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To: TFF who wrote (9732)	2/11/2002 1:37:31 PM
From: TFF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12617

D. Boerse expects U.S. entry soon - media (UPDATE: Adds reaction, JP Morgan upgrade) FRANKFURT, Feb 11 (Reuters) - The Deutsche Boerse said on Monday it was hoping for U.S. regulatory approval soon to make its trading system Xetra available in the United States and tap the world's biggest stock market, according to a media report. Werner Seifert, chief executive of the Frankfurt based exchange, also told German business daily Handelsblatt that it will broaden its European base as bourses battle to become the trading platform of choice for investors. ``The USA is a big topic for us,'' he told Handelsblatt. ``I hope that we will soon be able to set up Xetra screens in the United States.'' Bourses are competing to become the one-stop trading platform of choice for blue chips from an array of countries to make it easier and cheaper for investors to trade. Last month the Federation of European Securities Exchanges met with the U.S. stock market watchdog Securities and Exchange Commission to lobby for all European bourses to have direct access to investors based in the United States. The SEC has steadfastly refused to grant this, but there are signs of a thaw. SEC chairman Harvey Pitt told Reuters that the U.S. would want ``real reciprocity'' in return. Swiss-born Seifert said in the Handelsblatt interview that the Deutsche Boerse has not yet decided whether to enter the U.S market alone or whether it would seek a partner. The German operator was not interested in just token U.S. presence and would not limit its search for a partner to the U.S. Nasdaq exchange, he said. COURTING KINGMAKERS Seifert confirmed in the report Deutsche Boerse was keen on cooperation with Europe's two mid-sized exchanges, Milan and Madrid, widely seen as kingmakers in determining which of the big three exchanges -- Frankfurt, London, and Franco-Benelux bourse Euronext -- gets the upper hand. Seifert said an announcement regarding Madrid could soon be made but would not involve core trading and settlement businesses. A source close to the Madrid bourse said the Spanish bourse does not have any imminent announcement planned. ``I am not sure what sort of agreement (he) is refering to. In recent months they (the bolsa) have signed collaboration agreements in the field of the dissemination of information (Infobolsa) with South American bourses, Lisbon, Oporto and Athens,'' the source added. The Milan exchange had no immediate comment on Seifert's interview. Neither Milan nor Madrid have publicly listed, a move which would make mergers easier to negotiate. Both exchanges are looking to float soon. A Spanish link would help Frankfurt develop a role on the Iberian peninsula where Euronext will fully integrate the Lisbon and Oporto exchanges by April. The Deutsche Boerse has a foothold in Italy through its Clearstream's stake in Italian settlement house Monte Titoli. Seifert said in the interview that the London Stock Exchange (quote from Yahoo! UK & Ireland: LSE.L) remained a potential partner. London and Frankfurt's attempt to merge in 2000 failed. CLEARSTREAM Last week, Deutsche Boerse stole a march on its European rivals in going beyond stock trading by taking full control of international securities settlement house Clearstream. Some banks have been critical of the deal, notably J.P. Morgan Chase (NYSE:JPM - news) and UBS , who threatened to take their settlement business elsewhere. Seifert said Deutsche Boerse would seek to win these two key clients back by offering banks a bigger say in how the settlement house is run. ``We will fight for these clients,'' he said. ``We will sit together with J.P. Morgan Chase and UBS and make them an offer.'' Seifert said Clearstream had won a significant amount of custody business from Euroclear. But a Euroclear spokesman in Brussels told Reuters: ``We have seen nothing unusual.'' On Monday, J.P. Morgan Securities, part of J.P. Morgan Chase, welcomed the Clearstream deal and raised its earnings and share price target for Deutsche Boerse. ``We believe that Deutsche Boerse's acquisition of the outstanding 50 percent of Clearstream is a good deal -- a bird in the hand is worth two in the bush,'' J.P. Morgan analyst Huw van Steenis said. Deutsche Boerse shares were up 0.5 percent at 42.60 euros, short of J.P. Morgan's new share price target of 49.9 euros. (Additional reporting by Svetlana Kovalyova in Milan, Juan Navarro in Madrid and Huw Jones in London)

To: TFF who wrote (9732)	3/7/2002 12:43:27 PM
From: TFF	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 12617

ISE reports Feb equity options volume at 10.3 mln CHICAGO, March 6 (Reuters) - Total equity option volume at the International Securities Exchange last month surged 320 percent to 10,288,731 contracts from 2,450,910 contracts in February 2001, the ISE said this week. The all-electronic ISE opened in May 2000 and now lists 475 issues. At the end of February, open interest stood at 37,137,910 calls and 25,101,203 puts. ISE's average daily volume during February was 541,512 contracts, up 52 percent from November's average turnover of 357,268 contracts and up 106 percent from August's average volume of 263,518 contracts.