The future of New York Stock Exchange may still be unclear, with both Nasdaq and Intercontinental-Exchange battling for control, but it appears that its landmarked, 219-year-old home is probably safe. According to the New York Times, both bidders have vowed to keep the historic trading floor open, despite a clear shift in the industry towards electronic trading. Robert Greifeld, CEO of the entirely electronic Nasdaq exchange, has previously expressed doubts over whether a physical venue is needed, but now acknowledges “the ceremonial value to listed companies” of being able to list their shares and see their executives ring the opening bell on television. “We will want to keep that aspect of it,” he said. [more]

From the December issue: It’s the home of major media companies such as Viacom, the New York Times, Condé Nast, Reuters, Bertelsmann and Universal Music Group; broadcast studios for ABC, MTV, NASDAQ and others; headquarters of Morgan Stanley and law firms such as Proskauer Rose, Skadden Arps and Cravath Swaine & Moore. One-quarter of all hotels in Manhattan are there, along with Broadway theaters and some of the best retail in the world. And, oh, tens of millions of visitors annually come by.

So before the world’s eyes turn to Times Square for New Year’s Eve, it seemed like a good time to consider the state of the office market in the city’s most famous district. After all, some 200,000 people work in Times Square, 70 percent of them in finance and creative fields.

Let’s use the Times Square Alliance’s borders for the district: 40th Street to 53rd Street between Sixth and Eighth avenues, as well as Restaurant Row (46th Street between Eighth and Ninth avenues). [more]

Scott Spector, a principal with the Spector Group, an architecture and design firm based in Woodbury, NY, sat down with the New York Times to discuss surviving the downturn, defining his firm’s style and his favorite project. The firm is currently designing the new Christie’s auction house building in Red Hook, a high-profile retrofit project. But it’s the firm’s work with the Nasdaq Stock Market, a relatively less-glitzy outdoor signage project, that is Spector’s favorite current undertaking. “We’ve had Nasdaq as a client for eight years, and we have done everything,” Spector said. “We’ll change a light bulb for these guys.”