From: ThosStew@aol.com
Date: Thu Feb 17 2000 - 06:11:39 PST
For those who believe size matters, whether in the new economy or the old:
Released today...
CME, FORTUNE ANNOUNCE FUTURES, OPTIONS ON FORTUNE e-50, FORTUNE 500
INDEXES
CHICAGO and NEW YORK, February 16, 2000 - The Chicago Mercantile
Exchange (CME) and FORTUNE announced today that FORTUNE has licensed
the CME to offer new, high-profile products based on indexes developed
by the magazine's editors. Pending regulatory approval, the exchange
will develop and trade futures and options contracts on the FORTUNE
e-50 Index and the FORTUNE 500 Index.
The announcement marks FORTUNE's first agreement to license its
indexes to an exchange for the purpose of developing derivative
products. The FORTUNE 500 Index is based on FORTUNE's signature list
of America's 500 biggest companies, ranked by revenues. The FORTUNE
e-50 Index, announced in the December 6, 1999 issue of FORTUNE, is
designed to track the performance of companies shaping the Internet
economy, and includes firms that generate a significant share of their
revenues from online products or services, as well as those that
provide and maintain the Internet infrastructure.
The CME captured 92 percent of U.S. volume and open interest in stock
index futures and options on futures for 1999. The exchange trades a
larger dollar volume in equity index products than any other exchange
in the world."As the global leader in trading stock index products, we
are delighted to team up with the prestigious FORTUNE Group in order
to expand the universe of choices for individual and institutional
investors alike," said CME Chairman Scott Gordon.
Jack Haire, President of the FORTUNE Group, said: "FORTUNE is
pleased to join forces with the world's premier futures marketplace.
We believe that the FORTUNE e-50 Index and FORTUNE 500 Index will give
investors the best set of tools with which to measure the full promise
of the new economy."
The FORTUNE e-50 Index will be the first Internet index futures to
trade on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The FORTUNE e-50 futures
and options contracts will be sized to appeal to individual investors
who want to participate in the burgeoning Internet sector, as well as
institutions using the product for risk management or asset allocation
purposes.
CME President and Chief Executive Officer Jim McNulty said: "The
editors of FORTUNE have identified the well capitalized, high growth
players of the new Internet economy and devised an index that will
help investors participate in this sector with greater levels of
liquidity."
John Huey, Managing Editor of FORTUNE, said: "On the occasion of
FORTUNE's 70th anniversary, we are proud to announce two indexes that
embody FORTUNE's commitment to carefully tracking the forces that are
shaping our economy."
CME Chairman Emeritus and Senior Policy Advisor Leo Melamed, who
was instrumental in the exchange's original launch of stock index
futures, said: "This new arrangement between the Merc and FORTUNE is
symbolic of the current wave in the new electronic age which combines
respected brand names in order to create maximum synergy for the
launch of new products."
Both indexes were set to a base level of 1000.00 as of the close of
trading on December 31, 1999, and real-time values are calculated
every 15 seconds during the trading day. More details on the indexes
will be published in the March 6 issue of FORTUNE, due on newsstands
early next week, and will be accessible through the FORTUNE Web site
at www.fortune.com. The CME will also be releasing more details on
the futures and options contracts.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange introduced the world's first
successful stock index futures in 1982 with the S&P 500 Stock Index
contract. It soon built a successful equity index complex, including
Nasdaq 100 Index futures and options introduced in 1996. The exchange
reinvented index trading once again in 1997 with the introduction of
the E-mini S&P 500, electronically traded contracts geared toward
individual investors. That product quickly grew to become the CME's
third largest futures contract and inspired the 1999 launch of E-mini
Nasdaq 100 futures. In the past week, the E-mini Nasdaq 100 and
E-mini S&P 500 futures contracts have set new daily volume records.
The Chicago Mercantile Exchange trades futures and options on
futures also on foreign currencies, interest rates and agricultural
commodities, as well as weather derivatives.
The FORTUNE Group at Time Inc. is comprised of FORTUNE, FSB: FORTUNE
Small Business, and the soon to be launched eCompany Now (May 2000),
and is part of the Time Inc. family of companies. FORTUNE, a
bi-weekly business magazine, is known for its unrivaled access to
industry leaders and decision-makers. With a worldwide circulation of
965,000, and a worldwide readership of more than six million, FORTUNE
reaches a wide and influential audience every two weeks. FSB: Fortune
Small Business (formerly YOUR COMPANY magazine) is published as a
joint venture between Time Inc. and American Express Small Business
Services. eCompany Now, a monthly magazine and Web site venture based
in Silicon Valley, will cover the challenges and opportunities of
doing business on the Internet.
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