A “pump and dump” is an investing scam in which con artists use false or misleading statements to get investors to buy up a lot of a particular stock that the scammers also own. If a lot of people buy the stock, the price of the stock generally goes up. The con artists can then sell theirs at an inflated price, after which the stock price usually falls again, causing the other investors to lose their money.
Archive for the ‘Level 2’ Category
A Pump and Dump is…
Thursday, August 20th, 2009A Boiler Room is…
Thursday, August 20th, 2009A boiler room is a bank of telephones, usually set up by a broker, from which salespeople make calls to potential investors and pressure them to buy stocks. This is generally considered an unethical practice.
Spot Price is…
Thursday, August 20th, 2009The spot price is the current market price of an actual physical commodity. Sometimes this is also called the cash price. The spot price is traded on the spot market, where goods are sold for cash and delivered immediately. So, if you buy a barrel of oil on the spot market for $60, then you will receive the actual barrel of oil as soon as possible.
A Subsidiary is…
Thursday, August 20th, 2009A subsidiary is a company controlled by another company, sometimes called a “holding” company. For example, NBC Universal is a subsidiary of General Electric.
Wholesale Trade is…
Thursday, August 20th, 2009Wholesale trade is the purchase of large quantities of a commodity or product followed by the sale of that commodity or product to retailers. Basically, wholesale trade isn’t selling commodities to the public, it’s selling them to other companies who sell them to the public. Another term for it is B2B – business to business.
Controlling Interest is…
Thursday, August 20th, 2009Controlling interest refers to the possession of over 50% of the voting shares of a particular company. Having control of a company is basically like getting the majority vote.
A Hold is…
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009A hold is the action of maintaining ownership of a security over a long period of time. The word “hold” can also refer to a financial analyst’s recommendation to neither buy nor sell a stock or financial instrument based on research and reasoning. A securities analyst’s recommendation to hold appears to take a middle ground between encouraging investors to buy and suggesting that they sell.
Yield is…
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009Yield is the rate of return on an investment, usually expressed as a percentage. It is the amount of money returned to investors on their investments.
A Grantmaker is…
Monday, August 17th, 2009A grantmaker is a person or an organization that donates money (in the form of grants) to a charitable organization. It’s basically synonymous with donor and can refer to foundations or corporate giving programs donating huge amounts of money, or a just a regular person making a minor donation to a local charity.