It looks like the London International Financial Futures Exchange (LIFFE), which the London Stock Exchange should have secured for itself, will now be branded Euronext LIFFE by the new transatlantic stock market, NYSE Euronext.

The Telegraph comments: “London is to be at the heart of the NYSE-Euronext merger despite the fact the London Stock Exchange has been shut out of the £11bn transatlantic combination. Euronext LIFFE — the London International Financial Futures Exchange — is being strongly considered as the name under which the group’s entire derivatives business could be branded.”

Hugh Freedberg, Chief Executive of Euronext LIFFE, said: “There are clear opportunities in the way we brand the business. Euronext LIFFE is very well known in the derivatives markets here and in the US, and the NYSE is obviously a strong brand. It is a question of using the two brands in the way that is most appropriate. It’s great for London as it is the main focal part for the Euronext LIFFE business and that of the wider group.”

The new group’s derivatives business is said to make up 17pc of its revenues. The Telegraph says: “The strength of Euronext’s derivatives business and its fixed income platform, through MTS, which it co-owns with Borsa Italiana, is one of the key reasons the NYSE chose to merge with Euronext and not the LSE in the first place.”

The LSE is beginning to look more than a little flat-footed these days, and not a tad vulnerable to more than just Nasdaq. Is Deutsche Borse now a busted flush, or could we see yet another move into the market, maybe even a nostalgic glance or two towards London?