Month: September 2010

CHICAGO, IL and NEW YORK, September 21, 2010 – The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NDAQ) and GFI Group Inc. (NASDAQ: GFIG) today announced a strategic agreement to offer electronic trading and clearing of continental U.S. power and natural gas. The agreement broadens the clearing options for energy traders in the U.S and expands NASDAQ OMX Commodities’ global presence.

Customers who trade in physical and financial power and natural gas may as a result of this agreement conduct transactions using GFI’s electronic commodities trading platform, EnergyMatch ®, with NASDAQ OMX Commodities Clearing Company serving as the clearing solution. The electronic trading and clearing allows for immediate execution and automatic clearing of trades.

“As pioneers in physical clearing of power and natural gas, we have a proven track record of delivering innovative solutions to our customers,” said President of NASDAQ OMX Commodities Clearing Company George Sladoje. “This agreement combines our respective strengths in electronic trading and physical clearing and delivers seamless transactions, quality and value to our customers.”

NASDAQ OMX is an experienced operator in the energy and commodities space through its ownership of the world’s largest power derivatives exchange, which has been in operation for 15 years. It was also the first exchange in the world to offer a market for carbon emission allowances (EUAs and CERs). Recently, the exchange group launched N2EX, a marketplace for physical UK power contracts, together with Nord Pool Spot AS.

Ron Levi, GFI Group COO said: “We are pleased to add a gold standard in global clearing to our customers trading in North American commodity products.  This development represents another meaningful step in bringing greater competition, transparency and efficiency to the OTC commodity markets.”

GFI Group’s hybrid business model combines state-of-the-art electronic trading platforms with highly specialized and experienced brokers that can accommodate any customer demand.

GFI operates a number of electronic trading platforms in addition to EnergyMatch®. These are: EnergyMatch® Europe- etrading platform for numerous commodities in the European markets, CreditMatch®- leading trading platform for fixed income and fixed income derivatives and GFI ForexMatch™- trading of forwards, NDFs and FX options.

About NASDAQ OMX Commodities

NASDAQ OMX Commodities is a brand name and not a legal entity. As part of its Commodities offering the NASDAQ OMX Group owns and operates Nord Pool ASA, a commodity derivatives exchange authorized by the Norwegian Ministry of Finance and supervised by the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority. NASDAQ OMX Stockholm AB and its Norwegian branch NASDAQ OMX Oslo, is an authorized clearing house. N2EX is the brand name, and not a legal entity, for NASDAQ OMX Commodities’ and Nord Pool Spot AS’ offering in the UK power market. NASDAQ OMX Commodities Clearing Company is the US clearing entity. For more information about NASDAQ OMX Commodities Clearing Company visit www.nasdaqomxclear.com

About the NASDAQ OMX Group 
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world’s largest exchange company. It delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents, with approximately 3,600 listed companies. NASDAQ OMX Group offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market; NASDAQ OMX Nordic, including First North, NASDAQ OMX Baltic and the U.S. 144A sector. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and ETFs. NASDAQ OMX Group technology supports the operations of over 70 exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more than 50 countries. NASDAQ OMX Nordic and NASDAQ OMX Baltic are not legal entities but describe the common offering from NASDAQ OMX Group exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more information about NASDAQ OMX, visit http://www.nasdaqomx.com. *Please follow NASDAQ OMX on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/pages/NASDAQ-OMX/108167527653) and Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/nasdaqomx). 

About GFI Group Inc. www.GFIgroup.com 
GFI Group Inc. (NASDAQ: GFIG) is a leading provider of wholesale brokerage, electronic execution and trading support products for global financial markets. GFI Group Inc. provides brokerage services, market data, trading platform and analytics software products to institutional clients in markets for a range of fixed income, financial, equity and commodity instruments. 
Headquartered in New York, GFI was founded in 1987 and employs more than 1,800 people with additional offices in London, Paris, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, Cape Town, Santiago, Dubai, Dublin, Tel Aviv, Calgary, Los Angeles, Englewood (NJ) and Sugar Land (TX). GFI Group Inc. provides services and products to over 2,400 institutional clients, including leading investment and commercial banks, corporations, insurance companies and hedge funds. Its brands include GFISM, GFInet®, CreditMatch®, GFI ForexMatch®, EnergyMatch®, FENICS®, Starsupply®, Amerex®, Trayport®, and Kyte®.

For more information, please visit www.nasdaqomx.com and www.gfigroup.com.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements 
The matters described herein may contain forward-looking statements that are made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about the purchase of the NECC business and about our activities and plans in commodities and in clearing, both in the United States and overseas. We caution that these statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond NASDAQ OMX’s control. These factors include, but are not limited to, factors detailed in NASDAQ OMX’s annual report on Form 10-K, and periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to release any revisions to any forward-looking statements.

NEW YORK, NY, Sep 20, 2010 (MARKETWIRE via COMTEX) — GFI Group Inc. (NASDAQ: GFIG) has been ranked the number one credit derivatives broker in Risk Magazine’s 2010 annual global interdealer survey. GFI is a leading provider of wholesale brokerage, electronic execution and trading support products for global financial markets.

The results, released by Risk Magazine in their September issue, named GFI Group as the overall globally preferred broker in 10 categories, out of a total of 15, of credit derivative products based on GFI’s capability, innovation, service, liquidity and reliability. Over the past 13 years GFI has been ranked as the leading global broker in more categories of credit derivatives than any other wholesale broker.

GFI operates a premier electronic trading platform for credit derivatives “CreditMatch(R),” that displays credit default swaps and bond prices together on the same screen. GFI’s hybrid strategy, where users of CreditMatch(R) can also utilize experienced voice brokers to execute any trade, including large or bespoke orders, opens up more trading opportunities for its customers.

Colin Heffron, President of GFI said, “We are fully committed to our customers and strive to provide them with the best quality service and state-of-the-art technology. Our continued investment in people and in technology allows us to offer seamless trading for fixed income products,” and added, “We are honored that our customers have continued to use, and benefit from, our services.”

The 20th Annual Risk Magazine survey was conducted during the month of July 2010 from participants in the global wholesale banking market, and received 1,807 valid responses from dealers and brokers. The survey covered 117 derivatives categories across interest rates, foreign exchange, credit and equity derivatives.

About GFI Group Inc. www.GFIgroup.com GFI Group Inc. (NASDAQ: GFIG) is a leading provider of wholesale brokerage, electronic execution and trading support products for global financial markets. GFI Group Inc. provides brokerage services, market data, trading platform and analytics software products to institutional clients in markets for a range of fixed income, financial, equity and commodity instruments.

Headquartered in New York, GFI was founded in 1987 and employs more than 1,800 people with additional offices in London, Paris, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, Cape Town, Santiago, Dubai, Dublin, Tel Aviv, Calgary, Los Angeles, Englewood (NJ) and Sugar Land (TX). GFI Group Inc. provides services and products to over 2,400 institutional clients, including leading investment and commercial banks, corporations, insurance companies and hedge funds. Its brands include GFI(SM), GFInet(R), CreditMatch(R), GFI ForexMatch(R), EnergyMatch(R), FENICS(R), Starsupply(R), Amerex(R), Trayport(R), and Kyte(R).

Forward-looking statement

Certain matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “may,” “might,” “intend,” “expect” and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of GFI Group Inc. (the “Company”) and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with: economic, political and market factors affecting trading volumes; securities prices or demand for the Company’s brokerage services; competition from current and new competitors; the Company’s ability to attract and retain key personnel, including highly-qualified brokerage personnel; the Company’s ability to identify and develop new products and markets; changes in laws and regulations governing the Company’s business and operations or permissible activities; the Company’s ability to manage its international operations; financial difficulties experienced by the Company’s customers or key participants in the markets in which the Company focuses its brokerage services; the Company’s ability to keep up with technological changes; uncertainties relating to litigation and the Company’s ability to assess and integrate acquisition prospects. Further information about factors that could affect the Company’s financial and other results is included in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

SOURCE: GFI Group Inc.

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London, 20 September 2010 – CB Richard Ellis (“CBRE”) and GFI today mark the one year anniversary of PropertyMatch, a screen-based secondary trading portal dedicated to unlisted real estate funds, which seeks to improve price discovery for buyers and sellers of unlisted funds. 

Since the portal was launched in September 2009, the screen has more than doubled the number of real estate funds for which it provides pricing, with 40 funds now benefiting from daily pricing, and it has facilitated more than £250 million worth of trades. Launched 12 months ago, the success of PropertyMatch highlights the value of improved transparency and liquidity, with the portal encouraging new investors to access the market through its secure and reliable trading platform.

Commenting on the development of the product since its launch a year ago, Paul Robinson, Executive Director of CBRE Real Estate Finance, said:

“It is very exciting to see the amount of interest that PropertyMatch is creating in the indirect property fund market. Previously investors were favouring REITs over indirect real estate funds, apprehensive of trading in the seemingly closed, opaque and illiquid market of indirect property funds. However, the pricing window that the portal creates has given investors more confidence in unlocking value in the sector.

Michael Levi, Head of Indirect Property at GFI said that this has been “Driven by improved transparency around pricing, the market is experiencing greater liquidity as new market entrants find reassurance in PropertyMatch and the common pricing portal it has established for the sector. It has attracted a significant number of users, with private equity houses, hedge funds and banks now employing the portal to gain access to the indirect market. We are particularly encouraged by requests from investors who have benefited from PropertyMatch in the UK for us to consider rolling out this service across Europe.”

Fund managers, especially multi managers, are finding PropertyMatch an invaluable tool in improving the efficiency of trades confident in the knowledge that the prices are right and fair. Another key attraction of the portal is the anonymity that it provides buyers and sellers. Investors’ identities are not revealed until the trade is being processed.

Commenting on the evolution of PropertyMatch, Alistair Dryer, Fund Manager at the Global Real Estate Multi-Manager Team at Aviva Investors, said:
“CBRE-GFI’s innovative product continues to provide a much needed pricing window for the indirect fund industry. The increase in volume of trades that PropertyMatch has facilitated is indicative of the value greater transparency and liquidity brings to the market.”

Paul Robinson adds:

“The combination of these factors creates a secure and transparent trading platform that is having a positive impact on the market and aiding recovery through fair pricing.”

Earlier in the year PropertyMatch carried out the first electronic online auction of its kind in units in an unlisted real estate fund. Users were given advance notice of the auction and the ensuing auction process. There were 112,400 units of the Blackrock UK Property Unit Trust put on offer and prospective investors were afforded the opportunity to bid for these on a price per unit basis.

About CB Richard Ellis
CB Richard Ellis Group, Inc. (NYSE:CBG), a Fortune 500 and S&P 500 company headquartered in Los Angeles, is the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm (in terms of 2009 revenue). The Company has approximately 30,000 employees (excluding affiliates), and serves real estate owners, investors and occupiers through more than 300 offices (excluding affiliates) worldwide. CB Richard Ellis offers strategic advice and execution for property sales and leasing; corporate services; property, facilities and project management; mortgage banking; appraisal and valuation; development services; investment management; and research and consulting. Please visit our website at www.cbre.com.

About GFI Group Inc. 
GFI Group Inc. (Nasdaq: “GFIG”) is a leading provider of wholesale brokerage, electronic execution and trading support products for global financial markets. GFI Group Inc. provides brokerage services, market data, trading platform and analytics software products to institutional clients in markets for a range of credit, financial, equity and commodity instruments. 
Fenics Software Limited is a wholly owned subsidiary of GFI Group Inc.
Headquartered in New York, GFI was founded in 1987 and employs more than 1,700 people with additional offices in London, Paris, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, Cape Town, Santiago, Dubai, Dublin, Tel Aviv, Calgary, Englewood (NJ) and Sugar Land (TX). GFI provides services and products to over 2,100 institutional clients, including leading investment and commercial banks, corporations, insurance companies and hedge funds. Its brands include GFI™, GFInet®, CreditMatch®, GFI ForexMatch®, EnergyMatch®, FENICS®, Starsupply®, Amerex®, and Trayport®. Please visit our website at www.GFIgroup.com.

About the CBRE-GFI partnership
CB Richard Ellis Group has been collaborating with GFI Group over the past five years in the development of a highly successful property derivatives business platform.  Both parties believe there to be synergies for the development of this and other areas of the real estate business, with the indirect market being one such example.

September 16, 2010 — NEW YORK, Sept. 16 /PRNewswire/ — The Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) and The New York Comedy Festival (NYCF) partner for the fourth consecutive year to present Stand Up for Heroes at the Beacon Theatre in New York on Wednesday, November 3rd at 8 p.m. Jon Stewart will host the night of music and comedy- the traditional kick off of the New York Comedy Festival – which will feature special performances by Tony Bennett, Jerry Seinfeld, Bruce Springsteen, The 4Troops and other surprise guests. American Express Cardmembers can get advance tickets on Thursday, September 16, 2010 from 10:00am – 10:00pm. Tickets for the general public go on sale on Friday, September 17 throughwww.remind.org, www.ticketmaster.com, www.beacontheatre.com, orwww.nycomedyfestival.com. Guests may also purchase VIP Benefit Tickets by emailingtickets@remind.org. All VIP tickets start at $1,000.00 per ticket. Corporate sponsor packages can be purchased by emailing tickets@remind.org.

Part of the Bob Woodruff Foundation’s nationally recognized public education movement, Stand Up for Heroes brings together leaders from business, entertainment and philanthropy to raise funds to help injured service members and their families as they return to their communities. Stand Up for Heroes has become a highly anticipated entertainment event as well as a much-needed respite for the hundreds of military families who are selected to attend.

For the fourth consecutive year, all living presidents support Stand Up for Heroes. President Barack Obama, President George W. Bush, President William J. Clinton, President George H. W. Bush, President James E. Carter, and serve as the Presidential Committee for this year’s event. Major television network executives, Anne Sweeney and Philip Miller (ABC), Jeff and Caryn Zucker (NBC), David and Sherrie Westin (ABC), Sean and Tracy McManus (CBS), Richard and Lisa Plepler (HBO), John Klein and Jennifer Snell (CNN), Ken and Kristin Jautz (CNN), and, join the Presidents as event co-chairs.

“Stand Up for Heroes transcends politics. We’re proud that, together with the Bob Woodruff Foundation, people in communities everywhere are standing up for our troops who have stood so bravely for us,” said Bob and Lee Woodruff, the Foundation’s co-founders. “With many service men and women now returning home, it’s essential we give them the smoothest transition possible,” they added.

“We are honored to again be standing up for heroes with Bob and Lee Woodruff and The Bob Woodruff Foundation. With the support of our talented comedians and performers, we hope to continue raising awareness and funds for U.S. service members and their families,” says Caroline Hirsch, founder of the Festival and owner of Carolines on Broadway.

The Bob Woodruff Foundation has invested more than six million dollars in program spending to help wounded warriors and their families overcome the challenges they face as they transition and heal from the physical and hidden wounds of war. Funds raised at Stand Up for Heroes will be invested in programs that connect troops to the help they need – from physical rehabilitation and counseling, to education, employment and financial assistance, to help with larger issues like homelessness and suicide.

“As the war in Iraq comes to a close and the war in Afghanistan persists, the challenges our nation’s service members and their families face continue. As Americans we must Stand Up to give them successful futures in honor of their sacrifices,” said Rene Bardorf, Executive Director, Bob Woodruff Foundation.

Now in its seventh year, The New York Comedy Festival (NYCF), in association with COMEDY CENTRAL, will take place November 3rd thru 7th in New York City with Stand Up for Heroes as the kick-off event. The five-day festival will continue with an all-star line-up featuring some of the biggest names in the industry including Aziz Ansari, Adam Carolla, Margaret Cho, Louis CK, Kevin Hart, Gabriel Iglesias, Luis Jimenez, Maz Jobrani, Joel McHale, Rosie O’Donnell, Brian Regan and Nick Swardson. They will be joined by more than 150 other comedians performing at iconic New York City venues such as Carnegie Hall, The Beacon Theatre, Town Hall and Avery Fisher Hall.

ABOUT THE BOB WOODRUFF FOUNDATION:

The Bob Woodruff Foundation provides resources and support to service members, veterans and their families to successfully reintegrate into their communities so they may thrive physically, psychologically, socially and economically. Through a public education movement called ReMIND.org, the Bob Woodruff Foundation helps educate the public about the needs of service members returning from war – especially the 1 in 5 service members who have sustained hidden injuries such as Traumatic Brain Injury and Combat Stress, including Post Traumatic Stress, Depression and Anxiety – and empowers communities nationwide to take action. Across the country, the Bob Woodruff Foundation collaborates with other organizations and experts to identify and solve issues related to the return of service members from combat to civilian life and invests in programs that connect our troops to the help they need – from individual needs like physical accommodations, medical care and counseling, to larger social issues like homelessness and suicide. To date, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has invested over $6 million, reaching more than 500,000 service members, support personnel, veterans and their families nationwide.

SUFH sponsors include GFI Group Inc., NBC Universal, art of grace, Brown-Forman, Force Protection Inc, Disney-ABC Television Group.

For sponsorship opportunities email info@ReMIND.org

For more information about the Bob Woodruff Foundation please visit www.ReMIND.org

ABOUT THE NEW YORK COMEDY FESTIVAL:

The New York Comedy Festival is produced by Carolines on Broadway and United Entertainment Group in association with Comedy Central. The festival has featured some of the country’s top comedians, including Bill Maher, Tracy Morgan, Dane Cook, Sarah Silverman, Artie Lange, Katt Williams, Steven Wright, Denis Leary, and Joy Behar, to name a few.-? In 2007, the festival launched the Stand Up for Heroes event to benefit the Bob Woodruff Foundation.

NYCF media sponsors include Time Out New York and the New York Post. Jameson-Taste Above All Else is the official Whiskey, B.R. Guest is a signature partner, Travelocity is the official travel sponsor of the 2010 New York Comedy Festival, and Energizer and Buick are supporting sponsors.

New York, September 1, 2010 – GFI Group has announced the release of FENICS ExoticsSM, a powerful collection of models used to price all major exotic FX instruments.

FENICS Exotics pricing models are carefully tailored to work the way a market practitioner would expect to use them in the FX markets. The component provides accurate prices and tradable bid/ask spreads that can be immediately quoted, without requiring manual intervention.

FENICS Exotics is powered by two math methodologies, dVega and Monte Carlo. The dVega model is GFI FENICS owned methodology that allows for the incorporation of current market practice to provide the most accurate pricing and spreading of first generation digital and barrier options. The Monte Carlo model has been developed in partnership with CSIRO* (Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation) and provides clients with state of the art exotic options pricing software embedded with cutting edge mathematical methods.

Richard Brunt, Global Head of GFI FENICS said: “The launch of FENICS Exotics comes on the back of the appointment of Julian Cook as Head of Quantative Research” and added, “The core of GFI FENICS product has always been its maths models. We have invested heavily in this area over the years and we continue to do so and keep our models at the forefront of the market.”

FENICS Professional™ provides a single interface for price discovery, bilateral trade execution and risk management including the benefit of straight through processing (STP). The FENICS Exotics component is included within the FENICS Professional pricing page and risk management.

GFI FENICS has been providing leading FX derivatives software since 1987. Its products are licensed to over 350 institutions worldwide with thousands of users benefiting from its solutions.

*CISRO is a trademark property of Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation

About GFI Group Inc. www.GFIgroup.com 
GFI Group Inc. (NASDAQ “GFIG”) is a leading provider of wholesale brokerage, electronic execution and trading support products for global financial markets. GFI Group Inc. provides brokerage services, market data, trading platform and analytics software products to institutional clients in markets for a range of fixed income, financial, equity and commodity instruments.

Fenics Software Limited is a subsidiary of GFI Group Inc.

Headquartered in New York, GFI was founded in 1987 and employs more than 1,800 people with additional offices in London, Paris, Hong Kong, Seoul, Tokyo, Singapore, Sydney, Cape Town, Santiago, Dubai, Dublin, Tel Aviv, Calgary, Los Angeles, Englewood (NJ) and Sugar Land (TX). GFI Group Inc. provides services and products to over 2,400 institutional clients, including leading investment and commercial banks, corporations, insurance companies and hedge funds. Its brands include GFISM, GFInet®, CreditMatch®, GFI ForexMatch®, EnergyMatch®, FENICS®, Starsupply®, Amerex®, Trayport®, and Kyte®.

Forward-looking statement 
Certain matters discussed in this press release contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. When used in this press release, the words “anticipate,” “believe,” “estimate,” “may,” “might,” “intend,” “expect” and similar expressions identify such forward-looking statements. Actual results, performance or achievements could differ materially from those contemplated, expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements contained herein. These forward-looking statements are based largely on the expectations of GFI Group Inc. (the “Company”) and are subject to a number of risks and uncertainties. These include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties associated with: economic, political and market factors affecting trading volumes; securities prices or demand for the Company’s brokerage services; competition from current and new competitors; the Company’s ability to attract and retain key personnel, including highly-qualified brokerage personnel; the Company’s ability to identify and develop new products and markets; changes in laws and regulations governing the Company’s business and operations or permissible activities; the Company’s ability to manage its international operations; financial difficulties experienced by the Company’s customers or key participants in the markets in which the Company focuses its brokerage services; the Company’s ability to keep up with technological changes; uncertainties relating to litigation and the Company’s ability to assess and integrate acquisition prospects. Further information about factors that could affect the Company’s financial and other results is included in the Company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company does not undertake to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.