The stock exchange is an indispensable facet of business worldwide. It is whereStock exchangeGovernment securities, shares, bonds and debentures of the trading units are regularly transacted. The stock exchange is also a good index by which the good or bad health of the economy can be graded. For example, if the share prices for a company are increasing, it means the country is running on the path of growth and success.So the stock exchange essentially provides a platform for the buyers and sellers of shares and securities.Though relatively young, the Guyana Stock Exchange provides some essential opportunities for saving and multiplying one’s assets. It is the newest exchange in the?Caribbean Community (CARICOM). But to truly understand how this system works and by extension, its many benefits, one must first understand certain basic terminologies and what the stock market is, as well as its true purpose.The capital of a company is divided into “shares”. Each share forms a unit of ownership of a company and is offered for sale so as to raise capital for the company. When you own more than one share in a company or several companies, these are called stocks, because “stock” generally refers to a portfolio of shares.A stock market allows owners of stocks and shares to dispose of them at a fair price, it allows new investors to buy them at a competitive rate, and it allows companies?to sell new shares to finance the growth of their business. People buy stocks and shares with the expectation that they will be able to sell them again,cheap jerseys from china, unlike companies who generally issue stocks with no expectation of having to buy them back. In the context of Guyana, the total volume of savings is quite high, but it is held mainly in cash or?short?term bonds.?A bond is a debt investment in which an investor loans money to an entity (typically corporate or governmental) which borrows the funds for a defined period of time at a variable or fixed interest rate.The entity responsible for organizing and supervising the Guyanese stock market is the Guyana Association of Securities Companies and Intermediaries Inc. (GASCI).The entity is of the opinion that total volume of savings in Guyana can be mobilized via the stock market to finance the growth?of?the economy through purchase of new shares issued by companies, thereby leading to investors on the market getting a better return on their savings, and the growth of the economy. It says that this will facilitate investment, since the effect of raising capital on the exchange reduces the cost of borrowing. The establishment of the stock market directly realizes an objective of the Guyana Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, namely to “encourage and/or support the private sector to raise local financing for investment.?The Guyana Stock Exchange opened for business in mid-2003 and by November 8, 2010,Cheap Jerseys Free Shipping, it had completed 381 trading sessions.? Over the seven-plus years of its existence, the membership of the Stock Exchange has not changed significantly from what it was at the inception.? The Exchange started trading activities with 12 companies in its secondary list on June 30, 2003. By its ninth session in August of the same year, it had added two companies,Cheap Mens Jordan Sneakers, namely Property Holdings, Inc. and the now defunct Globe Trust and Investment Company Limited, thus bringing its total number of participants to 14. It removed the Guyana National Cooperative Bank (GNCB) by its 20th session which brought the number of companies in its secondary list to 13 where it currently stands.Apart from its many other local and regional members,Cheap Jerseys China, GASCI comprises four member firms which trade (i.e. provide broker services for customers who wish to buy and sell shares) on the stock market, and these are Trust Company (Guyana) Ltd, Guyana Americas Merchant Bank Inc, Beharry Stockbrokers Ltd and Hand-in-Hand Trust Corporation Inc (formerly GNCB Trust Corporation Inc).Trust Company (Guyana) Ltd, Beharry Stockbrokers Ltd and Hand-in-Hand Trust Corporation Inc. are also represented on the Board of Directors of GASCI.? The member firms of GASCI are registered as Brokers with the Guyana Securities Council.The Guyana Association of Securities Companies and Intermediaries Inc. is registered with the Guyana Securities Council (GSC). As of December 27, 2007 the market capitalization of the local stocks stood at US$275.3M.GASCI is the “Self-regulatory Organisation” registered by the GSC which runs the Stock Market.Giving some insight on how the Guyana stock market works, the body said that investors give orders to buy or sell to brokers who are members of GASCI. The brokers currently comprise Beharry Stockbrokers Ltd,