Milan's Mif leaves Liffe on sidelines

PRESSURE on Liffe - the London International Futures and Options Exchange - to join the rush for overseas partners grew yesterday with the decision by Milan's derivatives exchange, Mif, to thrown in its lot with Euro-Globex, linking France's Matif and Monep and Meff Renta Fija, the Spanish exchange.

The deal leaves Liffe as the only major European futures market outside the increasingly complex network of cross-border alliances. Europe's other major alliance, Eurex, was formed when Germany's Deutsche Terminborse, linked with the Swiss futures exchange last year.