25 Apr 03: Gem Soup Betas FpML-Based Derivatives Trade Mgmt Tool
Gem Soup, a derivatives software start-up led by former JPMorgan staffer and Financial Products Markup Language (FpML) protagonist Brian Lynn, has begun beta Testing its first community source products for working with the XML-based standard for derivatives trades.
The GemScribe FpML viewer/editor, expected to be in full release by summer, allows a user with Microsoft Internet Explorer to load, display, edit and save FpML trades both locally and via the World Wide Web.
The ISDA trade association has announced that Gem Soup's technology will underlie its FpML viewer/editor for interest rate swaps and options and FX products; this tool will be distributed free to ISDA members. Support for additional FpML asset classes, such as credit derivatives, is planned in the near future.
Gem Soup also is offering its GemDelta FpML document Comparison tool, which offers customisable match scoring during FpML document exchanges. An upgrade to GemScribe to provide GemDelta functionality is available at an introductory price of $199. Standalone and server-based versions of GemDelta are also available to Gem Soup community members.
25 Apr 03: Twist Group to Design Commercial Payments Standard
The Treasury Workstation Integration Standards Team (Twist) is developing standards to automate the commercial payment process. The group, which aims to develop standards for integrating bank FX trading operations and their corporate clients, is also expanding its membership.
The XML-based Twist specifications cover instructions for FX Trading. These include coverage of trade and settlement confirmation, amendments, cancellations, allocations, rolls, aggregations and split settlements.
The commercial payments project will also include support for FX payments. The group is working on payments automation with such organizations as the Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift).
The group expects the payments standard will be finalized in the second quarter, with additional coverage for interest rate, commercial paper and bond instruments by the third quarter.
Vendors currently providing Twist interfaces to customers include SunGard, Trema, Wall Street Systems and Currenex. The group recently has added around 25 new members, bringing its membership to more than 50 firms including banks, corporates and vendors.
In Brief: Asset Control Integrates Telekurs’ VDF Feed
Asset Control has completed a project to map the Telekurs Valordata Feed (VDF) to the Asset Control system. Asset Control currently is normalising the VDF data to the Asset Control data model. The data model serves as a common standard for normalisation of incoming data feeds, simplifying consolidation of multiple data sources into a single data set. The Asset Control data model uses current industry standards including ISO 15022 and Market Data Definition Language (MDDL). Its data coverage includes market data, reference data and corporate actions.
In Brief: Merrill Lynch Signs Up for XML-Based Dow Jones News Feed
Dow Jones Newswires has signed a six-year agreement to provide a suite of real-time news and information products to Merrill Lynch, including its new XML-based Dow Jones NewsPlus service. The agreement extends Dow Jones Newswires' long-standing position as a primary news source to Merrill Lynch. The largest class of users will continue to be within Merrill Lynch's Global Private Client Group, which includes the firm’s Financial Advisors, with news delivery over Thomson-supplied Wealth Management Workstations.
In Brief: Swapstream, Swapswire Agree to Interface
Swapstream, an interest-rate derivatives trading platform whose launch is imminent, will interface to XML-based deal confirmation network Swapswire. Trades executed by banks and brokers on Swapstream, which is backed by Swiss broker Gottex, will be sent to the SwapsWire system for trade capture and confirmation, offering users potential straight-through-processing (STP) benefits.
In Brief: Integra SP Buys Altio for Applications Management
Integra SP has acquired the business and assets of Altio Ltd., the London-based provider of AltioLive, an XML platform for building and deploying real-time, interactive Internet applications. Integra SP plans to develop the product to fully integrate with iaTrade, its own trade lifecycle management solution. AltioLive enables businesses to feed all their applications into a multi-window, browser-based interface, allowing users to work with multiple internal applications simultaneously.