Nasdaq ties index to TARP recipients

Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. unveiled trading and investment products tied to firms that received government assistance. One of the products from New York-based Nasdaq OMX is the government relief index, which will track the stocks of 24 companies that received more than $1 billion from the Department of the Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program or other forms of government aid. “This index allows taxpayers and other investors to measure the performance of U.S. companies that are participating in the government's financial relief plan,” John Jacobs, executive vice president at Nasdaq OMX, said in a statement. “We believe the Nasdaq OMX government relief index will be useful in helping investors evaluate the government's investments and the impact of the relief plan on the economy during this period of historical significance,” he said. The global exchange will also launch other indexes that track companies receiving smaller amounts of aid from U.S. state governments and European countries.