Ex-Comrade, Can You Spare a Stock?

Romania opened its first stock exchange in almost half a century Friday--a landmark in post-Communist market reforms.

One thing was missing amid the computer screens and gilt grandeur of the central bank chamber housing the Bursa de Valori Bucuresti: stocks to trade.

But brokers and leaders of the new exchange insist they are optimistic that within a couple of months they will have a handful of banks, brewers and other companies listed.

“We will probably be trading at the end of August,” said Virgil Anastasiu, vice president of the Bucharest exchange.

Moritz Shapiro, 75, was a trader on the old Bucharest stock exchange until it was shut down under communism. “Fifty-eight years ago, I was a broker in the bourse. It is very emotional for me to be back,” he said. “I am thrilled that markets are back. I can be used as a consultant, but at 75 years of age I no longer have the strength to trade.”