Category: Stocks


Uranium Stocks – in the energy sector

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
February 18, 2011

When people who aren’t really well versed in the world of stock exchange talk about Uranium stocks sound like they are coming from a James Bond movie, right? It sounds quite controversial; and it is! For years, nuclear energy has been heavily debated as a form of energy in the United States and other countries. But regardless of the many setbacks that happened in the past, nuclear energy is getting ready to make a serious comeback to the market; slowly developing into a primary source of energy. As the science of nuclear energy grows, so will the many bright opportunities that await stock market investors in the energy sector.

One of the most influential national leaders today, President Obama of USA has always been a strong advocator for nuclear energy. As more and more supporters have flocked to this cause, Uranium is sure to gain a lot of attention in the coming years. Uranium plays a very important role in production of nuclear energy since it is one of the key ingredients in nuclear fission.

Although this form of energy is fantastic as far as producing energy is concerned, there are however very alarming risks. It has a very dark past that most people are scared of revisiting. Towns have been abandoned and deemed unlivable because of a reactor nuclear meltdown in other countries, and it is very dangerous to be exposed to this. This is one of the greatest enemies of the rise of uranium stocks in the market. However, with the advancement of modern science, these risks are significantly lowered.
Personal finance tips will tell you which investments are good or not. However, they are not the answer for your stock market conundrums. They merely serve as a guide for you in order to make a decent and sound decision that you can bank your money on.

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Educating Yourself About the Basics of Stock Market

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
February 12, 2011

There are three common notions concerning the stock market. Some people think that the stock market is a really risky way of investing ones money. And because of the risks involved, some people believe that most often than not, you will lose your money that you invest in the stock market. Other people may view the stock market as a great way to invest money but it requires some kind of black magic and tons of luck for you to be successful in stocks trading. Lastly, people may view stocks trading as a great way to invest money but their knowledge is limited to what stocks will go up and what will not. They do not have the basic knowledge of what the stock market really is and they might not know the processes involved in stocks trading.

If you are just a beginner and have no clue where to start, you should first know the basics of stocks trading. There are a lot of things that you can do to help yourself know the different processes involved in stocks trading. You can search for articles in the internet such as stock market for dummies and stock trading for dummies. This will help you gain important knowledge regarding the stock market. Stock market for dummies and stock trading for dummies are just some keywords that you could type in to find relevant information that are easy to understand and will explain the stock trading process step by step. Other keywords that you can type are stock market for beginners or stock market 101.

Aside from articles, you can also read through newsletters and stock market news. By reading through these you will know the different factors that affect the stock market. As you read on this news every day, and by comparing it to the status of the stock market, you will be able to predict the trends in the long run. You can find this news online and in daily newspapers. Lastly, you can ask local investors and brokers for stock trading advices. Some brokers may charge you for the advice but you can always get different stock tips online.

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Protecting your Stock Investment Club

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
December 31, 2010

Investment clubs work like any machine, requiring constant upkeep and work to keep them running smoothly. Joining a club means you are spending your valuable time and money to make your finical seed grow. The first step to growing your seed is to learn what the common pitfalls of unsuccessful clubs are. By avoiding these obstacles you will give your seed a chance to grow and flourish.

Team work

When working within your club, remember the saying ‘one for all and all for one. Challenging all members is key. If there are members who find themselves with no set tasks or are not contributing to the club, they may soon lose interest and move on to other endeavors. With that being said, do not overwhelm your members with work. If any member has to endure the sole burden of running the club, researching and investing, they could easily burn out and feel resentment towards the club and its members. It is in the club’s best interest to help all members find their place within the club so they stay engaged and encourage each other to learn and grow together.

The wolf

Let’s face it. People aren’t always what they appear to be. Whether you met this person online or off, you run the risk of inviting a wolf in sheep’s clothing to your club. This can even happen amongst friends. Greed is terrible and can turn the kindest person into a self-centered, deceitful individual. Remember to have all members sign your club’s charter. This should be a contract that contains agreements and bylaws established by your club. Take preventive measures and set up your system so that two people have to validate any financial transaction. This is crucial even if you run a family club.

Keep things lively

Running a club is hard work. Regardless of your job within the club, it can become easy to fall into a repetitive cycle. If the market is climbing it could lead some members to feel that a club is no longer necessary. The same can apply when the market falls drastically, leaving your members to watch your stocks’ prices lose their worth every day. Remember that change can be all that it takes to keep your club’s heart beating. Keep things fun! By visiting the sites of your investments, attending conferences, or even inviting a speaker to speak to your club, you will find that you have changed the pace and broken the monotony, keeping members interested and excited to be in your club.

Know your member’s interests

Talking to your members is a good way to understand what their interests are. If one becomes uninterested in your club’s current investments and begins raving about a particular penny stock or the wonders of technical investing, kindly bring them back to earth. Stick to the basics. Focusing on your company’s growth and future should be your club’s main goal. If not, your members could be talked into pouring money in a non-existent diamond expedition.

Time

Stock investment clubs take time. Make sure that all your members are willing to devote the time that is needed to make your club successful. Researching stocks and preparing new learning material for your club can take time. So don’t to procrastinate. However, be sure to remember, you reap what you sow.  Spending an hour a day on your club will help make it move smoothly and lead to well-informed investment choices.

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Stock Market Software Article

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
November 4, 2010

With stock market software, you will be able to make more money in the market than you have ever before. The problem that many people have with investing in the market is the amount of effort that is required in order to monitor what is going on with your investments and keeping up the gains and losses. All of your time can be spent managing your stocks, this is because you want to make sure that you are not losing money without knowing what is going on. What this software does is help you to keep all of your investments under control in an organized fashion that will save you time. Being calm is very difficult if you have stocks that you are trying to manage, this software can help you to achieve that calm while keeping more money in your pocket.

What deck design software does is help you to plan before you start to build, this will give you a finished result that looks much better. Additionally, the process of building becomes much easier when you have a tool that will help you to plan before you start building. This deck design software is very simple to use, it is used by many professionals in construction, but it is also popular with landlords that are in need of ways to improve their property. Even if you know nothing about building a deck, this software will help you to create plans that are easy to follow. Hiring someone to create a deck on your behalf can be expensive, you can use this software to make the plan and then build it on your own. When you are able to improve your home for a lower cost, this will reduce the financial burden that normally come along with upgrades to your home.

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Where to Buy Penny Stocks Now

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
November 1, 2010

If you are about to start getting into the stock business, one of the areas where the returns are great is on the penny stocks. Just as you are about to begin your journey, you must get attached to a penny stock broker that would help you be placed in a good start. The good thing about this kind of business is to actually catch up on the market and get to where to buy penny stocks.

The online market for penny stocks has been increasing rampantly and this is one of the things that you must put attention into for you could really get great deals from all of these. Companies who have been selling this kind of items have been growing and really have made great efforts to stay on track. As you would see, they offer commissions whenever you intend to sell or buy the stocks and provide you with the right procedure so that you will not have a hard time in your own investment.

Some of the penny stocks may be high at price, but there are also those that do no make any profit at all. The start off point of knowing where to buy penny stocks is just the initial state of beginning everything. Once you get into discovering the best area to buy and sell them, you would just go and see which one really would hit it off for you.

Remember, you are not alone in learning exactly where to buy penny stocks and to tell you the truth, there are lots of penny stock broker who really makes this penny stock exchange business to be their main thing. Once you have established to start buying and selling, always be certain that you must choose those stocks that are moving fast and at a higher stake. The rapid movement that it shows will present to you that it is on demand, thus investing on it is really rewarding.

Buying penny stocks are usually high at price, so you must be aware of its previous demands as to be used for evaluation of what you are about to do. If you are having doubts, always consult your penny stock broker and this way, you will have an idea of what really is going on since they are there to also help you out.

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Stock Market Reports | PMI

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
October 4, 2010

The PMI is also known as the Purchasing Managers Index.  It is released monthly by the Institute of Supply Management in it’s monthly ISM Report on Business.  The PMI is one of the most significant market reports and economic indicators that affect the investment strategy of Wall Street and main street investors.

Purchasing Managers Index Survey

This is one of the most important economic indicators for the US economy.  It’s really stock market 101 to understand the PMI and why it is important.  It is closely tied to how the manufacturing sector is doing.

The report is done through a survey of 400 purchasing managers around the country to find out their economic sentiments.  They are asked to answer a simple, ‘better’, ‘same’ or ‘worse’ on several key areas of their industry.

They are asked about new orders, inventories, production levels, employment levels and supplier deliveries.  Each category is differently weighted within the final index.

PMI Numbers and What They Mean

Then their answers are compared to the overall answers to these questions from the month prior.  So if the PMI is at 50, there is no change in sentiment.  If it is above 50, it is a positive sign that things are picking up.  If it is below 50, they feel worse off than the month before.

All of these numbers are relative to the month before.  If the PMI number in the previous month was 58, but this month it is 53, investors see that as a sign of potential weakness in the economy.  But if the prior month was at 36 and this month it is at 40, there might be a rally in the stock market seeing that there might be signs of a recovery.

Historically, the PMI is has been pretty accurate in predicting an economic expansion and contraction.  They are really the first lines of defence.  If there is an expansion and recovery coming, purchasing managers will be one of the first to know.  The same is true is if there is a contraction coming.

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Penny Stock Trading 101 – Tips That Could Save You A Bundle

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
August 30, 2010

Many stock investors are drawn to penny stock trading because of its low cost to start. You could start investing for $5 or less per share, and it can all be done over the counter. If you are relatively new to playing the stock game then buying penny stocks is an excellent place to begin.

You should begin your investment career by first and foremost forgetting any advice that you may have received from anyone who doesn’t have a proven track record. Research is the key to success in this game, and having a firm understanding that you are not planning on investing for the duration of the company. The hardcore truth is these companies rarely are profitable, and most investors that try to hang in there for the long haul normally lose their money.

The beauty of penny stocks is you could know going in that a company is a bad investment and still profit from it’s up and down cycles. It is crucial that you learn to read and understand a company’s stock cycle charts. It cannot be said enough – research is the foundation of successful penny stock trading.

Before you make your first trade, make sure that your decision is based on solid research data. Once you have hit your profit goal don’t lead greed lead you down the wrong path, stick to the plan and sell. If you see that your plan is starting to plummet sell immediately, and survive to invest another day.

As you are planning your approach to investing make sure to include an exit strategy. You should incorporate the Internet as a tool to your research arsenal. There are tons of sites that you can access for free that will allow you to discover emerging opportunities.

As you set out on your journey to discover the penny stock that is right for you – you will be encountered with a gambit of dishonesty. As a rule of thumb if it sounds to good to be true, chances are it is. Avoid offers that make guarantees, after all the word “investment” by definition means to make a purchase with the expectation of future returns. The keyword being expectation.

Learning how to buy penny stocks is a difficult task. There is no way that anyone on earth can tell you 100% how a penny stock will do. The only thing that you have in your favor is that you now know you need to practice solid charting and research techniques. If you apply the information within this article you will definitely start on the right foot the next time you go to make a trade.

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Performance Track Record of a Forex Trader

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
July 25, 2010

It is vitally important that you build track record for positive performance as a forex trader as you take more and more risks in this market.  It is a very risky market and is not for those who don’t know what they are doing.

If you don’t have proof that you can trade successfully, it would be unwise to put more money at risk.  You would want the money manager who is running your forex managed funds to have a history of good performance in the market.  You shouldn’t require any less from yourself.

Consistent Performance In Practice

Basing your risk taking on a proven track record starts at the very beginning.  If you can’t make consistent profits in a free forex demo account, I would seriously doubt you can make it in real life.

Real life trading is a million times more difficult than trading on a practice account.  If you can’t do it on a demo, you won’t be able to do it with real money.  There are a host of stresses with trading real money that aren’t even in paper trading.  So build a track record of performance in a demo account before you move on to real trading.

Consistent Returns With An Easy Strategy

There are many forex strategies you can use to make money in this market.  Some are simple and easy to understand like channel trading.  Others are more complex like forex arbitrage or using Fibonacci Retracements.

Don’t move on to fancy trading tactics like Elliot Wave or Japanese Candlestick, until you manage to make money using simple techniques.  Build a track record of successfully trading an easy method.  If you can’t make consistent profits with an easy technique, there is no reason to believe that you can make a profit from a more complex technique.

This is a very simple idea.  If you can’t do what’s easy, you won’t be able to do what’s harder.  So many new traders don’t understand this principle and dive in head first in shallow waters.

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Actions You Must Take For Your Penny Stocks: Avoiding Scams and Frauds

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
July 24, 2010

The Internet is a powerful tool for numerous penny stocks investors, as well as for frauds and impostors. Being a responsible investor is not good enough; you must also be wise and smart enough to distinguish impostors from the real ones and stay away from them. Penny stocks message boards are functional media for information exchange among investors. Scams and fakes often blend well with genuine messages.

They usually cover their fraudulent acts by bragging about their company and pretending to know inside information about products, new beneficial contracts, or unreleased publications. With the Internet relying solely on the information provided by the user, it is impossible to trace who are posting such messages. These people can be anyone who has been paid to do the job. An impostor can readily make a good impression of extensive interest in a stock by posting several messages under different names.

Getting the facts is the best way to stay away from fraud. Do not rely exclusively on what you have read on the message board. Do not buy penny stocks without researching and studying them. Careful investigation about the company must be made to ensure the honesty in their statements. There are four actions that you can take to avoid scams. First, obtain the financial statements of the company and thoroughly examine them. Second, confirm posts regarding new products, announcements or new contracts. Third, make calls to suppliers and/or customers of the company and validate their association with the company. Lastly, conduct a complete research about the company and determine if they have made money for their investors before.

It may seem to be a tedious work but it can give you reliable information regarding the stocks that a company boasts of. Nobody wants to waste their investments on scams and frauds, so it is better to take the extra time and effort to check the integrity and existence of the company.

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Another Application of the Third Law of Mechanics

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
July 24, 2010

You may have heard the name Sir Isaac Newton in your typical physics class. However, one of the laws he has proposed is also very applicable in the field of trading. What is this Law and how can you benefit from knowing that the stock market is actually a new application of that Law? This article will discuss that topic.

Newton stated that for every action, an equal reaction must exist. In other words, a movement and the corresponding reaction that it would make come in pairs. How can this apply in the stocks market? As you may easily verify, a stock market is a place where a trader can buy and sell their stocks and bonds.

A stock refers to the right of the person owning it in the possession of a company. In that sense, for every seller or buyer in the market, there should be another buyer or seller with it. Following this note, you can therefore conclude that the number of buyers and sellers in the tock market for a day should be of equal quantity. Besides, how can someone buy a stocks option without someone selling it on the other side, and vice versa?

How should this be of help to you? Well, this fact helps you see the probability of you losing or profiting from the stocks that you currently own. If you are on the right side of the equation, either a buyer or a seller, and the market conditions favor your side, you can generate profits from it. The other is also true. Hence, in trading, it would be better for you to do in-depth analysis in the status of a company before buying or selling stocks from it. Doing this will help you make your chances more likely.

Knowing the application of the Third Law of Newton proves that trading is not only a game of chances, it is also an application of science.

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Penny Stocks for the New Traders

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
July 24, 2010

Starting a business in trading could take a lot of work and practice to succeed. With the right amount of experience and knowledge, anyone could be rich just by watching their investments grow instantly. If you are interested in making some cold bucks while at your home, trading is definitely an option for you. This article will help you see the role played by penny stocks for the inexperienced traders.

If you do not have the right education yet for stocks trading, this is the best moment for you to start. From here, all the things that you would face will require you to have the basics in stock marketing, so be well fed. After doing some significant researches and gathering enough knowledge to back you up during the actual trading process, you can exercise that knowledge of yours by trading, either in a virtual environment or in an actual one.

Penny trading is usually considered as the best way to start training since the stakes and the prices are low enough to be ignored. Trade offs in the penny stocks market is substantial, unlike the simulations, so you can experience the real trading process by spending your starting years in this type of trading.

You can experience the whole stocks trading methods in this type of trading, and you do not have to worry for the money, just as long as you have enough starting income. Succeeding in the penny stocks market could mean that you are mature enough to keep a stocks account for yourself.

However, remember that the risks are real in penny stocks market. In that case, it would be better to take your trading seriously, even in your initial years. Doing so will make you comfortable enough to trade some more.

Indeed, trading with the use of penny stocks is an effective way to keep your trading skills frequently used. If you really want to be a professional trader, being a penny stocks trader is a good start.

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Stock Market Tips For New Investors

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
July 11, 2010

Nowadays, it has been quite easy and also affordable for any individual that has a few thousand dollars to begin investing as well as to trade equities within the United States stock market; however there are plenty of information out there that needs to be understood first and foremost before a person could make a wise decision in trading.  New investors, and the seasoned investor, are always looking for stock market tips.

Before a person plunges into investing with your hard earned money most specifically in stocks, a person should have a clear understanding as to what stock prices are based upon, as to how to read the financial data sheets, as well as how can they view and to understand the history as well as the trends of the stock market.

If you are going to talk to anyone who is actively trading or perhaps invests in the stock market, you will notice that the number one rule of thumb is for you to “do your homework”. This is actually referring to the overall research on the stocks that you are going to invest in or perhaps purchasing before you do it. This actually doesn’t simply include researching the past up to the current information but also it involves as to what the company’s plans are for the future to improve their business as well as how to grow it.

A company’s stocks price are being based upon the growth and even if the company is doing well as of the moment, the company should have the room as well as the plans for them to show the growth to maintain its investors.  After all, the price of a stock is based on the expectations for the future.  If the public is nervous about a companies future, they will not want to invest in that company.  So even though an investor will look at past historical data, they will also try and look into the future to see what may be coming.

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Amateurs Investing In The Stock Market

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
June 22, 2010

Against popular belief the stock market is a really unfriendly place for a beginner. While a lot of people think Wall Street is the most convenient place to make their first million dollars it is not always the case. In a lot of instances rookie traders find themselves falling by the wayside and watching veteran traders reap rewards they might have thought were impossible. Read on to find out how to start off on the stock market.

The very first thing you must keep at the back of your head is that knowledge is power. When we as people start out on something totally new we tend to feel anxious about flying when we cannot even walk. Of course it is natural to feel like jumping head first into the pool of the experienced but if anything patience is the key. Before actually trading you must be well versed on the core issues that differentiate the professionals form the amateurs.

In order to know a thing or two about trading on Wall Street you must read a lot. A number of periodicals are issued every quarterly and they do reviews of stocks that performed well during the period under analysis. It is here that you will learn the fundamental basics that will turn you into a self styled millionaire.Generally you are supposed to take note of trends and even go as far as reviewing periodicals dating back 2 to 3 years. Apart from periodicals you can also buy books to help find the best stocks.

When you have gathered the necessary information it is crucial for you to start, but to start small. Do not invest your entire savings all at once because this way you can easily lose out and end up having to start from scratch. Plus you must also spread out your investments evenly to ensure you do not lose all your money on poorly performing stocks.

Stock investment strategies are sometimes tricky to master and stick to. But if you do all the right things you must emerge victorious.

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Break Mental Boundaries to Become Rich

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
June 15, 2010

The best wealth building tool a person has available to them is their personal income.  The two biggest destroyers of the personal income is debt and indifference.  There are plenty of articles about reducing who debt, but who could possibly be indifferent about how much money they are paid?  Well, probably you are just like I was.

First of all think about how much work you actually get done in a work day.  Now don’t count all the busy stuff that happens.  You know the work you do when you have two hours to get a big presentation done and you pull out all the stops to knock it out and it turns out great even though you had four weeks to get it done.  That moment of panic and productivity is the real work you produce.  That is what you are actually getting paid for.  You probably only do this 10 to 20% of all the time you are at work.

Now instead of worrying about if you’re getting a 2% raise or a 5% raise imagine leveraging efforts 3 or 4 times and selling yourself as someone who outshines everyone for a 80% to 100% raise.  The general company culture has us nickel and diming ourselves.  We have a rigid schedule that forces us at work 40 to 60 hours a work, but we only put a set amount of effort in no matter how long we are there.

Many new companies understand the production based compensation.  This is scary to some who grew up in fixed income households, but it can be an opportunity if you always do more work than your cubicle neighbors.  You could double your income for less time.  Put that extra money into the stock market and you could become a millionaire in no time.  Maybe take some of your down hours at work this week and think about it.

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Can You Make it as a Day Trader?

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
May 28, 2010

Many people look into day trading because they think it’s easy money.  They believe it’s the type of trading that can cause make you rich or broke in the course of a single day.  While this is true, if you approach day trading foolishly, this isn’t really how it works.  Day trading requires hours of research outside of market hours, and infinite amounts of patience and control during the trading day, and good day traders are in it for the long-term, not the quick buck.

First of all, before you even put money into the stock market as a day trader, you need to do tons of research.  You have to be familiar with the mechanics of the stock market and trading software, and you need to know how to do technical and fundamental analysis.  After you’ve learned all this, you have to do ongoing research on a daily basis in order to have plan in place before the market even opens.

Day trading also requires patience and control.  If you take every trade that comes along, you’ll suffer from what’s called “over trading.”  You’ll enter too early, exit before your trade plays out, and you won’t be cherry picking the perfect set-ups that have a higher probability of working out.  The truth is some days you may take a hundred trades, and other days, zero trades.  The trick is having the patience to wait for those perfect set-ups.

Day trading also requires you to have an eye on the long term, and not just the fast dollar.  This means studying your stats; your wins, your losses, dissecting every trade, and figuring out which trades are your best and most probable and profitable.  If will take a long time and many trades before you figure out your edge.  Yes, you can make thousands of dollars in minutes, but you’ll also lose thousands of dollars before that happens.  It requires long-term patience to get to the point of being a profitable day trader.

Don’t believe the hype and the marketing when someone tells you they can teach you to trade for an hour a day and get rich.  One of the biggest day trading secrets is that it requires a grueling amount of control, patience, practice and study.  This is why there’s such a high burnout rate; most people aren’t willing to put that work in.  So, what do you think?  Can you make it as a day trader?

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How To Find The Best Stocks For Investment

Filed Under: Investing, Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
May 21, 2010

A good way to get started investing is to buy one of the stock market for dummies books. Once you learn a thing or two, then you will be interested in finding out how to buy stocks for beginners and how to pick the best stocks. But since the market is constantly fluctuating, it’s very difficult to find the most profitable stocks. Today’s great stock may not look so wonderful tomorrow. Nevertheless, some general rules of thumb can be used to make wise stock decisions.

When you set out to buy, don’t put all your eggs in one basket – or one stock. Ideally, you should buy several stocks and develop a portfolio, so that if a single one crashes most of your money will be safe. The smartest approach to buying stocks is to spread your risk among a range of stocks in a variety of industries.

Don’t make any final decisions until you have done the appropriate amount of research into the various stocks you’re considering. When you understand how the market operates, it will be easier to choose good stocks.

For instance, when a company launches a promising new product, you may want to think about buying it. It’s also worthwhile to invest when two reputable companies merge into one.

Mergers are often what happen when two great companies that each have something to offer decide to work together. In another situation, a larger company may buy a smaller one.

In a case like this, a lot of interest is usually generated and the stock price rises. Not only that, a merger may result in the manufacturing of higher quality products, which more people will want to buy. And when that occurs, the stock price will rise.

When it comes to the very best stocks, a variety of factors must go into the decision to buy. One great way to choose a stock is to keep an eye out for mergers and positive trends in a company’s business.

You also can invest in penny stocks, which involves slight risk and may bring considerable gain.

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Smart Tips For Investing In Stocks

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
May 11, 2010

The earnings that can be generated through stock investing is appealing, though a lot of people are cautious of the risk it all entails. Once a beginner decides to learn how to buy stocks, there are a few things that they should take into account.

1) Before you can learn how to pick the best stocks to buy right now, you need to learn a lot of things about how the stock market operates. It is best if you familiarize yourself with all the basics and learn how companies are valued and how people’s perceptions play a big part of what happens everyday in the market.

3) It’s vital to understand that there is no guarantee that you will make money by investing in stocks. Many people lose  money and you have to be ready to accept the fact that there is a lot of risk even if you know what you are doing. If you can get the help of a professional to give you guidance it will help you learn things a lot faster than you might on your own.

4) There is a wealth of information out there on the Internet but you have to know how to sift through all the fluff to find things that are accurate. Everyone has advice but not everyone has opinions that you should follow and learn from. Finding reliable and respected sources online is a trick in itself and you should not just blindly follow stock picks that others give you.

5) Be prepared to put in a wholehearted effort because the time that you are prepared to study and diligently keep apprised of tendencies, guidelines, and company profiles, will pay off in future income on your stock market investments. Following the ups and downs of a number of companies for a while will give you the data that you’ll want to decide whether or not a stock will likely be a profitable investment.

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Stocks or Forex?

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
March 31, 2010

Everyone has heard of the stock market, but we find that much less people seem to know exactly Forex is.  So the purpose behind this article is to describe Forex and explain a little about Forex trading. The forex market is the largest and most liquid market in the world.  Unlike the stock market, where shares are traded on regulated exchanges, forex is traded over the counter and is not as heavily regulated.  Because of this, there are some additional risks so you need to be careful and know what you are doing if you are planning to trade forex.

In the past, not everyone had access the forex market.  Typically, only asset managers, large financial institutions, corporates, currency dealers and some high net worth investors had the ability and the wherewithal to trade forex. Nowadays, pretty much anyone with a telephone or an internet connection can access the tremendous liquidity, the 24 hours access and the low commission rates of the forex markets as they have opened up around the world.

So now the forex market is massive and very easily accessible. With the appropriate software and/or the assistance of a forex trader or service provider, it can actually be a very interesting market to get into. Not always profitable (after all, it’s a zero sum game, for every winner there is a loser) but it does offer some good opportunities to make money.

However, we offer a word of caution to anyone who is new to the market.  You really need to educate yourself on the secrets behind forex trading as it is not for everyone.  However, if you do your research, have a strategic plan in place and you set the appropriate forex signals, you should be covered.

If you do the appropriate research and remember never to invest more than you can afford to lose, just like with any investment portfolio, then you may even make some money! Happy trading!

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Some Stocks To Buy Now

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
March 29, 2010

In case you haven’t been paying attention, the stock market has been on fire. Since last March, the Dow has gone up close to 70% and the NASDAQ has been up over 80%. What most investors aren’t sure of is whether or not this trend will continue. While the market isn’t expected to continue on such a torrid pace, it is expected to continue to rise.

Even if that’s not the case, there are certain stocks that should still be safe bets. To find out more about what stocks to buy now, please read below.

If you invested $10,000 in Ford (F) one year ago, you would now have $100,000. Not a bad deal, huh? Most people would look at this situation and think they missed it. They’re right in regards to missing the majority of the run, but Ford still has a lot of upside. There are many reasons for this. One is that they have a terrific CEO with a stellar track record.

Another is that GM is gasping for air. And a third is Toyota’s recent problems with recalls. It seems like every day there’s a new incident where someone’s life was put in danger due to faulty equipment. Ford is sure to capitalize on this.

Sirius Satellite Radio (SIRI) is a completely different situation. Their stock price has been slammed in recent years, but has also risen to just under $1 from $.05. Where is it headed next? No one knows for sure, but many people compare it to cable several decades ago. At the time, no one thought people would pay for extra channels.

We know how that ended up. Cable became a must-have for the majority of the households across the United States. It’s possible the same pattern emerges with Sirius. One negative is that there a lot of outstanding shares, which makes it more difficult to move the stock. Another negative is a ton of debt. However, while this can deter growth, if it’s paid off progressively, investors will get excited.

There are thousands of stocks out there, but if you’re trying to determine what stocks to buy now, strongly consider Ford and Sirius.

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Buying Shares for Beginners

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
March 26, 2010

When I started investing in the stock market over 20 years ago it wasn’t quite as easy as it is these days. Most of it was done over the phone and the time was spent pouring over the latest stats or newspapers which would provide with the most up to information available. Ironically this was usually at least a day old! Today, we have the Internet to give us real time stock information which makes investing just a little bit easier. Buying shares for beginners is always quite difficult to start with as the Internet can do it’s job a little too well.

By this, I mean we’re are sometimes swamped with information and you have to work out what is useful and what isn’t. This can be quite a time consuming process and it sometimes drives me to the point of wishing the good old days were back! I did say almost though.

I wouldn’t swap Yahoo Finance for anything now as it has everything I need at the touch of a button. If you’re a newcomer to buying stocks and shares then make sure you sign up for an account the information on there is invaluable. You can organize your stock interests into mock portfolios and monitor them perhaps before you finally take the plunge and buy some stock.

If you are almost at that point I’d recommend that you take a look at one of the many fantasy stock market games you’ll find online. It’s more of a simulation than a game of what you can expect from dealing in stocks and shares without having to risk your own money. Why not add a few companies that you like to your portfolio and watch how they perform over a few months.

If they do well, then why not try it out for real? It’s a great way to boost your confidence, try out what you have learned and have a little risk free fun along the way.

How to buy stocks for beginners is a question often asked but why not follow a few of my tips outlined above and you may find its easier than you thought.

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Develop A Winning Trading System

Filed Under: Stocks, Volume Trading Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
March 25, 2010

There are many different vehicles one can use to strive to make money with their investments.  The big question is on which ones to choose and to what point should you use them in your trading system.  You can invest strictly in stocks or you can branch out to options, commodities, other derivatives, real estate and many more types of investments.  You can not really put your resources in all of the options available so you need to evaluate which ones seem to work for you with the amount of knowledge and experience you have.  If you have never dealt in real estate, then maybe that is too risky for you.

It is possible to do some research and gain more knowledge and experience in a particular area that you become interested in.  You may even become an expert in that area if you put enough research and thought into it.  For example in the world of options, you hear about calls and puts.  You may stop there and think that is the extent of that world.  However, as you research you find that you have only begun with the tip of the iceberg.  You find that there are multiple strategies and combinations that you can put together to build a strong portfolio.  You find that there is in fact much you did not know and that depending on your trading system, you may be able to make money with option trading in any situation.

This would be true for any of the above mentioned investment vehicles.  As you dig into the field and learn more and more you will find that a whole new world opens up to you.  There are online games where the board is covered, but as you click on different positions, different parts of the game open up.  I think you will find this to be the case with these different investing strategies.  You only need to do some research and press on the different areas to open up whole new worlds.

So go to it, choose the fields you are interested in.  Do some research and try your ideas.  You will find yourself becoming more and more interested in it.  If you find it is not for you that is okay.  You can go on to another field.  You will eventually find those investment fields that are your gold mine.

One way to test your knowledge is on a paper online trading site.  You can test your knowledge with money that is not real.  In this manner, you are able to learn without the painful experience of losing your nest egg.  One online trading site is Wall Street Survivor which can be accessed via our site at www.mystocktradingtips.com.  I would encourage you to check it out.  Have fun.

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Buying Penny Stocks Online

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
March 22, 2010

By definition, penny stocks are stocks that cost less than five dollars. This can be beneficial because the cost is significantly less than regular or main stream stocks. It also allows a person to become a stock holder whether they have a lot of money or not. However, buying penny stocks is a very risky endeavor, but if you keep a few things in mind you can be a successful penny stock trader.

If you’re wondering where to buy penny stocks online, the first thing to do is set up an online trading account. Pick a reliable online trading account like E*trade or Scottrade. This will allow you to view and manage your portfolio easily and whenever you choose. Once you have bought stocks you should follow them closely two to three times every day (if you are day trading) or once a week for long term investments.

Probably the most important thing you need to be sure to do is to research the stock before you buy it. Follow the stock for awhile and make sure you know about the company. Learn the endeavors of the company and read any financial analysts reports on the stock. Look at the success to failure ratio up to this point. Remember that even though your initial investment is small you still want the investment to be a calculated risk.

Finally you’ll want funds to buy your stocks with. You can do this by setting up transfers; you can wire money, checks, or send it directly from your bank. The important thing is that you set up a way to transfer funds that you feel comfortable with.

By following these three simple steps for buying penny stocks you will find an easy entrance into owning stock. As you trade and buy stock you will learn a lot more. You will also become more efficient in the matter. Things related to the stock exchange will become familiar to you, and you will be able to recognize good deals when you see them.

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Penny Stock Investing

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
March 21, 2010

Many people have heard of and have thought of trading penny stocks. The big question is how to buy penny stocks. While it is simple to buy, you must be careful what stocks to buy and to not get sucked into the hype surrounding a penny stock.

First thing you will need to do is to find out how you want to trade penny stocks. Do you want to be a day trader glued to your computer screen darting in and out of the stock market all day? This will take a lot of discipline, but many people are able to trade this way profitably. Perhaps you can’t or don’t want to day trade penny stocks. You can take a longer-term view. You might be more comfortable holding a position for a week to a month. Once again many people trade this way too and are profitable.

The key is to find what you are comfortable trading. You must find a trading method that is in sync with your personality. If you are a hyper type of person, then day trading might be for you. Only you can decide your trading style.

Next you need to do research. Trading on random penny stock tips is a sure road to the poor house. You need to understand why you are buying this stock. Is this to be a short-term trade or is this a long-term holding? You will need to figure and plan your exit strategy before actually buying the stock. You will need to see the price that you will get out of the trade if it goes against you. Set a firm price of your loss and stick to it. It is said your first loss is your best loss.

Before investing it penny stocks, do some solid research. Check out some of the online newsletters to get a feel of the market. Don’t get sucked in by online hype of the next hot penny stocks. Research and define your entry and exit points before entering a trade. By doing so you will increase the odds you will be a profitable penny stock trader.

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Characteristics of Undervalued Stocks

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
March 18, 2010

Undervalued stocks are stocks that are being sold at a significantly lower price as opposed to its intrinsic value. An undervalued stock could be anything that sells for $50 for example but has a value of over $200 in future cash flows. Buying undervalued stock is one way to make money especially if you are new in investing in stocks.

Undervalued stocks are based on price-earning ratio which means that if you buy stocks for $50, you will be earning double or triple or even quadruple of the amount you bought it for.

To know if a stock is undervalued, you would have to predict the future profits of that certain stock. Once you have done that, you will know if the stock is undervalued or not. To make it simpler, here are some qualities of corporations or companies with undervalued stocks:

• The company is stable in terms of its earning history

• The company did not have any losses in any shape or form in the last recession.

• The company has an A, AA or AAA credit rating.

•Earnings have risen in the past 10 years

• It is selling its stocks at a price below its value, this asset value is also called tangible asset value.

• The company’s PE ratio is calculated as below its mean ratio in the last ten years and if a company has a low PE ratio, it should now be because of a decline in its profitability or profits from capital gains.

• The company is involved in some sort of scandal in the financial hemisphere.

• The company does not produce, manufacture or make any type of equipment or software that concerns high technology because such a company’s assets or products can be deemed obsolete in a short period of time.

Another thing to keep in mind is undervalued stocks are not found easily. But, with time and patience they are well worth it.

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How to Pick Out the Good Stock Tips from the Bad

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
March 18, 2010

Have you been paying attention to what has taken place in the stock market for the past year? The answer is most likely “yes.” However, just in case you’ve been hiding under a rock for the past 12 months, the market has been up over 65%. This is an amazing number, one that has been based on the optimism of an economic recovery, which, in turn, has been backed by the Federal Reserve and stimulus measures. There’s one thing to keep in mind, though. The Federal Reserve will not be assisting with Mortgage-Backed Securities come April 1, 2010. Therefore, the market will indirectly be forced to stand on its own two feet again. Will it be able to maintain such an amazing run? Probably not. But that shouldn’t matter.

What many people don’t realize is that not all stocks trade with the market. In most cases, stocks move in regards to what its sector is doing. Of course, if there is any individual news, such as earnings, buybacks, bankruptcy, and so on, then that stock might see tremendous swings. And if it’s a market leader, such as a Cisco Systems for technology, then that news has the ability to move an entire sector.

All of the above information should be taken into consideration when you’re watching an economist on CNBC or Bloomberg giving advice. More importantly, it’s imperative that you’re able to tell the good stock tips from the bad ones. There are several ways to go about doing this. The first thing you need to do – after writing down the ticker symbol – is to search that company’s financial information. Why did the economist say this stock price is likely to rise? Is it in a hot sector? Are earnings expected to improve? Is the company buying back shares? Is there insider buying? Has a competitor of theirs taken a fall?

Also look for the following: cash, debt, operating margins, profit margins, operating cash flow, PE ratio, and PEG ratio. While what you find on a message board should usually be taken with a grain of salt, you will sometimes find a few knowledgeable individuals. If they can backup their arguments with facts and data, consider looking into more about what they are saying.

In most cases, you’re best off doing your own due diligence prior to looking around for stock tips help and making a stock selection. That said, there are times when stock tips can make you a boatload of money. All the tips listed above are important; however, the most important factor when deciding to listen to someone or not is to check their track record.

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Why Create A Mock Stock Portfolio

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
March 17, 2010

#1: Find out how good you really are- there’s an objective, scientific way of knowing that you’ll make more money investing in stocks yourself, rather than investing in mutual funds or ETF? Others rely on research that shows that ETFs and mutual funds perform better than the average investor. One of the better ways to find this out is through mock stock portfolio.  Using a mock stock portfolio means there is no risk with your real money and you can still find out how good you are.  You can do this by creating a portfolio and measuring yourself against some of the alternatives like an index fund or a few mutual funds.

#2: Learn from your mistakes- learn from your mistakes without actually losing any money. You’ll learn if you buy too early or too late, sell winners before you should or holding on to losers for too long. You’ll know if you tend to focus too much on a few sectors, making your portfolio volatile. A mock portfolio is quite the same. Even though you’re giving up potential real profit, it’s worth the effort.

#3: Test different strategies- each strategy has different ways of being implemented. You could rebalance the Dogs of the Dow every year so that all positions are equal, or choosing not to. Choose stocks that have a good dividend yield, they increase how much they pay or because their stock price fell. Using mock portfolios will help you see how you perform with each strategy. There are a lot of ways to create mock portfolios. Make sure to choose one where you can place orders, like you would at a real stock brokerage.

There are various online paper trading games that you can choose.  One that I like is Wall Street Survivor.  You can test your mettle against other players and learn your trading strategies.  Then you will be able to take what you have learned and put it into practice in real life.  You will be able to make money with your stock trading strategies.

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Good Stocks to Buy Right Now

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
March 16, 2010

Some Good stocks to Buy Right Now

In the financial situation we face today, mired in the deepest recession we have faced since the Great Depression, with unemployment hovering near ten percent, record numbers of home foreclosures, and business loans being harder to come by then ever before, many would say it’s a good time to take risks in the stock market. And they are very right to worry about the risks. One of the things that got us into this mess was the  fact that too many people were taking unreasonable risks, especially with real estate. They assumed prices would keep rising and when they fell, many people got into trouble and the downward spiral happened that got us where we are in 2010. If you don’t have a lot of spare capital and you don’t know much about stocks, do not buy them!

However, if you do have a reasonable amount of money and knowledge about investing, now is a good time to buy stocks because many of them are currently undervalued. Keeping in mind that there is always, always risk involved and you could lose money, here is some advice on some good stocks to buy right now.

One good thing about investing these  days is that for the little guy there are fewer barriers to doing it than ever before. You only need $350 to keep commissions down at 2% for a seven dollar trade. If you have at least that much to spare each month, and by to spare I mean it would be acceptable to you if the money earned you nothing at all, you can reasonably expect to end up with around $400,000 after about 25 years of investing this amount each month.

The best way to reliably make money in the stock market is to think long term, and buy only stocks that pay dividends. You don’t eliminate risk this way but you certainly reduce it a lot, and over time you are taking advantage of the dividends. A finance professor named Jeremy Siegel has shown that you can reasonably expect a real annual return on your investment of around 6.5 percent in the long run, so long as you reinvest your dividends.

But exactly which stocks should you buy? There are thousands upon thousands of stock market gurus who profess to have the answer, so which ones should you listen to? The answer is, not any one expert in particular. This is where your general knowledge of how the stock market works needs to come in. Take time to do some research.

One thing that you will find to be agreed upon by a big majority of the experts is that stable companies with yields that are better than the average for the market, and prices that are below the average, are a good bet for long-term investing.  By better than average yields I mean companies that are paying dividends with yields significantly better than 2%.  Below average prices are prices that are currently well below the average price for the stock over the past, say, ten years. You can easily find yield information and charts of stock prices online. Find companies that are good in both categories, and those are some good stocks to buy right now.

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Winning Stock Trading Games

Filed Under: Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
March 15, 2010

Stock trading games are online game where you play with virtual money.  You are given a certain amount of money to make trades and you attempt to do better than the other players.  Investing classes at the Universities use these games as a training mechanism.  They teach investing strategies and then see how well you do with what you have learned.  Many of the games allow you to play for free.  If you have developed a good strategy, then there is a good chance you will be able to win.  The neat thing is that if you do not win this month, you can learn from what you did wrong and play again.  You do not have your hard earned money invested and it is possible to move on.

I think you will find as you play the game that there are certain tips and ideas you will need to do to win the game.  You will probably need to sign up for the additional services that allow you to place non-delayed trades and also get additional advice.  The prizes are certainly worth the price for these additional services.  The better reward for signing up for these additional services is the capability of learning from the masters of trading.  In most cases the goal behind these online games is to develop our trading strategies and to be able to take that knowledge and use it in real life trades with our money.  Then we will be able to make money with our stock investments.

That then is the best way to make money with the stock trading games.  We need to learn how to buy shares and which are the best tips and ways to obtain the ideas of which stocks to buy.  Then when the stock that we have purchased goes up, we will probably be able to make more money than any potential money through the online games.

However, playing the online games will allow us to not be pressured as we attempt to walk and then run with our investing strategies.  It is possible to make money with stock investments, we just need to know the rules of the game.

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To The People Who Panicked In The Stock Market 2008

Filed Under: Stocks by — Comments Off
November 17, 2009

Last year was a terrible year for stocks.  By terrible I mean jump out the window bad.  The thing that people do not realize is that all the media are bandwagon jumpers and it is always really good or really bad.  The hard thing to do is to avoid listening to this panic.  Many people pulled out there money last year when the Dow was at a recent low.

They then proceed to miss out on the huge gains this year. Why?  Impatience, panic, listening to the wrong people.

Most people do what they are told and many struggle to come up with an original thought.  The media talks about why everything is awful and compounds the problem.  What they do not say is what is costly.

The US is a stable country that over time will produce stable results.  Anything seen as a huge jump or decline will have a correction coming in the near future.  Just look at houses.  Did people really think they could get 10 -20 % increases each year in their home value?  I hope not, but they did.  Do the math at that rate your $100,000 would be worth a million in less than 20 years.  Honestly do you believe that?

Well good no one should.  But that is the nonsense people believe because they do not think about it that way.  Simple history and simple math. Does it make sense?  Well if it does not you better ask more questions.  Its really funny how the analysts and media talk about how great housing was and the investment it could be. Just look at the numbers though and since the 1930′s or so housing has averaged about a 3% increase each year.  Pretty normal would be up to 5% with some near 0% or negative.  So 10 – 20% a year was nuts and people should have seen it coming.

While the stocks just kinda fell off the roof, the opposite should of been seen.  Did they really need to fall that far?  The Dow went from 14000 and some change to 6700 or so.  Did that make sense either?  No, well then buy some stocks.

See people need to make moves on stuff that does not make sense.  Just look at the Dow now, over 10000.  Most people still were on the sidelines at 8000.  Now they get back in the game when they should have been in all the time.

Timing the market will give you a heart attack.  Continually invest and see what happens.  Long term growth.  Not fancy but simple.

On a side note, sometimes people need their money right away and should take it out of the market. However, I questions why so much was in there in the first place if they need it right away.

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