And who told you about the Nasdaq a week ago? "OptiMark's Linkup With Nasdaq Receives Approval from the SEC -- The Nasdaq Stock Market said it won Securities and Exchange Commission approval for its linkup with the OptiMark electronic-trading system.
Phillip Riese, chief executive of OptiMark's parent, OptiMark
Technologies Inc., said Nasdaq traders who are the system's customers
will be able to start trading 10 of Nasdaq's largest stocks on Oct. 11. Two
weeks later, the system will expand to include the Nasdaq 100, and by
year end, a total of 250 active stocks.
OptiMark, Jersey City, N.J., has a supercomputer capable of matching
thousands of stock orders quickly based on the interest level of buyers and
sellers. One vaunted feature is that traders' identities are anonymous. The
company's investors include Dow Jones & Co., the publisher of The Wall
Street Journal and the Interactive Journal.
Nasdaq, a unit of the National Association of Securities Dealers, signed
the deal with OptiMark in January 1998 and had hoped to have SEC
approval for the link last summer.
The link hasn't been without its opponents. A group of firms with
responsibility for processing and clearing trades sent a letter to the SEC in
August saying OptiMark, because of features such as anonymity that are
its selling point, might pose a threat to market integrity.
Mr. Riese said OptiMark will work with the firms to make sure its
risk-management facilities meet their needs. A spokeswoman for the
Securities Industry Association said "there still are shortcomings" in
OptiMark but the firms "look forward to working with Nasdaq on
enhancements" to address their concerns." |
