ECONOMICS
REPORT - New York Stock Exchange
By Mario Ritter
This is Bob Doughty with the VOA Special English
Economics Report.
The largest stock market in the world is the New York
Stock Exchange. It is also the oldest financial market in the United
States. Its history dates to 1792.
Today, 2800 companies trade their shares（股份）on
the New York Stock Exchange. Together, the value of those stocks is
almost fifteen-million-million dollars.
These companies are all publicly traded. That means
any investor can buy their stock.
A foreign company can trade on the New York Stock
Exchange by placing some of its shares in a bank. An American Depositary
Receipt is given in place of the stock, and can be traded on the exchange.
About 470 companies from fifty-one other nations are represented on
the New York Stock Exchange.
Stock is a share in the ownership of a company. Debt
is also traded on the exchange. Bonds（证券）are
generally sold in amounts of one-thousand dollars or more. Companies
and governments sell bonds as a way to borrow money. Buyers earn interest
as they wait for the bonds to reach full value. Bonds can also be resold
or divided.
The New York Stock Exchange is owned by its members.
It has more than 1300 members. They have the right to buy and sell securities（有价证券）on
the trading floor, for other investors or for themselves. A membership
is traditionally called a seat. These can also be bought and sold. Seats
on the exchange have sometimes sold for more than two-million dollars.
In 1971, the New York Stock Exchange became a non-profit
corporation. This means it does not pay taxes.
A board of directors governs the exchange. The board
has twenty-seven members. Twelve directors come from the securities
industry. Twelve others are public directors. The board also includes
the chairman of the exchange and two other top officers.
In September, Richard Grasso resigned as chairman.
This happened after the exchange reported for the first time the total
value of his 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 John Reed. He says he plans to reform the board of directors. We
discuss some of those plans next week.
This VOA Special English Economics Report was
written by Mario Ritter. This is Bob Doughty.
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