Market Value’ (WSJ.com) Excerpt:

… Credit Suisse Group yesterday said it expects to take a $2.85 billion write-down of financial instruments affected by the credit crunch, which will result in a $1 billion drop in quarterly profit, just a week after telling investors it had largely escaped the worst of the financial crisis. American International Group Inc. was forced a week ago to increase by about $3.6 billion estimates of potential losses it had made to investors in late 2007.

The quick about-faces highlight the problem that companies, even those that are supposed to be financial experts, are having with a seemingly straightforward question: How much is something worth?

The difficulty lies in part in the increasing use of so-called market values to determine prices for items that companies aren′t necessarily selling. This has become especially tough since the debt crisis has caused large parts of markets to seize up, meaning there often aren′t any prices to use as reference points.

Second item: After my rant last week about XBRL, here’s a good item to follow up: SEC Makes Analyzing Corporate Performance Easier for Investors; A Whole New Way to Look at Financial Data (SEC.gov) Excerpt:

Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox today announced the launch of the “Financial Explorer” on the SEC Web site to help investors quickly and easily analyze the financial results of public companies. Financial Explorer paints the picture of corporate financial performance with diagrams and charts, using financial information provided to the SEC as “interactive data” in eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL).

At the click of a mouse, Financial Explorer lets investors automatically generate financial ratios, graphs, and charts depicting important information from financial statements. Information including earnings, expenses, cash flows, assets, and liabilities can be analyzed and compared across competing public companies.

The software takes the work out of manipulating the data by entirely eliminating tasks such as copying and pasting rows of revenues and expenses into a spreadsheet. That frees investors to focus on their investments’ financial results through visual representations that make the numbers easier to understand. Investors can use Financial Explorer by visiting www.sec.gov/xbrl.

Hat tip to the folks at ShopYield, where I spotted this news.

A bit of trivia for your wonderful Wednesday, folks (and speaking of timely, given the news from Havana):

Today in NYSE History
20 Feb. 1961 — The securities of five Cuban railroad and sugar companies were delisted after the Fidel Castro’s communist government expropriated their assets.

Original post by admin