IPO pipeline boost? Hope springs eternal

Let's hope Florida's pipeline of initial public offerings of stock starts flowing again this year, because 2009 and 2010 weren't exactly stellar.

As of early December, Florida companies sold just three IPOs out of 135 across the country, according to Renaissance Capital. In Florida, just $500 million was raised through those three IPOs, compared with $215 billion nationally.

Florida companies didn't raise more money in 2010 than they did in 2009, but the national figure rose 129% in that period, says Renaissance Capital.

The last time Florida companies raised more than $1 billion was in 2006, when they raised $1.1 billion. The state's best year over the last decade was 1999, the height of the tech boom, when Florida companies raised $1.6 billion.