Nasdaq OMX Group Inc. on Wednesday outlined plans to streamline its operations and cut staff as a years-long slowdown in trading pushed Q1 profits down 18% from one year earlier.  CEO Bob Greifeld told analysts that the tech-centric exchange operator is targeting $50 million in annualized savings by the end of 2012. Nasdaq OMX also announced it would begin paying a quarterly dividend, adding to efforts among exchanges to return capital to their shareholders after a year's worth of merger attempts failed to produce results or reinvigorate the industry. Mr. Greifeld warned that if volumes remain weak, the exchange will have to make additional cost cuts.  And that's a real possibility, because a year--end stock market rebound that stretched into the 1st quarter was notable for the absence of heavy trading, putting pressure on exchanges like Nasdaq that rely on fees drawn from the execution of trades for their members. Reported Numbers. Nasdaq posted $85 million in profits, or 48¢ a share - down from 2011 Q1 profits of $104 million, or 57¢ a share.  Stripping out items like restructuring costs, earnings came in at 61 cents a share, short of the 63 cents expected by analysts polled by Thomson Reuters TRI +0.81% . [WSJournal, 4/25/12]