Shit

That’s what I thought when I saw this article below the fold on the Front page of NYT’s Business section:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/05/technology/05tablet.html?_r=1&ref=business

There goes my final project.  I had been envisioning some sort of mobile device that would shake up the universe much the same way the printing press, radio, television, and the internet did when they burst onto the scene.  My device would be some catch-all device that would merge virtually everything together and be able to bring you everything at your fingertips (that was within reason).

Enter the Tablet PC, which is due to be released in the next few months.  Maybe you’ll get one for Christmas?  Apple is rumored to come out with the first one and it’ll be like crossing an iPod touch,  a Kindle, and a wholeotta other crap. which kind of makes me nauseous.  Think of the possibilities that can be incorporated into such a device with the current technology.  Disgusting.  Somebody’s gonna get rich though.  (Not me).

It could really save the newspapers if they converted to this format.  Everyone and their mother has a radio and television, and soon they’ll have a computer too.  Whose to say they can’t get another device that combines all these inventions and creates and end-all mobile device?

So there’s my final project in a nutshell.  I am livid.  It was ridiculous to think I could come up with something before all the other millions of people working on this problem did.  Alas!  I will not save journalism and make millions

N.Y.S.E. debut, maybe (3)

Sitting in class Monday, I wondered how an initial public offering works – how are the exact number of shares and their value determined?  It seemed arbitrary to me; to slap a value on a company and go from there.  Kind of like determining someone’s net worth – it’s defined as assets minus liabilities – but it just seems so intangible to me.  I’m dumb as rocks, but hopefully after some research I can explain the elusive concept of the initial public offering:

IPOs occur when a private company issues stock to sell to the public for the first time.  A company will issue stock to gain capital (factors of production used to create goods or services that are not themselves consumed in the process) to expand with.  Most IPOs are companies going through transition, not to mention they have little historical data, so they can be a risky investment for buyers.

The company offers shares that investors may purchase, whose money goes directly to the company and does not have to be paid back.  The caveat for the investors and catch for the company is the investor has a right to future profits.  With that refresher, I shall now answer my curiosity and perhaps yours:

The company offering its shares interacts with a number of investment banks, constructing a contract to sell the shares to the public.  There are a multitude of methods where the company (issuer) and investment bank (underwriter) negotiate the terms.  e.g. the two could agree to sell as many shares as possible at a predetermined price; a price and quantity could be agreed upon, and if the figures are not fulfilled, the deal falls though; and many others.

It’s the high rollers from the companies and investment banks who determine the quantity of shares and their values.  In hindsight, engineering was the wrong major for me – I should have taken up investment banking…