Even as the European multilateral trading facility movement got underway (with lots of fanfare), we urged caution and suggested that there may not ultimately be enough volume to go around. Now that something of a bear market is settling in, we are not surprised at all that people are speaking of consolidation--which, of course, has implications for the U.S. entrants, such as the NYSE Euronext, Nasdaq and BATS. We're certainly seeing some interesting market shifts.

Advanced Trading notes that Turquoise, which got off to a fast start along with Chi-X Europe, has seen a huge drop in volume. This owes less to a bear market in volume but to the expiration of a deal with top dealers, which previously fed it volume. The beneficiaries of this seem to be BATS Europe and Chi-X Europe. Turquoise is not taking this sitting down; it is tinkering with its fees and taking other steps. But it seems clear--as we've said all along--that many will not be able to survive this alone. 

For more:
- here's the Advanced Trading article

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