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• Thursday, 20 June 2013

LSE - London Stock Exchange

The London Stock Exchange was first founded in 1801 and is currently set up in London, England. Today it is considered to be one of the largest stock exchanges in the world and has many UK companies and overseas listings. Trade in shares was first realized when two voyages needed to be financed: The East India Company voyage to India and the east, and the Muscovy Company's attempt to reach China via the White Sea north of Russia. The companies realized that they could not finance these voyages privately and decided to sell shares to merchants, which would give them a part of any profits made.

The earlier Stock Exchange Tower, which housed the Trading Floor, was opened in 1972 by Queen Elizabeth II and was based in Threadneedle Street or Old Broad Street. Soon the Stock Exchange Tower became uncalled-for with the arrival of the Big Bang on 27 October 1986 that deregulated majority of the Stock Exchange's activities. It gave the security firms the ability to act as dealers and brokers and it eliminated fixed commissions on security trades.

Three decades later the London Stock Exchange moved to Paternoster Square near to St Paul's Cathedral, still within the City of London. Again Queen Elizabeth the second opened it, accompanied by The Duke of Edinburgh. The new Stock exchange building included a specially commissioned sculpture by artists in Greyworld called "The Source." December 2005, the Stock Exchange rejected Macquarie Banks offer to take it over for 1.6 billion pounds.

The United Kingdom is placed in sixth position for having the largest purchasing power and the fifth position for having the largest gross domestic product in the world in terms of market exchange rates. It is second to Germany for the largest economy and is also a member of the G8 and the European Union. London is second to New York City as one of the largest financial centers in the world.