News Centre

Tokyo Financial Exchange Trading Of Interest Rate Etc. Financial Futures Contracts Starts 15 Minutes Earlier On 3 March 2006

Date 24/02/2006

TFX announced the temporary change of trading hours for all Interest Rate etc. Financial Futures Contracts (except for Exchange Forex Margin Contracts) on 3 March 2006, responding to the release of the Consumer Price Index at 8:30am.

Thai Bourse Closes the Case On Seamico’s Rule Violations

Date 24/02/2006

The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET) has ruled that Seamico Securities Co. Ltd. (ZMICO) has violated the SET’s “Announcement of Rules and Procedures for Collecting Brokerage or Agent Fees and on Good Corporate Governance of Members B.E. 2547”.

Standard & Poor’s Announces Changes In S&P Japan SmallCap 250 And S&P Japan 500 Indices

Date 24/02/2006

Standard & Poor’s will make the following changes in the S&P Japan SmallCap 250 and S&P Japan 500 indices effective after the close of trading Thursday, March 9th 2006: 1. Deletions and additions Kyorin Co Ltd (Japan, SEDOL: B0YZFP0, GICS: Health Care, GICS Code: 35202010) will be added to the S&P Japan SmallCap250 and the S&P Japan 500, replacing Kyorin Pharmaceuticals Co Ltd (Japan, SEDOL: 6149996, GICS: Health Care, GICS Code: 35202010) due to its acquisition by Kyorin Co Ltd.

President Of Thai Bourse Awarded ‘Financier Of The Year 2005’

Date 24/02/2006

President of The Stock Exchange of Thailand (SET), Mr. Kittiratt Na-Ranong, becomes the first person from the Thai capital market to receive the Financier of the Year Award.

Orkla ASA GICS Change S&P Europe 350 And S&P Euro Plus

Date 24/02/2006

Standard & Poor’s will revise the GICS sector classification for the S&P Europe 350 and S&P Euro Plus index constituent listed below: Company Name

Opening Remarks By Mr Ng Nam Sin, Executive Director, Monetary Authority Of Singapore At The IQPC Islamic Finance Singapore 2006

Date 24/02/2006

1. Good morning, ladies and gentlemen. 2. Let me begin by thanking the organizers for inviting me here today. Singapore's foray into Islamic finance is relatively new. I will like therefore to take the opportunity to focus my remarks on how Singapore, a major financial centre in Asia, views the development of Islamic finance, how we are responding to the growing interest and what we are doing to facilitate its development in Singapore. G

Nymex To Change Margins On Natural Gas And Related Futures

Date 24/02/2006

The New York Mercantile Exchange, Inc., today announced margin changes for its natural gas, NYMEX miNYTM natural gas, Henry Hub swing swap, Henry Hub swaps, and Henry Hub penultimate swap futures contracts, as of the close of business on February 27.

NYBOT Futures & Options For Kids Tops Off Record Fundraising Year - CME’s Terrence A. Duffy And NYBOT’s Joseph J. O’Neill Honored At Gala Event

Date 24/02/2006

NYBOT Futures & Options for Kids, a New York-area nonprofit organization created by the commodity industry, raised a record $1,000,000 over the last year from New York Board of Trade® (NYBOT®) members, staff and those throughout the futures industry. The historic amount of funds, which will be awarded to over fifty philanthropic agencies in the tri-state area and Chicago, was announced at the charity’s twelfth Annual Dinner Dance fundraising event, held last night in Lower Manhattan.

Non-U.S. Trading Volume Sets New Record At NYSE In January 2006 - Worldwide Market Capitalization Of NYSE-listed Non-U.S. Stocks Tops $8 Trillion For First Time

Date 24/02/2006

Trading in non-U.S. stocks at the New York Stock Exchange reached a record 215.4 million shares a day on average in January, up 32% from December’s 163.6 million shares, according to data released by the NYSE. The previous record volume for non-U.S. trading at the NYSE was 203.2 million shares a day, set in July 2002. Non-U.S. volume in January accounted for 11.5 percent of total NYSE volume, up from 10.5 percent in December. The dollar value of trading in non-U.S. stocks on the NYSE also reac

New Book Assesses Rising Importance Of Financial Markets in U.S. Foreign Policy

Date 24/02/2006

As trade flows expanded and trade agreements proliferated after World War II, governments—most notably the United States—came increasingly to use their power over imports and exports to influence the behavior of other countries. But trade is not the only way in which nations interact economically. Over the past two decades, another form of economic exchange has risen to a level of vastly greater significance and political concern: the purchase and sale of financial assets across borders. Nearly