FiNETIK – Asia and Latin America – Market News Network

Asia and Latin America News Network focusing on Financial Markets, Energy, Environment, Commodity and Risk, Trading and Data Management

September 21, 2011 • 10:36 am 0

Brazil: BM&FBOVESPA – News September 2011 – Nr.20

Launch of the first stage of the BM&FBOVESPA PUMATrading System

BM&FBOVESPA announces the conclusion of the first stage of development and integrated tests with the market of its new trading platform, named the BM&FBOVESPA PUMA Trading System. This is a multi-asset electronic trading platform that has been developed by BM&FBOVESPA and CME Group. BM&FBOVESPA PUMA Trading System will replace the Global Trading System (GTS), Mega Bolsa, BOVESPA FIX and SISBEX, integrating them into a single system with greater processing capacity, extremely low latency, and new functions. The implementation will occur in stages:

  • 1st Stage: Substitution of GTS (derivatives and spot foreign exchange);
  • 2nd Stage: Substitution of Mega Bolsa (equities and equity derivatives);
  • 3rd Stage: Substitution of BOVESPA FIX (fixed-income corporate securities) and SISBEX (government securities).

The Exchange implemented the BM&FBOVESPA PUMA Trading System in the spot foreign exchange market on August 29, 2011. The other stages will be executed in the following weeks, at dates to be announced at an opportune moment. As part of the GTS replacement effort, instruments will migratein four-stages. At each stage, orders sent to the Exchange for these contracts will be processed exclusively by the new system. The migration stages are:

  • 1st Migration: Spot foreign exchange contracts.
  • 2nd Migration: Agricultural derivatives.
  • 3rd Migration: Financial derivatives (interest rates, foreign exchange, inflation indices, gold etc.), except for derivatives based on stock indices.
  • 4th Migration: Derivatives based on stock indices.

Automated solution for market surveillance, operation and market oversight

BM&FBOVESPA and BOVESPA Market Supervision (BSM), the Brazilian self-regulatory organization in charge of inspecting and supervising transactions and trade authorizations, announced on September 15 that they will use NASDAQ OMX’s SMARTS Integrity market surveillance platform to monitor trading across their equities and commodities platforms. Using SMARTS Integrity, BM&FBOVESPA and BSM will have a comprehensive portfolio of alert scenarios for market behavior.

> More information

BM&FBOVESPA and BNDES present new portfolio for the Carbon Efficient Index

BM&FBOVESPA and BNDES announced on September 5 the composition of the theoretical portfolio of the Carbon Efficient Index, valid from September to December 2011. The ICO2 is an index composed of stocks in IBrX-50 index companies that have accepted involvement in the initiative, adopting transparent practices as regards greenhouse gas emissions (GGEs). The calculation of shares in the ICO2 index takes into consideration the greenhouse gas emissions and free float of companies.

The portfolio valid as of today can be viewed here.

New head of BM&FBOVESPA for UK

BM&FBOVESPA announces that Sergio Gullo has been hired as the new chief representative for BM&FBOVESPA in London. He will report to BM&FBOVESPA International Business Development Officer Lucy Pamboukdjian and be responsible for operations with the European, Middle Eastern and African markets. Sergio Gullo has been active in the financial market for more than 27 years. He was Business Development Manager in the United Kingdom for BGC Partners and has worked in financial institutions such as Banco Votorantim and Renaissance Capital, specializing in emerging markets and always in commercial areas with a focus on fixed income and structured products. He also held a wide range of positions at Lloyd’s TSB Bank for 19 years, in both Brazil and the UK.

New office in London

The BM&FBOVESPA office in London has moved to One New Change, 4th floor (London, EC4M, 9AF, United Kingdom). The London office may be contacted by e-mail at sgullo@bvmf.com.br and by telephone at (+44) 203 379 3978.

BM&FBOVESPA and Shenzhen Stock Exchange Sign Memorandum of Understanding

BM&FBOVESPA (BVMF) and the Shenzhen Stock Exchange (SZSE) signed on September 26 a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which includes personnel exchange, mutual training and information and experience sharing. Ms Song Liping, President of the Shenzhen Stock Exchange, and Mr. Edemir Pinto, CEO of BM&FBOVESPA, signed the MOU last month during the 5th International, Financial and Capital Market Conference in Campos do Jordão, in the state of São Paulo.

BM&FBOVESPA’s options and capital raising activity

According to the WFE (World Federation of Exchanges), BM&FBOVESPA is ranked as #1 in volume of Stock Options contracts trades and #4 in IPOs (Capital Raised). These and other regulated exchange industry numbers are available at: http://www.world-exchanges.org/statistics

Securities Lending

In August, the total number of securities lending transactions reached a record 141,721 compared to the previous record of 121,971 in May 2011 and to 114,989 in July. Financial volume was BRL 62.63 billion in August from BRL 52.16 billion the previous month.

Ibovespa and other index portfolios, valid for September-December 2011

BM&FBOVESPA has announced the Ibovespa theoretical index portfolio, which will be valid from September 5 to December 29, 2011, based on the closing of the September 2, 2011 trading session. The new portfolio now includes common shares in BR Malls and Cia Hering, which brings its total to 68 stocks in 63 companies.

> More information

BM&FBOVESPA launches app for Google Chrome web browser

BM&FBOVESPA announced on September, 16th that users of the Google Chrome web browser can download a free app that allows real time monitoring of the share prices of companies traded on BM&FBOVESPA and of the directions taken by the main capital market indexes. This tool allows users to customize their share portfolio, storing in the “Favorites” tab the companies that they wish to monitor daily. The app includes films that explain stock investment, wealth creation, and financial education. It also contains messages that are sent to the BM&FBOVESPA twitter channel @Info_BMFBOVESPA

To obtain the BM&FBOVESPA Google Chrome app, please access the Google Web Store and download the file at: https://chrome.google.com/webstore.

2011 EVENTS

Family Office Summit – Latin America

BM&FBOVESPA is currently sending invitations for this event promoted by the World Research Group and which will be held in São Paulo September 26-28. A BM&FBOVESPA representative is scheduled to talk about alternative investments. The summit will present current trends for optimizing effective strategies and alternative methods to produce investments for single and multi family offices in the Brazilian capital market. There will be a special networking session bringing together managers, single and multi family offices, advisors and consultants.

Location: Intercontinental São Paulo – Alameda Santos, 1123, São Paulo , SP.
Date: September 26-28, 2011.

> Full Agenda and Registration

2nd FX Growth Markets Series: Brazil – Profit & Loss

BM&FBOVESPA will join the Profit & Loss FX Growth Markets conference on October 20, 2011 at the Tivoli Hotel in São Paulo. Profit & Loss has been operating its highly successful series of Forex Network and FX Growth Markets conferences for more than 10 years, with regular annual events held in London, New York, Chicago, Singapore, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Shanghai and Toronto, and comes to Brazil for the second time. A BM&FBOVESPA representative will talk at the event.

Location: Tivoli Hotel São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Date: October 20, 2011.

> Full Agenda

BM&FBOVESPA at Chicago’s FIA EXPO

BM&FBOVESPA will exhibit at FIA EXPO 2011. The event attracts approximately 5,000 people from more than 30 countries, from senior staff at brokerage firms and exchanges to floor traders, pension fund managers, corporate treasurers, CTAs and CPOs, and individual investors. BM&FBOVESPA staff will present the Exchange’s products, connectivity, DMA access via Globlex, co-location and others.

Location: Hilton Chicago, USA
Date: October 10-12, 2011

> More info

The World Cup of ETFs and Indexing Latin America

BM&FBOVESPA is lending its support to the World Research Group’s “World Cup of ETFs and Indexing Latin America.” The event aims at providing attendees with the best practices for ETFs use, as well as a comprehensive analysis of market structure, regulations and current and future opportunities. The expected audience includes pension funds, hedge fund managers and investors, investment advisors, financial consultants, and other market participants. A BM&FBOVESPA representative will talk about the Exchange’s ETF products.

Location: São Paulo (TBC)
Date: October 17-18, 2011.

> Full Agenda and Registration

Volumes and trades by Direct Market Access (DMA)

BM&F Segment
In August, BM&F* market segment transactions carried out through order routing via Direct Market Access (DMA) registered 41,417,494 contracts traded and 4,431,750 trades. In July, the volume reached 20,009,841 contracts traded and 2,417,398 trades.

The volumes registered by each access modality in the BM&F segment were as follows:

  • Traditional DMA – 17,540,231 contracts traded, in 1,306,241 trades, in comparison to 7,440,774 contracts and 797,002 trades in July;
  • Via DMA provider (including orders routed via the Globex System) – 14,088,756 contracts traded, in 435,281 trades, compared to 7,040,432 contracts and 258,881 trades in July;
  • DMA via direct connection – 4,210 contracts traded in 830 trades, against 3,691 contracts and 977 trades in July;
  • DMA via co-location – 9,784,297 contracts traded, in 2,689,398 trades, compared to 5,524,944 contracts and 1,360,538 trades in July.

In August, transactions carried out by foreign investors presented by CME to BVMF (who use the Globex-GTS order routing system or access BVMF markets via co-location) totaled 5,308,308 contracts traded, in 1,235,349 trades, compared to 2,897,744 contracts and 688,862 trades in July.

BOVESPA Segment
In August, order routing via DMA in the BOVESPA* segment totaled BRL 138,522,096,000.00 and 17,021,408 trades, from BRL 95,030,778,000.00 and 11,225,193 trades the previous month.

Trading volumes per type of DMA in the BOVESPA segment:

  • Traditional DMA – Volume of BRL 120,451,427,000.00 and 14,098,638 trades from BRL 87,674,861,000.00 and 10,091,956 in July;
  • DMA via co-location – Volume of BRL 16,691,370,000.00 and 2,755,498 trades from BRL 6,381,361,000.00 and 1,007,081 in July;
  • DMA via provider – Volume of BRL 1,379,299,000.00 and 167,272 trades from BRL 974,556,000.00 and 126,156 in July.

* Direct access to the BM&FBOVESPA market segments is carried out through DMA models 1, 2, 3 and 4. In model 1 or traditional DMA, the client accesses the GTS or Mega Bolsa through technological intermediation of a brokerage house. In model 2 or via DMA provider, the client does not use the technological intermediation of a brokerage house, but rather connects to the system through an authorized access provider. DMA via order routing with CME Globex is also a form of DMA model 2. In model 3, the client connects to the system through a direct connection. In model 4 or via co-location, the client installs its own computer within the Exchange’s facilities.

Notes:

The volumes registered by access modality include both buy and sell sides of a trade.

The volumes by access modality for both the BM&F and the BOVESPA market segments have been reported in a consolidated manner in the BM&FBOVESPA statements since May 2009.

MARKET RESULTS

BM&F Segment August 2011

Derivatives markets in the BM&F segment (including financial and commodities derivatives) totaled 78,606,873 contracts and BRL 5.23 trillion in volume in August, compared to 44,199,125 contracts and BRL 3.35 trillion in July. The daily average of contracts traded in the derivatives markets in August was 3,417,690, in contrast to 2,104,720 in July. Open interest contracts ended the last trading day of August with 37,821,302 positions, compared to 30,716,596 in July.

BOVESPA Segment August 2011

In August 2011, the equity markets (BOVESPA segment) financial volume totaled a record BRL 177.906 billion, in a record 16,234,673 trades, with daily averages of BRL 7.73 billion and a record 705,855 trades. This was in comparison to the prior total volume record of BRL 155.55 billion in October 2010, the prior total trades record of 11,172,707 in May 2011 and the prior daily average trades record of 544,88 in February 2011.

Source:BM&FBOVESPA, 20.09.2011

Filed under: BM&FBOVESPA, Brazil, FIX Connectivity, News, Trading Technology, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 20, 2011 • 11:48 pm 0

ITG Launches Algorithms for Mexican Equities

Investment Technology Group, Inc. (NYSE: ITG), a leading agency research broker and financial technology firm, today announced the launch of algorithms for Mexican equities, including the proprietary Active algorithm, which has been customized for the structure and spread profile of the Mexican market. The algorithms are available via ITG’s award-winning Execution Management System, Triton®, as well as other widely used trading platforms and via FIX connection.

“Regulatory and technological changes are accelerating the move towards electronic trading in Mexico, and our tailored algorithms provide a valuable new tool for institutional asset managers seeking to access that market,” said Jeff Bacidore, Managing Director and Head of Algorithms at ITG. “These algorithms are designed to reduce market impact, maximize execution quality and improve trading performance in the Mexican equity market.”

The Mexican algorithms complement ITG’s growing Latin American trading capabilities. ITG offers a full suite of algorithms for Brazilian equities, including Active, Flexible Participation, Volume Participation and the recently added Peg & Pounce algorithm. Peg & Pounce empowers traders to take liquidity opportunistically when the size is available and supply liquidity passively when liquidity is not available.

Source: Bobsguide, 20.09.2011

Filed under: BMV - Mexico, FIX Connectivity, Latin America, Mexico, News, Trading Technology, , , , , , , , , ,

September 20, 2011 • 10:59 pm 1

China: Shanghai Stock Exchange: SSE 380 Style Indices, SSE Health Care Index, SSE Agriculture Index to be launched

To further enhance the SSE and CSI index family as well as to provide new analysis tool and underlying instrument for investors, SSE 380 Style Indices 、SSE Health Care Theme Index and SSE Agriculture Theme Index and are to be launched on October 18th，2011 by SSE and CSI.

See the SSE 380 Style Indices Methodology

Source; Mondo-visione, 20.09.2011

Filed under: China, Exchanges, News, , , , , , ,

September 18, 2011 • 1:18 am 0

Brazil mysterious interest rate cuts & proposed Euro Rescue package… cause to worry?

Who sets interest rates in Brazil: Is it Central Bank President Alexandre Tombini or the country’s President, Dilma Rousseff? That question hung over financial markets after the Central Bank of Brazil cut the benchmark Selic interest rate by half a point, to 12 percent, on Aug. 31. The move was unexpected: The bank’s rate-setting committee had ratcheted up the Selic at its five previous meetings to combat inflation and had not signaled a change in its stance. Yet Rousseff in an Aug. 30 radio broadcast had said rates should begin to fall as the government curbs spending.

(Interestingly a week later Guido Mantega, Brazil’s finance minister, suddenly proposed a “Bric” rescue package for the eurozone this week, he caught not only other world leaders by surprise but also many of his fellow countrymen.

Even as officials from other members of the so-called Bric grouping – Russia, India and China – said it was the first they heard of the idea, many ordinary Brazilians expressed shock at the notion of bailing out the world’s richest trading bloc. FT 16.09.2011)

The abruptness of the shift in monetary policy left money managers such as Guilherme Figueiredo, director of M. Safra, a São Paulo investment firm, with the impression that Tombini had caved in to political pressure. “This is the worst possible decision our central bank could have made at such a moment,” Figueiredo says. “The loss of credibility is going to be large.” Rousseff’s press office declined to comment when asked about the rate decision.

New data indicate that Tombini may have acted prematurely. On Sept. 6, Brazil’s statistics agency said inflation accelerated to an annualized 7.23 percent in August—its fastest pace since 2005 and well above the 6.5 percent upper end of the target range set by monetary authorities for the full year. In an Aug. 31 statement the central bank defended the rate cut, saying it will help shield the economy from the effects of a “substantial deterioration” in the world growth outlook.

It’s true that Brazil shows signs of cooling. The central bank’s economic activity index shrank in June for the first time since 2008, and business confidence in the second quarter slid to its lowest level since 2009. Economists expect growth to slow to 3.7 percent this year, from 7.5 percent in 2010.

Finance Minister Guido Mantega has pledged that the government won’t resort to fiscal stimulus to spur the economy. Whether Rousseff, who took office on Jan. 1, can discipline the spending habits of the multiparty ruling coalition remains an open question, however. Congress rebelled against her first attempts at frugality by proposing bigger salaries for police officers and an increase in health-care spending. Cutting rates in these circumstances “is really risky, with inflation building and wages set to rise,” says Elson Teles, chief economist at Maxima Asset Management in Rio de Janeiro. The central bank is “weighing such subjective things like whether there’s going to be another global recession. What if it doesn’t happen?”

The bottom line: Brazil’s central bank may have bowed to government pressure for a rate cut, endangering its goal of containing inflation.

Source: Bloomberg, 08. 09.2011is a reporter for Bloomberg News.  Ragir   Bristow is a reporter for Bloomberg News.

Filed under: Brazil, News, Risk Management, , , , , , , ,

September 14, 2011 • 12:06 am 2

10 Trading Trends in Latin America : SunGard

Raj Mahajan, president of SunGard’s global trading business, said: “The economy in Latin America continues to grow at an exceptional pace. Led by Brazil, which has achieved an annual average growth of 3.7% over the last ten years, (nearly twice that of the US), the boom includes Mexico, Chile, Columbia and Peru. SunGard is helping Latin American trading firms capitalize on the change and growth in that region, by providing low latency execution to help them compete in the global race for liquidity with greater transparency, efficiency and access to network connectivity.”

The ten trends SunGard has identified as shaping Latin American trading are:

1. Mexico, Chile, Columbia and Peru are quickly gaining recognition as key markets in Latin America, as their combined trading volumes edge closer to Brazilian levels.

2. Brazil’s markets are going completely electronic, increasing firms’ ability to more efficiently and more quickly access liquidity. As a result volumes have skyrocketed; a 400% increase in activity in the last decade.

3. Demand for international order flow is high as volumes are rising in emerging markets: Brazil is ranked the fourth largest emerging market according to a recent article.

4. The sell-side in Latin America is consolidating; large international players are buying local brokers to quickly increase their presence and credibility.

5. FIX connectivity is increasing: As firms receive and execute more order flow internationally, the adoption of FIX has taken hold in Latin America, helping to efficiently connect buy- and sell-side firms.

6. Trading volumes are increasing across the region and firms need real-time data and analytical tools for greater transparency into market movements. It is predicted that Brazil will see a 4.9% increase in equity market performance in 2011, according to a recent report. From 2006-2010, fund flows into Brazil have totaled $10 billion.

7. As more international investors want exposure to LatAm markets, the networks into and out of these markets becomes more important. Local firms and international players are investing in telecommunications infrastructure to ensure bandwidth and reliability for their trading networks.

8. With major exchanges allowing third party software firms direct access to exchanges, traders have more network connectivity options and can now take advantage of independent software vendors to provide their technology platforms.

9. As LatAm trading volumes skyrocket, the demand for financial information within the region is growing. In terms of financial market data and news, Latin America is second only to the Asian nations in allocating more budget for this resource.

10. LatAm trading firms are investing in low latency execution and stable customizable trading solutions, leaving legacy technologies behind for greater operating efficiency.

Danielle Tierney, junior analyst at Aite, said, “Networks are the key to sustaining growth in Latin America. Approximately 25 percent of the volume traded in Latin America is international, driving the search for new sources of liquidity and establishing connections to powerful global networks.”

Sourc: SunGard, 12.09.2011

Filed under: Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Data Vendor, Exchanges, FIX Connectivity, Latin America, Market Data, Mexico, Peru, Trading Technology, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 8, 2011 • 11:27 pm 0

Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR): A New Breed of Data Requirements – A-TEAM

Rather than opting for an all in one directive to herald the second coming of MiFID, the European Commission has split the update into two parts: a regulation and a directive. The Markets in Financial Instruments Regulation (MiFIR) should be of particular interest to the data management community due to its focus on all aspects of data transparency, from trade data through to transaction reporting.

According to the draft of MiFIR, which is available to download at the bottom of the blog, the regulation: “sets out requirements in relation to the disclosure of trade transparency data to the public and transaction data to competent authorities, the authorisation and ongoing obligations applicable to providers of data services, the mandatory trading of derivatives on organised venues, and specific supervisory actions regarding financial instruments and positions in derivatives.” The data transparency requirements have therefore been neatly tied together under one regulatory banner, leaving the directive to deal with aspects such as the provision of investment services and conduct of business requirements for investment firms.

The draft regulation is the culmination of the work of the European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA) and its predecessor over the last couple of years to gather industry feedback on the implementation of the first version of MiFID and to fill in any gaps, as well as to extend the regulation beyond the equities market. The draft paper notes that the European Commission has focused on assessing the impact of these new requirements including cost effectiveness and transparency; hence it is adopting a defensive stance ahead of any possible industry backlash on the subject.

Much like its predecessor, MiFIR is focused on improving cross border transparency and ensuring a level playing field with regards to data reporting requirements and access. Although the regulation contains a number of important pre-trade data transparency requirements such as equal access to data about trading opportunities, the most important aspects for data managers will likely reside in the post-trade section of MiFIR.

The extension of transparency requirements to OTC derivatives and fixed income instruments and the multilateral trading facility (MTF) and organised trading facility (OTF) contingents in the market is one such development. These markets, however, will not face the same level of transparency requirements as the equity markets, although “equity like” instruments such as depository receipts and exchange traded funds will see the MiFID requirements extended to cover them directly. All trading venues and their related trades will therefore now be subject to the same level of transparency requirements, but these will be tailored to the individual instrument types in question (the level of transparency will be determined by instrument type rather than venue).

On transaction reporting (the area of most relevance with regards to reference data standards), MiFIR aims to improve the quality of the data underlying these reports (a common theme across a lot of recent regulation – see commentary on which here) by being much more prescriptive in the standards that must be used. The idea is for firms to provide “full access to records at all stages in the order execution process” and for trading venues, beyond just traditional exchanges to encompass MTFs and OTFs, to store relevant data for a period of five years. This data includes legal entity identification data that the regulation indicates must be reported via approved mechanisms and formatted in a certain manner that will make it accessible for regulatory oversight purposes cross border.

The exact nature of the legal entity identification (LEI) and instrument identification standards that are to be used by firms in their transaction reports is likely to be impacted by the ongoing work at a global level as part of the systemic risk monitoring effort (see more here). At the moment, a range of identifiers is acceptable, but the regulatory community has been pushing towards the Bank Identifier Code (BIC) for some time (see more on which here), but this may change before MiFIR comes into force.

Another important section of MiFIR is the one devoted to the “increased and more efficient data consolidation” for market data, which necessarily entails a reduction in the cost of this data. A City of London paper published earlier this year addressed this issue directly, noting that the majority of the European firms participating in the study believe poor data quality, high costs of pricing data and a reliance on vendors are the main barriers to post-trade transparency (see more here), and MiFIR appears to be aiming to directly address those issues.

The argument for some form of consolidated tape or tapes is an integral part of that endeavour (see recent industry commentary on this issue here) and MiFIR indicates that the aim is for data to be “reliable, timely and available at a reasonable cost.” On that last point, the regulation also includes a provision that all trading venues must make post-trade information available free of charge 15 minutes after execution, thus enabling data vendors to stay in business but increasing transparency overall (or so the logic goes). Moreover, the regulator is keen for a number of consolidated tape providers to offer market data services and improve access to a comparison of prices and trades across venues, rather than a single utility version.

In order to tackle the issue of a lack of data quality for trade reporting, all firms will also be required to publish their trade reports through approved publication arrangements (APAs), thus ensuring certain standards are adhered to.

The full MiFIR Draft paper is downloabale here  from A-TEAM

Source: A-Team Virgina´s Blog, 08.09.2011

Filed under: Data Management, Market Data, News, Reference Data, Risk Management, Standards, , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 7, 2011 • 11:25 pm 1

Commodity Webinar: How to access China? A Foray into the Chinese Capital Markets

With the opening of the financial markets in China, trading firms from around the world are increasingly interested in the these markets. While the volumes at the three commodity exchanges in Dalian, Shanghai, and Zhengzhou dropped to 470 million lots in the first six months of 2011, compared to 762 million in the same period in 2010, trading opportunities in the world’s biggest commodity markets are plentiful.

Our distinguished speakers will not only share their knowledge about the Chinese market structure, the participants and trading opportunities, but equally important, they will explain how to capture those opportunities in a jungle of regulations, cultural differences and technological challenges. How to access China successfully.

Please join us for this webinar moderated by Chris Hall, Editor in Chief, THE TRADE (ASIA) on Thursday, September 29th at

10am Chicago   4pm London    11pm Shanghai

Panelists
Nick Ronalds, Executive Director, FIA Asia
Dean Owen, Chief Representative & SVP, China, Newedge
Steffen Gemuenden, CEO, RTS Realtime Systems

Who should attend? Firms looking to capture opportunities in the Chinese Derivatives markets including:
• Proprietary Trading firms
• Hedge Funds
• Brokers
• Supply Chain Management firms

Please register here.

This webinar is free to attend. Please feel free to send this invitation to interested colleagues.

*If this timing does not work for you, please still register for the webinar. A recording will be made available to all who register.

Filed under: Asia, China, Energy & Environment, Events, Trading Technology, , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 2, 2011 • 1:59 am 0

Alternative Latin Investor: Premium Launch Issue Nr 11.

Alternative Latin Investor August 2011 – Issue 11 Premium Launch Issue

 News

Political Moves: brought to you by Latinnews.com

Emerging Markets

Growing M&A Activity between Asia and Latin America?

Latin American Venture Capital: Lessons Learned from China

Be careful What You Wish For- A Brazilian Cautionary Tale

Philanthropy

Cuipo: Saving the Rainforest One Meter at a Time

Nuts: Crops that Grow Well in LatAm

Entering The Brazilian Agribusiness Sector (Premium)

Infrastructure

Mezzanine Financing for LatAm’s Infrastructure

Energy

Investing in Brazilian Oil (Premium)

Art

Fine Art Funds: Taking the Soul Out of Art Investing?

Hedge Funds

MILA Integration

LatAm Fund Due Diligence: What Managers Need to Know (Premium)

Institutional Investing in LatAm: A Contrarian’s View (Premium)

Attracting US Institutional Investors to LatAm Funds (Premium)

Quant Funds in LatAm (Premium)

How HNWI in LatAm View Alternative Assets (Premium)

Forex

Spotting Opportunities in LatAm Forex Trading

Regulation

Tax Incentives: Software Development in Argentina

Ventures

Mercatrade: Inter-emerging Market Trade

QuickStart Global: Have an Office Anywhere

Real Estate

Airlift Encourages Latin America to reach for the skies

Read the content  at www.alternativelatininvestor.com/issue11.html 

To subscribe please click on the corner tabs within the above magazines or click directly to www.alternativelatininvestor.com/signup.php If your firm is interested in multiple licenses we can provide corporate discounts.

Please feel free email me directly with comments or questions regarding our current content or with suggestions for future stories. I can be reached at editor@alternativelatininvestor.com or 202-905-0378.

 http://www.alternativelatininvestor.com/registration.html

Register for free to gain access to new feature article

Filed under: Argentina, Banking, Brazil, Chile, China, Colombia, Mexico, News, Peru, Risk Management, Wealth Management, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 1, 2011 • 11:14 am 0

Top 10 Root Causes of Data Quality : People Issues – Part 5

In the 5th and last part we look at how companies rely on data to make significant decisions that can affect customer service, regulatory compliance, supply chain and many other areas. As you collect more and more information about customers, products, suppliers, transactions and billing, you must attack the root causes of data quality.

Root Cause Number (9) Nine: Defining Data Quality
More and more companies recognize the need for data quality, but there are different ways to   clean data and improve data quality.   You can:

  • Write some code and cleanse manually
  • Handle data quality within the source application
  • Buy tools to cleanse data

However, consider what happens when you have two or more of these types of data quality processes adjusting and massaging the data. Sales has one definition of customer, while billing has another.  Due to differing processes, they don’t agree on whether two records are a duplicate.

Root Cause Attack Plan

  • Standardize Tools – Whenever possible, choose tools that aren’t tied to a particular solution. Having data quality only in SAP, for example, won’t help your Oracle, Salesforce and MySQL data sets.  When picking a solution, select one that is capable of accessing any data, anywhere, at any time.  It shouldn’t cost you a bundle to leverage a common solution across multiple platforms and solutions.
  • Data Governance – By setting up a cross-functional data governance team, you will have the people in place to define a common data model.


Root Cause Number (10) Ten: Loss of Expertise
On almost every data intensive project, there is one person whose legacy data expertise is outstanding. These are the folks who understand why some employee date of hire information is stored in the date of birth field and why some of the name attributes also contain tax ID numbers.
Data might be a kind of historical record for an organization. It might have come from legacy systems. In some cases, the same value in the same field will mean a totally different thing in different records. Knowledge of these anomalies allows experts to use the data properly.
If you encounter this situation, there are some business processes you can follow.

Root Cause Attack Plan

  • Profile and Monitor – Profiling the data will help you identify most of these types of issues.  For example, if you have a tax ID number embedded in the name field, analysis will let you quickly spot it. Monitoring will prevent a recurrence.
  • Document – Although they may be reluctant to do so for fear of losing job security, make sure experts document all of the anomalies and transformations that need to happen every time the data is moved.
  • Use Consultants – Expert employees may be so valuable and busy that there is no time to document the legacy anomalies. Outside consulting firms are usually very good at documenting issues and providing continuity between legacy and new employees.

This post is an excerpt from a white paper available here.

Source: 31.08.2011 Steve Sarsfield – The Data Governance and Data Quality Insider

Filed under: Data Management, Library, Reference Data, Risk Management, Standards, , , , , , , , ,

September 1, 2011 • 11:00 am 0

Top 10 Root Causes of Data Quality : Data Flow – Part 4

In part four, we examine some of the areas involving the pervasive nature of data and how it flows to and fro within an organization.

Root Cause Number (7)  Seven: Transaction Transition
More and more data is exchanged between systems through real-time (or near real-time) interfaces. As soon as the data enters one database, it triggers procedures necessary to send transactions to other downstream databases. The advantage is immediate propagation of data to all relevant databases.

However, what happens when transactions go awry? A malfunctioning system could cause problems with downstream business applications.  In fact, even a small data model change could cause issues.

Root Cause Attack Plan

  • Schema Checks – Employ schema checks in your job streams to make sure your real-time applications are producing consistent data.  Schema checks will do basic testing to make sure your data is complete and formatted correctly before loading.
  • Real-time Data Monitoring – One level beyond schema checks is to proactively monitor data with profiling and data monitoring tools.  Tools like the Talend Data Quality Portal and others will ensure the data contains the right kind of information.  For example, if your part numbers are always a certain shape and length, and contain a finite set of values, any variation on that attribute can be monitored. When variations occur, the monitoring software can notify you.


Root Cause Number (8) Eight: Metadata Metamorphosis
Metadata repository should be able to be shared by multiple projects, with audit trail maintained on usage and access.  For example, your company might have part numbers and descriptions that are universal to CRM, billing, ERP systems, and so on.  When a part number becomes obsolete in the ERP system, the CRM system should know. Metadata changes and needs to be shared.

In theory, documenting the complete picture of what is going on in the database and how various processes are interrelated would allow you to completely mitigate the problem. Sharing the descriptions and part numbers among all applicable applications needs to happen. To get started, you could then analyze the data quality implications of any changes in code, processes, data structure, or data collection procedures and thus eliminate unexpected data errors. In practice, this is a huge task.

Root Cause Attack Plan

  • Predefined Data Models – Many industries now have basic definitions of what should be in any given set of data.  For example, the automotive industry follows certain ISO 8000 standards.  The energy industry follows Petroleum Industry Data Exchange standards or PIDX.  Look for a data model in your industry to help.
  • Agile Data Management – Data governance is achieved by starting small and building out a process that first fixes the most important problems from a business perspective. You can leverage agile solutions to share metadata and set up optional processes across the enterprise.

This post is an excerpt from a white paper available here. More to come on this subject in the days ahead.

Source: 30.08.2011 Steve Sarsfield – The Data Governance and Data Quality Insider

Filed under: Data Management, Library, Standards, , , , , , , , ,

September 1, 2011 • 10:53 am 0

Top 10 Root Causes of Data Quality : Secret Code & Corporate Evolution – Part 3

In part three, we examine secret code and corporate evolution as two of the root causes for data quality problems.

Root Cause Number (5) Five: Corporate Evolution
Change is good… except for data quality
An organizations undergoes business process change to improve itself. Good, right?  Prime examples include:

  • Company expansion into new markets
  • New partnership deals
  • New regulatory reporting laws
  • Financial reporting to a parent company
  • Downsizing

If data quality is defined as “fitness for purpose,” what happens when the purpose changes? It’s these new data uses that bring about changes in perceived level of data quality even though underlying data is the same. It’s natural for data to change.  As it does, the data quality rules, business rules and data integration layers must also change.

Root Cause Attack Plan

  • Data Governance – By setting up a cross-functional data governance team, you will always have a team who will be looking at the changes your company is undergoing and considering its impact on information. In fact, this should be in the charter of a data governance team.
  • Communication – Regular communication and a well-documented metadata model will make the process of change much easier.
  • Tool Flexibility – One of the challenges of buying data quality tools embedded within enterprise applications is that they may not work in ALL all enterprise applications. When you choose tools, make sure they are flexible enough to work with data from any application and that the company is committed to flexibility and openness.

Root Cause Number (6) Six: Secret Code
Databases rarely start begin their life empty. The starting point is typically a data conversion from some previously existing data source. The problem is that while the data may work perfectly well in the source application, it may fail in the target. It’s difficult to see all the custom code and special processes that happen beneath the data unless you profile.

Root Cause Attack Plan

  • Profile Early and Often – Don’t assume your data is fit for purpose because it works in the source application. Profiling will give you an exact evaluation of the shape and syntax of the data in the source.  It also will let you know how much work you need to do to make it work in the target.
  • Corporate Standards – Data governance will help you define corporate standards for data quality.
  • Apply Reusable Data Quality Tools When Possible – Rather than custom code in the application, a better strategy is to let data quality tools apply standards.  Data quality tools will apply corporate standards in a uniform way, leading to more accurate sharing of data.

This post is an excerpt from a white paper available here. More to come on this subject in the days ahead.

Source: 29.08.2011 Steve Sarsfield – The Data Governance and Data Quality Insider

Filed under: Data Management, Library, Reference Data, Risk Management, Standards, , , , , , , , , , ,

September 1, 2011 • 10:43 am 0

Top 10 Root Causes of Data Quality : Renegades and Corporate Pirates – Part 2

In part two, we examine IT renegades and corporate pirates as two of the root causes for data quality problems.

Root Cause Number (3) Three: Renegade IT and Spreadmarts
A renegade is a person who deserts and betrays an organizational set of principles. That’s exactly what some impatient business owners unknowingly do by moving data in and out of business solutions, databases and the like. Rather than wait for some professional help from IT, eager business units may decide to create their own set of local applications without the knowledge of IT. While the application may meet the immediate departmental need, it is unlikely to adhere to standards of data, data model or interfaces. The database might start by making a copy of a sanctioned database to a local application on team desktops. So-called “spreadmarts,” which are important pieces of data stored in Excel spreadsheets, are easily replicated to team desktops. In this scenario, you lose control of versions as well as standards. There are no backups, versioning or business rules.

Root Cause Attack Plan

  • Corporate Culture – There should be a consequence for renegade data, making it more difficult for the renegades to create local data applications.
  • Communication – Educate and train your employees on the negative impact of renegade data.
  • Sandbox – Having tools that can help business users and IT professionals experiment with the data in a safe environment is crucial. A sandbox, where users are experimenting on data subsets and copies of production data, has proven successful for many for limiting renegade IT.
  • Locking Down the Data – A culture where creating unsanctioned spreadmarts is shunned is the goal.  Some organizations have found success in locking down the data to make it more difficult to export.


Root Cause Number (4) Four: Corporate Mergers
Corporate mergers increase the likelihood for data quality errors because they usually happen fast and are unforeseen by IT departments. Almost immediately, there is pressure to consolidate and take shortcuts on proper planning. The consolidation will likely include the need to share data among a varied set of disjointed applications. Many shortcuts are taken to “make it happen,” often involving known or unknown risks to the data quality.
On top of the quick schedule, merging IT departments may encounter culture clash and a different definition of truth.  Additionally, mergers can result in a loss of expertise when key people leave midway through the project to seek new ventures.

Root Cause Attack Plan

  • Corporate Awareness – Whenever possible civil division of labor should be mandated by management to avoid culture clashes and data grabs by the power hungry.
  • Document – Your IT initiative should survive even if the entire team leaves, disbands or gets hit by a bus when crossing the street.  You can do this with proper documentation of the infrastructure.
  • Third-party Consultants – Management should be aware that there is extra work to do and that conflicts can arise after a merger. Consultants can provide the continuity needed to get through the transition.
  • Agile Data Management – Choose solutions and strategies that will keep your organization agile, giving you the ability to divide and conquer the workload without expensive licensing of commercial applications.

This post is an excerpt from a white paper available here. More to come on this subject in the days ahead.

Source: 25.08.2011 Steve Sarsfield – The Data Governance and Data Quality Insider

Filed under: Data Management, Library, Standards, , , , , , ,

September 1, 2011 • 10:34 am 0

Top 10 Root Causes of Data Quality : The Basics – Part 1

We all know data quality problems when we see them.  They can undermine your organization’s ability to work efficiently, comply with government regulations and make revenue. The specific technical problems include missing data, misfielded attributes, duplicate records and broken data models to name just a few.

But rather than merely patching up bad data, most experts agree that the best strategy for fighting data quality issues is to understand the root causes and put new processes in place to prevent them.  This five part blog series discusses the top ten root causes of data quality problems and suggests steps the business can implement to prevent them.

In this first blog post, we’ll confront some of the more obvious root causes of data quality problems.

Root Cause Number  (1) One : Typographical Errors and Non-Conforming Data
Despite a lot of automation in our data architecture these days, data is still typed into Web forms and other user interfaces by people. A common source of data inaccuracy is that the person manually entering the data just makes a mistake. People mistype. They choose the wrong entry from a list. They enter the right data value into the wrong box.

Given complete freedom on a data field, those who enter data have to go from memory.  Is the vendor named Grainger, WW Granger, or W. W. Grainger? Ideally, there should be a corporate-wide set of reference data so that forms help users find the right vendor, customer name, city, part number, and so on.

Root Cause Attack Plan

  • Training – Make sure that those people who enter data know the impact they have on downstream applications.
  • Metadata Definitions – By locking down exactly what people can enter into a field using a definitive list, many problems can be alleviated. This metadata (for vendor names, part numbers, and so on can) become part of data quality in data integration, business applications and other solutions.
  • Monitoring – Make public the results of poorly entered data and praise those who enter data correctly. You can keep track of this with data monitoring software such as the Talend Data Quality Portal.
  • Real-time Validation – In addition to forms, validation data quality tools can be implemented to validate addresses, e-mail addresses and other important information as it is entered. Ensure that your data quality solution provides the ability to deploy data quality in application server environments, in the cloud or in an enterprise service bus (ESB).

Root Cause Number (2) Two : Information Obfuscation
Data entry errors might not be completely by mistake. How often do people give incomplete or incorrect information to safeguard their privacy?  If there is nothing at stake for those who enter data, there will be a tendency to fudge.

Even if the people entering data want to do the right thing, sometimes they cannot. If a field is not available, an alternate field is often used. This can lead to such data quality issues as having Tax ID numbers in the name field or contact information in the comments field.

Root Cause Attack Plan

  • Reward – Offer an incentive for those who enter personal data correctly. This should be focused on those who enter data from the outside, like those using Web forms. Employees should not need a reward to do their job. The type of reward will depend upon how important it is to have the correct information.
  • Accessibility – As a technologist in charge of data stewardship, be open and accessible about criticism from users. Give them a voice when processes change requiring technology change.  If you’re not accessible, users will look for quiet ways around your forms validation.
  • Real-time Validation – In addition to forms, validation data quality tools can be implemented to validate addresses, e-mail addresses and other important information as it is entered.

This post is an excerpt from a white paper available here. More to come on this subject in the days ahead.

Source: 24.08.2011 Steve Sarsfield – The Data Governance and Data Quality Insider

Filed under: Data Management, Library, Standards, , , , , , ,

September 1, 2011 • 8:08 am 0

NYSE Euronext Completes Acquisition of Metabit

NYSE Euronext (NYX) announced September 2 the completion of its acquisition of Metabit, a leading Tokyo-based provider of high performance market access products with a trading community of more than 140 trading firms throughout Japan and Asia. As announced previously on Aug. 1, 2011, Metabit will operate as a product line within the NYSE Technologies portfolio (further enhancing service to the Asia-Pacific region). Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

Daniel Bürgin, formerly CEO of Metabit, will head the NYSE Technologies Asia business and report to Stanley Young, Chief Executive Officer of NYSE Technologies. Peter Tierney, Managing Director of NYSE Technologies will become the Chief Operating Officer of the combined business in Asia, and he, with Mr. Bürgin, will lead the Asian business operations.

Source: NYSE Technologies, 01.09.2011

Filed under: Asia, FIX Connectivity, Hong Kong, Japan, News, Trading Technology, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

September 1, 2011 • 12:27 am 0

Deutsche Börse to offer 10Gbit/s trading and market data connections for the first time

Deutsche Börse is expanding its portfolio of trading and market data connections to include bandwidth of 10 Gbit/s for connectivity to the Eurex derivatives market and the Xetra cash market.

This measure is part of the continuous development of Deutsche Börse’s system landscape which is particularly focused on minimising latency for transactions and data feeds. By raising the bandwidth to 10 Gbit/s using ultra-low latency network technology, the network run-time for co-location clients will be significantly reduced and as consequence, liquidity on Eurex and Xetra should further benefit.

The 10 Gbit/s connectivity will be realised based on standardised cable lengths, guaranteeing all co-location clients the same conditions for minimal latency. Clients who apply for a 10 Gbit/s connection by 17 October 2011 will be able to use it immediately from the launch on 12 December 2011.

Source: WFE, 30.08.2011

Filed under: Data Management, Exchanges, Market Data, Trading Technology, , , , , , , ,

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