This is certainly a direct result of the CBOT going public.

As they kind of move beyond the country club thing to a public company, they're going to have to articulate their future growth opportunities much more extensively than in the past. But they're not stupid. They'll learn.

Whatever it is, they have to look outside their core business. The equities market is becoming much more competitive, and those margins are going to shrink. They have to look at other asset classes.

American firms have gotten over their anxiety about India. Now the new anxiety is if you're not in India.

This is a small step to put them back into the game.

It doesn't surprise me that this conflict is coming to a head, given the old-boy mentality that still pervades over there. They are still in a bit of a honeymoon period. Everybody knows the transition from a clubby atmosphere to being a public company isn't going to be easy. I think people are willing to cut them some slack for a little while, but that's not going to last for long.