Businessweek

NYSE Euronext operates financial markets and provides trading solutions. The company offers an array of products and services in cash equities, futures, options, swaps, exchange-traded products, bonds, clearing operations, market data, and commercial technology solutions, all designed to meet the needs of investors, issuers, financial institutions and market participants. Segments The company operates under three segments: Derivatives; Cash Trading and Listings; and Information Services and Technology Solutions. DERIVATIVES The Derivatives segment is comprised of its derivatives trading and clearing businesses and includes its subsidiaries NYSE Liffe, NYSE Liffe Clearing, NYSE Liffe US, NYSE Amex Options, NYSE Arca Options and its joint venture New York Portfolio Clearing (NYPC), as well as its related derivatives market data business. NYSE Liffe - NYSE Liffe is the international derivatives business of NYSE Euronext, comprising the derivatives markets operated by LIFFE Administration and Management and Euronext in each of Amsterdam, Brussels, Lisbon, London and Paris. NYSE Liffe offers customers the advantages of an advanced derivatives trading platform and a choice of products. NYSE Liffe offers customers access to a range of interest-rate, equity, index, commodity and currency derivative products. NYSE Liffe also offers its customers the Bclear and Cscreen services, which bridge the listed and over-the-counter (OTC) markets, providing a means to register and process wholesale derivatives trades through NYSE Liffe to clearing at NYSE Liffe Clearing. NYSE Liffe Clearing - Following the launch of NYSE Liffe Clearing, NYSE Liffe assumed full responsibility for clearing activities for the London market of NYSE Liffe. In this regard, NYSE Liffe's London market operates as a self-clearing Recognized Investment Exchange and outsources certain clearing guarantee arrangements and related risk functions to LCH.Clearnet Limited (LCH.Clearnet), a U.K. recognized clearinghouse. NYSE Liffe U.S. - NYSE Liffe U.S. LLC (NYSE Liffe US), its U.S. futures exchange, makes available for trading full- and mini-sized gold and silver futures, options on full and mini-sized gold and silver futures, futures on MSCI Indices and fixed income futures. In 2012, NYSE Liffe U.S. launched new futures contracts based on the DTCC GCF Repo Index which provides exposure to the U.S. short-term interest-rate market. In 2011, NYSE Liffe U.S. launched a full suite of fixed income futures which clear at NYPC. A significant minority equity stake in NYSE Liffe U.S. is held by six external investors - Citadel Securities, DRW Investments, Getco, Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and UBS. NYSE Euronext manages the day-to-day operations of NYSE Liffe US. NYSE Amex Options - NYSE Amex Options offers order execution through a hybrid model in approximately 2,200 options issues. NYSE Arca Options - NYSE Arca Options, an options exchange, offers electronic order execution in approximately 2,600 options issues. NYPC, a joint venture with DTCC, became operational in 2011. NYPC clears fixed income futures traded on NYSE Liffe U.S. and would have the ability to provide clearing services for other exchanges and Derivatives Clearing Organizations in the future. NYPC uses NYSE Euronext's clearing technology, TRS/CPS, to process and manage cleared positions and post-trade position transfers. DTCC's Fixed Income Clearing Corporation provides capabilities in risk management, settlement, banking and reference data systems. Products and Services Trading Platform and Market Structure: NYSE Liffe's full service electronic trading platform features an open system architecture which allows users to access its system. Traders commonly access its system via one of the many front-end trading applications that have been developed by independent software vendors, and this has enabled its distribution to grow with widespread adoption around the world. These applications are personalized trading screens that link the user to the market, which allows users to integrate front/back office trading, settlement, risk management and order routing systems. NYSE Liffe's t