Will the Merger of Exchange Giants Stifle Innovation?

Although the super merger has received shareholder approval on both sides, the finality of this deal is far from a slam-dunk, says Robert Hegarty, global head of market structure at Thomson Reuters.

"Now that some of these deals have been scuttled, everybody obviously has their eyes on the NYSE-Deutsche Börse deal, and that will tell us a lot about whether these [multi-national exchange mergers] can be done," he says. "And that's a long way from the finish line, as well."

The European