Online Or Traditional Investing: Some Basic Information Is A Must About Securities

By Michele Perdue

Before we get into different types of securities it is important to know the very basic definition of investment securities. Investment securities are form of certificate or documents that shows that you have invested in a company or a business or a government entity. The two key types of securities are equity securities and debt securities.

Some basic securities types are as follows:

Bond: This follows in the debt security type wherein the issues of the bond pay interest at a predetermined rate. Bonds are issues by companies, public authorities, government and at times credit institutions. The method used for bond issuing is known as underwriting. The issuer keeps paying interest at regular intervals and pays the principal amount at a later date. Some of the different types of bonds are as follows:

Treasury bonds, Bearer and registered bonds, Participation bonds , and Convertible bonds

Derivatives: These are indirect financial instruments that are depended on direct securities such as bonds, equities. They are also known as hedging instruments. Some of the different types are as follows:

Futures Swaps, Index options, Covered and uncovered calls

Equities: These are the most common type of investment securities. They are in the form of stock or shares that gives the ownership in the company. General public has the option of becoming a shareholder in a large company. Some of the different options are as below:

Common stock, Preferred stock Dividends, Book value, Par value, and Depository receipts

Another unusual form of security is the contract to buy and sell commodity such as tea, coffee, wheat irrespective of the change in its quality. This is also one form of security that involves a contract.

If you wish to find out more valuable information about online investing then check out the best site with all of the needed content on online investing today. - 23210

About the Author:

If you want to get the edge over everyone else and learn how to invest online then check out this site today.

What Impacts the Price of a Stock? How Useful is Historical Data?

By Marv Doniger

There are a myriad of factors that are commonly used by investors to evaluate potential stock investments. These investment opportunities are often identified through the use of the numerous stock screeners that are readily available to investors. Common searches seek to identify companies that have a low Price Earnings, Price to Book Value, or Price to Cash Flow Ratio; high Dividend Yields; high Returns on Assets, Invested Capital, or Earnings; low Debt to Equity; and high Cash balances. In fact there are pre-defined stock screeners such as the Contrarian Strategy, Dogs of the Dow, Momentum Stocks, New 52-Week Highs, etc. that can be used to identify stocks in which to invest. The implicit assumption in using stock screeners is that there is a relationship between this data and the future performance of a stock. Should this assumption be valid then all one would have to do is run his/her magic screener and buy those stocks with his/her favorite criteria such as low Price Earnings Ratio and high Dividend Yield. In order to validate the premise that the data obtained from stock screeners influences the price of a company's stock, the change in the price of the Dow 30 Industrial stocks from 1999 to 2009 was compared to changes in the Returns they generated, their Financial Condition and Performance over that same time period. Returns included Returns on Equity, Invested Capital and Assets as well as Dividends paid to investors. Financial Condition included Current Ratio, Debt to Equity Ratio, along with Interest Coverage and Dividend Coverage. Performance included Sales, Earnings, Book Value and Cash Flow trends. A correlation analysis was conducted to determine the relationship of the price of each of the companies comprising the Dow Industrials and these factors. The hypothesis being that there was a statistically valid relationship between these factors.

As the following chart shows, dividends had a statistically significant impact on the change in the price of the stock of Exxon Mobil, Hewlett-Packard, Merck, and Verizon. It had a moderate impact on the price of the stock of Alcoa, Bank of America, DuPont, General Electric and JP Morgan Chase. Earnings had a strong impact on the price of Citigroup's and Exxon Mobil's stock. The stock price of Caterpillar, Chevron, Johnson & Johnson, McDonalds, Proctor & Gamble, and United Technologies was moderately impacted by earnings. Price changes in the stock of Exxon Mobil were statistically significantly impacted by its Dividends, Cash, Earnings, Book Value and Cash Flow and moderately impacted by its Return on Invested Capital, Dividend Coverage and Sales. Another company whose price movement could be partially explained by change in these factors is Caterpillar. There were moderately statistically significant relationships between its price and its Returns on Equity, Investment and Assets; its Interest and Dividend Coverage; as well as its Earnings and Cash Flow. Perhaps one of the most astonishing results is that there were no statistically meaningful relationships between the changes in the price of the stocks of 3M, American Express, AT&T, Boeing, Intel, IBM, Kraft, Microsoft, Pfizer, Coca-Cola, Home Depot, and Wal-Mart and the measures of Returns, Financial Condition, and Performance used in the analysis. To put it another way, the price movement of 40 percent of the Dow Industrials bore no statistically meaningful relationship to changes in these factors.

FACTORS AFFECTING STOCK PRICE of DOW 30 INDUSTRIALS RETURNS FINANCIAL CONDITION PERFORMANCE Dow 30 Components Company Equity Invested Capital Assets Dividends Current Ratio Debt to Equity Interest Coverage Dividend Coverage Cash Sales Earnings Book Value Cash Flow 3m Co Alcoa Inc ● American Express Company, AT&T Inc. Bank of America Corporation ● Boeing Co., Caterpillar Inc. ● ● ● ● ● ● ● Chevron Corp ●● ● ● ●● ● Citigroup, Inc. ●● ● E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co ● Exxon Mobil Corp ● ●● ● ●● ● ●● ●● ●● General Electric Company ● General Motors Corporation ● Hewlett-Packard Co. ●● ● Intel Corporation International Business Machines Johnson & Johnson ● ● ● JP Morgan & Chase & Co ● Kraft Foods Inc. McDonald's Corporation ● ● Merck & Co., Inc. ●● Microsoft Corporation, Pfizer Inc, The Coca-Cola Company, The Home Depot, Inc. The Procter & Gamble Company ● ● ● ●● United Technologies Corporation ● ● ● Verizon Communications ●● Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Impact ● Moderate ●● Significant Data Standard & Poor's

Based on the previous examination of the relationships between the price of the Dow Industrials stocks and certain measurements of their historical data, it should be apparent that stock screeners, in and of themselves, are not sufficient tools to use in selecting potential stock investments. Even if there were statistically significant relationships between the historical price movement and the data used in the stock screener, it does not mean that those relationships would continue in the future. Wall Street constantly warns that past performance is not indicative of future results, yet investors search the past to divine the future. It is like driving in traffic by looking through the rear view mirror and missing the collision ahead that is about to happen. As events of the past eighteen months have proven, highly improbable events can occur and inflict unforeseen casualties on investors. Since equity markets are supposedly discounting future events, investors should look through the windshield to see what is ahead of them and use the rear view mirror to see if the vehicle behind them has any relevance to their ultimate destination.

Marvin Doniger, Managing Partner of Doniger & Associates, is the author of A Common Sense Road Map to Uncommon Wealth, which is a treatise on managing careers and finances. His perspectives have been developed from his lifelong study of investing, his actual experiences as a registered representative, an individual investor, as well as from working for large companies in industry and as a management consultant to Fortune 500 companies. He is a leader in his industry. - 23210

About the Author:

Mr. Doniger received a Masters in Business Administration from Columbia University Graduate School of Business and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering from Tufts University. He has taught undergraduate and graduate level courses in production control, inventory management, information technology and finance at Fitchburg State College and Webster University. CONTACT INFORMATION: Tel: 949-661-5456 Email: Marv@DonigerAssociates.com www.donigerassociates.com

The Major Players In The World Of Penny Stock Trading

By Malcolm Torren

Penny stock trading is very appealing to new investors for two reasons: One is because it is cheap. The price range is between one to three dollars and not exceeding five dollars. This is defined by the Securities and Exchange Commission or the SEC. In actual practice, shares can even go lower than a dollar each. The second magnet for new investors is its high potential for fast profit at a short period of time.

How does penny stock trading work? Where does all the money come from and where does it go? In penny stock trading, there are key players that make a dynamic exchange of shares. The common goal is to make money and reinvest. Here are the role players in the business:

- The Investor. If you are an investor, you are playing a key role in the stock market trading floor. The investment money comes from you. Of course an investment cannot be an investment if there is no intended profit to make. Some investors would trade on to many shares. This is because if one of your stock investments is losing, you can balance your profitability from another source. You also make decisions of your trading. Why and how?

- The Broker. You as the investor cannot make transactions if there are no stock brokers to help you. They can influence the market stocks. They have a high degree of intelligence in the penny stock trading business. For every profit you make, they earn by commission. They also have other client investors to attend to. In some cases, penny stock brokers charge for investment consultations to their clients. But what exactly are they doing with your money?

- Small Capital Companies - There won't be any investment made if there are no entities needing it. In the penny stock trading market, they are call small cap companies. These are companies that can either be newly established, wanting to expand their business resources for business growth, or going bankrupt and hoping to revitalize their financial resources. Whatever the reasons may be, these entities are responsible for the dynamics of your money.

- Stock Exchange - This is the venue where the buying and selling of shares take place. The trading is done every business day. All of the penny stock brokers meet at a huge spacious room they call the trading floor. This is even shown in movies that involve stock exchange scenarios.

- The SEC - Of course, to keep the entire procedure in penny stock trading orderly and discipline, the SEC holds authority. They set the regulations and guidelines, the requirements needed for companies to bid their shares, and sometimes initiate the jailing of fraudsters who conduct anomalous business here. - 23210

About the Author:

What is penny stock trading? Begin by knowing more regarding penny stock pick now.

Mastering Forex Trading Systems

By Mark Abbots

Foreign exchange or Forex systems are the most popular and powerful tool used by the traders in the currency market. In a Forex market, the trader transacts in the foreign currency to add to his wealth. The platform and security offered by the Internet has led to the increased attractiveness of the Forex system over the years.

To obtain profit from Forex systems, the basic concepts about Forex systems should be understood properly through appropriate ways. Beginners can acquire knowledge about Forex systems through different Forex related books available in the market, which explains about basics of trading and about Forex as well.

The educative seminars, typically held free of cost, held by the seasoned players in the Forex market, are a great way to learn more about the Forex system. Their past experiences can act as a great guide in directing the future players through the right channel. Some of the seminar conductors offer the books based on their understanding of the Forex system, adding to the advantage.

Today, the experienced Forex traders conduct seminars free of cost to the future trend setters of the forex market. The books, if any, written by these experts based on the challenges and obstacles faced by them, can tell the way the market operates. Opening a demo account with an online trader can take a beginner through an artificial setting that works exactly like a real Forex market. The absence of real Forex investment helps in testing the various currency options that can be used to reap greater revenue. Once you are confident of yourself, then you can make your entry into a live Forex market.

With the backing of the proper training acquired by him through the various channels, now is the time to start trading on a Forex trading floor. Once he gets the grip of the activities, he can start his game of making quick and fast money through the Forex exchange.

A trader must never let emotions enter rule any of his judgments. Excitement, which is a part of it, clouds logical reasoning, forcing the individual make faulty and expensive decisions. Remaining calm is a prerequisite for any successful Forex system trader. - 23210

About the Author:

Mark has written numerous articles about have a forex trading online and also about Forex Trading.

Forex Tutorial: Automated Forex Trading Software

By Bart Icles

Many forex tutorials will help you learn almost everything that you would need to successfully participate in forex trading. However, how does the idea of participating in forex trading with a partner who is logical, smart, and ever vigilant for money-making trades? How would you like to partner with someone who executes trades almost instantly whenever an opportunity comes up and then immediately posts profits to your account? Would you be interested in having a partner who is not swayed by emotions? Having this kind of partner would make a forex tutorial a thing of the past but the truth is, there are forex tutorials that are meant to help investors work with automated forex trading software.

Automated forex trading software has all the aforementioned qualities and many investors are starting to make use of this helpful tool. There are many different kinds of automated forex trading software and they are all available commercially. These computer programs are designed to scan the forex market for advantageous currency trade, without the presence of a live trader. This is possible through the use of some pre-set parameters that a certain user has programmed into the system. An automated forex trading computer program usually comes complete with a forex tutorial to help investors understand how to best use the trading software to their advantage.

Both beginners and seasoned traders can benefit from the use of automated forex trading software in developing trading decisions. These automated forex trading computer programs come in a good range of levels of sophistication and prices that any forex investor will definitely find an automated forex trading software that would best fit his needs.

These automated forex trading computer programs often come with instructional manuals so that users can have a better grasp of how to navigate through the software. Some of these programs can even allow a user to access to different tools like a forex trading guide, forex tutorial, forex trading tips, and many others. There are also those that offer free trial periods so users can test the software before they make a decision to purchase it.

Using automated forex trading software sure appears to be an attractive option but foreign exchange traders and investors must keep in mind that these computer programs are not 100% foolproof. They cannot guarantee successful trades 100% of the time. Therefore, it is still important for forex traders to invest on their forex education to continuously keep themselves informed. Going through a forex tutorial every now and then can help. - 23210

About the Author:

Free forex are powerful when coupled with a desire to learn and a drive to become a great trader. Learning forex and tricks takes dedication and a good teacher. But once you learn how to trade and do so successfully your life will change and you have options and financial resources you never had before.