News Centre

NYSE Hybrid Market(SM) Gains SEC Approval - Blending The Best Of The Auction Market And Electronic Trading - Pilot To Be Extended To All NYSE-Listed Securities - New Customer Choice, Functionality And Increased Access To Liquidity

Date 22/03/2006

The New York Stock Exchange today received approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission to begin full implementation of its Hybrid Market(SM) initiative. Designed to offer customers greater choice in order-execution services, the NYSE Hybrid Market expands customer ability to trade instantaneously with certainty and anonymity without sacrificing the price improvement and market quality of the floor-based NYSE auction market.

NYBOT Announces Upcoming Cocoa Graders Test

Date 22/03/2006

The New York Board of Trade® (NYBOT®), the world’s leading “soft” commodity exchange, announced today that it will be administering a cocoa graders test in early Fall 2006 at the exchange’s 39 Broadway location in New York, N.Y. Candidates must have a minimum of three years experience in the cocoa industry to qualify for the written and practical grading test.

NASDAQ And QQQ Celebrates Fifth Year As Title Sponsor Of NASDAQ-100 Open - Junior Achievement Financial Literacy Workshop Highlight On-Site Programming

Date 22/03/2006

The NASDAQ-100 Open, the largest titled sponsorship in tennis, begins today in Miami. Now in its fifth year as title sponsor, the NASDAQ-100 Index Tracking StockSM (NASDAQ: QQQQ) — also known as “QQQ” — will feature a live market open from the Tennis Center at Crandon Park in Miami and offer additional on-site enhancements and activities for fans. The NASDAQ-100 Open features the world's top men and women tennis players, including defending champions Roger Federer and

MTS Introduces Internet For Repo As Innovations Lead to Growth

Date 22/03/2006

MTS S.p.A. is pleased to report growing repo volumes and to announce the introduction of Internet access for its Money Market Facility (MMF). The secure Internet link addresses the needs of a number of financial institutions, which have expressed strong interest in trading the full range of European repo products via a light technical solution.

MEFF Incorporates Three New Members In March

Date 22/03/2006

The Board of Directors of MEFF, the Spanish Financial Futures and Options Exchange, has approved the incorporation of three new Members to the Spanish derivatives exchange:

JSE Equities Market Weekly Statistics For The Week Ended 17 March 2006

Date 22/03/2006

Attached is the weekly report of certain trading statistics. It must be noted that the statistics relevant to foreign transactions only represent transactions executed through the JSE Equities Market.

HKEx: Arrangements For Adjustment Of Hongkong Electric Futures And Options

Date 22/03/2006

Following up on its news release dated 10 March 2006 on capital adjustment to Hongkong Electric (HEH) Futures and Options, Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited (HKEx) has announced the arrangements for the adjustment to the contract terms of all open HEH Futures and Options contracts in existence after market close on 28 April 2006, the business day immediately before the ex-dividend day, which is 2 May 2006, to account for HEH's proposed special dividend of $0.73 per share.

Heinrich Schaller New Member Of The Management Board Of Wiener Börse

Date 22/03/2006

Heinrich Schaller will become a member of the Management Board of Wiener Börse AG. This morning, the Supervisory Board of Wiener Börse AG unanimously voted for the appointment of Heinrich Schaller at it regular meeting. Schaller will replace Stefan Zapotocky who requested his premature resignation for personal reasons. As of 1 June 2006, the operations of Wiener Börse AG will be managed jointly by Michael Buhl and Heinrich Schaller.

FTSE 100 Closes Above 6,000

Date 22/03/2006

The FTSE 100 has closed above 6,000 for the first time since 8th March 2001, ending the day at 6007.5. The FTSE 100 reflects the performance of the largest 100 UK listed companies by market capitalisation, and is the basis for a number of products including structured products and ETFs. The index hit its lowest post tech boom level on 12th March 2003, at 3287, and reached an all time high on 30th December 1999, reaching 6930.2. The FTSE 100 first broke the 6,000 barrier on 1st April 1998.

Financial Markets: Inter-Institutional Monitoring Group Publishes First Report On "Lamfalussy process"

Date 22/03/2006

The Inter-institutional Monitoring Group (IIMG) has published its first interim report on the "Lamfalussy Process", which aims to create a more efficient system for the EU institutions to prepare, adopt and implement new legislation to integrate financial markets. In the report, based on evidence given by the stakeholders closely involved in the Lamfalussy process and market participants, the Group asserts that there is general and strong support for the Lamfalussy approach. Notwiths