Our clearing house is in order, says Reserve

AS MANY as 15 brokerages were placed on an alert watchlist by the nation's equities and futures clearing house at the height of market volatility over the past year, amid concerns a squeeze in liquidity would hurt the smooth running of the Australian sharemarket.

Clearing house alert on up to 15 brokerages

AS MANY as 15 brokerages were placed on an alert watchlist by the nation's equities and futures clearing house at the height of market volatility over the past year, amid concerns that a squeeze in liquidity would hurt the smooth running of the Australian sharemarket.

Baillieu Moves On Branch-stacking

THE prospects of the Victorian Liberals radically reforming the way they choose candidates for Parliament have leapt after Opposition Leader Ted Baillieu struck a deal with party power-brokers to cushion sitting MPs from the most dramatic change.

Room To Move On Conflict Management

While the media is perfectly within its rights to focus attention on the supervisory role of the Australian Stock Exchange over brokers and listed companies, and the management of the inherent conflict of interest this creates, the investors are far less concerned with the fox being in charge of the hen-house than the company's overall prosperity.

Small Brokers Fear New Capital Plan

SMALL stockbrokers are concerned at news the Australian Securities Exchange is set to heighten dramatically the minimum capital requirements for some broking companies, which will substantially increase costs in a time of extreme market volatility.

Talk Turns To Market Bottom As Conviction Selling Eases

EVEN as more news emerges showing the world's biggest economy is probably in a recession, many local economists and brokers are starting to think the Australian sharemarket may have hit bottom.

Holiday Gives Market A Breather

BROKERS reeling from a long, turbulent week of sharemarket trading will be given some respite today courtesy of the Australia Day long weekend, but should be braced for more disappointment tomorrow.

Holiday Respite For Share Traders

BROKERS reeling from a long, turbulent week of sharemarket trading will be given some respite today, courtesy of the Australia Day long weekend, but will be braced for more disappointment tomorrow.

Sfe Blasts Brokers Over Fee Concerns

THE Sydney Futures Exchange has described as "opportunistic" the concerns of large institutional stockbrokers that its planned $5 billion friendly merger with the Australian Stock Exchange will create a pricing monopoly.

Sfe Rejects Brokers' Monopoly Claims

THE Sydney Futures Exchange has described as "opportunistic" concerns from institutional stockbrokers that its planned $5 billion friendly merger with the Australian Stock Exchange will create a pricing monopoly.

Brokers To Pay More To Asx

BROKERS will pay an extra $20 million in fees to the Australian Stock Exchange next year - about $10 million less than previously imagined - under a new pricing structure from July 1.

Market Up As Brokers Prepare For Big Week

THE Australian share market moved higher yesterday as brokers prepared for a major reporting week from some of the blue chip companies.

Volumes Surge As Investors Rush To Unwind Futures Contracts

About $3.5 billion in trades $1 billion more than June's daily average were pushed through the sharemarket yesterday as derivatives traders unwound their ASX 200 share price index futures contracts on the expiry.

Futures Deals Spark Insider Trade Probe

ASIC and the Sydney Futures Exchange are investigating complaints of insider trading involving AMP's announcement of its demerger plan last Thursday.

Futures Exchange Sets Date For Own Listing

The Sydney Futures Exchange plans to list on the Australian Stock Exchange next month, more than two years after the country's No1 derivatives market began the complex process of demutualisation.

Futures, Options Expiries Push Index Into The Red

The value of trades passing through the market topped more than $3 billion yesterday, as the March share price index (SPI) futures contract expired and trades from Thursday night's options expiry were pushed through the market.

Anz Quits Futures Because It's Not One Of Top Players

ANZ Banking Group has provided some substance to its recent strategic redirection by quitting the futures trading business an operation where it was not globally competitive. As bank shares soared again yesterday and ANZ hit an all-time high of $15.21, the bank said it would close its futures op

Index Hits Record, Thanks To Futures

Buoyed by large buy orders for share price index futures contracts from Ord Minnett and UBS Warburg, shares surged to a record close yesterday, sending many stocks to new highs. After stagnating for much of the day, the sharemarket kicked higher after the SPI orders were booked at 2.30pm, rising

Shares Finish Ahead Despite Futures Raids

Heavy futures-related selling spelt a rocky day for the sharemarket yesterday but strong gains in resource stocks ensured the news was not all bad. After touching a high of 3053.7 in early morning trade, the All Ordinaries quickly nose-dived to a low of 3029 mid-afternoon before recovering to end

Futures Players Cut The Ground From Under Share Prices

The sharemarket reverted to recent form yesterday with its third decline in four sessions as nearly every sector headed downward, dragged down by pessimistic futures traders. The All Ordinaries index fell 26.5 points to 3005.7, giving back nearly all the gains from Tuesday's surprisingly strong s