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It was steady-as-she-goes for insurance stocks in the second quarter, based on the performance of A.M. Best’s stock indexes, according to an exclusive story in BestWeek U.S./Canada.

The Nasdaq Composite rose as technology shares benefited from stronger-than-expected economic data, and Apple shot to a record on expectation of continued strong sales for its iPhone.

The Nasdaq Stock Market, Inc. announced it will introduce The NASDAQ ETF Market, a market segment designed specifically for exchange traded funds and Index Linked Notes. The program will further strengthen NASDAQ's leadership position in the U.S. ETF sector. In May 2007, NASDAQ captured more U.S. ETF market share than any other U.S. exchange -- with total ETF volume at 54.1%.

Increased demand for bio-fuels is causing fundamental changes to agricultural markets that could drive up world prices for many farm products, according to a new report published by the OECD and the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation.

US stocks ended higher in a holiday-shortened session on Tuesday, helped by more takeover talks and news that Apple could see higher-than-expected profit margins from its iPhone.

US stocks rallied on Monday, the first day of the third quarter, boosted by a fresh round of takeover activity and a drop in bond yields.

The Chicago Board of Trade announced that it set a new record for quarterly trading volume, with 255,947,010 contracts traded during the second quarter of 2007. Total second quarter volume increased by 23 percent compared with the same quarter in 2006. Exchange average daily volume (ADV) reached a record 3,999,172 contracts during the second quarter, up 21 percent over the second quarter of 2006. Volume on the e-cbot(R) electronic trading platform set quarterly records for both total volume and ADV. Total electronic volume was 200,531,673 contracts, and electronic ADV was 3,133,307 contracts - up 43 percent and 41 percent, respectively, over the second quarter in 2006.

The Boards of Borsa Italiana S.p.A. and London Stock Exchange Group plc announce that they have entered into an agreement on the terms of a recommended offer to be made by the London Stock Exchange to the shareholders of Borsa Italiana. The merger of Borsa Italiana and the London Stock Exchange creates the leading diversified exchange group in Europe and the platform for additional strong growth on a European and global scale.

Natural disasters such as Hurricane Katrina and mechanical failures at pumping stations have highlighted the limited availability and unstable supply of fossil fuels. Europe's desire to be less dependent on oil imports has revived interest in alternative fuels. This need to be self sufficient has also induced encouraging legislation from individual EU member state governments for the biodiesel market.

While globalization is impacting many facets of the financial services industry, transformation across the securities industry is particularly heated. Recent deals inked in the last year alone – such as CME/CBOT, NYSE/EuroNext, NYSE and India's National Stock Exchange, and NYSE/Tokyo Stock Exchange - are just some of the evidence of the reinvention of the global capital market.