Fictional IPO

If you want to learn a bit about the process (at least in the US) of taking a company public, check out the "podiobook" hackoff.com. The description is a bit long-winded (I must admit that I only made it halfway through myself), but seems very realistic. The book is essentially a murder mystery set in a company that has just gone public. It discusses the whole process of selecting the underwriter, writing up the prospectus, and all the way up to trading on the market. While most of the book focuses on the deal, be aware that some chapters are R-rated -- I guess the author thought that some racy scenes were necessary to "sell" the book.

Ready, Set, Go!

Semester has started. My first class is tomorrow night. I thought I'd start the week out with a post on some news items that are relevant to this week's lecture topic -- Initial Public Offerings (IPOs).

• First, while IPOs tend to be under-priced on average, there are some dogs out there. The Wall Street Journal recently reported on two financial IPOs that performed poorly on their first day of trading (Financial IPOs Want for Love - subscription required. [UQ Library users can get the full text here]). I suppose this isn't really surprising with the turmoil in US credit markets due to the sub-prime mortage meltdown (ABC news article here).
• And, the New York Times reports that some Italian luxury designers are considering public offerings.

For students who want some study tips, check out Diablo Valley College's Learning Styles Survey (hat tip: Lifehacker)