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Monday, April 16, 2012

Options Trader Alert #2012 - 24
World Currency Options Transitioning to PHLX FOREX Options, Effective Monday, June 25, 2012

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What you need to know:

  • Effective Monday, June 25, 2012, NASDAQ OMX PHLXSM (PHLX®) will transition the current World Currency Options (WCOs) to PHLX FOREX OptionsTM.
  • UPDATE: Effective Monday, June 25, 2012, certain underlying spot values will no longer be disseminated of the Global Index Dissemination Services (GIDS).

What is changing?

At the request of the Options Clearing Corporation, effective Monday, June 25, 2012, PHLX will transition the current World Currency Options (WCOs) to FOREX Options. Following the close of business on Friday, June 22, 2012, the following will occur:

The current WCO foreign currency symbols will be converted:

Foreign Currency Old Symbol New Symbol New Settlement Symbol
Australian Dollar XDA FXAD KUA
British Pound XDB FXBP XBU
Canadian Dollar XDC FXCD CNZ
Euro XDE FXEU BEU
Swiss Franc XDS FXSF SEJ
New Zealand Dollar XDZ FXNZ XEZ
Japanese Yen XDN FXJY N/A

The strike prices for the transitioned FOREX Options, except the Japanese Yen, will be based on the foreign exchange spot markets instead of an index-like price as currently used for the WCOs.

Which WCOs will be converted?

All of the existing currency options will be converted to the new strike convention, except the Japanese Yen. The Japanese Yen will, however, receive a new symbol.

How will the new strike price conventions be calculated?

The new strike price convention will be calculated by dividing the current strike price by 100.

What underlying spot values will no longer be disseminated of the GIDS?

All values distributed over GIDS related to the WCOs will cease, except those related to the Japanese Yen (under the new symbol: FXJY). NASDAQ OMX will not disseminate an underlying spot value for any of the new PHLX FOREX options because currency spot values are readily available in the market place.

Where can I find more information?


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About the NASDAQ OMX Group:
The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world's largest exchange company. It delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents, with more than 3,600 listed companies. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market, NASDAQ OMX Nordic, NASDAQ OMX Baltic, NASDAQ OMX First North, and the U.S. 144A sector. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and exchange-traded funds. NASDAQ OMX technology supports the operations of over 70 exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more than 50 countries. NASDAQ OMX Nordic and NASDAQ OMX Baltic are not legal entities but describe the common offering from NASDAQ OMX exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more information about NASDAQ OMX, visit www.nasdaqomx.com.