Round-trip trading, or "round-tripping," usually refers to the unethical practice of purchasing and selling shares of the same security over and over again in an attempt to manipulate observers into believing that the security is in higher demand than it actually is.

What is round tripping in economics?

Round-tripping, also known as round-trip transactions or "Lazy Susans", is defined by The Wall Street Journal as a form of barter that involves a company selling "an unused asset to another company, while at the same time agreeing to buy back the same or similar assets at about the same price." Swapping assets on a ...

Is Round tripping illegal?

The accounting slang term "round tripping" refers to a series of transactions between companies that bolster the revenue of the companies involved but that, in the end, don't provide real economic benefit to either company. While not necessarily illegal, round tripping is at best disingenuous.