Nasdaq's president plans to step down from the exchange on Sept. 2.

In a widely anticipated move, the Nasdaq OMX Group told investors and analysts on Tuesday that Magnus Bocker would be stepping down soon as the company's president.

In a brief statement, the Nasdaq (Nasdaq: NDAQ) said that Bocker will be joining the Singapore Exchange Limited as chief executive beginning in December. His last day in his current role is expected to be Sept. 2.

"We are grateful for his valuable contributions over the last 18 months, including executing on our successful integration as well as his achievements in moving our listings and market technology business forward," said Bob Greifeld, the Nasdaq's CEO, in the statement.

Bocker was named president of Nasdaq after it merged with the OMX Group last February. He was responsible for listings, corporate services and market technology at the Nasdaq OMX Group.

His responsibilities will be assumed by

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New benchmark to track companies getting aid from TARP and President-elect Obama's proposed multibillion-dollar aid package.

 

Less than two weeks before President-elect Barack Obama takes office, a new index is coming out that will track stocks tied to companies participating in the Troubled Asset Relief Program.

The NASDAQ OMX Group said on Thursday that its Government Relief Index will follow not only those getting financial backing through TARP but also any firm receiving direct government investments from other programs. Presumably, that could include President-elect Obama's proposed $775 billion in additional bailout support to boost jobs and the economy.

Potential benefactors in business from such moves could include industries focused on infrastructure improvements and alternative energy sources, among others. 

"We believe the NASDAQ OMX Government Relief Index will be useful in helping investors evaluate the government's investments and the impact of the relief plan on the economy during this period of

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CME Group (CME) has lost more than half of its market value over the past three months and the stock price has cratered by nearly three-quarters in the past year. As illustrated in the accompanying three-month chart and table of valuation parameters [click to enlarge] for the major U.S.-listed exchanges, CME is extremely oversold and trades at less than two-thirds of book value (0.66) despite its position as the world's largest futures exchange with a major new source of revenue in the form of central counterparty clearing for credit default swaps [CDS] – which represents an estimated $45-$60 trillion market. I have initiated a long position in CME around 183 ...

The Borse Dubai, the major owner of Nasdaq Dubai, also has plans to introduce its own ETFs.

NASDAQ OMX, which bought a one-third stake in the Dubai International Financial Exchange (DIFX) in February, has rebranded the exchange as NASDAQ Dubai.

For exchange-traded funds, the move is a minor tweak on what should be a major 2009 trend: global cross-listings of ETFs.

Among the major ETF providers, Invesco PowerShares Capital Management and State Street Global Advisors have both indicated interested in offering exchange-traded funds in Middle East markets like Dubai (see story here.)

The first listing to benefit from the NASDAQ-Dubai deal won't be an ETF though, but the NASDAQ OMX Group (NDAQ) itself, which will list its share on the Nasdaq Dubai on Nov. 20.

Middle East nations are anxious to turn themselves into global financial centers and have been linking up with U.S. and European exchanges over the

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The market for green indexes and green investments continues to expand, day by day, week by week.

 

NASDAQ OMX Group has created the second benchmark index in its Scandinavian OMX GES Sustainability family, the Nordic Sustainability Index.

Norway already has a high profile in sustainability. Two of its largest companies—water services firm Hydro, the largest publicly traded company in Norway; and oil & gas company Statoil—constantly come up as leaders across global sustainability measures and in global sustainability indexes.

In addition to these well-known Nordic companies, the new NASDAQ benchmark index covers the 50 top Nordic-listed companies in terms of sustainability, using international guidelines for environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues.

The market for green indexes and green investments continues to expand, day by day, week by week. This week, the Canadian exchange-traded fund market will see its first sustainability-focused ETF launch (see story here.)

On the index

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