The transactions are done through an auction process with the dealers competing on price and the Fed accepting the low bids for buying and the high bids for selling.

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Typically strong bull markets may start the day weak or even gap lower shaking out weak hands at which point buying emerges and bids stocks up into the bell.

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Going forward, Boeing officials vow that they will insist that customers are crystal-clear about what they are buying--and how they will evaluate the bids, says McGraw.

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Despite's Portsmouth's financial problems, administrator Andrew Andronikou is confident Pompey will survive as he evaluates bids from 12 parties who are interested in buying the club.

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It allows for a cycle of bids to appear in the marketplace as the tide of buying moves between the various skittish groups that have been witness to a decade of perpetual fear.

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Decimalization has narrowed the spread between the highest bids and lowest offers, meaning individual investors are paying less when buying stocks and getting more when selling them, much to the chagrin of Nasdaq marketmakers whose spreads have been crimped.

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If you own stock in a company that is the object of one or more hostile takeover bids it could mean that it is viewed as financially weak and a good "buying" opportunity for a larger entity.

FORBES: Signs That It Might Be Time To Sell