CHICAGO, Feb. 22, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) announced today that on Tuesday, March 8, the Exchange will begin trading newly-designed Credit Event Binary Options (CEBOs) contracts.

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Credit Event Binary Options contracts allow investors to express an opinion on whether a company will experience a "credit event" (bankruptcy). Due to inverse correlations between credit and equity markets, CEBO® contracts can be used as a hedging tool for individual stocks. The contracts also provide the advantages of price transparency available through a regulated exchange, currently unavailable in over-the-counter credit default swaps markets.

A CEBO contract has just two possible outcomes - a payout of a fixed amount if a credit event occurs or nothing if a credit event does not occur.

The CBOE, which first began trading single-name and basket Credit Event Binary Options in 2007, recently received SEC approval to amend the Credit Event Binary Options rules.

One change simplifies the terms of a payout for CEBO contracts, allowing CBOE to list CEBO contracts that specify bankruptcy as the only trigger for a payout.

The size of the CEBO contract payout if a credit event occurs has also been revised. If a bankruptcy occurs prior to expiration of the contract, the amount of the payout will be $1,000 per contract.

Initially, CBOE will offer ten single-name CEBO contracts for trading. Two of those contracts will be introduced on March 8, followed by eight on March 9:



Company Name CEBO Ticker Launch Date AK Steel Holding Corporation AKSC Mar. 8 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc. AMDC Mar. 8 Arvinmeritor, Inc. ARMD Mar. 9 American Axle & Manufacturing Holdings, Inc. AXLC Mar. 9 Hovnanian Enterprises, Inc. HOVC Mar. 9 Huntsman Corporation HUNC Mar. 9 MBIA Inc. MBID Mar. 9 The PMI Group, Inc. PMID Mar. 9 Smithfield Foods, Inc. SFDC Mar. 9 Tenet Healthcare Corporation THCC Mar. 9



For contract specifications and other information about CEBOs, see www.cboe.com/credit.

CBOE, the largest U.S. options exchange and creator of listed options, continues to set the bar for options trading through product innovation, trading technology and investor education. CBOE offers equity, index and ETF options, including proprietary products, such as S&P 500 options (SPX), the most active U.S. index option, and options on the CBOE Volatility Index (VIX). Other products engineered by CBOE include equity options, security index options, LEAPS options, FLEX options, and benchmark products such as the CBOE S&P 500 BuyWrite Index (BXM). CBOE's Hybrid Trading System incorporates electronic and open-outcry trading and is powered by CBOEdirect, a proprietary, state-of-the-art electronic platform that also supports the C2 Options Exchange (C2), CBOE Futures Exchange (CFE), CBOE Stock Exchange (CBSX) and OneChicago. CBOE is home to the world-renowned Options Institute and www.cboe.com, named "Best of the Web" for options information and education.

CBOE is regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), with all trades cleared by the AAA-rated Options Clearing Corporation (OCC).

CBOE®, Chicago Board Options Exchange®, CBSX®, CBOE Stock Exchange®, CFE®, CBOEdirect®, FLEX®, Hybrid®, LEAPS®, CBOE Volatility Index® and VIX® are registered trademarks, and BuyWrite(SM), BXM(SM), SPX(SM), C2(SM), C2 Options Exchange(SM), CBOE Futures Exchange(SM) and The Options Institute(SM) are servicemarks of Chicago Board Options Exchange, Incorporated (CBOE). Standard & Poor's®, S&P® and S&P 500® are registered trademarks of Standard & Poor's Financial Services, LLC. and have been licensed for use by CBOE.

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SOURCE Chicago Board Options Exchange