Thomas M. Anderson

A deluge of e-mail come-ons puts gullible investors at risk while the government does little to stop it. Promoters of penny stocks typically pitch these high-risk investments as if they were valuable real estate, like oceanfront property. With little money down, you can make a quick-and-easy profit. But in reality, penny stocks are more like …

Full-page ads promoting this small retailer’s shares are running in major business magazines. Investors beware. Guangzhou Global Telecom has made a big splash in its brief life as a U.S.-traded stock. Shares of the small Chinese retailer started trading here on May 15 with an opening share price of $1.75. In little more than two …