The definition of a stock market is a public, non physical entity used to trade company stock at a price which is agreed upon by the participants of the market. If you were to think of a stock market as a physical thing, the closest thing it would be akin to is a grand bazaar, with everyone haggling for the best prices and inspecting their wares. The stock market is exactly like this except the things that people are haggling for are not woven goods or fresh spices but invisible stocks which represent the shares of a company. The people that are haggling are not old ladies searching for a good deal, but university educated hagglers known as stock brokers who represent clients and offer to get them the best deals at the smartest times at the lowest prices with the best potential for growth. A tall order, for sure, and many stock brokers feel the pressure.
With the weight of expectation on their shoulders, it is not surprising that stock brokers have been known to exaggerate a little bit, and in some cases a lot. Because of this, the market and its hagglers are often at the center of controversy. Due to high claims and even higher expectations stock market participants have been known to come up with some pretty creative schemes, most notoriously in the case of Bernie Madoff, as well as unknown hagglers like him, who helped contribute to the stock market crash of 2008. Everyone's pie was in the sky and nobody wanted to tell the exact truth to their clients because the truth doesn't sell as well as a dream. So they led their unknowing clients and investors on in thinking that everything was alright when in reality insiders such as Bernie Madoff knew the shoe was going to drop and tried to take everything they could, including what they had personally invested, before it all fell apart- leaving their clients with a heavy bill to pay.
In the aftermath of all of these things, billion dollar government bailouts and public scorn- the stock market has been called to such accountability as has not been seen in many decades. Now with president Obama's call to regulate Wall Street, the stock market as it was, that grand bazaar, could very well be turned into something very different- a well ordered and regulated sort of thing, held to accountability. Not a grand bazaar, but a church bake sale. Who can say if Wall Street will actually be regulated or not, but if it is it will have a giant effect, most likely reverberating throughout world stock markets and global and local economies. Regulation could solve many problems of dishonesty, but possibly create many more new problems, such as making it more difficult to trade which may frustrate some clients and lead the stock market to lose some of its investors. Who knows? But changing the character of that grand bazaar and all it represents will definitely be a loss of some memorable history.
With the weight of expectation on their shoulders, it is not surprising that stock brokers have been known to exaggerate a little bit, and in some cases a lot. Because of this, the market and its hagglers are often at the center of controversy. Due to high claims and even higher expectations stock market participants have been known to come up with some pretty creative schemes, most notoriously in the case of Bernie Madoff, as well as unknown hagglers like him, who helped contribute to the stock market crash of 2008. Everyone's pie was in the sky and nobody wanted to tell the exact truth to their clients because the truth doesn't sell as well as a dream. So they led their unknowing clients and investors on in thinking that everything was alright when in reality insiders such as Bernie Madoff knew the shoe was going to drop and tried to take everything they could, including what they had personally invested, before it all fell apart- leaving their clients with a heavy bill to pay.
In the aftermath of all of these things, billion dollar government bailouts and public scorn- the stock market has been called to such accountability as has not been seen in many decades. Now with president Obama's call to regulate Wall Street, the stock market as it was, that grand bazaar, could very well be turned into something very different- a well ordered and regulated sort of thing, held to accountability. Not a grand bazaar, but a church bake sale. Who can say if Wall Street will actually be regulated or not, but if it is it will have a giant effect, most likely reverberating throughout world stock markets and global and local economies. Regulation could solve many problems of dishonesty, but possibly create many more new problems, such as making it more difficult to trade which may frustrate some clients and lead the stock market to lose some of its investors. Who knows? But changing the character of that grand bazaar and all it represents will definitely be a loss of some memorable history.
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