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BGC Partners has increased its all-cash tender offer to acquire GFI Group to $5.45 per share, representing a $.20 premium per share compared to CME Group's offer.

The Financial Conduct Authority is focusing its risk-based oversight efforts in four critical areas of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation for 2015 – trade reporting quality, clearing services provision continuity from clearing members, market readiness for the clearing obligation, and the bilateral requirements for non-cleared trades. This comes as February marks the first year anniversary of trade reporting under the regulation.

Banks operating with large swaps trading operations will no longer be required to relocate their trading to a separate legal entity that is not federally insured following the rollback of Section 716 of the Dodd-Frank Act. As a result, banks will avoid incurring significant expenses, while saving time and personnel, according to lawyers.

Société Générale’s Newedge prime services business has added LCH.Clearnet’s ForexClear as a new central counterparty clearing houses to its client over-the-counter clearing offering, allowing it clients to clear non-deliverable forwards.

Despite a last minute upswing, 2014 is poised to conclude as one of the least volatile years in recent memory.

The Commodity Futures Trading Commission has permanently approved LCH.Clearnet as a derivatives clearing organisation under the Commodities Exchange Act, after reviewing and amending the clearing houses’s original authorisation.

TriOptima has completed the first cross currency swap compression cycle for US dollar/Turkish lira, eliminating $213 billion notional.

Volumes have nearly doubled over the past week in Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index (VIX) call spreads as investors seek volatility protection, driving options premiums higher.

The Japanese Securities Clearing Corp has completed the first compression cycle for cleared yen interest rate swaps using TriOptima’s triReduce service, to eliminate notional principal and reduce risk.

Market participants have been buying put options on the euro against the Swiss franc as potential quantitative easing from the European Central Bank could signal some downward movement in spot on the currency pair, raising speculation over the Swiss National Bank's floor at Sfr1.20.

The European Commission has extended the mandatory capital standards for exposures to central counterparties under the Capital Requirements Regulations. Recognising that CCP authorisation and compliance requires more time to complete, regulators have extended the deadline by six months.

Institutional investors have been picking up protection via options on energy-linked stocks driven by a decline in energy markets. Market participants were seen both selling calls and/or buying puts.