Ever since the stock-market bubble burst five years ago and the cost of equity soared, availability of capital has become a greater concern for corporate-finance executives. Luckily, debt has plugged the equity gap, thanks to the innovation of the banking industry and the Federal Reserve's efforts to keep interest rates low.
Now, however, the Fed has changed course, fueling concern that credit conditions will soon turn much tougher, as "A Change of Season" explains. The good news is that most CFOs have time and room to maneuver to soften any such crunch.
Meanwhile, the innovations that have helped raise capital may also increase the risk of conflicts of interest through new products like credit derivatives and new relationships with hedge funds, as "Are Your Secrets Safe?" points out.
Indeed, underwriting itself faces a growing challenge, as pressure mounts to undo the investment bank oligopoly. Finance executives favor that idea, but may yet be disappointed, as "The Big Get Bigger" notes.
In the end, significant changes are afoot, and it is highly unlikely that capital will come from the same sources as in the recent past, or at the same cost.
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