NEW YORK (Reuters) – The heads of the top U.S. stock exchanges have poured cold water on the Obama administration’s plan to bar banks from proprietary trading.

The chief executive of NYSE Euronext <NYX.N> said on Tuesday the president’s plan falls short of targeting what caused the financial crisis, while his counterpart at Nasdaq OMX group Inc <NDAQ.O>, the day before, said the plan would probably have to be changed.

Obama last month surprised Wall Street with the ambitious proposal to limit risky trading by banks. Dubbed the ‘Volcker rule’ after Paul Volcker, the White House economics adviser, it would bar banks from proprietary trading, or placing bets on markets with their own money.

The proposal jolted markets. The shares of the New York Stock Exchange parent fell 3.8 percent, while those of the Nasdaq Stock Market parent tumbled 4.8 percent, on concerns the Volcker rule would reduce liquidity and trading volumes.

NEW YORK, Feb 9 (Reuters) – The heads of the top U.S. stock exchanges have poured cold water on the Obama administration’s plan to bar banks from proprietary trading.

The chief executive of NYSE Euronext <NYX.N> said on Tuesday the president’s plan falls short of targeting what caused the financial crisis, while his counterpart at Nasdaq OMX group Inc <NDAQ.O>, the day before, said the plan would probably have to be changed.

Obama last month surprised Wall Street with the ambitious proposal to limit risky trading by banks. Dubbed the ‘Volcker rule’ after Paul Volcker, the White House economics adviser, it would bar banks from proprietary trading, or placing bets on markets with their own money.

The proposal jolted markets. The shares of the New York Stock Exchange parent fell 3.8 percent, while those of the Nasdaq Stock Market parent tumbled 4.8 percent, on concerns the Volcker rule would reduce liquidity and trading volumes.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Nasdaq OMX Group Inc <NDAQ.O> said core earnings fell in the fourth quarter due to sluggish trading, and its shares dropped 3.4 percent after the exchange operator projected higher-than-expected costs this year.

But the Nasdaq Stock Market parent company also boosted its share of the U.S. equities market for the second straight quarter and is on track for another rise in the current quarter.

Nasdaq OMX, which runs equities and derivatives venues in the United States and Northern Europe, said revenue from cash equity trading tumbled 43 percent from a year earlier in the fourth quarter, reflecting a drop in volume and market share compared with the end of 2008, when the financial crisis sparked a market selloff.

The company’s U.S. equity market share was 24 percent in the quarter, up from as low as 21 percent in the previous two quarters, and held firm in January, suggesting Nasdaq OMX is holding its own against alternative venues and traditional rival NYSE Euronext <NYX.N>.

NEW YORK, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Regulators considering new rules for U.S. stock markets should take care not to assume that certain types of high-frequency trading are harmful, speakers at a conference on algorithmic trading said on Friday.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s appeal for public comment on equity market structure is largely balanced, speakers at the New York University conference said. Changes are likely, but none too dramatic, they said.

The SEC’s 74-page “concept release,” or comprehensive document on the subject, issued last month, asks whether the highly automated equity markets are fair to all investors, and whether they have the tools to protect their interests. [ID:nN13156728]

The SEC wants to know how long-term investors are affected by the specific strategies used by high-frequency traders – those firms that use sophisticated algorithms to submit rapid-fire orders, earning profits on thin market imbalances.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – CIT Group Inc <CIT.N> has hired former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain as its new chief executive, the commercial lender said late on Sunday, wagering that the well-traveled executive can guide its post-bankruptcy turnaround.

Thain, 54, immediately replaces interim CEO Peter Tobin, who will remain a director. Former CIT chief Jeff Peek, another past Merrill executive, retired on January 15.

CIT said Thain was hired partly for the expertise he gained restructuring the New York Stock Exchange, as it looks to reestablish itself after a disastrous foray into subprime lending, and one of the largest bankruptcies in U.S. history.

Within the last decade, Thain was the No. 2 executive at Goldman Sachs Group Inc <GS.N>, the No. 1 at both NYSE Euronext <NYX.N> and Merrill Lynch, and was fired by Bank of America <BAC.N>, which acquired Merrill in the midst of the mortgage-market inspired financial crisis.

NEW YORK, Feb 7 (Reuters) – CIT Group Inc <CIT.N> has hired former Merrill Lynch CEO John Thain as its new chief executive, the commercial lender said late on Sunday, wagering that the well-traveled executive can guide its post-bankruptcy turnaround.

Thain, 54, immediately replaces interim CEO Peter Tobin, who will remain a director. Former CIT chief Jeff Peek, another past Merrill executive, retired on Jan. 15.

CIT said Thain was hired partly for the expertise he gained restructuring the New York Stock Exchange, as it looks to reestablish itself after a disastrous foray into subprime lending, and one of the largest bankruptcies in U.S. history.

Within the last decade, Thain was the No. 2 executive at Goldman Sachs Group Inc <GS.N>, the No. 1 at both NYSE Euronext <NYX.N> and Merrill Lynch, and was fired by Bank of America <BAC.N>, which acquired Merrill in the midst of the mortgage-market inspired financial crisis.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – Regulators considering new rules for U.S. stock markets should take care not to assume that certain types of high-frequency trading are harmful, speakers at a conference on algorithmic trading said on Friday.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s appeal for public comment on equity market structure is largely balanced, speakers at the New York University conference said. Changes are likely, but none too dramatic, they said.

The SEC’s 74-page “concept release,” or comprehensive document on the subject, issued last month, asks whether the highly automated equity markets are fair to all investors, and whether they have the tools to protect their interests.

The SEC wants to know how long-term investors are affected by the specific strategies used by high-frequency traders — those firms that use sophisticated algorithms to submit rapid-fire orders, earning profits on thin market imbalances.

NEW YORK, Feb 5 (Reuters) – Regulators considering new rules for U.S. stock markets should take care not to assume that certain types of high-frequency trading are harmful, speakers at a conference on algorithmic trading said on Friday.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s appeal for public comment on equity market structure is largely balanced, speakers at the New York University conference said. Changes are likely, but none too dramatic, they said.

The SEC’s 74-page “concept release,” or comprehensive document on the subject, issued last month, asks whether the highly automated equity markets are fair to all investors, and whether they have the tools to protect their interests. [ID:nN13156728]

The SEC wants to know how long-term investors are affected by the specific strategies used by high-frequency traders – those firms that use sophisticated algorithms to submit rapid-fire orders, earning profits on thin market imbalances.

NEW YORK (Reuters) – E*Trade Financial Corp <ETFC.O> will cut trading fees for low-volume customers, the U.S. online brokers said on Friday, making its move in a pricing war that erupted among rivals in recent weeks.

The company said all customers will pay $9.99 or less for a stock or options trade, down from $12.99, starting on Monday. Options trades have an additional 75 cent fee. Highly-active traders will still pay $7.99 per trade, E*Trade said.

The broker will also eliminate annual IRA account fees, and commissions for larger trades. In the second quarter, it will drop all account service fees.

The move, announced late on Friday, comes days after mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments said it planned sharp price reductions and about a month after Charles Schwab Corp <SCHW.O>, the biggest online brokerage, announced a cut of about $4 per trade.

NEW YORK, Feb 5 (Reuters) – E*Trade Financial Corp <ETFC.O> will cut trading fees for low-volume customers, the U.S. online brokers said on Friday, making its move in a pricing war that erupted among rivals in recent weeks.

The company said all customers will pay $9.99 or less for a stock or options trade, down from $12.99, starting on Monday. Options trades have an additional 75 cent fee. Highly-active traders will still pay $7.99 per trade, E*Trade said.

The broker will also eliminate annual IRA account fees, and commissions for larger trades. In the second quarter, it will drop all account service fees.

The move, announced late on Friday, comes days after mutual fund giant Fidelity Investments said it planned sharp price reductions and about a month after Charles Schwab Corp <SCHW.O>, the biggest online brokerage, announced a cut of about $4 per trade. [ID:nN02238873] [ID:nN07178752]