Econintersect: The address of the New York Stock Exchange is 11 Wall Street, the home of the world famous NYSE trading floor where wildly gesturing traders have stood shoulder to shoulder for most of the past century buying and selling securities in an open outdry auction. The NYSE building trading floor on Wall Street has undergone extensive renovations over the past 15 years as the traditional auction has given up more and more of stock trading to electronic systems. According to the Associated Press, ten years ago the NYSE floor traders handled about 80% of U.S. stock transactions. Now the number is more like 25%. The architectural concept illustration of what the latest remodelling will look like when completed by the end of 2012 is shown in the caption photo (Associated Press).The use of the trading floor facility is also changing. According to an Associated Press article in the Poughkeepsie Journal (New York State) the trading floor is now doing double duty as a reception hall:
The New York Stock Exchange has lost most of its famous shoulder-to-shoulder bustle in the age of computerized trading. So it’s hoping its status as an icon of American finance will be a popular draw for cocktail receptions, analyst presentations and other festivities.
The exchange, where traders have nervously watched tickers and shouted orders for more than 100 years, is already available for some events. It wants to expand to 1,000 a year, double the number from three years ago.
Think black tie, not Black Monday.
“Planners are always looking for something that’s different and unique, and there’s only one stock exchange,” said Ken Edwards, an executive at SmartSource Rentals who serves as the president of the New York chapter of a national meeting planners organization. “From an experience standpoint, that it’s getting a facelift now is an absolute sign that they think that there’s a recovery going on.”
In addition to the trading floor, the exchange rents out updated meeting spaces to companies and charities. They include vaulted-ceiling dining rooms and a lounge with gilt-edged walls that used to be a club for stock traders. Company officials wouldn’t say what they were spending on the renovations, which are expected to be finished by the end of next year.
All these changes occurring on historic Wall Street are accompanied by expansion of financial business activities in other parts of the country, as reported by GEI News yesterday.
Sources: Poughkeepsie Journal/Associated Press and GEI News
