Business Leaders & Members of Congress Talk Jobs, Economy on Capitol Hill

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-- NYSE Euronext Hosts Forum for Small & Mid-Sized Business Owners --

NEW YORK & WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- NYSE Euronext (NYX), joined by the Senate Manufacturing Caucus and the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA), yesterday hosted a roundtable on Capitol Hill featuring discussions about jobs and the current economic environment with dozens of small and mid-sized companies from across America which are listed on the New York Stock Exchange and NYSE Amex.

“As the 112th Congress gets underway, President Obama and the new Congress have made it clear that continued economic recovery and job creation must be the goal of any new legislative or regulatory initiative on the agenda this year. We fully support that goal,” said Duncan Niederauer, Chief Executive Officer of NYSE Euronext.

“Though we are encouraged by improved conditions in the capital markets, there is still tangible apprehension about the strength of the recovery. Our listed companies, representing over 35 million working Americans in every industry, have a unique perspective and we hope yesterday’s conversations will directly contribute to the current public discourse around hiring, trade and access to capital,” he said.

In January, NYSE Euronext surveyed its U.S. listed companies on hiring trends for 2011 and some highlights of the survey were shared today with business leaders at the roundtable who represented a range of industries nationwide -- from software to design to manufacturing to financial services. One compelling data point the survey revealed is that while U.S. employment increased at only 36% of companies last year, 71% say their companies are currently hiring in the U.S., indicating the job picture is starting the new year in much stronger shape than in 2010. Also, nearly two-thirds believed that the majority of jobs created within their organization will be in the U.S.

Participants also discussed how current market and regulatory approaches are impacting IPOs. IPOs remain a key growth engine for the U.S. and the global economy and are an important driver of job creation.

"We have documented that more than 90 percent of the job growth at a venture-backed company happens after an initial public offering. This statistic demonstrates why it is so important to have a healthy and vibrant capital markets system. We continue to work with our venture firm members, their portfolio companies and the stock exchanges on exploring ways to support venture-backed IPOs for emerging growth companies,” said Mark Heesen, President of the National Venture Capital Association.

“The NYSE has been particularly thoughtful around these issues and we are looking forward to further discussions and initiatives that will help more companies efficiently access the public markets and in turn promote significant economic growth in the U.S.,” Heesen said.

NYSE Euronext is an active advocate on important public policy issues, and in 2010 led various initiatives on behalf of the issuer community, such as testifying before the House Financial Services Committee on potential legislation that would raise the threshold for companies to file a much simpler offering circular to the SEC; providing significant input into a review of proxy rules; and leading a comprehensive survey of changes in corporate governance which have occurred over the past decade. The latter resulted in a report, issued last October by the NYSE-sponsored Commission on Governance, identifying 10 core governance principles.

About NYSE Euronext

NYSE Euronext (NYX) is a leading global operator of financial markets and provider of innovative trading technologies. The company's exchanges in Europe and the United States trade equities, futures, options, fixed-income and exchange-traded products. With approximately 8,000 listed issues (excluding European Structured Products), NYSE Euronext's equities markets – the New York Stock Exchange, NYSE Euronext, NYSE Amex, NYSE Alternext and NYSE Arca – represent one-third of the world's equities trading, the most liquidity of any global exchange group. NYSE Euronext also operates NYSE Liffe, one of the leading European derivatives businesses and the world's second-largest derivatives business by value of trading. The company offers comprehensive commercial technology, connectivity and market data products and services through NYSE Technologies. NYSE Euronext is in the S&P 500 index, and is the only exchange operator in the S&P 100 index and Fortune 500. For more information, please visit: http://www.nyx.com.