I am looking for the best discount brokerage houses and the best
futures clearing firm for an Asia-based, individual trader, with the
goal of being able to trade all major world markets. I judge the
"best" as having the best combination of the following criteria:

1. Access to largest number of major equity and/or futures exchanges.
2. Exemplary industry reputation (esp. those whose status has been
recognized/rated by industry publications).
3. Low fees for high-activity traders.
4. Futures clearing firms must support Trading Technologies' Xtrader platform.

Basically, I am trying to devise the best setup for an Asia-based
trader to efficiently and economically trade all major world equity
and futures markets. Also, I am not expecting to find one online
discount equity brokerage firm to meet all my requirements for equity
exchanges (i.e. I may need two brokerages, with some access overlap,
to trade both European and Asian equities). But I am planning on
ultimately choosing just one futures clearing firm.

And, of course, any anecdotal or qualitative opinions/experiences are
always helpful. Thanks.

I believe the best broker for your needs is
www.interactivebrokers.com. It provides access to many futures and
equity exchanges, has a great industry reputation and low fees. I'm
not sure about the support about the Xtrader platform, but giving them
a call should answer the question. Hope it helps.