Reuters, CME Team Up To Open Spot Currency Exchange

This morning Reuters and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange announced the official opening of FXMarketSpace, allowing for anonymous trading in spot foreign exchange against the dollar on the euro, yen, sterling, Australian dollar, Swiss franc, Canadian dollar as well as four cross-currency pairs. The companies are claiming that although the exchange just opened, customer numbers are already "significantly ahead of expectations." Reuters is using its know-how to provide trading access, trade notification and market data with the CME is bringing clearing and trade matching services to the mix. Each company has 50% ownership. The global market for ForEx trading currently stands at greater than $2 trillion a day and many analysts predict that number could cross $3 trillion by year's end. The companies expect the exchange will be profitable by 2008.

Sources: Reuters, Finextra.com
Commentary: A Look At Stock Exchange Stocks • Exchange Stocks: Beware The Bear • U.S. Exchanges Continue To Trim Expenses Through Consolidation, M&A Activity
Stocks/ETFs to watch: Reuters Group PLC (RTRSY), Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME). Competitors: CBOT Holdings (BOT), International Securities Exchange (ISE). ETFs: iShares Dow Jones US Broker-Dealer Index (IAI)

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