background preloader

How Stocks and the Stock Market Work"

How Stocks and the Stock Market Work"
For a new investor, the stock market can feel a lot like legalized gambling. "Ladies and gentlemen, place your bets! Randomly choose a stock based on gut instinct and water cooler chatter! If the price of your stock goes up -- and who knows why? -- you win! Not exactly. The stock market can be intimidating, but a little information can help ease your fears. Why would a company want to share its assets and earnings with the general public? The disadvantage of borrowing money is that the company has to pay back the loan with interest. Perhaps the best way to explain how stocks and the stock market work is to use an example.

How to start a dividend portfolio with $5,000 & Intelligent Speculator - StumbleUpon Anytime we talk about stock picks or building a portfolio, one of the most asked questions on this blog is how to start building the portfolio itself. It’s easier said than done of course and lends easily to procrastination. Of course, this is what makes the biggest difference in the end. Making the right picks and trades is important but getting started, to actually build the portfolio is the real critical part. That being said, we decided to write a general guide. We used the example of starting with $5000 but this can be applied to any amount really. #1- Open a brokerage account The first step is perhaps the more “complicated” one as you must of course open a brokerage account. #2- Buy 2 reliable growth dividend stocks Because commission end up being paid, you do not want to buy too many different stocks all at once. Every month at least, we give out some dividend picks in our free newsletter so you could get some ideas there. This is really one of the main keys. Conclusion

How Stock Trading Works - Basic Steps - Use this site to read about the basic steps to trading stock. Which stock will you choose to trade? Trading stocks. You hear that phrase all the time, although it really is wrong – you don’t trade stocks like baseball cards (I’ll trade you 100 IBMs for 100 Intels). Trade = Buy or Sell To “trade” means to buy and sell in the jargon of the financial markets. Yet, they still must handle your order for 100 shares of Acme Kumquats with the same care and documentation as my order of 100,000 shares of MegaCorp. You don’t need to know all of the technical details of how you buy and sell stocks, however it is important to have a basic understanding of how the markets work. Two Basic Methods There are two basic ways exchanges execute a trade: On the exchange floor Electronically There is a strong push to move more trading to the networks and off the trading floors, however this push is meeting with some resistance. Exchange floor Trading on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (the NYSE) is the image most people have thanks to television and the movies of how the market works. Electronically

The smart investment account that's easy to use. No minimum balance. No... - StumbleUpon Glossary of Stock Market Terms & Definitions: Use this site to define the terms about the stock market. Term of the Day: Buydown: A lump sum payment made to the creditor by the borrower or by a third party to reduce the amount of some or all of the consumer's periodic payments to repay the indebtedness. In the context of project financing, refers to a one-time payment out of liquidated damages to reflect cash flow losses from sustained underperformance. Browse Terms by Letter: About the Glossary Whether you're a new investor or a seasoned pro, it helps to have a solid glossary at your fingertips to provide quick clarification on a particular term or to expland your overall stock market vocabulary. Investing Essentials Copyright © 2011 Campbell R. Investing Tools Stock Screener Find opportunities in the market using criteria based on 145 data elements. Portfolio Tracker Create a portfolio of selected assets that are updated dynamically intraday. Guru Evaluate stocks that meet the investment criteria of the greatest investors.

Dan Solin: Einstein's Theory... of Investing As legend has it, when Einstein died, he met two men and a woman outside the pearly gates. Always one to strike up a conversation, he asked them about their IQs. The woman said her IQ was 190. The first man said his IQ was 150. The second man sheepishly said: "I'm sorry, but my IQ is only 100. Okay. Here's real wisdom from Einstein. Around this time last year, the respected journal Pension & Investments published an article titled: For 2011, it'll be all about equities. James W. The reality was quite different. Let's give this some perspective: The biggest, best, brightest, most sophisticated and highly compensated institutional fund managers can't predict whether stocks will outperform bonds in a given year. How do you like the chances of your broker picking stocks, timing the markets or picking outperforming mutual funds? My New Years wish for all of you is this: Fundamentally change the way you invest. Follow Einstein's advice and don't repeat your mistakes.

Book Creator - Create your presentation by making ebooks, pdfs, or publish to iBooks Year in review: 13 of 37 on Oregonian Stock Index finished strong View full sizeRoss William Hamilton/The OregonianLithia Motors' president and COO, Bryan DeBoer (left) met Thursday with some of Lithia Motors' management including Mike Ruef the general sales manager for Mini. Lithia Motors' stock increased 57 percent in 2011, the second-highest increase among The Oregonian's Index of publicly traded Oregon-based companies. It was a year of haves and have-nots: a period in which a slightly simmering economy helped the richest, but certainly not the masses. Occupy Wall Street? They were skittish and picky, rueful of surprises. Of the 13 stocks that finished the year in positive territory, four were heavy manufacturers. "Diversification of our economic base has helped us," said Fred Dickson, chief investment strategist for D.A. The Oregonian Index stocks The best- and worst-performing stocks of 2011 Top 10 + 54.4 percent; Friday close of $40.78 + 53 percent; $21.86 + 28.4 percent; $19.96 + 18.4 percent; $164.79 + 16.5 percent; $25.29 + 15.7 percent; $24.48

Goldman Advisor Defends Sukuk Bond Program, Saying It Complies With Islamic Law * Western banks increasingly interested in sukuk * But controversy could affect their entry into sector * Advisor mounts detailed defence in Reuters column * Says funds will not be used for interest-base lending * Argues Goldman's entry could help solve industry's problems By Andrew Torchia DUBAI, Jan 2 (Reuters) - An advisor to Goldman Sachs has defended the U.S. bank's $2 billion Islamic bond programme against criticism it may contravene religious principles, in a controversy that could affect Western banks' ability to enter the Islamic debt market. In October, Goldman registered the sukuk programme with the Irish Stock Exchange. Some analysts however have suggested Goldman might use the proceeds of the issue to lend money to clients for interest, which would be against Islamic law, and that the issue might not trade at par value on the Irish exchange, which would also contravene sharia law. He argued that the Goldman deal had a legitimate murabaha structure. Also on HuffPost:

Related: