A new study in the journal Financial Management reveals that firms in rural areas are less likely to issue equity than firms in urban areas. In addition, rural firms that do issue equity use lower-quality underwriters.

U.S. markets closed mixed on Thursday from continued concerns over the uncertain credit markets and a weakening economy. A slew of poor news from the financial sector set the sour tone for Thursday.

On Tuesday, the Federal Reserve's decision to cut interest rates only 25 basis points rocked the U.S. markets.

Motorola, Inc. (NYSE: MOT) through Motorola Ventures, its strategic venture capital arm, announced that it has made an equity investment in Tilefile Limited. Tilefile has developed an innovative social media platform that connects users and communities through a “content-neutral” media format. Financial terms of the investment were not disclosed.

The credit market problems remained a constant backdrop as uncertainty again characterised trade on American equity markets. The key stock indexes managed moderate gains early on, but closed significantly lower.

Bursa Malaysia Berhad (Bursa Malaysia) and the global index provider, FTSE Group, launched on May 21st the FTSE Bursa Malaysia Hijrah Shariah Index, a tradable Shariah-compliant index covering the Malaysian equity market.