SHORT STORIES

U.K. trading systems integrator Data Logic Ltd. is open for business in U.S. Raytheon Co. unit set up New York office and made American debut at recent Financial Investment Management Conference and Exposition in New York. Data Logic claims to be third largest supplier of trading room systems after Rich, Inc. and Micrognosis, Inc. Company provides digital and video switches driven by DEC engines. Big selling point of "Aztec" system is touch-sensitive plasma keyboard that changes according to market data service in use. For bulk data entry or users who don't like feel of plasma screen, button keyboard is available. Like other digital systems, Aztec allows composite pages to be created using multiple information sources, but also allows traders to specify different color for each data source. Although market share stands at zero on this side of Atlantic, Data Logic hopes to capture first American contract shortly, says Derek Bowden, vice president, operations. Company responded to several recent RFPs, including Chemical Bank's. Firm recently installed 277 workstations at U.K. fund manager Legal and General, and is putting in 230 positions for Credit Suisse First Boston in London's West End. Data Logic is expected to announce soon that it's been tapped to install more than 600 stations at combined Union Bank of Switzerland/Phillips and Drew dealing room being built in London.

Financial Trading Systems Inc. is jumping on workstation bandwagon. Beginning in January, FTS says its Decision Support and Analytics System for government securities will be ported to Sun Microsystems Inc. workstations. Current price for leasing DSAS on IBM AT is $1,200/month, although FTS offers price break to subscribers with over 25 terminals on LAN. Introduction of Sun DSAS will be accompanied by 20-30% price hike. To broaden distribution, firm is discussing bringing interdealer broker prices directly into DSAS, says David Moskowitz, FTS vice president. All DSAS customers are primary dealers that already have broker screens, he says. DSAS applications were recently expanded to include financial futures and money market instruments, and early next year, FTS plans to launch version for mortgage-backed securities, including real-time and historical pool data, Moskowitz says.

Lloyds Merchant Bank selected Micrognosis Inc. to install 33 trading positions at London dealing center. New system is expected to go live in January, replacing existing Rich, Inc. facilities. Lloyds has installed or ordered Micrognosis TRADE systems for Geneva, Toronto, and Tokyo. Digital distribution subsystem gateway allows Lloyd's traders to electronically pass book -- in form of pages of digital information -- around world. Gateway operates on DEC Microvax hardware and uses DECnet to communicate between systems.

has postponed until November 17th public hearing on multiple options trading originally set for September 29th (TST, July 20). Several members of Congress asked SEC to delay abolishing lottery system that allocates new options on listed stocks among five participating exchanges. Legislators are asking for further study and cost-benefit analyses, says Kathryn Natale, assistant director, market regulation, at SEC. Natale spoke at recent Value Added-Market Data conference sponsored by Waters Information Services, Inc., publishers of TST. Philadelphia and Pacific stock exchanges and CBOE have been lobbying members of House and Senate to prevent SEC from eliminating lottery. When SEC first permitted trading of options on OTC stocks in 1985, American Stock Exchange captured 90 percent of volume in contracts it traded in competition with another market.

Charlton Heston, known for portrayal of larger-than-life characters like Ben-Hur and Moses, has come down to earth as trading system salesman. Contel hired Heston as on-air spokesman for series of TV spots extolling company's virtues in several market sectors, including financial trading systems. Ads invoke glamour and clamor of fast-paced world of trading with litany of exotic place-names and financial instruments. Pitch sounds like tooth-paste commercial: "How do traders keep up with it? Four out of five trading rooms use technology by Contel." Coming next -- Folgers Crystals approach: "We visited the prestigious Salomon Brothers fixed-income trading room to see if their traders would notice the difference when we replaced their turrets with 75,000 tip-and-ring jacks...".