THE NEWS WRAP: ASIC to release high speed trading report

The Australian Securities and Investments Commission will today release a report into high speed trading and will reveal whether it intends to join Germany, France and the European Union in regulating the practice.

The report examines whether “dark pools” – where high volume, high speed trades are placed electronically through computer algorithms without human intervention – could in some cases constitute a form of market manipulation.

ALP vice president backs 457 visa crackdown, slams Mark Latham

ALP vice president and Transport Workers Union secretary Tony Sheldon has backed Julia Gillard’s 457 visa crackdown and launched a stinging attack on former leader Mark Latham’s Quarterly Essay, in an address to the ALP national organisers forum in Canberra over the weekend.

“It’s simply a way for unscrupulous employers to bypass the local job market and escape their responsibilities to employ and train our children. And it is made worse by the fact that the 457 visa was leaving people highly vulnerable to exploitation,” Mr Sheldon said.

“When it comes to our philosophy and our story, we’ve been fitted-up by our opponents in the conservative side of politics and by some of our former friends too, including a certain former leader who has just published a Quarterly Essay.”

A run on the banks in Cyprus

Cyprus has experienced a run on the banks following the introduction of a new tax on savings, after the European Union decided part of a new €10 billion ($A12.49b) would have to be paid for by a tax on savings.

The once-off tax will see Cypriots pay 6.75% of their bank deposits under €100,000 and 9.9% of savings over €100,000, with the government claiming the move will avert the need for a Greek-style austerity package.

Despite most major banks placing a €400 limit on withdrawals, most ATMs had run out of cash by the early evening.

Overnight

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed down 0.17% to 14514.11. The Aussie dollar is down to US103.45 cents.