Financial institutions own almost all debt. When the promise to pay is signed by a government or a big corporation, its value is clear and it is easily bought and sold. Financial institutions buy and sell that kind of debt by telephone. That is the bond market. Households own about two-thirds of all equity.
Equity entitles the owner to a share of profits, and to a share of proceeds if the business is sold.
One kind of equity is corporate stock listed for trading on the New York Stock Exchange. Households hold most of the money. Financial institutions and businesses avoid holding money. They hold enough to pay current bills, and quickly use the rest to buy more profitable financial or real assets. The author, a graduate of Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, is an independent researcher and writer.