Brian Bollen's Blog

ECSDA maps dense network of CSD links

A dense network of links between central securities depositories has developed over the past few years, as shown by data collected in the second half of 2014, says the European CSD Association (ECSDA). ECSDA has produced an overview of CSD links which shows that only four out of the 41 CSDs covered by its links mapping exercise have no links at all with other CSDs. Three other CSDs only maintain “inbound links” allowing foreign CSDs to access their local market. The remaining 34 CSDs have both inbound and outbound links.

Clearstream links with SMBC for JGB mobilisation

Clearstream and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) are joining forces to develop a collateral management service for their mutual customers. The aim is to enable mutual customers to consolidate their Japanese government bonds (JGBs) held across both institutions into a single pool to perform tri-party collateral management transactions with any Clearstream collateral receiver.

Hedge fund industry sees bright future

The hedge fund industry is upbeat about its future, if the results of a new global survey commissioned by State Street amongst 235  professionals are anything to go by. State Street says the findings show that 55 percent of respondents expect pension funds to increase their exposure to hedge fund strategies over the next five years. This figure increases to 63 percent when the question is asked more broadly about institutional investors increasing their exposure to hedge funds in the next five years.  

Of gloom and eucalyptus

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge

I can’t be expected to produce deathless prose in an atmosphere of gloom and eucalyptus.

Short-porridge this morning because of broken points at Waterloo, but no surprise the headlines contain lots of words like "collision", "looming", “imminent” and “crisis”. Get over Greece. It was expected. It has happened. What are the likely outcomes?

On Her Majesty's Secret Service?

The rumours flying around Wengen that Prince Harry might be taking part in this weekend's Inferno Downhill race would appear to be unfounded. Unless, that is, Buckingham Palace, the Kandahar and the race officers are being economical with the truth when they tell me they know nothing of it.

This is one situation in which I could be tempted not to let the facts get in the way of a good story. A story involving a royal, the Swiss Alps, a madcap ski race and James Bond in a valley that is arguably the Bernese Oberland branch of MI6 would be utterly compelling. I found myself mentally preparing a five-page spread for The Sun overnight, starting from the premise that Buckingham Palace professes to have no knowledge of the rumours that Prince Harry will be taking part in the Inferno race.

But I've been too well trained for that. The FT has a hard-won reputation for accuracy is a dictum hammered into me during my time before that particular mast and it has stayed with me. Which is a real pity, because it would have been a cracking story: the rumours themselves, pictures of Piz Gloria, Ernst Blofeld's lair in the Bond film On Her Majesty's Secret Service, the history of the Inferno Races with diabolical imagery.

Five pages? Make it seven!! Hold the front page, and the rest!!

Mind you, if he does turn out to be in it, I will be mightily miffed, and remind anyone who will listen that there are often very good reasons why the gentlemen and gentlewomen of the fourth estate are so distrusting.

Oh, and another thing, I'd have included the picture, of a young chap in a Guggi band at the Inferno finish in Murren in 2011. He does look strangely familiar, no?

 

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Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge

Something ain't right. Call it a feeling, call it instinct, call it whatever but this morning’s positive market vibe feels like that moment of curious calm in the film just before it all kicks off again. Not that there should be anything to be scared of – the ECB made the world a better place yesterday: European stock markets at highest levels in years, rest of the world dragged upwards on the news. The ECB’s beneficence will generate growth and spawn financial stability enabling stable and strong markets to blah blah blah..

Blowing on the Embers of a Reflationary Fire

Andrew Bosomworth, PIMCO managing director and head of portfolio management in Germany, considers the outcome of yesterday’s ECB meeting.

Markets heartened by ECB news, but...

Gautam Batra, managing director and investment strategist at Signia Wealth, had the following to say ontoday’s ECB’s Monetary Policy announcement.

Spread compression on ECB QE news

Mint Late Afternoon Caramel Wafer with ECB Fizzy Pop

Dramatic spread compression the order of the day as market reacts oh so predictably with a dramatic rally in euro govies to new lows and the euro getting spanked. (I suppose it was bound to do so – after all I said bonds could sell off.. give it time.. give it time.)…

Eagle releases PBOR white paper

Eagle Investment Systems LLC, a BNY Mellon company and leading provider of financial services technology, has issued a white paper outlining how investment firms can measure and attribute investment performance and perform risk analysis across their entire organisation.

Euroclear hails record 2014

Speed read: Euroclear 2014 Operating Performance - Euroclear unveils a record €26 trillion in assets under custody; €634 trillion in turnover and 12.1% growth in collateral outstandings.

Our two chief weapons are surprise and fear

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge

I was going to start by asking: “have we just seen the top of the global bond market”. It feels very much like a “sell the fact” moment looms large over us all – which is going to be magnified by the looming disappointment of Draghi’s QE coming out statement. I suspect it will be about as “shock and aweing” as a Hearts/Hibs match, possibly the least exciting teams in football today.

Attention turns to Inferno

As the dust settles after the Lauberhorn race week (almost literally so in Wengen where the amount of dismantling and cleaning up that needs to happens most of the following two weeks) attention now turns to the 72nd running of Inferno races that take place on the other side of the Lauterbrunnen Valley this week.

See what's on the slab

Mint – Blain’s Morning Porridge: Come up to the lab and see what’s on the slab.. I see you shiver with antici…..pation..

Sorry for the lack of porridge yesterday, (I was “showing-off”* on Bloomberg according to colleagues). I was blethering about China (lots to keep an eye on in terms of banking collateral problems, property wobbles and growth), Asian markets, the possibility of further global currency ructions (watch the A$, but don’t worry about Danish kroner), and of course, mostly about the ECB. I didn’t get round to Japan – but more about that below.

Zagreb Stock Exchange goes live with Ancoa

Ancoa, a provider of contextual surveillance and insightful analytics for exchanges, regulators, buy- and sell-side firms, says it has successfully integrated its real-time market surveillance capabilities with the Zagreb Stock Exchange’s (ZSE) trading platform across all trading segments: its regulated market, MTF and OTC trading platform.

Whatever happened to transparency?

Whatever happened to the consensus that transparency is good in public markets? The question is prompted by the proposed formation of yet another 'dark pool' for equity trading, known as Luminex and led by Fidelity to benefit the buy-side in all sorts of wondrous ways.

Institutional investors best execution concerns grow

Institutional investors are increasingly concerned about defining best execution for fixed income, according to a new report released today from Greenwich Associates.  The firm says the challenge is especially difficult in the investment grade and high-yield corporate bond markets, where there is less liquidity and containing information leakage is often more important than price.

SGSS consolidates cash equity with LCH.Clearnet

LCH.Clearnet, the global clearing house, reports hat it has been chosen by Société Générale Securities Services (SGSS) as the main clearer of its pan-European interoperable cash equities.

Unigestion launches Navigator fund

Unigestion, an institutional asset manager that focuses on providing its clients with a targeted range of risk-managed investment solutions, has launched Uni-Global Cross Asset Navigator, a daily liquidity, UCITS IV-compliant fund that actively allocates across asset classes based on an assessment of the risks associated with the prevailing macroeconomic backdrop.

Swiss tourism battering starts

The impact of the Swiss National Bank's shock revaluation of its currency last week is already being felt in the tourist industry. “We are already receiving cancellations,” the owner of a local hotel here in Wengen said yesterday evening. “Economic activity which would have taken place in Switzerland will instead now take place in a eurozone country.”

Other visitors already in resort speak of eating out less often, ordering one bottle of wine with dinner rather than two when they do dine out and generally being more careful.

There is growing consensus that the Swiss minimum wage of around CHF3,500 per month, is just too high, especially for foreign employers who are now required by law to pay it to their non-Swiss staff. An easy-to-understand price comparator comes in the form of a large beer (half litre). In the summer of 1974 the minimum monthly wage would buy 200 beers in a decent bar; today it would buy 500...

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