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Monday, December 7, 2009

Stock Investing

By Ahmad Hassam

What would make a stock rise so much? The whole point of investing in stocks is to choose one that has the greatest chance of a rising share value. Don't we all look for a stock that we could buy for $10 and later on sell for $300 per share? Well, how can we proceed to accomplish such a feat?

Buying a stock is essentially buying a small piece of the company and its future potential for growth and profits. So if the company does well, its stock will go up in price and if the company does poorly its stock will go down in price.

Now why does the stock goes up and down with the performance of the company. Actually the real force behind the stock rise and fall is the market place. The marketplace is in fact buyers and sellers, individuals and organizations that want to buy stocks or sell them.

This buying and selling of stocks can only take place in exchanges like the New York Stock Exchange and over the counter markets like NASDAQ. If there are more buyers of the stock, its value will go up and if there are more sellers in the market, the stock price goes down.

Markets are a totally unpredictable beast. You never know how the market will react to a news item. Sometimes you will find that the company does well and is posting good quarterly earnings but still its stock price goes down. What's the reason behind this? Now it doesn't mean that if the company does well and is showing good profits and earnings, its stock price will go up.

Everything in the markets is based on the expectations. Stock price goes up and down because of what the buyers and sellers expect will happen with the company in the near future. In reality the price of stock depends on the investor's expectations. The price of a stock goes down because there are more sellers than buyers. So why is it so? The stock price does not go up or down just based on the company's present performance. What can be the reason behind this unexpected stock price plunge?

However, the performance of the stock and the performance of the company over the long term have a logical relationship. In the short term, the behavior of the stock price is irrational and it can behave in crazy and illogical ways.

Stock investing is all about doing good research before you make your final decision to invest in a particular stock. Focus on finding companies that are strong, well positioned in the right industries and have solid fundamentals like a good management, good product, good service, growing industry, rising sales, increasing profits and so on. The bottom line is don't worry about the short term gyrations of the stock price. Sometimes the industry and the economy matters more than the company. Picking a stock doesn't happen in a vacuum. Understanding the company's industry and the overall economic environment is critical to stock picking process. It would be interesting for you to know that Warren Buffet, the world's greatest stock investor has over the years been a value investor. His famous investments were in insurance and manufacturing. He buys companies that have fallen on bad times but inherently their business model is sound, just maybe need a good management. - 23218

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Stock Market Investment Clubs Good for Traders

By Brian Berry

The notion of joining an investment stock club is four I'm sure has crossed the minds of lots of independent investors. If you're like me perhaps you dismissed the notion as quickly as it came to mind. I sat on the idea of joining an investing stock club for lots of years. I waited way long. I had lots of reasons not to find & join an investment stock club. None of them however was based on sound inquiry. I had doubts about the value of investment stock clubs fundamentally based on my assumptions that the cost would take away from my stock trading profits over it could benefit. This was an assumption I made out of ignorance. I also recall being afraid that being an investment stock club member would somehow expose what I didn't know to the trading community. In retrospect this would have only served to accelerate my understanding of trading & improved my ability to make strong consistent profits in the market. I could go on but my reasons for not looking at it more closely all proved to be unfounded. I don't plan to try to chip away at these sorts of notions you may have because if they're like my elderly assumptions, they're plainly holding you back. In lieu I'd ask you to think about the undeniable benefits.

As an independent investor I absolutely revel in the notion that I can move stealthily in & out of the markets. I can search for & evaluate any number of stock trading opportunities. I can take advantage of a wealth of research from any source or I can do my own research. I don't must spend time proving my case to my boss & deal with the frustration that entails. No four notices when I succeed at it or fail & I have nothing to prove to someone but myself. There is no better way to make a living as far as I'm concerned. Being independent means everything to me. This independence does have a down-side & if I'm not aware of the challenges that come with being independent & I don't do anything about it I can & have experienced monumental failures.

Despite all it's benefits, independence can easily lend itself to isolation. This is a real hazard that new investors should work quickly to mitigate. Being isolated in the context of investing for a living means having nothing to keep you honest. It's imperative for your success to bounce your ideas and research off your peers as a sort of litmus test. Any independent investor would be wise to find a good stock investment club and join up for this reason alone, but stock investment clubs often provide more in the way of helping independent investors than just this.

Aside from all the bells and whistles or other novel tools that stock investment clubs often hype to entice investors to join, the largest benefit is the collaborative environment they afford investors who would otherwise be working in a vacuum. The benefits of joining a stock investing club and collaborating with a group of peers with similar goals has been undeniably evident in my own ability to generate larger and more consistent returns. I get to launch my ideas into the community and receive timely and worthwhile feedback. Members are all to happy to let me know when I'm way and more importantly why. I can choose to agree or not and I often pick up on some great tips as well as new ideas and strategies to consider. Most importantly I get to keep in touch with a world of traders that offer a wealth of insight and knowledge I would not gain anywhere else.

As no two stock investment clubs are created equal, no two are similar and each has its strengths and weaknesses. Two aspect of a stock investment club which you ought to never compromise on is the existence of a robust social element. To evaluate that yourself, you could look for some of the following.

Does the stock investment club have:

A way for you to chat or post messages?

A way to track the performance of your stock portfolio and look at other members performance?

A strong enough member base so as the ideas and opinions are always flowing and dynamic.

A diversity of groups within the stock investment club; and specifically two or two who's members share your investment style or philosophy?

A frequent sustained presence from an accomplished & respected leader in the world of investing & trading?

Some investing stock clubs even give each and every member a chance to have themselves brought in to prominence as an authority by allowing them to post articles or research right by and giant blog as a special guest. This can do wonders in terms of broadening your investing horizons. Another way is that other members recognize great ideas and reward the author by suggesting your next topic and some valid points to think about, free content for your next news story.

The bottom line point is that it's integral that independent investors participate in holding their own knowledge and ideas to the fire of a thoughtful community. It challenges you to be better than you were before and it makes you responsible for developing a disciplined approach to your career in the markets.

My Favorite Investment Stock Clubs

I've included a number of my favorite investment stock clubs for you to think about. These (& I'm sure there is others) meet my criteria for providing an active community of thoughtful & outspoken investors who willingly share what they know & think about new ideas by providing seasoned advice & insights to help you stay on your game.

INO Market Club

Provides a real community feel, plenty of options for you to find where you fit in across the whole spectrum of trading styles, a blog where members are encouraged to publish guest articles, a very strong leadership with Adam Hewison. Adam is a seasoned veteran trader from the CME Group. INO frequently coordinates online meetings where participants can learn from renowned traders. They have a vast trading tutorial library for both new and advanced traders to help them keep their trading sharp.

A few of my favorite INO features include the market alerts, portfolio tracking with their unique trade triangle technology which highlights stocks which are moving into a new trend and INO TV which features exclusive content from well-known market analysts. I'm sure any trader would be delighted to have access to everything INO thoughtfully pulls together to form a vibrant trader community with some great tools and invaluable ways to learn and share with other accomplished independent investors. It's worth the annual cost of membership and INO has a no questions asked guarantee, so if you can't use it refunds are not an issue for them. Learn more about INO Market Club.

Zecco Community

Zecco has a very robust online trading community and you'd be surprised to learn that you don't must have a trading account to experience all their community has to offer. You can still communicate and share ideas with other members and you have access to a wide array of lovely tools for market research. If you have a blog or web page, you can share that with fellow Zecco members . The Zecco community is very active and any trader can find their niche among like-minded investors.

Zecco Trading: Get $4.50 Stock Trades

Invest the smart way with Zecco Trading. Stock trades cost $4.50. Get 10 free trades per month with a $25,000 balance or 25 trades/month. No account minimums or inactivity fees. Member FINRA/SIPC.

Finally, I'm always looking for suggestions from my readers so if you'd like to tell the world about your favorite Investment Stock Club, leave a comment. - 23218

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Set Course for Forex

By James Pynn

Of all the financial markets at work in the world today, none of them can compare to the size and liquidity of the foreign exchange market. That's right, the forex market now accounts for more than over $4 trillion a day in profits. You read that right: $4 trillion a day.

The center of this monolithic market is the city of London. In fact, London accounts for about 35% of all the forex trading in the world, every day. Now, this doesn't mean you have to move to jolly old England to get a piece of the proverbial pie. No, all you need a little know-how and access to the markets.

The know-how is the easy part. It's not hard to enroll in a reputable forex course that can show all the ins and outs of the process. But, please, not matter who you sign up with -- sign up with somebody. The last thing you want to do is jump into the water and not know how to swim.

Trading foreign currencies is not too dissimilar from other kinds of trading. If you have successfully day traded in the past you won't have a hard time catching one. With the right training, you can plunge headlong into this most liquid of the liquid markets. The key, is staying above water.

Though the current economic climate is far from nurturing, the forex markets aren't expected to plummet. Indeed, as long as there are world currencies, there will be a future for forex trading. So, even though the death of dollar has been heralded, there are plenty of other kinds of dollars you can choose from, including the Canadian and Australian. Furthermore, you can slip into the burgeoning bills from China, India and Brazil as well. As these countries emerge from the abyss of the Third World, they are projected to be the dominant world currencies and economies. Take heed. - 23218

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Introduction to Using ETF Trading Strategies to Increase Your ROI

By Patrick Deaton

There are many ETF trading strategies that offer a person just entering ETF the opportunity to reap great rewards when they are successfully used. However, in order to make the strategy perform at the level one desire, it is important that the correct strategy be paired with the style of trading that will be done.

There are some safety nets that a person can establish that will keep them protected when first trying out an ETF strategy. By having a plan and a safety net in place a person will be able to experiment with ETF trading strategies and find the one that is best for them without committing to the strategy before they are ready.

The type of ETF trading that a person is going to do will impact the type of strategy that will work best. If an individual is adding ETF to their established portfolio, the trading strategy will be different than for the person who is going to be trading regularly.

Most people who have ETFs in their long term portfolio do not get highly involved in ETF trading strategies. These people often have ETFs managed by their broker and may review the ETF with their mutual funds on a yearly basis. When trading is done, it is through their broker as with other mutual funds.

The knowledge and skills that an individual needs to be effective with a trading strategy will impact their return on trading. When a strategy or method is being considered, it is important to take time to research the strategy and find out how it has performed historically.

Part of researching strategies will include looking at the history of the strategy being proposed. There are many strategies advertised that do not have a history. The strategy may work for a few people, but there is not data regarding consistent effectiveness of that strategy. This can increase risk when one is trading in the more high risk ETF sectors. Adding an unproven strategy to Leveraged or Inverse ETFs can increase the risk of trading to an unacceptable level.

Buy and Hold is one of the most popular ETF trading strategies used by people who are making long-term trades. The trades are spread among many sections and there is limited risk to a portfolio. This is the strategy that many financial advisers recommend and by individuals who want a fixed income or steady growth for their portfolio from any financial product. This is more of a hands-off strategy and an individual does not need to follow the index, make trades, or have in-depth knowledge about the sectors they are in. However, this lack of knowledge and tracking also means that a person is missing opportunities to make gains that occur in the market on a regular basis.

A more active role in trading occurs with the Active Long-Term Trading Strategy. This is a variation of the Buy and Hold Strategy and provides more opportunity of an individual to make trades. However, it is also designed for long-term, steady growth. An individual may choose the level of involvement they want to have in the trading activities that take place and can be more proactive with their portfolio.

The ETF strategies that are available provide a person with many opportunities to make gains in their trading. However, research and knowledge of the ETF and how it works is an important part of pairing the most effective trading strategy with the type of trading that a person does. When deciding on the strategy that will be most effective for one's needs it will be very helpful to talk to an individual who has expertise in both trading strategies and ETF as a whole. - 23218

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Selling Real Estate Using Twitter

By Jerome Pennix

At all real estate meetings, boot camps, or seminars the topic of advertising comes up. Everyone will mention Facebook (that's a whole different story) which is likely closely followed by a comment about Twitter. So... let's evaluate is Twitter valuable? If it IS worth it, how can you best use it for the best results? First, lets look at just what Twitter really is and what it can accomplish for your marketing efforts.

Twitter.com is a site where an investor can create a profile and become a "micro-blogger" Twitter is like a typical blog (aka web-log) in that it lets you say anything you want to say to anyone and everyone who will view it - with one exception. Twitter only allows a subscriber to express themselves--0 characters at a time. So it's a kind of like using you cell phone to send the world a brief text message. When you locate a profile of someone whose "tweets" you are interested in, you can "follow" them - whenever they post anything new, it will be visible on your Twitter home page. If anyone finds YOUR profile and follows YOU, then you will be alerted that someone is "following" you. Now that you are aware of the basics, let's discuss making this a powerful and PROFITABLE tool for you.

Because the old adage "Out of sight, out of mind" is usually true, you'll need to stay active with your "tweeting" you should be posting at least once a day. Find something to say specific to real estate - something that other people will find useful. If you just start blasting info about properties you have for sale, it probably won't get you as far as you hope. After all - when was the last time you opened and read an email from someone trying to sell you something?

If you give your followers information they can use or information they find interesting (even if it ISN'T about real estate) then you'll have an opportunity to keep their attention. When you gain their trust, they'll be more willing to consider what you have to say when you do offer them a property you have listed.

Twitter, like other social networking sites, is a good way to connect with others - just keep in the forefront of your mind that they're people and want to be acknowledge like people. They aren't money makers. So connect when a person follows you, send them a short personal message letting them know you appreciate it.

Remember that being real with others and giving thoughtful content is what Twitter is made for - the profit will follow if you treat people like people and post routinely so that your Twitter marketing is constantly on the radar! The more you "Tweet", the larger your following will become - and the larger your following, the better your opportunities of communicating with a person who is interested in making a deal - which, of course, means a greater opportunity for you to profit! - 23218

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