Dirty Secrets:

1. The OTCBB is not an exchange in the traditional sense; it is strictly a quotation service. It was created by Nasdaq in 1990 to provide more transparency to securities that were traded over the counter without any electronic record. Trades are now made by telephone between market makers.

2. Nasdaq has no business relationship with OTCBB issuers. OTCBB companies do not have any minimum financial requirements. An issuer can have no assets or revenues -- in fact, it can be hopelessly insolvent and still trade.

3. The 100-year-old Pink Sheets (named after the colour of stationary originally used to publish stock quotes) is a privately owned and completely unregulated market. Issuers don't have to have a viable business or file yearly financial statements.