In Play ,
Comments »In Play and On the Wires
In Play and On the Wires
Cyprus Banks Reopen, Customers Said to Be Civilized
“Cyprus’s banks opened for the first time in almost two weeks, with new rules curbing access to cash preventing an initial panic to withdraw deposits.
“We expected much more people,” said Argyros Eraclides, manager of a Bank of Cyprus branch in the Stavrou area of Nicosia. “Fortunately there are only some people who needed cash for the day, but customers reacted fantastically. We expected some people to be more aggravated.”
Banks opened at midday local time today, with lines of about 15 to 20 people waiting to enter branches in the Cypriot capital. The Central Bank of Cyprus’s money controls include a 300-euro ($383) daily limit on withdrawals and restrictions on transfers to accounts outside the country.
Cyprus’s lenders have been closed since March 16, when the European Union presented a proposal to force losses on all depositors in exchange for a 10 billion-euro bailout. That plan touched off protests and political upheaval on the island, and was rejected by the country’s parliament. A subsequent agreement shut Cyprus Popular Bank Pcl (CPB), the second-largest lender, and imposed larger losses on uninsured depositors.
Call for Calm….”
In Play and On the Wires
In Play and On the Wires
FLASH: European Markets Begin to Tank, Sell-Off Led by Italy and Banking Stocks
The EU Investigates ISDA for Derivative and Swap Data Sharing
“The International Swaps & Derivatives Association, a financial industry derivatives group, is being probed as part of a European Union antitrust investigation into how data on credit derivatives is shared.
Regulators found “indications that ISDA may have been involved in a coordinated effort of investment banks to delay or prevent exchanges from entering the credit derivatives business,” the European Commission said in a statement today. The EU started a probe in April 2011 into whether 16 lenders, including Citigroup Inc. (C) and Deutsche Bank AG (DBK), colluded by giving pricing information to data provider Markit Group Ltd.
The commission “is examining whether a number of investment banks may have used Markit, the leading provider of financial information in the CDS market, to foreclose the development of certain CDS trading platforms,” the regulator said. “This could have been achieved through collusion or an abuse of a possible collective dominance.”
Global regulators have sought to toughen oversight of the credit-default swap market, arguing the trades helped fuel the financial crisis. The EU’s probes add to separate antitrust investigations into whether banks colluded to manipulate benchmark lending rates, including the London interbank offered rate. The U.S. Justice Department is also probing the credit derivatives clearing, trading and information services industries.
“ISDA is confident that it has acted properly at all times and has not infringed EU competition rules,” the organization said in an e-mailed statement. “ISDA is co-operating fully with regulatory authorities.”
Fines, Temptation…”
Comments »In Play and On the Wires
In Play and On the Wires
In Play and On the Wires
In Play and On the Wires
Place Your Bets Early as The Philippines Looks to Become the Next Macau
“Event
On March 16th Bloomberry Resorts’ Solaire Manila, the first of four giant casino resorts that are to be opened the next four years, started trading in the capital.
Analysis
The resort lies at the heart of the Philippine government’s ambitious plan to make Manila a major gaming hub in Asia, alongside Singapore and Macau.
The government wants to create a Las Vegas-style strip consisting of four casino resorts, Entertainment City, as a key element of its plans to develop tourism as a major industry. It is hoped that an increase in tourism will create jobs and boost incomes, especially in remote areas far from large cities. The government wants to raise tourist arrivals to 10m a year by 2016, from 4.3m in 2012…..”
Comments »In Play and On the Wires
In Play and On the Wires
In Play and On the Wires
In Play and On the Wires
In Play and On the Wires
In Play and On the Wires
SEC Proposes Rules to Prevent Flash Crash Scenarios
“The nation’s top securities regulator proposed new rules Thursday aimed at preventing the breakdowns in automated trading systems that have threatened to undermine investor confidence.
The proposal, known as Regulation SCI, short for systems, compliance and integrity, would replace an existing program under which operators of alternative trading systems and other financial organizations operated under voluntary standards not covered or enforced by formal SEC rules.
Formal rules are needed, several SEC commissioners said, citing the 2010 Flash Crash in which the Dow abruptly dropped 600 points before recovering, the August computer problem that triggered a $460 million loss for trading firm Knight Capital Group and technology glitches that marred Facebook’s 2012 initial public offering.
In a unanimous 4-0 vote, the Securities and Exchange Commission proposed that certain alternative trading systems, self-regulatory organizations, clearing agencies and plan processors be required to design, develop, test and maintain the electronic systems that are integral to their operations…..”
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