Archive for April, 2010


The Stock Market: Getting Started

Filed Under: Stock Trading Systems by Bill — Comments Off
April 24, 2010

It is now easier than ever for beginners to get started in the stock market. The Internet has revolutionized the way people can trade and find resources for investing. It only takes a few days and usually a minimum of $500 to set up a basic cash account with an online brokerage, to get started understanding the stock market.

Some of the more popular online brokerages are Ameritrade, E-Trade, and Scottrade. It is just as simple as setting up an eBay account. With cash accounts, investors usually need to wait about three days for their money to settle after they have sold their stock. For more freedom in investing, investors might start with a cash account and then eventually upgrade to a margin account. A margin account requires an account minimum of $5000 and it allows investors the freedom of making three round trip trades every five days. A round trip is simply a term for buying and investing within the same day. For investors who are looking to make more round trips per week, there is a third option. A day trader’s account allows investors to make as many round trips as they would like. It requires an account minimum of $15,000.

Once a trader has an account, the next thing to do is start researching for what to trade in. Some of the more popular online financial websites include Google Finance and Yahoo Finance. Both feature the most viewed company websites, breaking press releases, and industry summaries. For traders who like some insight or feedback from other investors, message boards might be a good idea because they have a lot of useful information on the stock market for beginners. Investor’s Hub and Yahoo Message Board are both very popular places for investors to post about companies they are investing in. For real time information, MarketWire’s website is a great site for finding smoking hot press releases. Also, Twitter provides millions of real time tweets for investors who are looking at specific companies.

For new investors, investing doesn’t have to be confusing. Just a little bit of research online can lead to becoming a proficient investor.

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How To Read The Stock Pages

Filed Under: Personal Finance by Bill — Comments Off
April 15, 2010

How to read the stock pages

The first two columns of a stock page will show the stocks High and Low prices.  These are the highest and lowest prices that the stock has traded over a period of time. These figures are adjusted, reflecting any stock splits that have occurred.  This information can come in handy by showing the range the stock has traded in for the past year.

The third column is called the YTD % chg.  This figure portrays the stocks percentage price change since the beginning of the year or its initial public offering (IPO). YTD stands for year-to-date. This shows exactly where a stock stands from its high and low.

The fourth column is called Stock-Div.  This listing displays the names of the company followed by their dividend. The Dividend is shown as an annual figure and is determined by the last quarterly or semiannual dividend payout. If there is a small “f” after a dividend, it means that it increased on the last declaration being made in the market.

The fifth column provides the stock’s yield which is an annualized percentage return provided by the dividends that have been given.  This is a great way to identify an undervalued stock.

The sixth column shows the stock’s price-earnings ratio or P/E- figured by dividing the closing price of the stock by the company’s total earnings per share for the latest four quarters. The most common measure if a stock is to be considered as a good stock purchase for you.

The seventh and eighth columns show the closing price as well as the dollar charge for the previous day.

If you are going to be an independent investor, you will need to know how to read a stock page, and what the different points of data mean.  You will then be able to know what you are doing with your trading decisions.

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How To Choose Profitable Stocks

Filed Under: Stock Trading Systems, Uncategorized by Bill — Comments Off
April 14, 2010

We have all dreamed of becoming successful in the stock market. However, figuring out the best stocks to buy is not as easy as it may seem. Every stock market beginner will have to work extra hard to learn the best strategic ways on how to invest on the best stocks. Here a few basic ways on how to choose the most profitable stocks.

Fundamental Analysis: This is one of the simplest processes. However, it might take some extra time and dedication. The basic concept behind fundamental analysis is finding out a company’s inherent value. In other terms you are to find out how much a company is worth through research of their type of industry, management and financial statements. A higher inherent value means a higher chance for success.

Value Investing: This is by far one of the best current methods used. How it works is pretty simple. All you have to do is research for strong promising companies that have their stocks priced below their expected values. The earlier you invest on these types of companies; the highest are your chances of success. Patience is a virtue. This method might take a little longer than other ones to show results because stocks below expected values usually struggle a while before booming up to match their company’s calculated values.

Growth Investing: This method can be very well called the opposite of value investing. It doesn’t deal with a company’s current potential and stock prices, but it deals with future prices and a company’s growth expectancies. It might be risky at times, but if you are looking to make big profits, this is the way you want to go. Growth investing focuses on new or fast-expanding industries such as ones dealing with the latest technology. As a company expands or grows, their stocks grow with it and this is where you will start to see those dollars adding up quickly.

There is no magic way of telling which stock is going to rise and fall. However, simple methods like the ones listed above will help you stay on track and narrow down to only a few major promising stocks, even when you buy stocks online.

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How Stock Buying Has Changed Over The Years

Filed Under: Personal Finance by Bill — Comments Off
April 14, 2010

Investing in the stock market has changed considerably since the Internet has become such a part of the process. Older buyers remember the day when you had to make a phone name to your stock broker for each trade you needed to make. Also, everyone who had money in a broker account was assigned an actual person who took and executed the trade information.

Investing in shares in 2010 has developed into a much less personal and anonymous experience. Opening an internet stock account is something you can simply do without ever speaking to an actual person. Corporations in all lines of business are trying to reduce real paid workers and replace them with computers in order to try to save money. The business of stocks is no different and more often than not, you are now able to do everything from buying and selling on-line with no human interaction.

This lack of a personal touch has made stock trading something that you must study yourself. Many “Stocks for dummies” type books have been written to teach people the ins and outs of investing yourself online without the help of a financial advisor or stock broker. You can buy one of these books at almost any book store and start your quest to learn how to begin investing in the modern age of computers.

There still are a few brokerages that have full service options and offer you help and recommendations from real professionals. However this service comes with a hefty price ticket and it is something that fewer and fewer people are using. It seems that folks with larger estates would be more likely candidates for this type of full service as they want more input from qualified investment professionals to help them figure out what are the best stocks to buy right now.

Stock investing has changed quite a bit in the last decade, at least the part of the buying and selling stock shares has. However, the art of uncovering good stocks with upside potential is still as difficult as it ever was.

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