Execution Venues

Alpha Group, a consortium of nine Canadian brokers, has announced that its Alpha alternative trading system (ATS) for equities has received regulatory approval, ahead of its scheduled launch on 26 September.

Turquoise, the multilateral trading facility launched on 15 August, has said its 13 offered markets have completed their settlement cycles, with effective settlement occurring in each.

Morgan Stanley and Deutsche Bank have become the first investment banks to enter into swap agreements on stocks listed on the Saudi Arabian stock market (Tadawul).

Turquoise, the pan-European multilateral trading facility that began its ‘soft’ launch phase on August 15, had a successful first full week of trading last week, according to a letter from CEO Eli Lederman to Turquoise users.

The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) is set to introduce co-location services at its data centre, together with two new trading systems.

Liquidnet, a buy-side crossing network, now has 101 members providing liquidity in Asia-Pacific equities, following its launch in the region last November.

European exchange group Deutsche Börse will introduce a new pricing and discount model in September for firms that execute automated trading strategies on its Xetra electronic order book.

The ISE Stock Exchange, a unit of Eurex’s International Securities Exchange business, is to become a wholly-owned subsidiary of Direct Edge, the US equity trading platform.

The US Commodity and Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) has approved an application by NYSE Liffe, the US futures trading platform of exchange group NYSE Euronext, to become a designated contract market.

SWX Europe, the London-based cross-border exchange owned by SWX Swiss Exchange, will cut its trading fees by almost a third from 1 October 2008.