Reeling from the relentless allegations about President Clinton's extracurricular activities, news of the merger talks between Nasdaq and the American Stock Exchange stirred nonchalant reactions in Washington.
Yes, this was a big yawn of a yarn.
Even so, the merger has an important place in the heart of Washington. A proposal in principal to merge both exchanges must be approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission. And it does raise anti-trust concerns.
"I would expect the Senate to take a close look at it if the transaction goes forward," a Senate source said, lamely. "But we won't jump way out ahead of it. It's too soon to say whether hearings would begin before or after the SEC begins its review."
A Senate staffer said, "things will have to progress a little further to warrant any official action up here."
One mildy-excited House staffer said the paper that broke the Watergate scandal looked a little ridiculous. "The Washington Post got scooped by The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal on the Nasdaq and AMEX merger."
Now that's a story.
