Exchange Mergers

Abstract

Exchange consolidation has heated up significantly in the last few weeks. While the bids mainly to acquire prime property such as the LSE and Euronext raise nationalist feelings among politicians and fears among regulators, investors nonetheless should welcome the trend. Larger, better integrated exchanges promise more liquid trading, more effective price discovery, better information technologies, lower costs, and in time, the ability to trade stocks, bonds, and derivatives side by side.

TOPICS: Exchanges/markets/clearinghouses, financial crises and financial market history