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The Swiss Federal Banking Commission (SFBC) estimates that about 150 foreign exchange (forex) traders are registered as financial intermediaries in Switzerland, who have not been subject to regulation under Swiss banking and finance legislation.

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The Securities and Exchange Commission last week let the American Stock Exchange reinstate a revenue sharing program designed to encourage ETF traders and market makers to quote aggressively. The program was supposed to be extended at the end of December but had inadvertently been allowed to lapse, officials said. It is now being extended until December. The exchange pays ETF specialists $0.0024 per share whenever a specialist buys or sells ETFs and ends up being a liquidity provider in that transaction. If the specialist is not a liquidity provider on the transaction, he will only retain $0.0004 per share. Registered traders will receive $0.0010 per share and designated Amex remote traders will receive $0.0015 per share when they end up being liquidity providers. Amex will cap payments at 43,478 shares executed because the exchange caps customer transaction fees. Several traders said the program will prop up Amex’ ETF business as the exchange transitions to its merger with NYSE Group.

The Chicago Board Options Exchange, the International Securities Exchange and the Philadelphia Stock Exchange are planning to start trading options on streetTRACKS Gold Shares ETFs (GLD) next month, making their first foray into commodities. Options exchanges have been trying to convince the Securities and Exchange Commission to let them trade options on commodities such as gold, silver and oil for three years, but the regulator balked, citing unresolved regulatory overlap issues with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.

The Security Traders Association of New York has appointed Anthony Dudzinski, ceo and chief operating officer of XShares Advisors, an ETF developer, as the chairman of its new ETF committee. The committee will be responsible for scouting out trading opportunities in the ETF market for STANY member firms. He has over 23 years in the industry, including as the chief of M.H. Myerson & Co., a Nasdaq- and OTC market maker, and chief operating and compliance officer of Argent Securities.

State Street Global Advisors is pitching the first international inflation-protected exchange-traded fund

ETF Securities, an exchange-traded commodities provider, has hired Emil Petersen to be head of Nordic sales in a new position. He was previously head of EMEA and Nordic sales for index provider FTSE Group. Prior to that, he was a sales director for TowerGroup in Europe and has been in the industry for 15 years. The firm also hired Neil Jaimeson as senior sales rep in the U.K. and Ireland. He was previously head of marketing and business development at Selftrade, an execution-only stockbroker. He has 25 years of experience. Spokesmen for those companies did not return calls.

Another Fed boost, another stock rally, but this is all palliative. Inflation and recession in the USA, but the Rest of the World may get off lightly.

The exponential demand for ETFs recalls the excitement at the height of the private equity cycle, the discovery of hedge funds and investors' enduring passion for real estate.

The IntercontinentalExchange (ICE) is not the first to see its volumes increase by migrating to electronic trading. Its move on March 3 to make all futures trading of its Dollar Index contract electronic has resulted in a surge in activity.

James Lofthouse is joining JPMorgan in London from Deutsche Bank, to work in FX sales covering UK asset managers and hedge funds. Lofthouse reports to Seamus Mckibben.

One global head told me this week that as recently as two years ago FX was regarded as the mat that all the whizzkids in credit and equity derivatives wiped their shoes on as they made their way up. I don’t think that’s the case now.