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Enron Mail |
-----Original Message----- From: djcustomclips@djinteractive.com@ENRON [mailto:IMCEANOTES-djcustomclips+40djinteractive+2Ecom+40ENRON@ENRON.com] Sent: Friday, June 08, 2001 4:46 AM To: 303439@mailman.enron.com Subject: E Nymex: Market Forces - Problems in cyberspace. Market Forces - Problems in cyberspace. 06/08/2001 Energy Compass © 2001 Energy Intelligence Group. All rights reserved When the New York Mercantile Exchange (Nymex) announced last May it was building an electronic trading platform, it said its eNymex trading system would be up and running by the autumn. The aim was to steal some of the thunder from the launch of the Big Oil-backed IntercontinentalExchange (ICE), which was set to start up around the same time. In the event, ICE launched on time last October and has since built up trading volumes and attracted new participants. It has also won support for its offer to buy London's International Petroleum Exchange (IPE), giving it more firepower in the e-trading sector. Nymex, meanwhile, continues to struggle, and has repeatedly pushed back its launch date. More recently, the exchange's problems have been legal. It has filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit against one of the partners that was helping build the eNymex trading system, prompting some observers to speculate that the electronic trading platform will suffer more delays. A big piece of eNymex was being developed by GlobalView Software. The Chicago-based firm was picked to build the software connection between the trading engine, designed by start-up technology company Kiodex, and the web page layout, developed by Fry Multimedia. Nymex said in a filing with the US Securities and Exchange Commission that it terminated the relationship with GlobalView because of performance issues under the contract. Shortly after kicking GlobalView off the project, Nymex filed the suit in the New York State Supreme Court. GlobalView is now preparing a countersuit in New York. Although GlobalView was announced as an eNymex partner in March, the company had begun work back in December. GlobalView chief executive Jon Olson says that "almost immediately there were issues." He adds: "Our view is they were financial issues." With GlobalView gone, Nymex is reviewing its options, which include choosing another software provider. Nymex has also dismissed consulting firm Accenture (formerly Andersen Consulting), which had helped manage the New York exchange's transition to an electronic trading platform from the early days. A Nymex spokeswoman says that Accenture's work was complete. One observer, however, characterizes Nymex's recent actions as cost-cutting moves. Despite the setbacks, Nymex continues to say that testing of the system will be complete this summer, with a full-scale rollout planned soon after. With eNymex, none of the exchange's existing futures contracts will be switched to the new platform. Instead, eNymex will focus on derivatives, new territory for the New York exchange. Some smaller oil futures contracts will also be put online. Nymex has fired early shots at the ICE/IPE duo, recently announcing plans to launch a Brent futures contract that will compete with the IPE's flagship product (EC May 4, p3). Although Nymex's electronic trading system has yet to launch, the platform has already been picked by US technology consultants Forrester Research as one of the few energy e-trade winners. But one executive at a rival exchange wonders how Forrester can say that eNymex will succeed when the system has yet to be tested in the market. By Jeff Gosmano, Houston. Folder Name: E Nymex Relevance Score on Scale of 100: 97 ______________________________________________________________________ To review or revise your folder, visit http://www.djinteractive.com or contact Dow Jones Customer Service by e-mail at custom.news@bis.dowjones.com or by phone at 800-369-7466. (Outside the U.S. and Canada, call 609-452-1511 or contact your local sales representative.) ______________________________________________________________________ Copyright © 2001 Dow Jones & Company, Inc. All Rights Reserved
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