Numbers from the last report by the World Federation of Exchanges (WFE), an entity which includes the world's major exchanges, point to a steep fall in exchange capitalization for all 55 members of the federation.

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) presented, in October, a capitalization of US$ 10.3 trillion for the total of listed companies, 36.7% less than the same month last year. On the major European exchanges, the fall was even greater. The London Stock Exchange (LSE) saw their market capitalization crumble by 51.5% during the same period, while Euronext lost 52.8%.

The report also points to a tendency of regression in the number of listed companies. In October, there were 3,156 companies in LSE, 4% less than the same month in 2007. In Euronext, the drop was 14.3%. Contrary to the tendency in Europe, NYSE presented, in October, a number of companies 6.5% greater than last year.

In relation to total traded share amounts, the NYSE also contrasted with Old World exchanges. In 2008 (up to October), the U.S. exchange traded more than US$ 30 trillion — an increase of 26.2% relative to the same period in 2007. In London, business this year (US$ 5.9 trillion) represented values 34.8% lower than in January to October 2007. With US$ 4 trillion traded, Euronext saw a 15.4% decline over the year.