| In the financial markets information is | | | | Among the categories under which penny-stocks |
| everything. Those with information make | | | | may be classified include Emerging Equities, |
| smarter moves quicker and are better placed | | | | SEC Current, Current Information and so on. |
| to make sound investment and trading | | | | Based on the disclosure to the public and the |
| decisions. Some of the leading stock trading | | | | level of adherence to SEC guidelines and the |
| and investment firms have whole buildings | | | | GAAP accounting principles, the pink-sheet |
| devoted to their research teams. Some of the | | | | stocks will be appropriately classified. |
| brightest minds from some of the best schools | | | | This allows far more disclosure and openness |
| are at work in deciphering every morsel of | | | | for the OTC market participants, whether as a |
| news and information that is out in the open | | | | company official or as an investor or a |
| and even more care is taken to extract | | | | trader. Moreover, the classification helps |
| information that is not out in the open. | | | | narrow one's focus down to only those |
| | | | companies that meet certain criteria as |
| Long considered an extremely risky market, | | | | considered to be important by the user. For |
| the OTC (Over-The-Counter) or the penny-stock | | | | example, a trader who wants to deal only with |
| market has developed and is in the process of | | | | those companies that are rather open in their |
| streamlining its disclosure process. What | | | | disclosure can look under the Emerging |
| had been a market where public information | | | | Equities list and can do so with ease. On |
| was meager as compared to what the company | | | | the other hand, those that are looking only |
| insiders and handlers knew, has now embarked | | | | for distressed companies but have offered |
| on attempts to help the average person get | | | | some information in the most recent six |
| more information about the company one is | | | | months can look up the list of "Limited |
| interested in. | | | | Information" classification. |
| | | | |
| The OTC market will still not be on par with | | | | While the research that goes into one's |
| the information that is publicly available | | | | decision is not eased much by such new |
| for the publicly traded and listed companies | | | | classification categories, one's focus is now |
| on the major exchanges. However, the first | | | | greatly limited and one can use one's |
| step in the right direction is being taken as | | | | resources and time more wisely and |
| beginning in May 2007, more classification | | | | effectively. In a market where time and |
| and delineation is being made available to | | | | resources are very valuable, this move |
| the general public. | | | | definitely is the right step forward in the |
| | | | right direction. |