Located around the world, stock exchanges are organizations or corporations that provide a physical space for the exchanges or selling of stocks, bonds, securities and other events that involve capital. While most stock exchanges continue to have a physical location, more and more electronic stock exchanges are becoming popular due the speed of the transactions and the worldwide accessibility.

Currently some of the biggest stock exchanges are:

Toronto Stock Exchange

* Canada's largest stock exchange located in Toronto, Ontario.

* Founded in 1861, the TSE was incorporated in 1878 by the Legislative Assembly of Ontario.

* In 1999 Barbara G. Stymiest became the first female President of a stock exchange in North America.

NASDAQ

* National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations is an electronic stock market which began trading on February 8, 1971

* It was the world's first electronic stock market when it first started trading and currently is the largest electronic stock market in the U.S.

* NASDAQ lists over 3,200 companies and averages more share trades per day than any other stock market in the world.

* NASDAQ is one of the key markets that analysts use to gauge the value of stocks and shares throughout the world.

New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)

* Located on Broad Street in New York City this stock exchange is the second largest in the world.

* NYSE is nicknamed the Big Board, and lists 2,800 companies valued at nearly $20 trillion dollars.

* NYSE merged with Archipelago Holdings in April of 2005 to incorporate the electronic stock exchange.

Frankfurt Stock Exchange

* Located in Frankfurt, Germany, this stock exchange is the largest in Germany handling over ninety percent of all trading in German shares.

* Frankfurt Stock Exchange offers both on the floor trading and electronic trading on the Xetra system.

London Stock Exchange (LSE)

* Founded in 1801 in London, England, this stock exchange is one of the largest in the world.

* The LSE was originally located on Old Broad Street and was opened by Queen Elizabeth II in 1972. In 2004 the LSE moved to Paternoster Square near St. Paul's Cathedral. It was again opened by Queen Elizabeth II.

* The London Stock Exchange has a long history of standards and procedures that are largely the same today as they were when the stock exchange was first founded.

* A commissioned sculpture called "The Source" and done by Greyworld is the central focus of the exchange.

Shanghai Stock Exchange

* Founded on November 26, 1990 it opened its doors for trading on December 19, 1990. Located in Shanghai, the financial and trade center of China, this stock exchange has grown rapidly since its opening.

* The Shanghai Stock Exchange has been aggressive in its trading and listing with both Asian and foreign companies.

* As December 2004 the Shanghai Stock Exchange listed 881 companies and had a market cap of $325 billion dollars US.

Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE)

* This stock exchange, located in Mumbai India, is the oldest stock exchange in Asia. It was formed in 1875 by a group of 22 stockbrokers.

* As of 2005 it was one of the five largest stock exchanges in the world, handling over 3,500 companies.

* The combined market capitalization of the Bombay Stock Exchange is $125 billion dollars US.

* The Bombay Stock Exchange still follows the traditional and trading rules established by the original founders.

Tokyo Stock Exchange

* The Tokyo Stock Exchange is the second largest in the world. It was founded in Tokyo, Japan on May 15, 1878. The Tokyo Stock Exchange opened its doors for trading on June 1, 1878.

* During World War II the TSE was shut down and then reopened on May 16, 1949.

* On November 1, 2005 the TSE was unable to operate due to glitches in the Fujitsu software program that was to help with high trading volumes.

* The main trading room of the TSE is now largely computerized.

Hong Kong Stock Exchange

* Ranked 9th in the world this stock exchange is located in Hong Kong, China.

* As of September 2005 the Hong Kong Stock Exchange was the second largest stock exchange in Asia.

* The Hong Kong stock exchange is unique in that it is listed as a company on its own exchange as Hong Kong Exchanges and Clearing Limited.

* It was founded on March 6, 2000 by a merging of three main constituent companies.

SWX Swiss Exchange

* The tenth ranked stock exchange in the world the SWX Swiss exchange is regulated by Swiss law and prescribes to the concept of self-regulation. They pride themselves on their high standards in meeting international regulations.

* The SWX is located in Zurich, Switzerland, but also has offices in London and Geneva.

* The current SWX was formed in 2002 after restructuring.

* In addition to being Switzerland's national stock exchange the SWX also develops market interests in other European countries.