IPOs: So Long, Farewell, We Bid You All Adieu

In the intensifying market of the past two months, have you ever just wished you could pack your bags and take off for a white-sand Bahamian beach where you never have to see a ticker symbol or photo of a weeping trader again? If so, the U.S. market for initial public offerings of companies is just like you. There were absolutely no initial public offerings in the entire month of September, and today marks the ninth consecutive week without issuance, our friends at ThomsonReuters tell us. The last time there was a gap this long in IPO issuance was well…we really can’t say. The records at ThomsonReuters only go back to 1980, when Jimmy Carter was still President, and there was never a gap this long in the past 28 years. Yes, that includes even the depths of the tech crunch. In December 2000, there was a long stretch of five... [read full story]