Rumors Fly on Nybot Closing Trading Floor
By Ivy Schmerken
Oct 23, 2007 at 05:53 PM ET
One more trading floor is turning into an endangered species if the rumors in yesterdayâs New York Post are true. Yesterday, The New York Post reported (on Page Six) that New York Board of Trade (Nybot) is planning to officially shut down its futures pits in the next six months as electronic trading takes over the soft commodities marketplace.
The outcome is somewhat expected since Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), an all-electronic commodities marketplace acquired NYBOT for $1 billion in January. When exchanges merge there is usually the intent to cut expenses and consolidate trading on a single platform. But unfortunately, shutting down the floor at Nybot (renamed ICE Futures US) could spell the end of jobs for about 1,000 floor traders who would need to convert to screen-based trading or choose another profession.
By Ivy Schmerken
Oct 23, 2007 at 05:53 PM ET
One more trading floor is turning into an endangered species if the rumors in yesterdayâs New York Post are true. Yesterday, The New York Post reported (on Page Six) that New York Board of Trade (Nybot) is planning to officially shut down its futures pits in the next six months as electronic trading takes over the soft commodities marketplace.
The outcome is somewhat expected since Intercontinental Exchange (ICE), an all-electronic commodities marketplace acquired NYBOT for $1 billion in January. When exchanges merge there is usually the intent to cut expenses and consolidate trading on a single platform. But unfortunately, shutting down the floor at Nybot (renamed ICE Futures US) could spell the end of jobs for about 1,000 floor traders who would need to convert to screen-based trading or choose another profession.
