12:30 PM
IN BRIEF
Garban-Intercapital, a derivatives, securities and money broker is launching a new division that will focus on developing the groups electronic trading activities. Announced in February, the first phase in the launch of the new Electronic Trading Community (ETC) was an electronic-bond trading platform . Garban-Intercapital plans to roll out the platform to cover eight additional financial products by the end of the first quarter, 2001.
The Nasdaq Stock Market's first phase of private placement ended this week with 40 percent of the Nasdaq in the hands of more than 2,800 investors on a fully diluted basis. Over $260 million in proceeds was raised by Nasdaq and over $74 million in proceeds was raised by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) in the private placement. The placement followed a NASD member vote in April, which evidenced strong support for NASD/Nasdaq restructuring.
Knight Securities has implemented a new trading program in which executions of certain Nasdaq orders automatically occur at the midpoint between the national best bid/offer (NBBO). Under the program, incoming market and marketable limit orders will execute automatically against any opposite-sided market or marketable limit orders at the midpoint of the then existing NBBO. Due to successful testing, Knight offers the service to its broker-dealer clients in all Nasdaq securities.
With more than 40 buy-side and sell-side institutions participating, Visible Markets is launching an Internet-based auction marketplace for mortgage and asset backed securities. Visible Markets boasts an open, price-transparent marketplace that, they say, increases liquidity in the bond markets and reduces spreads. Conceived as a business to business Internet company for the fixed-income markets, Visible Markets was founded in 1999.