Siemens Foundation

Through an American sub-organisation known as the Siemens Foundation, Siemens also devotes funds to rewarding students and AP teachers. One of its main programs is the Siemens Westinghouse Competition in maths, science, and technology, which annually grants scholarships up to US$100,000 to both individual and team entrants. According to the foundation website, Siemens awards a total of nearly US$2 million in scholarship money every year.

Recently acquired companies

• Atecs Mannesmann AG (2001) including Mannesmann Dematic, Mannemann Sachs, Mannesmann VDO Automotive, Mannesmann Demag Krauss-Maffei
• Danfoss Flow Division (2003)
• Bonus Energy (2004) — now Siemens Wind Power A/S
• [ndX Software (2004)
• Chrysler Group’s Huntsville Electronics Corporation (2004)
• USFilter Corporation (2004) — now Siemens Water Technologies Corp.
• Woodlands Technology (2004)
• Photo-Scan (2004)
• DASAN (South Korea - 2004)
• Alstom Industrial Turbine Business (2005)
• Jet Turbine Services (2005)
• Transmitton (2005) — now Siemens Transportation Systems UK
• Shaw Power (2005)
• Chantry Networks (2005)
• Myrio (USA/Canada - 2005)
• CTI Molecular Imaging (2005)
• Evoline (2005)
• VA Tech Group (Austria - 2005)
• Power Technologies International (2005) — now Siemens Power Transmission & Distribution, Inc.
• AN Windenergie GmbH (2005) — now Siemens Wind Power GmbH
• Bayer AG -Diagnostic branch (2006)
• Controlotron, USA (2004)
• Wheelabrator Air Pollution Control, USA (200?); now Siemens Environmental Systems and Services
• Diagnostic Products Corp. (2006) — now Siemens Healthcare Diagnostics
• Bewator AB (Sweden - 2005) Security
• Vai Ingdesi Automation (Argentine - 2007) Industrial Automation
• Kadon Electro Mechanical Services Ltd. (2006)— now TurboCare Canada Ltd.
• Kühnle, Kopp, & Kausch AG (2006) — now Siemens Turbomachinery Equipment GmbH
• Opto Control (2006)
• UGS Corp. (2007)
• Dade Behring (2007)
• S/D Engineers, Inc. (2007)
• VistaScape Security Systems (2006)

Organization structure

Since 1 January 2008, the company is divided into 3 sectors and a total of 15 divisions.

1. Industry Sector
   1. Industry Automation
   2. Drive Technologies
   3. Building Technologies
      1. Building Automation (HVAC)
      2. Fire Control
      3. Security
   4. Industry Solutions
      1. Water Technologies
   5. 
      
   Mobility
2. Osram
3. Energy Sector
   1. Fossil Power Generation
   2. Renewable Energy
   3. Oil & Gas
   4. Service Rotating Equipment
   5. Power Transmission
   6. Power Distribution
4. Healthcare Sector
   1. Imaging & IT
   2. Workflow & Solutions
   3. Diagnostics

Bribery Case

Siemens is currently being investigated for serious bribery, involving Heinz-Joachim Neubürger, former chief financial officer, Karl-Hermann Baumann, another former CFO and exchairman, and Johannes Feldmayer, a former management board member. [16]. The investigation has found questionable payments of roughly €1.3 billion, or $1.9 billion, from 2002 to 2006 that have triggered a broad range of inquiries in Germany, the United States and many other countries. [17] In May 2007 a German court convicted two former executives of paying about €6 million in bribes from 1999 to 2002 to help Siemens win natural gas turbine supply contracts with Enel, an Italian energy company. The contracts were valued at about €450 million. Siemens was fined €38 million.[18] Siemens has tightened its internal controls, and implemented strict compliance and anti-corruption measures throughout the company.

2007 Price fixing fine

In January 2007 Siemens was fined €396 million by the European Commission for rigging EU electricity markets through a cartel involving 11 companies, among which ABB, Alstom, Fuji, Hitachi Japan, AE Power Systems, Mitsubishi Electric Corp, Schneider, Areva, Toshiba and VA Tech [15]. According to the Commission, "between 1988 and 2004, the companies rigged bids for procurement contracts, fixed prices, allocated projects to each other, shared markets and exchanged commercially important and confidential information."[15] Siemens was given a the highest fine of €396 million, more than half of the total, for its alleged leadership role in the incident.

Managementfv

Peter Löscher (formerly of Merck) is the current president and the CEO as of July 1, 2007. He succeeded Dr. Klaus Kleinfeld after the scandal charges of bribery against Siemens. Gerhard Cromme is the current chairman of the supervisory board of Siemens AG. He succeeded Dr. Heinrich v. Pierer on 4/26/2007.

Post-war

In the 1950s and from their new base in Bavaria, S&H started to manufacture computers, semiconductor devices, washing machines, and pacemakers. Siemens AG was incorporated in 1966. The company's first digital telephone exchange was produced in 1980. In 1988 Siemens and GEC acquired the UK defense and technology company Plessey. Plessey's holdings were split, and Siemens took over the avionics, radar and traffic control businesses — as Siemens Plessey. In 1991, Siemens acquired Nixdorf Computer AG and renamed it Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG. In 1997 Siemens introduced the first GSM cellular phone with colour display. Also in 1997 Siemens agreed to sell the defence arm of Siemens Plessey to British Aerospace (BAe) and a UK government agency, the Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA). BAe and DASA acquired the British and German divisions of the operation respectively.[citation needed] In 1999, Siemens' semiconductor operations were spun off into a new company known as Infineon Technologies. Also, Siemens Nixdorf Informationssysteme AG formed part of Fujitsu Siemens Computers AG in that year. The retail banking technology group became Wincor Nixdorf. In February 2003, Siemens reopened its office in Kabul.[7] In 2004, Siemens took over the mantle of official Formula One timekeeper, replacing TAG Heuer. In November, 2005, Siemens signed a 12 year agreement with the Walt Disney Company to sponsor attractions in its Florida and California parks. In 2006, Siemens announced the purchase of Bayer Diagnostics, which was incorporated into the Medical Solutions Diagnostics division officially on 1 January 2007. In March 2007 a Siemens board member was temporarily arrested and accused of illegally financing a business-friendly labour association which competes against the union IG Metall. He has been released on bail. Offices of the labour union and of Siemens have been searched. Siemens denies any wrongdoing.[8] In April 2007, the Fixed Networks, Mobile Networks and Carrier Services divisions of Siemens merged with Nokia’s Network Business Group in a 50/50 joint venture, creating a fixed and mobile network company called Nokia Siemens Networks. Nokia delayed the merger[9] due to bribery investigations against Siemens.[10] In October 2007, a court in Munich found that the company had bribed public officials in Libya, Russia, and Nigeria in return for the awarding of contracts; four former Nigerian Ministers of Communications were among those named as recipients of the payments. The company admitted to having paid the bribes and agreed to pay a fine of 201 million euros. In December 2007, the Nigerian government canceled a contract with Siemens due to the bribery findings.[11] [12] In July 2008, Siemens AG announced a joint venture of the Enterprise business with the Gores Group. The Gores Group holding a majority interest of 51% stake, with Siemens AG holding a minority interest of 49%[13]

World War II Era

Preceding World War II Siemens was involved in the secret rearmament of Germany. During the Second World War, Siemens supported the Hitler regime, contributed to the war effort and participated in the "Nazification" of the economy. Siemens had many factories in and around notorious extermination camps such as Auschwitz and used slave labor from concentration camps to build electric switches for military uses. In one example, almost 100,000 men and women from Auschwitz worked in a Siemens factory inside the camp, supplying the electricity to the camp.[6]. The Crematorium ovens at Buchenwald still bear the Siemens name .

Ardnacrusha Hydro Power Station

In the 1930s Siemens constructed the Ardnacrusha Hydro Power station on the River Shannon in the then Irish Free State, and it was a world first for its design. The company is remembered for its desire to raise the wages of its under-paid workers only to be overruled by the Cumann na nGaedhael government.

History of siemens

Siemens was founded by Werner von Siemens on 1 October 1847. Based on the telegraph, his invention used a needle to point to the sequence of letters, instead of using Morse code. The company – then called Telegraphen-Bauanstalt von Siemens & Halske – opened its first workshop on October 12. In 1848, the company built the first long-distance telegraph line in Europe; 500 km from Berlin to Frankfurt am Main. In 1850 the founder's younger brother, Sir William Siemens (born Carl Wilhelm Siemens), started to represent the company in London. In the 1850s, the company was involved in building long distance telegraph networks in Russia. In 1855, a company branch headed by another brother, Carl von Siemens, opened in St Petersburg, Russia. In 1867, Siemens completed the monumental Indo-European (Calcutta to London) telegraph line.[4] In 1881, a Siemens AC Alternator driven by a watermill was used to power the world's first electric street lighting in the town of Godalming, United Kingdom. The company continued to grow and diversified into electric trains and light bulbs. In 1890, the founder retired and left the company to his brother Carl and sons Arnold and Wilhelm. Siemens & Halske (S&H) was incorporated in 1897. In 1919, S&H and two other companies jointly formed the Osram lightbulb company. A Japanese subsidiary was established in 1923. During the 1920s and 1930s, S&H started to manufacture radios, television sets, and electron microscopes.

Siemens AG

Siemens AG is Europe's largest engineering conglomerate. Siemens' international headquarters are located in Berlin and Munich, Germany (though Siemens also have a number of complete cities or "work towns" exclusively housing Siemens employees). The company is a conglomerate of six major business divisions: Automation & Control, Power, Transportation, Medical, Information & Communication, and Lighting. On November 28, 2007, Siemens reorganised its operations into three Sectors: Industry, Energy and Healthcare with a total of 15 Divisions. Worldwide, Siemens and its subsidiaries employ approximately 480,000[3] people in nearly 190 countries and reported global revenue of €72.448 billion in fiscal year 2007. Siemens AG is listed on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, and has been listed on the New York Stock Exchange since March 12, 2001.

China Mobile Pakistan

China Mobile Pakistan (CMPak) is a 100% subsidiary of China Mobile. The pioneering overseas set up of China Mobile came through acquisition of a license from Millicom to operate a GSM network in Pakistan. So far CMPak has invested more than US$ 700 million in the telecom sector in Pakistan and an additional US$ 800 million will be invested till the end of year 2008. With ambitious plans to cater to the fastest growing Pakistani market and to win over the ever demanding Pakistani customer, it will be offering unprecedented coverage, voice and data services as well as a wide range of tariff options to choose from. CMPak's edge comes from the experience and expertise of running the world's largest telecom service and the commitment they make to setting quality and customer relations standards. CMPak is geared to offer neatly packaged VAS products that will benefit the individuals, corporates as well as small businesses. Led by a team of professionals from the field of cellular communication, CMPak is determined to make its mark in the Pakistani market and to change the way people communicate. PTA (Pakistan Telecommunication Authority) has announced that it may resolve the frequency issue with China Mobile, as it was one of the main reason for pullout by Millicom International Cellular S.A. CMPak markets its products under the brand name "ZONG Telecom"

China Mobile Communications Corporation (SEHK: 0941, NYSE: CHL), also known as China Mobile or CMCC, is the largest mobile phone operator in China. It is the world's largest mobile phone operator ranked by number of subscribers, with over 380 million customers [1] (as of end of February, 2008). By turnover it is second to Vodafone, which owns 3.3% of China Mobile. China Mobile is also fifth in global brand equity according to BrandZ rankings. A state-owned enterprise of the People's Republic of China government, it was spun off from former monopoly China Telecom in 1997, and now has a 67.5% share of the competitive mainland Chinese mobile market. China Mobile also owns Paktel in Pakistan, and in May 2008 the company also took over China Tietong, the third largest broadband ISP in China.[2] China Mobile is the largest company registered in Hong Kong and it is headquartered on Queen's Road. It is also the largest market capital company listed in the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, surpassing HSBC. China Mobile's operations are segmented by province. The parent company owns 100 percent interest in provincial subsidiaries including China Mobile Group Guangdong Company Limited and China Mobile Group Zhejiang. As of December 31, 2006, the Group had an aggregate staff of 111,998 and an aggregate mobile telecommunications subscriber base of over 301.2 million, and enjoyed a market share of approximately 67.5 percent in Mainland China. The Group's GSM global roaming services covered 219 countries and regions and its GPRS roaming services covered 138 countries and regions. China Mobile's majority shareholder is China Mobile (HK) Group Limited, which, as of December 31, 2006, indirectly held an equity interest of approximately 74.57 percent of the Company through a wholly-owned subsidiary, China Mobile Hong Kong (BVI) Limited. The remaining equity interest of approximately 25.43 per cent. of the Company was held by public investors. Speculations however, that the China Mobile (HK) Group Limited being subservient to other interests within China abound.

UFJ Holdings, Inc

UFJ, was the weakest among the four major banking groups in Japan. "UFJ" is an abbreviation of "United Financial of Japan", was formed from a merger with the Toyo Trust, a part of the Toyota Motor Corporation. At the time, it was one of the largest shareholders of Toyota. The Chairman of Toyota was a director on its board during the financial scandals and indictments of three UFJ executives. The banking crisis led to its merger, after being one of the world's greatest losing corporations, on October 1, 2005, with the Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group to form the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group. Formed April 1, 2001, with the merger of Sanwa Bank, Tokai Bank, and Toyo Trust and Banking. In July 2004, UFJ announced plans to merge with the Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group. The merger was completed on October 1, 2005, creating the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, the world's second biggest bank by assets at $1.7 trillion, trailing behind Citigroup with $2.4 trillion in assets.

History of it

The financial group dates back to 1880 as the Yokohama Specie Bank later renamed to The Bank Of Tokyo, Ltd. Also in 1880, The Mitsubishi Bank, Ltd. was founded by former samurai Yataro Iwasaki. In 1919, the Mitsubishi Bank financed the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, most of which is today Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. In April 1996, The Mitsubishi Bank, Ltd. and The Bank of Tokyo, Ltd. merged. In July 2004, Japan's fourth-largest financial group UFJ Holdings offered to merge with MTFG. The merger of the two bank holding companies was completed on October 1, 2005. UFJ was created from a merger with the Toyo Trust and Banking, a part of the Toyota Motor Corporation. Toyota's chairman sat on the board of the UFJ which became one of the world's largest money losing corporations. UFJ was accused by the government of corruption and making bad loans to the yakuza crime syndicates. The UFJ is one of the largest shareholders of Toyota. The trust banking and securities units of the two groups were merged on the same day. The core banking units of MTFG and UFJ, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Ltd. and UFJ Bank, respectively, continued to operate separately until January 1, 2006, when they were merged to form The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd..

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group

It holds an asset of around US$1.2 trillion and is one of the main companies of the Mitsubishi Group[1]. The company was formed on October 1, 2005 with the merger of Tokyo-based Mitsubishi Tokyo Financial Group (MTFG), formerly Japan's second-largest banking conglomerate, and Osaka-based UFJ Holdings, which was Japan's fourth-largest banking group. The company's headquarters are located in Chiyoda, Tokyo. The core banking units of the group, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi and UFJ Bank, were merged on January 1, 2006 to form The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd. This integration was originally scheduled to take place on October 1, 2005, the same day that the parent companies were merged. However, pressure from Japan's Financial Services Agency, which wanted to ensure the smooth systems integration of the two banking giants, caused the merger of the banks to be postponed for three months. The trust banking and securities units of MTFG and UFJ were merged according to the original schedule on October 1, 2005. Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. had been delisted in London Stock Exchanges.

Criticism

In August 2007 British charity War on Want published a report accusing Anglo American of profiting from the abuse of people in the developing countries in which the company operates. According to the charity, "in the Philippines and South Africa, local communities threatened with Anglo American mines have faced severe repression in their fight to stay on their land, while in Ghana and Mali, local communities see little of the huge profits being made by AngloGold Ashanti but suffer from fear and intimidation and from the damaging impact of its mines on their environment, health and livelihoods".[3] Anglo American was also accused in 2007 of damageable environmental practices: in order to complete its planned Alaskan Pebble Mine in collaboration with Northern Dynasty Minerals, the global mining giant may build a massive dam at the headwaters of the world's largest sockeye salmon fishery, which it would risk obliterating.[4] Opponents are also pointing to the use of cyanide, heavy metals, and acid mine drainage which can all have potentially devastating effects on the pristine environment of the Bristol Bay area.

History

Sir Ernest Oppenheimer founded the Anglo American Corporation, a gold mining company, in 1917. The AAC became the majority stakeholder in the De Beers company in 1926. Two years later the AAC began mining in the Zambian copper belt. Anglo American merged with Minorco on May 24, 1999.[1] Its gold mining operations were spun off into the separate AngloGold corporation, which later merged with the Ashanti Goldfields Corporation to form AngloGold Ashanti.

Anglo American PLC

Anglo American plc (LSE: AAL, JSE: ANGLO) is a world-wide group of companies, originally founded in South Africa as a mining enterprise but now extending into other areas. Natural resources remains the focus of its operations. Its headquarters are in London, UK with its primary listing on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.

S&P Latin America 40

The S&P Latin America 40 is a stock market index from Standard & Poor's of Latin American stocks. The S&P Latin America 40 is a part of the S&P Global 1200 and includes highly liquid securities from major economic sectors of Mexican and South American equity markets. Companies from Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, and Chile are represented in this index. Representing approximately 70 percent of each country’s market capitalization, this index provides coverage of the large cap, liquid constituents of each key country in Latin America. The S&P Latin America 40 is maintained by the S&P Index Committee, whose members include Standard and Poor's economists and index analysts. The goal of the Index Committee is to ensure that the S&P Latin America 40 remains an accurate measure of Latin American markets, reflecting the risk and return characteristics of the broader universe on an ongoing basis. As of April 7, 2006 S&P Latin America 40 consisted of forty companies, with a market capitalization of USD$ 277,131 million and a price index value of US$ 2,787.63.

Auction

An auction is a process of buying and selling goods or services by offering them up for bid, taking bids, and then selling the item to the winning bidder. In economic theory, an auction may refer to any mechanism or set of trading rules for exchange. There are several variations on the basic auction form, including time limits, minimum or maximum limits on bid prices, and special rules for determining the winning bidder(s) and sale price(s). Participants in an auction may or may not know the identities or actions of other participants. Depending on the auction, bidders may participate in person or remotely through a variety of means, including telephone and the internet. The seller usually pays a commission to the auctioneer or auction company based on a percentage of the final sale price.

The future of stock exchanges

The future of stock trading appears to be electronic, as competition is continually growing between the remaining traditional New York Stock Exchange specialist system against the relatively new, all Electronic Communications Networks, or ECNs. ECNs point to their speedy execution of large block trades, while specialist system proponents cite the role of specialists in maintaining orderly markets, especially under extraordinary conditions or for special types of orders. The ECNs contend that an array of special interests profit at the expense of investors in even the most mundane exchange-directed trades. Machine-based systems, they argue, are much more efficient, because they speed up the execution mechanism and eliminate the need to deal with an intermediary. Historically, the 'market' (which, as noted, encompasses the totality of stock trading on all exchanges) has been slow to respond to technological innovation. Conversion to all-electronic trading could erode/eliminate the trading profits of floor specialists and the NYSE's "upstairs traders." William Lupien, founder of the Instinet trading system and the OptiMark system, has been quoted as saying "I'd definitely say the ECNs are winning... Things happen awfully fast once you reach the tipping point. We're now at the tipping point." Congress mandated the establishment of a national market system of multiple exchanges in 1975. Since then, ECNs have been developing rapidly.[citation needed] One example of improved efficiency of ECNs is the prevention of front running, by which manual Wall Street traders use knowledge of a customer's incoming order to place their own orders so as to benefit from the perceived change to market direction that the introduction of a large order will cause. By executing large trades at lightning speed without manual intervention, ECNs make impossible this illegal practice, for which several NYSE floor brokers were investigated and severely fined in recent years.[citation needed] Under the specialist system, when the market sees a large trade in a name, other buyers are immediately able to look to see how big the trader is in the name, and make inferences about why s/he is selling or buying. All traders who are quick enough are able to use that information to anticipate price movements. ECNs have changed ordinary stock transaction processing (like brokerage services before them) into a commodity-type business. ECNs could regulate the fairness of initial public offerings (IPOs), oversee Hambrecht's OpenIPO process, or measure the effectiveness of securities research and use transaction fees to subsidize small- and mid-cap research efforts. Some[who?], however, believe the answer will be some combination of the best of technology and "upstairs trading" — in other words, a hybrid model. Trading 25,000 shares of General Electric stock (recent[when?] quote: $34.76; recent[when?] volume: 44,760,300) would be a relatively simple e-commerce transaction; trading 100 shares of Berkshire Hathaway Class A stock (recent quote: $139,700.00; recent volume: 850) may never be. The choice of system should be clear (but always that of the trader), based on the characteristics of the security to be traded. Even with ECNs forming an important part of a national market system, opportunities presumably remain to profit from the spread between the bid and offer price. That is especially true for investment managers that direct huge trading volume, and own a stake in an ECN or specialist firm. For example, in its individual stock-brokerage accounts, "Fidelity Investments runs 29% of its undesignated orders in NYSE-listed stocks, and 37% of its undesignated market orders through the Boston Stock Exchange, where an affiliate controls a specialist post." Fidelity says these arrangements are governed by a separate brokerage "order-flow management" team, which seeks to obtain the best possible execution for customers, and that its execution is highly rated.[citation needed]a

Other types of exchanges

In the 19th century, exchanges were opened to trade forward contracts on commodities. Exchange traded forward contracts are called futures contracts. These commodity exchanges later started offering future contracts on other products, such as interest rates and shares, as well as options contracts. They are now generally known as futures exchanges.

Ownership

Stock exchanges originated as mutual organizations, owned by its member stock brokers. There has been a recent trend for stock exchanges to demutualize, where the members sell their shares in an initial public offering. In this way the mutual organization becomes a corporation, with shares that are listed on a stock exchange. Examples are Australian Securities Exchange (1998), Euronext (merged with New York Stock Exchange), NASDAQ (2002), the New York Stock Exchange (2005), Bolsas y Mercados Españoles, and the São Paulo Stock Exchange (2007).

Requirements by stock exchange

R

The main market of the a company must have issued at least 1.25 million shares of stock worth at least $70 million and must have earned more than $11 million over the last three years. Requirements by stock exchange Companies have to meet the requirements of the exchange in order to have their stocks and shares listed and traded there, but requirements vary by stock exchange: London Stock Exchange:London Stock Exchange has requirements for a minimum market capitalization (£700,000), three years of audited financial statements, minimum public float (25 per cent) and sufficient working capital for at least 12 months from the date of listing. NASDAQ Stock Exchange: To be listed on the NASDAQ[3] New York Stock Exchange: To be listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), for example, a company must have issued at least a million shares of stock worth $100 million and must have earned more than $10 million over the last three years.[4] Bombay Stock Exchange:Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) has requirements for a minimum market capitalization of Rs.250 Million and minimum public float equivalent to Rs.100 Million.[5]

History of stock exchanges

In 11th century France the courtiers de change were concerned with managing and regulating the debts of agricultural communities on behalf of the banks. As these men also traded in debts, they could be called the first brokers.

Some stories suggest that the origins of the term "bourse" come from the Latin bursa meaning a bag because, in 13th century Bruges, the sign of a purse (or perhaps three purses), hung on the front of the house where merchants met.

However, it is more likely that in the late 13th century commodity traders in Bruges gathered inside the house of a man called Van der Burse, and in 1309 they institutionalized this until now informal meeting and became the "Bruges Bourse". The idea spread quickly around Flanders and neighbouring counties and "Bourses" soon opened in Ghent and Amsterdam.

The house of the Beurze family on Vlamingstraat Bruges was the site of the worlds first stock Exchange, circa 1415. The term Bourse is believed to have derived from the family name Beurze.

In the middle of the 13th century, Venetian bankers began to trade in government securities. In 1351, the Venetian Government outlawed spreading rumors intended to lower the price of government funds. There were people in Pisa, Verona, Genoa and Florence who also began trading in government securities during the 14th century. This was only possible because these were independent city states ruled by a council of influential citizens, not by a duke. The Dutch later started joint stock companies, which let shareholders invest in business ventures and get a share of their profits - or losses. In 1602, the Dutch East India Company issued the first shares on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. It was the first company to issue stocks and bonds. In 1688, the trading of stocks began on a stock exchange in London.

Stock exchange

A stock exchange, share market or course is a corporation or mutual organization which provides "trading" facilities for stock brokers and traders, to trade stocks and other securities. Stock exchanges also provide facilities for the issue and redemption of securities as well as other financial instruments and capital events including the payment of income and dividends. The securities traded on a stock exchange include: shares issued by companies, unit trusts and other pooled investment products and bonds. To be able to trade a security on a certain stock exchange, it has to be listed there. Usually there is a central location at least for record keeping, but trade is less and less linked to such a physical place, as modern markets are electronic networks, which gives them advantages of speed and cost of transactions. Trade on an exchange is by members only. The initial offering of stocks and bonds to investors is by definition done in the primary market and subsequent trading is done in the secondary market. A stock exchange is often the most important component of a stock market. Supply and demand in stock markets is driven by various factors which, as in all free markets, affect the price of stocks (see stock valuation).