In the 30's of the twentieth century, Western Union has become the world's largest telegraph company. In October 2006 the company made an initial public offering of shares on the New York Stock Exchange, becoming independent from First Data company. In 2007 the company made 167.7 million transactions on money transfers between individuals and 404.6 million transactions between physical and legal persons. Thanks to cooperation with Western Union the Associated Press at the end of the XIX century took almost monopolistic position in the U.S. market news. The Western Union Company is a financial services and communications company based in the United States.