Midasco Capital Corp V.MGC.H

Data.com Future?

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Frankfurt exchange OKs merger plan BY HANS GREIMEL Associated Press FRANKFURT, Germany -- Frankfurt's stock exchange Tuesday approved a merger with the London exchange, clearing a major hurdle toward building a new European stock market with pockets deep enough to rival Wall Street. Rolf Breuer, supervisory board chairman of the Deutsche Boerse, announced that the Frankfurt-based bourse's board had approved the merger -- despite squabbles between critics in Germany and Britain over who's getting the better end of the deal. The merger would create a combined market called iX, for International Exchanges. The proposed merger got a boost when a state regulator said Tuesday he was satisfied that the deal would not damage Frankfurt's status as a European financial center. Hesse state economics minister Dieter Posch had previously threatened to block the deal. Posch received assurances that Frankfurt's future as a trading center would remain secure during a meeting with Werner Seifert, chief executive of Deutsche Boerse.