Is Germany Taking Over the New York Stock Exchange?

The German stock exchange group Deutsche Börse, which operates Germany’s largest stock exchange in Frankfurt, is currently in negotiations to purchase the New York Stock Exchange. This would have been shocking not very long ago. But traders in New York do not seem to be worried about the conglomeration. It would allow for a larger more powerful firm to show strength in an increasingly competitive environment. It should be noted that the NYSE acquired the Amsterdam-based Euronext exchange company in 2007, creating the first global exchange firm. Further consolidation was expected by many analysts.

This sparks two thoughts. First, this is more evidence of how integrated the world’s economic systems are becoming. And the larger the system becomes, the harder it will be to fully fathom. Some elements are already so complex that they can no longer be easily understood. Unforeseen events or little-known mechanisms, such as credit default swaps, which were implicated in the recent economic crisis in the United States, can have a global impact; and such events in other countries can destabilize domestic economics. Other governments will certainly want to regulate economic activity, which could give them a measure of direct control over the U.S. economy.

Second, this acquisition discussion brings to mind the fading prestige and power of the U.S. economy, much of it due to increasing national debt. The United States is heavily in public debt. It owes over $14 trillion (that’s $14,000,000,000,000). A Treasury Department table shows the nations to whom it is owed, the largest debt-holders being China and Japan.

The Bible says it’s better to be the lender than the borrower: “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender” (Proverbs 22:7). The United States used to be a nation that lent to others. In 1985 it became a net debtor nation, and the debt continues to grow.

When God spoke to ancient Israel of blessing and cursing as a result of either obedience or disobedience to Him, He underscored economic control, prestige and debt:

Blessing: “You shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow. And the Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you shall be above only, and not be beneath, if you heed the commandments of the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 28:12-13).

Curse: “The alien who is among you shall rise higher and higher above you, and you shall come down lower and lower. He shall lend to you, but you shall not lend to him; he shall be the head, and you shall be the tail” (verses 43-44).

As the United States continues to push God and His commandments out of its collective life, we shouldn’t be surprised to see, among other signs of decline, growing national indebtedness and waning economic prestige and control.