FinancialEdge: Who Owns The Stock Exchanges?

Stock exchanges are not like other businesses. The performance of national stock exchanges is often taken as a proxy for the health of a nation's economy, or at least investor enthusiasm for the country's prospects. National exchanges also play an under-appreciated policy role in deciding the listing and compliance standards for companies that wish to go public. On top of all that, there is a nebulous but real sense that national pride is often somehow tied to stock exchanges. (Learn how British coffeehouses helped give rise to the juggernaut that is the NYSE. Check out The Birth Of Stock Exchanges.)

With that in mind, recent moves in the stock exchange sector have garnered quite a bit of attention. The Deutsche Borse wishes to merge with NYSE-Euronext (NYSE:NYX) in a transaction that will have NYSE shareholders holding 40% of the combined company and ownership of the first (to say nothing of arguably most famous) U.S. exchange moving into foreign hands.  At the same time, the London Stock Exchange (or rather, its partner London Stock Exchange Group) has reached an agreement to acquire TMX Group (owner of the Toronto Stock Exchange) in a $3.2 billion deal.

As these deals seem certain to shake up the structure of several of the world's largest exchanges, it is a good opportunity to examine the ownership structure of several other major exchanges.


Click below for the full piece:
http://financialedge.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0311/Who-Owns-The-Stock-Exchanges.aspx

Iron-Clad Swaps

However much the politicians in Washington, D.C. rail against swaps and derivatives, it amounts to about as much as the legends of Xerxes ordering his retainers to whip the ocean for disobeying him. Amidst the debate about how to limit the exposure of U.S. banks to derivatives, a brand new market is taking shape. This is not a new derivative, but rather applying old tricks to a new market - iron ore.  


The global iron ore trade is huge, totaling about 840 million metric tons and $100 billion a year. Oddly enough, though, it was a market that for 40 years was managed by the major iron producers holding once-a-year negotiating sessions with major buyers (steel companies, mostly) to set the price for the year.

This approach has worked well enough for the major producers, names that include Brazil's Vale (Nasdaq:VALE) and Anglo-Australian giants BHP Billiton (NYSE:BHP) and Rio Tinto (NYSE:RTP). Customers, though, have been less pleased with this arrangement in recent years and the Chinese in particular have been looking for alternatives. Bowing to this pressure, the major companies began ditching the annual pricing concept earlier this year in favor of quarterly pricing.

For the complete story, please go to: 
http://stocks.investopedia.com/stock-analysis/2010/Iron-Clad-Swaps-VALE-BHP-DB-CS-MS-CME-MT0709.aspx