One of my all-time favorite Saturday Night Live skits appeared during the show's first season: Dan Aykroyd and the late Gilda Radner arguing about a new product called Shimmer wherein they finally conclude “it is both a floor wax and a dessert topping.”I'm increasingly reminded of this skit in reading about the way common stock is being used for a broader and broader range of purposes. For example:  Honeywell (HON) issuing $1.2 billion in new shares to cover a shortfall in its pension plan. Bank of Ireland (IRE) announcing that it may “pay” preferred stock dividends “in kind” using ...