Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc.

Category: Financial

Chicago Mercantile Exchange Inc. (CME) is the largest futures exchange in the United States and the second largest exchange in the world for the trading of futures and options on futures. Futures and options provide a way to protect against — and profit from — price changes in financial instruments and physical commodities. CME has four major product areas: interest rates, stock indexes, foreign exchange and commodities. CME is vital to the infrastructure of global finance. The products — futures and options on futures — help commercial enterprises worldwide manage price risks related to the uncertainties of supply and demand.

In March 2004, CME opened its new, state-of-the-art Visitors Center and Gift Shop on the lobby level to highlight the exchange's position in the world's marketplace. Here, the exchange's history, artifacts and trading foundation blend in with interactive kiosks and videos to help viewers understand the origins of the futures industry and how it influences the world's economy. The Visitors Center is open Monday through Friday and is free to the public. (Note that the 4th Floor Visitor Gallery is closed to the public until further notice.)