Disastrous fourth-quarter results cast a long shadow over Société Générale’s business, especially its corporate and investment bank. Deputy chief executive Séverin Cabannes has given up on fixed income. But is his plan to refocus on core strengths enough to reverse its fortunes?

Tired of paying what they view as exorbitant fees to the incumbents, some large US brokers, banks and financial services firms have now decided to take the US equity exchanges on at their own game. The names involved and the amount of order flow that they now control mean that – this time – MEMX could just work.