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MFI statistics 2011: the number of monetary financial institutions in the euro area and in the EU decreases further
January 14, 2012--On 1 January 2011 the total number of monetary financial institutions (MFIs) [1] in the euro area stood at 7,865. There is a net decrease of 211 units (2.6%) in comparison with the situation a year ago.
The decline was spread across the whole of the euro area. The number of MFIs in the euro area went up by 37 units when Estonia joined the euro area on 1 January 2011. There were 9,921 MFIs in the European Union (EU) as a whole, a net decrease of 271 units.
S&P 'downgrades France one notch, spares Germany'
January 13, 2012--Standard & Poor's has decided to downgrade France's top credit rating by one notch but will spare Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, EU government sources told AFP on Friday.
"France loses its triple-A rating," one source said on condition of anonymity, adding that the credit ratings agency, one of the world's top three, has notified the governments of its decision.
"The Standard & Poor's downgrade is by one notch," to AA+, another source told AFP.
France was along with Germany, Luxembourg and the Netherlands among the six eurozone nations with a AAA rating. Sources were unable to say what S&P decided to do with the two others, Austria and Finland.
S&P downgrades France, eight other euro zone nations
January 13, 2012--Standard & Poor's stripped France of its top AAA rating on Friday and carried out a mass downgrade of half the nations in the euro zone, a move that may complicate European efforts to solve a two-year old debt crisis.
Germany, the bloc's largest economy, was spared.
Nine of the 17 members of the euro area had their credit ratings cut, with Austria joining France in losing its AAA status. Those two, along with Malta, Slovakia and Slovenia had their ratings cut by one notch, while Italy, Portugal, Spain and Cyprus suffered two-notch downgrades.
S&P said it feared that initiatives European policymakers have taken to tackle the debt crisis "may be insufficient to fully address ongoing systemic stresses in the euro zone."
Swiss Trading Delayed by Technical Problems
January 13, 2012--The SIX Swiss Exchange opened trading at noon Friday, after “technical problems for all securities” delayed its opening.
The exchange did not describe the conditions that created the problem, but said “a small number of participants were unable to start trading properly.”
Trading of stocks and exchange-traded funds began at noon, futures and options at 12:15 p.m. and international bonds at 12:30 p.m.
A few transactions that occurred at 12:16, 12:21 and 12:22 were declared “mistrades” and reversed. These occurred on the Scoach Switzerland derivatives market.
Tomorrow marks the 20th anniversary of the IBEX 35® Futures Contract
January 13, 2012--The IBEX 35® has been calculated and disseminated as the Spanish stock market’s benchmark since 14 January 1992
Tomorrow will mark the 20th anniversary of the IBEX 35® Futures Contract, which was created on 14 January 1992. During this period, the contract has consolidated its contribution to the development of the Spanish stock market as an element of dynamism and modernisation in the financial market.
The IBEX 35® index has been closely linked to the derivatives market since its birth, acting as the underlying asset for futures and options contracts traded on MEFF, as it usually happens in organised derivatives markets.
BATS Chi-X Europe Integration Update: Technical Specifications And Connectivity Pricing Now Available
January 13, 2011--BATS Europe has recently published the second in a series of communications to highlight key integration materials surrounding the upcoming Chi‐X Europe acquisition, which is currently pending regulatory approval. BATS is dedicated to making this a smooth integration for all the parties involved. Please watch for future notices regarding the integration process.
Summary
The purpose of this announcement is to communicate Integration Network Connectivity information along with Market Data and FIX Order Entry technical specification documentation. Please be aware that the following hyperlinks are versioned living documents and may experience updates in future revisions.
Standard & Poor's Takes Various Rating Actions On 16 Eurozone Sovereign Governments
January 13, 2011--In our view, the policy initiatives taken by European policymakers in recent weeks may be insufficient to fully address ongoing systemic stresses in the eurozone.
We are lowering our long-term ratings on nine eurozone sovereigns and
affirming the ratings on seven.•The outlooks on our ratings on all but two of the 16 eurozone sovereigns
are negative. The ratings on all 16 sovereigns have been removed from
CreditWatch, where they were placed with negative implications on Dec. 5,
2011 (except for Cyprus, which was first placed on CreditWatch on Aug.
12, 2011).
ESMA publishes the annual report on application of the regulation on credit rating agencies
January 12, 2011--This is the first report under the new CRA regulation, however, please note that CESR published a report about the application of the Regulation in the EU and, in particular, on the implementation of the requirements established in Annex I of the Regulation on 6 December 2010 (CESR/10-1424), according to Article 21(4) of the Regulation which was subsequently amended by Regulation No (EC) 513/2011.
At the time of publication, 16 CRA's have been registered.
NYSE Euronext launches a new website dedicated to Europe’s regulatory revolution in financial services
December 12, 2012--NYSE Euronext has today launched a new channel on its website dedicated to financial services regulatory policy in the European Union. The site kicks off with a review of the European Commission’s proposals on MiFID II and MiFIR. Aimed at legislators, policy makers, opinion formers and the media, the webpage will provide a new source of information, comment and analysis from a major player in European capital markets.
Commenting on the launch, Mark MacGann, Senior Vice President, Head of European Government Affairs and Public Advocacy, NYSE Euronext, said, “The EU will debate and decide an unprecedented volume of financial market reforms in 2012. Our aim is to provide informed opinion and analysis on these reforms, based on our experience running major equities and derivatives exchanges in Europe and the US.
EEX Review of 2011 – EEX asserts itself in a difficult market environment – Boom in short-term trading
Natural Gas Market reaches record level
January 12, 2012--In the past business year, the European Energy Exchange AG (EEX) succeeded in expanding its position as major energy exchange in Europe and increasing the liquidity of its trading markets for power, natural gas and emission allowances.
In spite of the uncertainty on the market and a wait-and-see attitude of the market participants because of the financial crisis and the turnaround in energy policy adopted by the government in Germany, EEX managed to keep its trade volume stable and even increase it in some segments. The further expansion of the product and service range and the continuous improvement of the infrastructure for the customers were decisive for this positive development.
