Press Release
For Immediate Release
7 June 2007
CLIMATE EXCHANGE PLC
Chicago Climate Futures Exchange to Launch Futures Contract on WilderHill Clean
Energy Index (ECO) on July 13
The Chicago Climate Exchange, a wholly owned subsidiary of Climate Exchange Plc,
announces that the Chicago Climate Futures Exchange is launching a futures
contract on WilderHill Clean Energy Index (ECO) on July 13. The full text of the
press release follows:
Chicago Climate Futures Exchange to Launch Futures Contract on WilderHill Clean
Energy Index (ECO) on July 13
(Chicago - June 7, 2007) Chicago Climate Futures Exchange (CCFE), a wholly-owned
subsidiary of Chicago Climate Exchange Inc. (CCX) announced today it will launch
a futures contract on WilderHill Clean Energy Index (ECO) on Friday, July 13,
2007. The launch represents the first time a stock index futures contract is
listed on an environmental derivatives exchange .The launch follows an agreement
between Wilder Shares LLC, a provider of innovative indices for the clean energy
and environmental sectors, and CCX.
"The CCFE ECO-Index futures contract, the first stock index futures contract to
be listed on CCFE, will allow the financial community interested in the clean
energy space to diversify their risks of investing in renewable companies while
tapping into the growing popularity of this sector." said Dr. Richard Sandor,
Chairman and CEO of CCX. "The launch of the ECO-Index in CCFE also signals our
continued commitment to creating new innovative markets in the environmental
space."
"We're delighted to partner with CCX to bring this cutting-edge futures product
to the environmental finance arena, one that allows investors to participate in
emerging clean energy with new diversification and in ways unheard of even a few
years ago," said Dr. Rob Wilder, CEO of WilderShares LLC and Manager of ECO.
The WilderHill Clean Energy Index is the first U.S. index comprised of companies
with a focus on clean energy and pollution prevention. The WilderHill Index, a
modified equal dollar weighted index, tracks the clean energy sector through
publicly traded companies which stand to benefit substantially from a societal
transition toward alternatives such as wind power, solar, ethanol, energy
efficiency, and fuel cells. Stocks and sector weightings within the WilderHill
Clean Energy Index are based on their significance for clean energy,
technological influence and relevance to preventing pollution, with an emphasis
on ecological and economic sustainability. As of Q2 2007, the ECO index was
comprised of 40 stocks of U.S. listed companies, most of which have a market
capitalization greater than $200 million. The index is calculated by the
American Stock Exchange (Amex) and disseminated through the Network of the
Consolidated Tape Association.
Since 2005 Chicago-based asset management firm Powershares Capital Management
LLC has had an AMEX listed Exchange Traded Fund based on the WilderHill Index:
the Powershares WilderHill Clean Energy Portfolio (Ticker: PBW).
More information on WilderHill Clean Energy Index (ECO), including index
construction and a complete list of components, is available online at: http://
www.wildershares.com/index.php. Information on the Powershares WilderHill Clean
Energy Portfolio ETF on AMEX (AMEX Ticker: PBW) that tracks the index (ECO) is
available on the AMEX website at: http://www.amex.com/
About Chicago Climate Exchange, Inc. and Chicago Climate Futures Exchange
CCX is a financial institution whose objectives are to apply financial
innovation and incentives to advance social, environmental and economic goals.
CCX is the world's first and North America's only legally binding rules-based
greenhouse gas emissions allowance trading system, as well as the world's only
global system for emissions trading based on all six greenhouse gases. CCX
members are leaders in greenhouse gas management and represent all sectors of
the global economy, as well as public sector innovators. Reductions achieved
through CCX are the only reductions in North America being achieved through a
legally binding compliance regime, providing independent third party
verification provided by NASD and price transparency. The founder, Chairman and
CEO of CCX is economist and financial innovator Dr. Richard L. Sandor, who was
named a Hero of the Planet by Time magazine for his founding of CCX. For a full
list of CCX members, daily prices and other Exchange information, see
www.chicagoclimateexchange.com.
Chicago Climate Futures Exchange (CCFE), a wholly-owned subsidiary of CCX, is
the world's first and leading environmental derivatives exchange. CCFE currently
offers standardized and cleared Sulfur Financial Instrument (SFI) futures and
options contracts and Nitrogen Financial Instrument (NFI-OS) futures contracts
based on mandatory cap and trade programs created under the Clean Air Act
Amendments of 1990. CCFE has traded over two million SO2 allowances in its
futures market, making it the world's largest exchange for trading criteria
pollutants. Market participants are able to secure price transparent,
standardized futures and options contracts on an anonymous electronic trading
platform. The availability of effective hedging tools offered on CCFE, including
prompt and deferred years for both futures and options has increased liquidity
while easing volatility in the SO2 market.
CCX, a US corporation, launched its trading platform in 2003. In 2005, CCX
launched the European Climate Exchange (ECX), now the leading exchange operating
in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme. Since 2006, both CCX and ECX
have been owned by Climate Exchange Plc, a publicly traded company listed on the
AIM of the London Stock Exchange.
About WilderShares LLC
WilderShares LLC is a provider of innovative indices for the clean energy and
environmental sectors. They are creator of the original WilderHill Index (ECO),
which is the first Index to define and track the clean energy sector,
specifically, businesses that stand to benefit substantially from a societal
transition towards use of cleaner energy and conservation. http://
wildershares.com Dr. Rob Wilder, the CEO of WilderShares LLC, is also a
co-manager of the more recent WilderHill New Energy Global Innovation Index
(NEX) capturing clean energy worldwide and primarily outside the United States,
and manager of the WilderHill Progressive Energy Index (WHPRO) for decarbonizing
fossil fuels and the dominant energy portrait today.
(Subject to Self-Certification with the CFTC)
Chicago Climate Futures Exchange, LLC
ECO-Clean Energy Index Futures Contract Specifications
Contract Size $25 times the value of the ECO-Clean Energy Index
The ECO-Clean Energy Index is a modified equal dollar weighted
stock index of U.S. listed companies focusing on the
technologies for utilizing greener, renewable sources of
energy. These technologies include renewable energy harvesting
or production, energy conversion, energy storage, pollution
prevention, improving efficiency, power delivery, energy
conservation, and monitoring information.
Quotation US dollars
Minimum Tick 0.20 of an index point = $5 per contract
Increment
Symbol ECO-Index
Trading Hours 7:00 a.m. - 3:00p.m. Central Time
Contract Listing Up to six consecutive quarterly contracts on a March, June,
Cycle September, December cycle
Deliverable Cash Settled
Instruments
First Trading The first trading day of a contract is the first business day
Day following an expiration day of a contract.
Last Trading Day The last trading day of a contract month is the business day
immediately preceding the day of determination of the Final
Settlement Price.
Daily Settlement Settlement prices will be based on the following criteria:
Price
a. A single traded price during the pre-close.
b. If more than one trade occurs during the pre-close, the
trade volume weighted
average of the prices, rounded to the nearest tick.
c. If no trade occurs during the pre-close, the following will
be given consideration;
1. the volume weighted average of the last two trade prices,
rounded to the
nearest tick;
the mid-point between the best bid and offer (volume weighted)
in the
pre-close rounded to the nearest tick;
spread price relationships; and
time value between the contract months
d. The Exchange reserves the right to take into account other
factors in determining
settlement prices.
Final Settlement The Final Settlement Price (FSP) shall be determined on the
Price third Friday of the contract month. The FSP shall be a special
quotation of the ECO-Clean Energy Index based on the opening
prices of the component stocks in the index, or on the last
sale price of a stock that does not open for trading on the day
of the determination of the FSP.
If the ECO-Clean Energy Index is not scheduled to be published
on the third Friday of the contract month, the FSP shall be
determined on the first earlier day for which the index is
scheduled to be published.
Price Limits and The daily price limits shall be ten percent (10%) of the
average settlement prices of a calendar month immediately
preceding the beginning of a calendar quarter month.
Trading Halts Trading halts shall be coordinated with trading halts in the
securities markets.
Reportable 200 contracts
Position Limits
Nearby 5,000 contracts
Expiration Month
Speculative
Position Limits
Contract specifications rules may be subject to change. If CCFE determines that
changes to the contract specifications rules are warranted, reasonable efforts
will be taken to provide appropriate advance notification of the changes.
This document is a summary of the CCFE contract specification rules. See the
CCFE rulebook for complete contract specification rules.
End
Contacts
Richard Sandor, Chairman, Climate Exchange Plc 001 312 554 3370
Neil Eckert, CEO, Climate Exchange Plc 020 7382 7801
Peter Rigby/Alexandra Parry, Haggie Financial 020 7417 8989
About Climate Exchange Plc
Climate Exchange Plc is a holding company whose subsidiaries are principally
engaged in owning, operating and developing exchanges to facilitate trading in
environmental financial instruments including emissions reduction credits in
both voluntary and mandatory markets. The two main businesses are the Chicago
Climate Exchange (CCX) which operates a voluntary but legally binding cap and
trade system including an exchange for CO2 emissions as well as SOx and NOx
contracts in the US and internationally, and the European Climate Exchange (ECX)
which operates an exchange focussed on compliance certificates for the mandatory
European Emissions Trading Scheme. http://climateexchange.com
About Chicago Climate Exchange, Inc.
CCX is a financial institution whose objectives are to apply financial
innovation and incentives to advance social, environmental and economic goals.
CCX is the world's first and North America's only legally binding rules-based
greenhouse gas emissions allowance trading system, as well as the world's only
global system for emissions trading based on all six greenhouse gases. CCX
members are leaders in greenhouse gas management and represent all sectors of
the global economy, as well as public sector innovators. Reductions achieved
through CCX are the only reductions in North America being achieved through a
legally binding compliance regime, providing independent third party
verification provided by NASD and price transparency. The founder, Chairman and
CEO of CCX is economist and financial innovator Dr. Richard L. Sandor, who was
named a Hero of the Planet by Time magazine for his founding of CCX. For a full
list of CCX members, daily prices and other Exchange information, see http://
www.chicagoclimateexchange.com.
CCX, a US corporation, launched its trading platform in 2003. In 2005, CCX
launched the European Climate Exchange (ECX), now the leading exchange operating
in the European Union Emissions Trading Scheme. CCX also launched the Chicago
Climate Futures Exchange (CCFE), a CFTC-regulated futures exchange for U.S. SO2
allowances and U.S. NOx Ozone Season allowances, the world's first environmental
derivatives exchange. Since 2006, CCX, ECX and CCFE have been owned by Climate
Exchange Plc, a publicly traded company listed on the AIM of the London Stock
Exchange.
About European Climate Exchange
The European Climate Exchange (ECX) manages product development and marketing of
Carbon Financial Instruments (CFI) futures and options contracts on CO2 EU
allowances traded under the EU Emissions Trading Scheme.
ECX CFI contracts are listed and traded on the ICE Futures electronic platform,
offering a central marketplace for emissions trading in Europe with standard
contracts and clearing guarantees provided by LCH.Clearnet. ECX/ ICE Futures is
the most liquid, pan-European Exchange for carbon emissions trading. More than
80 leading global businesses have signed up for membership to trade ECX
products. In addition, several hundred clients can access the market via banks
and brokers.
This information is provided by RNS
The company news service from the London Stock Exchange
END
Climate Exchange PLC announces New Futures Contract Launched
| Source: Climate Exchange PLC
Isle of Man, UK--(Marketwire - June 7, 2007) -