Stock exchanges are the heart of the economy in a nation, with millions of pounds moving within them each day. Today, however, the trading process is done over the internet, and the stock exchanges of the world are merely places where massive transactions and IPO's take place, and where official ceremonies occur.

NYSE Euronext

The NYSE Euronext was formed by the merging of two major corporations, the New York Stock Exchange and Euronext, which was the Paris-based owner of exchanges in France, the Netherlands, Portugal and Belgium. By market capitalisation, this is the biggest network of stock exchanges in the world, which billions of dollars being traded exchage year on the 9 major exchanges it controls.

The London Stock Exchange is one of the oldest in the world, having been founded in 1801 by several merchants in London hoping to fund expeditions around the world. The LSE was considered to be the backbone of the British Empire, bankrolling it. The LSE on its own is the largest exchange in Europe with many companies from abroad being listed there. Recently, the exchange took over Bourse Italiana, the main Italian Stock Exchange.

The Deutsche Bourse Group

Deutsche Bourse is the largest stock exchange operator in Germany, which, as the largest economy in Europe, has 8. Deutsche Bourse controls the Frankfurt Stock Exchange, the largest in the country. It also owns technical companies crucial to the survival of the smaller regional stock exchanges.