BGC Partners Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2008 Financial Results Announcement to be Made After Close of Market On Thursday, February 26, 2009

Conference Call Scheduled for Friday, February 27, 2009 8:30 a.m. ET 

NEW YORK, Jan. 14, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BGC Partners, Inc. (Nasdaq:BGCP), a
leading global full-service inter-dealer broker of financial instruments,
announced today that it will release its fourth quarter and full year 2008
financial results after the close of market on Thursday, February 26, 2009. The
Company will host a conference call on Friday, February 27, at 8:30 a.m. ET to
discuss these results. 

WHO:   BGC Partners, Inc. (Nasdaq:BGCP)

WHAT:  Fourth Quarter and Full Year 2008 financial results conference  
call

WHEN:  Friday, February 27 at 8:30 a.m. ET

WHERE: The "Investor Relations" section at http://www.bgcpartners.com

HOW:   Listeners must have a Real Media or Windows Media plug-in and  
headphones or speakers in order to listen to the webcast or its  replay. 
Additionally, call participants may dial in with the  following 
information:

U.S.                   888-679-8040
  
International #        617-213-4851

Participant Passcode   70644182

Pre Registration URL 
https://www.theconferencingservice.com/prereg/key.process?key=PVW3GALYD

Replay From-To         02/27/2009 11:30 AM - 03/06/2009 11:59 PM

U.S. Replay #          888-286-8010

International Replay # 617-801-6888

Replay Passcode        12228883

About BGC Partners, Inc. 

BGC Partners, Inc. (Nasdaq:BGCP) is a leading, fast growing, and global
inter-dealer broker, specializing in the brokering of financial instruments and
related derivatives products. BGC Partners provides integrated voice, hybrid,
and fully electronic execution and other brokerage services to the world's
largest and most creditworthy banks, broker-dealers, investment banks, trading
firms, and investment firms for a broad range of global financial products,
including fixed income securities, interest rate swaps, foreign exchange,
equity derivatives, credit derivatives, futures, commodities, structured
products, and other instruments. 

Through its eSpeed and BGC Trader brands, BGC Partners uses its proprietary,
built, and paid for technology to operate multiple buyer, multiple seller
real-time electronic marketplaces for the world's most liquid capital markets.
The Company's pioneering suite of tools provides end-to-end transaction
solutions for the purchase and sale of financial products over its global
private network or via the Internet. BGC Partners' neutral platform, reliable
network, straight-through processing and superior products make it the trusted
source for electronic trading for the world's largest financial firms. Through
its BGCantor Market Data brand, the Company also offers globally distributed
and innovative market data and analysis products for numerous financial
instruments and markets. 

BGC's unique partnership structure and extensive employee ownership create a
distinctive competitive advantage among its peers. Named after fixed income
trading innovator B. Gerald Cantor, BGC Partners has 16 offices in New York and
London, as well as in Beijing (representative office), Chicago, Copenhagen,
Hong Kong, Istanbul, Johannesburg, Mexico City, Nyon, Paris, Seoul, Singapore,
Sydney, Tokyo and Toronto. For more information, visit www.bgcpartners.com. The
Company's corporate address is: BGC Partners, Inc., 499 Park Avenue, New York,
New York 10022. 

The BGC Partners, Inc. logo is available at
http://www.globenewswire.com/newsroom/prs/?pkgid=5785 

Discussion of Forward-Looking Statements 

The information in this release contains forward-looking statements within the
meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section
21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. Such statements are
based upon current expectations that involve risks and uncertainties. Any
statements contained herein that are not statements of historical fact may be
deemed to be forward-looking statements. For example, words such as "may,"
"will," "should," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," "continue," "strategy,"
"believes," "anticipates," "plans," "expects," "intends" and similar
expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. 

The actual results of BGC Partners, Inc. ("we," "our," or the "Company") and
the outcome and timing of certain events may differ significantly from the
expectations discussed in the forward-looking statements. Factors that might
cause or contribute to such a discrepancy for the Company include, but are not
limited to, our relationship with Cantor and its affiliates and any related
conflicts of interests, competition for and retention of brokers and other
managers and key employees; support for liquidity and capital and other
relationships; pricing and commissions and market position with respect to any
of our products, and that of our competitors, the effect of industry
concentration and reorganization, reduction of customers, and consolidation;
liquidity, clearing capital requirements and the impact of recent credit market
events; and market conditions, including trading volume and volatility and
further deterioration of the capital debt markets, as well as economic or
geopolitical conditions or uncertainties. Results may also be affected by the
extensive regulation of our businesses, changes in regulations relating to the
financial services industry, and risks relating to compliance matters, as well
as factors related to specific transactions or series of transactions,
including credit, performance and unmatched principal risk as well as
counterparty failure. Factors may also include the costs and expenses of
developing, maintaining and protecting intellectual property, including
judgments or settlements paid or received in connection with intellectual
property or employment or other litigation and their related costs, and certain
financial risks, including the possibility of future losses and negative cash
flow from operations, potential liquidity and other risks relating to the
ability to obtain financing and risks of the resulting leverage, as well as
interest and currency rate fluctuations. Our ability to meet expectations with
respect to payment of dividends, if any, will depend from period to period on
our business and financial condition, our available cash, accounting or other
charges and other factors relating to our business and financial condition and
needs at the time. 

Discrepancies may also result from such factors as the ability to enter new
markets or develop new products, trading desks, marketplaces or services and to
induce customers to use these products, trading desks, marketplaces or
services, to secure and maintain market share, to enter into marketing and
strategic alliances, and other transactions, including acquisitions,
dispositions, reorganizations, partnering opportunities, and joint ventures,
and the integration of any completed transactions, to hire new personnel, to
expand the use of technology and to effectively manage any growth that may be
achieved. Results are also subject to risks relating to the separation of the
BGC businesses and merger and the relationship between the various entities,
financial reporting, accounting and internal control factors, including
identification of any material weaknesses in our internal controls, our ability
to prepare historical and pro forma financial statements and reports in a
timely manner, the effectiveness of risk management policies and procedures,
and other factors, including those that are discussed under "Risk Factors" in
eSpeed Inc.'s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007,
which was filed with the SEC on March 17, 2008; in eSpeed's definitive proxy
statement, which was filed with the SEC on February 11, 2008; in BGC Partners'
final prospectus, which was filed with the SEC on June 6, 2008, and as amended
from time to time in our quarterly reports on Form 10-Q or our Annual Report on
Form 10-K. 

We believe that all forward-looking statements, as well as those risks
discussed under "Risk Factors" in our most recent SEC flings are based upon
reasonable assumptions when made. However, we caution that it is impossible to
predict actual results or outcomes or the effects of risks, uncertainties or
other factors on anticipated results or outcomes and that accordingly you
should not place undue reliance on these statements. Forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date when made and we undertake no obligation to update
these statements in light of subsequent events or developments. 

CONTACT:  BGC Partners, Inc.
          Media:
          Florencia Panizza 
            212-294-7938
            fpanizza@bgcpartners.com
          Investors:
          Jason McGruder
            212-829-4988
            jmcgruder@bgcpartners.com