A mortgage is a loan where the lender obtains a legal right to specific property if the borrower fails to make the required payments on a loan. A common case is when a borrower obtains a mortgage loan to purchase a house, and the lender has the right to seize and sell the house if loan payments are not made.

Volume is a measure of the how much of an asset trades over a day or other period. For example, about 150 million shares of Apple Computer are traded on an average day. Volume is important because significant changes in volume are in indicator of investor interest or events related to an asset.

Venture capital or VC is a form of financing that enables investors to invest money in young start-ups. Venture capitalists are frequently former entrepreneurs that also have the experience to help their portfolio companies scale their business and succeed. VC firms are very active in Silicon Valley and the technology industry.

An annual report is a document that public corporations are legally obligated to publish for their stockholders each year. In addition to a narrative describing the company’s accomplishments for the year, it provides other specific details to help shareholders evaluate the company’s financial situation and trajectory. In the United States, companies submit their annual report, called a Form 10-K to the Securities and Exchange Commission. You can search company filings on the EDGAR (“Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval”) Database at: www.sec.gov/edgar/searchedgar/companysearch.html