Here are some terms that I stumbled upon that may pertain to your part. Otherwise, it might just help to know.
Short-selling: Basically, the stocks business on credit, selling of stocks you don't actually own while expecting the prices to lower in the near future, so you can pay back the stocks you borrowed by buying them when the prices are lower. So, to recap you borrow stocks and sell them to get your cash and you pay back the stocks you borrowed when the prices drop. You just sold high and bought low (to return what you sold). The difference is your profit. If the stock prices go up you make a loss, ironically. Well, at least this is the gist of the technique which made some people billions.
Sub-prime mortgage: Loans to people with terrible credit ratings who wanted a house, high interest rates were charged to offset the risk of lending to people you shouldn't expect your money back from. Also, to "reduce risk" and "increase profits" the geniuses at your local investment bank set the home as collateral, meaning if the borrower couldn't pay back the loan whoever issued the mortgage takes the house. So, the banks ended up with lots of homes in their pockets, soon there was no one to actually buy these homes anymore as everyone decided to wake up. There was mass meeting held by the home owner's union to decide that homes were overpriced and not worth it (this might be fabricated...), the banks ended up with a bunch of worthless houses. The rest of the story is too sad to continue...
Also, on the same note.
Foreclosures: Join the dark side, we have houses. This is when the mortgage lender seizes your house since you cannot make the monthly mortgage payment. A common sight in the States after the issuing of sub-prime mortgages.
Hedge Fund: Secret select few elites, kind of the like the Illuminati, decide to put in a huge pool of money to be managed and invested aggressively. They make high risk investments using intense too-high-for-the-average investor level techniques such as leveraged, short, long and market derivative in order to generate returns. The other technique not mentioned here is the amazing "guessing powers" of these elites. The intense too-high-for-average techniques sometimes backfire and hedgies end up losing value, however when they do succeed the return and can be enormous with three digit percentages.
Short-selling: Basically, the stocks business on credit, selling of stocks you don't actually own while expecting the prices to lower in the near future, so you can pay back the stocks you borrowed by buying them when the prices are lower. So, to recap you borrow stocks and sell them to get your cash and you pay back the stocks you borrowed when the prices drop. You just sold high and bought low (to return what you sold). The difference is your profit. If the stock prices go up you make a loss, ironically. Well, at least this is the gist of the technique which made some people billions.
Super simplified and condensed version of http://www.investopedia.com/university/shortselling/shortselling1.asp
Sub-prime mortgage: Loans to people with terrible credit ratings who wanted a house, high interest rates were charged to offset the risk of lending to people you shouldn't expect your money back from. Also, to "reduce risk" and "increase profits" the geniuses at your local investment bank set the home as collateral, meaning if the borrower couldn't pay back the loan whoever issued the mortgage takes the house. So, the banks ended up with lots of homes in their pockets, soon there was no one to actually buy these homes anymore as everyone decided to wake up. There was mass meeting held by the home owner's union to decide that homes were overpriced and not worth it (this might be fabricated...), the banks ended up with a bunch of worthless houses. The rest of the story is too sad to continue...
Also, on the same note.
Foreclosures: Join the dark side, we have houses. This is when the mortgage lender seizes your house since you cannot make the monthly mortgage payment. A common sight in the States after the issuing of sub-prime mortgages.
Super simplified and condensed version of http://www.investopedia.com/ask/answers/07/subprime-mortgage.asp
Hedge Fund: Secret select few elites, kind of the like the Illuminati, decide to put in a huge pool of money to be managed and invested aggressively. They make high risk investments using intense too-high-for-the-average investor level techniques such as leveraged, short, long and market derivative in order to generate returns. The other technique not mentioned here is the amazing "guessing powers" of these elites. The intense too-high-for-average techniques sometimes backfire and hedgies end up losing value, however when they do succeed the return and can be enormous with three digit percentages.
Thank you to http://www.investopedia.com/terms/h/hedgefund.asp for the long definition.