CME Globex Notices: December 15, 2008

iLink and FIX/FAST Message Enhancements
Effective Sunday, February 1, 2009, CME Group is launching a number of messaging enhancements to both iLink order entry and FIX/FAST market data. These enhancements include new tags to provide additional order information, and changes to existing tags to make inbound and outbound messaging more FIX-compliant and consistent.

Certification is not required for these iLink or Market Data Platform FIX/FAST enhancements. Complete testing in the iLink test suite of AutoCert is strongly recommended.

Complete information on these messaging enhancements is detailed in the   FIX/FAST and iLink Message Enhancements Client Impact Assessment.

These messaging enhancements are currently available for customer testing in New Release.

FX Futures Enhancements
Effective Sunday, February 8, 2009 (trade date Monday, February 9), a number of enhancements will be introduced for FX futures and future spreads on CME Globex. The messaging and functionality impacts are documented  online.

This launch will also result in significantly reduced message response times. Already among the fastest in the industry, this upgrade is expected to reduce response times by an average of 40-50%.

As a result of the reduced message response times, bandwidth utilization in these futures markets is expected to ultimately increase by as much as 20%.

Please note: all Good ‘Till Cancel (GTC) and Good ‘Till Date (GTD) orders will be deleted from CME Globex prior to the open on February 8. To allow customers a chance to re-enter GTC and GTD orders, the FX futures markets will pre-open early on Sunday, February 8, at 3:00 p.m. Central time.

We recommend all system providers supporting FX futures test these changes thoroughly in New Release. These enhancements will all be available in New Release for customer testing this Monday, December 22.

European-style AUD/USD Premium- and Volatility-Quoted Options
Effective this Sunday, December 21, 2008 (trade date Monday, December 22), the following European-style AUD/USD premium- and volatility-quoted options and strategies will be listed for trading on the CME Globex electronic trading platform:

These new options and strategies are currently available for customer testing in New Release.

Coal Futures
Effective this Sunday, December 21 (trade date Monday, December 22), Central Appalachian (CAPP) Coal Futures will be available for trading on the CME Globex platform.

Coal is the principal fuel for generating electricity in the United States, accounting for approximately 55% of total electricity output. This coal futures contract is designed to provide both the coal mining and electric power industries with a range of risk management opportunities.

These futures will use the SecurityGroup (FIX tag 1151) QLD and Symbol (tag 55) UX. They will be listed with a CME Globex MinPriceIncrement (tag 969) of 1 and a price DisplayFactor (tag 9787) of 0.01.

With this launch, calendar spreads and futures strips will also be available for trading.

These new futures and spreads are currently available for customer testing in New Release.

 Hardwood Pulp Futures and Options
Effective Sunday, January 11, 2009 (trade date Monday, January 12), Hardwood Pulp futures and options will be available for trading on the CME Globex platform. Full User-Defined Spreads functionality will be available upon launch for Hardwood Pulp options.

These contracts are designed to help pulp and paper producers manage risk. Hardwood Pulp futures and options provide a way to:

• Trade cash-settled contracts based on the FOEX PIX BHKP Europe Index
• Reduce counterparty risk with safety and security of CME Clearing
• Trade virtually 24 hours a day on CME Globex

These new futures and options will be available for customer testing in the New Release environment this Monday, December 22.

 DME Products and Mock Trading Session
The DME Oman Crude Oil and Oman Crude Oil Financial futures and future spreads are now available for customer testing in the CME Globex New Release environment.

CME Globex product specifications are available  online now.

A mock trading session in the CME Globex production environment will be held Saturday, January 24. More information on the session will be published next week in the CME Globex Notices.

DME products are scheduled to launch for trading on CME Globex in Q1 2009.

Please note: all currently connected customers may begin front-end testing with these new instruments upon New Release launch. However, to complete end-to-end testing through clearing, customers must be permissioned to trade DME products via the CME Connection Agreement Schedule 6, Clearing Firm Guarantee. The Schedule 6 is available at  www.cmegroup.com/connectionagreement.

 Turkish Lira Futures
Effective Sunday, January 25, 2009 (trade date Monday, January 26), Turkish Lira futures will be launched on the CME Globex platform, denominated in both U.S. dollars (USD/TRY) as well as euros (EUR/TRY).

Turkish lira pricing is typically not as tightly arbitraged as other currencies, and as such can present opportunities for profit. Since the introduction of the New Turkish Lira in 2004, the lira has seen unprecedented growth, even rising against the U.S. dollar and euro in recent years. With a growing industrial sector, Turkey has been repeatedly cited as a country with an emerging market for upcoming years.

These products will be available for customer testing in the New Release environment Monday, January 12.