Guide to Analysing Companies

New York Board of Trade
The world’s largest market for the trading of futures in sugar,
coffee, cocoa and orange juice, incorporating what used to be
the New York Cotton Exchange. Although known chiefly as a
market for agricultural products – sugar is its biggest single
commodity – the New York Board of Trade (nybot) also has
a growing business in financial futures. Like other exchanges
dealing with huge volumes of trading, it has invested heavily in
new technology to speed up its trading and settlement systems.
New York Mercantile Exchange
The world’s biggest recognised market in energy and precious
metals. The New York Mercantile Exchange (Merc) began life as
the Butter and Cheese Exchange of New York in 1872, but it no
longer deals in agricultural products. In the late 1970s, it was the
first exchange to launch trading in futures contracts for
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heating oil. After merging with the Commodity Exchange in
1994, the Merc now boasts two divisions: the nymex, which
specialises in futures and options on energy (including oil),
platinum and palladium; and the comex, which trades mainly
in gold, silver and copper.
New York Stock Exchange
Still the world’s biggest and most prestigious stock ex-
change. With few exceptions, the New York Stock Exchange
(nyse, also called the Big Board and The Exchange) quotes the
shares of the cream of corporate America. Even today the
market capitalisation of a single company on the nyse is
as big, if not bigger, than the total value of all the companies
quoted on a number of other (admittedly small) exchanges
outside the United States. As well as stocks and shares, the
nyse trades in the bonds, warrants, options and rights
of companies listed on it.
The exchange was first constituted under an agreement
between 24 stockbrokers and merchants in 1792. Called the
Buttonwood Agreement, it was signed under a buttonwood
(sycamore) tree. Today its famous trading floor is located at 11
Wall Street where dealers operate from octagon-shaped
trading posts.