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Low volume stocks can make it much more difficult to trade profitable. For that reason it is better to stay out of these stocks regardless of how the set up looks.

Volume should be looked at every time you place a trade. What volume does is tell you exactly how much of a given stock was traded during the day. Every number counts as 2 trade's one buy and one sell. So if volume is 10 million it means 10 million people sold and 10 million people bought that day.

It is very important to look at volume because if volume is too low it could pose problems if you plan to make money trading it.

The first problem low volume stocks give you involves getting in and out. If there are only 40,000 trades on a given day you might find it very hard to get in especially at a price that you want to.

The second problem is similar, if a stock turns against you it could be hard to get out. Falling price on a low volume stock could make a crowd of sellers with no buyers around. By the time you get out you could have a loss so far under your original stops that, you would be hurting.

The last way low volume stocks work against you is the mere fact that you can't use the volume to help you. Normally you can use volume to help determine the strength of a price action. High volume on an up day means that the stock is likely to keep going up in the short term.

If volume is low to begin with however, it makes it harder to tell where high volume and low volume are. No one is trading the stock anyway.

So what is good volume? Every trader has a different opinion, but I believe you should be able to find a stock that is trading at least 1 million shares per day. That should allow you to move in and out pretty easily.

As your account gets bigger however you may want to move the bar up. Only trade stocks with more and more volume. Just remember to keep volume in mind the next time you make a stock trade.

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Is it truly possible to make money trading CFDs? This is the million dollar question that many traders ask themselves before, during and after getting involved in trading Contracts for Difference.

Making money with Contracts for Difference is easy

Nearly every trader you will come across that trades contracts the difference will have made money. The challenge with trading contracts the difference is not making money but instead hanging on to those profits and not letting greed get the better of your trading account.

One of Australia's largest CFD brokers held two separate trading competitions over different time frames and demonstrated the fact that making money with CFDs is not the hard part but instead overcoming greed in order to hang on to those profits is.

In one trading contest the leader had made over 2400% in five weeks of trading only to give back all of the profit (in excess of $150,000) and start eating into their trading capital. In another similar contest, run by one of Australia's largest CFD brokers, the leader had amassed over 10,000% profit in a couple of weeks only to finish on just over 4000% profit after a short six weeks of trading. This trader had originally given back some 6000% in profits. The mind boggles.

Did you truly come here to make money trading CFDs?

One of the most common sayings in the stock market is traders always get out of the market what they came for. As a result it is absolutely vital that you define your objectives clearly and set steady achievable goals in order to maximise your opportunities when trading Contracts for Difference.

Those traders who do make money trading CFDs I gently knows quite clearly defined goals, a well-established trading plan, trade within their limits and are able to remove their ego from their decision-making ability.

The Golden Rule of Trading Success

It is a well known fact that the golden rule of CFD trading success is to cut your losses off short and to let your profits run and for many this is a lot easier said than done. When defining your trading plan it's a great idea to ensure your wins are at least one and 1/2 to 2 times the size of your losses. Further to this, those that can make money consistently trading CFDs are fully aware of all the numbers related to their trading business.

Profitable CFD traders will be able to tell you their average win, average loss, percentage win, percentage loss and the expectancy and maximum drawdown of their trading system.

As you can see making money trading CFDs is a result of good common business sense including building a trading plan, trading within your means, removing your ego and knowing all the numbers of your trading business.

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"To everything (turn, turn, turn)
There is a season (turn, turn, turn)
And a time for every purpose, under heaven

A time to be born, a time to die
A time to plant, a time to reap
A time to kill, a time to heal
A time to laugh, a time to weep" - The Byrds

Just like the seasons in which flowers blossom in the spring, torrential downpours come in the summer, the leaves change in the fall, and snowflakes fall in the winter, there are patterns that exist within the stock market that recur year after year.

For example the Santa Claus rally usually takes place during the last 5 trading days of the year and the first 2 trading days in January. This time period has averaged a 1.4% gain since 1969. If Santa fails to appear this usually portends a bear market.

One of the most famous and consistent patterns is the so called "January Effect," in which small cap stocks have outperformed large cap stocks 41 out of 43 years. The run up generally begins in mid-December and most of it ends by mid-January.

Then there is the January barometer in which the first 5 trading days of the year act as a gage for how the rest of the year will turn out. This has been a very effective tool in which the last 36 times the first 5 days have been up has led to gains for the year 31 times. The average gain in each of the 36 years has been 13.1%.

In nine out of the last fourteen post election years the S&P has shown a loss during the first five days of January, six of which resulted in a full year's loss of 11.1%. This leaves five post election years where there were gains during this period. One of these years ended up being a loser, but four of these years the average gain was 22.6%. So investors should watch the first few days of January closely.

There are other things one can take a look at when examining yearly patterns. For example the days before and after certain holidays generally show a tendency towards bullishness. Under the democrats markets usually show bigger gains than when republicans are in power. The last two years of a presidency have been substantially more bullish than the first two years, with the third year showing an average of a 10.6% gain and the fourth year a 6.7% gain.

When considering seasonal patterns one should never rely on these alone for taking trades, because unusual events like war, acts of terrorism, and acts of God can disrupt these patterns. However when combined with with technical and fundamentals these patterns can act as a road map for decision making in the markets.

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I am sure that most people will agree that 2008 was a bad year for stock markets from around the world. Who could have predicted at the start of the year the turmoil that was to follow? 2009 may well be even worse, unemployment is likely to rise in a major way and many household names will cease to exist. The question on many investors' lips is how will stock markets from around the world perform in 2009?

Now it is important to state at this stage that I am not a financial adviser and that what I am going to write in this article is purely my opinion. I am however an experienced investor who actually is finding the current financial turmoil as making very interesting reading and who believes that a lot of people will make a lot of money during this crisis. I for one will be taking a chance, a gamble as it were, as I like to buy when the markets are low and to sell when they reach new highs. Think about it for a while, when do markets fall? When something major goes wrong, but history tells us that they do eventually recover.

The UK and US are taking massive steps to put the wrongs right. Interest rates have fallen to new lows, lows not previously seen. The governments of these countries have stated that they will do whatever is necessary to get their people through this credit crunch. This is not the normal "wait and see" policy and is something that should be applauded.

Stock markets may well lose a further twenty percent in 2009 however I feel that by 2011 they may well see new highs. I personally like to invest on a monthly basis which helps me to take advantage of what is known as "pound cost averaging". It has worked very well for me during previous downturns and I am more than confident that it will work again.

My attitude is a very simple one, sit tight, have a lot of patience, do not panic, stick to the principals that have worked for you in the past and then go and collect your winnings!

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I am a huge stock market geek and a huge poker geek as well. I remember seeing not too long ago a world poker series; they were interviewing a guy from the semi finals who said he was an option player.

That made me think, trading which is one of my biggest hobbies is very similar to one of my other favorite hobbies poker. Now I know most people out there are not willing to believe that poker and trading are similar.

Most people associate poker with slot machines and gamblers, and the stock market with a way to invest your money and grow. The truth is people do make a living by both being poker players and by being stock market traders. Once more it takes the same qualities to be a good poker player as it does to be a good stock market trader.

In order to be a profitable poker player you must.

1. Have a strategy that wins in the long term, probabilities and reading people

2. Manage your risk, don't make stupid calls, fold when you are not sure

3. Win big when you win, all in, raising, reeling them in

In order to be a profitable trader you must

1. Have a strategy that wins in the long term

2. Manage your risk

3. Win big when you win

I'm not saying that the stock market only works when you get lucky. But I am saying that the stock market is not something to be taken likely. Most people believe they can just buy a stock today and sell it sometime later for a profit.

The stock market should be treated more as a poker game then a savings account. You cannot put all your money in one stock and hope for the best in the same way you would not go All in with a jack high and hope for the best. If you want to ultimately win you need a strategy that makes you money in the long run.

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A lot of investors have lost a big chunk of their investments to the current situation in the stock market. In fact, some people that were having the ambition of investing in the stock market are now having a rethink due to the news flying around about the crisis in the stock market. But one thing is the fact that there are people that are making their daily living through stock trading, even in this bad market situation. These people trade and make profits daily in the stock market because they understand the rudiments of the game.

It is important that we understand here that there is a difference between investing in stocks, and trading in stocks. The build up of your wealth in the stock market depends on whether you are investing in stocks or trading in it. Trading in stocks means a short term investment, while investing in stocks means long term investment. Picking successful stocks involves being able to value stocks at their actual value. And before one can be able to know the actual value of a stock, he must have carried out a serious research about that particular stock.

Before picking the stock of any particular company, you must have a ratio that you use as a benchmark to evaluate the financial position and performance of that company. A single ratio does not show a good or bad condition. It should be compared with some standards. These standards of comparisons may consist of the following:

1) Past ratios

2) Competitors ratio

3) Industry ratio

4) Projected ratio

5) Ratios relevant to stock trading.

1) CURRENT PRICE: The highest factor that determines the profit that you will make with any stock that you have in your portfolio is the price that you bought it. Here, price determines everything. The ratio is provided by the market and not derived. Before buying any stock, ask yourself, why is the stock selling at that price, find out how long it will sell at that price, and also find out how much it was selling before.

Other factors that play important roles in the selection of stocks, especially in the bear market are earnings per share (EPS), and price/earnings ratio (P/E). This will be the subject of our discussion tomorrow, all things being equal. In the mean time, I will be happy if you can rate or comment on this article.

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Most people know that financial planners or broker-dealers are not likely to be churning their clients like wire houses, so this means that their trades would indicate a better trend of market dynamics then the day-to-day fluctuations in the market caused by program trading or straight stock brokers at wire houses. There are many charts that technical traders watch that help them see trends in the market, the question is; are charts of financial planner's trades of buying and selling a decent indicator of future trends in market direction?

One technical analyst who writes a column for one of the major newspapers in the financial sections states: "The theory behind using this indicator is that people tend to be bullish after they buy, and bearish when they sell."


Thus, if the financial planners are making lots of "buy-trades" they are bullish and tend to recommend a bullish outlook or perhaps call a buy-signal for their clients. Whereas, when making "sell-trades" they are telling their clients that the market is weak and thus, not telling them to buy yet?

Yes, perfectly logical or one could say "During the time they buy or sell," and for a short duration afterward. Yet, I take issue with this because many investment advisors during let's say December will be selling their junk to take the tax losses to save on income tax for their clients. And they plan on replacing these sales into better upside bets for the potential uptick, into solid companies or into safety.

Therefore, if they are selling for tax losses, then re-invest that money in another category, are they really "Bearish" during that period? I say, NO. If this is the case, then the financial planners will be both buying and selling in the same couple of days as they reposition portfolios.

So, your chart of this will have changes, but those changes will not indicate much of anything, and cannot be used as an adequate predictor of monthly, or quarterly trends in the overall market, and I am sure there are other cases which will cause this chart to give false readings.

Indeed, whereas I agree with this as a valuable chart, I also realize that there are other scenarios that play out during December each year as investment advisors protect their investors from tax hits. Now then, if we use such charts in a "café" of charts to look at trends in the market for technical analysis of when to buy at the bottom or sell at the top, it is of value. But investor beware, there is a lot more to this game than just looking at one type of chart. [read; "The Black Swam" for instance].

Well, we all know that the market and the economy are not the same and yes, it is a lot about perception, trust, confidence, and fear. Along with technical analysis, mathematics, policy, politics, currency, interest, regulations, taxes, etc.. I guess, it does make sense to study a little psychology and philosophy along with it all. I'd warn both technical analysts and day-traders not to over educate yourselves; so perhaps all this is worthy of some more thinking?

If you are seeking advice on financial matters please contact a licensed Financial Planner. I am not in the Securities Industry, have no licenses and am not a reliable source of information. I only call it how I see it.

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I have been investing in the stock market for a long time now and I have always tried to develop my own trading tricks that I can use over and over again to profit from my trades. I have found a few that work extremely well and I use them all the time! The thing about these trading tricks is that they are much simpler than you might think. Anyone can pick these up and start making money in the stock market right now!
My main trading trick that I use all the time involves the use of trends. Trends are any patterns you can see over the history of a stock price. This works extremely well with penny stocks and can be use to make a lot of money very quickly! It is very simple and anyone can do it.

All you have to do is identify any trends you can find in several stocks. Based on the trend, take a guess when the stock price will take a fall. You will be surprised how accurate you can be! Anyway, if you do this for many stocks, you will find that there is always an opportunity to ride a trend up to profits. I have the trends documented for about 50 stocks right now and actively invest in most of them for profits literally 95% of the time!

Knowing about trends and how to follow them can make a big difference in your investing. This is one of my trading tricks that I use all the time.

If you want to know some more of my trading trick that I use all the time, you can find my main one here: Trading Tricks. The software you find there works wonders for identifying trends and has become an irreplaceable part of my investing strategy. I use it literally everyday and it is a huge time saver!

Investing in the stock market does not have to be risky business. You can make it safe if you take the time to learn trends and how to trade with them. It is easy and has a small learning curve so it is great for everyone. Trading tricks have made the investing game so much easier and fun. Thank you for reading and good luck investing!

By Michael Pergrem


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If you pay attention to the stock market at all you will get bombarded with tons of useless facts about what is going on with the country, how the economy is improving/ getting worse, how inflation rates are changing, what the unemployment rate is.

It is difficult to find out which information is useful and which information is not useful. Easy, remember 90% of all information talked about in the stock market is completely useless, at least when it comes to making money. You cannot decide what to buy and what to sell based purely on inflation rates, or what the media says.
Your success as a trader will partly be decided by your ability of weeding out market noise. In fact ignoring all irrelevant facts about what is happening in the market will help you in the long run.

So what do you rely on? Simple your system, everyone who ever has, is, or will make consistent money in the stock market has done so by following their own system of trading or investing, that's a fact.

It's a shame that most traders will allow all of the market noise to get the best of them and break there rules. It happens to everyone who has just started trading, you will buy a stock because it looks like a good buy according to your rules, but then bad news comes out and you start thinking, "Oh no, that sounds really, really bad I better sell everything I own cause the markets going to crash". Only to see your stock rally after you sell it. Following your rules would have helped you here.

There are 3 things you need to do in order to be successful in the market.

1. Develop your goal for the stock market. Investing without goals is like buying a lottery ticket, you don't know what will happen but you hope everything will turn out for the best.

2. Develop a system and follow it, everyone who makes money in the market follows this step.

3. Weed out market noise, who cares what some random guy with a degree in economics on CNN says about the stock market. There is no college degree that will turn you into a stock market trader.

Follow these goals and you are on your way to making money in the markets.

By Shaun Rosenberg


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If you know anything about stock investing and the stock market, you've probably heard the phrase, 'buy low and sell high'. This basically means if you want to make money in the stock market, you have to buy a stock at a low price and then sell it for a higher price. This is a basic principle that only makes sense. Unless you are short-selling, you have to buy a stock for a higher price than you bought it in order to make a capital gain.

It sounds easy enough, right? Well, once you try to put it into action, you fall into some road blocks. How do you know when a stock is low enough to buy or high enough to sell? Investment professionals always tell you that you can't predict the stock market, so how can I know I'm selling at the right price?

The truth is you will never know for sure. From time to time you will sell a stock because you feel it is at its peak only to watch it skyrocket once you've sold it. This is just how it is, and if you are able to avoid this, you are one lucky investor.

While you can't predict what a stock will do 100%, you can make a good educated guess. This is where analysis comes in. This is why you must research your stocks and pay attention to what the company is doing. First let's look at fundamental analysis. Fundamental analysis is when you base your stock purchases and sales on the company itself. You look at the financial statements, read about what the managers are doing, and look at the financial ratios.

If you see in the news that your company is probably going to acquire another company, chances are that stock will go up until it is acquired, or it will drop if they decide against it as in the case with Microsoft and Yahoo. Your job is to look at the facts and decide if you really think that company will acquire the other and if it will go up. Also, you need to make sure you get in as soon as possible when it's low. If it's already jumped a lot, it may not go much higher. It could, but this is where you need to make your decisions.

Or maybe you look at the financial statements of one of your stocks for the year and you notice that they have invested a lot in a new line. Maybe this new product will do amazing? So you keep the stock a little longer. Or maybe, you notice the company hasn't made much of a profit and you also notice their products aren't flying off the shelves as they used to. If you are at a high price, sell if you feel it will drop.

This is all about what you feel the stock will do based on what you know about the company. I can't tell you the perfect time to buy or sell; you have to figure it out for yourself. The other type of analysis is technical analysis. But we will leave this for another article.

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When you buy stocks, there are several different ways to place an order. If you sign up with Sharebuilder, you will be charged $4 per order if you place an automatic trade that takes place on the third Tuesday of the month. Doing this will save you on commission payments, but will it earn you the most money?

Yes, placing a market order is more expensive, $9.95, but sometimes it might be the smarter move. A market order is placed immediately, as long as the markets are open. For example, if you decide you want to buy 100 shares of Google right now and it the markets are open, if you place a market order, your shares will be bought at the current price.

The benefit to placing market orders versus automatic orders is that you can get the price you want right away. Sometimes you will want to buy a stock right away because you think the value will go up soon. If you buy it now in the first week of the month, it could have already gone up a few dollars by the third Tuesday, which would mean you've lost potential money. Let's say you could either buy 100 shares at $50 now, or you could wait two weeks until the third Tuesday. You decide to wait in order to save the $6 difference in the commission fee. It comes the third Tuesday and the price is now $53. You buy it at $5,300. It cost you directly $4, but you could have made $300 if you bought it earlier, so it actually cost you $300 plus the $4 fee minus the $6 you saved by passing on the $10 market order fee for a total of $298. That is a significant amount of money.

It could have gone the other way thought, too. Maybe you bought it now for a total of $5,000, but in two weeks it only cost $4,800. This is the choice you have to make. I recommend that if you have an automatic plan set up every month, go for the $4. This is effective dollar cost averaging. If you are buying many shares at a time and actively trading, you should place market orders when you feel the right time is. This can save a lot of losses. You have to always be strategic in how you buy and sell stock no matter how active you are.

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Almost all of us in our lifetime think about investing our money in something, at one point or another. The big question remains, what do we invest in? Should i invest in Stock and Mutual Funds? Maybe i should invest in Real estate, do i invest online or offline. All of these questions are common and deserve looking into.

Stocks

Stocks,lets start there. Stocks are shares in a company. If you want to invest in stocks then it's time for some serious research to see if the company that you are interested in, is stable enough to do so.

If you are just beginning the process of investing, then you may want to stick to something a little easier. Investing in stocks isn't real easy because of the research you have to do. If you are good at research then it should be a snap for you. If stocks is what you really want to do then i say do your homework and go to it. Just remember that stock's go up an down, so don't panic when they do. Watch them close and continue your studying on the subject.

If you just want to make a realy good return on your money that is consistant, then you should go with mutual funds. With mutual funds you find the one you like and let a money manager take care of the rest. Then you keep an eye on it to compare it with other funds to see if your choice was good or not. Overall, this should be your choice if you are just beginning.

Penny Stocks

Penny Stocks, another form of stocks to consider if you are starting off on a budget. They are minor league for the investing and if you happen to make a mistake, at $5 to $15 a share, you won't put your family on the street. With penny stocks you still have to do your research. Solid information from research should always be your tactic and never a hunch.

Getting Started

Before buying anything, check out the news about penny stocks. Go to google news, start going through the many sites and see what the market trends are. This will give you a clearer picture of the market. Don't worry about all the people that are already there doing the same thing that you are about to start. This just proves that it is a money maker. Why else would all those people be there doing the same thing.

Business Trends

Keep an eye on business trends for they won't do you wrong. Whats the world doing write now? Companies that are starting up and have something to do with keeping the earth green. These would be a good place to look. Environmentally safe oriented type of companies. I would stay away from the big companies-fancy type, with the economy the way it is.

These are just some ideas to get you started, and remember, research, more research, before anything else, then keep an eye on it after you get going.

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Many investors, after seeing huge falls in the value of their portfolios, are now turning to trading as a preferred method of making money from the stock market. This gives you the advantage of being able to go short as well as long so you can, if you prefer, look for weak companies rather than strong ones. So what is the most effective trading strategy?

Well there are lots of different strategies you can use but one strategy that I like to use when trading stocks is the classic moving average crossover. This makes use of exponential moving averages (EMAs), and although not perfect, it is generally more effective than the other moving averages because it is weighted towards the very latest prices.

What you do here is to first of all identify the longer term trend for a particular stock. You ideally want to find one that is trending in a certain direction on both the weekly and monthly charts. Then you plot the EMA (5) and EMA (20) on the daily chart and wait for a crossover to occur in the same direction as this trend.

For example let's say company X is trending downwards on both the weekly and monthly charts. Because it is in a downwards trend you would be looking to go short on any occasions when the EMA (5) crosses downwards through the EMA (20) on the daily chart, and it is confirmed when the candle or bar for that day closes.

This method of trading is generally quite an effective way of trading stocks because for a start you are always trading with the long-term trend. Plus these set-ups generally occur soon after a period when the stock briefly moves against this long-term trend, so it provides an excellent entry point.

So if you are looking for shares to short, then you want to find shares that are trending downwards on the weekly and monthly charts, and then go short when the EMA (5) crosses downwards through the EMA (20) on the daily chart.

Similarly if you are looking for long positions or want to actually buy shares in companies, then you want to look for shares that are trending upwards on the weekly and monthly charts, and then go long or buy shares when the EMA (5) crosses upwards through the EMA (20) on the daily chart.

Not all of these crossovers will turn out to be profitable but a fair number of them will. The key is to cut your losses as soon as possible after it appears that a crossover is not going to yield any profits. If you can run your winning trades for as long as possible, then you can potentially make some decent returns.

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David Cohen Doubling Stocks has certainly created a lot of buzz on the internet recently. It claims to offer you stock advice that can make you rich though its weekly penny stock newsletter.

Sounds too good to be true right especially with the price at only $47? I decided to purchase doubling stocks and see if the stocks price recommended are good or just scams.

By the way, they claim to have produced an automated stock trading robot named Marl that can accurately predict the movement of penny stocks.

Here are some of my analyses of Doubling Stocks

Doubling Stocks have been around for quite a while and their previous results have been encouraging. Their program have consistently picked 7 out of 10 winning penny stock picks.

Is Doubling Stocks Scam?

One of the things I look before buying doubling stocks is to see if they have an address or email on their sales page. Doubling Stocks certainly looks legitimate since they have their address, email and phone number on it.

They also have a 60 day money back guarantee so if I don't like it, I can get my money back easily.

One of the main reasons why I joined Doubling Stocks is to understand the reasons why they pick a particular penny stock. For me, I want to eventually pick stocks on my own in future so it was a good opportunity to learn the reasons for picking a particular penny stocks.

So how accurate are the stock picks?

That's the big questions and from my experience with this program, 4 of out every 5 picks are profitable. I've placed bids with my broker and I am happy to say I have earned some money.

The main thing is they will tell you when to enter and when to sell. Without this information, I would probably have made a loss.

Certainly, doubling stocks is suitable for beginners if you simply want good winning penny stock picks that you can place bids immediately. For immediate stock players like me, it is certainly interesting to know the reasons why they recommend a particular stock pick.

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What are the differences between the two, and does one work better than the other?

Growth Stock Investing

This form of investing was especially popular in the dot com era - growth investors invested extensively in high growth industries such as biotechnology and dot coms back in 1999. Growth investors bet on the stock's strong future returns, and are willing to pay more than what the stocks are really worth based on today's returns. This can easily create speculative bubbles - the most famous recent growth investing bubble was the one that burst in March 2000. Nonetheless, growth investors will also look to traditional industries if they predict a possible major change in trend or change in consumer tastes.

In contrast to value investing, investing in growth stocks also means foregoing the dividend yields that traditional stalwarts would offer. This is because growth stocks are also usually small to medium cap stocks - while Microsoft might have been an excellent growth stock pick back then, it has now reached the maturing stage where it would be difficult to double its value in one year.

Value Investing

Value investing means to invest based only on the actual value of the company today. The company must have strong assets, low debt, strong earnings, strong cash flow and a stable, established market position. The most famous value investor is probably Warren Buffett, who mastered this approach on his path to becoming the wealthiest investor in the world.

Value investors such as Warren Buffett are bargain hunters. They pay careful attention to the times when stocks are under-priced. These are the times when the market prices the stock below what it is actually worth, actually due to short term fluctuations. They look for competitive barriers that build a strong moat for the company; these include intellectual property rights, strong brands, and so on. These companies whether financial storms relatively well, and provide greater portfolio security.

Growth Stock Investing versus Value Investing

Given the current market conditions, growth investing is gradually shifting out of favor. Present market conditions suggest that it is time for bargain-hunting - value investing. The question that hangs over us all is whether we have already hit rock bottom, or if the bottom is going to fall out altogether.

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When you invest in the stock market, you can make money two different ways, or both. One way is through dividends. Companies may choose to pay dividends to their stockholders. A dividend is part of the company's net income that they pay to stockholders. For example, they could decide to pay 25 cents for every share you own in a quarter. This would mean that if you had 100 shares, they would pay you $25. They usually pay dividends quarterly, and are not required to pay every quarter or at all.

If you don't make money through dividends, you can still make money through capital gains. When you buy 100 shares of a stock for $400, or $4 a share, and the price goes up to $5 a share and you sell it for $500, you have made a capital gain of $500 minus $400 which is equal to a $100 capital gain. A company does not decide what a capital gain will be like they do with dividends. This is entirely dependent on what the markets do. It is all a matter of supply and demand.

This is basically how it works, oversimplified. If a stock is selling for $5, there are 100,000 shares up for sale, and 100,000 shares are being bought or ordered, the price will stay the same because the exact amount of demand is being supplied since it has cost $5. If the there are 100,000 shares up for sale, and 200,000 shares are being bought or ordered, the price will go up because the demand has surpassed the supply. More people want to buy than are willing to sell therefore, the price must go up in order. If there are 100,000 shares up for sale, and 50,000 shares are being bought or ordered, they must lower the price in order to get more people to buy.

Here is a real world example. Think of a department store selling jeans. They have 30 pairs of jeans in stock selling for $50 each. If after a couple of weeks, they have only sold 10 pairs, they will lower the price in order to sell off the rest. When people see that they are cheaper, they are more likely to buy. On the other hand, if they only put out 10 of the pairs to begin with and they flew off the shelves in one day, they would increase the price on the rest to decrease the amount of people willing to pay for them in order to meet demand. They will also make more money this way, which is why most sellers want to increase the demand without decreasing the price.

The only way to double your money in the stock market is to make 100 percent of what you put into it. If you bought 100 shares of stock at $50 dollars a share and sold it at $100 a share, you have doubled your money. I'm sorry to say this will rarely happen in one year or less, but who knows, you might just be able to find that lucky stock!

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Most people decide that the stock market is just too risky for them to put their hard earned money into. I know many savers out there who would rather put their money into a savings account then into the markets.

This way they can go for the sure thing, the government insured return, but what are you actually getting when you invest your money into a savings account? Say your bank pays you 2% interest in your savings account, and you put $10,000 into it.

After 1 year you have $10,200 and it appears you have found a safe way to let your money grow. But hold on; let's look at some facts first. Inflation normally hangs around the 3% range. This means that in order for you to have the same buying power as you did last year you need to have $10,300.

So even though you made $200 in paper money, you're buying power actually decreased by $100. And if you factor taxes into that you will find that saving accounts are the only for sure way to lose buying power and get taxed on it at the same time. Losing around 1% in value per year isn't exactly something you make up in the long run.

Now suppose you invest that money into the SPY which goes up 10% annually on average, you would have $11,000 after 1 year, on average and because you only need $10,300 to keep the same buying power not only is your paper money increasing but you're buying power is too.

And suppose you educate yourself to make 20%, 30% or more off of your money annually, that would do so much more for your wealth then a savings account ever could. Also what is the limit on the return you can expect from the market? There isn't one, your returns can be as large or as small as you can possible imagine and shoot for.

That isn't to say the markets are without risk. You always have the chance of losing money in the markets. But if you manage your risk and let your winners ride it can be a great place to make money.

by Shaun Rosenberg

About the Author

When I was young I wanted to learn how to trade the stock market. So I traveled around the country listening to professional traders talk about how they are making money in the market. Now I understand how easy it is to make money in the stock market and started a site http://www.stocks-simplified.com to help others learn.


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If you are an active investor who regularly buys and sells shares then it's absolutely imperative that you keep records of every single transaction. Not only will this help you prepare your tax forms at the end of the year, but it will also enable you to analyze every single trade you make.

If you really want to become a successful investor then you need to use some kind of trading method, otherwise you're effectively speculating that a share will go up, and pretty much gambling with your own money. Once you have a trading method and you start buying and selling shares, you can then look at every single trade in order to see which trades worked out well, and which ones lost you money.

There is no excuse really for not analyzing your trades. All stock broker accounts have full records of each trade you make so you can always log into your account and view them this way if you don't wish to keep a proper trading diary. The only way you are going to become a more profitable investor is by learning from your past mistakes and tweaking your system so that it generates more and more profitable trades.

It's very easy to idle along buying any shares that take your fancy or look temporarily oversold, but these impulse trades can be very expensive in the long run. This is why it's always a good idea to scrutinize every single trade. By doing so you can identify these bad trading decisions and eliminate them from your future trading.

Another benefit of keeping records is that you can assess how well you are doing when it comes to market timing. For example you can quickly see if you bought a share too soon, took profits too quickly, let losses accumulate too fast, and so on. Stop losses should be enforced rigidly and your winning trades should ideally be allowed to run as long as possible, so by viewing all of your trades, you will soon see if you are actually applying these rules or not.

So if you not as successful an investor as you would like, try looking at your share dealing records. This will give you valuable information such as where you are going wrong, why trades are not working out as you had expected, and what you can do to improve your profits in the future. As with most things, if you want to become better at something, then you have to learn from your mistakes.

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If you have ever played the stock market, or even if you have never had anything to do with the stock market aside from hearing about it in the news, then you probably know that while it can be a great way for people to make a great living, it can also be a way for people to fail miserably and lose their entire life's savings in a matter of mere minutes.

That alone is what keeps many people from taking a chance on the stock market. While there are unfortunate investors who have become penniless through the stock market, it is usually because they have made bad choices or become greedy and put everything on a risky stock that promised high yields and never delivered. For every person who has failed, there are thousands of others who are making smart decisions and making it big.

The simplest tip to remember is not to be a follower. While there may be some stocks that always seem to be failsafe, you don't want to blindly follow the pack. Do some research of your own, check out all the stocks you can. If you are making your own educated decisions about the stocks you invest in, not only do you have a better chance of success, but you will be more confident in what you are doing and the choices you make.

Another tip is to be able to take risks. Not just any risks though, you must think them through first. While a risky stock can be a great way to make a fabulous return, you never want to put everything on that stock. Invest a small portion, if you lose, you aren't losing everything, and if you win, then you have profit.

If you need money now, like I mean in the next hour, try what I did. I am making more money now than in my old business and you can too, read the amazing, true story, in the link below. When I joined I was skeptical for just ten seconds before I realized what this was. I was smiling from ear to ear and you will too.

Imagine doubling your money every week with no or little risk! To discover a verified list of Million Dollar Corporations offering you their products at 75% commission to you. Click the link below to learn HOW you will begin compounding your capital towards your first Million Dollars at the easy corporate money program.

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Everyone has heard of the stock market, everyone knows that people routinely strike it rich, and sometimes, lose their entire life's savings just with one turn of the market. While we all know about it, how many times have you stopped to really think about it? Many people just assume that the stock market is based on luck. Pick a good stock and make a great return. Pick the wrong one and you could end up in the poorhouse. While it definitely can work that way for people who don't know the market, if you are smart about it and follow some rules and tips, then you could build a strategy that will not only provide you with steady money, but also build your wealth in leaps and bounds.

For one, do not just follow the crowd. Just because everyone is buying a certain stock does not mean that it is one that would be good for you. In fact there may be so much more money to be found in little known stocks. If you manage to find a stock before everyone else finds out about it, when it does hit the scene, you will definitely be in a good place.

Another great tip is to be able to take smart risks. While it would be unwise to put all of your funds into one specific stock that seems risky, by investing a small portion, you have a better chance of success. If the business behind that stock takes off and prices soar, then you could make your money back several times over. If the company tanks and the stocks become worthless, then you will not be out of that much money.

If you need money now, like I mean in the next hour, try what I did. I am making more money now than in my old business and you can too, read the amazing, true story, in the link below. When I joined I was skeptical for just ten seconds before I realized what this was. I was smiling from ear to ear and you will too.

Imagine doubling your money every week with no or little risk! To discover a verified list of Million Dollar Corporations offering you their products at 75% commission to you. Click the link below to learn HOW you will begin compounding your capital towards your first Million Dollars at the easy corporate money program.

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If you are an online trader, or wish to be so, you can trade markets and products through two different ways. First is through a full-service, also may known as traditional, brokerage firms. Second is through a discount brokerage firms. First way is costly but is usually safer as there shall be experienced/educated fellows who can help you in making right decisions. Second way is less-costly but demands you to make all decisions your own.

Online trading
through discount brokers is only suitable for well-educated and experienced traders who can analyze data, predict trends, place orders at right time and who can limit the trading risks. Discount brokers provide traders access to market information via a web based or installable trading interface (known as trading system). The system should also have some market/data analysis tools, indicators, and supporting tools for making the traders’ work easy. Some discount brokers offer delayed access to markets, some others offer direct (real-time) access to the market, which most offer both – usually on different trading systems.

Choosing the right discount broker for online trading demands good broker knowledge. One can find broker features from the broker site itself. There are also so many sites which have individual broker reviews and comparisons. Suggestion is that go through more than one site for getting more insight. While most online brokers operate exclusively through internet (some also via phone) there are also some brokers who operate through branches. One should consider many factors when finding the discount broker most suitable for him/her. It is a good practice to prepare a checklist suiting your trading needs and evaluate brokers according to that. Below are some items which should be in your checklist.

1. Commissions Charged: You are trading with an online discount broker for simply reducing the commissions and fees involved in trading. Brokers offering lowest commission rates are always preferable but double check the conditions and requirements (if any) that you should satisfy for getting the lowest rates. Also check other fees which may involved including inactivity or maintenance fees, software usage fees, and so on.

2. Your Trading Style and Goals: Are you a part-time trader or day trader or position trader or investor? The brokerage firm that you choose should suit your trading style. If you lack substantial trading knowledge, choosing a broker who offer discounted rates for broker assisted trades should be better. If you are a very active trader, you should trade with a direct access broker charging deep discounted commissions.

3. Account and Margin Requirements: For getting cheaper commission rates than normal, most discount brokers demand you to fulfill certain requirements. Or they may have different accounts with different commission rates and different account requirements. Go through all of them and choose the one best suits you. Going blindly for ‘cheap’ is not always a good option.

4. Trading System: Simply, a trading system you use should best suit your trading style. You hardly can day trade the market with a free or web based or limited-feature trading system. Similarly if you are an investor going for level 2 trading systems can cost you high. Things to notice include charting packages, tools available, speed, usability and stability.

5. Special Offers: Most discount brokers have special offers for new customers, like free trades or reduced account requirements and free credits. When all other things are good, going to broker who offer you better offers is good.

6. Additional Products offered: Many discount brokers allow account holders to trade different products, like options, futures, funds and bonds. Many brokers offer NTF (No Transfer Fee) funds, which can be an additional benefit.

7. Customer Service: Simple, ‘No Compromise’ on that.

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Of all the stock market strategies out there, the best option for you is to simply evaluate the stock. There are several steps you'll need to take to really understand what the true value of the stock is. Following are 3 tips to get you started.

1 ) Ignore the price. When you're evaluating the actual value of a stock, ignore the current price. Of course once you decide what it's worth and are considering if it's a good buy or not, you will need to take the price into consideration. But at the valuation stage, all you're focusing on is the true value and not the trade value.

2 ) Look to the past. One telling factor of how well a stock will perform is to look at it's past performance. Take a look at the last 2 years or so and make a note of any large rises or losses. Try to correlate these highs and lows with news on the company. This will give you a good idea of how the stock reacts to certain obstacles.

3 ) Look to the future. You'll want to read up on the companies whose stock you're considering buying to find out what their future plans are. With the information you'll have gathered on how the stock reacted to different stimulus in the past, you'll have a good idea of how it should react in the future as well.

If you follow these simple stock market strategies to evaluate stocks you'll be in a much better position to make wise investment choices.

If you need money now, like I mean in the next hour, try what I did. I am making more money now than in my old business and you can too, read the amazing, true story, in the link below. When I joined I was skeptical for just ten seconds before I realized what this was. I was smiling from ear to ear and you will too.

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Stock market strategies are all over the place. Perhaps this is because there are many investors out there that have found what works for them. When they find what works for them, they tell the rest of the world so that others can be successful. There are 2 strategies that can help you gain on the stock market. Those strategies are:

• Let your winners stay in the running. Even if you see a decline, know that those stocks that have a pattern of winning are those that will come out of it and make a nice run around the corner. If you get too emotionally involved with it, you may find yourself selling and missing that big run. You certainly don't want to miss that.

• Just as you will let your winners stay in the running, you need to get rid of your losers. You can't hang on

to your losers in hopes that they will climb out of the abyss that they are falling into. If you see that they are only good for the occasional run, just count your losses and make sure you don't lose anymore. This is another type of emotional involvement. That emotional involvement is hope that a stock will come out of it.

So take these two strategies and use them to your advantage. You'll find that your portfolio will be a lot happier if you don't let yourself get too emotionally involved. When you get too emotionally involved, you may end up selling your winners when they have a bad day and keeping the losers in hope they will do better.

That's not exactly the right move to make.

If you need money now, like I mean in the next hour, try what I did. I am making more money now than in my old business and you can too, read the amazing, true story, in the link below. When I joined I was skeptical for just ten seconds before I realized what this was. I was smiling from ear to ear and you will too.

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Everyone who invests or plans to invest is always on the prowl for the latest stock market secrets. It is these secrets that bring about the success that many investors find nowadays. But what are those secrets and why do they make people so successful? Below are 5 of those secrets to help bring you the success that you deserve:

• Profits can come faster and they can be bigger if you invest in both the bear and bull markets. It is very important to utilize the bear markets. If not, then it is like you're laying your money out there for anyone to grab.

• You need to compound your money. This is done through fast cycle investments. You won't see big profits on your first or even your second investment, but it will add up.

• Always go for the high volume stocks. Make sure they move in phases.

• Keep emotion out of the equation. You can't buy and sell your stocks based on emotion. If you do that, then you're going to find that you make some pretty rocky decisions when doing this. You may find that you buy or sell too early or too late when you let emotion take a hold of you.

• Diversify your portfolio, but make sure you don't do it too much. You should have a risk vs. reward portfolio and not one that is all high risk. You could put yourself in a position where you gain $3 for every $1 that you lose. That is what diversity does for you.

So take these 5 secrets with you and use them to the fullest. They will make you profitable if you play your cards right.

If you need money now, like I mean in the next hour, try what I did. I am making more money now than in my old business and you can too, read the amazing, true story, in the link below. When I joined I was skeptical for just ten seconds before I realized what this was. I was smiling from ear to ear and you will too.

Imagine doubling your money every week with no or little risk! To discover a verified list of Million Dollar Corporations offering you their products at 75% commission to you. Click the link below to learn HOW you will begin compounding your capital towards your first Million Dollars at the easy corporate money program.

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A well fact amongst the trading community is that 90 percent of investors lose money in futures and Forex tradin! This leaves 10%, which is then broken down to 4-6 percent break even and only 4-6 percent make money.

What Group Are YOU in?


Given the high numbers of clients that are unsuccessful, it is all the more important for investors to approach futures and forex trading in the right manner. So we have put together some rules that hopefully help you become a more successful trader.


Secret 1: Trade with Money you can afford to Lose

Now that you have decided to get involved in trading, sit down and asses how much money am I going to trade, investor, speculate on the market with. I understand that this is trading and therefore there is the chance that I can lose my money.

Secret 2: It’s Not how many trades: Do not OVERTRADE

So many new traders come to the market thinking, I am going to pick 8 winners out of 10 and make all of this money. Well it is possible to pick more winners but still lose on the market. Why because of risk and money management, so always put in equal amounts per trade. Eg: if you have $20,000 to trade, break it up into $2,000 trades, this will help with you staying in much longer and increasing your success to become a successful or a full time trader.

Secret 3: Run with the profits, and cut those losers.

If a trade goes against you, remember to cut it. No one can pick the market 100% of the time, so don’t think you are different. If the trade is going the wrong way cut it. Re look at the trade, there is going to be plenty more. Once they start going up, let them go, who knows how high they go. Remember always use trailing stop losses.

Secret 4: Feel Like you can’t pick your nose- Have a Break

It can be possible that you are just not picking the market right or there are strange market conditions if this is the case take a break. Walk away and then come back and look again.

Secret 5: Work like an Egyptian build pyramids

As the market moves up and you are long much earlier, you must learn not to double up your positions. Instead, reduce your positions each time you add to a position. If at first you had 10 contracts, the second should not be more than 5-6 contracts and the third should be 50% of your second (i.e. 3 contracts). An upside down pyramid will be top heavy and could wipe out all your hard-earned profits should the market reverse.

Secret 6 : Don’t Double Down- It just compounds losses

If start to add to a losing position by averaging down this is going to be very dangerous. Remember you are investing with "margin". The contract is not yours; you merely paid a percentage of the total value. Averaging a losing position is equivalent to not admitting your mistakes, that you were wrong in the first place. Successful traders cut their losses short and realize that you can’t get 100% of winning trades. We all try, but we can’t. So cut losses.

Secret 7: WHO wants to be a millionaire? Don’t Put it all in One Trade

Use risk and money management to protect your capital, divide your trading capital into 10 equal parts and never lose more than 10 percent on one trade. If you lost the first trade, you still have nine more opportunities to be right. Putting all your capital on one trade is suicidal and you will go down.

Secret 8: NEVER MEET MARGIN CALLS – CUT THE $hit- Saves you Money

When you are wrong about the market, get out, admit it and move on. Once you start thinking, very often prices will go against your position, further triggering a margin call from your broker. A margin call simply means that you are wrong in the market and your position should be closed out. Margin calls are made because people do not want to admit being wrong and take a loss; they hope the market will eventually go in their direction and that they will get there money back. It will come back, I am not wrong. Yes you are.. Get out. To avoid this mistake, you should never meet margin calls. Just cut your losses and "get the hell out".

Secret 9: Transfer Profits

Probably no more than 1% of traders have a rule to take profits out of their trading account. The few wise investors I know have bought their house, a car or simply put part of their winnings into a fixed deposit account, or into some long term shares, otherwise the chances are high that they may lose them all back.

Secret 10: James Blunt knows- Baby because I’ve got a plan… Make a Plan.

Lack of planning can only result in no plan, and without a plan you are gambling. Look at getting advice, from stock market reports, www.cfdfxreport.com look finding a great stock broker, use this site to see who they recommend.

HELP HINTS:
Most traders should listen to the Kenny Rogers song The Gambler, there are aspects of that song that can learn from, mainly, know when to hold them, know when to fold them, and know when to ‘cut’ RUN


1. Know when and at what price you are going to enter the market.
2. Know how much money you are going to risk on each and every trade.
3. Know when and at what price you are going to get out when you are wrong.
4. Know when and at what price you are going to take your profits if you are right.
5. Know how much money you are going to make if you are right.
6. Have a safety stop in case the market does the unexpected.
7. Have an approximate idea of when the market should meet your objectives or when it should begin to make a move; and if it has not done so, get out.

FINAL WRAP UP

One of the most important things to take away are set a plan, has your risk and money management plan in front of you and stick to it. If you have that plan and it doesn’t work, re plan, that’s why if you start small you can soon build up to be whatever trader you want to be.

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There is a ton of investors out there who have traditionally invested their hard earned money into the stock market and mutual funds who ask this question. The news media for years now have bad mouthed commodities into the ground calling gold a "barbeous relic" that has only lost value since January 1980 when the last precious metals bull market peaked. And of course, there were those ordinary investors who lost their shirts in the last bull market when they bought high and sold low, which is the exact opposite of what you want to do in any type of investment, so it's no wonder why most investors bad mouth gold and silver.

From the year 1980 to 2000 you had massive gains in the stock market particulary tech stocks that made a lot of money for a bunch of investors. During this same period gold and silver experienced a sever bear market caused by the central banks around the world selling their huge stockpiles onto the market especially silver. During this time gold went from $850/oz to $250/oz and silver went from $50/oz to $3/oz. The stock market bubble officially popped in 2000 causing the dumb money investors to once again lose money while the smart money sold their stocks a couple of years earlier and moved into the commodities sector such as oil, gold, and silver.

So you ask why should I invest my currency in silver? Let me give you a few reasons. First, since 2000 if you would have invested your currency into gold you would have seen a 190% return on your money. If you would have invested your money into silver you would have seen a 240% return on your money compared to just a 35% gain on the Dow Jones Industrial Average.

Secondly, we are in another precious metal bull market, which some experts say will last for a couple of decades just like the last stock market bull run.

Thirdly, with the U.S. government bailing out every business that they deem too big too fail. Giving these Wall Street companies billions of tax payers dollars that has to be printed out of thin air becuase we are bankrupt, leads to inflation and a lot of it. Gold and Silver are a hedge against inflation, which is why they have been rising since the turn of the century and they will continue to rise for the forseeable future.

Lastly, the United States is 10 Trillion Dollars in debt and with unfunded liabilities such as Social Security and Medicare the total U.S. debt is actually 52 Trillion dollars. The entire U.S. GDP is 13 Trillion annually, so how can the we ever expect to pay our bills to our creditors? Like all empires throughout history that used fiat currency the dollar will collapse and become worthless while gold and silver skyrocket to the moon. Those left holding dollars will cry and weep saying, "Why Did I Not Invest In Silver?"

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Traders who reached at milestones of their financial success path during the glorious Internet boom share their views with Jack Schwager. It was almost nearly a decade full of events witnessed by Jack Schwager and the world after the publication of his earlier predecessor The New Market Wizards. The decade having a bull market in US Stocks, Commodity price drop down, Hedge funds failure, Internet Bubble Burst, Recession fall and subsequent rumblings of recovery. In Stock Market Wizards Jack Schwager shows how some traders outperform the stock market during its movements.
The decade witnessed virtually straight upside in stock market in the later part. But who are the guys who outperform the stock market until then? The book provides interviews with those guys. Ranging from an Ohio farmer to Turkish émigré to a professional hedge fund manager like Michael Lancer of Lance Group.

Few of the reviews are just quoted here for showing the qualitative reference of the book.

"A terrific tool for investors revealing the trading philosophies and disciplines of those on the frontline in our business." -- Stan Druckenmiller, CEO, Duquesne Capital Management

"A great educational tool for amateurs and professionals alike. When I want to motivate myself, I read Jack Schwager's books." -- Martin "Buzzy" Schwartz, author of Pit Bull: Lessons from Wall Street's Champion Day Trader.

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Do you only have $20 that you can afford to invest? Well, if you do don't let anyone laugh in your face and tell you that is not enough money for you to use to invest in something. If they do, you are going to get the last laugh.

You can invest $20 dollars in what is called Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRPs). They also have a cousin called Direct Stock Purchase Plans (DSPs). These allow you to buy stocks directly from companies. That means no brokers. When there are no brokers, that means no brokerage fees.

There are over 1,000 major companies offering these stock plans and a lot of them are offering them for free. If they are not free, the fees are low enough to where it is actually worthwhile to invest $20. This is great for individuals looking to start out in the investing game. If they lose money, they don't lose a lot.

If you are someone who wants to get into investing and you are not sure where to start, especially because you don't have significant amounts of cash to invest, this is a great starting point. This cannot be stressed enough.

In a nutshell, DRPs are, in fact, the steadiest and surest way for you to build a lifetime of wealth. Just make sure you keep yourself up on your taxes and you should be fine. You'll have no troubles at all.

Just know that even those who do not have a lot of money to invest have investment options. Investing certainly does not discriminate.

If you need money now, like I mean in the next hour, try what I did. I am making more money now than in my old business and you can too, read the amazing, true story, in the link below. When I joined I was skeptical for just ten seconds before I realized what this was. I was smiling from ear to ear and you will too.

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The world's stock markets have taken a hammering in 2008 with pretty much every single listed company seeing huge falls in their share price. Both large and small companies have been affected but smaller companies have been hit particularly hard and are looking really weak, so is it now worth buying shares in these companies or not?

Well my own personal view is that these smaller cap companies should be avoided, at least for now. There are very few buyers out there generally, and the investors that are buying are predominantly buying shares in solid profitable companies that are most likely to survive the impending recession and be in a strong position when the economy recovers.

While there are a few smaller companies that are doing well and likely to survive the credit crunch, they are definitely in the minority. Furthermore even the ones that are profitable are still largely out of favour with investors because at the moment people are looking for safe shares to invest in, and this generally means the largest and most established listed companies.

There are also real fundamental problems with these smaller companies that are a direct result of the credit crunch. The vast majority of these companies rely on credit to grow their businesses in a healthy economy, but in this weak economy when people have less money to spend, a lot of these businesses need credit just to survive. However as has been mentioned in the news on numerous occasions, the banks just aren't lending money at the moment, which is a crippling blow for small businesses.

The secret to successful investing is to buy profitable companies at low prices and hold on to them for several years when you should hopefully see substantial gains. However at the moment you cannot be confident about any small cap companies because quite simply you do not know if they will still be in business in a few years time.

These are really tough times and smaller companies are finding it particularly difficult, so my own investing strategy is currently to ignore all small cap stocks and focus on the larger companies that have a long record of income growth and dividend growth. These companies are the ones best equipped to deal with the forthcoming recession.

By James Woolley


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When it comes to investing money through a reliable investment approach, most of the investors consider trading stocks as the most suitable option. Since lifestyles are changing, everybody is facing the need of extra income source; in such a situation, stock trading can prove to be very effortless and beneficial solution. In fact, stock trading is such a financial activity that assures every investor for easy financial resource. People, who are interested in investing their hard-earned money in stocks, can go for it without giving it a second thought but some basic knowledge regarding this sector is essential.

The very first question that comes in very investor's mind is what is stock exchange? Well stock exchange can be referred as a place, where all stock related activities are carried out; in simple terms, it is a market where exchanges in terms of money and stocks take place. Moreover, the stock exchange takes care of every activity that is related to buying and selling of shares and debentures. Stock exchange is open for every investor and it provides every investor with equal right to invest money. Since stock market has a very strong affect on the economy, it easily gets affected by frequent ups and downs of the concerned economy. Therefore, to deal with such minor complications, every investor should be very well-versed with the basic nature of stock and stock market.

People, who invest in stock market, make every deal through stockbrokers, as they know how to make every investment beneficial in fluctuating market. However, consulting such stockbrokers at some crucial points is sensible but unnecessary dependency should be avoided; that unnecessary dependency can be avoided by being aware about changes that are happening in the market. With involvement of online tools and techniques, things have become much easier for every investor, as now he can get the desired information just through few mouse clicks. So, why to worry? Online stock trading is there to inform every investor about the condition of his investments. Just relax and browse through websites that contain updated details of the market and analyze them to make a beneficial decision.

Some investors have the tendency of making rushed decisions which is very dangerous in trading stocks, as stock trade is highly variable market and changes do not stay here for a long time. When deflation or inflation crop up, every investor gets vexed and starts pondering over selling and buying of stocks to earn desired profit or to avoid loss, which is not sensible at all. Making such hasty decisions can lead to a big loss or sometimes, it can restrict the investor from taking benefit of upcoming rise. In fact, stock market investing is a very unpredictable affair and only those can survive and attain the desired profit, who keep their eyes and ears open. The same rule applies at the time of purchasing stocks, as level of profit very much depends on the market position of the issuer company therefore, make every decision assiduously, so that your investments may become your biggest financial strength.

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Public corporations have the option of keeping all of their profits each quarter to re-invest in the company, or to distribute some or all of them to their shareholders as a dividend. Growing companies often need as much cash as possible to finance their operations, such as building new manufacturing plants or running marketing campaigns, so they prefer to re-invest their profits. Older, more mature companies that are not growing very much often pay a dividend. Dividends are usually paid out as cash but shareholders are sometimes given the option of receiving extra shares of the company.

How Often Dividends are Paid

Dividends are usually distributed on a fixed schedule, such as every quarter or every month, but special dividends may be distributed at any time. For example, a $4 per share annual dividend paid quarterly would be paid as $1 per share every three months. The Dividend Yield is often mentioned along with the dollar amount. This is simply the annual dividend divided by the current stock price. For example, a $1.00 annual dividend with a share price of $10.00 results in a 10% yield.

Important Dates

People often wonder when they need to own the shares in order to receive the dividend. Typically, you need to own the stock three days before the Record Date for U.S. companies. Here are some important dates:

Declaration Date

This is when the company's board of directors formally announces the dividend, its amount, the date of record, and the payout date.

Ex-dividend Date

This is typically two days before the Record Date and anyone who buys shares on this day or later will not receive this dividend. However, anyone who sells shares this day that were purchased before this day will still receive the dividend. Also noteworthy is that the share price will often drop on this day by an amount approximately equal to the dividend being paid as investors realize the assets of the company will be dropping by this amount.

Record Date

Every shareholder who is properly registered on or before this date will receive the dividend. In most countries, this usually just means you must own the stock before the Ex-dividend Date, which is why the Ex-dividend Date is mentioned more often than the Record Date.

Payment Date

This is when the checks are mailed or the dividends are distributed directly to brokerage accounts.

Taxes on Dividends

In the U.S. dividends are currently taxed at a 15% rate for most individual shareholders. For other qualified individuals it may be much less. Also, if dividends are re-invested, there are certain cases where the dividends will not be taxed right then. However, in most cases there will be some sort of tax involved.

The Power of Dividends and Re-investment

Albert Einstein once said the most powerful force in the universe is the power of compound interest. That concept can be applied to dividends when you choose to have them re-invested. When your dividend is re-invested, it itself will earn money (or shares) on the next payout. In this way, your dividends are compounding, and over time that can really pay off. Many public companies offer Dividend Re-Investment Plans, or DRIPs, so it is wise to check your holdings to see what options are available.

Short-selling and Dividends

If a shareholder has short-sold a stock paying a dividend, it is required that they pay the dividend out of their own pocket to the investor(s) the shares were short-sold to. It is somewhat complicated to explain the reasoning, so please do further research on this topic if interested.

Where to Find Companies with Dividends

Most financial websites list dividend yields for each company but you need to find a website that has a Stock Screener with the ability to search for dividends, such as Yahoo! Finance.

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All successful traders will take complete responsibility for their trading actions. You will not find a successful trader who blames others for losing their money in the stock market. This is the first step to becoming a great trader.

This step is very important because until you take responsibility for your trading, both profits and losses, you will not feel comfortable enough to place trades yourself and follow your own rules, which is necessary if you want to make money in the stock market.

Even more important a trader who takes responsibility for their actions will be more likely to consider their mistakes learning experiences. If you hold yourself responsible for losing a trade you will be more likely to review bad trades and figure out what you did wrong. From that you can learn how, not to make the same mistakes again.

People who blame their brokers for giving them bad advice, or their friends for giving them the wring hot stock pick, do not have that luxury. They may never find out what they did wrong. As a result they are likely to keep making the same mistake over and over again without understanding why they can't seem to make money in the stock market.

Taking responsibility can also help you when developing your trading strategy. If you try to trade everyone else's strategy it may work against you as you try to make their strategies work for you. The only way you can make money is by developing a strategy that you feel comfortable about and if you trade based on others opinions you may not feel comfortable with it and make mistakes such as exiting to early or holding on too long.

In the end the most important thing you can do is to take responsibility for your own trades. If you don't you are just counting on lady luck to come and save the day. And if you have ever gambled you will find that is a terrible long term strategy.

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There are tons of stock market strategies out there that claim to give you secrets and tips that no one else knows. The reality is that no one is magic - no one can predict the stock market. However, if you take the following 5 things into consideration when choosing a company to buy stock in, you'll be making a knowledgeable decision.

1 ) Prior year cash flow - How much did the company make the prior year?
2 ) Projected growth rate - How much is the company expected to grow within 5 years?
3 ) Current cash value - How much would each shareholder get if the company were liquidated today?
4 ) Current rate of growth - How much is the company growing right now? What factors are expected to affect this in the next five years?
5 ) Debt - How much debt is the company in? To whom do they owe those debts? When will they become due?

You will need to do your research and find the answers to these questions. Once you have an idea of how the company is currently performing and how it's expected to perform in the future, you'll be in a much better position to make a smart decision about the future of the company. Of course, you might find the answers to these questions and discover that the health of the company is not as great as you'd like it to be. However, the stock in question can still be a good buy if it's exceptionally cheap. Sometimes, taking a big risk with a little bit of money can lead to huge returns. The key to stock market strategies is to take the information you gather into consideration and make the best choice available to you.

If you need money now, like I mean in the next hour, try what I did. I am making more money now than in my old business and you can too, read the amazing, true story, in the link below. When I joined I was skeptical for just ten seconds before I realized what this was. I was smiling from ear to ear and you will too.

Imagine doubling your money every week with no or little risk! To discover a verified list of Million Dollar Corporations offering you their products at 75% commission to you. Click the link below to learn HOW you will begin compounding your capital towards your first Million Dollars at the easy corporate money program.

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Stock market presents a good opportunity to make money. Share markets are governed by the stock exchanges. NASDAQ, BSE, and NSE are among some of the big stock exchanges. They deal in shares and we make profit buying and selling shares.

Why invest in shares? Usually people invest in Land or Real estate, Gold or Fixed deposits. These investments do give us some profit and all those investments are safest investments. When investing we have three most important points to consider 1 security for the investment 2 Returns from investment 3 Liquidity. The third point drives us to shares and to an extent second point too. In share market we can sell our shares anytime and the returns are higher if properly controlled.

What stock market or stock exchanges offer us? They offer us a collection of shares from different companies for us to buy and sell. In share markets we can make money from different modes. We can make money by buying shares at a lower price and selling at a higher price when the rates are higher. This income is called capital gains and which is taxable in India. We can make money from dividends which companies declare. We can make money from shares we don't have possession too. How? For example if we have strong reasons to believe that a certain company's market price is going to be affected we can sell the shares we have in possession and also sell more shares which we don't have possession. For example, a company XYZ which has a market value of 500 and we have 500 shares of that company. We believe that a Government regulation which is going to be announced is going to affect the market price of shares What we do here we sell 1000 shares out of which we have only 500 shares in possession. The remaining 500 shares we buy later in the evening at 450 and we make a quick profit in the losing shares 25000. This shows us we must have active presence over the happenings in the stock market.

Learning and making money on share market is easy but it requires your active involvement. Without active involvement and knowledge you may not have a good career on stock market. Learn more to have a great career.


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You are finally to the place where you have paid off most of your debt and are ready to start investing in the stock market. You may have many goals that you are hoping to fulfill in the market - from retirement to an European vacations. That's the first step already down: you know why you want to invest. Now you just need to know a few basics that tell you how.

The first thing you must do is learn how to understand stocks. A share of stock is the smallest unit of ownership in a business or company. If you own a share of a company's stock, you are basically a partial owner of the company.

With your ownership comes the right to vote on members of the board of directors and other important matters that the company must decide upon. If the company distributes profits to its shareholders, you will probably receive a portion of this profit based on how much stock you own.

Many financial advisors suggest stock ownership due to the limited liability. If a company loses a large lawsuit and is ordered to pay a huge judgment, you stock simply becomes worthless. You won't have to sell your personal assets in order to keep the company up and running. If you are a stock owner, you don't face a lot of the situations that a full fledge business owner could face. For example, creditors can't come after your personal assets, but they can in private-held companies.

There are two basic types of stock: common and preferred.

Common stock represents the majority of stock held by the public. The stock has voting rights of the owner, as well as the right to receive dividends. If a stock is being referred to as either "up" or "down"," you know that the stock in question is a common stock.

Preferred stock has fewer rights, except for dividends. Companies with preferred stock usually pay consistent dividends. Preferred stock has first dibs at the dividends and profits.

Investors often purchase preferred stock for the current income from dividends. They are looking for companies that make big profits and use preferred stock to pay out dividends.

Common stocks are highly liquid, in most cases. Small companies may not be traded frequently, but if you purchase a large company stock, there are daily opportunities to buy and sell shares.

Beginning investors should take the time to read all they can about how stocks, trading and investments work before they jump right in. Know what stock sectors there are, know the market index, how dividends work and the different types of stock. All of these will assist you in becoming a better investor.

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A stock split occurs when a corporation decides to issue new stock and distribute it to it's current stockholders. This is a decision made by the company's board of directors.

The most common stock split is a 2 for 1 split. When this happens the stockholder will now own twice as many shares as before the split but at half the price. The total value of your stock does not change. For instance, if you owned 100 shares before the split and the price was $50 a share, after the split you would own 200 shares at $25 a share. After the split the shareholder owns exactly the same percentage of the company as before the split, only the number or shares and share price has changed.

While a 2 for 1 split is the most common, companies also distribute 3 for 1 splits, 3 for 2 splits, 5 for 1 splits, etc.

Why does a Company Split their Stock?

Companies will split their stock when they feel that the share price has grown to the point that it will no longer be considered affordable by many investors. Since most stock transactions are in round lots (lots of 100 shares), the total cost for 100 shares might be out of reach for some investors. Once a stock price hits $100 a share, for instance, evidence shows that many investors consider it to be too expensive. If the price per share were reduced it would be more affordable. The effect of more people buying the shares will hopefully lead to a price gain.
What effect does a Stock Split have on the Share Price?

When a company splits it stock it sends the message that the company has been profitable and it will probably continue to prosper. Companies normally announce their upcoming stock split some time in advance. Many investors and traders search for these companies and consider them prime candidates for a further price increase.

In theory a stock split should have no impact on the value of the stock, it should be a neutral event. The only thing that has changed is the share price and number of shares. When you do the math you still have the same value and the same percentage of ownership in the company. In practice however, companies who split their stock most often see price increase when the split is announced or after the split actually occurs. The company knows this and is eager to see it's stock price increase.

Reverse Split

Sometimes a company will issue a reverse split. When this happens the shareholder will have less shares at a greater price. For example, a typical reverse split is a 1 for 10 split. For example, if a company has been trading at $1 a share and you have 100 shares, after a 1 for 10 split you will have 10 shares at $10 a share. A company might perform a reverse split when their share price has dropped to a very low level and they want to increase the share price to appear more respectable to potential investors. In addition, some exchanges will de-list a stock when the price drops below a certain level for 30 days.

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There are tons of stock market strategies out there that claim to give you secrets and tips that no one else knows. The reality is that no one is magic - no one can predict the stock market. However, if you take the following 5 things into consideration when choosing a company to buy stock in, you'll be making a knowledgeable decision.

1 ) Prior year cash flow - How much did the company make the prior year?
2 ) Projected growth rate - How much is the company expected to grow within 5 years?
3 ) Current cash value - How much would each shareholder get if the company were liquidated today?
4 ) Current rate of growth - How much is the company growing right now? What factors are expected to affect this in the next five years?
5 ) Debt - How much debt is the company in? To whom do they owe those debts? When will they become due?

You will need to do your research and find the answers to these questions. Once you have an idea of how the company is currently performing and how it's expected to perform in the future, you'll be in a much better position to make a smart decision about the future of the company. Of course, you might find the answers to these questions and discover that the health of the company is not as great as you'd like it to be. However, the stock in question can still be a good buy if it's exceptionally cheap. Sometimes, taking a big risk with a little bit of money can lead to huge returns. The key to stock market strategies is to take the information you gather into consideration and make the best choice available to you.

If you need money now, like I mean in the next hour, try what I did. I am making more money now than in my old business and you can too, read the amazing, true story, in the link below. When I joined I was skeptical for just ten seconds before I realized what this was. I was smiling from ear to ear and you will too.

Imagine doubling your money every week with no or little risk! To discover a verified list of Million Dollar Corporations offering you their products at 75% commission to you. Click the link below to learn HOW you will begin compounding your capital towards your first Million Dollars at the easy corporate money program.

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If you're looking for the best stock market secrets, believe it or not the answers are very simple. I recently spoke with an expert who gave me three simple, yet effective, secrets of the stock market.

1 ) Do your homework. This sounds like a no brainer but it's not as simple as you think. This doesn't mean to watch the financial network or read other amateurs opinions on message boards. So many people get swept up in the day to day trading that they forget the big picture. Research the companies you're considering buying. Know what their outlook is not just now but 5 years from now.

2 ) Don't get greedy. If you're making wise decisions, don't muddle it up by letting greed cloud your eyes. Before you buy stock you should know what your high and low points are. That is, at what points, going up and down, do you drop or cash in the stock. If you've decided that making 25% is enough and you get there - take it! Stick to your plan.

3 ) Learn from the pros. There are tons of books out there by proven stock market gurus who have worked the market for decades with great success. Reading their memoirs can be a great way to learn from both their successes and failures. Don't pay too much attention to specific stocks they might mention, as you'll do that research independently. You simply want to get a feel for the strategy they used and how it worked for them.

These 3 simple stock market secrets are a great way to get a solid background in trading.

If you need money now, like I mean in the next hour, try what I did. I am making more money now than in my old business and you can too, read the amazing, true story, in the link below. When I joined I was skeptical for just ten seconds before I realized what this was. I was smiling from ear to ear and you will too.

Imagine doubling your money every week with no or little risk! To discover a verified list of Million Dollar Corporations offering you their products at 75% commission to you. Click the link below to learn HOW you will begin compounding your capital towards your first Million Dollars at the easy corporate money program.

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