Thestockmarketinterestofthosemenwhohavethemanagementofindustrialcorporationsisawideandmultifariousone。Itisnotconfinedtotheprofitablepurchaseandsaleofpropertieswhosemanagementtheymayhaveinhand。Theyarealsointerestedinmakingormarringvariousmovementsofcoalitionorreorganization,andtothisulteriorenditisincumbentonthemto“manipulate“securitieswithaviewtobuyingandsellinginsuchamannerastogaincontrolofcertainlinesofsecurities。24*Henceitisaruleofthisclassofbusinesstraffictocultivateappearance,-toavoid,orsometimestocourt,theappearanceofsin。Sothatunderthisleadershipthecourseofindustrialaffairsis,ingreatmeasure,ifnotaltogether,guidedwithaviewtoaplausibleappearanceofprosperityorofadversity,asthecasemaybe。Undergivencircumstancesitmayaswellbecometheaimofmenincontroltomakeanadverseshowingasafavorableone。Thehigherexigenciesofthecaptainofindustry’spersonalfortunes,asdistinctfromthoseofthecorporationcontrolledbyhim,mayfromtimetotimebebestsewedbyanapparent,ifnotanactual,mismanagementofindustrialaffairs。Aconvincingappearanceofdeclineordisasterwilllowertheputativeearning-capacityoftheconcernbelowitsrealearning-capacityandsowillaffordanadvantageousopportunityforbuyingwithaviewtofutureadvanceorwithaviewtostrategiccontrol。Variousotherexpedientslookingtothelikeoutcomearewellknowntothecraft,besidesbonafidemismanagement。Agivenlineofsecuritiesmaybetemporarilydepressedbylessheroictactics;butthepointinquestionhereisthefactthatunderthissystemofcorporationfinancetheaffairsofthecorporationareingoodpartmanagedfortacticalendswhichareofinteresttothemanagerratherthantothecorporationasagoingconcern。
Whatwassaidinspeakingofcreditextensionwithoutadeterminatetimeinterval25*appliestothisclassofbusiness,withaslightchangeofphrase。Inthishigherdevelopmentofcorporationfinance,inthemanipulationsofvendiblecapital,theintervaloftheturnoverspokenofabovebecomesanindeterminatefactor。Thegainsofthebusinesscometohavebutanuncertainandshiftyrelationtothelapseoftimeandcannotwellbecalculatedpercent。pertime-unit。Thereis,therefore,onthesehigherlevelsofbusinessmanagement,properlyspeakingnoascertainableordinaryrateofearnings。Thecapitalwhichmaybedistinctivelyregardedasoperativeinthebusinessofmanipulation,thevaluableitemsspecificallyemployedinthetrafficinvendiblecorporatecapital,ismadeupoftheoperator’sgood-willandhisfinancialsolvency。Solvencyonalargescaleisrequisitetocarryingontrafficofthisclass,butthecollateralonwhichthisextensivesolvencyconstructivelyrestsistobutapartialextentdrawnintothebusinessasabasisforanactualcreditextension。Whatcountsinthecaseisthesolvencyoftheoperatorratherthananoutrightresorttothecreditextensionwhichthissolvencymightafford。Theworkingcapitalinvolvedinthesetransactionsisaccordinglyofapeculiarlyelusivecharacter,andthetimeelementintheuseofthiscapitalishardtodetermine,ifsuchatimeelementcanproperlybesaidtoenterintothecaseatall。
Moreindetail,thebusinessmaninpursuitofgainalongthislinemust,intheordinarycase,bepossessedoflargeholdingsofproperty,thisbeingthebasisofthesolvencynecessarytothebusiness。Theseholdingsarecommonlyintheformofsecuritiesintheconcernwhosevendiblecapitalisthesubjectofhistraffic,aswellasinothercorporations。Thesesecuritiesrepresentcapital,tangibleandintangible,whichisalreadyemployedintheordinarybusinessoftheconcernbywhichtheyhavebeenissued;thecapital,therefore,isalreadyinusetothefullextentandispresumablyyieldingtheordinaryrateofearnings。Butthesolvencyforwhichtheownershipofthiscapitalaffordsabasismayfurtherbeusefulinenablingtheownertocarryonatrafficinvendiblecorporatecapitalwithoutwithdrawinganyappreciableportionofhisholdingsfromthelucrativeinvestmentsinwhichtheyhavebeenplaced。Inotherwords,heisable,undermoderncircumstances,tomakeasecondaryuseofhisinvestmentsforthepurposeoftradinginvendiblecorporatecapital;butthissecondaryuseofinvestmentsbearsnohardandfastquantitativerelationtotheinvestmentsinquestion,nordoesitinanydeterminatewayinterferewiththeordinaryemploymentofthisinvestedcapitalinthecommonplaceconductofthecorporations’businesstraffic。Thecapitalemployed,aswellasthepotentialcreditextensionwhichitaffordsforthepurposesofthishigherbusinesstraffic,isthereforeinapeculiardegreeintangible,and,inrespectofitsamount,highlyelusive。
Muchthesameistrueofthegood-willemployedinthistraffic。Itisalsoingoodpartgood-willwhichalreadyservesthepurposesofthecommonplacebusinesstrafficofthecorporationsonwhosesecuritiesthebusinessmaninquestionrestshissolvency。Sothatinthishigherbusinesstrafficthegood-willengagedisalsohereturnedtoasecondaryuse。Thebusinesseconomieswhichareinthiswaymadepracticablebyareduplicationofusesandmadetoinuretothegreaterbusinessmen’sprofitareofgreatmagnitude;butthemagnificentadditionswhichareinthiswaymadetothebusinesscommunity’scapitalizableforcesneedscarcelybedweltonhere。
Theelusiveandflexuouscharacteroftheelementsofwealthengaged,aswellastheabsenceofanascertainableordinaryrateofearningsinthislineofbusiness,hasledeconomiststospeakofthistrafficinvendiblecapitalasa“speculative“
business。Themerebuyingandsellingofstocksbyoutsidersforariseoradeclineisofcourseaspeculativebusiness;itisatypicalformofspeculativebusiness。Butinsofarassuchbuyingandsellingiscarriedonbythemanagersofthecorporationswhosesecuritiesarethesubjectofthetraffic,andespeciallywherethesecuritiesareboughtandsoldwithaviewtothecontrolofthecorporationsinquestionandtheirmanagementforprivate,tacticalends,acharacterizationofthebusinessas“speculative“isinadequateandbesidethepoint。
Thishigherreachofcorporationfinancieringhaslittleifanymoreofaspeculativecharacterthanwhatbelongstothecommonplacebusinessmanagementofanyindustrialenterprise。Inallbusinessenterprisethatstandsinrelationswiththemarketanddependsonvendibilityofitsoutputthereismoreorlessuncertaintyastotheoutcome。27*Inthissenseallindustrialbusiness,aswellascommercialbusiness,hassomethingofaspeculativecharacter。Butitislittletothepurposeonthataccounttolumpindustrialenterprisesandcorporationfinancieringtogetheras“speculativebusiness“anddealwiththemasifthisweretheirmostsalientandconsequentialbearing。Whatspeculativeriskthereisintheselinesofbusinessisincidental,anditneitheraffordstheincentivetoengaginginthesepursuitsnordoesitboundthescopeoftheirbearinguponeconomicaffairs。Thespeculativeriskinvolvedisnogreater,relativelytothemagnitudeoftheinterestsinvolved,inthislargertrafficthatdealsinvendiblecapitalthanitisintheordinarylinesofbusinesstrafficthatdealinvendibleproducts。Inbothcasestheremaybespeculation,butinbothcasesitisasideissue。Indeed,asnearasonemayconfidentlyholdanopiniononsodarkaquestion,thecertaintyofgain,thoughperhapsnottherelativeamountofit,seemsrathermoreassuredinthelarge-scalemanipulationofvendiblecapitalthaninbusinessmanagementwithaviewtoavendibleproduct。
Whatmayobscurethequestionisthefactthatthemanipulationsinvolvedinthistrafficinvendiblecapitalcommonlyimposeincreasedrisksuponthebusinessconcernsengagedinindustry-thecorporationswhosecapitalisinvolved,aswellasotherfirms。Theeverydaybusinessofthecorporationswhosesecuritiesareinvolved,aswellasofotherbusinessconcernsengagedinrivalorrelatedlinesofindustry,isrenderedmorehazardousthanitmightbeintheabsenceofthisfinancieringtrafficinvendiblecapital。Themanipulationscarryrisk,notsomuchtothemanipulatorsassuch,astothecorporationswhosepropertiesarethesubjectofmanipulation;
butsincethemanipulatorscommonlyownbutarelativelysmallproportionofthepropertiesinvolvedortouchedbytheirmanipulations,theriskswhicharisedonotfallchieflyonthem。
Tothisistobeadded,asofprimeimportanceforthewholequestion,thatthemanipulatorshavetheadvantageofbeingable,ingreatpart,toforeseethenature,magnitude,andincidenceoftheriskswhichtheycreate。Rightlyseen,this,ofcourse,goestosaythattheincreasedspeculativeriskduetothetrafficinvendiblecapitaldoesnotfallonthattraffic,butonthebusinessenterpriseengagedabouttheoutputofvendiblegoods。
Thetrafficinvendiblecapitalisnotwithoutitsspeculativerisks,buttheriskswhichitcreatesfallwithrelativelygreaterweightuponthebusinessmenwhoarenotimmediatelyconcernedinthistraffic。Indeed,sosecureandlucrativeisthisclassofbusiness,thatitischieflyoutofgainsaccruing,directlyandindirectly,fromsuchtrafficinvendiblecapitalthatthegreatmodernfortunesarebeingaccumulated;andboththerateandthemagnitudeoftheseaccumulations,whethertakenabsolutelyorrelativelytothetotalincreaseofwealth,surpassallrecordedphenomenaoftheirkind。Nothingsoeffectivefortheaccumulationofprivatewealthisknowntothehistoryofhumanculture。
Theaimandsubstantialsignificanceofthe“manipulations“
ofvendiblecapitalherespokenofisaneverrecurringrecapitalizationofthepropertiesinvolved,wherebytheeffectivecapitalizationofthecorporationswhosesecuritiesarethesubjectofthetrafficisincreasedanddecreasedfromtimetotime。Thefluctuations,orpulsations,ofthiseffectivecapitalizationareshownbythemarketquotationsofthesecurities,asnotedabove。28*Itisoutofthesevariationsincapitalizationthatthegainsofthetrafficarise,anditisalsothroughthemeansofthesevariationsofcapitalizationthatthebusinessmenengagedinthishigherfinanceareenabledtocontrolthefortunesofthecorporationsandtoeffecttheirstrategicworkofcoalitionandreorganizationofbusinessenterprises。Hencethistrafficinvendiblecapitalisthepivotalanddominantfactorinthemodernsituationofbusinessandindustry。29*Ithasbeennotedabovethatwhatmaybecalledtheworkingcapitalonwhichthishighercorporationfinanceproceedsismadeup,chiefly,oftwoelements:thesolvencyandconsequentpotentialcreditofthemenengaged,andthe“good-will“ofthesemen。Bothoftheseelementsareofasomewhatintangibleandelusivecharacter,resting,astheydo,somewhatindirectlyandshiftilyonelementsalreadyelsewhereengagedinbusinessenterprise。Thesolvencyinquestionrestsinlargepartonthecapitalofthecorporationswhosecapitalizationissubjecttothefluctuationsinducedbythetrafficinvendiblecapital。Itisthereforenecessarilyasomewhatindeterminateandunstablemagnitude。Tothisistobeaddedthe“floatingcapital“andbankingcapitalatthedisposalofthesemen。Ifacommon-senseviewbetakenofthebusiness,thegood-willengagedmustalsobeaddedtotheassets。Thereisinvolvedaveryconsiderableandveryvaluablebodyofgood-will,appertainingtothefinanciersengagedandtothefinancingfirmsassociatedwiththem。30*Thisgoodwillandthissolvencyiscapital,forthepurposeinhand,aseffectuallyasthegood-willandsecuritiesincorporatedinthecapitalizationofanycorporationengagedinindustrialbusiness。
Buthithertothisparticularcategoryofgoodwillhasnotbeenformallycapitalized。Theremaybepeculiardifficultiesinthewayofreducingthisgood-willtotheformofafund,expressingitintermsofastandardunit,andsoconvertingitintoquotablecommonstock,ashasbeendonewiththecorrespondinggood-willofincorporatedindustrialenterprises。
Soalsoasregardsthebodyofsolvencyengaged,-thepotentialcredit,orcreditcapacity,ofthepromotersandfinanciers。
Perhapsthislatterhadbestalsobetreatedasanelementofgood-will;itisdifficulttohandleunderanyother,moretangible,conception。Itmaybedifficulttostandardize,fund,andcapitalizetheseunstablebuthighlyefficientfactorsofbusinessenterprise;butthesuccessfulcapitalizationofgood-willandcreditextensionsinthecaseofthemodernindustrialcorporationsarguesthatthisdifficultyshouldnotbeinsurmountableincaseanurgentneed,-thatistosay,theprospectofaprofitablyvendibleresult,-shouldpressforaformalcapitalizationofthesepeculiarelementsofbusinesswealth。Therecanbenoquestion,e。g。,butthatthegood-willandlargesolvencybelongingtosuchafirmasJ。P。MorganandCompanyforthepurposesofthisclassofbusinessenterpriseareanextremelyvaluableandsubstantialasset,asisalso,andmoreunequivocally,thegood-willoftheheadofthatfirm。Theseintangibleassets,immaterialgoods,should,inallconsistency,bereducedtostandardunits,funded,issuedascommonstock,andsoaddedtothestatisticalaggregateofthecountry’scapitalizedwealth。