"If the rate of profit falls (for the mass of the S&P500 companies), on the one hand we see exertions by capital, in that the individual capitalist drives down the individual value of his own particular commodities below their average social value, by using better methods, etc., and thus make a surplus profit at the given market price [though most of that excess profit will be passed on maker of better machine in gratitude for staving off falling profitability]; on the other hand we have swindling and general promotion of swindling [e.g.,by manipulating stock options so they don't appear as an expense], though desperate attempts in the way of new methods of production [and circulation], new capital investments and new adventures [in biotech, the internet, business to business ecommerce and microprocessors], to secure some kind of extra profit, which will be independent of the general average and superior to it."
RNB