Brokerage

The Securities and Exchange Commission's new short sale rule has triggered circuit breakers for an unexpectedly large number of stocks, forcing broker dealers to make extra sure they are in compliance with the agency's regulations on shorting, according to Michael O'Conor, director of management consulting for Jordan & Jordan.

Competition among broker-dealers offering low-latency high frequency trading services continues to ratchet up, as Morgan Stanley has released an updated and faster version of its sponsored-access risk checking software.

Knight Capital Group, which recently expanded its global program trading effort, is eyeing an expansion into the capital commitment game and moving in the direction of the blind-risk business.

Trading in options on exchange-traded funds is soaring. Based on data provided by the Options Clearing Corp., volume in ETF options is ripping this year, outpacing that of rival index products. Market volatility and good liquidity play a large role.

Several topics stand out in this month's issue. First is the big drop in trading volume. The anemic numbers in the first quarter took everyone by surprise. Given that the first quarter is usually a robust period, industry execs were concerned. In this month's feature, "Where's the Flow?" you can read what happened to institutional flows and what might jump-start trading.

Equities trading volume in the first quarter disappointed many industry pros. However, they see several bright spots that could juice volumes the rest of the year. First, the bad news. On March 28, just 5.973 billion shares traded. It was the slowest day in the markets this year. It also wrapped up a quarter that saw a 7 percent drop in volume last year.

That's about how long Deutsche Bank's newest market access product takes two microseconds per round-trip for an incoming order to undergo a pre-trade risk check, hit an exchange and return the acknowledgement.

IPC Systems recently unveiled technology for its new trading communications and applications console, which extends its reach within an organization. The new product, called Unigy, stretches turret functionality to a new audience of users-like analysts, portfolio managers and the back office.

The buyside has a message for legislators in Europe: We like the anonymity of trading in dark pools, so don't change the game with new rules that would force us onto public markets.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is likely to initiate a debate on a potential new rule that could drastically crimp the activities of broker-dealers that trade against their own orders. Known as "trade-at," the rule would force brokers who match their orders internally-rather than sending them to a public exchange-to make a choice.