The Markets December 29, 2006

Major US Exchanges Closed Tuesday for President Ford’s Death

The New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq will be shut down January 2 for a national day of mourning for the death of former President Gerald Ford, but The Depository Trust&Clearing Corporation (DTCC) said it would still clear and settle trades from earlier market activity.
Reported by
According to Reuters, closing the markets for a national day of mourning for the death of a US president is not an extraordinary decision, but this time the closing on Tuesday will mean stock trading will be suspended for four consecutive days.

The DTCC and its subsidiaries said they would remain open Tuesday, and will process maturing money market instruments and follow normal allocation procedures for any periodic principal, dividend and interest payments due that day.

Reuters also reported that the US Securities and Exchange Commission’s Web-based electronic filing system, EDGAR, will not be operating on Tuesday.

According to Reuters, the Securities and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA) recommended that the bond market close early, at 2 p.m. EST, and the US Treasury said noncompetitive bids would close at 11 a.m. EST on January 2 and competitive bids at 11:30 a.m.

The operations of smaller markets on January 2 are as follows:
  • International Securities Exchange: Closed
  • Chicago Board Exchange: Closed
  • American Stock Exchange: Closed
  • New York Board of Trade: Closed
  • Philadelphia Stock Exchange: Closed
  • Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s commodity and equity index markets: Closed
  • Chicago Mercantile Exchange’s foreign exchange and interest rate markets: Open until 1 p.m.
  • Chicago Board of Trade: Close its agricultural markets, but overnight electronic agricultural markets will trade as normal, opening at 6:30 p.m.
  • The Chicago Board of Trade: Open CST Monday, and close at 6 a.m. CST on Tuesday
  • The New York Mercantile Exchange: Close its NYMEX and COMEX division trading floors, but electronic trading will remain open.
Deals & People December 29, 2006

Marsh&McLennan Agrees to Sale of Putnam

Marsh&McLennan has agreed to sell its money-management unit for $3.9 billion to holding company Power Corp. of Canada, sources told the Wall Street Journal.
Reported by
The win by Power Corp., which beat out other contenders Amvescap PLC and UniCredito Italiano SpA, is still pending approval of Putnam employees who own shares in the company, Putnam mutual-fund shareholders and the board that oversees the funds. The final deal is expected to be announced early next year, according to the Journal.

The sale could be welcome news to shareholders of the New York-financial giant, still recovering from a $850 million settlement in January 2005 of a lawsuit by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer alleging that Marsh steered its clients to insurers with which it had lucrative payoff agreements (See MMC Settles ‘Shameful’ Bid-Rigging Case).

Putnam, which has $191 billion in assets under management, also faced misconduct allegations, with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) bringing charges against six former executives of its fiduciary trust arm for defrauding a retirement plan client and Putnam mutual funds of about $4 million (See SEC Charges Six Ex-Putnam Execs in Retirement Plan Fraud).

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