What is Jeff Sprecher to do with the New York Stock Exchange? The boss of IntercontinentalExchange has just agreed to buy that venerable institution’s parent, NYSE Euronext, for $8.2bn. But cash equity trading is low margin, even if the NYSE brand makes a profitable listings business possible. The real attraction is NYSE’s Liffe European derivatives exchange. So ICE aims to spin off the Euronext equity exchange. Mr Sprecher might like to spin off the NYSE, too, but its status as a symbol of American capitalism will prevent him. So he is stuck with a business that, in six years, has gone from a near-monopoly in trading of NYSE-listed stocks to a 25 per cent share. Well, if floor trading should die out, Mr Sprecher can always sell the financial news channels footage of men in blue coats yelling and throwing paper.
杰夫•斯普雷切(Jeff Sprecher)会如何“发落”备受尊崇的纽交所(NYSE)？这位美国洲际交易所(Intercontinental Exchange，简称ICE)首席执行官刚刚同意以82亿美元收购纽交所的母公司纽约泛欧交易所(NYSE Euronext)。但即便纽交所的品牌有可能吸引有利可图的上市业务，现货股票交易仍然利润微薄。真正具有吸引力的，是纽交所旗下的欧洲衍生品交易所——伦敦国际金融期货期权交易所(Liffe)。因此，洲际交易所希望甩掉泛欧交易所。斯普雷切或许还希望甩掉纽交所，但由于纽交所是美国资本主义的象征，他将无法做到这一点。因此，斯普雷切不得不接收一项在6年时间里从几乎独占纽交所上市股票交易变为仅占交易量25%的业务。哦，如果场内交易消亡，斯普雷切总还可以卖掉那些经常出现在电视财经新闻上的交易大厅，电视画面上往往可以看到一些穿着蓝马甲的交易员在那里一边高声大喊一边挥舞报纸。