Guide to Analysing Companies

Kaffir
A term for the shares of South African gold-mining companies.
Kerb trading
Trading in securities outside the official opening hours of a
market. In the United States, the term refers mainly to the
trading of shares not listed on the main board of the stock ex-
change. As a result, the american stock exchange was
known for years as the Kerb Market. In Australia, the kerb
market was reserved for junior shares in which there was little
turnover. The term is also used on the London Metal Exchange
to describe trading in futures contracts that takes place at the
same time as trading in a commodity for current delivery.
Krugerrand
A gold coin created and marketed by South Africa to persuade
investors to buy more gold. The first Krugerrand (named after
the country’s president, Paul Kruger, and its currency, the rand)
was minted in 1967. It weighed 1 troy ounce of fine gold. In 1980,
a family of coins was created, weighing one-half, one-quarter
and one-tenth of an ounce. To maintain tradition, Krugerrands
are still minted in 22-carat gold.
KYC rules
Know Your Customer (kyc) rules were laid down by regulators
in the United States during the late 1990s to ensure that banks
obtain basic details about their customers so that they know
who is the true beneficiary of any account opened at the
bank. The rules were part of a raft of measures aimed at fighting
money laundering, drug trafficking and drug-related crime.
The information gleaned from kyc rules is also an important
tool in the US government’s fight against terrorism. 
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Laddering
The practice of falsely driving up the price of ordinary
shares (common stock in the United States) when they are
issued to investors as part of a new issue (or initial public
offering). The issuing bank agrees with certain investors
that, in return for being allocated shares at the issue price, they
will buy additional shares at progressively higher prices. The
demand for the shares created in this way has the effect of
driving up the price artificially high. When the price has reached
a predetermined level, the original investors sell out at a huge
profit, leaving everybody else in the lurch. Although the prac-
tice is notoriously difficult to prove in a court of law, it was
used during the boom in technology shares during the late
1990s.
Landesbank
A German financial institution that serves as a mini-central
bank for a region (or land). Many landesbanken have branched
out from their original role and have since become virtually in-
distinguishable from mainstream commercial banks based in
Germany. Like others in the United States or elsewhere in
Europe, some 
landesbanken have diversified into investment
banking, securities trading and even insurance.