The pricing of Cheerios doesn't seem to suffer from the principle-agent problem, though. No one but consumers really 'wins' if cheerios are underpriced. And to my knowledge they don't continue to be traded once they're bought, either, so it's sort of apples to oranges.
> The pricing of Cheerios doesn't seem to suffer from the principle-agent problem, though. No one but consumers really 'wins' if cheerios are underpriced
This is not an example of a principal-agent problem. There are two competitive markets: the competitive auction between underwriting banks, and the competitive market between public traders. The price between these two differs because the underwriting banks assume a great deal of risk in the process - risk which otherwise would be borne by the company.
> And to my knowledge they don't continue to be traded once they're bought, either, so it's sort of apples to oranges.
Breakfast cereals are definitely sold wholesale by third-party suppliers (as are apples and oranges as well).
