firm is in the market often enough to justify a full-time security issuance division. Issue of securities requires immense effort. The secu- rity issue must be brought to the attention of the public. Buyers then must subscribe to the issue, and records of subscriptions and deposits must be kept. The allocation of the security to each buyer must be determined, and subscribers finally must exchange money for secu- rities. These activities clearly call for specialists. The complexities of security issuance I. Introduction 1. The Investment Environment The McGraw−Hill Companies, 2001           CHAPTER 1 The Investment Environment 9     Table 1.5 Balance Sheet of Nonfinancial U.S. Business*   Assets $ Billion % Total Liabilities and Net Worth $ Billion % Total   Tangible assets Liabilities Equipment and structures $ 2,997 19.0% Bonds and mortgages $ 2,686 17.0% Real Estate 4,491 28.5 Bank loans 873 5.5 Inventories 1,269 8.0 Other loans 653 4.1 Total tangibles $ 8,757 55.5% Trade debt 1,081 6.8 Other 2,626 16.6 Total liabilities $ 7,919 50.2% Financial assets Deposits and cash $ 365 2.3% Marketable securities 413 2.6 Consumer credit 73 0.5 Trade credit 1,525 9.7 Other 4,650 29.5 Total financial assets 7,026 44.5 Net worth 7,864 49.8 TOTAL $15,783 100.0% $15,783 100.0%   *Column sums may differ from total because of rounding error. Source: Flow of Funds Accounts of the United States, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, June 2000.