Ticker Talk

The Chicago Board of Trade and the Chicago Board Options Exchange said late Monday that they will meet as soon as possible to discuss the possibility of a merger as one way to resolve the dispute over trading rights. A joint statement from CBOE Chairman William Brodsky and CBOT Chairman David Brennan said: “Leaders and investment bankers from both exchanges will begin meeting as soon as possible so that we may begin to assess the viability, within a reasonable time period, of a merger of the CBOT and CBOE.” . . . Irvine-based Nexgenix Inc., which helps clients develop Web sites and retain online visitors to those sites, filed Monday to raise as much as $57.5 million through an initial public offering. Nexgenix reported revenue of $20.7 million during the six months ended Dec. 31, up from $16.6 million for the same period in 1998. The company recorded a net loss of $3.65 million for the second half of 1999, reversing net income of $334,000 in the year-earlier period. Nexgenix will seek to have its shares trade on Nasdaq under the symbol NXGN. . . . EConnect Inc. (ticker symbol: ECNC) shares plunged 83% on Monday in their first day of trading since regulators accused the Los Angeles-based Internet banking technology company and its chief executive of securities fraud. The stock dropped $8.25 to $1.75 on the OTC Bulletin Board. EConnect traded as low as 25 cents, down $9.75 from its closing price March 10. That was the last time they traded before the Securities and Exchange Commission imposed a two-week trading halt.