The article explores how stock market innovations and deregulations impact the business environment. It discusses the relationship between stock returns and beta, a measure of risk. Traditional models may not accurately predict returns, as they assume a normal distribution of returns. The concept of downside beta, which measures the risk of stock prices falling when the market falls, is found to be more relevant in assessing portfolio risk. Investors tend to view downside deviations as a risk, while upside deviations are seen as a preferred gain.