1 Successful companies can issue stocks or shares (certificates representing part ownership of the company)
2 Offering these stocks for sale to financial institutions and the general public changes the business
3 Selling stocks for the first time is called an IPO or initial public offering in the US
4 Companies use an investment bank to find buyers, and to underwrite the stock issue,
5 Stocks and shares are also known as equity or equities; the most common form
6 After shares have been issued they can be traded on the secondary market at
7 Some stock exchanges have automatic computerized trading systems that match up buyers and sellers; others have market makers -
8 Stock prices rise and fall depending on supply and demand,
9 Consequently the nominal value of a share - the price written on it - is rarely the same as its market price -
10 Companies either distribute part of their profits to shareholders as an annual dividend,
11 Stock markets are measured by stock indexes (or indices),
A period during which most stocks (and the stock index) are rising is called a bull market,
| A and a flotation or an IPO in Britain.
В and one in which most of them fall in value is a bear market.
С the stock exchange on which the company is listed or quoted.
D from a private to a public company, and is called going public.
E i.e. how many sellers and buyers there are.
F i.e. to guarantee to buy the stocks if there are not enough other buyers.
G is called common stock in the US, and ordinary shares in Britain.
H or keep the profits in the company, which also causes the value of the stocks to rise.
I the price it is currently being traded at on the stock exchange.
J to raise capital to expand their operations.
К traders in stocks who quote bid (buying) and offer (selling) prices.
L which show changes in the average prices of a selected group of important stocks.
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