Revolution on Wall Street: The Rise and Fall of the New York Stock Exchange

Suggesting that the New York Stock Exchange may be going the way of behemoths General Motors and IBM, the authors--Blume and Siegel are professors of finance at the Wharton School, Rottenberg is a freelance writer--argue that the NYSE must advance technologically if it is to continue as ``the world's most open and best-monitored market.'' The authors delve into the history and development of market behavior and the NYSE in detail that may deter the curious casual investor, but Wall Street specialists should appreciate their synthesis of interviews, journalism and academic reports. Though the NYSE has been automated and computerized, its members have ``bitterly resisted'' modernizing the basic procedures for trading securities. The authors describe such missed opportunities and how other exchanges and even large institutional investors have surpassed NYSE's attempts to stay ahead in an increasingly sophisticated electronic age. (Aug.)