PART II Item 5.
Market for Registrant’s Common Equity, Related Stockholder Matters and Issuer Purchases of Equity Securities.
Price Range Our common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol “MKTX”.
The range of closing price information for our common stock, as reported by NASDAQ, was as follows:
## Table 0 ##
On February 20, 2015, the last reported closing price of our common stock on the NASDAQ Global Select Market was $78.97.
Holders There were 28 holders of record of our common stock as of February 20, 2015.  Dividend Policy During 2014, 2013 and 2012, we paid quarterly cash dividends of $0.16 per share, $0.13 per share and $0.11 per share, respectively.
On December 27, 2012, we paid a special cash dividend of $1.30 per share.
In January 2015, our Board of Directors approved a quarterly cash dividend of $0.20 per share payable on February 26, 2015 to stockholders of record as of the close of business on February 12, 2015.
Any future declaration and payment of dividends will be at the sole discretion of our Board of Directors.
The Board of Directors may take into account such matters as general business conditions, our financial results, capital requirements, contractual obligations, legal and regulatory restrictions on the payment of dividends to our stockholders or by our subsidiaries to their respective parent entities, and such other factors as the Board of Directors may deem relevant.
Recent Sales of Unregistered Securities None.
Securities Authorized for Issuance Under Equity Compensation Plans Please see the section entitled “Equity Compensation Plan Information” in Item 12.
Expenses Our?expenses?for?the?years?ended?December?31,?2015?and?2014,?and?the?resulting?dollar?and?percentage?changes,?were?as?follows:
## Table 1 ##
Employee Compensation and Benefits .
?Employee ?compensation ?and ?benefits ?increased ?by ?$8.9 ?million ?primarily ?due ?to ?higher ?employee ?incentive compensation?of?$3.6?million,?which?is?tied?to?operating?performance,?an?increase?of?$2.7?million?in?stock-based?compensation?resulting?from?higher?employee equity?awards?in?2015?and?a?$2.5?million?increase?in?salaries?and?benefits?due?to?higher?employee?headcount. ?
?The?total?number?of?employees?increased?to?342?as?of December?31,?2015?from?303?as?of?December?31,?2014.
???
Depreciation and Amortization.
?Depreciation?and?amortization?increased?by?$1.2?million?primarily?due?to?higher?amortization?of?software?development costs?of?$1.7?million?offset?by?a?$0.7?million?reduction?in?production?hardware?depreciation?expenses.
?For?the?years?ended?December?31,?2015?and?2014,?$4.8 million ?and ?$4.6 ?million, ?respectively, ?of ?equipment ?purchases ?and ?leasehold ?improvements ?and ?$10.6 ?million ?and ?$10.2 ?million, ?respectively, ?of ?software development?costs?were?capitalized.
Technology and Communications.
?Technology?and?communications?expenses?decreased?by?$1.8?million?primarily?due?to?lower?technology?maintenance and?support?costs?of?$1.1?million?and?data?center?hosting?costs?of?$0.6?million.
Professional and Consulting Fees.
?Professional?and?consulting?fees?decreased?by?$1.3?million?primarily?due?to?lower?technology?consulting?costs?of?$1.1 million.
??
Occupancy.
?Occupancy?costs?increased?by?$0.3?million?primarily?due?to?rent?associated?with?additional?New?York?City?office?space?that?was?occupied?in April?2015.
Marketing and Advertising.
?Marketing?and?advertising?expenses?increased?by?$0.4?million?primarily?due?to?higher?sales?related?travel?and?entertainment costs?of?$0.4?million.
General and Administrative.
?General?and?administrative?expenses?increased?by?$3.4?million.
?The?increase?was?primarily?due?to?higher?clearing?costs?from matched?principal?trading?of?$2.0?million?and?increases?in?other?miscellaneous?costs.
Provision for Income Tax.
The?$8.1?million?increase?in?the?tax?provision?was?primarily?attributable?to?higher?pre-tax?income?offset?by?a?lower?effective?tax rate.
?Our ?consolidated ?effective ?tax ?rate ?for ?the ?year ?ended ?December ?31, ?2015 ?was ?35.1%, ?compared ?to ?36.9% ?for ?the ?year ?ended ?December ?31, ?2014.
?The decrease?was?principally?due?to?a?higher?percentage?of?income?attributable?to?lower?tax?jurisdictions?and?a?reduction?in?certain?statutory?foreign?and?state?tax?rates.
Our?consolidated ?effective ?tax?rate?can?vary?from?period?to?period?depending?on,?among?other?factors, ?the?geographic ?mix?of?our?earnings?and?changes?in?tax legislation?and?tax?rates.
As?of?December?31,?2015,?we?had?restricted?U.
S. ?federal?net?operating?loss?carryforwards?of?approximately?$6.7?million.
?The?utilization?of?our?restricted U. S. ?federal?net?operating?loss?carryforwards?is?subject?to?an?annual?limitation?determined?by?Section?382?of?the?Internal?Revenue?Code.
applicable foreign tax credits.
However, we do not have any current needs or foreseeable plans to repatriate cash by way of dividends from our non-U.
S.  subsidiaries.
We execute certain bond transactions between and among institutional investor and broker-dealer clients on a matched principal basis by serving as counterparty to both the buyer and the seller in trades which settle through a third-party clearing broker.
Settlement typically occurs within one to three trading days after the trade date.
Cash settlement of the transaction occurs upon receipt or delivery of the underlying instrument that was traded.
For the years endedDecember 31,2015,2014 and 2013, revenues from matched principal trading were approximately $16.9 million,$7.4 million and $6.0 million, respectively.
Under securities clearing agreements with a third party clearing broker, we maintain collateral deposits with the clearing broker in the form of cash.
As of December 31, 2015, the amount of the collateral deposits included in prepaid expenses and other assets in our Consolidated Statements of Financial Condition was $1.5 million.
For the years ended December 31,2015,2014 and 2013, clearing expenses associated with matched principal transactions were $3.3 million,$ 1.3 million and $0.9 million, respectively, and are classified under general and administrative expense on the Consolidated Statements of Operations.
We are exposed to credit risk in the event a counterparty does not fulfill its obligation to complete a transaction.
Pursuant to the terms of the securities clearing agreements between us and our clearing brokers, the clearing brokers have the right to charge us for losses resulting from a counterparty's failure to fulfill its contractual obligations.
The losses are not capped at a maximum amount and apply to all trades executed through such clearing broker.
At December 31,2015 and 2014, we had not recorded any liabilities with regard to this right.
In the ordinary course of business, we enter into contracts that contain a variety of representations, warranties and general indemnifications.
Our maximumexposure from any claims under these arrangements is unknown, as this would involve claims that have not yet occurred.
However, based on past experience, we expect the risk of material loss to be remote.
See Item 5 of this Annual Report on Form 10-K for a discussion of our repurchases of our common stock and our dividend policy.
Effects of luflation Because the majority of our assets are short-term in nature, they are not significantly affected by inflation.
However, the rate of inflation may affect our expenses, such as employee compensation, office leasing costs and communications expenses, which may not be readily recoverable in the prices of our services.
To the extent inflation results in rising interest rates and has other ad verse effects on the securities markets, it may adversely affect our financial position and results of operations.
Contractual Obligations and Commitments As of December 31,2015, we had the following contractual obligations and commitment.
## Table 2 ##
We enter into foreign currency forward contracts to hedge our exposure to variability in certain foreign currency cash flows resulting from the net investment in our U. K.  subsidiaries.
As of December 31,2015, the notional value of the foreign currency forward contract outstanding was $45.4 million and the fair value of the asset was $0.4 million.
## Table 3 ##
The increase in noncurrent assets and noncurrent liabilities is primarily related to Jazan Gas Projects Company.
Dividends received from equity affiliates were $99.5, $95.9, and $50.5 in 2017, 2016, and 2015, respectively.
The investment in net assets of and advances to equity affiliates as of 30 September 2017 and 2016 included investment in foreign affiliates of $1,285.1 and $1,281.5, respectively.
As of 30 September 2017 and 2016, the amount of investment in companies accounted for by the equity method included equity method goodwill in the amount of $45.8 and $109.5, respectively.
The decrease was primarily driven by an other-than-temporary impairment of our investment in an equity affiliate in Saudi Arabia discussed below.
Equity Affiliate Impairment Charge During the third quarter of fiscal year 2017, Abdullah Hashim Industrial Gases & Equipment Co. , Ltd.  (AHG), a 25% owned equity affiliate in our Industrial Gases – EMEA segment, completed a review of its business plan and outlook.
As a result of the revised business plan, we determined there was an other-than-temporary impairment of our investment in AHG and, therefore, recorded a noncash impairment charge of $79.5 to reduce the carrying value of our investment.
This charge is reflected on our consolidated income statements within “Equity affiliates' income” and was not deductible for tax purposes.
This charge has been excluded from segment results.
The decline in value results from expectations for lower future cash flows to be generated by AHG, primarily due to challenging economic conditions in Saudi Arabia, including the impacts of lower prices in the oil and gas industry, increased competition, and capital project growth opportunities not materializing as anticipated.
The AHG investment was valued based on the results of the income and market valuation approaches.
The income approach utilized a discount rate based on a market-participant, risk-adjusted weighted average cost of capital, which considers industry required rates of return on debt and equity capital for a target industry capital structure adjusted for risks associated with size and geography.
Other significant estimates and assumptions that drive our updated valuation of AHG include revenue growth rates and profit margins that were lower than those upon acquisition and our assessment of AHG's business improvement plan effectiveness.
Under the market approach, we estimated fair value based on market multiples of revenue and earnings derived from publicly-traded industrial gases companies engaged in similar lines of business, adjusted to reflect differences in size and growth prospects.
As of 30 September 2017, the carrying value of our investment in AHG is $66.7 and is reflected in our Industrial Gases – EMEA segment.
The investment is reported in “Investment in net assets of and advances to equity affiliates” on our consolidated balance sheets.
There have been no other significant changes to our investments in equity affiliates during fiscal year 2017.
Jazan On 19 April 2015, a joint venture between Air Products and ACWA Holding entered into a 20-year oxygen and nitrogen supply agreement to supply Saudi Aramco’s oil refinery and power plant being built in Jazan, Saudi Arabia.
Air Products owns 25% of the joint venture and guarantees the repayment of its share of an equity bridge loan.
ACWA also guarantees their share of the loan.
We determined that the joint venture is a variable interest entity, for which we are not the primary beneficiary.
Hologic, Inc.  Notes to Consolidated Financial Statements (continued) (all tabular amounts in thousands except per share data) Option Exchange Program On December 22, 2008, the Board of Directors approved, subject to stockholder approval, a stock option exchange program (the “Option Exchange Program”).
The Option Exchange Program was approved at the Annual Meeting of Stockholders held on March 4, 2009.
The Option Exchange Program permitted eligible employees to exchange their outstanding options issued on January 16, 2008 at an exercise price per share of $33.31 for a lesser number of new options (“New Options”), with such number of New Options issuable upon exchange calculated pursuant to an exchange ratio based on the original exercise price of the surrendered option.
The exchange offer expired on April 5, 2009.
Pursuant to the Option Exchange Program, the New Options have an exercise price of $14.87, which is 110% of the last reported closing sales price of the Company’s common stock as of the date of the new grant, which was April 5, 2009.
The total number of stock options eligible to be exchanged of approximately 784,000 was exchanged for 406,000 New Options.
On the date of exchange, the estimated fair value of the New Options approximated the estimated fair value of the exchanged stock options calculated immediately prior to the exchange.
As such, there is no incremental fair value of the New Options, and the Company will not record additional compensation expense related to the exchange.
The Company will continue to recognize the remaining compensation expense related to the exchanged options over the remaining vesting period of the original options.
The New Options become exercisable over a period of four years, with 25% vesting on the first anniversary of the date the New Options were granted and 25% vesting on each anniversary thereafter, so long as the option holder continues to be employed by the Company.
Share Based Payment Activity The following table summarizes all stock option activity under the Company’s stock option plans for the year ended September 25, 2010:
## Table 4 ##
(1) This represents the number of vested stock options as of September 25, 2010 plus the unvested outstanding options at September 25, 2010 expected to vest in the future, adjusted for estimated forfeitures.
During fiscal 2009 and 2008, the total intrinsic value of options exercised (i. e. , the difference between the market price on the date of exercise and the price paid by the employee to exercise the options) was $10.5 million and $197.0 million, respectively.
As of December 31,2014, we had restricted U. S.  federal net operating loss carryforwards of approximately $8.0 million.
The utilization of our restricted U. S.  federal net operating loss carry forwards is subject to an annual limitation determined by Section 382 of the Intermal Revenue Code.
Quarterly Results of Operations Our quarterly results have varied significantly as a result of: · changes in trading volume due to market conditions, changes in the number of trading days in certain quarters, and seasonality effects caused by slow-downs in trading activity during certain periods; · changes in the number of broker-dealers and institutional investors using our trading platform, as well as variation in usage by existing clients; · expansion of the products we offer to our clients; and · variance in our expenses, particularly employee compensation and benefits The folowing table sets forth certain unaudited consolidated quarterly income statement data for the eight quarters ended December 31,2015.
In our opinion, this unaudited information has been prepared on a basis consistent with our annual financial statements and includes all adjustments(consisting only of normal recurring adjustments) necessary for a fair statement of the unaudited quarterly data.
This information should be read in conjunction with our Consolidated Financial Statements and related Notes included in this Annual Report on Form 10-K.
The results of operations for any quarter are not necessarily indicative of results that we may achieve for any subsequent periods.
## Table 5 ##

<table><tr><td>2014:</td><td>High</td><td>Low</td></tr><tr><td>January 1, 2014 to March 31, 2014</td><td>$67.16</td><td>$57.99</td></tr><tr><td>April 1, 2014 to June 30, 2014</td><td>$59.65</td><td>$50.30</td></tr><tr><td>July 1, 2014 to September 30, 2014</td><td>$62.05</td><td>$47.50</td></tr><tr><td>October 1, 2014 to December 31, 2014</td><td>$73.25</td><td>$61.15</td></tr><tr><td>2013:</td><td>High</td><td>Low</td></tr><tr><td>January 1, 2013 to March 31, 2013</td><td>$41.85</td><td>$34.79</td></tr><tr><td>April 1, 2013 to June 30, 2013</td><td>$47.80</td><td>$37.09</td></tr><tr><td>July 1, 2013 to September 30, 2013</td><td>$61.47</td><td>$47.59</td></tr><tr><td>October 1, 2013 to December 31, 2013</td><td>$70.60</td><td>$61.34</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td colspan="6">Year Ended December 31,</td></tr><tr><td></td><td colspan="2">2015</td><td>2014</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>% of</td><td></td><td>% of</td><td>$</td><td>%</td></tr><tr><td></td><td></td><td>$Revenues</td><td></td><td>$Revenues</td><td>Change</td><td>Change</td></tr><tr><td></td><td colspan="6">($ in thousands)</td></tr><tr><td>Expenses</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Employee compensation and benefits</td><td>$83,856</td><td>27.7</td><td>%$74,995</td><td>28.5</td><td>%$8,861</td><td>11.8%</td></tr><tr><td>Depreciation and amortization</td><td>18,542</td><td>6.1</td><td>17,379</td><td>6.6</td><td>1,163</td><td>6.7</td></tr><tr><td>Technology and communications</td><td>15,916</td><td>5.3</td><td>17,685</td><td>6.7</td><td>-1,769</td><td>-10.0</td></tr><tr><td>Professional and consulting fees</td><td>13,043</td><td>4.3</td><td>14,375</td><td>5.5</td><td>-1,332</td><td>-9.3</td></tr><tr><td>Occupancy</td><td>4,685</td><td>1.5</td><td>4,381</td><td>1.7</td><td>304</td><td>6.9</td></tr><tr><td>Marketing and advertising</td><td>6,148</td><td>2.0</td><td>5,769</td><td>2.2</td><td>379</td><td>6.6</td></tr><tr><td>General and administrative</td><td>13,008</td><td>4.3</td><td>9,654</td><td>3.7</td><td>3,354</td><td>34.7</td></tr><tr><td>Total expenses</td><td>$155,198</td><td>51.2</td><td>%$144,238</td><td>54.9</td><td>%$10,960</td><td>7.6%</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td colspan="5">Payments due by period</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Total</td><td>Less than 1 year</td><td>1 - 3 years</td><td>3 - 5 years</td><td>More than 5 years</td></tr><tr><td></td><td colspan="5">(In thousands)</td></tr><tr><td>Operating leases</td><td>$24,166</td><td>$3,395</td><td>$6,361</td><td>$5,732</td><td>$8,678</td></tr><tr><td>Foreign currency forward contract</td><td>45,362</td><td>45,362</td><td>—</td><td>—</td><td>—</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>$69,528</td><td>$48,757</td><td>$6,361</td><td>$5,732</td><td>$8,678</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td>30 September</td><td></td><td>2017</td><td>2016</td></tr><tr><td>Current assets</td><td></td><td>$1,333.2</td><td>$1,436.7</td></tr><tr><td>Noncurrent assets</td><td></td><td>4,026.9</td><td>3,063.3</td></tr><tr><td>Current liabilities</td><td></td><td>666.8</td><td>694.8</td></tr><tr><td>Noncurrent liabilities</td><td></td><td>2,194.3</td><td>1,540.4</td></tr><tr><td>Year Ended 30 September</td><td>2017</td><td>2016</td><td>2015</td></tr><tr><td>Net sales</td><td>$2,343.3</td><td>$2,271.6</td><td>$2,460.5</td></tr><tr><td>Sales less cost of sales</td><td>878.6</td><td>871.5</td><td>922.7</td></tr><tr><td>Operating income</td><td>509.5</td><td>482.1</td><td>512.4</td></tr><tr><td>Net income</td><td>343.5</td><td>334.1</td><td>343.5</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td>Number of Shares</td><td> Weighted- Average Exercise Price</td><td> Weighted- Average Remaining Contractual Life in Years</td><td> Aggregate Intrinsic Value</td></tr><tr><td>Options outstanding at September 26, 2009</td><td>14,553</td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Granted</td><td>2,858</td><td>$15.65</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Cancelled/forfeited</td><td>-743</td><td>17.26</td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Exercised</td><td>-1,123</td><td>9.91</td><td></td><td>$7,282</td></tr><tr><td>Options outstanding at September 25, 2010</td><td>15,545</td><td>$16.70</td><td>4.45</td><td>$45,218</td></tr><tr><td>Options exercisable at September 25, 2010</td><td>9,425</td><td>$15.81</td><td>3.68</td><td>$37,452</td></tr><tr><td>Options vested and expected to vest at September 25, 2010 -1</td><td>15,166</td><td>$16.71</td><td>4.41</td><td>$44,720</td></tr></table>
<table><tr><td></td><td colspan="8">Three Months Ended</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Dec 31, 2015</td><td>Sep 30, 2015</td><td>Jun 30, 2015</td><td>Mar 31, 2015</td><td>Dec 31, 2014</td><td>Sep 30, 2014</td><td>Jun 30, 2014</td><td>Mar 31, 2014</td></tr><tr><td></td><td colspan="8">(In thousands, except per share data)</td></tr><tr><td></td><td colspan="8">(unaudited)</td></tr><tr><td>Revenues</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Commissions</td><td>$67,613</td><td>$65,178</td><td>$66,412</td><td>$67,018</td><td>$60,372</td><td>$54,462</td><td>$54,315</td><td>$51,989</td></tr><tr><td>Information and post-trade services</td><td>7,678</td><td>7,671</td><td>7,632</td><td>7,679</td><td>7,869</td><td>7,600</td><td>7,962</td><td>8,079</td></tr><tr><td>Technology products and services</td><td>708</td><td>683</td><td>762</td><td>1,420</td><td>1,289</td><td>1,562</td><td>1,987</td><td>2,036</td></tr><tr><td>Investment income</td><td>284</td><td>248</td><td>190</td><td>183</td><td>127</td><td>132</td><td>138</td><td>146</td></tr><tr><td>Other</td><td>361</td><td>412</td><td>495</td><td>471</td><td>510</td><td>489</td><td>562</td><td>1,148</td></tr><tr><td>Total revenues</td><td>76,644</td><td>74,192</td><td>75,491</td><td>76,771</td><td>70,167</td><td>64,245</td><td>64,964</td><td>63,398</td></tr><tr><td>Expenses</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Employee compensation and benefits</td><td>21,087</td><td>21,002</td><td>20,593</td><td>21,174</td><td>19,376</td><td>18,589</td><td>18,421</td><td>18,609</td></tr><tr><td>Depreciation and amortization</td><td>4,685</td><td>4,642</td><td>4,603</td><td>4,612</td><td>4,425</td><td>4,482</td><td>4,351</td><td>4,121</td></tr><tr><td>Technology and communications</td><td>3,720</td><td>3,891</td><td>3,967</td><td>4,338</td><td>4,385</td><td>4,359</td><td>4,449</td><td>4,492</td></tr><tr><td>Professional and consulting fees</td><td>3,540</td><td>3,210</td><td>3,011</td><td>3,282</td><td>3,463</td><td>3,514</td><td>3,426</td><td>3,972</td></tr><tr><td>Occupancy</td><td>1,215</td><td>1,246</td><td>1,232</td><td>992</td><td>1,063</td><td>1,127</td><td>1,102</td><td>1,089</td></tr><tr><td>Marketing and advertising</td><td>1,888</td><td>1,304</td><td>1,764</td><td>1,192</td><td>1,429</td><td>1,331</td><td>1,800</td><td>1,209</td></tr><tr><td>General and administrative</td><td>3,523</td><td>3,544</td><td>3,262</td><td>2,679</td><td>2,537</td><td>2,575</td><td>2,344</td><td>2,198</td></tr><tr><td>Total expenses</td><td>39,658</td><td>38,839</td><td>38,432</td><td>38,269</td><td>36,678</td><td>35,977</td><td>35,893</td><td>35,690</td></tr><tr><td>Income before income taxes</td><td>36,986</td><td>35,353</td><td>37,059</td><td>38,502</td><td>33,489</td><td>28,268</td><td>29,071</td><td>27,708</td></tr><tr><td>Provision for income taxes</td><td>12,495</td><td>12,638</td><td>12,821</td><td>13,909</td><td>11,853</td><td>10,764</td><td>10,880</td><td>10,233</td></tr><tr><td>Net income</td><td>$24,491</td><td>$22,715</td><td>$24,238</td><td>$24,593</td><td>$21,636</td><td>$17,504</td><td>$18,191</td><td>$17,475</td></tr><tr><td>Net income per common share</td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td><td></td></tr><tr><td>Basic</td><td>$0.67</td><td>$0.62</td><td>$0.66</td><td>$0.67</td><td>$0.59</td><td>$0.47</td><td>$0.49</td><td>$0.47</td></tr><tr><td>Diluted</td><td>$0.65</td><td>$0.60</td><td>$0.64</td><td>$0.65</td><td>$0.57</td><td>$0.46</td><td>$0.48</td><td>$0.46</td></tr></table>

Question: In the year with the most Commissions, what is the growth rate of Technology products and services ? (in %)
Answer: -0.45074