The New York Stock Exchange is lobbying hard, watching as the LSE's Alternative InvestmentMarket makes the rounds in Silicon Valley, trawling for sharelistings.
The above chart reveals how a tipping point was reached for newinvestment once social welfare spending rose above 10% of personal income and began claiming a larger share of income than newinvestment.
Despite the takeover of most British investment banks by foreign houses, the domestic distribution of newshare issues is still tightly controlled by local corporate brokers.