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Over in Britain

In the UK, trading in securities began in 1698 when a John Castaing based at Jonathan’s Coffee House published a list of stock and commodity prices called ‘The Course of the Exchange and other things’. A club formed at Jonathan’s Coffee House in 1801 to deal in shares and made up of subscribing members was called the Stock Exchange.

Shares enabled companies to expand to take advantage of the industrial age. They attracted investors to buy equity (a share) in the companies in return for a share in the profits. In the nineteenth century, canal corporations, docks companies, manufacturing enterprises, railways, mining, brewing and insurance companies were added to the list of firms with shares and bonds traded on the stock exchanges ...