It was 21 years ago in October that Black Monday, the financial crash of 1987, started in Hongkong. In October 24, 79 years ago Black Thursday, the stock market crash that started the Great Depression began. October 2008 is another sadly auspicious month, and to this day, the crash isn't over yet. These days, it's no longer unusual to see stocks in the major stock exchanges such as the Nasdaq, NYSE and DJIA drop by 500 points, whereas before a hundred would be considered bad.

Investment analysts say that this was inevitable considering the state of the US economy, and that the stock market trend had been steadily sliding down since a year ago in October. Experts say there were signs the 9% slide in the Shanghai stock market, and the Dow Jones 416 point decline in 2007.

Whether this year's crash on Wall Street was written in the stars, we do know that since the fall of Lehman Brothers in September 2008, other financial institutions in the US have followed suit, and stock markets around the world have also experienced drastic decline in share values.

With the volatility that the major stock markets are experiencing these days, perhaps it is now time to take another look at that stock which we used to ignore and deliberately overlook in the past penny stocks.

Penny stocks these are what stocks from the major exchanges such as the DJIA, NYSE, Nasdaq, and other stock exchanges all over the world call a stock when it comes tumbling down and gets delisted from the major stock exchanges. Did you know that Lehman Brothers stocks previously considered stable are now just penny stocks and trading at the Pink Sheets for less than a dollar?

The Lehman Brothers company made its exit from the NYSE on September 17, 2008, two days after it announced its plans to file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The company's share value dropped 90% after the announcement.

Despite the current stocks mayhem, stock investing remains active. Many investors ran to grab the stocks of the delisted companies in the belief that these will rise again. The OTCBB and Pink Sheets are still actively listing stocks, and while not exempted from the aftermath of this year's Wall Street crash, some penny stocks remain stable and continue to rise.

If you do decide to invest in penny stocks, keep in mind that you will have to do careful research about the penny stocks companies that you're thinking of investing in. Experts used to say that finance, technology, and healthcare were the best kinds of penny stocks to buy.

With the state the financial sector is currently in, it is probably not a good idea to buy penny stocks of banks or financial service companies right now. Healthcare and wellness continues to be an important sector, and technology remains an important component of this sophisticated, technology driven century.

That said, there are penny stocks companies that, although they do not meet the requirements of the major stock exchanges and must remain on the OTCBB or Pink sheets, are slowly but steadily plodding on in spite of the financial crisis.

It will take hours of research, a calculator, and maybe subscriptions to good, credible financial news sites to unearth a good penny stock, but if you find them your time and money will be worth it.

While many people shy away from penny stocks because of the often incomplete information on the companies, right now penny stocks if you don't have the kind of money to invest in the major exchange is the best way to go.