U.S. Concrete (RMIX) Announces Receipt of Deficiency Notice from NASDAQ

U.S. Concrete, Inc. (Nasdaq: RMIX) announced today that, as expected, it has received a letter from The Nasdaq Stock Market indicating that the bid price of the Company's common stock for the last 30 consecutive business days had closed below the minimum $1.00 per share required for continued listing under the Nasdaq Marketplace Rules. The Company has been provided an initial period of 180 calendar days, or until September 7, 2010, to regain compliance. The letter states the Nasdaq staff will provide written notification that the Company has achieved compliance with the rule if at any time before September 7, 2010, the bid price of the Company's common stock closes at $1.00 per share or more for a minimum of 10 consecutive business days.

In the event the Company cannot demonstrate compliance with the minimum bid price rule by September 7, 2010, the Nasdaq staff will send the Company written notification that its securities are subject to delisting. At that time, the Company may appeal the delisting determination to a hearings panel. Alternatively, the Company may be eligible for an additional grace period if it meets the initial listing standards, with the exception of bid price, for The Nasdaq Capital Market.

Nasdaq CEO Greifeld scrutinizes proposed curb on proprietary trading

Nasdaq OMX CEO Bob Greifeld said it will be difficult to distinguish when banks are trading on their own behalf or on behalf of clients, raising questions about the viability of the White House's proposal to ban proprietary trading at major banks. An analyst recently asked whether Nasdaq knows how much proprietary trading is conducted through the exchange. "It's kind of impossible for us to answer, delineated between 'prop' and 'nonprop'. This shows the difficulty legislators will have proscribing prop trading," Greifeld said. "Once you get into what is risk [positions] versus principal [positions], it gets impossible, so I think they'd have to find a different path to go."

Exchanges push for price quotes in subpenny increments

Nasdaq OMX Group, NYSE Euronext, BATS Global Markets and Direct Edge, which has yet to gain exchange status, are supporting an effort to get regulators to allow price quotes in increments of less than a penny. The move is part of the exchanges' effort to become increasingly attractive to electronic traders. "We've had institutions, hedge funds, a broad variety of customers asking for this," said Brian Hyndman, senior vice president of transaction services at Nasdaq OMX.

more at http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703808904575025271531438864.html

Nasdaq delays entry into equity-clearing business

When Nasdaq OMX acquired the Boston Stock Exchange and its clearinghouse last year, the group said it would rename the clearer as Nasdaq Clearing Corp. and challenge The Depository Trust & Clearing Corp. The trans-Atlantic exchange group said recently it will "continue to explore the U.S. equity-clearing space for opportunities to bring benefits to the industry," but it is "suspending" the launch of its equity clearing because of competitive moves by DTCC.

more at http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1f915960-c4c3-11de-8d54-00144feab49a.html?nclick_check=1

NYSE system significantly reduces trade times

NYSE Euronext implemented an order-processing system that allows trade times to fall from 105 milliseconds to five milliseconds. While the change is substantial, rivals, such as Nasdaq OMX and BATS Exchange, still outpace NYSE Euronext. "For [competitors] who have come into the market recently, the barriers of competition are low, so they can come in with the newest technologies and without a lot of the constraints of running a big market," said Louis Pastina, head of NYSE Operations. "This allows us to be very competitive, on a latency basis, with most of our competition."

more at

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124649953114283829.html

BNY Mellon invests in Nasdaq's derivatives-clearing unit

Bank of New York Mellon forged a partnership with International Derivatives Clearing Group, a division of Nasdaq OMX that clears derivatives contracts. IDCG will use the bank's securities servicing products. The move comes as government officials and regulators push for more clearing of over-the-counter derivatives.

more at

http://www.reuters.com/article/rbssFinancialServicesAndRealEstateNews/idUSN3042669420090630

NYSE executes record-low 30% of country's trades in May

The New York Stock Exchange, which has been around for more than two centuries, executed only 30.2% of the nation's stock trades last month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Direct Edge Holdings and BATS Exchange -- not Nasdaq OMX -- were the beneficiaries of the shift. "When you are in a purely electronic marketplace, the fact that you're the original or the oldest guy standing doesn't mean anything anymore," said Michael Rosen, a senior vice president at UNX. "The people doing the trading aren't buying the story of the Nasdaq or the NYSE. They just want the fastest and best execution they can get at the lowest price."

more at

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601208&sid=amB3bwJD1mLM

NASDAQ OMX Europe Begins Trading

NASDAQ OMX Europe has commenced trading just six months after announcing its intent to launch a multilateral trading facility (MTF). Trading has begun in 25 FTSE 100 stocks and this will be followed by a staggered roll-out of approximately 600 European securities, to be completed by the end of October.

In connection to the NASDAQ OMX Europe launch, the NASDAQ OMX Europe Index has been introduced. The NASDAQ OMX Europe Index will be a market capitalized weighted index designed to track the companies traded on the NASDAQ OMX Europe marketplace. The NASDAQ OMX Europe Index will be calculated in Euros and disseminated every 15 seconds.