The stock market can be a quick way to bankrupcy, and equally a fast method to earn additional income, depending on your skill and luck. penny stocks are usually less than $1 each to buy, providing a cheap entry to the stock market and hence involve little risk to the amateur invester. Stocks and shares represent the worth of a company as indicated by the price of each share. These shares are traded, ie bought and sold, by individuals (investers) as an investment in that company. Investers normally fall into three groups. - amateur investers who own a small number of shares - large investers who control a considerable quantity of shares - investers with an interest in becoming a malority shareholder and hence a controlling influence on the company. There is money to be made in stocks and shares but a lot of money can also be lost.

Shares and penny stocks can be seen as the constituent parts of a company or organisation split into many equal parts which can be bought and sold for profit. You could own a small number of shares in a company which only account for a tiny presentage of the total worth of the business. Many amateur investors do this. Or you might be a large investor who wishes to have a controlling interest in a company in which case you would buy the majority of the shares and become the majority shareholder. This is how some companies take each other over - by buying up enough shares so that they control the direction the company takes.