EXCHANGE NEWSWIRE, 10 June 2011
TMX: Maple Group is preparing a circular which “will be an opportunity for the group to explain to the shareholders what we are trying to achieve” in its proposal to acquire TMX. Maple Group has to convince TMX shareholders of the deal before they vote on LSE’s all-stock bid on June 30. LSE executive David Lester also said he does not expect Canadian Industry Minister Christian Paradis to decide on the TMX proposal before the shareholders’ vote.
CME will meet with Illinois Governor Pat Quinn to discuss the possibility of a lower tax rate after CME threatened to establish its headquarters outside Illinois due to the tax hike which CME expects will cost the company around $50m per year. A spokesman for the governor said they were not closed to lowering the tax rate as “this is a temporary tax increase to raise revenue”.
CME: a 20-second automatic trading pause was triggered at NYMEX for the August Henry Hub natural gas futures contract after the contract slid as much as 5.6%, reaching an intraday low of $4.601/million British thermal units yesterday.
NDAQ CEO Greifeld’s suddenly withdrawal from a speech scheduled today and an appearance next week raised speculations that he is either leaving the company or is completing negotiations for a new deal.
NYX claims that its European cash markets offer superior liquidity quality compared to MTFs. A joint analysis conducted by NYX and TAG Audit showed that NYX’s equity markets in Paris, Brussels, Amsterdam and Lisbon offered liquidity at the European best bid and offer (EBBO) of 84.6% in April 2011, and displayed market depth of EUR 44,798 with an average spread of 7.66 bps. The next best venue was Chi-X Europe with EBBO liquidity of 64.34%, displayed market depth of EUR 28,179 and an average spread of 9.43 bps in April 2011.
LSE will provide its MillenniumIT technology for Wiener Borse’s new Central and Easter Europe CCP infrastructure. The CCP.CEE platform is designed to facilitate standardized cross-regional clearing in the region, and will initiate in Vienna, Prague, Ljubljana and Budapest.
LSE appointed Tim Wright as its chief of staff, and also promoted ex-FSA regulator Cecile Nagel, as the head of strategic planning. Wright was the former Human Resources head and oversaw the round of staff cuts which has seen a decrease in 15% of staff since Xavier Rolet took his position as CEO in May 2009.
BSE received SEBI approval to include additional stocks for trading in its Equity Derivatives segment. Consequently, the futures and options of stocks currently eligible on all stock exchanges will also be available for trading on BSE from August 2011 onwards, and will be settled through physical delivery.
TSE’s Tokyo AIM market for professional investors received its first listing application from Japanese biotechnology firm Mebiopharm.
Association of Financial Markets in Europe (AFME) warned of risks to Europe’s economic growth after the European Parliament voted to implement a financial transaction tax (FTT) this week. AFME CEO Simon Lewis explained that “many financial transactions are carried out on behalf of businesses that would bear the cost. For example, the foreign exchange market underpins international trade and a tax on these currency trades would increase costs for a large section of the European industry”.
CFTC will consider a proposal next Tuesday that will prevent certain new financial reform rules including those in the OTC market, which would become “self-effecting” on July 16, from taking effect next month. CFTC Commissioner Gary Gensler said that this would provide market participants with “some relief… for a limited period of time”.
Provided By: Equity Research Desk, www.erdesk.com