Key Pieces Of Online Stock Trades

By Anne Durrell

With a reputable online broker, online stock trades are available to anyone. There are a few things you need to know before you get started because the stakes can be high and you can lose a lot if you are not careful.

There is one rule for online stock trades, that is never invest money which you need this month for next month to pay all your bills. In other words, never invest your money that you can't afford to lose.

Investing is really much safer if you plan it for the long term. Even when there is recession, you will not lose unless you're selling.

If you can afford to leave your investments alone, in most cases the market and the companies you have bought stock in will recover over time.

The way investors get in trouble is when they panic when they see the market drop and they start selling. Of course once the selling starts, more and more investors are drawn into the panic.

When everyone is panic and start selling, that is exactly when you should be thinking about buying. So if plan your investments for the long term, you should not be tempted to sell like everyone does.

Most online stock trades are almost entirely automated and that make the fees become lower than the traditional ones, which means you can actually make more profits on each of your investment.

This is a great way to get started. It is also a good idea to start slowly and invest over time because if the market does something crazy, like falling through the floor, you will not have just put every penny into it.

If you still have cash on hand and waiting to invest, you may be pleased since you are about to buy stocks at a big discount.

And that is what makes online stock trades so exciting. - 23210

About the Author:

Her name is Anne Durrell. She comes from California. She has written extensively on online trading . You may want to check out her other guide on online option trading tips, and how to trade currency guide!

The Treasury Bond Market Untangled

By Jon Hill

The market for U.S. Treasury Bonds is receiving more attention recently. The value of the dollar tends to drop when long-term Treasury bonds decline in price. The March 2009 report of the Fed's Flow of Funds shows that there is $14.5 trillion outstanding in mortgage-backed securities, agency securities and Treasury securities.

Foreign countries are heavily invested in U.S. debt as an investment with China being the first holder of U.S. bonds. More than a few economists believe that if China stops buying them, the U.S. economy would face ever increasing interest rates to make U.S. debt more attractive.

With the current out-of-control spending and huge deficit in government, U.S. Treasury securities' real value is the focus of more and more attention. China wants to make sure that their assets are safe, and if there is any question that U.S. credibility is in doubt, the option to liquidate some of their U.S. assets is more likely an option.

If foreign countries refuse to buy U.S. debt, the U.S. Treasury's only other option is to buy Treasury securities, thus increasing the money supply in a dramatic fashion. Interest rates would have to rise in order to attract investors. And, inflation would occur after the Federal Government habitually purchases T-bills. Currently, the Fed has used much money to purchase mortgage-back securities to the tune of $500 billion.

In a normal economic environment, higher interest rates would be associated with the central bank as they try to cool off inflationary pressures associated with an expanding money supply. However, with less demand for Treasuries, higher interest rates to attract buyer demand is the only viable recourse. Yet higher interest would only push an already declining economy, deeper in the hole. Higher interest rates mean a greater burden on the populace resulting in more mortgage defaults and negative pressure on consumer debt.

The record-breaking Treasury offerings out of Washington along with the Fed churning out dollars bills is incredible. The floodgate pushed open by the U.S. Treasury is making bond yields soar. Economists are beginning to wonder who will be purchasing these bonds.

A nation can be destroyed by inflationary deficit spending. Milton Friedman, the famous late economist, gave a warning about inflation being a ''dangerous and sometimes fatal disease''. He believe that it could destroy a society if not checked in time.

China remains the #1 holder of our nation's debt. Economist Milton Friedman warned that the fate of a country could not be separated from ''the fate of its currency''. High inflation and high interest rates are not comforting to an already fragile global economy. The increasing debt boosts bond yields at the same time that the government's budget deficit is not putting on the brakes. - 23210

About the Author:

Grab the latest news and receive insight to profit from with a wall street journal subscription. The Wall Street Journal and Barrons Magazine are undisputed for in-depth analysis and timely advice. The real deal. At 80% off newsstand prices, youll get more than you bargained for. Wall Street Subscription

How to Make Money in a Down Stock Market

By W. Alan Gay

A key question my students often ask me is: "With the stock market down, can I still make money trading stock?" My reply is that it is really dependent on the kind of investments you hold.

If you hold stocks, stock mutual funds, or your investment is in the standard asset allocation accounts the answer is probably no. The simple explanation for this is that these types of accounts are so large that they are not allowed by the regulators to hold short stock positions. This means that if the stock market goes down over the next 3-5 years, the accounts will lose money every single year.

If you use short positions as your investment strategy, you will be able to make money no matter if the market goes up or down. However, short position investments are not available unless you trade through individual accounts.

Trading through an individual trading account rather than a fund gives you the leverage to control your investments and make profits daily. The reason for this is that you can buy low if you expect an increase in the stock value, or sell short if you expect it to decline.

Well, then, why doesn't everyone do it? It does take an investment of about $25,000 to set up your individual account. Some people don't have the funds, or are reluctant to risk it in an individual account. After all, trading stock for a novice can be complicated. You could lose all your investment fast if you aren't sure what to do.

There are tactics to alleviate these two concerns of the novice trader.

First, find a trading program that gives you low risk trade picks. The program I use and that I recommend to my coaching clients has a 31 year average experience level for its trade pickers. So a trader can simply follow their trade recommendations and have a very high probability of realizing returns. If you remember to set your stops at a level that suits your comfort zone, you will have a maximum loss that is very small and insignificant over the course of time.

Secondly, its important to find program that walks you through every step to success. For example, in my 9 day trading class the students learn every aspect of using a turnkey system that is both safe and profitable to buy and sell short stocks, so that you can make money even if the stock market goes down.

Regardless of the system you choose, if you make sure that it has experienced advisors and a program that walks you through every step of the way, you can be smiling all the way to the bank while everyone around you is moaning about the poor performing stock market. - 23210

About the Author:

W. Alan Gay has been a stock trader and trainer for fifteen years. His free report describes Alan's voyage to becoming successful at trading stocks and gives useful tips he and his students have used to consistently trade successfully. Click to obtain a free copy of his report and learn more about how you could be trading stocks successfully in as little as fourteen days.

Buying a Foreclosure - A Beginner's Guide

By Bambi Turner

Buying a foreclosure is exciting but can also be quite nerve wracking if you are unsure of the laws and procedures governing the selling and buying of foreclosed properties. You must also look at properties at a different angle than if you would if they were regular houses for sale. You will find so many deals and apparently bargain priced homes at foreclosure, but you must always read between the lines as despite the fact that you will be paying less than market value in most cases, you don't want to buy a complete lemon unless you are prepared and have the knowledge and finance to fix it up.

Many foreclosure houses are sold as-is. To avoid getting stuck with a lemon, you must carefully inspect the property before making an offer. The great deal you got buying a foreclosure home can quickly turn into a nightmare if you find a leaky roof or a crumbling foundation. If you are not experienced with home inspections, hire an expert to perform this task for you before you take part in an auction or make an offer on the home.

There are many resources available to help you find foreclosure listings. The most common method is to visit real estate agents who specialize in foreclosure houses. By viewing a variety of these properties at once, you can get a good feel for pricing, selection, and the quality of foreclosure houses on the market. If you'd rather not deal with an agent, you can review foreclosure listings on Foreclosure.com. This website is one of the best resources available for those looking to find foreclosed homes for sale. The site includes pictures, prices, and the latest information on foreclosed homes across the country. They offer a seven day free trial so you can decide if this service will work for you.

Once you know the price range of the foreclosed properties in your desired area you can start looking at real estate statistics to see what the past and current market value is and therefore predict what the home may be once again worth in future. If you are planning to flip (sell) the house quickly after buying it for a profit, you will want to ensure that the local area has good capital growth potential and that there is room to improve the home at minimal cost.

Buying a foreclosure is a learning experience that will prove to be a very rewarding one provided that you know the rules and laws involved. Learn as much as you can about the process before you begin so you can increase your chances of success. - 23210

About the Author:

Foreclosure houses may be the perfect choice for families who think they can't purchase a home. Foreclosure listings also are a practical investment opportunity for those looking to flip houses. Visit my Foreclosures Real Estate blog to learn the secrets to Buying a Foreclosure !!

What Are You Looking For In A Forex Course?

By John Templeton

If you are thinking about purchasing a forex trading course, you definitely have a seemingly infinite amount of choices to pick from. The are tons of courses from every particular kind of trader. It doesnt matter if you like to scalp the market, and buy or sell several times a day, or are a more long term position trader.

The real important thing you should be asking is what am I actually going to learn if I were to purchase this course? Are you just going to get the same generic rhetoric that you normally get in more forex communities or is this course really going to help me to accomplish my dream of making a living in the forex market by having a deeper understanding of it.

The problem nowadays is that the vast majority of forex trading courses just don't do a good job of explaining why the markets move the way that they do. Instead most just give you some kind of generic system where you throw a bunch of indicators on your charts just to see what sticks.

There are so many things wrong with this that I don't even know where to begin.

How about we start with the obvious, which is indicators are all lagging. If you don't know what this means, all you are doing is trading off of what has already happened to the market, now what will happen to the market.

The other thing is what exactly are these indicators really telling you about the market? Let's look at stochastics for example. These indicators are supposedly useful for telling you whether a currency is either overbought or oversold.

My question to you is that do you honestly think that most traders have the slightest idea what it would mean for a currency to be either overbought or oversold? I highly doubt it! What most traders see in a stochastics indicator is just a bunch of random and arbitrary colors and lines.

So, I am afraid I am going to have to go back to the original question: What are you learning if you were to purchase the course. - 23210

About the Author:

If you want to know more about a day trade forex course, then you definitely want to check out making money trading forex.