Trends and the Tornado: Predictions for 2011

摘要

The industry looks like the Scarecrow from "The Wizard of Oz": pointing every which way with no clear direction. Between Dodd-Frank, the SEC, the ITROC's dark pool proposal and the MiFID Review, it seems as if there is no clear global (or even local) consensus on market structure, trading practices or participant obligations. Meanwhile, the economy remains challenged. Still, the global equity markets should have a good 2011. The credit crisis has been behind us now for three years, companies are sitting on cash, a Republican win spells gridlock in D.C., and the Fed's second round of quantitative easing, or QE2, foretells a depreciating dollar that will push investors out of debt and into equity vehicles.