Friday October 12, 5:43 pm Eastern Time Single-Stock Trading Delay Sought Markets Say Single-Stock Futures Trading Needs to Be Postponed CHICAGO (AP) -- The U.S. futures and stock markets advised Congress this week that trading in single-stock futures, which they hoped would begin in December, should be put off until spring because of delays caused by last month's terrorist attacks. Launching single-stock futures before the end of March at the earliest would be unrealistic, the Futures Industry Association and Securities Industry Association said in a joint letter to key congressional committees, released Friday. The Sept. 11 attacks ``have severely strained the systems, personnel and related operational resources of the firms, exchanges and clearing organizations that provide the infrastructure for the U.S. capital markets,'' the letter said. It was signed by FIA president John Damgard and SIA president Marc Lackritz. Electronic trading of single-stock futures is planned by the Nasdaq Stock Market and the London International Financial Futures and Options Exchange and, in a separate venture, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, Chicago Board Options Exchange and Chicago Board of Trade. Federal legislation last December lifted a nearly 19-year ban on the trading of individual stocks once regulations for the contracts are worked out. U.S. markets currently trade in stocks, stock options and futures on broad-based stock-index options, but not individual-stock futures, which are traded only on some international markets. http://biz.yahoo.com/apf/011012/single_stock_futures_1.html