A joint committee of the Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Mercantile Exchange signed a letter of intent to allow common banking for their clearing firms. Next, the committee will study the benefits of consolidating computer hardware operation and standardizing computerized interaction with the exchanges.
In addition, the group, called the Joint Strategic Initiatives Committee, hired Electronic Data Systems to study the potential cost savings of consolidating their computer hardware operations.
In another development, the Merc licensed the Dow Jones Taiwan Stock Index for use in futures and options trading, the first time a Dow Jones index is being used in a futures or options contract. The capitalization-weighted index is a compilation of 113 large, liquid Taiwanese companies. The index will replace the CME's plans to trade futures and options on its own Taiwan 100 stock index. The CBOT is working with the Taiwanese government in creating a derivatives exchange.
