Although it may seem obvious to most stock market swing traders there are a number of simple rules that you can follow which will ensure that you have more success when buying stocks:

In the USA stock market there are 3 major indexes which are each made up of a basket of stocks, they are the S and P 500 (also known as the S&P500), the DOW 30 and the Nadaq 100. These stock indexes generally only contain major blue chip stocks, as long as you buy from these 3 groups you will at least know that you are getting a well known solid stock.

For example the DOW30 contains major industrials and large multinational stocks such as Home Depot (HD) and Johnson and Johnson (JNJ) whereas the Nasdaq 100 mainly contains techical companies such as Apple (AAPL) and Miscrosoft (MSFT).

Always buy a stock that is liquid, this means that it is a highly traded stock, this will enable you to easily buy and sell at the price you want without having a delay. You will also get a smaller spread, thats the difference between the BID and ASK price of the stock. For a stock to be considered very liquid it should trade at least 500,000 shares per day, ideally even more.

It is best to avoid stocks that are bellow $10 as this usually means the company is in trouble, although with the bear market of 2008 there have been a lot of good stocks at bargin prices between $5 and $10. Avoid buying a stock that is below $5 at anytime.

Another consideration is options, does the stock has options?, this will be important if you want to trade options around your stock, such as a covered call, or you may want to buy a PUT option in order to protect your stock.

Be very cautious about buying a stock just before it’s earnings release, stocks often drop significantly if you come out with a poor report. Earnings are released 4 times a year with one of them being the annual report.

If you are going to trade options make sure that you learn how to trade by getting some good education. There are many swing trading strategies that work well with stocks in todays volatile markets.

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Technorati Tags: call, finance, invest, investment, money, options, put, stock market, stocks, trader, trading

  

Technical analysis of the stock market, or any other market such as Forex, Bonds, Futures, is how most traders and investors make their trading decisions. This is as opposed to fundamental analysis which most people more agree is pretty much done as a way of making trading decisions, unless of course you are Warren Buffet!.

You only have to think back to major stock market scams like Enron to know that it is almost impossible for the average, and even very sophisticated fund manager or hedge fund trader to really know what the real financial state of a company is.

Just by reading the balance sheet and other quarterly reports they release gives you a very limited insight into the real health of the company. Whereas the technical analysis charts of the company tend to give the real picture of what the market thinks of the value of the company. In the case of Enron even simple technical analysis told you to SELL when the stock was in the $80-90 range, this is why technical analysis of stocks is so popular.

So what is the secret to technical analysis?, I’m about to tell you, here are my golden rules:

* Only use 3-5 simple technical analysis indicators

* Make sure that you understand how the indicators that you have selected work, what the parameter settings are and in what market conditions they are effective

* After selecting your indicators and parameter settings don’t mess with them.

The real secret to technical analysis is to get VERY familiar with your choosen indicators, and really this can only be done by watching and studying the market, so that you get to the point that you TRUST them.

The fact is that in any market, for each bar period, there are only 5 pieces of information, the open, close, high, low and volume, yet there are now hundreds of indicators. Most of these indicators are displaying much the same information and so are redundant.

For the record my set of indicators are:

* 4 Simple Moving Averages

* Bollinger Bands

* MACD

* Stochastics

But the way I use them is quite special, to learn more about how to become an expert at technical analysis visit:

Top Dog Trading Review

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Technorati Tags: bonds, Day Trading, investment, money, options, stock market, stocks, technical analysis, trader

  

There are so many rumors about IvyBot – a unique forex trading system. There are many people who say that it is possible to make money with trading robots. However finding the robot which really works is not an easy task. Today’s market is overcrowded with low quality forex trading robots and it is very difficult to choose a really working one. Most of these trading robots is a piece of crap which can lose your money. Recently Ivybot is the talk of the town. IvyBot is the most innovative trading system which has made its entry into the forex trading. But why is this robot so special?What sets this robot apart from all other? I have asked this question in my mind a hundred times. I have researched this question and can answer it now, read further to learn more about IvyBot.

What is IvyBot?

Guys from IvyLeague have released a new forex robot based on innovative algorithms called IvyBot which uses unique algorithms. This innovation really makes IvyBot number one choice for each trader. That is why your investments are absolutely safe. The robot will help you to achieve your goal and improve your trading income. There are many successful traders who claim that they make a living by using the robot.

Unlike many other robots, IvyBot is updated every single week. IvyBot’s stuff regularly analyzes the market and updates the robot as soon as market conditions change. Traders from Ivy League are very smart, thus the robot is so advanced. Thus the robot is so reliable. Thus so many people are satisfied with the way it works. This is the reason why you might be the next successful trader who makes a living by using IvyBot. Just visit the link below if you want to read more about IvyBot.

Technorati Tags: business, finance, forex, investment, money, stock, stock market

  

Hoping and praying that the stocks that you just bought will go up is not the best strategy to use, however it is the one very often used by the average Joe stock trader who is stock trading internet. The only good point they have is that in bull markets most stocks will go up.

Statistics show that in a bull market about 75% of the stocks will follow the general trend and go up, and in a bear market 75% will also go down. Trading with the trend is the best way to trade as 9 out of 12 stocks will follow the trend and give you the best chance of making gains on your stock purchases.

But what if you own some good stocks and don’t want to sell when the market is clearly going down, or about to go down?. There are a couple of tactics that you can consider, both of which involve the use of options, CALL options and PUT options. There is the widely known strategy called Covered Calls, and the much lesser known one called the Married Put.

If you are going to trade options it is important that before you start trading you get the best option trading education that you can. You should also practice stock trading until you are comfortable with the process. This is a very important point that must be taken seriously, if you don’t understand the terminology and the theory then you should not be trading options. If Put option, Call option, Married Put and Covered Call are new to you then don’t trade until you have studied sufficiently.

Selling call options against your stock in 100 share increments is the basis of the covered call strategy and it can provide about a 2-7% buffer against the loss in stock price. However a bigger drop in stock price will not be compensated for using the covered call strategy, in general.

Stocks in a bear market, and even in a bull market, can drop quickly on news or earnings releases, as much as 15 to 40% within a month. Using covered calls to protect your stocks will only provide limited protection of less than 7% at best and so will not save your account if the stock takes a 40% tumble.

The better solution to providing downside stock protection is the option strategy called the Married Put. As the name suggests the PUT that you buy is used to provide protection when the stock goes down because Put options will increase in value when the stock decreases in value. The term married is used because the option that is selected has to be very compatible with the stock, in other words a good match, if the strategy is to work.

The selection of the best Put option is not straight forward and involves several criteria which are listed below:

1. The strike price of the option

2. The current stock price

3. Choice of options, in or out of the money

4. Put expiration time

Even though the married Put protection only has a limited life span if offers much more protection than the covered call. It can provide as much as 90-95% loss recovery in the event of a significant drop in the stock price.

The downside of the good protection is that you have buy the Put which is a debit whereas the covered call is a credit. But there are ways of offsetting this expense and there is much more to this strategy when executed correctly. The Married Put can be made to pay for itself and used to generate very good gains if the market, or stock to be specific, moves a lot.

The general idea of the Collar Trade is to combine the covered call and married Put strategy into one, this is what is called the Collar Trade. In effect you put a collar around the stock, sell a call and buy a PUT. If you do this correctly most of the cost of the Put can be offset by the credit from the covered call so you can protect your valuable stock at almost no cost. Yes this is a great strategy which the general public is unfortunately ignorant of, and most brokers don’t understand.

The strategy that I have outlined above is unknown to the average stock market trader but is one of the best trading systems you could have.

Technorati Tags: bear market, calls, Day Trading, options, puts, stock market, stocks, trading, trading education

  

Nowadays, there are so many different forex trading robots, however Fap Turbo is considered to be one of the best. The robot is used to analyze forex market 24/7, find profitable trading opportunities for you and trade accordingly. Basically these programs handle every aspect of currency trading on their trader’s behalf so that anyone, regardless of their schedule or experience can make money. The question is – how does Fap Turbo work? Well, let me tell you in this article.

I eventually caved in and decided to give this program an honest try after hearing about their money back policy. I decided to invest $500, in a week I got almost $230 in profits. To be honest, I was very surprised to see a 60% profit return in following weeks, so I continued to invest money money.

I’ve made some money on other automated forex trading programs here and there in the past, but ultimately I have always had to cut the cord because there programs over time lose more than they take in.The reason it boasts the greatest winning rate in the market of any program is because of how it trades.

Fap Turbo analyzes the market and trades only when it is very certain that the trading opportunity will be profitable. FAP Turbo was designed in part as an answer for those systems and an alternative so that you can run the program without having to worry how it’s performing.

There are so many forex trading systems available today, however you risk to lose money while using them. As far as I can judge, you want to make money, not to lose them. Fap Turbo is designed by professional traders, thus it is undoubtedly the best choice for beginners and advanced traders who do not want to waste their time sitting in front of their monitors analyzing graphics. If you would like to find more information about this system, visit the link below for more details.

Technorati Tags: business, finance, forex, investment, money, stock, stock market

  

If you are currently buying and selling stocks online or are interested in starting you owe it to yourself to check out share builder.

Many investors are interested to Share Builder since the website offers a different way to buy stocks that is simple and it makes sense.

Compare with a traditional broker, the share builder is easier and much cheaper, and they offer investors a different way than most online stock brokers. It is actually much the same as an online option trading.

Share builder offers stock trade for only $4 for any publicly traded company and for any dollar amount you want to purchase. That means you don’t have a to buy a minimum number of shares at share builder.

Another good thing about share builder is that it does not require a minimum investment so you can start off at any level you feel comfortable with.

With share builder you can start investing right away, while with most sties they will require you to pu a minimum amount of money when you establish an account, which means you have to spend more money before you really invest. That is a good thing if you want to buy stock online with share builder.

Since the $4 fee is the same no matter how much you buy, however, it is worth buying larger amounts at one time if you can because then the fee is a lower percentage of the overall cost.

Share builder applies $4 to each different stocks, not to the total stocks you buy. So it really make sense if you consolidate your purchases of the same stocks all together.

It would be much cheaper if you decide to buy $100 worth of a stock each week than purchasing $25 each of 4 different stocks each week for one month.

That way you will only pay $4 in a week fees instead of $16, which means you would’ve spent $48 more money by the end of the month. So, you’re interested in stock market, give share builder a try!

Technorati Tags: Day Trading, share builder, stock market, stock trades

  

If you have ever considered online stocks trading, now is a great time to get involved. Everything will start to go up again and we’re getting close to turning point in this recession, however stocks are still down across the board. This is great news if you are just starting out because chances are any stock you pick is going to increase in value as the whole market ride a wave to recovery.

A Century of historical data shows that the stocks market always rises over the long run eventhough a lot of us learned over the past year and half that there’re never any guarantees with the market.

That expression, “the long term” is the real key to online stocks trading, by the way. If you are patient and willing to hold on to a stock it is likely to make money for you eventually. It is usually the people betting on short term gains that get badly burned in the market.

So if you have started to think seriously about online stocks trading, you need to first make yourself a budget. Simply put, the money you can afford to lose is the money you can afford to invest in the stock market. If you need it to pay a bill next month, then it should be in the bank where it is safe.

You will rarely lose any money if you never forced to pull money out of the market. Because if a stock goes down, all you have to do is hold on to it and wait. Unless the company has totally imploded, the stock will usually recover in time.

Create an account with a reputable online broker when you want to get started with online stock trading. Pick one that is well known as they will have the most secure websites. This is hugely important as you will be sharing your personal information and your banking and credit card information to set up the account and you certainly don’t want to risk identity theft. The stock market is indeed quite risky!

Once you have found a brokerage site that you like, you can start researching and picking stocks. My advice to those just starting out with online stocks trading is to buy small amounts of inexpensive stocks to start. If any of your picks turn out to be bad you will not spread risk around or wipe out all your portofolio

Online stocks trading should fun and by investing small amounts you can get involved with more companies which increases the rate at which you will learn about the market. My advice is buy a few reliable stocks and then take a little more risk with those that are volatile. This gives you a chance of hitting it big while preventing you from losing it all.

Technorati Tags: online stock, online trade, online trading, stock market

  

There are varieties of Forex trading educations online that announce to teach you everything you need to know to dive into the market with confidence. If you are new to Forex, though, how can you tell which ones will truly educate you with the solid Forex trading education you hope for?

A reputable course should training material on all the fundamental concepts for beginners, including:

*Exchange rates
*Fixed rates versus floating rates
*Currency pairs
*Bid Prices versus Ask Prices
*Spreads
*Lot Sizes
*Margins, Margin Calls and Leverage
*Pips Values and their role in calculating profit and loss
*How to evaluate leading economic indicators
*How to read Forex signals and charts

This is just the real minimum. A really good course should also talk you through a variety of trading examples, and show you how to do ‘test trades’ yourself using a demo account with a reputable broker.

Another thing you can do to help smoother your learning process is to immerse yourself in the literature of the market. There are scores of books and magazines available on the subject both online and off.  You might want to have a look at the free, online on Learn Forex Trading.

Finally, consider enhancing your information of other financial marketplaces. You’ll find some methods and terms repeated when reading about how to trade on the Stock Market, or how things like interest rates fluctuate for bonds, bills and other instruments.

This is especially useful if you feel more comfortable in one area of financial knowledge than other because you’ll be able to see some related concepts from Forex in a context with which you are already familiar.

Make sure you choose a study that accomodates your needs, learning style and money. Prevent any education that sound too good to be true in terms of the financial gains they promise you. Forex takes time and you won’t get rich overnight on currency trading. It takes time,dedication, patience and practice.

Technorati Tags: currency trading, forex, learn forex, stock market

  

Risk tolerance is essential for beginners trading mutual funds. When you first understand how to invest in the stock market, you’ll find each person has a risk tolerance that should be honored and taken into account. Any reliable and professional financial planner or stock broker should understand this so he can assist you with finding out what your risk tolerance might be. Then, that person needs to help you by recommending which stock market investments suit your risk level.

Some people think that people’s emotions are the only factor in determining investment risk tolerance. That’s not the case at all. Important factors have to be reviewed before you can determine your risk tolerance, and emotions aren’t the only factors involved.

Understanding your risk tolerance level, with regards to learning how to pick stocks, involves the consideration of multiple factors. One is that you have to be aware of the funds you have available to devote to investing, and the other is that you are completely aware of your financial end game. As a case in point, if you plan to stop working in 13 years and you haven’t accumulated any money in your savings account,’ you’ll need a substantial risk tolerance and do some hard line investing to have plenty of cash to retire when you want to.

As a contrast, If your investing begins when you’re 20, your risk tolerance for how you trade forex can remain low. Developing the saving habit early will create a situation that means you can grow your money slowly with less risk. When you combine this with what you know about your emotional reaction to investing, you will have the investment mix that’s right for you. This can be difficult to figure out for yourself, so experts recommend that people use a reliable professional who can expertly assess you risk tolerance and assist you with selecting appropriate investment instruments.

Understanding your personal risk tolerance will help you find your own investment approach and help you feel confident when you and your broker make investment decisions. While there are many different types of investments that one can make, only three investment styles exist – and those styles sync up with your personal risk tolerance. The three investment styles are conservative, moderate, and aggressive. But I will save the explanation of those for another article. Those will be explained in a future article.

Technorati Tags: beginner stock market investing, investing, online stock market investing, stock market, stock market investing, stock market investing advice