Cashing out: The end of Hong Kong's historic trading floor In its heyday in the 1980s, more than a thousand brokers dressed in signature red blazers made deals on the trading floor of the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, in what was a raucous, competitive bear pit. But as electronic and internet services burgeoned, brokers drifted away to corporate offices and with just a handful of traders remaining, the historic hall will close at the end of the month. IMAGES AND SOUNDBITE