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It's time to let you in on a dirty little secret: You may not own the stock you own. That's right, if you invest with a brokerage firm, the shares you bought are almost certainly not held in your name. Technically, they're held in the name of the Wall Street firm you do business with, hence the term "street name."
No, you haven't been robbed. Ultimately, the decision to hold shares on the books under a different name doesn't affect the economic ramifications for you. You¿re listed as the "beneficial owner," even though the firm is the official owner of the shares. But, you are giving up some rights, and investors concerned about good corporate governance might want to get that stock back in their own names.
Here's the problem: If your stock is technically owned by, say, Merrill Lynch, then Merrill Lynch gets to do things with it that might work against your wishes. Take short selling. Investors who want to sell shares short need to first borrow those shares. The lenders are often the big Wall Street firms that are handing out Street-name shares. So, if you feel that a company you own is a victim of aggressive short selling, chances are your own shares are being used to fuel the shorting.
Also, your brokerage firm can cast ballots on some corporate matters affecting a company without getting your input. Technically, this can only happen in votes considered ¿routine¿ by securities regulators. But, there's a big catch: some big events, like board elections, are considered "routine" under law.
The good news is that you can easily fix the Street name problem: Just request that your brokerage firm makes you the listed owner of the shares. If they refuse, find a new firm.
Home / Markets / Industries / Media
Tuesday, May 20, 2008
8x8, Inc. Adds Call Queuing Functionality to Packet8 Virtual Office Small Business Phone Service
Comtex
SANTA CLARA, Calif., May 20, 2008 /PRNewswire-FirstCall via COMTEX/ ----8x8, Inc. (Nasdaq: EGHT), provider of Packet8 (www.packet8.net) business, mobile and residential broadband communications services, today announced the addition of "call queuing" functionality to the Packet8 Virtual Office small business phone service, now in use by over 11,000 U.S. companies.
With the Packet8 Virtual Office Call Queuing feature, a business can accept a greater number of incoming calls throughout the day by placing callers in a queue, rather than sending them to voicemail, when sales agents or employees are occupied with other customers. Virtual Office Call Queuing is an ideal feature for the small business that receives incoming calls into functional areas such as sales, technical support, customer service, billing and much more.
"Gone are the days when small businesses had to settle for simplified, scaled down communications services because their budgets could not accommodate the cost of high end business telecommunications solutions," said 8x8 Vice President of Marketing & Sales Huw Rees. "With Packet8 Virtual Office, even the smallest business can afford to utilize features like call queuing to help them appear more professional and polished while boosting their potential for long term growth and success."
The Packet8 Virtual Office service is an affordable, easy-to-use replacement for traditional PBX phone systems, allowing users anywhere in the world to be part of a hosted VoIP virtual phone solution. Priced at $49.99 per month/extension for unlimited local and long calling plans also available), the service includes an auto attendant, music on hold, worldwide extension dialing, business class voicemail, a full featured conference bridge and ring groups in addition to a rich variety of other business class PBX and dial tone features not normally found on premise-based PBX systems.
Packet8 Virtual Office Call Queuing is currently available to Virtual Office subscribers as an add-on feature. For additional information, go to http://www.packet8.net/business_services/features.aspx#call_queuing
About 8x8, Inc.
8x8, Inc. (Nasdaq: EGHT) offers voice and video Internet-based telephony services for business and residential customers. Marketed under the Packet8 brand name, these hosted communications solutions enhance the value and functionality of existing broadband Internet connections by delivering advanced features and digital quality phone service at a fraction of the cost of legacy, copper wire alternatives.
The Packet8 Virtual Office(TM) solution, 8x8's flagship offering currently in use by over 11,000 companies, eliminates the need for traditional business phone systems by delivering all telephony services over managed or unmanaged Internet connections. This affordable, easy-to-use alternative to traditional PBX systems or Centrex class services allows high-speed Internet users anywhere in the world to be part of a virtual PBX that includes automated attendants, conference bridges, extension-to-extension dialing and ring groups, in addition to a rich variety of other business class features normally found on dedicated PBX equipment.
8x8 also offers residential, video and mobile digital phone services. For additional company information, visit 8x8's web site at http://www.8x8.com. For information about Packet8 products and services, visit http://www.packet8.net.
SOURCE 8x8, Inc.
http://www.8x8.com
Copyright (C) 2008 PR Newswire. All rights reserved
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