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Catch up on coronavirus stories and special reports, curated by Mike Allen everyday

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High-speed traders team up in $1.4 billion deal

Dan Primack, author of Pro Rata

AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews

Virtu Financial (Nasdaq: VIRT) today announced an agreement to acquire rival high-speed trading firm KCG Holdings (NYSE: KCG) for approximately $1.4 billion in cash, or $20 per share (12.74% premium over yesterday's closing price).

Context: High-frequency traders might have lower concerns today about increased regulatory scrutiny (let alone a financial transaction tax, which was favored by Hillary Clinton), but it's still been a tough slog of late due primarily to low volatility in U.S. equities. So this is an attempt to make it up on volume, plus allows Virtu to move into the retail wholesaler market. Also worth noting that Virtu's executive chairman is Vincent Viola, who was nominated by President Trump to be U.S. Army Secretary, but later bailed after saying it would be too hard to disentangle his business interests.

Bottom line: "All this low volume and low volatility is having an impact on the stock trading business. It doesn't matter the markets are near new highs. If no one is trading, or everyone is moving to passive investing, well, that is a big problem." ― Bob Pisani

Go deeper

Jonathan Swan
23 mins ago - Politics & Policy
Off the Rails

Episode 5: The secret CIA plan

Photo illustration: Aïda Amer, Sarah Grillo/Axios. Photo: Zach Gibson/Getty Images

Beginning on election night 2020 and continuing through his final days in office, Donald Trump unraveled and dragged America with him, to the point that his followers sacked the U.S. Capitol with two weeks left in his term. This Axios series takes you inside the collapse of a president.

Episode 5: Trump vs. Gina — The president becomes increasingly rash and devises a plan to tamper with the nation's intelligence command.

In his final weeks in office, after losing the election to Joe Biden, President Donald Trump embarked on a vengeful exit strategy that included a hasty and ill-thought-out plan to jam up CIA Director Gina Haspel by firing her top deputy and replacing him with a protege of Republican Congressman Devin Nunes.

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Axios
Updated 2 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Coronavirus dashboard

Illustration: Annelise Capossela/Axios

  1. Health: CDC director defends agency's response to pandemic — CDC warns highly transmissible coronavirus variant could become dominant in U.S. in March.
  2. Politics: Empire State Building among hundreds to light up in Biden inauguration coronavirus tribute.
  3. Vaccine: Fauci: 100 million doses in 100 days is "absolutely" doable.
  4. Economy: Unemployment filings explode again.
  5. Tech: Kids' screen time sees a big increase.
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Orion Rummler
4 hours ago - Politics & Policy

Biden Cabinet confirmation schedule: When to watch hearings

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on Jan. 16 in Wilmington, Delaware. Photo: Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images

The first hearings for President-elect Joe Biden's Cabinet nominations begin on Tuesday, with testimony from his picks to lead the departments of State, Homeland and Defense.

Why it matters: It's been a slow start for a process that usually takes place days or weeks earlier for incoming presidents. The first slate of nominees will appear on Tuesday before a Republican-controlled Senate, but that will change once the new Democratic senators-elect from Georgia are sworn in.

Go deeper (1 min. read)Arrow

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