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New York Stock Exchange:The Largest Marketplace In The World

In 1792, twenty-four stockbrokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement under a buttonwood tree in Number 68 Wall Street. They drafted a constitution organizing themselves into the New York Stock & Exchange Board, what is now the world's largest equities marketplace.

Although majority of its listed companies come from US companies, its non-US players are growing exponentially. The New York Stock Exchange uses technologically advanced systems to provide an efficient method of trading stocks registered for public offering. It is this ability that appeals to top corporations and numerous investors from around the world.

The New York Stock Exchange is comprised of companies who trade on the floor for numerous US companies and entities from around the world. They directly buy and sell shares from a special group of auctioneers representing seat owners. These seats are owned by large firms who can afford to buy their place in the exchange, priced at millions of dollars. This privilege allows them to trade and handle billions of dollars in market orders directly to the member companies.

Although the New York Stock Exchange basically started as a non-profit organization, its basic purpose is to increase the operating capital of corporations by offering shares to the public. Consumers are given the chance to own a percentage of any of the 2,800 companies (total value of $21 trillion US dollars in the global market) listed in the exchange by buying stocks or shares. They can earn through stock dividends or through selling their shares. The list comprises of small, medium to large enterprises like ExxonMobil and Colgate.

If you only by a few shares in a large company like Coca Cola, you might not think your investment counts for much, but that isn't exactly true. In order for a company to list shares on the exchange, the exchange requires that the company provide the same complete financial information to anyone who owns even one share of stock.. This includes and invitation to the annual stockholder's meeting. Find out more about the stockmarket at http://www.learningtotradestock.com

Companies who would like to directly trade in the New York Stock Exchange must come up with the finances to afford any of the limited "seats" that can cost up to millions of dollars. The activities of these member corporations are carefully regulated by the exchange.

The New York Stock Exchange does not lack either in historically significant facts about its members. For example, the first company to be listed in Wall Street was the Bank of New York, trading in the same year of the organization's creation. The New York Gas Light Company holds the record for the longest listed corporation. The exchange had a telephone installed in the building in 1978 before it got electric lights five years later.

The New York Stock Exchange's web site has a list of member firms and is a good place to get to know a little bit more about the exchange before you begin investing. However, chances are that if you only decide to invest a moderate amount, you will be talking to a correspondent broker of a member firm who will charge a fee for buying or selling stock. Just remember to make sure that they are regulated and licensed by the exchange before you give them any funds to invest.

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