Speculation began to be practiced since the appearance of the first exchanges. In turn, exchanges were created on the basis of fairs of the XVI century, when the Frankfurt and Leipzig fairs played a big role for international trade. It was then that the first fair exchanges appeared. Over time, such actions have become permanent. The first exchange transactions with bills were carried out in Italy, after which the Antwerp and Amsterdam exchanges were formed, which are still known. It was on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange that stocks were introduced, as a result of which the first speculations appeared. Near the exchanges were establishments where sales of tea, coffee and cocoa resumed. According to information reported to us from the 16th century, it was there that the first speculator appeared. This is a big event, because since those years history has received a completely new way of earning.
Speculation and speculators
Speculation is a short-term trading activity that seeks to receive dividends. A person received these dividends because of the price difference between buying and selling. In turn, the speculator is a person who has been engaged in such activities on an ongoing basis. A lot of time has passed since the appearance of the first speculators.
Now this activity is developing by leaps and bounds. At the moment, there is an exchange speculator who conducts its business exclusively with shares on exchanges. This type of earnings is now very popular in America. By the way, there is also a currency speculator whose task is to purchase currency for one amount and sell it for a large one. Currency can be absolutely any. The difference that is received is earnings. You can literally translate the word speculator (speculator) as "a person who takes a wait and see attitude."
Today, currency speculators exist in every country. Due to the rapid development of exchanges that have moved to the Internet, everyone has the opportunity to conclude an agreement with the exchange and try themselves in the appropriate role, the main purpose of which is to profit from currency trading. The speculator is not only a profession. Many wealthy citizens try this role very often. True, such an activity is rarely profitable for them. Speculation on the exchange can be equated with bookmaking, where you need to take into account all the news and aspects, up to rumors. If you have insider information on hand, you are on a horse, otherwise you will have to rely on your professionalism and luck.
Trader or speculator?
By the way, now there is a very popular word "trader". Exchange speculator - this is the trader. This word came to us from America. In fact, a trader is a legal entity or an individual who has the right to conclude transactions on the exchange.
Interestingly, the "trader" is sometimes replaced in American literature with the word "trader", but the explanation in the explanatory dictionary is like a pocket thief. After a simple analogy, we can conclude who speculators are considered. It is not in vain that this word has a negative meaning.
America's most famous speculator of the 20th century
One of the most famous exchange traders of the 20th century was the American Benjamin Hutchinson, who was born in a poor family of a farmer and after a losing crop was forced to look for new ways to earn money. The American’s first high-profile deal was the purchase of contracts for the supply of wheat, which has tripled in price. From that moment, Hutchinson received the title of a man who circled around half his finger on almost half of the Chicago population. It was from that moment that the great history of the richest raider of the 20th century began.
Speculation in the USSR
In Soviet times, people were afraid of the title of speculator, because it was punishable by the Criminal Code. At that time, there were crimes such as speculation on a particularly large scale and petty speculation. An article of the Criminal Code of the RSFSR provided for liability in the form of imprisonment of up to seven years in the case of speculation on an especially large scale and the imposition of a fine if speculation fell under the qualification of petty.
Now we can safely say that the authorities tried to prevent the inevitable. The fact is that almost everyone was engaged in speculation in the USSR. After all, the goods that fell under speculation were clothes, shoes, and, of course, alcohol. Interestingly, over time, this article went into oblivion, and today a person who is engaged in speculation is boldly called a businessman.