How New York became a financial center and Moscow an arena for dialogue between superpowers

On May 29, the world witnessed at least two events over the years that influenced the development of the global economy and international relations. One marked the beginning of the institutionalization of the American stock market, the other was a big step towards ending the Cold War.

1825: The New York Stock Exchange got its own building

On May 29, 1825, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) established its permanent headquarters at 40 Wall Street for the first time. Prior to that, the trade was conducted in various rented premises and coffee shops, including Tontine Coffee House. Getting our own building became an important stage in the development of the exchange trading infrastructure in the United States and increased the participants' confidence in the market.

The appearance of its own building accelerated the transformation of New York into one of the world's financial centers. Gradually, the NYSE became the largest stock exchange in the world both in terms of the number of listings and turnover.

1988: Reagan and Gorbachev Summit in Moscow

On May 29, 1988, US President Ronald Reagan began a four-day visit to Moscow. This was Reagan's last meeting with Mikhail Gorbachev as part of a series of Soviet-American summits. The key topics were the implementation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), human rights issues and prospects for further disarmament.

The summit became a symbol of the warming of relations between the USSR and the USA in the late 1980s. Although no major new agreements were signed following the visit, the parties confirmed their commitment to defusing tensions and continuing the dialogue.

The irony is that a few years after the summit, the Soviet Union collapsed, and Russia began a painful but inevitable turn towards a market economy, the very model that was born in buildings like 40 Wall Street.