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Reports the plan of the Financial Services Authority to reform corporate announcements service of news agencies in Great Britain. Proposal of competitive structure for market consultation; Features of the two-tier system; Benefits of the competitive model for companies negotiating with primary information providers.

Reports the plans of Virt-x to become the first exchange to offer the choice of two simultaneous central clearing counterparties (CCP) in Great Britain. Information on the company; Functions of the dual CCP; Effect of the introduction of CCP.

Reports on the installation of order management systems (OMS) among British fund management companies. Accommodation of electronic transaction systems; Rush to install OSM technology among London, England and Edinburgh, Scotland money managers; Internal and external factors that drive the decision-making process.

This article presents views of John Eatock, lead healthcare advisor at the British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy, on guidelines issued by the National Institute for Clinical Excellence (NICE), related to the significance health counselling in mental health services. Because NICE'S hierarchy of evidence is set in stone, so it appears, they will not even look at naturalistic trials or at evidence from patients as they generally present to counsellors, with multiple problems and not just one diagnosis. Eatock says that cognitive behavior therapy inevitably comes out well because it is focused on a single symptom approach and suits the "medical model." This really does counselling in the National Health Service (NHS), a huge disservice. In a panel discussion to be held at the Maudsley Hospital in south London, on April 29, three speakers will debate the place of counselling in the NHS and address how the voice of the clinician gets heard by managers and policy makers.

Shares the author's experience running a residential home for the elderly in Great Britain. Relationship that he established with fee-paying residents; Impression about the recovery of some residents from their own behavioral problems; Struggle to make means with the budget of the institution.

Reports the expansion of Clydesdale Bank PLC into the securities custody market in Great Britain. Dependence on technology for its expansion; Installation of an information technology architecture to support subcustodian business; Explanation of the expansion by the head of global sales and marketing.

Reports the ways of reducing the reliance on paper share certificates and paper-based processing in Great Britain. Importance of the support of securities firms on the individual initiatives to reduce paper along the settlement chain; Issue of the replacement of paper-based forms for proxy voting; Advantage of dematerialization of share certificates.

Reports the slow expenses on technology by securities and investment firms in Great Britain. Demands in the market; Difficulty in market conditions; Replacement of systems and technology.

Reports the plans of the London Stock Exchange (LSE) after losing its bid to takeover the London International Financial Futures Exchange (Liffe) to Euronext in Great Britain. Reaction on the failure of the company; Details on the strategy; Comparison on the strategy between LSE and other profit-exchanges.

Reports on the effect of Euronext's bold takeover of the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (Liffe) in Great Britain. Implication of the consolidation; Confirmation on the issue on links between Clearnet and London Clearing House; Description of Liffe as a stock exchange.

Reports the joint venture of European Central Bank and Committee of European Securities Regulators to set standards and policies for processing systems in Great Britain. Transparency of securities settlement systems and central counterparts; Impact on payment systems; Controls and user protection.

Reports on the change in the securities industry regulation through the implementation of N2 from the rulebook of Financial Services Authority in Great Britain. Preparedness of the security firms in the change; Scope of security industry segments in the rulebooks; Concentration on operational procedures and senior management.

Reports the plans of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) for the electronic trading system regulation in Great Britain. Factors affecting the decision of FSA; Conclusions drawn from the industry consultation process; Investigation on the best execution in handling issues involving FSA.

Reports on the results of a survey of patents conducted by Marks & Clerk, which found out that an increasing number of financial services companies in Great Britain are eyeing technology patents. Concerns that the adoption of technology patents may be harmful to the financial services industry; Factors attributing to the aggressiveness of financial services firms in recognizing and acting to patent intellectual property.

Discloses a plan of the Great Britain Financial Services Authority (FSA) to change the way price-sensitive corporate announcements are made to investors. Review of the process; Monopoly enjoyed by the London Stock Exchange's Regulatory News Service; Aim of the changes planned by the FSA.

Details the Great Britain Financial Services Authority's discussion paper on best execution as first step in a process to establish whether current regulations have been rendered obsolete by the proliferation of electronic trading. Overview on consultation paper, titled `The Harmonisation of Core Conduct of Business Rules for iNvestor Protection,' released by the Federation of European Securities Commissions.

Reports that EMXCo, the company established to operate an electronic platform for the trading and settlement of investment funds in Great Britain, has been rescued by a group of investment management firms after the failure of a rights issue for extra shares. Capital infusion contributed by the funds; Expectations from the change of ownership and management of the company.

Focuses on the plan of Equitable Life, a Great Britain-based insurance and pensions company to use alternative transaction systems to limit its risks in the transfer of investment funds to bonds. Inquiry on the disposal of the equity portfolio; Selection of a securities house to handle the transition of assets; Access of The Equitable to all sources of liquidity.

Reports the attempt of Deutsche Borse to increase retail order flow into its Xetra electronic trading system in Great Britain. Distinctions of Xetra Best service from conventional electronic order book; Significance of hybrid market model to counter cultural resistance among retail investors; Benefits of Xetra Best service.

Reports the increase in equity securities transactions via electronic order books on European exchanges for the year 2001 in Great Britain. Confirmation on the dominance of order-driven model for electronic trading; Percentage of the increase; Main factors contributing to the increase in securities transactions.

Reports the plans of the Financial Services Authority (FSA) to launch a consultation program on best execution with securities firms in Great Britain. Creation of a policy statement by the FSA; Feedback on the formulation of the consultation paper; Regulation of the principles of best execution through conduct-of-business rules.

Reports the plans of EMXCo. for the development settlement system in Great Britain. Services for the purchase, selling and paying of funds; Focus on the time frame of different settlement options; Initiatives for the roll out of its online reconciliation service.

Focuses on the impact of the conduct of business rules (COB) on the responsibility of fund managers in Great Britain. Enforcement of COB by the Financial Services Authority; Reduction of individual elements of risk within the securities processing chain; Comments of fund managers on the rules.

Reports the electronic trading of government securities in Great Britain. Establishment of a precise specification to meet needs of a continuous electronic price display; Evaluation of technical considerations by the Debt Management Office; Presentation of options for an electronic marketplace.

Reports on the merger of Atriax and AVT Technologies in Great Britain. Information on the Atriax; Reasons for the connectivity; Details on the major investors of Atriax.

Reports the pursuit of the London future markets by London Stock Exchange, Euronext and Deutsche Borse in London, Great Britain. Presentation to the board of directors of the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange (Liffe) by three stock exchanges; Set of deadline by Liffe; Pursuance on existing independent strategy.

Examines the reduction or abolition of stamp tax levied on securities transactions in Great Britain. Increase of turnover on London Stock Exchange (LSE); Growth on securities prices; Improvement on the LSE business.

Focuses on the plan of online brokerage Charles Schwab Inc. to upgrade mutual fund facilities using a Financial Information Exchange (FIX) in Great Britain. Selection of Windows 2000-based FIX.Net Server to route buy-and-sell orders for mutual funds; Use of an automated straight-through-processing system; Reluctance of fund providers to invest on upgrading technology.

Reports that SwapsWire, the proposed electronic-trading system for interest-rate swaps, has received regulatory authorization to become a service provider from the British Financial Services Authority. Plans to launch its Internet-based trading platform for interest-rate swaps; Advantage of switching to an electronic marketplace; Other significant electronic-trading mechanism for interest-rate swaps.

Reports the plan of Instinet, the Nasdaq-listed electronic share-trading broker to change its membership status into the SWX Swiss Exchange in Great Britain. Opportunities perceived on the transfer; Speculations on motive of the transfer; Plans of the firm to move all operations London headquarters.

Focuses on the low trading and settlement costs of Crest in the European market in Great Britain. Claims of the company on the settlement costs; Figures of the company's settlement costs; Reservations on the validity of figures by some European trading and settlement systems operators.

Reports the launching of a fund supermarket of TD Waterhouse in Great Britain. Purpose of launching the program; Intention of the company to get round the settlement problem for its fund supermarket; Connection of the TD Waterhouse EMX messaging Network.

Reports that British securities company Crest UK has outlined its initial proposals for an electronic proxy voting service. Goals aimed to be achieved by Crest for making such proposal; Driving factors for Crest's decision to enter the proxy voting service area; Overview on Crest's plans of recouping its costs for developing the proxy voting service through charging users.

Deals with the unilateral initiative taken by the London Stock Exchange (LSE) to start the process of dematerialization of British securities certificates. Provision of an electronic register; Example set by the LSE in moving from paper-based holding of certificates to electronic holdings; Absorption of the cost incurred in transactions with the central securities depository of Great Britain.

Reports the pursuance of four network telecommunication providers to become network providers for Great Britain's central securities depository, Crest. Decrease of network costs for retail brokers; Accreditation of two network providers by the depository; Efforts in searching of options for users to select appropriate network provider.

Reports on the British central depository Crest's participation with two domestic brokerages in an initiative to facilitate cheaper and more efficient investment in fixed-income securities for investors in Great Britain. Settlement infrastructure provided by the depository; Benefits offered to participating investors.

Reports that Great Britain's Fund Managers Association is conducting a study on the effects that separating out dealing commissions would have on the way fund managers charge fundholders for their services. Criticism of the use of soft commissions; Academics who will conduct the research; Growth of alternative trading methods.

Reports on the changes in the EMX electronic messaging system for the British mutual funds industry, following the acquisition of EMX Corp. by a consortium of fund management firms. Management changes at the company; Focus of marketing for the service; Level of penetration in the fund industry; Problems facing users of EMX.

Announces the change in schedule of crossing times for stock trading by E-Crossnet and Posit Europe in Great Britain. Reasons for changing the crossing times; Introduction of a theme to selective crossing times by E-Crossnet; Account of the increased frequency in Posit's crosses.

Reports that Financial Services Authority in Great Britain is rethinking the way company announcements are publicized over the London Stock Exchange's Regulatory News Service (RNS). Possible alternatives for the future of RNS; Biggest changes in the market for RNS.

Reports on the creation of an electronic transaction system for government bonds known as gilts in Great Britain. Agreement between the Debt Management Office and participating dealing firms to determine which methods to pursue; Objectives spelled out by the E-Trading Working Group.