WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chairman of the U.S. House Financial Services Committee is seeking changes to draft legislation for the $450 trillion privately-traded derivatives markets, with the intent of making it harder for banks to avoid trading the contracts on exchanges.

Among the earnings stories for Thursday, Oct. 29, from AP Financial News:

Exchange operator CME Group Inc. said Thursday its third-quarter profit increased 20 percent as cost-cutting and a smaller tax provision offset a 4 percent decline in revenue.

CME Group, the world's largest derivatives exchange, is in talks to take over the Chicago Board Options Exchange in a deal that would value the largest U.S. options market at up to $5 billion, according to Crain's Chicago Business.

The Dow topped 9,000 for the first time since January as investors shrugged off a rise in jobless claims and cheered earnings from Ford and 3M. A third straight rise in existing-home sales also buoyed the market.

The Dow topped 9,000 for the first time since January as investors shrugged off a rise in jobless claims and cheered earnings from Ford and 3M. A third straight rise in existing-home sales also buoyed the market.

Stocks rallied Thursday as investors shrugged off a rise in jobless claims and focused on encouraging earnings from Ford and 3M. A third straight rise in existing-home sales also buoyed the market.

Futures indicated a slightly higher open for Wall Street Thursday ahead of another vast amount of earnings reports.

NYSE Euronext said Wednesday its public Web site, NYSE.com, was the target of a "denial of service" cyber attack, according to authorities.