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This is Bob Doughty with the VOA Special English EconomicsReport.
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The largest stock market in theworld is the New York Stock Exchange. It is also the oldestfinancial market in the United States. Its history dates toseventeen-ninety-two.
Today, two-thousand-eight hundred companies trade their shares onthe New York Stock Exchange. Together, the value of those stocks isalmost fifteen-million-million dollars.
These companies are all publicly traded. That means any investorcan buy their stock.
A foreign company can trade on the New York Stock Exchange byplacing some of its shares in a bank. An American Depositary[correct] Receipt is given in place of the stock, and can be tradedon the exchange. About four-hundred-seventy companies from fifty-oneother nations are represented on the New York Stock Exchange.
Stock is a share in the ownership of a company. Debt is alsotraded on the exchange. Bonds are generally sold in amounts ofone-thousand dollars or more. Companies and governments sell bondsas a way to borrow money. Buyers earn interest as they wait for thebonds to reach full value. Bonds can also be resold or divided.
The New York Stock Exchange is owned by its members. It has morethan one-thousand-three-hundred members. They have the right to buyand sell securities on the trading floor, for other investors or forthemselves. A membership is traditionally called a seat. These canalso be bought and sold. Seats on the exchange have sometimes soldfor more than two-million dollars.
In nineteen-seventy-one, the New York Stock Exchange became anon-profit corporation. This means it does not pay taxes.
A board of directors governs the exchange. The board hastwenty-seven members. Twelve directors come from the securitiesindustry. Twelve others are public directors. The board alsoincludes the chairman of the exchange and two other top officers.
In September, Richard Grasso resigned as chairman. This happenedafter the exchange reported for the first time the total value ofhis pay agreement. It was one-hundred-eighty-eight million dollars.A lot of people said that was too much.
The temporary chairman of the New York Stock Exchange is JohnReed. He says he plans to reform the board of directors. We discusssome of those plans next week.
This VOA Special English Economics Report was written by MarioRitter. This is Bob Doughty.