Club Penguin Stock Trade Building

The Club Penguin Stock Trade Building is the second stock exchange in Antarctica (the other being the SPCSE in South Pole City), and the smaller of the two. Found in Club Penguin (and heavilly influenced by it), this area is a major part of the CP economy, and it carries the latest updates on YOWSER. It is in the center of the Money Plaza, with Club Penguin First National Bank to the left and the {coming soon} to the right.

Background
Club Penguin has always been a keystone in the USA's economy. Reknowned for their keen hospitality, spacious paths, and fun parties, Club Penguin was always a port of call in both freight and tourism. In South Pole City, the stock exchange built there was running out of room, despite ebing large and high-tech. A second branch was needed, and it was decided to put it in CP, since it was already a stop on most cargo ship tours. However, the Moderators rejected the idea, claiming that a stock exchange would "crowd out the Member Igloos and damage the pristine environment maintained in most servers".

G, always the creature supporting the retaining of some equality, pointed out that there were a decent handful of servers dedicated to residential areas, like that of West Tri-State Lane, since the Member Igloo section on the generic server's Map was for a set number of elites only.

The Moderators and government agreed to this decision and authorized the construction of several new servers to house the Stock Exchange, and while they were at it, a Port, so that cargo ships wouldn't have to take Rockhopper's parking spot to unload and reload cargo, nor would they have to clutter the Dock and the penguins playing Hydro Hopper, or block the swimming area of the Cove and ruining the surf. The agreement was unanimous, and construction began.

When that was finished, the Money Plaza was opened- in classic CP fashion -to the Masses, where penguins put on the free construction helmets and began to build the Stock Exchange. On the opening day, a free green tie with little currency signs on it were given out. The party was relatively unknown, but still, the free ties were always a nice gift.

The building was christend the Stock Trade Building, in honor of Club Penguin's tourist-friendly naming of buildings, and a tribute to small businesses in the area.

Map
The Stock Trade Building consists of three floors. The first floor the electronic exchange floor. There are variously scagttered computers throughout the this floor, cramped into a small area the size of the Night Club. The buying and selling can be done entirely on computer, but penguins, always the loud abd social creatures, often prefer the verbal auction on the second floor.

The second floor is an open outcry pit. Each day, various stock brokers representing a publically traded company books one of the dozen podiums on the second floor, where investors gather around and begin offering prices for the stock. Like a traditional auction, the auctioneer begins shouting out prices, and those who accept the price continue until sold. Since penguins don't have fingers, silent auctions don't really work too well.

Each day, up to sixty companies can make use of the twelve podiums provided for use on the second floor. Auctioneers leave when they run out of stock certificates to hand out, and as soon as they leave, another company takes their place. Creatures can also exchange stock with each other simply by handing money and certificates to one-another. With the advantage of player cards, investors and brokers can easily exchange their items.

The third floor is where the actual opening and closing bell sits and is rung (the sound can be heard on all three floors courtesy of speakers), and where the neccessary equipment is housed to operate the Exchange, plus a long table and some chairs. It is off-limits to all but employees, Paul von Injoface, heads of state, Executive Cabinet members, and those with permission to enter. On this floor is, as stated, the bell, as well as computing servers, equipment, and a direct feed to the SPC exchange. The owners and such of the building gather here to privately discuss bigger economic matters, to predict and graph the economy, to relax (even though the second floor is quite audible on the third floor), and to do other, more secretive things that no economist downstairs is aware of.

Inhabitants
The CPSTB's main occupants consist of economists, brokers, auctioneers, investors, bankers, other penguins, and Paul von Injoface.

Dress code
The Stock Trade Building has a dress code. For members/the elite, a suit is a must. For normal penguins, a free light-green tie is handed out at the entrance, along with a white, collered long-sleeve shirt. They are not allowed to wear any headgear that's "overly distracting" (i.e. giant Saint Patrick's Hat 2008), clown shoes, or pumpkin heads, unless on April Fools' day. The code is laxed or edited in some parties, but it always reverts back to normal.

Etiqutte
The CPSTB lacks any big manners creed. Basiclly, don't swear, and don't beat other creatures up, as well as the other CP rules. Pushing, shoving, shouting, cutting in line, screaming, arguing, bullying, and snowballs are all common and done in the exchange. Economists can get very vicious when need-be.

If a crash ever occured, investors would do the exact thing that any CP penguin would do: panic.

Villains
Paul von Injoface is the most annoying of villains in the Exchange, with his endless shenanigans and attempts to prevent party supplies from coming in and out on their designated days.

Outside of the open-close bell, the workings of the third floor are unknown and highly secretive.

Parties
There's a famous saying in the CPSTB: "You can put a penguin in a suit and take him to an economics center, but you can't take the party out of him.". When a party comes to Club Penguin, the Trade Building is likewise decorated.

Decorations in the Exchange

 * In Christmas 2009, the building was painted a bright green color, and all stock certificates were gift-wrapped before being given. The opening and closing bell was replaced by sleigh bells, and Snail Claus was given the honor of closing the Building on December 26th of that year.


 * In the Puffle Party, companies that catered more to puffles (or had puffle owners or high employees) were given precedence over non-puffle corporations on the second floor. Black puffles spray painted the walls of the first floor, and all second-floor podiums were replaced with those scratching towers, the chairs replaced with beanbags. The opening and closing bell was replaced with the sound of a red puffle shooting out of a cannon. A real red puffle volunteered for it.


 * On April Fools' Day, the Stock Trade Building was somehow changed into a cardboard box, along with everything in it. The podiums were boxes, those circular desks holding the computers were boxes; even the stairs and floor were cardboard! The computers' wallpaper was replaced with a Blue Screen of Death background (even though it was just a wallpaper), confusing many investors. All auctioneers were ordered to talk in either Pig Latin or Spanish as part of the joke. The opening and closing bell was replaced by a clown's squeaky horn. The stock certificates were printed backwards, in 1337, with (what looked like) a crayon font. On the back, though, was the proper and formal printing, for legit trade purposes.


 * On Halloween, the lights in the building were shut off, and the place was illuminated by candles, jack-o-lanterns, and the glow given off by the computers. Spider webs were hund on the ceiling, and the stock certificates issued that day glowed in the dark. The opening and closing bell was replaced by the sound of thunder.