The floor of the NYSE is one of the most active in the world. A system of conduits for electronic cables now extends into the vast interior space above the floor. Prior to this, large annunciator boards on each side of the floor would flash a broker's number calling him to his trading post, which may have given the Exchange the nickname of "the Big Board." The evolution of the New York Stock Exchange began in 1869, although its trading association stretches all the way back to 1792. Continuous trading of stocks throughout the day, rather than only during the morning and afternoon roll calls, began in 1873 with some brokers dealing in particular stocks at one location on the trading floor instead of wandering about. Two technological inventions were crucial to the Exchange: Morse's telegraph (1844), which provided quick communications between brokers and investors throughout the country and the stock ticker (1867), which replaced the messenger boys, known as "pad shovers," who constantly ran (often late) between the trading floors and brokers' offices. By 1880 the telephone replaced the telegraph and enabled trading volume to reach into the millions by 1900. The first million-share day was in 1886, but this became more frequent in the early part of the next century, fueled by the growth of the railroads and the trusts. Trading volume exceeded three million shares for the first time just before its move into greatly expanded facilities in 1903. The new trading floor was one of the grandest spaces in the nation, with marble walls, generous dimensions, an ornate gilt ceiling, 79 feet high, and the famous annunciator boards. In mid-October (a favorite panic month) of 1907, there was a run on banks and stock prices began to fall. The precipitous decline was halted through the intervention of J. P. Morgan, who organized a consortium of major banks to subscribe over $25 million to hold up the market. The panic was halted by mid-November. This was the last time that one man could command the financial resources adequate to change the course of an unfavorable market. The era of the market titans and speculators came to an end with World War I. A bull market ensued after the war, due to the expansion of the United States consumer market and its emergence as a creditor to Europe. New York replaced London as the center of international finance, and during the next decade, over 1700 foreign issues were offered publicly in the United States. With the growth in personal income came the cash available for investment, and popular interest directed these funds into the stock market. Annual trading volume increased from 450 million shares in 1925 to over one billion in 1929. When the market crashed on October 29, 1929, over 16 million shares were traded, a record not surpassed for thirty-nine years. Much of the panic derived from the breakdown in communications and the long delays in the ticker's ability to report prices. After that, high-speed tickers were installed and computers replaced the pneumatic tube system. By April 1968 trading volume surpassed the 1929 record for the first time, and brokers who had not adequately automated their back offices were awash in the paperwork crisis. The Exchange was forced to curtail trading hours and ultimately had to arrange the sale of Goodbody & Co. to Merrill Lynch lest the former's collapse bring down the entire system. By 1973 member firms' back offices were under control, and the Exchange introduced the fully automated Designated Order Turnaround ("DOT") system to route electronically small orders and reports between member firms and the NYSE. Later systems speeded processing of market orders received before the opening and made processing of limit orders easier. One of the great credits to the New York Stock Exchange was that during the high volume and uncertain days of October 19-20, 1987, the NYSE market system continued to function, preventing, with the assistance of the Federal Reserve Bank, more serious repercussions. As a result of studies following the October 1987 market break, the NYSE undertook close to 30 initiatives designed to strengthen its market system. Among them: increased volume capacity; accelerated routing of individual investors' small orders through its SuperDOT System during active and volatile markets; and an agreement with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange on various circuit-breaker procedures to provide cooling-off periods in times of extreme volatility. Last year, 133.3 billion shares were traded on the NYSE, representing a dollar volume of $5.8 trillion. The busiest day was October 28, 1997 when over 1.2 billion shares were traded, and the Dow Jones Industrial Average gained 337.17 points-its largest single-day gain ever. Also, last year, the NYSE began trading stocks in "sixteenths," an interim step toward quoting stock prices in decimals. There are 3,047 domestic and foreign companies listed on the NYSE. Sixty-three foreign companies joined last year alone, bringing the total to 343. The total market capitalization of all listed companies is $11.8 trillion. Clearly, the NYSE is, and it plans to remain, the "Big Board."