EXCHANGE NEWSWIRE, 27 May 2009

LCH.Clearnet will extend its OTC interest rate swap clearing service, SwapClear, to the broader buy-side trading community in the 2Q09. The new client clearing service will have additional functionality to support the segregation of client portfolios and margins. Clients will be able to access the service through a SwapClear clearing member. "We are working hard with our membership to produce a solution that is supported both by the key liquidity providers in the market and the buy-side".

NYSE Euronext, which owns 5% of LCH.Clearnet, opposes the bid extended by the consortium led by ICAP. NYSE Euronext said it is in favor of a more balanced ownership.

NYSE Euronext: Liffe received approval in principle from the FSA to launch NYSE Liffe Clearing, a CCP for its London derivatives market, due to begin operations on July 27.

NYSE Liffe US will introduce MSCI linked stock index futures products built on a range of MSCI Equity Indices.

IMAREX  reported 1Q09 EPS of NOK1.22 with net income of NOK18.4 mn, up 95% y/y. Revenues were up 83.8% y/y to NOK176 mn mainly due to addition of the OTC business. Expenses rose 97.3% y/y to NOK167.7 mn. Net financial items were NOK15.8 mn versus NOK2.6 mn in 1Q08 and a loss of NOK30 mn in 4Q08.

DB1: Eurex will launch in July four new agricultural futures based on hogs, piglets and potato crops (London potatoes and European processing potatoes). All four contracts will be cash settled and market price indices will act as underlyings to increase transparency.

ICE: HSBC Bank USA has been approved as the twelfth clearing member.

CME: NYMEX settlement prices for oil and natural gas futures contracts will be based exclusively on electronic closing prices, further limiting the role of floor trading.

NASDAQ OMX filed a prospectus for a 1.3 mn share offering under the NEURO equity incentive program (which is intended to grant options to certain member firms).

LSE: FTSE and Borsa Italiana confirm the new FTSE Italia Index Series will be available from 1st June 2009, to domestic and international investors. Starting from 1st June Borsa Italiana will discontinue the publication of all its informative indices, such as Mibtel, Midex, Mex, Mib Sectoral, Mib R, All Stars, while stock index futures and stock index options contracts traded on the IDEM of Borsa Italiana will use FTSE MIB as underlying.

Osaka Securities Exchange: Shigeo Ojima, Representative Executive Director, resigned effective June 15th.

Central Japan Commodity Exchange (C-Com) suspended trading of Gas Oil futures until market conditions improve. Transactions with open interest at the end of May 2009 will be suspended from June 1.

Shanghai Stock Exchange “will establish the Committee for Promotion of Listed Companies' Governance with external experts this year work out the goal of improving listed companies' governance in the following three years and formulate a series of plans of actions”.

Instinet launch Newport 3 EMS. Key enhancements to Newport 3 include full broker-neutrality, new generation performance and integrated transaction cost analysis.

The EU Commission proposed a stronger financial supervision in Europe and Commission President José Manuel Barroso said: "better supervision of cross-border financial markets is crucial for ethical and economic reasons (…) The Commission is making proposals today to help restore confidence, guard against future crises and protect growth and jobs.”

FESE said it supports the regulatory reform of OTC derivatives markets initiated by U.S. Treasury Secretary Geithner, SEC Chairman Schapiro and CFTC Acting Chairman Dunn. FESE also called for dialogue between the US authorities and the EU Commission to coordinate the regulation and supervision of these markets to prevent regulatory gaps.

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