Thomson TradeWeb Reports Record Volume in 3rd Quarter

--More than $7 Trillion Traded Across 10 Fixed-Income Asset Classes -Up 35% from same period last year-- 

JERSEY CITY/LONDON (October 14, 2004) - Thomson TradeWeb, a unit of The Thomson Corporation (NYSE:TOC; TSX: TOC), today announced that TradeWeb, the leading network of online fixed-income markets, achieved record volume for the third quarter of 2004. Over $7 trillion in fixed-income securities was traded on TradeWeb's global platform, up 35% from the same period last year and an 11% increase over the second quarter of 2004. The increase in volume was distributed across multiple asset classes with record volume levels set in US Treasuries, TBA-MBS, Commercial Paper, Agency Discount Notes, European Government Bonds, and Pfandbriefe/Covered Bonds.

"So far 2004 has been a tremendous year for TradeWeb. The volume levels speak for themselves," said Jim Toffey, CEO of Thomson TradeWeb. "Demand for our market data, trade execution and straight-through processing services keeps building as the buy-side and sell-side continue to recognize TradeWeb as the premier online marketplace."

Lee Olesky, President of Thomson TradeWeb added: "TradeWeb's geographic expansion continues to accelerate. With our multi-asset class and global approach, institutional investors, dealers and issuers now recognize the compelling value that TradeWeb's network of online markets delivers."

Customers Trust TradeWeb for Large Trades

Over the past quarter, TradeWeb saw significant increases in trading from an expanding base of large asset managers, hedge funds, bank portfolios, and central banks. Of the total volume executed in the third quarter, 52% came from trades of $100mm or larger, up from 43% during the same period last year. Clearly, institutional investors have grown more comfortable with executing sizeable transactions electronically. Dealer interest in TradeWeb also continued to build with 24 additional dealer trading desks joining as liquidity providers in TradeWeb's online marketplaces since the beginning of the year.

Growth Spans Multiple Product Sectors

U.S. Treasury and Agency Debt: Growing customer acceptance and rising market share boosted TradeWeb U.S. Treasury and Agency trading volumes to a combined $2.4 trillion - a new record. TradeWeb's Treasury marketplace reached a record milestone, recording its largest single trading day volume - $64 billion - in September.

TBA-MBS: Volume in TradeWeb TBA-MBS exceeded $2.3 trillion in the third quarter, up 43% from the same period last year. TradeWeb TBA-MBS also recently experienced its single largest day, registering a record trading volume of $94 billion in mortgage pass-throughs.

Money Markets: TradeWeb Money Markets (CP and ADNs) volume increased by 17% over the last quarter to $1.4 trillion - a new record overall. Growth in ADN volume has exploded with 3rd quarter volume reaching $450 billion, up 103% from the same period last year.

Corporates: Dealer and buy-side support of TradeWeb Corporates continues to build. Now nine of the largest corporate bond dealers provide liquidity to more than 175 buy-side institutions, with over 450 institutional credit traders. On a quarter to quarter basis, the number of trade inquiries and accepted trades more than doubled.

European Government Bonds: TradeWeb European Government Bond trading volume experienced significant growth reaching €396 billion this quarter - a 43% increase over the same period the previous year. During September, TradeWeb launched European T-Bills and short European Governments including CTZs.

Other European Products: Volume in TradeWeb European Commercial Paper increased to €41.3 billion in the third quarter, up 180% compared with the same period the previous year. Pfandbriefe/Covered Bonds also experienced tremendous growth, with volumes for the quarter up 151% over the same period in 2003.

About Thomson TradeWeb

TradeWeb is the leading online fixed-income trading network with over 6 million trades executed and total volume surpassing $57 trillion since its inception in 1998. TradeWeb's multi-dealer auction model links 31 of the world's leading dealers of fixed-income securities with more than 1,700 buy-side institutions in North America and Europe.

The business is also the leading electronic "straight-through processing" network for the fixed-income markets, providing dealers and buy-side institutions with paperless trade allocations and confirmations on its fully integrated TradeXpress network. TradeWeb's STP network also includes AccountNetÒ, the leading standard settlement instructions database.

Thomson TradeWeb operates within the Thomson Financial group of businesses. TradeWeb LLC is a member of the NASD. TradeWeb Europe LLC is regulated by the FSA.

For more information about TradeWeb products and services, please visit the company's website at www.tradeweb.com or contact Jack Mahoney in the US at (201) 536-5878 or Helena Rowe in Europe at +44 (0) 20 7776 3263.

About Thomson Financial

Thomson Financial is a US$1.5 billion provider of information and technology solutions to the worldwide financial community. Through the widest range of products and services in the industry, Thomson Financial helps clients in more than 70 countries make better decisions, be more productive and achieve superior results. Thomson Financial is part of The Thomson Corporation (www.thomson.com), a leading provider of value-added information, software tools and applications to more than 20 million users in the fields of law, tax, accounting, financial services, higher education, reference information, corporate training and assessment, scientific research and healthcare. With revenues of US$7.44 billion, The Thomson Corporation lists its common shares on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges (NYSE: TOC; TSX: TOC.)