Many already-public firms are also taking advantage of investors' growing appetite for new equity through secondary share issues not least to help pay for the growing number of mergers and acquisitions.

ECONOMIST: Corporate finance

Look at ChinaCache International Holdings, which jumped 95% in its October 1 opening on Nasdaq, but which has fallen more than 10% in the last week after the company filed for a secondary share offering, giving insiders an opportunity to cash out.

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Some countries have seen an increase of 20 percentage points in the share of children finishing secondary school.

ECONOMIST: An unequal continent is becoming less so

" Hanushek and Woessmann conclude that "In many developing countries, the share of any cohort that completes lower secondary education and passes at least a low benchmark of basic literacy in cognitive skills is below one person in ten.

UNESCO: EDUCATION

Whenever a company trading at a premium to book value issues new shares, whether from a secondary offering or in the course of an acquisition, the book value per share goes up.

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