In September 1990, a study by the U.S. Congress Office of Technology Assessment, entitled "Electronic Bulls \& Bears: U.S. Securities Markets and Information Technology," included this statement:

Securities markets have five basic functions in a capitalistic economy:

a. They make it possible for corporations and governmental units to raise capital.

b. They help to allocate capital toward productive uses.

c. They provide an opportunity for people to increase their savings by investing in them.

d. They reveal investors' judgments about the potential earning capacity of corporations, thus giving guidance to corporate managers.

e. They generate employment and income.
For each of the functions cited above, explain how financial markets (or securities markets, in the parlance of this Congressional study) perform each function.