Thevariousdescriptionsofsecuritieswhichinthiswayrepresentcorporatecapitalarequotableonthemarketandaresubjecttomarketfluctuations；wherebyitcomesaboutthattheaggregateeffectivemagnitudeofthecorporatecapitalvarieswiththetoneofthemarket，withthemanoeuvresofthebusinessmentowhomisdelegatedthemanagementofthecompanies，andwiththeaccidentsoftheseasonsandthechancesofpeaceandwar。Accordingly，theamountofthebusinesscapitalofagivenconcern，orofthebusinesscommunityasawhole，variesinmagnitudeingreatmeasureindependentlyofthemechanicalfactsofindustry，aswasnotedaboveinspeakingofloancredit。
Themarketfluctuationsintheamountofcapitalproceedonvariationsofconfidenceonthepartoftheinvestors，oncurrentbeliefastotheprobablepolicyortacticsofthebusinessmenincontrol，onforecastsastotheseasonsandthetacticsoftheguildofpoliticians，andontheindeterminable，largelyinstinctive，shiftingmovementsofpublicsentimentandapprehension。Sothatundermodernconditionsthemagnitudeofthebusinesscapitalanditsmutationsfromdaytodayareingreatmeasureaquestionoffolkpsychologyratherthanofmaterialfact。
Butinthisuncertainandshiftingrelationofthebusinesscapitaltothematerialequipmentthereareoneortwopointswhichmaybesetdownasfairlysecure。Sincethecreditinstrumentsinvolvedinmoderncapitalizationmaybeusedascollateralforafurthercreditextension，asnotedinthechapteronloancredit，14*theaggregatenominalcapitalinhandatagiventimeis，normally，largerbyanappreciableamountthantheaggregatevalueofthematerialpropertiesinvolved；15*andatthesametimethecurrentvalueofthesematerialpropertiesisalsogreaterthanitwouldbeintheabsenceofthatcreditfinancieringforwhichcorporatecapitalizationaffordsabasis。
Germanwritershavefamiliarizedeconomicreaderswiththeterms“crediteconomy，““moneyeconomy“Geldwirtschaft，and“naturaleconomy“Naturalwirtschaft，thelater-modernschemeofeconomiclifebeingcharacterizedasa“crediteconomy。“Whatcharacterizestheearly-modernscheme，the“moneyeconomy，“andsetsitoffincontrastwiththenaturaleconomydistributioninkindthatwentbeforeitinWest-Europeanculture，istheubiquitousresorttothemarketasaventforproductsandasourceofsupplyofgoods。Thecharacteristicfeatureofthismoneyeconomyisthegoodsmarket。Aboutthegoodsmarketbusinessandindustrialintereststurninearlymoderntimes；andtothisearly-modernsystemofindustriallifethecurrentdoctrinesofpoliticaleconomyareadapted，asindicatedabove。
Thecrediteconomy-theschemeofeconomiclifeoftheimmediatepastandthepresent-hasmadeanadvanceoverthemoneyeconomyintherespectwhichchieflydistinguishesthelatter。Thegoodsmarket，ofcourse，inabsolutetermsisstillaspowerfulaneconomicfactorasever，butitisnolongerthedominantfactorinbusinessandindustrialtraffic，asitoncewas。Thecapitalmarkethastakenthefirstplaceinthisrespect。Thecapitalmarketisthemoderneconomicfeaturewhichmakesandidentifiesthehigher“crediteconomy“assuch。Inthiscrediteconomyresortishabituallyhadtothemarketasaventforaccumulatedmoneyvaluesandasourceofsupplyofcapital。17*