stock_stockmarket148 EXCHANGE NEWSWIRE, 27 May 2011

NDAQ may consider an offer for LCH.Clearnet, according to Fox Business Network, but NDAQ spokesman Frank De Maria refused to comment. NDAQ CEO Greifeld said he was “focused on executing our business plan and at the same time ensuring we are strategically positioned for emerging growth opportunities” after he withdrew NDAQ’s bid for NYX earlier in May.

NDAQ’s former stock market manager Donald Johnson pleaded guilty to SEC’s charges of insider trading participation, in which Johnson had bought and sold five NDAQ-listed companies based on insider information from 2006 to 2009.

TMX commented that Maple Group Acquisition Corp.’s proposal to acquire TMX “did not constitute a superior proposal, nor could it reasonably be expected to result in a superior proposal.” TMX also stated that its Board will review and respond to the formal Maple offer if and when it has been made, and affirmed that it did not accelerate the date of its shareholder vote for the merger with LSE.

CME will cut margins for its platinum and palladium futures. The costs of opening a position in 50-troy ounce platinum futures will be reduced to $3,850 from $4,950, and that of holding the contract overnight will be down to $3,500 from $4,500. The cost of opening a position in palladium futures will decrease to $5,775 from $6,875 and the cost of holding a 100-ounce contract overnight will fall to $5,250 from $6,250.

CME CEO Craig Donohue’s pay was criticized by Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) which will recommend a “no” vote on Donohue’s total compensation, which increased by 47% despite CME’s lagging the one-, three- and five-year total shareholder returns in CME’s sector and the S&P500 index.

BME launched a new CCP service for clearing of pre-arranged trades on MEFF contracts with non-standard expiration and strikes. The new service does not allow order entry, and is addressed to institutional investors and professionals who trade bilaterally before requesting registration in MEFF’s CCP.

ASX’s ownership cap of 15% will not be changed as Assistant Treasurer Bill Shorten does not “see the need for changing it at this point” after SGX’s recent failed attempt to acquire ASX.

RTS FORTS launched trading in Russian Volatility Index (RTSVX) futures, whose value is calculated by multiplying the RTSVX value in basis points by USD20. The new futures’ settlement price will be determined based on the average value of the RTSVX for the evening settlement period on the contract’s last trading day. It will expire on the trading day 7 calendar days prior to the last trading day of the option contract on the nearby RTS Index futures.

Cleartrade Exchange will launch a complementary global market-discovery screen on June 2, allowing live trade, price and volume access across multiple commodities. The trades can be combined across different product types and is expected to save clients around 40% in cross-margining fees at the clearinghouse.

Thomson Reuters launched a trade confirmation service with SGX’s and CME’s clearing houses as its first customers. As trades must be legally confirmed before being cleared, the new service will provide legal confirmation of trades and send the real-time details of executed trades to clearing houses, trade repositories and regulators.

Financial Markets Authority of France (AMF) Chairman Jean-Pierre Jouyet advocated for reducing off-exchange EU share trades. Jouyet also said that OTC trades, whose share of the European market is estimated to be at the higher end of the 15% to 40% range, “should remain the exception” rather than the rule.

 

Provided By: Equity Research Desk, www.erdesk.com

 

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