As it turns out, the American Stock Exchange still exists and it’s being acquired for $260 million in stock by NYSE Euronext.
The deal had been rumored forever. One person very familiar with the American Stock Exchange told DealBreaker: “Finally! This deal should have happened 15 years ago.”
After the jump, read the full press release.

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Rumors are rampant that the New York Stock Exchange will begin an unscheduled board meeting in about ten minutes. The eleven o’clock meeting is widely believed to have been called so that NYSE chief executive John Thain can announce he is leaving the exchange.
CNBC has reported that speculation on the floor of the exchange has Thain leaving to go to either Merrill Lynch or Citigroup, both of which recently ousted their chief executives. Our sources are leaning heavily toward Merrill. And over at the Financial Times, they are just now reporting that Thain isn’t even a contender for the top spot at Citi.
There’s also a minority view that the board is meeting to discuss a new acquisition, perhaps of the NYMEX.

Thain absent from Citi’s shortlist [Financial Times]

The New York Stock Exchange has released it’s calendar for 2008 and 2009. Get excited because in 2008 there will be two extra trading days! It’s a leap year, giving us an extra day in February. And there is one less holiday on the schedule—this year we honored the death of Gerald “stagflation” Ford by refusing to work. Unless a former president dies this year, we should have one more day of trading.
Leap years tend to outperform other years, with particularly strong Augusts. Of course, leap years are also presidential election years, which may have more to do with market performance than that extra day in February.

Click chart for larger version.
NYSE Euronext Holidays & Hours [NYSE]

Sadly, the amount of activity on the famous floor of the NYSE is dwindling. A space once filled with the roar of brokers and clerks on the floor buying and selling stocks has been largely replaced with computerized trading . From it’s peak of over 3,000 members, the crowd has tapered off to about 1,700.
Dealbook reports this morning: “The decline in activity at the exchange’s headquarters at 11 Wall Street is palpable. Tourists no longer queue up by the hundreds to survey the floor from the visitors’ gallery or watch the ceremonial ringing of the opening and closing bells. Excluded for security reasons since 9/11, they can only wander by the building that has long symbolized the heart of American commerce.
If they could get inside, they would see that a once-vital organ has been reduced to a reliable backdrop for financial shows on cable.”
In the coming weeks, the exchange will close down two trading areas it added decades ago. Dealbreaker is wondering what the NYSE plans to do with this extra space. After tossing around some ideas – here’s what we came up with:
- A Starbucks or two. The floor of the NYSE might be the most expansive area that doesn’t have a Starbucks.
- A food court, featuring a Cipriani, Robert’s Steakhouse
- A dry cleaning service – have you seen the pit stains under those guys arms?
- An apprenticeship booth manned by Tim Sykes
You guys are a creative bunch, surely you must have some ideas what the NYSE can do with the added floor space.
New York’s Shrinking Exchange Floor [Dealbook]
Next to Downsize on Wall Street? The Exchange Floor [New York Times]

We’re not sure why but for some reason this afternoon we found ourselves wondering about trading collars and curbs. This infographic from the New York Stock Exchange is just about the clearest illustration of when the NYSE will put the breaks on a plummeting market. (Or a skyrocketing market, but that’s unlikely to be an issue today.)
The circuit breakers don’t kick in until there is a 1,350 point drop in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The “circuit breakers” halt trading for varying periods of time, depending on when the DJIA hits the trigger.

Under the tutelage of Chief John Thain, the floor of the New York Stock Exchange has (d)evolved into a) one big computer and b) a tourist attraction for the Colonial Williamsburg-going set in New York for the week. Specialists have been rendered unnecessary, unless they’re giving tours, selling souvenirs. Accepting this shift in climate, LaBranche & Co. officially put itself on the block today. The largest trading firm on the Exchange, LaB’s stock is down nearly 20% this year and said yesterday that it will post a second-quarter loss due to a “substantial” write down of its specialist business (its business on the AMEX has already been sold).
Fortress Investment Group is said to have a possible interest in LaBranche, which has a market cap of about $486 million. Bid on a piece of this living museum today!
Earlier: NYSE Jumps The Shark


Trading Places [New York Post]

The New York Stock Exchange has banned Michael Moore, saying he is not welcome in the exchange building on Wall Street, CNBC is reporting. The controversial film-maker was scheduled to be interviewed by CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo at 3 PM today.
Moore’s latest film “Sicko” is critical of the health care system in the United States, and he has been calling on investors, pension funds other institutional investors to divest from health insurance companies. Some publicly traded health insurance companies are listed on the New York Stock Exchange.
Last week a Lehman Brothers analyst wrote a client note describing the film as an attack on the U.S. health care system. “Michael Moore’s latest documentary, ‘Sicko,’ to be released June 29, might trigger resentment against insurers,” the note said. “The film directly aims at the U.S. health care system and the insurance industry and suggests a government-run system is the best alternative.”
Update: We’re told that Moore may now be unbanned. Still no word on what powerful force inside the exchange is issuing and possibly retracting these orders.