Stock exchanges are not like other businesses. The performance of national stock exchanges is often taken as a proxy for the health of a nation's economy, or at least investor enthusiasm for the country's prospects.

National exchanges also play an under-appreciated policy role in deciding the listing and compliance standards for companies that wish to go public. On top of all that, there is a nebulous but real sense that national pride is often somehow tied to stock exchanges. Learn how British coffeehouses helped give rise to the juggernaut that is the NYSE. Check out The Birth Of Stock Exchanges. The Deutsche Borse wishes to merge with NYSE-Euronext NYSE: As these deals seem certain to shake up the structure of several of the world's largest exchanges, it is a good opportunity to examine the ownership structure of several other major exchanges.

NYSE Euronext NYSE Euronext is far and away the largest exchange in terms of both exchange market capitalization and exchange traded value, having gone public in after acquiring Archipelago and acquiring Euronext in NYSE Euronext is a public company, and Deutsche Borse has offered a merger proposal to the company.

Nasdaq OMX Group Nasdaq: NDAQ The second largest public stock exchange by value, Nasdaq is also number two in terms of traded value.

Nasdaq acquired seven Nordic and Baltic exchanges in the OMX Group , after being rebuffed in its attempts to acquire the parent company of the London Stock Exchange.

London Stock Exchange Group - Wikipedia

Tokyo Stock Exchange The third-largest stock exchange in the world is also the largest to not be publicly-traded. Though the Tokyo Stock Exchange is organized as a joint stock corporation, those shares are closely held by member firms like banks and brokerages. By contrast, the smaller Osaka Stock Exchange is publicly-traded, which perhaps befits long-held Japanese stereotypes about Osaka being more entrepreneurial and less hidebound than Tokyo.

London Stock Exchange The world's fourth-largest exchange is owned by the London Stock Exchange Group, which is itself a publicly-traded company. As previously discussed, the parent companies of the LSE and Toronto Stock Exchange are merging in a deal that will make the combined entity the second-largest exchange group in terms of the market cap of listed companies. Hong Kong Stock Exchange Asia's third-largest exchange is a subsidiary of Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Ltd, a publicly-traded company that also owns the Hong Kong Futures Exchange and the Hong Kong Securities Clearing Company.

Shanghai Stock Exchange This is the largest stock exchange in the world still owned and controlled by a government. The Shanghai exchange is operated as a non-profit entity by the China Securities Regulatory Commission and is arguably one of the most restrictive of the major exchanges in terms of listing and trading criteria.

Free Stock Market Game, Create Your Own Contest

Bombay Stock Exchange and National Stock Exchange of India Along with the Tokyo Stock Exchange, these exchanges are throwbacks to how most exchanges used to organize themselves. While the NSE is demutualized, it is still largely owned by banks and insurance companies. Other Exchanges Of course, the trading and investment world is not just all about stocks. Derivatives are very lucrative to exchanges. In the United States, the Chicago Mercantile Exchange demutualized in , went public, and eventually acquired the Chicago Board of Trade and NYMEX.

CME is a major player in the futures and derivatives world.

On the options side, the Chicago Board Options Exchange CBOE also trades publicly as CBOE Holdings Nasdaq: Eurex is a significant derivatives exchange owned by Deutsche Borse and SIX Swiss Exchange, while the London Metal Exchange is privately owned by its members through LME Holdings Ltd. Last and not least, the Tokyo Commodity Exchange is structured in a fashion similar to the TSE and is owned principally by the banks, brokerage, and commodity trading firms that transact their business through it.

Shuffling Likely To Continue Running an exchange is a great business; it is effectively a monopoly. Those who own exchanges can require companies to pay listing fees, traders to pay for market access and investors to pay transaction fees. It is not altogether surprising, then, that there is so much activity in this space. Bottom Line While these transactions are interesting to a point, they do not generally help the individual investor.

Unfortunately, trading stocks listed on foreign exchanges is still difficult and expensive for U. Of course, it is up to the brokerages to offer these services and for investors to demand them. Find out how the third-largest stock exchange in North America came to be. Check out History Of The Toronto Stock Exchange.

In the meantime, it looks like there is an unmistakable trend in the market of stock markets towards greater global integration and fewer small independent operators.

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Who Owns The Stock Exchanges? Simpson, CFA March 9, — 2: We tell you about five of the most popular stock exchanges from around the globe.

Check out the history and inner workings of the world's six most well-known stock exchanges. Learn about five of the largest bitcoin exchanges operating around the world in , and discover the issues these exchanges are facing. There are three major U. New York Stock Exchange NYSE: NYSE is a stock exchange A stock can trade on any exchange on which it is listed.

And to be listed it must meet all of the exchange's listing requirements An auction market is one in which stock buyers enter competitive bids and stock sellers enter competitive offers at the same Learn about the stocks that are traded on the Nasdaq stock exchange, and discover the Nasdaq's relative volatility level Discover some of the primary advantages and disadvantages that exist for companies listed on the Nasdaq exchange rather than The criteria to remain listed on an exchange differs from one exchange to another.

On the New York Stock Exchange NYSE , An expense ratio is determined through an annual A hybrid of debt and equity financing that is typically used to finance the expansion of existing companies.

Who Owns The Stock Exchanges?

A period of time in which all factors of production and costs are variable. In the long run, firms are able to adjust all A legal agreement created by the courts between two parties who did not have a previous obligation to each other. A macroeconomic theory to explain the cause-and-effect relationship between rising wages and rising prices, or inflation. A statistical technique used to measure and quantify the level of financial risk within a firm or investment portfolio over No thanks, I prefer not making money.

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