Financing Gap and Net Equity Retirement at Nonfinancial Corporations, 1990-2005. Chart of financing gap and net equity retirement at nonfinancial corporations, 1990 to 2005. For details, refer to the text immediately preceding this chart. Note: The data are annual; the observations for 2005 are based on partially estimated data. The financing gap is the difference between capital expenditures and internally generated funds. Net equity retirement is the difference between equity retired through share repurchases, domestic cash-financed mergers, or foreign takeovers of U.S. firms and equity issued in public or private markets, including funds invested by venture capital partnerships. Source: Federal Reserve Board, flow of funds data.