Trading

Jérôme Kerviel , the 31 year old French rogue trader employed by France's second largest bank, Société Générale (SocGen) has been charged for "breach of trust'', "falsifying and using falsified documents'' and "breaching IT controls access codes''. News of the biggest ever financial fraud in history broke last Thursday on the 24th of January 2008. The rogue trader defrauded the bank of €4.82 billion (AUD$8.2 billion, US$7.09 billion) - the largest trading fraud by a single person. Kerviel took an US$83 billion losing bet on European share prices.

BSX Services, a member of the NSX Group (NSX), has setup a Victorian taxi licence trading market. (BSX incorporates the stock exchange of Newcastle and the Bendigo Stock Exchange.) Trading rules have been written by BSX in conjunction with the Victorian government. But is there a need for another market exchange in Australia? Sydney Futures Exchange (SFE) and Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) are both merging, so is there room for the NSX for growth? Or will they become a NASDAQ - a specialist exchange? We shall see...

The Australian Stock Exchange (ASX) will strengthen its surveillance of insider trading and simplify its operating rules following a wide-ranging review into its role as market supervisor.

In changes expected to cost about $10.4 million over the next three years, the listed exchange will also set up a separate subsidiary company to conduct its supervisory functions.

The ASX said on Thursday it would bump up annual listing fees from July 1 next year to cover the cost of some of the changes.

Japanese broker is in hot water after a typo mistake - instead of ¥610,000 for ONE share, they sold 610,000 shares for ¥1: The Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) on Friday suspended trading in J-Com Co., a day after its stock was sold in a mistake that could cost Mizuho Securities Co. 30 billion yen in damages.

The TSE said it wants to prevent a repeat of the market turmoil Thursday caused when a Mizuho Securities trader placed an erroneous sell order of J-Com shares.