Stock trading platforms

On Thursday, at the Black Hat cybersecurity conference in Las Vegas, IOActive Inc. outlined the vulnerabilities of many popular investment apps. The cybersecurity firm has issued a warning about the dangers of online trading applications, based on extensive research by senior security consultant Alejandro Hernandez. “The advent of electronic trading platforms and networks has made exchanging financial securities easier and faster than ever,” Hernandez wrote, “but this comes with inherent risks.”Some of those risks are more readily apparent than others. In fact, ten out of the 80 tested stock trading apps do not even bother to encrypt the user’s password. Lacking even that elementary shield, individuals hoping to make their money grow could all too easily find it missing altogether. Even the largest electronic brokers have their weaknesses, though many have already begun shoring them up in the wake of these findings. TD Ameritrade was found to store … [Read more...] about Security Consultant Says Stock Trading Apps Insecure

Following the European Securities and Markets Authority’s (ESMA’s) approval and registration of the first four trade repositories (TRs) in November 2013, counterparties to all types of over-the-counter (OTC) and exchange-traded derivatives contracts will be required, from 12 February 2014, to report certain details of their trades to a registered or recognised TR.All counterparties, even those exempt from the clearing obligation, should take note that they will not be exempt from the reporting obligation. To facilitate the process, counterparties will, however, be permitted to delegate trade reporting requirements to third parties or their respective counterparties.BackgroundThe reporting obligation forms part of the requirements imposed by the EU Regulation on OTC derivative transactions, central counterparties (CCPs) and TRs (Regulation 648/2012), also known as the European Market Infrastructure Regulation or EMIR. EMIR aims to establish within the European Union the G-20 … [Read more...] about European Market Infrastructure Regulation (EMIR) Trade Reporting Requirements Come Into Effect 12 February 2014

No unifying theme bridged last week’s most material developments in the financial services industry worldwide. In Europe, ESMA declined to find equivalency in the regulation of alternative investment fund managers and funds in the United States and in the European Union, and thus would not recommend at this time that the European Commission grant passport rights to US managers and funds to access EU professional investors without authorization by each member state where they propose to conduct business. Meanwhile, in the United States, three firms were fined in excess of US $2.6 million by FINRA for OATS trade reporting infractions; while in Hong Kong, a firm was fined approximately US $580,000 for not timely reporting information regarding an apparent rogue trader. As a result, the following matters are covered in this week’s edition of Bridging the Week: ESMA Says “No for Now” to Granting Passport Rights to US Fund Managers Under AIFMD;BATS Exchange … [Read more...] about Bridging the Week: July 27 – 31 and August 3, 2015 (No Passport; Spoofing; Wash Trades; Position Limits, Bitcoin; Rogue Trading)

On 29 March 2017, the same day that United Kingdom has officially launched the Brexit process, the European Commission (Commission) blocked the proposed 29 billion Euro merger between Deutsche Börse AG (DBAG) and London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) under the EU Merger Regulation; however, the Commission decision (M.7995) has not been published yet. DBAG and LSEG are the two largest stock exchange operators and own the stock exchanges of Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom, as well as several of the largest European clearing houses. In August 2016, the parties filed a merger notification to the Commission with discussions starting as early as February 2016. Since 2000, DBAG and LSEG have tried to merge three times hoping to create a heavyweight in the European stock market. DBAG had previously already been blocked to merge with NYSE Euronext in 2012. Commission’s concernsThe Commission was of the opinion that the merger between DBAG and LSEG would have significantly reduced … [Read more...] about European Commission Blocks Merger of London Stock Exchange and Deutsche Börse

Sep 13, 10:49 AM EDT Newsletter Signup BusinessTechnologyWorldNationalMedia & CultureOpinionSportsLuxury World By Ben PERRY 09/13/19 AT 10:30 AM The London Stock Exchange Group on Friday turned down a takeover bid by the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, citing "fundamental" flaws and concerns over its ties to the Hong Kong government.In a statement, LSEG said management "unanimously rejects the conditional proposal" from Hong Kong Stock Exchange (HKEX) and "given its fundamental flaws, sees no merit in further engagement" regarding the offer worth almost £32 billion ($40 billion, 36 billion euros)."There is no doubt that your unusual board structure and your relationship with the Hong Kong government will complicate matters," LSEG told HKEX bosses in a letter published alongside the rejection statement.Analysts said the LSEG had been "spooked" by recent pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong.The owner of the London and Milan stock exchanges added Friday that it "remains … [Read more...] about London Stock Exchange Rejects £32bn Hong Kong Takeover Bid