Editors' Note

In some languages there is no precise word for any number overfive. Anything from six to a thousand (and beyond) is simply‘a lot’ (or, perhaps, in the case of public transport,‘too many’). Clearly the people who developed suchlanguages did not have capital markets, let alone mathematiciansor accountants. Volumes of new issues in both domestic and internationalmarkets are reaching levels that stretch the imagination ofeven hardened