Competition in a Consolidating Environment

Competition between market centers is a driving force for innovation, dynamic growth, and reasonable pricing structures. Consolidating the order flow amasses liquidity, sharpens price discovery, and lowers trading costs. Can competition remain vibrant in a consolidated environment? How does inter-market competition play out with respect to trading decisions and listing decisions? What will the primary sources of competition be in the future? What impacts will follow from the NYSE's acquisition of Archipelago, and NASDAQ's acquisition of INET? Will exchanges further consolidate in Europe? What does consolidation imply about the efficient use of technology, the effective handling of institutional order flow, and overall market quality? These are some of the questions that were addressed at this conference.