Business

Public versus private equity

Public equity refers to the common stock of companies whose shares, by virtue of being listed on one of the major stock exchanges, can be freely traded and sold to the public at large. By comparison, the shares of common stock of companies that are privately held, are not traded on any established exchange, and as such, are neither freely transferable nor available for sale to the public.

Companies whose stock is publicly traded, must comply with both the periodic reporting and listing requirements of the exchange on which their shares are listed, as well as the pertinent regulations as promulgated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Companies, whose underlying stock is privately held, are generally free from these onerous reporting and disclosure requirements.

Since a liquid and established market for its shares exists, stock of publicly traded corporations can be sold easily and quickly. The seller simply notifies a stockbroker, who then sells the shares on the appropriate exchange for the market price at the time of sale.

Thus, one of the benefits of owning public, as opposed to private shares, is that the value of the stock can be readily ascertained at any given time, simply by looking at its listed daily share price at the exchange where it is traded.

In order to insure that control of the company remains with the founders, or other small group of individuals, stock transfer restrictions are frequently imposed on those who are issued shares in a privately held corporation. These agreements limit a shareholder’s ability to sell their stock to outside third parties.

Additionally, since there is no public market for its shares, assessing the value, or price, of the stock of a privately held corporation at any given time, for purposes of a sale, can pose unique appraisal challenges.

Obama pushes consumer protection agency

President Barack Obama is pushing for one of his biggest changes yet, and he's doing his best to lash out at those who stand in its way. One of Obama's most progressive goals has been to establish what he refers to as the "New" Consumer Protection Agency. At current standing, the system only supports the big banks and the big businesses, according to Obama. The establishment of a new government agency would do more to help consumers and it would make them feel much more comfortable about doing business and making purchases. According to many, this new plan seeks to make things simpler for consumers who shop for financial products.

Opponents to this proposed plan have been popping up all over the place, not the least of which is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is currently running a multi-million dollar ad campaign to push public perception. Obama has done his best to talk down these opponents, and has gone so far as to accuse them of supporting the demise of the American consumer. According to the president, the problem right now is that people aren't able to full take advantage of the system, because it is designed to trick and confuse them. With a new agency to protect them, consumers would be able to shop more and take advantage of better financial products.

The fight to pass this new agency will be a long and hard one, but it's something that Obama's dedicated himself to. Getting back to the point where consumers have a fair shot is something that he built his campaign on, and he's set on following through with those promises. The big banks and big businesses stand to lose some of their positions if this bill goes through, but that's not what Obama's concerned with at this point in time.

M-Commerce's Big Moment

Much has been made about mobile commerce and where the industry is heading. For years, this has been one of the most difficult trends for financial researchers to pin a projection on. Many of them have been underestimating the power of people who buy with their cell phones, while other projections have grossly overestimated the amount of commerce that has been done via phone. But regardless of these projections, it looks like the m-commerce world might be finally about to take hold.

More people these days have highly capable cell phones, and that makes a big difference to the mobile commerce numbers. With more people than ever owning Blackberry devices, iPhones, and a host of other variations, they are now able to do more with their phones. "Doing more", at least in this instance, means ordering more stuff with their internet browser and over the phone. The m-commerce industry is making all sorts of retailers think about the way they advertise their goods and their ability to accept these orders when they come through.

Papa John's pizza company has been one of the best at this process, as they have brought in more than $1 million in sales from people on cell phones. They have designed an interface that allows people to purchase items easily on their phone's screen display, and that helped their bottom line this year. This type of online shopping is bound to continue in the near future, as more and companies recognize that a younger generation is willing to buy things right on their phone. Today's shoppers don't need to come into the store and they really don't even have to be at a computer. If it's easy and it is doable, then the new consumer will take advantage of it. M-commerce might be headed for its big moment.

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