citizens to finance development—though by securing such bonds with the full faith and credit of the government instead of with collateral, the government must eventually tax citizens or otherwise raise additional funds to make any regular coupon payments and refund the principal when the bonds mature. Barometer of the economy At the stock exchange, share prices rise and decreases depending, largely, on economic forces. Share prices tend to rise or remain stable when companies and the economy in general show signs of stability and growth. A recession, depression, or financial crisis could eventually lead to a stock market crash. Therefore, the movement of share prices and in general of the stock indexes can be an indicator of the general trend in the economy. Listing requirements Each stock exchange imposes its own listing requirements upon companies that want to be listed on that exchange. Such conditions may include minimum number of shares outstanding, minimum market capitalization, and minimum annual income. Examples of listing requirements The listing requirements imposed by some stock exchanges include: New York Stock Exchange: the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) requires a company to have issued at least 1.1 million shares of stock worth $40 million and must have earned more than $10 million over the last three years. NASDAQ Stock Exchange: NASDAQ requires a company to have issued at least 1.25 million shares of stock worth at least $70 million and must have earned more than $11 million over the last three years. London Stock Exchange: the main market of the London Stock Exchange requires a minimum market capitalization (£700,000), three years of audited financial statements, minimum public float (25%) and sufficient working capital for at least 12 months from the date of listing. Bombay Stock Exchange: Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) requires a minimum market capitalization of and minimum public float equivalent to . Ownership Stock exchanges originated as mutual organizations, owned by its member stockbrokers. However, the major stock exchanges have demutualized, where the members sell their shares in an initial public offering. In this way the mutual organization becomes a corporation, with shares that are listed on a stock exchange. Examples are Australian Securities Exchange (1998), Euronext (merged with New York Stock Exchange), NASDAQ (2002), Bursa Malaysia (2004), the New York Stock Exchange (2005), Bolsas y Mercados Españoles, and the São Paulo Stock Exchange (2007). The Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange can be