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What is the stock exchange and how does it work?
證券交易是什么，它又是怎么運作的呢？
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.
證券交易不過就是個巨大的全球連網且有組織的市場，在那里每天大量的金錢來回流動。總計一年有超過六十兆歐元被交易，比整個全球經濟體中所有商品和服務的價值還高。
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，在這個市場中被交易的不是蘋果或是二手牙刷，而主要是證券。證券是資產的權力，主要是以股票的形式。一股代表一間公司的一份股權。
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.
但到底為什么股票被交易呢？這個嘛，最重要地，股票的價值與其背后的公司息息相關。如果你將公司的價值想成比薩，比薩整體尺寸越大，每片也會越大。如果，舉例來說，Facebook能夠用新的商業模式大大提高其利潤，這公司的比薩大小同樣也會增加，因此，其分配的價值也會增加。
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. When it's sold, this represents a profit of 12 Euros per share.
當然，這對股東們來說很棒。過去也許值38歐元的一張股票現在可以值整整50歐元。當它賣出時，這代表每張股票有12歐元的利潤。
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從中得到什么？此公司可以借由賣出股份來籌募資金，并投資、或擴展其業務。Facebook，舉例來說，已經從它在證券交易所上市賺了一百六十億美元。
The trading of shares, though, is frequently a game of chance. No one can say which company will perform well and which will not. 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.
但股票交易通常是運氣游戲。沒有人可以斷言哪間公司會表現得好而哪些不會。如果一間公司擁有良好名聲，投資人會挺它。一間有糟糕名聲或是不良績效的公司要賣出它的股票將會有困難。
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.
不像商品可以碰觸并帶回家的普通市場，在證券交易所，只能取得虛擬的商品。它們以在螢幕上的股票價格及表格形式呈現。像這樣的股票價格可以在幾秒鐘內攀升又下跌。因此股東為了不要錯失機會必須迅速行動。即使一個簡單的謠言都可以導致對股票的需求迅速下跌，不論那間公司的真正價值有多少。
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.
當然，相反情況也有是有可能的。如果特別大批的人購買表現不佳的股票，因為他們看見，舉例來說，在一個點子背后極大的潛力，他們的價值將會因此攀升。特別是年輕的公司可以由此獲益。即使他們的銷售可能會下跌，他們還是可以借由釋出他們的股份來募集現金。
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. And as in the case with bubbles, at some point they will burst.
在最好的情況下，這會使得他們的想法變成現實。而在最糟的情況下，這會導致只是空談的投機泡沫。而像是在泡沫這個情況，某個時候它們會破裂。
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.
德國最大的30家公司的價值被人們所知的德國DAX指數概括。DAX曲線顯示這些主流公司、從而顯示整體經濟，在當下表現得多優秀或多糟糕。
Stock exchanges in other countries also have their own indices. And all of these markets together create a globally networked marketplace.
其他國家的證券交易同樣也有它們自己的指數。所有這些市場在一起創造出一個全球網絡化的市場。
