With the recent rash of buyouts, mergers, acquisitions and demutualisations, there are few independent exchanges left in the US and the American Stock Exchange is looking like the last player to be picked for the football team.

Amex started more than 200 years ago on the curb of Broad Street in New York, where traders stood and haggled over government securities. Called the New York Curb Exchange, it was the birthplace of hand signals, which were developed because of the noise levels.