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What is the stock exchange and how does it work?
证券交易是什么，它又是怎么运作的呢？
The stock exchange is nothing more than a giant globally networked and organized marketplace, where everyday huge sums of money are moved back and forth. In total over 60 trillion Euros a year are traded, more than the value of all goods and services of the entire world economy.
证券交易不过就是个巨大的全球连网且有组织的市场，在那里每天大量的金钱来回流动。总计一年有超过六十兆欧元被交易，比整个全球经济体中所有商品和服务的价值还高。
However, it's not apples or second-hand toothbrushes that are traded on this marketplace, but predominantly securities. Securities are rights to assets mostly in the form of shares. A share stands for a share in a company.
然而，在这个市场中被交易的不是苹果或是二手牙刷，而主要是证券。证券是资产的权力，主要是以股票的形式。一股代表一间公司的一份股权。
But why are shares traded at all? Well, first and foremost, the value of a share relates to the company behind it. If you think of the value of the company in terms of a pizza, the bigger the overall size of the pizza, the bigger every piece is. If, for example, Facebook is able to greatly increase its profits with a new business model, the size of the company's pizza will also increase and, as a result, so would the value it shares.
但到底为什么股票被交易呢？这个嘛，最重要地，股票的价值与其背后的公司息息相关。如果你将公司的价值想成比萨，比萨整体尺寸越大，每片也会越大。如果，举例来说，Facebook能够用新的商业模式大大提高其利润，这公司的比萨大小同样也会增加，因此，其分配的价值也会增加。
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. When it's sold, this represents a profit of 12 Euros per share.
当然，这对股东们来说很棒。过去也许值38欧元的一张股票现在可以值整整50欧元。当它卖出时，这代表每张股票有12欧元的利润。
But what does Facebook gain from this? The company can raise funds by selling the shares and invest or expand its business. Facebook, for example, has earned 16 billion dollars from its listing on the stock exchange.
但Facebook从中得到什么？此公司可以借由卖出股份来筹募资金，并投资、或扩展其业务。Facebook，举例来说，已经从它在证券交易所上市赚了一百六十亿美元。
The trading of shares, though, is frequently a game of chance. No one can say which company will perform well and which will not. If a company has a good reputation, investors will back it. A company with a poor reputation or poor performance will have difficulties selling its shares.
但股票交易通常是运气游戏。没有人可以断言哪间公司会表现得好而哪些不会。如果一间公司拥有良好名声，投资人会挺它。一间有糟糕名声或是不良绩效的公司要卖出它的股票将会有困难。
Unlike a normal market in which goods could be touched and taken home, on the stock exchange, only virtual goods are available. They appear in the form of share prices and tables on monitors. Such share prices can rise or fall within seconds. Shareholders, therefore, have to act quickly in order not to miss an opportunity. Even a simple rumor can result in the demand for share falling fast, regardless of the real value of the company.
不像商品可以碰触并带回家的普通市场，在证券交易所，只能取得虚拟的商品。它们以在萤幕上的股票价格及表格形式呈现。像这样的股票价格可以在几秒钟内攀升又下跌。因此股东为了不要错失机会必须迅速行动。即使一个简单的谣言都可以导致对股票的需求迅速下跌，不论那间公司的真正价值有多少。
Of course, the opposite is also possible. If a particularly large number of people buy weak shares because they see, for example, great potential behind an idea, their value will rise as a result. In particular, young companies can benefit from this. Even though their sales might be falling, they can generate cash by placing their shares.
当然，相反情况也有是有可能的。如果特别大批的人购买表现不佳的股票，因为他们看见，举例来说，在一个点子背后极大的潜力，他们的价值将会因此攀升。特别是年轻的公司可以由此获益。即使他们的销售可能会下跌，他们还是可以借由释出他们的股份来募集现金。
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. And as in the case with bubbles, at some point they will burst.
在最好的情况下，这会使得他们的想法变成现实。而在最糟的情况下，这会导致只是空谈的投机泡沫。而像是在泡沫这个情况，某个时候它们会破裂。
The value of Germany's biggest 30 companies is summarized in what's known as the DAX Share Index. The DAX curve shows how well or poorly these major companies, and thereby the economy as a whole, are performing at the present time.
德国最大的30家公司的价值被人们所知的德国DAX指数概括。DAX曲线显示这些主流公司、从而显示整体经济，在当下表现得多优秀或多糟糕。
Stock exchanges in other countries also have their own indices. And all of these markets together create a globally networked marketplace.
其他国家的证券交易同样也有它们自己的指数。所有这些市场在一起创造出一个全球网络化的市场。
