By Norma Cohen in London
Friday, January 19, 2007
 
The London Stock Exchange yesterday forecast a dramatic increase in trading volumes on its electronic trading platform as it launched its latest defence against a hostile bid by US rival Nasdaq. The LSE also said it would return a further £250m ($493m) to shareholders through share buybacks.

Clara Furse, chief executive of the LSE, hit back at Nasdaq, saying that based on current trading volumes, shares in the London exchange were underpinned by its own strong performance rather than on the bid from the US exchange.

“What we are demonstrating is that we have a very strong growth story,” she said in an interview with the Financial Times.

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