2005年NPR美国国家公共电台四月-NYSE to Merge with Archipelago Trading Fi

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Members of the New York stock exchange met today to learn more about the organization's proposed merger¹ with the electronic trading company Archipelago. The merger, announced late yesterday, would turn the exchange into a for-profit company, as NPR' Jim Zarroli reports, some analysts² predict it could mark the beginning of the end for the exchange's famous trading floor.

All day today, investors³, traders and fund managers were trying to figure out just what yesterday's merger announcement really means. In the eyes of some big institutional investors, the merger with Archipelago will make it easier to trade large blocks of stock more quickly than they could under the familiar floor-based system. And even better, they'll be able to do so without their trades becoming public before they are executed. M.A is chief investment officer at the California public employee's retirement⁴ system.

It is now acknowledged that electronic trading must be a significant component⁵ of stock execution. And that is a distinct change from where the stock exchange was just five years ago.

Stock change officals say Archipelago will coexist with the venerable floor-based system, in which specialists stand amid the clamour of the exchange floor, buying and selling blocks of stock, and essentially⁶ serving as middleman between investors. Richard S, professor of finance at New York University Stern School of Business says there are a lot of questions about how the two systems will function.

They are fundamentally different systems and it remains⁷ to be seen in whether the floor traders wanna dominate it or whether the electronic guys wanna dominate it. The problems on the horizon are basically managerial problems.

In fact the merger maybe the beginning of the end for the floor-based system. Defenders⁸ insist that the floor-based traders bring liquidity⁹ to the markets which help small investors. But critics say the system is outmoded. And they point out that all of the world's other major exchanges use electronic trading much more than the New York exchange does. Charles Geisst has written several books on Wall Street.

My gut¹⁰ reaction to that is probably we've seen the last of the floor-based system. The Archipelago merger proves that NYSE is obviously looking toward the future.

Before the floor-based system goes, however, a lot of details have to be worked out, such as how to structure the deal financially. The exchange's technically¹¹ a non-profit organization owned by its members. If the deal goes through, they would receive some money from the exchange, as well as shares of the new company. But retired¹² seat holder¹³ Williams Hegans complained today that members aren't getting what they are due.

We've been born with our own money.

To North Carolina treasurer¹⁴ Richard Moore, who presides over his State's public pension fund, the idea of converting the New York exchange to a for-profit company raises some difficult questions. More says over the years the exchange has grown and prospered¹⁵ in part because it's a non-profit, it's gotten huge tax breaks, and because it's had a privileged regulatory position.

They are taking the intangible and tangible¹⁶ accumulated benefits of that and immediately cashing them out for a very small group of people. I don't know that's the correct way for this to precede.

Moore says he hopes the securities and exchange commission will study the ramifications¹⁷ of the merger carefully before approving it. But ACC chairman William Donaldson has made clear he favours the general move toward electronic trading. And he predicted today that the merger would be a positive development for investors, ultimately making the business of securities trading more competitive.

Jim Zarroli, NPR News.