No longer does the global economy rely primarily on loans from commercial banks to meet its financing and investment needs. Rather, more than ever before, the global economy of today looks to funds from the fixed-income and related capital markets to intermediate its credit needs.
Because the global capital markets have become so important in the credit intermediation process, the economic well-being of us all depends on the orderly flow of funds in these markets. The flow of these funds, in turn, increasingly relies on price signals generated by trading activity that takes place daily in these markets.