Ten Things You May Not Have Known About The Stock Market

The London Stock Exchange is one of the largest share trading centres in the world. The stock Exchange trades shares for UK and foreign listed companies from its main office situated in Paternoster Square, London.

Share trading started as early as 1688 when funds were needed to finance two voyages to the India and the Far East via Russia. The Muscovy and East India Company offered shares of their businesses to merchants in exchange for a share of any profits made from the voyages and so began share trading in the UK.

So successful was the scheme that many more companies adopted the approach to raising finance and by 1695 over 140 companies were actively selling shares using two coffee shops in Change Alley in London; Jonathans and Garraway's. One enterprising broker, John Castaing, started to publish 'The Course of the Exchange and other things' which gave prices for shares and commodities available for trade.

Brokers were forced to be licenced in 1697 following a series of market rigging and insider trading incidents.

The Jonathan's coffee shop was burnt to the ground in 1748 and brokers invested in a New Jonathan's on Threadneedle Street in London. Whilst the new building was called the Stock Exchange it was renamed in 1801 as the Stock Subscription Room. The fast-paced growth associated with the industrial revolution and the need to raise large sums of money from the mass market meant that exchange moved to larger premises in Capel Court and regional exchanges were established to facilitate greater access to the market.

The Stock Exchange motto, 'My word is my bond', is inscribed on its coat of arms which was received in 1923.

Nowadays, the Stock Exchange exists in an electronic world so although there is a physical office housing the company, most trading is handled in the virtual world. There are 400 worldwide firms that are members of the London Stock Exchange and companies from over 70 countries can have their stock traded there. As a centre of excellence, over 63% of all initial public offerings for European companies are made in London.

The market is open five days per week (excluding bank holidays) and in 2008 some 55 million trades worth £2.2 trillion were placed. In all, around 3,500 UK companies are listed on the exchange with a market capitalisation of around £2.9 trillion.

In 2007, the London Stock Exchange merged with Borsa Italiana to create one of Europe's leading exchange businesses. As well as a centre for trading shares, the London Stock Exchange provides access to capital markets, derivatives and information services to help investors and traders make more informed, real time decisions.

This article was written by fast cash provider, Wonga