[pg314]

> If nobody bought the stocks from there on out, the original sale would have no value

That is wrong. The value would be the NPV of all future income from those stocks. Being able to sell them easily increases the value a bit because of the increased flexibility, but the major source of the value of an investment is the stream of future income.

As an example, Warren Buffet has no intention of ever selling his stake in Coca-Cola, yet he is getting more than his original investment in dividends each year. Are you going to argue that his investment would be worthless if he weren't able to share his shares (which wouldn't change anything for him, because he never intends to sell them)?