NASDAQ

Being "under constant attack" supposedly from hackers Nasdaq plans to increase its expenses on cyber security.

"As we sit here, there are people trying to slam into our system every day," Robert Greifeld, chief executive officer of Nasdaq OMX Group, said in an interview on Wednesday. "So we have to be ever-vigilant against an ever-changing foe."

On Wednesday the London Stock Exchange was rejected to purchase its Toronto counterpart for C$3.6 billion ($3.7 billion) which left the UK exchange open to takeover itself.

The LSE’s bid was overshadowed by the C$3.8 billion offer from the Maple Group consortium. The offering was strongly supported by the most influential Canadian banks who opposed the foreign intervention.

As NYSE Euronext plans merger with Deutsche Boerse AG it rejected less attractive offering of Nasdaq OMX Group and IntercontinentalExchange. Meantime, the two exchanges reaffirmed that their cash and stock offer is superior to the offer submitted by rival Deutsche Boerse AG.

"The feedback we have received from NYSE Euronext stockholders is very positive, and we would expect NYSE Euronext would, at the very least, meet with us and our advisors to discuss the merits of the proposed combination," Robert Greifeld, Chief Executive Officer of Nasdaq, said in the statement.

Wall Street was struck with another blow as last week Nasdaq OMX Group reported that it had found "suspicious files" on its U.S. computer servers which may mean they had been hacked. That was the latest damaging factor that even more deteriorated investors’ confidence that has been on a low level since last year’s “flash crash”.

The group said that there was no evidence hackers had accessed or acquired customer information or that its trading platforms were compromised.

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Latest figures revealed that Apple overtook Microsoft as the worlds largest tech company based on market value. On Wednesday Apple emerged ahead with a market value of about $222 billion, compared with Microsoft's $219 billion.

Apple shares closed down 0.4 percent at $244.11 on Nasdaq, while Microsoft fell 4 percent to a seven-month low of $25.01.

CSM Finance, an online investment project, reported that it completed its first 2010 PEIX trade. The intraday trade on US Stock Market was performed on January 12, 2010.

The company reported the following trade summary:

• Company name: Pacific Ethanol, Inc.

• Symbol: PEIX (NASDAQ General Market)

• Quantity of shares we bought: 1,061,700

• Cash value of shares: $2,118,986.10

• Sales of shares:

• 1st block: 602200 @ 2.63 = $1,583,786.00

Stock futures are rising, pointing to a higher opening Monday, following strong gains in overseas markets.
Stocks are getting a lift globally after a new report showed Chinese exports jumped by nearly 18 percent in December. The bigger-than-expected increase follows 13 straight months of declines. The increase in exports has added confidence to investors who believe a global economic rebound is well under way.

LML Payment Systems shares rose on above-average volume as traders speculated that the payment processing services provider could benefit from an increase in holiday sales.
LML Payment Systems rose as MasterCard Advisors' SpendingPulse showed that U.S. holiday sales rose 3.6% between Nov. 1 and Dec. 24, compared with a year-ago decline of 2.3%.
Beanstream Internet Commerce, a subsidiary of LML Payment Systems, counts Best Buy among its key customers, leading some traders to speculate that LML's fourth-quarter results will benefit from a ramp up in online sales.

Stocks rose Thursday after positive reports on unemployment and durable-goods orders showed the economy is continuing to recover. Major indexes all touched 2009 highs during the day.
A decline in the dollar also helped push energy and materials stocks higher. Trading was extremely light ahead of the Christmas holiday.
The encouraging signs for the labor market and consumer demand helped assuage investors, who had been disappointed the day before by an unexpected plunge in November new-home sales.

First Regional Bancorp has reported it was contacted by the Nasdaq Stock Market, on December 23, 2009, regarding its listing status because the market value of the publicly held shares of the company’s common stock was below $5 million for 30 consecutive business days and the company was therefore not in compliance with Nasdaq Marketplace Rule5450(b)(1)(C). The notification has no effect on the listing of the company’s common stock at this time. 

Stocks posted modest gains on light volume Thursday, buoyed by data reports showing a fall in initial jobless claims to their lowest level since September 2008 and a rise in durable goods orders.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average recently advanced 42 points, or 0.4%, to 10,509. The S&P 500 rose 4 points, or 0.4%, to 1125, as Nasdaq added 13 points, or 0.6%, to 2282. A positive close for the Dow would have the blue-chip index advancing in five straight sessions.

HiSoft, a Chinese IT outsourcing company, and NeoPhotonics, an optical components manufacturer, are targeting to choose investment banks in the next two weeks with the goal of making US initial public offerings by the first half of 2010.

As Nikunj Jinsi, chief investment officer of International Finance, reported, companies are a week away from selecting their bankers. They're looking at a timeframe of the second or third quarter of next year.

The companies were looking at relatively modest fundraising plans, most likely in the $75-125 million range.

Stocks were flat Wednesday afternoon as the dollar gained strength against the euro, pressuring commodity prices.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average shed 7.4 points, or 0.07%, to 10,278.6. The S&P 500 was down by 3.1 points, or 0.3%, at 1088.9 and the Nasdaq was down by 6.1 points, or 0.3%, at 2166.9.

U.S. stocks rose on Wednesday after a private-sector employment report showed an improvement from October and the S&P pushed through a key technical level.
U.S. private employers shed 169,000 jobs in November, fewer than 195,000 in October, but worse than forecasts for a decline of 155,000 jobs, according to the ADP National Employment private sector survey.
Gains on Wall Street accelerated after the S&P 500 punched through the 1,111 mark, which it has been unable to maintain in recent sessions.