1.   Analysts noted that Genentech shares had dropped sharply since the equity offering was announced earlier this month.

2.   And the industry is burdened by high costs, which it has tried to finance with equity offerings.

3.   But the timing of the equity offering is more intriguing than that.

4.   Even discount brokerage firms like Fidelity and Charles Schwab, which typically do not participate in equity offerings, have joined in.

5.   For all equity offerings, it ranked second to Morgan Stanley, according to Securities Data.

6.   Investment bankers specialize in the later stages of finance, helping companies raise capital on the stock markets via initial public offerings or secondary equity offerings.

7.   It began an aggressive expansion plan last year and is already active in underwriting eastern European equity offerings.

8.   It suffers from an identity problem despite making great strides to increase its equity offerings and to retain growing companies.

9.   It would also allow the firm to proceed with plans to manage or co-manage equity offerings in Brazil, Fernandez said.

10.   Liberty has been shopping for a while, and Kaufmann would help beef up its equities offerings.