The NASDAQ Listing and Hearing Review Council Seeks Comments From Issuers On Corporate Governance Best Practices

NEW YORK, Oct. 5, 2009 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The NASDAQ Stock Market (Nasdaq:NDAQ) and the Exchange's Listing and Hearing Review Council have solicited comments from its listed companies regarding the potential adoption of corporate governance best practices. The Listing Council welcomes comments from listed companies, as well as investors and other interested parties, regarding the type of best practices that could potentially be adopted by listed companies. The Listing Council has requested that comments be submitted by October 30.

"A best practices approach has the potential to focus attention on important governance issues in a flexible, transparent manner, and could strengthen the way in which companies address these issues, providing benefits to public companies and shareholders alike," said Michael Emen, Senior Vice President of NASDAQ's Listing Qualifications Department. "NASDAQ is uniquely situated in that we have a standing body that focuses on public policy issues related to listed companies. We are confident that the Listing Council's review of these issues and consideration of the public comments will add to the ongoing public dialogue about governance questions."

Best practices are a corporate governance model widely followed around the world, often referred to as "comply or disclose" or "comply and explain." In this model, a company publicly discloses that it either satisfies the practice at issue, or, if it does not, explains why not.

The issues the Listing Council is seeking comment on include, but are not limited to, best practices surrounding executive sessions of independent directors, continuing education and training for directors, the director election process, and shareholder interaction with directors. Following the collection of comments, the Listing Council will publish its recommendations. To view the full text of the comment solicitation, visit http://www.nasdaq.com/services/insidenasdaq.stm.

Listing Council is an independent advisory committee appointed by the NASDAQ Board of Directors. The Listing Council was established nearly 20 years ago to provide advice to the Board on public policy issues related to listed companies, consistent with the Board's core responsibility of seeking independent, outside advice. The Listing Council provides the NASDAQ Board with a breadth and wealth of knowledge and experience on corporate governance and related issues. Members of the Listing Council come from constituencies including institutional investor advocates, company representatives, lawyers, accountants, securities industry professionals and academics. To view a list of Listing Council members, visit http://media.globenewswire.com/cache/6948/file/7414.pdf

About NASDAQ OMX

The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. is the world's largest exchange company. It delivers trading, exchange technology and public company services across six continents, with over 3,700 listed companies. NASDAQ OMX offers multiple capital raising solutions to companies around the globe, including its U.S. listings market, NASDAQ OMX Nordic, NASDAQ OMX Baltic, NASDAQ OMX First North, and the U.S. 144A sector. The company offers trading across multiple asset classes including equities, derivatives, debt, commodities, structured products and exchange-traded funds. NASDAQ OMX technology supports the operations of over 70 exchanges, clearing organizations and central securities depositories in more than 50 countries. NASDAQ OMX Nordic and NASDAQ OMX Baltic are not legal entities but describe the common offering from NASDAQ OMX exchanges in Helsinki, Copenhagen, Stockholm, Iceland, Tallinn, Riga, and Vilnius. For more information about NASDAQ OMX, visit http://www.nasdaqomx.com. *Please follow NASDAQ OMX on Facebook and Twitter.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements

The matters described herein contain forward-looking statements that are made under the Safe Harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements include, but are not limited to, statements about NASDAQ OMX's business relationships and offerings. We caution that these statements are not guarantees of future performance. Actual results may differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties or other factors beyond NASDAQ OMX's control. These factors include, but are not limited to factors detailed in NASDAQ OMX's annual report on Form 10-K, and periodic reports filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. We undertake no obligation to release any revisions to any forward-looking statements.

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CONTACT: The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc. Media Contact: Bethany Sherman +1.212.401.8714 Bethany.Sherman@Nasdaq.com

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