The Stock Market and Investment in the New Economy: Some Tangible Facts and Intangible Fictions

In the Old Economy, the value of a company was mostly in its hard assets-its buildings, machines, and physical equipment. In the New Economy, the value of a company derives more from its intangibles-its human capital, intellectual property, brainpower, and heart. In a market economy, it's no surprise that markets themselves have begun to recognize the potent power of intangibles. It's one reason that net asset values of companies are so often well below their market capitalization.