Every trading day more than one billion shares are traded on the stock exchanges of our country. An equity share gives the owner an equity stake in a company, and approximately 40% of American households own some assortment of stocks. Stock exchanges have only recently been regulated. The concept of investing dates back to ancient Greece. Mediterranean traders developed credit agreements in which the seller agreed to assume the financial risk for the cargo carried by the ship, in the event that it did not arrive on time or did not meet expectations. They were more or less option contracts. The first stock exchange was in Holland, and this was the first time that people actually bought an equity stake in a company, buying a share of the company's stock. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay In 1653, the Pilgrims built a wall to keep out Indians in the area now called Wall Street. The wall was supposed to protect against Indian attacks and attacks from other European colonies. In 1753 the walls disappeared, but the road that ran alongside them was a fully developed trade route and remained of vital importance. Open-air exchanges existed until 1792, when the history of the New York Stock Exchange really begins. A group of 24 stockbrokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement, in an effort to prevent government regulation of their stock exchanges and prevent newcomers. The New York Stock Exchange was created and brokers met twice daily for formal auctions; the public was not invited and information was not easily accessible. Only 30 companies were listed and only those taking absolute risks and those seeking to control the company would invest. Wall Street has been called an arena of bears and bulls. Bears are traders who expect prices to fall, while bulls expect prices to rise. Stock exchanges were entirely manual for a long time, with stock certificates stored in basement vaults and clerks processing them manually. The information age began when Samuel Morse created the telegraph, eliminating the need for regional markets in other cities. Brokers adopted this new technology and designated the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) as the nation's trading capital, a central market. In 1867, the stock ticker was invented and provided brokers with up-to-date price information. This also provided the public with near real-time information. The Wall Street Journal was created in 1889 and represented a new standard in financial journalism. The Wall Street Journal published the Dow Jones Industrial Average, an index of 12 companies that serves as a barometer of the stock market. Investors use the Dow average to gauge how a stock's performance is trending, compared to the overall average. This allowed investors to focus on long-term trends rather than getting distracted by short-term static. The American Stock Exchange was founded in the 1920s, for open-air trading of companies. Along with him came J.P. Morgan, once the most powerful man in America and nicknamed the “King of Corporate Mergers.” It made U.S. Steel stock so valuable that it sent the Dow Jones up 500%. President Roosevelt used antitrust laws in an attempt to break up the monopoly empire that Morgan had built. A bull market had led to the biggest market crash ever seen. Stockbrokers had pushed for bad investment choices and were buying on margin/credit. When the agents of 1932,.