Wall Street & Technology in History

1 YEAR AGO
Euro Crazy: The euro, Europe's new single currency, was set to launch, affecting information systems world-wide on January 1, 1999. Tech staffers experienced a strain unlike any before to convert billions in legacy currencies into euros. Organizational problems, uncoordinated data distribution formats, and little U.S. corporate preparation left IT staffers frustrated and behind schedule. Euro-zone firms maintained the attitude that the world will eventually accept the euro and that requisite systems changes would go hand-in-hand with Y2k compliance upgrades. See "Euro Invasion," January 1999, p. 26

5 YEARS AGO
Countdown to T+3: Institutions, vendors and brokers were almost a year behind schedule in preparing for T+3. The June 5, start date was introduced to connect front and back offices, which would reduce transaction margins of error by up to 30%. The Depository Trust Company at that time was trying to gain a foothold in the front office. It also introduced complete guidelines on preparing for the shortened settlement cycle. Winners were supportive, but losers complained that the DTC's trading side involvement would cause unfair competition. See "Investors, T+3 & the DTC: "All Together Now,"" January 1995, p.38

10 YEARS AGO
E-Econometrics: With costs of computing in decline and more econometric vendors expanding into cyberspace, on-line access to econometric data gave traders more than ticker tape as a basis for trade strategies. Fierce competition between major vendors produced an array of timesaving products for firms that otherwise could not manage to process massive amounts of information. Would these new electronic databases be the weapon that helped traders beat the Street? Or would it be business as usual? See "On-line econometric Data Offers desktop Convenience," January 1990, p. 36