We've been watching the saga of the Chicago Board of Trade, the target of a war between the Intercontinental Exchange and Chicago Mercantile Exchange. The winner will certainly emerge as a dominant derivatives exchange, which has put some pressure on the New York Mercantile Exchange--though it might have an ace up its sleeve. New York Stock Exchange CEO John Thain was apparently seen meeting with Nymex CEO Jim Newsome last week. Apparently, there may have been more than one meeting. Most assume that there are informal talks underway. Such a merger makes sense on the surface and would provide the NYSE with a way to fill its emptying floor. It certainly has its eyes on derivatives trading. To complicate matters, there are also rumors that the NYSE has its eye on the Chicago Mercantile exchange. So a lot is riding on the July 9 vote by CBOT shareholders.

For more:
- here's a New York Post article