German, Swiss Stock Exchanges Mull Merger

Reports that the German stock exchange, Deutsche Börse, is considering a merger with Swiss Exchange (SWX) have been confirmed by spokespeople from both companies. The two exchange operators are a good fit, as they've been working closely together for a number of years. Since 1988, the companies have been partners in the world's largest international derivatives market, Eurex. Together with the US financial media concern Dow Jones & Co., they also share responsibility for the index provider Stoxx Limited. Despite cooperation on several fronts Deutsche Börse and SWX went separate ways when it came to choosing stock exchange systems, with the German firm choosing electronic trading system Xetra, while SWX opted for the British platform Virt-x. A merger would mean significant increases both in the number of stocks traded, and the trading volume.