One factor that has kept stock prices down this year is the voracious appetite of U.S. business for new capital at a time when it remains scarce. Instead of moving into existing stocks, investment money has been flowing into new issues of corporate securities. The most vivid demonstration of the trend came last week when American Telephone & Telegraph Co., the world's largest private enterprise, floated a $3.2 billion financing—a size usually associated only with U.S. Treasury offerings. After the issue went on sale, the Dow-Jones industrial average dropped nearly 10 points in two days as investors switched out of...
To continue reading:
or
Log-In
