Bob Greifeld, chief executive of Nasdaq OMX, had an inkling that despite a strong first quarter, yesterday's results call would be dominated by the exchange's bid for cross-town rival NYSE Euronext - and he was not wrong.

Greifeld was peppered with questions about Nasdaq OMX's joint bid with IntercontinentalExchange for NYSE, which has already accepted a bid from Germany's Deutsche Börse, and his first response was almost always: "The first I have to say is I thought you'd ask about the quarter."