Marsh & McLennan Misses Earnings Expectations Marsh & McLennans said operating earnings fell short of forecasts on ?unacceptable? performance in insurance brokerage, its main business.... Read Full Article Israel Reduces Activity In Gaza Strip JERUSALEM (AP) -- Israel’s prime minister ordered the army to scale back operations in Gaza on Monday after a sharp drop in Palestinian rocket fire, raising the possibility of a wider truce that would... Read Full Article Tainted Drugs Tied To Maker Of Abortion Pill A Chinese company is at the center of a scandal after nearly 200 Chinese cancer patients were paralyzed or otherwise harmed by contaminated drugs.... Read Full Article Clinton To Propose Universal Health Care The goal of Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton’s plan, to be outlined in a speech in Des Moines, is similar to that of the ill-fated plan that she and President Bill Clinton pushed in 1993 and 1994.... Read Full Article Explaining Movies By Jumping Right Inside Them Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek has been the star of three documentaries, which is three more than your average Marxist-Lacanian psychoanalytic theorist.... Read Full Article |
Nasdaq’s Plan To Raise Fees Is Causing Some UproarA plan by the Nasdaq Stock Market to increase listing fees while simultaneously offering more services has enraged some companies and raised antitrust concerns. The exchange has told clients that it will provide four press releases a year and audio Webcasts for conference calls, among other services, but will charge higher fees for companies listed on the exchange. The proposal has been filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which is considering whether to approve it. Nasdaq says the measures are a way to offer better service to the more than 3,200 companies listed on the exchange. But the proposal from Nasdaq, which bought the press release distribution service PrimeZone in September, has provoked accusations from rival corporate announcement wires that it is using its power to foist services on listed companies. Offer those services separately and we can compete with them out in the marketplace, said Cathy Baron Tamraz of Business Wire, which is owned by Berkshire Hathaway. But this is a little bit too much. David Laing, a lawyer representing PR Newswire, said that Nasdaqs tying of unnecessary investor relations services to listing fees was not just unfair, but also unlawful. Nasdaq has the market power for all of the Nasdaq-listed companies, Mr. Laing said. PR Newswire and Business Wire dominate the corporate press release distribution market in the United States, and many of the companies they serve are listed on the Nasdaq, while PrimeZone and others have only a modest share. Nasdaq says its moves will increase the number of service providers in an arena that has traditionally been a duopoly. Nasdaq is considering raising the range of annual listing fees to $30,000 to $95,000 from $24,500 to $75,000. The real question is whether Nasdaq has the power to compel a significant number of companies to take the tied products, said Harry Frist of the New York University School of Law. Nasdaq will say it competes in a global market and issuers can go to all the exchanges. Tag CloudExternal InformationAdditional InformationSuits: In the Same Breath as a Screen Classic...The Bank better get this right... Fannie Mae Reports 26% Increase in Profit for ?05... Two Senate Panels to Investigate Bear Stearns Deal... Where Am I?News Main Page - Business - Nasdaq’s Plan To Raise Fees Is Causing Some Uproar |
i8news.com |