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Investments & Financial Planning

What is considered a " block " of stock ?

Asked Friday, January 12, 2001 by an anonymous user
A "block" is a large quantity of stock or large dollar amount of bonds held or traded. Generally, 10,000 shares or more of stock and $200,000 or more worth of bonds would be described as a block.
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Investments & Financial Planning

Does Italy have a stock exchange ?

Asked Friday, January 12, 2001 by an anonymous user
Yes. Italian Stock Exchange is based in Milan. It came into effect after the unification of Italy's 10 national exchanges in 1991. All listed securities are traded electronically. The main indexes are the MIB and the MIBTEL, based on the prices of all listed shares, and the MIB Thirty, based on a sample of the thirty most liquid and highly capitalized shares.
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Investments & Financial Planning

In the stock market calendar, what is the January barometer and January effect ?

Asked Friday, January 12, 2001 by an anonymous user
The January barometer is a statistic from "The Stock Traders Almanac" reflecting, with 85-90% accuracy, that the overall stock market rises in a year when the Standard and Poors is up in the month of January and drops when the index for that month is down.
The January effect refers to the historical pattern that stock prices rise in the first few days of January.
Studies have suggested this holds only for small capitalization stocks. In recent years, there has been less evidence of a January effect.
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Investments & Financial Planning

What does a stock broker do ?

Asked Friday, January 12, 2001 by an anonymous user
A broker is an individual who is paid a commission for executing customer orders. A floor broker is one who executes orders on the stock exchange floor, or an upstairs broker who handles retail customers and their orders. A broker is also a person who acts as an intermediary between a buyer and seller, usually charging a fee or commission. A broker who specializes in stocks, bonds, commodities, or options acts as an agent and must be registered with the exchange where the securities are traded.
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Investments & Financial Planning

What is a Brokered Certificate of Deposit ?

Asked Friday, January 12, 2001 by an anonymous user
A brokered Certificate of Deposit is a certificate of deposit issued by a bank or thrift institution bought by a brokerage firm in bulk for the purpose of reselling to their brokerage customers. A broker Certificate of Deposit features a higher interest rate, usually 1 percent higher, and is FDIC insured and do not usually have commissions.
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Investments & Financial Planning

What is an Intercommodity spread ?

Asked Friday, January 12, 2001 by an anonymous user
An Intercommodity spread in the commodities market is a spread consisting of a long position and a short position in different but related commodities. An investor might be speculating that the price relationship between the two commodities will change for example gold and silver commodities.
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Investments & Financial Planning

What are Investment-grade bonds ?

Asked Friday, January 12, 2001 by an anonymous user
A bond that is assigned a rating in the top 4 categories by commercial credit rating companies. Standard & Poors classifies investment-grade bonds as BBB or higher, and Moody's classifies investment grade bonds as Ba or higher.
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Investments & Financial Planning

In the stock market , what is a " Boiler Room " ?

Asked Friday, January 12, 2001 by an anonymous user
Boiler room is used to describe a place or operation in which unprincipled, unscrupulous salespeople make telephone calls and try to sell people speculative, even fraudulent, securities.
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Investments & Financial Planning

What is a corporation poison pill ?

Asked Friday, January 12, 2001 by an anonymous user
Corporation poison pill is a Antitakeover device that gives a prospective acquirer’s shareholders the right to buy shares of the firm or shares of anyone who acquires the firm at a very large discount to their fair market value.
It gets its name after the cyanide pill that secret government agents are said to be instructed to swallow if capture is imminent.
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