Lynch are calling for the NYSE to beef up its capabilities to automate orders without human intervention. Moreover, as they push the NYSE to change, these firms are hedging their bets by investing in ECNs on their own, as we saw in Table 3.5. The NYSE also plans to go public itself sometime in the near future. In its current orga- nization as a member-owned cooperative, it needs the approval of members to institute ma- jor changes. But many of these members are precisely the floor brokers who will be most hurt by electronic trading. This has made it difficult for the NYSE to respond flexibly to the imminent challenge of ECNs. By converting to a publicly held for-profit corporate organi- zation, it hopes to be able to more vigorously compete in the marketplace of stock markets.     The National Market System   The Securities Act Amendments of 1975 directed the Securities and Exchange Commission to implement a national competitive securities market. Such a market would entail central- ized reporting of transactions and a centralized quotation system, and would result in en- hanced competition among market makers. In 1975 a "Consolidated Tape" began reporting trades on the NYSE, the Amex, and the major regional exchanges, as well as on Nasdaq- listed stocks. In 1977 the Consolidated Quotations Service began providing online bid and asked quotes for NYSE securities also traded on various other exchanges. This enhances competition by allowing market participants such as brokers or dealers who are at different I. Introduction 3. How Securities Are Traded The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2001           CHAPTER 3 How Securities Are Traded 75     locations to interact, and it allows orders to be directed to the market in which the best price can be obtained. In 1978 the Intermarket Trading System was implemented. It currently links 10 exchanges by computer (NYSE, Amex, Boston, Cincinnati, Midwest, Pacific, Philadelphia, Chicago, Nasdaq, and Chicago Board Options Exchange). Nearly 5,000 is- sues are eligible for trading on the ITS; these account for most of the stocks that are traded on more than one exchange. The system allows brokers and market makers to display and view quotes for all markets and to execute cross-market trades when the Consolidated Quo- tations Service shows better prices in other markets. For example, suppose a specialist firm on the Boston Exchange is currently offering to buy a security for $20, but a broker in Boston who is attempting to sell shares for a client observes a superior bid price on the NYSE, say $20.12. The broker should route the order to the specialists post on the NYSE where it can be executed at the higher price. The