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ICE spokeswoman Kelly Loeffler said, "We're pleased to receive approval." ICE has said that little would change for the NYSE trading floor -- known as the Big Board
-- at the corner of Wall and Broad streets in Manhattan's financial district. But the NYSE'S clout has been eroded by the rapid advance of technological and regulatory changes. Its importance today is mostly symbolic. While brokerage fees for stock trading have declined, futures exchanges like ICE have retained solid profit margins. Futures contracts are written by exchanges and must be bought and sold in the same place
-- unlike stocks, which can be traded on any exchange. Buyers of futures contracts commit to buy something at a specified date and price, such as agricultural products like wheat, corn and soybeans; energy commodities like crude oil, natural gas and gasoline; and stock indexes and other financial futures. Futures can be used to lock in prices as a hedge against future price movements. They're also used by traders to speculate on prices.
[Associated
Press;
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