The Stock Exchange is nothing more than a giant, globally networked, and organized market place where every day huge sums of money are moved back and forth.

證券交易就只是個連結全球、有組織的巨大市場，那裏每天都有大量的資金進進出出。

In total, over sixty trillion Euros a year are traded, more than the value of all goods and services of the entire world economy.

每年交易金額超過 60 兆歐元，這也遠超過全球經濟一整年的商品與服務價值。

However, it's not apples or second hand toothbrushes that are traded on this marketplace, but predominantly, securities.

然而，在這市場交易的不是蘋果或是二手牙刷，而絕大多數是證券。

Securities are rights to assets mostly in the form of shares. A share stands for a share in a company. But why are shares traded at all?

證券是擁有資產的權利，主要是以股票的形式出現。所謂「股票」代表是企業的「股份」。但到底為何要交易股票呢？

Well, first and foremost, the value of a share relates to the company behind it.

首先且最重要的，股票的價值和發行的公司有關。

If you think the value of a company in terms of a pizza. The bigger the overall size of the pizza, the bigger every piece is.

如果把企業的價值想成披薩，整個披薩越大，每一片也就越大。

If, for example, Facebook is able to greatly increase its profits with a new business model, the size of the companies' pizza will also increase, and as a result, so will the value of its shares.

以臉書公司為例，假如臉書公司能夠用新的商業模型大幅增加利潤，企業的「披薩」也會變大，而股票的價值也會增加。

This is of course great for the shareholders. A share which perhaps used to be worth 38 euros could now be worth a whole 50 euros.

這對股東來說當然有利。一股可能以前值 38 歐元，現在可能值整整 50 歐元。

When it's sold, this represents a profit of twelve euro per share! But what does Facebook gain from this?

當股票被賣出時，代表一股 12 歐元的利潤！但臉書公司能從中獲得什麼？

The company can raise funds by selling the shares and invest or expand its buisness.

企業可以透過賣股票的方式籌資，再投資或擴展事業。

Facebook, for example, has earned sixteen billion dollars from it's listing on the Stock Exchange.

以臉書為例，他們便透過在證券交易所掛牌獲得 160 億美元。

The trading of shares though, is frequently a game of chance. No one can say which company will perform well and which will not.

然而，股票交易經常是賭機率的遊戲。沒有人可以確定哪個公司會表現好或不佳

If a company has a good reputation, investors will back it. A company with a poor reputation or poor performance will have difficulty selling its shares.

若企業信譽良好，投資者會願意支持；若企業風評不好或是表現不佳，他們就會難以賣出股票。

Unlike a normal market in which goods can be touched and taken home. On the Stock Exchange only virtual goods are available.

不像一般市場，商品都是可以伸手觸碰且帶回家的；證券交易所只提供虛擬商品。

They appear in the form of share prices and tables on monitors. Such share prices can rise or fall within seconds.

他們以價格以及圖表的形式呈現在股市看板上。而股價則可以在幾秒內出現漲跌。

Shareholders therefore have to act quickly in order not to miss an opportunity.

股東因此需要快速行動以免錯失良機。

Even a simple rumor can result in the demand for a share falling fast regardless of the real value of the company. Of course the opposite is also possible.

不論企業真正價值為何，即使是一個小謠言都都可能造成股票的需求迅速下跌，反之亦然。

If a particular large amount of people buy weak shares, because if they see for example great potential behind an idea, their value will rise as a result.

如果有特別多的人因為看到某個想法的潛在商機而購買一支小股，那支的股價會因而上漲。

In particular, young companies can benefit from this. Even though their sales might be falling, they can generate cash by placing their shares.

年輕的公司特別能因此受惠。即使他們的銷售額正在下滑，仍能透過販售股票來籌得現金。

In the best case scenario this will result in their idea being turned into reality. In the worst case scenario, this will result in a speculative bubble with nothing more than hot air.

在最好的情況下，這能讓他們的想法付諸實現；而最壞的情況則是造成投機性的泡泡，只是一股熱。

And as in the case with bubbles, at some point they will burst.

然後就像泡泡一樣，這終究會破裂。

The value of Germany's biggest thirty companies is summarized in what is known as the DAX share index.

德國最大的三十間企業的價值被集結成為「德國 DAX 股票指數」。

The DAX curve shows how well or poorly these major companies and thereby the economy as a whole are performing at the present time.

DAX 曲線反映這些主要企業的表現，進而推斷整體經濟現在的表現好壞。

Stock Exchanges in other countries also have their own indicies. And all of these markets together create a globally networked marketplace.

其他國家的證券交易也有自己的指數。這些證券交易市場合起來，成為一個全球連結的市場。