Добавил:
Upload Опубликованный материал нарушает ваши авторские права? Сообщите нам.
Вуз: Предмет: Файл:
С.Д. КОМАРОВСКАЯ world economy.docx
Скачиваний:
47
Добавлен:
17.02.2016
Размер:
836.83 Кб
Скачать

It deals in money, certificates of ownership, and certificates of debt. The business of the

market is the buying and selling of both types of certificates, normally called stocks and bonds.

What complicates the market are all the devices that have been introduced into what was originally

a simple business transaction. Our unit deals only with the most general features of the market.

Primary and Secondary Markets

Securities are traded in two kinds of markets: primary and secondary. When a corporation decides

to issue stock to the public, it is undertaking a primary distribution. This first sale of stock is

In the primary market, and the money received goes to the company.

If everyone who bought stock simply kept it and waited to collect dividends, there would be no

secondary market. The main reason for buying stock, however, is speculation — the hope that the

alue of the stock will increase so it can be sold at a profit. A secondary market — by far the larger

of the two markets — comes into existence because a share of stock, once it has been sold by a

corporation, takes on a life of its own. It becomes a piece of property in itself. Like a work of art or

a hoard of gold, a share of stock is regarded as something with a potential for increased value.

Owners of stocks (and bonds, as well) are continually in the business of trying to better their

fortunes by selling and buying stock in the secondary market. A stock increases or decreases in

Value for a variety of reasons: the general business climate, the type of industry represented by the

яоск, the success of the issuing company, and more. Those who trade in the secondary market are

basically speculators — they are betting that the stock they buy will increase in value and that the

stock they sell will decline or level off. Shortly after the crash of 1987, the economic journalist

William R. Neikirk stated: “It is not too strong to call our financial markets casinos.” When stocks

are traded in the secondary market, none of the money goes to the company that originally issued

It It goes to the seller, minus a commission for the broker.

When a market crashes, the fall occurs in the values of stocks traded in the secondary market.

The values of company assets remain the same. In a secondary market a stock value may react to

many factors that are completely unconnected to the company that issued the stock. The company

Itself may be perfectly healthy even as its stock decreases in worth.

M arket Components

A primary issuance of stock by a corporation is done through an investment banker. Investment

bankers — companies such as Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, or Salomon Brothers — have the

expertise to know the right time and the proper terms under which an offering can be made. The

banker underwrites the issue. Underwriting means that the banker gives the corporation a guarantee

of success in selling the stocks or bonds and also agrees to retain any that are not sold. If the

Issue is quite large, several investment bankers may form a syndicate and divide the offering between

themselves.

The secondary market for securities is much larger than the primary market. The institutions

that handle secondary trading are the stock exchanges, brokerage houses (investment bankers),

and the over-the-counter (OTC) market. The OTC market is also called the third market when it

refers to trades in listed securities. (There is also a fourth market — trades in securities, without the

use of brokers, between buyer and seller institutions.) There is also a computerized network called

the Instanet System, which is a subscription service used by institutional investors to make anonymous

bids, offers, and trades.

The greatest volume of trading is done by the exchanges. In the United States the New York

Stock Exchange (NYSE) has more trading volume than all the other American exchanges put

together. The value of its listed stocks is also the greatest. The London Stock Exchange lists more

stocks, and the Tokyo Stock Exchange exceeded all others in trading volume by the late 1980s. The

other exchanges in the United States are the American Stock Exchange (in New York City), the