Trading Newsflashes: EZX Connects Buy Side to Liquidnet

EZX Connects Buy Side to Liquidnet

EZX, a provider of trading infrastructure and FIX connectivity based in Springfield, N.J., reports that it's built interfaces into Liquidnet, the electronic marketplace for block equity trading, on behalf of several buy-side institutions, according to a release. EZX offers an order-management system (OMS) that enables institutions to meet the membership requirement to trade within Liquidnet's global trading community, says the company.

According to Alfred Eskandar, Liquidnet's director of corporate strategy, in a press release "Their OMS is one of the quickest and easiest to implement and has been vital in getting institutions live that previously did not have the required OMS in place."

EZX's broker-neutral system is certified for the latest Liquidnet release, H20. EZX says it offers a quick and easy-to-install solution that will enable Liquidnet prospective members to quickly set up what they need to begin trading.

According to Paul Savin, CEO of EZX, in the release, "We are offering an out-of-the-box simple Liquidnet interface solution." Launched in January 2004, EZX provides trading tools that integrate with Excel, Java or VB trading applications, which allow customers "to be up and trading in a matter of days, not months," said the release,

Tullett Prebon Launches SwapMarker Plus

Tullett Prebon Information released SwapMarker Plus, an enhanced version of SwapMarker, a real-time price reference tool for global interest-rate derivatives and currency swaps.

SwapMarker Plus offers additional pricing data, covering twelve currencies, for out-of-the-money interest-rate options as well as inflation-linked bonds. The service is geared to global financial institutions, including dealers, commercial banks, asset management firms and hedge funds.

The newly available data, sourced from the global broking desks of Tullett Prebon, includes real-time pricing for interest-rate volatilities, caps, floor, skews and inflation-linked options pricing. The data is available as a bundled add-on to the existing SwapMarker service, or in separate modules: SwapMarker Volatility and SwapMarker Inflation.

End users can elect to receive SwapMarker Plus as an optional service on Reuters or Bloomberg terminals, direct via a Tullett Prebon Information feed or the Internet through the company's PageViewer application. The service has dynamic Microsoft Excel links that update automatically and composite pages that summarize the data points.

ATD Receives NASD Approval to Expand Market Making

Automated Trading Desk's (ATD) retail execution platform has received NASD approval to expand its market-making operations.

The retail execution platform, known as ATD Financial Services (AUTO), now plans to make markets in all Nasdaq and exchange-listed securities.

As a market maker AUTO will maintain a firm bid and ask price in a given security and provide incoming order flow with opportunities for price improvement, the release said. According to ATD, a pioneer in automated trading technology based in Mt. Pleasant, S.C., this expansion will also expose AUTO's customers to even more liquidity in the marketplace by allowing increased interaction with incoming order flow.

"This expansion of our market-making operations allows us to become a single source destination for our customers' order flow needs. Cost savings, price improvements and now an even deeper pool of liquidity enables us to continually provide exceptional execution quality to our customers," stated Steve Swanson, president and CEO of ATD, in the release.