Job Openings and Labor Turnover Summary
Date: 3/9/2010

There were 2.7 million job openings on the last business day of January 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The job openings rate rose over the month to 2.1 percent, the highest the rate has been since February 2009. The hires rate (3.1 percent) and the separations rate (3.2 percent) were unchanged in January. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector by industry and geographic region. This release also includes annual estimates for hires and separations.  The annual totals for hires and quits decreased in 2009 while the annual total for layoffs and discharges increased.

(To view full report and charts, go to: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.toc.htm.)

Read “Go Long: New Options Strategies For Buy And Hold Investors”, The Latest Book From W&A Publishing, The Trader’s Tutor
Date: 3/9/2010

Cedar Falls, IA, March 9, 2010 -- W&A Publishing announces immediate availability of the book “Go Long: New Options Strategies for Buy And Hold Investors” by Mike Tosaw.  The cover price is $32.95. It is available online at www.w-apublishing.com.

This book is for people interested in online stock and options trading. W&A Publishing Executive Editor Karris Golden says the instructive content of “Go Long: New Options Strategies for Buy And Hold Investors” leads the reader through concrete examples of stock and option trades to manage risk or to profit from longer-term buy and hold positions. “This book demonstrates how Mr. Tosaw earned his reputation and following as an advisor who can present easy-to-understand explanations of equity options trades and strategies, and he includes innovative tactics to refresh and stimulate those with a good deal more experience in options investing and online trading. Trading exercises within the book enable the reader to try strategies for themselves, and build confidence throughout the learning process,” Golden adds.

The man behind many popular online tutorials and live webinars, Mike Tosaw is known for his ability to answer questions at all levels along the stock investing and options learning curve. Mike has spoken to thousands of investors throughout the U.S. and internationally. His audiences include online traders, members of investment clubs,

and independent representatives seeking to better understand online stock and

options trading.

Mr. Tosaw’s firsthand experience as a retail investor and registered investment advisor makes him a resource for all investors. Currently, he is registered with brokersExpress and works at Know Your Options (www.knowyouroptionsinc.com).  Before that, Tosaw served as Director of Education for optionsXpress Holdings Inc.

W&A Publishing, a thriving publishing house in the financial sector, already has a solid niche as the “Trader’s Tutor,” geared to educating and assisting serious traders and market participants. To order a book or to learn more about W&A Publishing, please visit www.w-apublishing.com.

CME Group Announces Launch of Dollar-Denominated Crude
Date: 3/9/2010

CHICAGO and KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia, March 8 /PRNewswire/ --CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced the launch of a dollar-denominated, cash-settled crude palm oil futures contract scheduled to begin trading on May 23, 2010, for trade date May 24. Crude palm oil is the most consumed edible oil in the world. These contracts will be listed with, and subject to, the rules and regulations of CME.

Crude palm oil is contained in a multitude of diverse products, from cooking oils and soaps to biodiesel fuel. Settlement prices at expiration of the new electronically traded futures contract will be based on Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Berhad Crude Palm Oil futures, the global benchmark for crude palm oil pricing that is traded in Malaysian ringgit. The use of the settlement prices is part of the strategic partnership agreement CME Group and Bursa Malaysia announced in August that includes a provision for CME Globex electronic trading services and an equity investment in Bursa Malaysia by CME Group.

"This opportunity to work with our Bursa Malaysia partners enables us to offer a contract that meets the growing customer demand for trading crude palm oil, one of the world's most widely used commodities, on CME Globex, the same electronic trading platform as CME Group's existing suite of agricultural products," said Tim Andriesen, CME Group Managing Director of Agricultural Products and Services. "Food processors, commercial firms and other multi-national companies who use crude palm oil and trade in U.S. currency now have an alternative for hedging that risk."

Each contract will be equivalent to 25 metric tons of crude palm oil. Trading hours of the monthly contracts will be 5:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Chicago time the following day Sunday through Friday with a daily one-hour trading halt. For more information, please go to www.CMEGroup.com/palmoil.

U.S. Economic Highlights for the Week Ahead
Date: 3/9/2010

Last Week's Highlights

The recovery has been centered on rising industrial output as firms replenish depleted inventory. There have also been strong gains to date from exports. What's missing is strong improvement from consumer demand or business investment. To be sure, the serial blizzards in the Northeast, Midwest, and even some parts of the South held down the pace of activity in February.

The bigger issue, however, is the low level of confidence. Consumers seem to be bracing for little growth on jobs and incomes this spring. Why? Jobs always fall in recessions and recover in expansions. But the population is growing more slowly now, so a loss of 8.4 million jobs since the recession began bites harder than it used to. Moreover, consumers are bracing for a slow recovery in jobs and pay increases. And they are saving more today. All of this suggests consumer demand is likely to pack little punch in the first half of 2010.

Then why is business confidence a little stronger? It is couched on expectations of continued recovery in margins. Will these expectations be met, and the proceeds used to reinvest and rehire? This is the big question heading into the spring.

Monday, March 8

10:00am The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™

This index tries to do for the labor market what the The Conference Board Leading Economic Index™ for the U.S. does for the general economy. The number of jobs disappearing is slowing. The Employment Trends Index has been suggesting job growth may return by the second quarter. Was that still the signal in February?

Wednesday, March 10

8:30am U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, November 2009 (Bureau of the Census)

Trade conditions have improved. Export growth is back to double digits, as recovery sets in and the previously low dollar is still benefiting trade. Going forward, the financial problems in Europe and the consequent run up in the dollar may blunt the momentum, but trade conditions are not quite there yet. Imports are benefiting from business restocking, of both parts and inventory in general. That trend may also moderate going forward. But for the moment, imports are rising a little faster than exports, pushing the trade deficit a little wider.

Thursday, March 11

8:30am Retail Sales (Bureau of the Census)

After a somewhat surprisingly strong January performance, retail buying declined in February. That may have happened anyway, but the serial blizzards didn't help. Consumers couldn't get out to the malls and didn't substitute by buying online. Vehicle sales were a little stronger in February than in January but non-vehicle buying could have declined by about 0.5 percent. Further, it might not be recovering much in March. Perhaps purchases related to Easter/Passover in April will reverse that. But even with the roads open, the lack of discounts and the generally sour mood of consumers leaves the spend rate on the slow burner.

Friday, February 12

4:00am Euro-zone Industrial Production (Eurostat)

The leading economic indexes for the Euro-economies have been pointing to a turnaround in the industrial core. Restocking inventory and replenishing capital stock likely produced small gains in January after a decline in December. Only if retail spending strengthens will increases in output do the same. Retail sales however, have been down.

THE SITUATION ABROAD

The fiscal woes in Europe grabbed the headlines. But there is a larger issue to consider. The recovery began with a pickup in the industrial core of the economies in Europe, Asia/Pacific rim, and North America. In short, it has been a supply-driven recovery. Demand, however, remains weak, particularly in Europe. This past week saw a report of no growth at all in retail buying. Without stronger increases in demand, increases in production will moderate. That might soften a rising trend in material costs but it will do nothing to help businesses recover from recession-reduced margins. That, in turn, could lead firms to seek further cost reduction — either in wages or head count. That certainly will keep demand on the slow burner at best. Export demand remains the sole source of robust growth in late winter.

FACT OF THE WEEK

4.634 million. That is the number of persons currently receiving unemployment checks. The good news is that it is well below the recession of nearly 7 million. The not so good news is that it remains very elevated relative to pre-recession levels of between 2.5-to-3.0 million. The bad news is that with an expected dampened recovery, it will be some time, perhaps more than two years, before the number falls below 3 million again. That is likely to weigh on consumer confidence and reinforce a trend toward bulking up savings for a rainy day. Of course, in the process, all this is likely to result in a sustained dampened recovery.

QUESTION OF THE WEEK

Why is sustained high unemployment expected to persist for the next few years? What are the consequences of an elevated jobless rate?

To be sure, job losses have slowed and should soon give way to net job gains. There is, after all, typically a lag between the turnaround in the overall economy and a turnaround in the labor market. But the magnitude of the losses, an almost doubling of the number out of work, dwarfs comparisons with past recession (See Labor Market Transitions: from Recession to Recovery, Executive Action No. 321).

Aside from the magnitude of losses, there are at least three additional factors to consider. First, many of the losses are permanent. In other words, that person wasn't simply let go. The position was eliminated. There is no job to go back to for many of the unemployed. They must find a new job, in a new company, perhaps in a different part of the country, maybe even in a different occupation. And that makes the second factor so much more important.

The housing market collapsed in this recession. Home prices are sharply down. And many homeowners consequently owe more on their mortgage than they could get by selling the house. And if that household suffered a bout of unemployment, clearly they are struggling to keep up payments. That makes it difficult to pick up and leave in search of better job prospects somewhere else. Finally, with the economic recovery expected to be relatively slow, better job prospects somewhere else is a relative term.

One immediate effect of all this is a more pessimistic consumer market. That is very likely to keep consumer spending growth slow, ensuring that the pace of recovery remains relatively soft. Far more important, however, is the long term impact, especially for young workers starting their careers.

Past is prologue. Those starting their career in times of economic weakness have struggled to establish themselves long after a new economic expansion began. Given the magnitude of the decline now, and the expected slow recovery, those just starting out will, in many cases, struggle to establish their careers and achieve their maximum earning power. That legacy will be reflected in economic statistics for perhaps the next decade or two.

New York Stock Exchange’s Next-Generation Trading Floor Goes Live
Date: 3/9/2010

NEW YORK, March 8, 2010 – The first phase of New York Stock Exchange’s next-generation trading floor went live today, with traders working for the first time from a workspace custom redesigned for the NYSE’s blend of high-tech, high-touch trading.

“We’re creating an environment where brokers can serve customers in multiple markets and multiple asset classes – more efficiently and effectively – right from the NYSE trading floor,” said NYSE Euronext Chief Operating Officer Lawrence Leibowitz.  “Our member firms see this as an opportunity to integrate their off-floor and on-floor operations, and locate them at the central point of liquidity and price discovery.”    

New Network Supports Brokerage Firms’ Own Trading Applications, Plus NYSE Broker Systems

The transformation provides modern, seated workspaces with room for multiple computer screens, to replace crowded, wooden booths where brokers and their assistants stand elbow to elbow.  The project also includes a new, more robust network that supports the member firms’ own trading applications as well as NYSE broker applications.  This enables the firms to use the same systems and personnel on and off the trading floor.  

The broker workspaces along the two longest walls of the NYSE trading floor’s main room – the east and west walls – are being renovated in phases that began in July 2009 and will conclude at the end of 2010.  The project will result in approximately 200 individual broker stations.

The design, by the architectural firm of Perkins Eastman, uses sleek, curved, translucent glass walls and new lighting to brighten the room and recapture the marble walls and original windows that were obscured earlier.  

The project also includes streamlining the large, circular desks throughout the trading floor where the designated market makers are located, as well as updating the electronic wallboards into color, high-definition, flexible-content displays.

Strong Interest and Participation

The new spaces in the main room already are oversubscribed by member firms wishing to participate.   Some are existing NYSE member firms that are expanding their presence on the trading floor, while others are firms looking to establish a new presence.  Discussions are underway about the possibility of extending the project into another room of the trading floor known as “the garage.”

Floor brokers are one of three core liquidity providers in the NYSE market model; the others are designated market makers and supplemental liquidity providers.  There are approximately 100 NYSE floor broker firms, which accounted for 156 million shares of NYSE daily trading volume on average in January 2010.  Nearly 60 percent of floor brokers’ trades were liquidity-providing (as compared with liquidity removing) in January 2010.

In addition to their activity on the NYSE trading floor, approximately 60 percent of the floor broker firms are permissioned to trade in other venues and financial products from the NYSE trading floor.

Floor brokers differentiate the NYSE market model by blending sophisticated automation – such as uniquely engineered algorithms in their hand-held order-management systems – with human expertise and value-added service to offer a highly managed solution for a very large and diverse community of customers.

Ongoing Transformation

The remake of the main room of the world’s best-known trading floor is the latest major component of an ongoing transformation at the NYSE Euronext in New York , including:  

Adopting in 2008 the high-tech/high-touch market model, providing customers with the benefits of both fast, automated trading and value-added human interaction to add liquidity and dampen volatility;

Upgrading NYSE trading systems to improve speed, capacity and functionality – round-trip latency has decreased from 350 milliseconds in 2007 to 3 milliseconds currently;

Following NYSE Euronext’s acquisition of the America Stock Exchange, moving the renamed NYSE Amex’ equities and options businesses into other areas of the NYSE trading floor in December 2008 and March 2009, respectively, and reinvigorating their competitive positions with new technology; and

Planning to trade Nasdaq-listed issues for the first time from the NYSE floor, under the NYSE Amex platform, pending approval from the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Russell and NASDAQ OMX to Launch RussellTick
Date: 3/9/2010

NEW YORK, Mar 9, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- Russell Investments and The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced that NASDAQ OMX(R) has been selected as the primary source of real-time index values for all of Russell's equity indexes via RussellTick(TM), a new proprietary data service. Developed by NASDAQ OMX, RussellTick will offer investors and traders worldwide real-time access to Russell Index values, including the industry-leading U.S. small-cap Russell 2000(R) Index and U.S. broad-market Russell 3000(R) Index

In December of 2009, Russell selected NASDAQ OMX to disseminate real-time values for Russell's indexes that reflect the global market, but not the well-known U.S. benchmarks, leveraging NASDAQ OMX's global distribution capabilities through NASDAQ OMX's Global Index Data Service (GIDS). Today's announcement broadens the partnership through the creation of a consolidated primary data service that covers the entire family of Russell Indexes. NASDAQ OMX is scheduled to launch RussellTick on June 1, 2010.

"RussellTick will consolidate all of Russell's intra-day index information for the first time into one data source," said Sara Wilson, regional director for third-party index partners at Russell Investments. "Easy access to real-time index values empowers investors to better gauge market performance and more easily track portfolio investments. We're very pleased to leverage the reliable technology and far-reaching distribution capability of NASDAQ OMX as a single point of access."

"Russell's selection of NASDAQ OMX as an independent provider of its index information is a result of our shared objective of promoting transparency," said Randall Hopkins, Senior Vice President of Global Data Products, NASDAQ OMX. "This development further expands the relationship between our organizations, which share a commitment to providing all market participants access to information in a highly scalable manner."

Russell's and NASDAQ OMX's partnership is made possible by the NASDAQ OMX Global Access program. Global Access enables Russell to distribute its data through one of the largest and most successful data distribution organizations in the world. By leveraging the sales, administrative, technical and brand strength of NASDAQ OMX, Global Access provides customers turn-key access to a premier data business. For details, visit http://www.nasdaqtrader.com/globalaccessprogram.

R.J. O’Brien Opens Houston Office to Spearhead Energy Business
Date: 3/9/2010

CHICAGO, March 9, 2010 – R.J. O’Brien & Associates (RJO), the largest independent futures brokerage firm in the United States, today announced that it has just opened a Houston office to spearhead the firm’s energy brokerage business and hired two experienced brokers to head the team.  Steffen van Keppel and Tod Mitchell have joined RJO, both as Senior Vice President, Energy.

Working as a team for the past 24 years managing energy brokerage and Houston branch offices for futures brokerage firms and an introducing broker, van Keppel and Mitchell will help grow RJO’s existing energy business and service institutional and commercial clients with their expertise.  Most recently, van Keppel was branch manager and First Vice President, and Mitchell was First Vice President – Sales, for Newedge USA LLC.

Joseph Murphy, RJO Executive Vice President and President of the Americas, said: “As our energy business continues to grow, we’re pleased to have a seasoned team on the ground in Houston who can help clients navigate the markets and manage their energy risk.”

Said van Keppel:  “In today’s economy, energy plays a vital role in the trading and risk management strategies of commercial and institutional investors.  We are excited about the opportunity to leverage our experience with RJO and grow this segment of the business.”

The new office comes on the heels of RJO’s recent announcement that it has hired an experienced metals team in New York to manage its client business on the London Metal Exchange.  

World Cup Trading Championship Futures and Forex Winners Announced
Date: 3/8/2010

CHICAGO, March 9, 2010 – PFGBEST® and Robbins Trading Company today announced the January and February winners in the World Cup Trading Championships®.

For the month of February 2010, Mr. Kurt Sakaeda posted a return of 123.06 percent.

For the month of January, Mr. Todd Yamamoto posted a 58.23 percent return.

Sakaeda is not a first-time winner! In 2000 he was the overall winner for the year, and again in 2004 he posted the highest return for the year. His 2-month cumulative return so far in 2010 puts him in the lead for this year to date.

These are real-time, real money competitions (void where prohibited) with prizes that include five, $50,000 trading account mandates, coveted World Cup bull & bear trophies for top finishers, and crystal trophies presented at the end of each month throughout the year.  Top-placing contestants will be eligible for a spot on the advisory team at World Cup Advisor.

Previous winners include Larry Williams, Andrea Unger, Rob Mitchell, Michael Cook, and Kevin Davey.

Anyone interested in entering the World Cup Trading Championship can sign up or learn more about each month’s results at www.pfgbest.com/worldcup.

“This is a career changing opportunity for traders whose strategies could post the highest percentage increases,” said Russ Wasendorf, Jr., PFGBEST president and chief operating officer.  “This competition is one method to help us recognize the strongest traders overall in futures and forex who are developing performance track records in order to further build our managed futures, forex and structured product suite.”  World Trading Cup participants receive free trading tools, access to one of 20 trading platforms available to PFGBEST customers, product discounts, and heightened attention on their successes.

Joel Robbins, president of Robbins Trading Company, added, “We’re delighted that in partnership with PFGBEST and through its vast distribution network we have been able to expand the reach of the World Cup Trading Championships. Since 1983, Robbins Trading has been developing outstanding advisory programs for retail investors by identifying trading talent in World Cup events.  The events have provided a steady flow of advisory talent for the WorldCupAdvisor.com site.  In this 27th year of continuous live trading, our brand recognition has never been stronger.”

PFGBEST is among the largest non-clearing U.S. Futures Commission Merchants, with customers, some 700 affiliates, and brokerage offices spanning more than 80 countries. It was incorporated as an FCM in 1990 under the name PFG, Inc.  It offers a range of trading and investor products and services for retail investors as well as for commercial and institutional clients. The company is a leader in sustainable investing through diversified products including managed funds, futures, forex, options, full-service and discount brokerage, precious metals, trader education, market research, and direct online trading through its BESTDirect® platform, and numerous other platforms and applications.

Statement Regarding Counterparties for Reverse Repurchase Agreements
Date: 3/8/2010

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York today announced the beginning of a program to expand its counterparties for conducting reverse repurchase agreement transactions (“reverse repos”). This expansion is intended to enhance the capacity of such operations to drain reserves beyond what could likely be conducted through the New York Fed’s traditional counterparties, the Primary Dealers. This announcement is pursuant to the October 19, 2009, Statement Regarding Reverse Repurchase Agreements, which announced that the New York Fed was studying the possibility of expanding its counterparties for these operations. The additional counterparties will not be eligible to participate in transactions conducted by the New York Fed other than reverse repos. This expansion of counterparties for the reverse repo program is a matter of prudent advance planning, and no inference should be drawn about the timing of any prospective monetary policy operation.

The initial efforts of the New York Fed will be aimed at firms that typically provide large amounts of short-term funding to the financial markets. This approach will ensure that the Federal Reserve quickly achieves significant capacity for conducting reverse repo operations while allowing the Trading Desk at the New York Fed to utilize its current infrastructure for conducting and settling such operations. Over time, the New York Fed expects it will modify the counterparty criteria to include a broader set of counterparties.

In this context, the New York Fed also published today eligibility criteria for the first set of expanded counterparties, domestic money market mutual funds. The eligibility criteria are intended to identify funds that conduct sizable transactions in the tri-party repo market and that the New York Fed anticipates would participate meaningfully in any reverse repo program it may be directed to implement. (See the RRP Eligibility Criteria for Money Funds document for more details.) In the coming months, the New York Fed anticipates that it will publish criteria for additional types of firms and for expanded eligibility within previously identified types of firms. Moreover, it anticipates publishing a New York Fed Master Repo (legal) agreement for money market mutual funds in approximately one month.

The ultimate size and terms of reverse repo operations will depend on the directive from the Federal Open Market Committee to conduct such operations. In terms of operational details, the New York Fed anticipates that any transactions would be:

offered to primary dealers and the broader set of counterparties,

conducted at auction for a fixed (not floating) rate,

settled through the tri-party repo system, and

held against all major types of collateral in the System Open Market Account (SOMA), including Treasury securities, agency debt securities, and agency MBS securities.

Further program parameters will be decided and announced at future dates.

Related documents and information about counterparties for reverse repurchase agreements will be available at www.newyorkfed.org/markets/rrp_counterparties.html.

CME Group, Bolsa Mexicana de Valores and MexDer Announce Order Routing, Equity Agreement
Date: 3/8/2010

CHICAGO and MEXICO CITY, March 8 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, and the Bolsa Mexicana de Valores, S.A.B. de C.V. (BMV), the financial exchange operator in Mexico, today announced that they have entered into a strategic partnership that includes an order routing agreement for derivatives products. CME Group has purchased shares in the Mexican exchange valued at $17 million, or approximately 1.9 percent of outstanding BMV shares, as part of the equity portion of the agreement. Additionally, the Control Trust of BMV has granted CME Group the right to nominate a member to BMV Board of Directors and the two exchange operators have signed a memorandum of understanding covering activities aimed at enhancing the partnership between the two exchanges.

Through the agreement, CME Group will become the exclusive exchange provider of derivatives order routing services to BMV outside Latin America, and BMV will be the exclusive exchange provider of derivatives order routing services to CME Group in Mexico. BMV's derivative products are offered through its derivatives subsidiary, MexDer.

CME Group and BMV have also agreed to pursue potential joint initiatives including product development, marketing and customer education as well as clearing opportunities. Additionally, BMV, CME Group and its Global Preferred Strategic Partner BM&FBOVESPA will initiate discussions about the aforementioned transaction and other commercial opportunities.

"Latin America is a key market for CME Group," said Terry Duffy, CME Group Executive Chairman. "We are pleased to announce this new partnership with BMV which furthers our global strategy to offer customers increased access to our products while, at the same time, allowing BMV to use the CME Globex trading network to increase distribution of their products in North America."  

"With Mexico's standing as the 13th largest economy and one of our country's most significant trading partners, we are pleased to work with BMV to facilitate global hedging and risk management activity in our respective markets," said Craig Donohue, CME Group Chief Executive Officer. "In addition to providing CME Group customers with our own highly liquid products in interest rates, equities, foreign exchange, commodities, energy and metals, the order routing agreement announced today will soon broaden efficient access on or through our CME Globex electronic trading platform to financial markets in Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, Dubai and Malaysia."

"With this operation BMV increases its presence in the international markets. Greater distribution capabilities are a key part of our strategy to attract more investors to Mexico," said Luis Tellez BMV Executive Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. "Allowing international investors an easier access into MexDer will improve liquidity and develop the local market. At the same time this agreement will provide Mexican investors with more tools to manage their portfolios."

The order routing arrangement, which is scheduled to begin in 2011, will give BMV customers access to CME Group's benchmark derivatives contracts including interest rates, foreign currencies, equity indexes, energy, metals and agricultural commodities. It will also give CME Group customers access to BMV's interest rate and equity index derivatives.

Barclays Capital is acting as financial advisor to CME Group, and Mijares, Angoitia, Cortes y Fuentes, S.C. is acting as CME Group's legal advisor.

NASDAQ OMX Welcomes C-RAD to First North Premier
Date: 3/8/2010

Stockholm, March 8, 2010 - The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) announces that trading in C-RAD AB (CRAD B) shares commenced today on the First North Premier segment at NASDAQ OMX Stockholm AB. Companies in the First North Premier segment commit to follow the disclosure rules of NASDAQ OMX Nordic main markets, and to apply International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) for accounting and financial reports.

C-RAD is the first company to be listed on First North in 2010, and the 27th company to qualify for the First North Premier segment. First North today comprises 125 companies.

C-RAD develops solutions for the use in advanced radiation therapy. The company offers products and solutions for patient positioning, tumor localization and radiation treatment systems. End users are radiation therapy clinics worldwide. The activity in C-RAD AB originates in research and development at the Karolinska Institutet in Solna and The Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. On markets in Europe, North America and East Asia the company is represented by distributors specialized in radiation therapy.

Jenny Rosberg, Senior Vice President, NASDAQ OMX said, "We are pleased to welcome C-RAD to our First North Premier segment, where they will comply with the very same rules and regulations as our main market companies. This commitment towards of transparency supports investor visibility and credibility, and also helps gain the experience necessary for a move to the main market."

The First North Premier segment is available on NASDAQ OMX markets in Stockholm, Copenhagen, Helsinki and Iceland. For more information about First North Premier visit: www.nasdaqomx.com/listingcenter/firstnorth/premier.

NASDAQ OMX Purchases North American Energy Credit and Clearing Business
Date: 3/8/2010

NEW YORK, Mar 8, 2010 (GlobeNewswire via COMTEX News Network) -- The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (Nasdaq:NDAQ) today announced the purchase of the business of North American Energy Credit and Clearing Corp. (NECC), a Chicago-based clearinghouse for the over the counter (OTC) power and gas markets. The NECC transaction closed on March 3. Financial terms were not disclosed.

"NASDAQ OMX continues to expand its presence in OTC commodities and clearing, and this acquisition presents us with an opportunity to deliver what the U.S. power and gas market currently lacks: a clearinghouse with the flexibility to clear both financial and physical instruments," said Bob Greifeld, Chief Executive Officer of The NASDAQ OMX Group. "The U.S. power and natural gas market is another area where we can strategically apply our exchange technology and an innovative clearing solution to reduce risk, increase volume, and better serve the customer through improved services and lower cost."

NASDAQ OMX is an experienced operator in the energy and commodities space through its Nord Pool market, the world's largest power derivatives exchange which has been in operation for 15 years. The exchange recently launched N2EX, its marketplace for physical UK power contracts.

"The support and resources of NASDAQ OMX will enable our team to expand our offering over the entire continental U.S. and provide the clearing facility that the industry has been seeking," said George Sladoje, former Chairman and CEO of NECC.

The NASDAQ OMX Commodities Clearing operation will be led by Geir Reigstad, Head of NASDAQ OMX Commodities. NASDAQ OMX has several operations in clearing across multiple asset classes, including majority-owned IDCG, which provides clearing for interest rate swaps. NASDAQ OMX also recently completed the first cross-border merger of clearing houses with the combination of its Nord Pool and Nordic clearing houses to clear Nordic equities, fixed income and power derivatives. NASDAQ OMX plans to offer central clearing in its U.K. power derivatives market in 2010.

The NECC acquisition follows NASDAQ OMX's recent purchase of a majority stake in Agora-X, which enables institutional market participants to efficiently negotiate OTC transactions in commodity and derivative contracts.

NECC's business supports the U.S. physical power and gas markets by integrating the physical and financial markets through market-neutral clearing services. It develops and provides clearing services to North American energy markets. The business' key customers include physical traders such as utilities and merchant generators, and financial traders such as banks and hedge funds. Operating as a market-neutral 'riskless principal', the clearinghouse enters matching positions with different counterparties and manages the credit risk on both sides using standard clearinghouse type margining.

For more information on NASDAQ OMX Commodities:

http://www.nasdaqomx.com/commodities

CME Group, CBOE to Develop Volatility Indexes Across Multiple Asset Classes
Date: 3/8/2010

CHICAGO, March 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- CME Group, the world's leading and most diverse derivatives marketplace, today announced it has entered into a seven-year license agreement with the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) that will allow CME Group to list futures and options on futures for volatility indexes on a variety of asset classes. These contracts will be listed with, and subject to, the rules and regulations of the particular exchange where the products will be traded (CME, CBOT or NYMEX).

"Our liquid and transparent commodity and financial markets are the foundation for the creation of new indexes that customers can use to gain a view on volatility across a wide array of asset classes," said Scot Warren, CME Group Managing Director of Equity Index Products and Services. "We believe that a reliable benchmark index for volatility sentiment on contracts such as WTI Crude Oil, Corn, Soybeans and Gold will help market participants make more effective investment and hedging decisions based on their exposure to market volatility."

Terms of the license agreement between the exchanges include the following:

CBOE will create, own and calculate the benchmark indexes using its established CBOE Volatility Index® (VIX®) methodology and license use of the indexes to CME Group.

The benchmark indexes are scheduled to begin publishing data during the third quarter of 2010.

Prices used in the calculations will originate from CME Group options on futures contracts. The data will use the most active electronically traded front and nearby contracts across commodity and financial products.

CBOE will be the initial market disseminator of prices for the volatility indexes.

For more information, please go to www.cmegroup.com/vix.

Turquoise Attracts Three New Investors
Date: 3/8/2010

London Stock Exchange Group (LSEG) has today sold nine per cent of its stake in the holding company for the merged Turquoise and Baikal businesses, to three global banking clients.  Barclays Bank plc, J.P. Morgan Cazenove and Nomura have each bought three per cent stakes for £1 million in cash each.

This brings the total number of shareholders in Turquoise to twelve global investment banks and LSEG which will retain a 51 per cent controlling stake.

David Lester, CEO of Turquoise, said:

"We are delighted that Barclays, J.P. Morgan Cazenove and Nomura have taken stakes in Turquoise, further extending the partnership with our major banking clients.  Our desire is to work with all participants to grow the market for trading European shares and Turquoise's share of that marketplace in both lit and dark.  We have set ambitious plans for this year with the introduction of new trading technology and additional products and services as well as promoting existing products such as TQ Lens, the innovative non-displayed liquidity aggregation service."

Dixit Joshi, head of Equities EMEA and Asia Pacific for Barclays Capital, said:

"The European equity business is a rapidly evolving market structure which is becoming increasingly similar to that of the US; an area where we are a market leader. Our stake in Turquoise underpins Barclays Capital's commitment to providing liquidity and best execution for our clients."

Alan Carruthers, head of EMEA Cash Equities at J.P. Morgan Cazenove, said:

"We are very excited about our new partnership with the London Stock Exchange Group. LSEG's commitment to investing in new trading technology and developing new products and services will position Turquoise well in the competitive pan European MTF landscape."

Rachid Bouzouba, Head of Equities, EMEA at Nomura, said:

"Nomura is committed to becoming a top liquidity provider and the aggregator of choice in Europe, equipping its clients with access to all available liquidity pools.  We have worked closely with the London Stock Exchange over the last year to achieve this goal and our stake in Turquoise is the logical next step as we reinforce our leading position across the European markets."