Today’s bid by Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing (HKEX) to buy the London Stock Exchange Group for $36.6 billion is a conundrum in what otherwise would be a continuation of global consolidation among exchanges. But it is muddied by the geopolitical backdrop that could make the London Stock Exchange off limits to certain suitors, especially those under the control of the Chinese government.
Posts written by Jim Kharouf
Richard Sandor: The Man Who Wants To Transform A $9 Trillion Market On Main Street
Jim Kharouf - John Lothian NewsThe American Financial Exchange (AFX) is set to list its first Ameribor futures products - 3-month and 7-day Ameribor futures - on August 16, 2019, the 42nd anniversary of the launch of Treasury bond futures....
Brace yourself. It may be time for a financial transaction tax
This is a subheader In the past few weeks the financial transaction tax (FTT) has been suggested and floated everywhere from Chicago’s mayoral election campaign to candidates for the new presidential election. The search for new tax revenues...
Wilson goes all in against the CFTC and the industry wins
There are traders who put their careers on the line every day in the markets. And then there’s Don Wilson, who put his career and firm on the line in court with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, and won.
POV: Are Publicly Traded Exchanges Sticking It To You?
There is a recurring criticism of publicly traded exchanges - that they are not serving the needs of their customers, all to satisfy shareholders. Such was the essence of the argument by James Andrus, an investment manager from...
Brexit Has Industry Participants Prepping For “Worst Case Scenario”
Industry participants are preparing for a worst case scenario with the UK Brexit coming next March. Frustration with the process and lack of political leadership was palpable at the World Federation of Exchanges Annual Meeting in...
ESMA Keeping Tight Leash On EU Trading Venues
Steven Maijoor, chair of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA), said MiFID II rules launched in January are indeed living up to expectations of pushing more trading onto exchanges, but more work may be required. In...
Build or Buy? Exchanges Continue to Branch Out For Revenues Through Acquisition
Exchanges are continuing to look at two areas for revenue growth - consolidation and acquisition of non-exchange service firms, according to a new report from Burton Taylor. The report, presented at the World Federation of Exchange's...
Exchange Legacy: WFE Tackles The Question Of The Role Of Exchanges. It’s Much More Than You May Think.
Can exchanges change the world and shape the future? This goes well beyond the traditional mantras that derivatives markets help set prices and offset risk, or stock markets help raise capital for companies. Hats off to the World...
What does your clearinghouse DEFCON scale look like today?
Talk about timing. Ten years after the collapse of the global financial market and a decade of rebuilding it, Nasdaq reports that Nasdaq Clearing had to cover for a clearing member default of €114 million on Nasdaq Nordic, a default...
X_TRADER Transformed The Industry: Now It’s Time To Do It Again
The announcement that Trading Technologies will be shutting down its X_TRADER platform is not a big surprise. But what that platform has done over its 25-year lifespan certainly is. And what the new TT platform may do in the coming...
Custody Battle Brewing Over Crypto Assets, and That’s a Good Thing
It was just a few months ago that the cryptocurrency markets were bemoaning the lack of institutional-grade custody services. Without them, no right-minded fund or asset manager was going to get anywhere near this market. And if they...
Cinnober’s new CEO will have to consider the next move
The news that Veronica Augustsson was out as CEO of Cinnober Financial Technologies and newcomer Peter Lenardos was in was a shock. Augustsson, who had been CEO the past six years and with the firm since 2002, grew up with the...
Tech firms looking to change the technology stack
The question for the industry today is whether firms have hit the technology breaking point. In other words, can firms continue to maintain and sustain the technology they've built over the past 20-plus years? A new breed of tech...

Jim Kharouf
Contributing Global Markets Editor
JimKharouf@JohnLothian.com MarketsWiki Profile
Jim Kharouf is a Chicago-based reporter and editor who has covered all aspects of the financial markets since 1989. He currently serves as contributing global markets editor to John Lothian News.