4.2 How does the stock market work?

Click here to learn what a member of a stock exchange is
In general a member of a stock exchange is a brokerage firm that has been granted membership on an organized exchange. In New York for example there are currently 1366 seats and it is limited to 1953. Because of the increasing globalization of financial markets, many exchanges are establishing partnerships with other stock exchanges. The NASDAQ and NYSE, for example have already established partnerships with other exchanges.
Click here to read about partnered exchanges

The NASDAQ is partnered with the London Stock Exchange and the NASDAQ OMX 100. NYSE is partnered with Tokyo and Euronext. 

Click here to learn what treasury stocks are

If a company’s article of incorporation shows that it’s authorized to issue 1 million shares, no more than that number can be issued. From these authorized shares 300.000 can be offered to the public via an IPO. The remaining 700.000 stocks are retained by the company as so called treasury stocks. 

Click here to learn about market cap

As a general rule, large cap companies have more stable income and therefore a less volatile share price. Small cap shares in general might have unsustainable earnings and therefore, when looking for a compromise, mid cap stocks are generally companies that can offer both growth and at the same time the stability of a large cap company.