OEX OPTIONS TO TRADE ON CBOE'S HYBRID TRADING PLATFORM
The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) announced that options on the S&P 100 Index (OEX) will begin trading on CBOE's Hybrid Trading Platform on Tuesday, December 9, 2008. CBOE's Hybrid will enable multiple, competing quotes and high-speed electronic executions for OEX market participants and customers, in the product that introduced index options trading over 25 years ago. Additionally, the Exchange announced that Citigroup, Inc. has been appointed the Lead Market Maker (LMM) for OEX and XEO options.
As the Lead Market Maker (LMM) for OEX and XEO
options, Citigroup will provide continuous, two-sided, competitive markets both electronically and on the open-outcry trading floor. The quotes will pertain to all OEX and XEO option classes, including Weekly, Quarterly and LEAPS series. Citigroup is a long-time member firm of the Exchange and currently serves as a Designated Primary Market Maker (DPM), an Electronic Designated Primary Market Maker (e-DPM) and a Market Maker (MM) in more than 560 different option classes at CBOE.
"We are pleased that Citigroup will take the reins of the Exchange's initiative to begin trading S&P 100 Index options on CBOE's Hybrid Trading Platform.As a leading market maker, not only for CBOE, but the industry, we are confident that their experience and expertise will provide OEX investors with the liquid, robust and efficient markets they desire," said Edward T. Tilly, Executive Vice Chairman of the Chicago Board Options Exchange.
The Standard and Poor's 100 Index is a capitalization-weighted index based on 100 highly capitalized stocks from a broad range of industries.More than one billion S&P 100 options contracts have been traded since the CBOE launched the trading of options on the OEX, the first cash-settled securities product, on March 11, 1983.The S&P 100 is the only listed index option that offers both American-style exercise and PM settlement.European-style exercise (XEO) options are also available on the S&P 100 Index.The Exchange disseminates a CBOE Volatility Index (VIX) calculation for OEX specifically under the ticker symbol VXO.
WFE Open Letter to Global Financial Policy Makers
Following the General Assembly of the World Federation of Exchanges in Milan, the WFE wrote an open letter to global financial policy makers about the role exchanges can play in the current economic situation.
The letter, addressed to IOSCO, the Financial Stability Forum, the OECD, Bank for International Settlements and IMF, explains the contribution of exchanges and their role in helping resolve current problems.
Regulated exchanges remain critical providers of liquidity to the world's capital markets, in addition, they afford transparent price discovery for much of the world economy's financial assets;
The combination of exchange-listed and traded securities, options and futures has led to considerable innovation and efficiency in financial markets;
The leaders of WFE exchanges are committed to maintaining regular trading hours so far as possible so that markets can continue to function properly during the crisis, fulfilling their role as continuous open markets for establishing and disseminating prices for exchange-traded instruments;
Short selling contributes to liquidity and the practice should be allowed to continue.
The letter reaffirms WFE's commitment to the 50,000 or so companies whose securities are listed on member exchanges. The WFE offers in the letter to work with global policy makers to understand where exchanges can make positive contributions, for example in scrutinizing the extent to which certain OTC instruments might lend themselves to trading and settlement in the regulated exchange environment.
