Ordinary shareholders are the last to be paid if the company is wound up.

However, usually they have rights to their dividend ahead of ordinary shareholders if the business is in trouble.

When all these are paid, ordinary shareholders get what is left, which is usually not much.

And tenth, ordinary shareholders, have the right to residual assets.

But it also prevents ordinary shareholders from attending more than a handful of meetings.

For the ordinary shareholder this can have costly implications.

Mr. Berlusconi was elected chairman at a meeting of ordinary shareholders.

My name is Mr, I am an ordinary shareholder of some years' standing.

Ordinary shareholders cannot normally expect the same kind of safe, steady return on their investment as a preference holder might.

"He treated you no better than ordinary shareholders.

However the privatisation was a financial disaster for members of the public, who became ordinary shareholders in the privatisation process.

It aims to achieve a high level of income for ordinary shareholders as well as providing capital growth.

More ordinary shareholders are speaking out, not necessarily with loud voices and angry invective but still critically.

Ordinary shareholders did not get the preferred.

If the issuer is liquidated, they carry the right to receive interest and/or a return of capital in priority to ordinary shareholders.

Arbitrageurs have been able to exploit stale prices and profit at the expense of ordinary shareholders.

"But I'm not an ordinary shareholder," said Charles sharply.

Fund managers are accused of catering to this powerful investor at the expense of ordinary shareholders.

Australian legislators today called insider traders "corporate spiders" who prey upon ordinary shareholders and said they should be wiped out.

In a classic Desmond manoeuvre, the big names were brought in as Ordinary shareholders for a total of £1m.

Also, where a business is wound up, they are likely to be repaid the par or nominal value of shares ahead of ordinary shareholders.

Normally, however, ordinary shareholders expect lower yields than preference shareholders and loan stock holders because of their participation rights.

Control of the company was held tightly by its directors, with ordinary shareholders not having much influence on management or even access to the company's accounting statements.

The aim was to eliminate them from the company, so ordinary shareholders could get excesses from compulsory purchase compensation.

The ordinary shareholder will assess his likely participation in the residue of profits of the company after fixed interest and dividend charges have been paid.