John Thain tells me he’ll be staying on at the Big Board... for the long term.

I asked Thain about his personal plans during my interview with him on the day of the big merger between the New York Stock Exchange and Paris’ Euronext. Now that he’s CEO of NYSE Euronext -- the biggest stock market in the world -- and just pulled off the first trans-Atlantic market merger, I thought he might want to move on to Washington like so many of his former colleagues at Goldman Sachs. When Thain was tapped as CEO in 2004, he said he planned to stay 3 to 5 years. But, now, Thain tells me he’s having “fun,” and he’s “excited” about what he’s doing. He adds, “I’m not thinking about anything different.”

And, what does Thain think about the stock market these days?

He tells me that stocks will do “okay” in 2007. He says he bases his forecast on the information he gets from CEOs whose companies are listed on the NYSE. They’re optimistic about their businesses even though there are concerns about the subprime mortgage market and the slumping housing sector. Thain believes corporate earnings will grow this year and that, he says, is good for Wall Street.

By the way, if you'd like to read the transcript of my on-air interview with Thain, click this link: One-on-One with John Thain.