NYSE Taken Over By German Deutsche Boerse

Deutsche Boerse will take over NYSE Euronext in a move indicative of the decline of American financial power.  Reto Francioni of Deutsche Boerse, who will become chairman, insisted at a news conference that the deal, which he said "reshapes our entire industry," is not moving the once powerful financial center of New York City to Frankfurt, which is today the European financial capital.

U.S. Senator Charles Schumer, who first raised the name issue over the weekend, has been insisting that NYSE should come first in the name of the group, a chunk of hubris typical of Schumer. The Germans take a 60/40 controlling share.

The New York Stock Exchange traces its origins to 1792, when twenty-four New York City stockbrokers and merchants signed the Buttonwood Agreement.  In a real sense, the birth of the NYSE aligns with the birth of the US itself.

Ironic that a German firm wields the death blow.

First the death of the US Auto industry, and now the end of the NYSE, so far Obama's legacy is mounting a string of ugly firsts that will no doubt be a dark mark in the 'real' history books.