A European transaction-cost-analysis survey conducted by business school Edhec and commissioned by HSBC came up with figures in January that show just how unprepared many fund managers are to meet the requirements of the EU’s Markets in Financial Instruments Directive (Mifid) and the best execution requirements of their clients.

Proponents of the merger between the New York Stock Exchange and Euronext believe it will enhance Paris’s position as a financial centre as the $14 billion deal promises to maintain independence. One cheerleader has been Daniel Bouton, chairman and CEO of Société Générale. At the Euromoney Paris Forum, held at the close of 2006, he was interviewed by Mark Johnson, Euromoney’s editor of conferences.

The battle to persuade clients that active currency management is a key tool has been so convincingly won that overlay is now being transformed by leverage and the search for alpha. But what are the risks?

UK-based bond dealers breath sigh of relief as regulator turns back from proposals set out eight months ago.

ATS operators sunk by Icebergs in Europe turn to America and Asia. ITG, which launched its crossing centre in Canada as recently as the fourth quarter of 2005, has already seen its market share rise to 4.1% of the volume of the dominant Toronto Exchange, TSX.

London-based bond dealers will be breathing a sigh of relief.

Those who consider the trade reporting fees charged on the London Stock Exchange a thorn in their side are in for some pain relief.

Those who consider the trade reporting fees charged on the London Stock Exchange a thorn in their side are in for some pain relief.

Just six years after deciding that they would be best served by exchanges run for profit and owned by institutions other than themselves, investment bankers have conspired to try to undo their mistake.

The weight of specialized fund and private equity money now chasing infrastructure assets means that everything and anything is up for grabs. Louise Bowman reports.

Electronic trading offers serious challenges and opportunities to the debt world. Opportunities always occur when there is change but the question that most dealers are asking is whether new market trends and regulations are necessarily good for liquidity.

Although benchmarking has a part to play in some areas, there is no single approach to best execution that suits all markets.

Best execution is a concern for most fixed income managers. MiFID and other regulatory initiatives are causing managers to take another look at the way they operate in order to ensure that they work to their clients' best advantage. Will Goodhart interviews three leading fixed income managers to learn more about the ways that they manage and evaluate their trading performance.

Despite the push into credit derivatives, end investors remain on the sidelines.

Banks, exchanges, associations and lawyers consider the problems and debates surrounding Mifid implementation

When three industry trade bodies join forces to issue a joint statement in response to regulatory proposals it’s clear that they are taking the matter very seriously.

Investment banks are thinking of setting up their own alternatives.

Europe’s government bond auctions are a classic example of market failure. The department of Charlie McCreevy, the EU’s markets commissioner, knows this but can do nothing until it receives an official complaint. If banks are subsidizing the auction process to the tune of €600 million a year, as some claim, why don’t they make the call to Brussels?

Euromoney’s investigation into the global FX market in 2006 – seven years before the fixing controversy - revealed the scale of the practice of banks’ pre-empting, or front-running, clients' FX orders.

This article appears courtesy of Global Investor.

By Lawrence White

Fund managers' priorities for 2006

Fewer new financial sector rules from the EC might sound like a welcome respite, but it is not the same thing as no new rules.

If Mifid forces banks to physically trade illiquid bonds they publish prices on, they won’t risk their capital.

Latin America’s two biggest equity markets have agreed to integrate as part of a pilot scheme to bolster liquidity in the region. Brazilian and Mexican investors to gain access to each other’s markets.

It is one of the great ironies of the European bond market that one of the largest market distortions occurs within the sovereign sector and are caused by the direct actions of Europe’s sovereign debt managers. The regulatory environment in Europe is tighter than ever, with the EU taking an aggressive and sometimes misguided stance in its aim of eliminating distortions in the capital markets, notably with its Market Abuse Directive and MiFID. And yet, despite all the EU’s talk of market efficiency, it ignores the market abuse happening right under its nose.

The European Commission is considering imposing more comprehensive price disclosure on the bond markets. Michael Evans assesses the UK regulator's attempt to set the agenda for the debate

Mifid promises to shake up EU financial markets in a way that will make Big Bang look like a gentle nudge. To have any hope of meeting the implementation deadline of April 2007 investment banks might need to set aside as much as $12 million each in their 2006 budgets. Peter Koh examines the fallout

Banks miffed at Deutsche's fees

The problem with CDOs