Newly merged stock exchanges search for a new name
TEXT OF STORY
JEREMY HOBSON: After announcing plans to merge, the New York Stock Exchange and the German market now have a much trickier problem — coming up with a name for the joint trading floor.
Our European Correspondent Stephen Beard joins us now live from London with more on this story. Hi, Stephen.
STEPHEN BEARD: Hello Jeremy.
HOBSON: Why has the name become such a big problem?
BEARD: There are national sensitivities here. After all, a German company company is taking over an iconic American institution. By rights it should be a German name. But perhaps a non-threatening, unnationalistic, culturally acceptable German name. One jokey suggestion I’ve seen so far was “Stock-toberfest.” But economist Andrew Hilton thinks it should perhaps be a little more classical.
ANDREW HILTON: I’d suggest that you simply choose as the holding company name a name of a good German. Find a good German — Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Goethe — something like that. Right it in capital letters. “Bach” would be very nice because it would be very short and call the exchange Bach.
HOBSON: Oh yeah — Bach. That’ll go over really well on Wall Street, Stephen.
BEARD: Indeed. And the senior Democrat Senator for New York has already said — Charles Schumer this is — has made it clear that New York has to be in the name. And it’s got to be first. This is obviously going to be a major headache for the two companies. So they’ve turned to social media, like Facebook for help. They’ve thrown the search for a new name open to the social networks for brainstorming by their employees — much cheaper than using a brand consultant.
HOBSON: Well let’s see what ideas get written on their wall. Stephen Beard our Marketplace Europe correspondent. Stephen thanks so much.
BEARD: OK Jeremy.
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