Stock Market Competition: Why the ASX Needs the X-Factor?

Muttering around the market suggests the game's all but up for the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX) as it faces competition for the first time later this year. Coming out of a monopoly, the ASX's lack of customer focus will send many flocking to the newcomer Chi-X Australia, its critics claim. But suggestions are that the newcomer with its low cost, high-speed system will be hard-pressed to make a profit, even if the volume of trading increases as anticipated. The ASX has had plenty of time to prepare and may ramp up its other revenue sources, but it's now predicted that these may also be under threat.