272 THE WORK OF THE STOCK EXCHANGE 
general functions have already been reviewed in an earlier 
chapter’ and need not be repeated here. 
But normally the Stock Exchange bond market is merely 
the public and retail portion of the whole bond market in New 
York, and thus in fact exercises more specialized economic 
functions which often relate intimately to the work of the out- 
side bond market. 
Perhaps the chief function of the Stock Exchange bond 
market consists in giving speedy and accurate publicity to bond 
transactions. No such publicity is available for transactions in 
the essentially private “over-the-counter” market. Without the 
Stock Exchange bond market, there would be no available index 
as to the course either of prices for many individual bond 
issues, or for bond prices as a whole. Dealers in the outside 
market not only watch closely Stock Exchange bond prices on 
the bond tape and in the newspapers, but also frequently send 
into it through Exchange members requests for quotations. 
Many Exchange firms in the investment business maintain 
close connections with institutional and individual bond buyers, 
as well as with security dealers generally. Knowing the par- 
ticular wants and interests of each, the investment broker con- 
stantly communicates to them bids and offers on the Stock 
Exchange, and thus greatly facilitates the ability of sellers to 
sell and buyers to buy on the Exchange bond market. By its 
broadcasting not only of bond prices but also of bids and offers 
for bonds, the bond ticker extends the scope of the New York 
bond market and attracts purchases and sales into it. 
This quotation service maintained by the Stock Exchange 
yond market bears a significant relation not only to the outside 
bond market in old issues, but even to the market in new issues 
direct between issue houses and the public. Often new bond 
issues are listed on the Board before the syndicate agreements 
as to their distribution have terminated, and sometimes before 
11 See Chavter II.