MARCH 27 2017

Exchange Invest Issue 961 corresponds to the racing evolution of the Porsche 959 which, due to the suspension of Group B, saw only one example built. That car I recall well from it’s second and final Le Mans appearance as it memorably went off piste and showed some clear signs of wear and tear as I looked out the window of the golf club at the end of the Mulsanne straight while shaving early Sunday morning during the 24 hour race in 1987.

In Today’s Exchange Invest

Pantomime season begins early at the LSE – it seems the big debate for kids is “Xavier Rolet is staying!” “Oh no he isn’t” a crowd rapidly demurs. Jeff Tessler to stand down at DB1?

In BigWorld

The New Samsung Galaxy cellphone will be launched Wednesday 29th March replacing the genuinely explosive Galaxy S7. The world awaits to see “will it stay or will it blow” to paraphrase “The Clash.”

Public Markets

LSE Shareholders: No Need For Board Overhaul If Tie-Up Tanks
With DB1 Deal All But Off, LSE Must Now Focus On Finding A New Leader
The Italian Job: How A Meeting In Rome Stung A £24bn Merger
Daily Telegraph

PLY: Given the relative state of mental quiescence amongst many shareholders of LSE, it is unsurprising that a few can be rolled out to offer blind devotion to the XavRol cause. However this is a remarkable collection of articles from the one source. James Quinn (not overly renowned for independence of thought beyond what LSE tells him to write – or so it often seems to parishioners) tells the tale of why it’s time for a change of LSE CEO. Meanwhile an accompanying article suddenly jumps to Xav’s defence!

Make no mistake, what might be called the “tea trolley era” during the interregnum of the “Merger of Equal Desperation” has left XavRol effectively defenestrated while nominally in office and options. Indeed his term is demonstrating the rapidity of time decay akin to a late stage traded option. No date set for expiry but it is indeed time for a change. Thus LSE can get to managing what they own and building a next stage of strategy. No doubt Xavier did vast and incredible things to the LSE, making it a player once again, but his endless shopping of the brand has left him exposed as a one trick sales pony, endeavouring to micromanage his way to a payout. The next phase of the LSE deserves an outbreak of management at the top.

Michael Spencer Moves NEX And Man Cave From The City
Evening Standard

PLY: NEX looks to move to the outskirts of the City of London, a few hundred metres from its existing offices.

Sebi Probing Fresh Whistleblower Allegations Against NSE , BSE, MSE
Moneycontrol.com

PLY: A particular cause for concern for NSE as it endeavours to IPO.

Private Markets

Why the National Stock Exchange is Not So Nifty Anymore
News18

PLY: Well worth a read on the macro trends surrounding NSE et al in India.

Boursa Kuwait Inks Partnership Deal With Meira
Trade Arabia

PLY: MEIRA: Middle Eastern Investor Relations Association.

Mandatory Notification Of Trades – Oslo Børs VPS Holding ASA
MondoVisione

PLY: Oslo SE staff buying shares, presumably Norway’s soccer team is selling players after last night?

Special Section: FTI, NSEL, India at the Crossroads

No News albeit Jignesh Shah and NSEL are mentioned in passing in the story headlining the less nifty NSE.

Technology

Nothing much of import published over the weekend so far as I could see.

Products

HKEX To Introduce 5-year China Ministry Of Finance Treasury Bond Futures
MondoVisione

PLY: The Chinese yield curve comes closer to exchange trading for foreigners in particular.

Euronext Launches CAC 40 Governance Index With Vigeo Eiris
Euronext

China’s Dalian Commodity Exchange Plans To Launch Corn Options
Reuters

Kenya : Coffee Committee Finds Itself In Stagnant Water
Africa Intelligence (subscription)

PLY: Bilateral risks to disintermediate the exchange remains key in Kenya.

Career Paths

PLY: The Kuwait Stock Exchange has selected a new chairman, Mohammed Ahmed Alsaqqaf, a member of the board’s executive committee and nomination and remuneration committee, following the appointment of its previous chairman as oil minister in December, it said in a statement on Saturday.

Deutsche Boerse Extends Finance Head’s Contract
Reuters

PLY: Apparently Jeff Tessler won’t stay at DB1 according to this story, after a broadly invisible period as head of EUREX. My old friend Andreas Preuss must surely be doomed given a contract renewal in May 2018 as he has been seen as the behind the scenes architect of much of the ‘strategy’ for the Merger of Equal Desperation. Then again if only the DB1 board could show some collective guts, they could clear house wholesale and let Carcrash exit stage left quietly in March 2018, presuming he has not already been indicted by that time for insider dealing. Thus extending the contract of CFO Gregor Pottmeyer to 2022 could fit into a very exciting jigsaw – if only DB1’s board has the willingness to now restructure what is a deeply flawed structure where the parts are arguably worth more than the whole.

Tokyo, Osaka Bourse Operator To Introduce Telework
The Mainichi

The operator of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and the Osaka Exchange, known also as JPX, will allow its employees to work at home up to two days a week.

CBOE Futures Exchange MD Jim Lubin To Depart
HFM Global

PLY: Good luck to Jim on starting up his advisory firm Beacon Hill Private Wealth Management.

Crowdfunding

Honeymoon’s Over For Peer-To-Peer Lending
Bloomberg

PLY: It’s funny how headlines from banking-centric correspondents have moved almost effortlessly from “P2P Lending – A Niche Thing / Nothing to See Here” to suddenly damning it for no particular reason beyond showing some growth pains.