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Publicly traded companies are becoming few and far between in the Magic City. In Friday's print edition, our cover story delves into a troubling fact - that just 15 years ago, Birmingham had 30 public companies and now is on the verge of having only 13.

A large reason for the shift is mergers and acquisitions, especially among financial firms, and the recession and slow recovery have also not helped matters. There is a negative connotation associated with a company moving its headquarters away from a city, but experts say Birmingham can market itself as an attractive location for companies to set up shop.

America needs to be made aware of what all of us in the Magic City already know: Birmingham is a great place to live, work and raise our families. While continuing to foster an atmosphere of entrepreneurship with our existing businesses, our civic and business leaders need to strategically market to corporate America all that Birmingham has to offer," said Norman Orr, Burr & Forman LLP.

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