Commodity Stock Market: 2012

The Stock Market is trapped within the Yin and Yang phenomenon - Finance - PersonalFinance

After a volatile 5 days, world stock markets just managed to close last 5 days in the black. It was a week of two halves with the good work from the start of the week being undone in the second half as traders slipped into reverse gear on Thursday and Friday. At least markets managed to hold the gains from the previous week which in the context of the bear market is no mean feat. Markets shot out of the gates last Monday, and more importantly, managed to hold those gains for most of the week. The news flow continued to be mixed, but investors chose to take a 'glass half full' rather than a 'glass half empty' philosophy. For example on Wednesday, markets were buoyed by the better than expected US durable goods orders. Traders chose to focus on the short term improvement in these figures, rather than the fact that prices were down 22% since February 2008, registering their second largest year on year fall. When confidence is shot to pieces, this positive spin would not happe n, but now the bulls have a spring in their step and are willing to take some risks. There was no positive spin to put on the failure of the UK government gilt last week though. The gilt auction failure causes a volatility spike in government bonds and across currency markets. Ironically it is the financial sector that provided some stability within the FTSE last week, with the momentum still behind a resurgent Barclays. Lloyds, RBS, HSBC and Barclays finished the week up 27%, 5%, 5% and 52% respectively. Barclays launched higher on the news that it is putting IShares up for sale, and the buying continued when it was reported the Barclays had passed the MPC's stress test, which means it may not have to return to the market for new funds. Commodities had a mixed week with oil dropping around $1.50 on Friday, erasing most of the gains made earlier in the week. Aside from economic factors, President Obama's fuel efficiency plans appeared to hit crude and gasoline prices. Among st other things, Obama has set a minimum requirement of 30.2 miles per gallon for passenger cars. The annual vehicle distance travelled by US drivers was increasing at an almost parabolic rate until 2008, when the total vehicle miles travelled dropped by 3.7% year on year. A continuation of this trend, and US government support for greater fuel efficiency, could put further pressure on crude's nascent recovery. On the currency markets, there was a big reversal of sentiment against the euro, which closed down hard against the yen, dollar and even the pound. Fears over the European economy intensified last week, increasing speculation that the ECB will cut to 1% this coming week. Rumours of the ECB planning to follow the MPC and FOMC in quantitative easing also hit the currency. As usual with the first week of the month, the hot trading ticket this week is the US Non Farm Payroll report on Friday, preceded by the ADP employment change report on Wednesday. Aside from this, the re is the ECB rate decision on Thursday, and US pending home sales on Wednesday. The nationwide House Price Index and Halifax House Price Index are both due sometime throughout the week, and the G20 meeting on Wednesday could spring some surprises. Last week, the so called "Dr Doom", Nouriel Roubini stated that markets had got ahead of themselves, with analysts starting to underestimate how bad company earnings announcements will be in the coming months. At BetOnMarkets.com, a One Touch trade predicting that the Nasdaq Composite will reverse its rally, and hit 1475 at any time during the next 9 days could return 112%.

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Here's to a little stock market education - Finance

The stock market is actually a platform of a commercial nature that individuals and companies use to trade with a commodity that is better known as company stocks and of course, the derivatives of these stocks. They are most often described within the same breath as the bonds market, as well as some other often traded commodities all over the world. Like most markets, the stocks and bonds market can sometimes be of an over the counter nature, which is slightly different from other commodities, which are sold in specific market with their own specific systems of buying and selling.

The most popular place where stocks are traded is of course the NYSE or the New York Stock Exchange, followed by other locations like the Amex and OTCBB. This is in the united states of course, and other countries have their own places where they can trade. The stock market currently stands at a value of slightly more than 20 trillion dollars, which is just half the size of the bonds market. However, the derivatives of the stock market stand at an astounding three hundred trillion dollars, with their most major participants being the US banks. When it comes to trading on the stock market, there are many ways that one can do and most investors base their decision on the price of the stock that they come across.

A good price can sometimes mean that the stock is of good quality and has the potential to rise in value; but that does not mean that that is the only way that stock investing can be done. Always know what you are investing in and knowing the nature of the company or corporation attached to the stock will allow you to have much better insight into the nature of the stock and its intended movement in the market. One of the things that many investors press upon is the option to never choose a load bearing mutual fund - which means that you have to fork out some money for a sales fee that is up front.

This is an unnecessary manoeuvre because in the case of the stock market, there are plenty of mutual funds that will allow you to enter without paying up front with 'no load' involved. The best way to know how your stocks are going to do is looking at the growth curve of the corporation in question, and this is important because most companies and independent analysts would provide independent growth analysis over a 5 to ten period. This technical analysis of the company is very important when it comes to deciding how the company is going to look in the next few years and what value your stock will hold. In the case of any investment, how much you put in is usually co related to how much you are going to make, but always ensure that your capital is risk free - meaning this is the amount of money that you can afford to lose without hindering your life style.

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How Does The Stock Market Works - Finance - PersonalFinance

Let me explain to you how does the stock market work.Generally speaking the Stock Market refers to equities where actually stocks and derivatives are traded. In the U.S.A. we think the Stock Market is New York City. In fact there are major Stock Markets in Hong Kong, Hamburg, London, Paris, Canada, Japan and others that influence one another and impact the world Stock Market. This gives you a idea on how does the stock market work.

The New York Stock Exchange may have stocks listed that are listed on other major Stock Markets. A company headquartered in Amsterdam may be listed on multiple stock exchanges. How does the stock market work can be intimidating at times. Many foreign organized companies are listed on the New York Stock Exchange. There is a tremendous value for foreign companies to be listed on an exchange in the U.S. The exposure and knowledge of a foreign company has a face on the New York Stock Market.

An example would be a China stock Baidu. These information and search technology company has grown in leaps and bounds since it was introduced on the New York Market. Sometimes all it takes is making a good impression to stock analysts and a good review by key people to give the foreign company a boost. How does the stock market work is very fascinating but you need to have a proper system in place. Keep reading! The reality of the Stock Market today is its world wide integration of investors, companies and alliances that create an unprecedented dynamic. Thus far this United Nations of the financial markets has produced an unspoken treaty of like minds. The main objective is to create a win-win scenario for all of the world players in the Stock Market.

Any investor wherever located may hold a substantial stake in any given equity no matter where the equity is traded. The Stock Market is a very large private club that anyone can join with the only admission ticket is the price of a single share of stock.

Most people are aware of American companies utilizing off shore manufacturing of their products. It may be not as well known that some traditional American brand companies are owned by foreign companies. Other American brand companies have a significant multi-national presence with significant stock ownership by foreign banks and investors.

The term equity should be broadly interpreted. There are equities that involve the manufacturing of products and goods, but a product can be intellectual or an entity like insurance. Banks are equities and financial brokers are all traded on the various exchanges. An investor may own gold stocks, mining companies and equities that package these equities into a corporate entity. The only limitation is that if the investor is interested in owning the commodity or trading in the futures market the Chicago Mercantile or other commodities exchanges is the investing tool.

In other words you may own a bank as an equity who may have bonds and other commercial paper that may trade on the commodities exchanges, but you can' t buy a commodity as a stock. If you want a commodity like wheat, currency, corn, gold, silver or the like you need to look to the commodities exchange.

In the United States the New York Stock Market is comprised of the NASDAQ, NYSE and the newly created combination of the NYSE Group with Euronext in April, 2007. The Euronext holding company is a phenomenal synergy between Paris and the NYSE whose history goes back to 1792.

The Euronext is a combination of derivatives, currency and equities to name a sample of products. There are other exchanges that include the AMEX. There are listing requirements for each of the exchanges. The Stock Market is basically a place where buyers and seller of a piece of a company come together and in the process the company hopefully raises some cash or other value.Well Fap Turbo is an automated trading system that will allow you to make money while you sleep, it is a step by step process on autopilot.To be an expert at trading, you have to know and understand complex charts reading, trading on the forex market, you have to stay up to date on current news and events, you need to stay awake on odd hours of the night. They claim that their system does everything automatically, it does it all for you, a complete turn key system that makes you money for the novice in mind. Visit the site for a complete review of FabTurbo at /

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Stock Market Investment - Investment - Stocks and Bonds

Stock Market Investment

To have a pre-disposition to buy and hold stocks for the long-term can be an extremely expensive frame of mind. The long-term market trend is up, but in a volatile stock market, the long-term gain is often laden with risk and not nearly as great as many short-term gains. Risk vs. return has greatly increased for the long-term stock market investor. People argue that tax consequences are their reason for holding. That argument lacks weight. It is very difficult for some people to break away from old habits and patterns of thinking about the stock market. Those who are unwilling to learn from market crashes are doomed to repeat the lesson.

A few years ago, investors were told that to buy and hold for the long-term was the wise course of action for investors because the long-term trend of the market is up. If you took any other approach, you were a speculator at best and a gambler at worst. Brokers and mutual fund managers were the most vocal proponents of this investment philosophy. The media also joined the chorus and the concept became a part of the "accepted" market lore. Investor thinking, in this regard, lost elasticity. What was overlooked was that selling a stock that has entered a phase of heightened risk actually reduces portfolio risk, whether it has been held a year or not. It is important for us to have clarity about the main issues relating to the length of an investor's holding period.

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Fingala.com is India s leading financial information source. We provide news, views, videos, forum and expert analysis on equity / stock markets, sensex, nifty, commodities, personal finance, mutual funds, insurance and loans.

The most exciting and interactive International Investing game. Fingala The Money Game is a simulated real Market Game aimed at giving viewers and investors an easy and interactive platform - using the Internet to understand and invest in the stock market without fear of losing their investment. The objective of this interactive stock market game is to educate and help investors in understanding how the stock market functions and thereby put their learning to test without losing real money. Participants need to register and start to play on different Stock Exchanges of the world.

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How to Make Money in the Stock Markets by Watching the Commercial Traders - Finance

You may have heard of the commercial traders, you may have even heard of the commitment of traders report or the COT. But what is it and how can we use it to make money in the stock markets? First it might be useful to define who each of the players are in the markets.

Commercial Traders - These are the big players that have lots of money to throw around and usually these guys are the users or producers of the products that they are dealing in. So for example someone trading oil contracts might be an airline who's profits are heavily dependent on the price of fuel. A company trading in cocoa might be someone like Hersheys or Nestles who are dependent on how much they must pay for certain food products like cocoa. What these commercials have in common is that they have well funded teams of analysts researching in which direction a particular commodity is going to go in. They are considered the smart money because they have an insider's knowledge of what is going on in their particular industry.

Large speculators - These can be individual traders managing their own money, but they can also be hedge funds managing client money. It can be useful to watch these guys when they reach an extreme consensus, but they are not always trading off of inside information they way that the Commercials traders are.

Small Speculators - Are the average-joes, the retail trader, or in many cases the suckers. They say that 95 % of people will lose money in the markets, these are the guys. You might even be one of them. It often helps to bet against them when they are at an extreme. In other words when 90% or more of them are bullish it is likely that a top has been established. Likewise of 90% or more or bearish it's probably a good time to buy.

So simply put the COT report is published by the Commodities Futures Trading Commission or CFTC and it gives a weekly report of who is buying what commodity in what quantity. When the commercials are buying or shorting a product at an extreme level say 90% or more then it is good to pay attention as it makes it likelier that there will be a big move in this area.

Bear in mind that the commercial players are hedgers and will usually get in or get out of moves early or late. Also they can make money on a commodity even if they are losing money on a trade because of the fact that they are owners of the product. In other words if they are an airline and they are long on oil contracts, but oil prices fall, they may still come out ahead overall because their costs to fuel their planes is less.

So using COT data is not always a straight forward thing and often requires a bit of interpretation to be useful. It's not as simple as saying buy when the commercial traders are 90% buyers and sell when they are 10% buyers. Using a service like the Bullish Review to interpret the data is also very helpful in understanding what direction the commercials are headed.

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The Best Stock Market Trading Programs - How Stock Market Trading Programs Can Boost Your Investment - Investment - Day Trading

Anyone who has ever played the stock market knows how volatile it can be. If you are interested in improving your investments and the amount of money that you make then you might want to take a look at the day trading software. The Day Trading Robot is a software program that makes use of twenty three top, professional, stock trading techniques to automatically trade stocks for you. You wont have to spend nearly as much time studying the market with this software because it does most of the work for you.

Individuals can only do so much at one time, and that includes watching stocks to see what is on the up, what has reached its peak and when is the best time to buy or sell. The Day Trading Robot is not limited to watching one commodity at a time, it has the ability to watch literally thousands of stocks at once, there is no way that an individual could ever do that so this piece of software gives stock traders a significant head start over their competitors.

The trading robot doesnt just watch the stocks for you; it looks to see which of them fits in with professional stock trading techniques to discover whether it fits any one of twenty three specific price patterns. The software detects which of the thousands of stocks that are being watched, forms a specific price pattern. Whenever a stock looks as if its forming one of the twenty three price patterns it is looking for, it will then check to identify whether that particular stock is going sky high. If the robot decides that the stock is really taking off then it will alert the trader about the stock with a beep.

The Day Trading Robot is a masterpiece of programming and as knowledgeable and proficient as any professional stock market analyst. While the system may be complex in its operations, it is designed to be as simple as possible to use so that even a clear beginner could work with it. Rather than focusing on high value stocks the robot concentrates on numbers of penny stocks instead, which means that you are not wasting a lot of money on pricey stocks.

Those people who have already bought the Day Trading Robot software license are amazed at the results. For those people who lack confidence in working with new software the developer offers a full course of video training to get you started. If you are new to stock trading then this training will teach you about the professional stock trading techniques that the robot uses and also about the twenty three pricing techniques that are utilized to earn you hundreds of dollars every day. Once you have grasped how to use the pricing techniques then you will be able to use them to make yourself a significant amount of money on the stock market with virtually zero risk to yourself.

As a general rule the Day Trading Robot will watch the stock market and alert you of at least one smart investment stock every day without your specific input. If, however, you learn the pricing techniques that are explained in the training video then you will be able to pick a lot more smart investment stocks, thereby increasing the amount of money you earn from stock trading each day.

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The Stock Market Crisis In India - Worrying People - Investment - Stocks and Bonds

With the help of Indian stock market updates, one comes to know the fact that the stock prices of various companies have got down. According to the recent updates, the software companies which had shown great promises of growth are now not doing well. The prices of these software companies have reduced, but people need not worry about this, because the IT specialists say that the situation will improve very soon.

According to the Indian stock market updates, the real estate sector is also suffering a lot. It is not attracting the buyers and the prices of real estate companies have got down. Those who are into real estate business believe that the condition has started improving and in times to come, this sector can register a huge growth. Till then, people need to keep patience. Apart from this, the situation of export is not good these days. Earlier, the export sector was generating lots of foreign money and thereby contributing to the growth of Indian economy. Market researchers believe that export will pick up very soon and once again add to the growth of the country.

The NSE & BSE sensex news further shocks people by giving updates regarding the stock prices of companies working in the financial and insurance sector. These companies are quite down. The obvious reason behind this is that the financial products like mutual funds, equity shares, insurance policies are not attracting the buyers these days. This is why, the market share of these companies has come down. According to the opinions of the financial analysts, the financial sector has still a huge potential and it will stabilize in the near future and the share market of India will boom. So, the investors need not to worry about their money, it will multiply very soon.

Quit shockingly, the prices of certain commodities have reduced. Those who read NSE & BSE sensex news must be knowing the downfall in the prices of gold and silver. Those who have invested in these commodities should have a sigh of relief because the prices of gold and silver are picking up these days. All these improvements in the commodity market will enable the investors to mint huge money.

On January 21, 2008, the BSE sensex saw the highest downfall that caused the loss of 1408 point. After that, it recovered and closed at 17,605.40, but it again tumbled to 16,963.96. So, it can be said that in 2008, the sensex has faced lots of jolts. The simple reason of it was the non-performance of various sectors. According to the Times of India, the highest sensex gain in the history Indian stock was on March 24, 1992, during the hey days of Harshad Mehta.

Though, the Indian stock exchange is facing lots of downfalls these days, the investors need not to worry, as different sectors have started picking up.

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Understanding Stock Market Trends - Investment

Understanding stock market trends can make your job of earning money in the market much simpler. In contrast, if you know little or nothing about these trends can cause serious loss.

As you dig deeper into the market and learn more about the way it functions, you will begin to hear certain terms about marketing trends that seem to be repeated over and over again. Market trends are variable and volatile, both on a daily basis and over extended periods of time. In the past, for example, the United States has had devastating stock market crashes, but due to the freedom of a capitalist society, the American economy has always eventually rebound.

What does it mean for the market or a particular stock to rebound? Assuming that the value of a company or its stock has plummeted to a level that seem unrecoverable, leaving it practically worthless, it may feel as though that company is in danger of bankruptcy and falling off the scope of the free trade markets altogether. All of a sudden, however, the founder of that company may introduce a new product over which consumers go wild. Everyone wants one, and this product may be in short supply upon its introduction, causing a race to the department store shelves.

When such a move occurs, the law of supply and demand will take over, making the company valuable once again. The stock price for that company's shares will recover, and the resulting gain in value would be considered a rebound a return to the original status (or better) prior to the devastating loss.

The market trends either up or down, and there are specific references to strong changes in the market values that you may frequently hear. If several different areas of the market are in a steep downward slide, with values dropping rapidly (perhaps even ten or twenty percent in a few days), it is referred to as a bear market. You can remember this reference as though you are in the extremely dangerous position of being chased by a bear if you are in possession of several stocks or other commodities worth a goodly sum, you have a serious chance of losing a great deal of value that could translate to a loss of net worth should you choose to sell, and it can be a similar, very dangerous situation.

Your best bet in these cases is to either sell before prices drop below your original purchase price or to hold onto the shares until the market rebounds. However, when the bear market reaches a low point, it can be an ideal time to get into the game, as it is rare for prices to drop below this point. Then, if you patiently await the recovery or rebound of the market, you can make a great deal of money from a bear market. These options will be discussed in more depth in later chapters.

At the same time, a bull market is a strong general upward trend for many stocks. You might compare this to the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, every year. You are safer if you are indoors when the running occurs, and by the same token, if you own stock during a bull market, you are in a prime position to increase your net worth and sell your shares, making a great deal of money. This is another idea will be further explored in greater detail further in the next article to be published.

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Be Smart Trader with Stock Market Analysis Software - Investment - Day Trading

In a volatile and turbulent market, technical traders can find confidence in their trades by using one of the many stock market analysis software programs currently available. These programs utilize market analysis strategies, such as charting, back testing, optimization and scanning. Charting involves the using of charts to predict market movements and spot opportunities. Back testing enables a trader to test timing strategies against the historical price movements, with performance measurements such as the Sharpe ratio taken into account. Optimization optimizes technical market analysis parameters to generate maximum returns based upon historical price movements. Scanning involves "scanning" the markets for opportunities that meet the investment criteria of the user.

TradeStation, developed by TradeStation Securities, provides both research and trading. The support system allows the small investor to have the same advantages as large scale technical traders. Using the EasyLanguage programming language, TradeStation enables the use of both pre-defined and custom-made indicators that meet the user's investment criteria. Version 8.4 is the current version of TradeStation. It provides real time data only for the US markets and the German DAX exchange. The pros of the software include the ability to monitor multiple markets and automatically execute trading ideas. Cons include the lack of real time data on European and Asian markets. Hardware requirements include minimum RAM of 128mb and minimum hard drive space of 75mb. TradeStation costs $59.95 a month for RadarScreen real-time scanning and $99.95 a month for the base platform.

VectorVest, developed by VectorVest Inc, provides stock ratings, market timing analysis, sector analysis and investment education. A well written program, VectorVest is simple to use, with good customer service and a user friendly site. VectorVest, however, lacks sophistication compared to TradeStation. Overcrowded with promotions for the company's investor education seminars, the site becomes frustrating to use. Also, the program focuses too much on high turnover trading, making it hard to use without being a day trader. VectorVests pros are in its simplicity, while its cons are in the glut of promotion and lack of sophistication. Requiring 7-14mb of disk space, VectorVest US costs $59 per month or $645 a year, while VectorVest real-time costs $129 a month or $1395 a year.

MetaStock, developed by Thomson-Reuters' Equis division, has won the Stocks and Commodities Reader's Choice Award 16 times. A powerful, effective program that is easy to use, MetaStock analyzes stocks, FOREX, futures and options, as well as e-minis. The software includes over 100 standard programs, as well as the option to create your own custom programs. With informative advice from Expert Advisor and an RMO trading system, MetaStock offers both Real Time and End of Day data feeds. MetaStock pros include its wide array of options and user friendliness. MetaStock cons are primarily its subscription costs. MetaStock charges extra to get data on Europe and Asia, making it costlier than other market analysis software programs. With dozens of pricing options, MetaStocks End of Day basic program, MetaStock 10, costs $499 a year. It requires 256mb of RAM and 300MB of disk space.

TradeStation, VectorVest and MetaStock each offer suburb market analysis, user-friendly platforms and quality, reliable service. Leveling the playing field for the individual trader, these programs allow their respective users to seek the numerous market opportunities that can be found via technical trading analysis.

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What you need to know about online stock market trading - Finance

This article will discuss some of the finer points that you need to take note of when you are involved in online stock market trading. This is more a discussion of some of the strategies and pointers you might want to keep in might as you play the investment field and get yourself involved in making decisions that could either make you rich or land you straight back to where you started. Some of the principles discussed here might evens seem familiar to you, but you will be surprised by the fact that most new investors who go into the stock market do not even have these basics in place and are floundering around until they finally drown in a sea of their own mistakes.

When you read this article, remind yourself that the best investors out there still have a list of basic, fundamental things that they follow with every thing they do, no matter how complex or complicated it is. One of the things you need to look out for is of course keeping yourself updated. How the market and the commercial situation is now may not be the same to how it was a few years ago and you need to constantly find relevant and pertinent information that will help you to avoid pitfalls and make investment decisions that will lead you to profit. Life long learning is the motto of investors all over the world and research into your commodity and all the factors around it is one of the most important things you need to know to maintain your head above the water.

Another thing you need to do is the ability to identify trends and understand factors like indicators and market indices if you are ever going to go far with your investment career. The ability to projects the market based on certain internal and external factors is the basic talent that you need to be able to define the market for yourself and read it to the extent where you can actually visualise where the market will be in a few hours or even a few weeks. A effortless, yet constructive indicator is the affecting standard.

Moving averages can approach in a variety of forms range from a one-day moving average to a 200-day moving standard. Using these methods and others that you will eventually learn, you will be able to see the market move in a variety of ways and place your chips in all the right places. You must understand that online stock market trading is actually quite a difficult and saturated arena but if you do your homework, you will have a good chance of making some real money. The open economy is a game that places no limits to how many players can come in as more and more are coming in and more and more are leaving on a daily basis. With these pointers in mind, you will be able to know enough to be on your way to financial independence.

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The Stock Market is trapped within the Yin and Yang phenomenon - Finance - PersonalFinance

iAutoblog the premier autoblogger software

Here's to a little stock market education - Finance

iAutoblog the premier autoblogger software

How Does The Stock Market Works - Finance - PersonalFinance

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Stock Market Investment - Investment - Stocks and Bonds

Stock Market Investment

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The Best Stock Market Trading Programs - How Stock Market Trading Programs Can Boost Your Investment - Investment - Day Trading

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Understanding Stock Market Trends - Investment

Understanding stock market trends can make your job of earning money in the market much simpler. In contrast, if you know little or nothing about these trends can cause serious loss.

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Trading Stock Market Indices Like the FTSE 100 - Finance - PersonalFinance

As the economic recovery continues, many people are considering gaining greater command of their investments. This is especially true after considering the good and bad points of how the credit crunch was handled.

But what to trade, where to trade and how to trade?

It may have been around since the 1970s but people are now turning to spread trading in ever greater numbers. The speed at which you can trade, the number of trading opportunities and easy access to global markets make it worth exploring further.

Well, spread betting is not the be-all-and-end-all of trading but it has a number of useful plus points.

There is no capital gains tax, no stamp duty and no income tax on spread betting*. You are not actually buying and selling any stocks and shares or assets. You are simply speculating on the future price of the underlying financial market.

There a wide variety of spread betting markets, such as shares and stock market indices like the FTSE 100. You can also trade the currencies and commodities markets.

The FTSE 100 Index is actually one of the most popular markets.

If you decide to trade an index like the FTSE 100 then, looking at a spread betting company website, you may find a price of 5085 - 5086.

That means you could spread trade on the FTSE 100 to go above 5086 or below 5085.

For this instance, you could choose to trade 2 for every point the FTSE 100 moves up or down.

If you thought the stock market index would go up you would 'buy the FTSE 100'.

If you bought the FTSE 100 at 5086 and the FTSE 100 index increased then the spread could become 5131 - 5132. If that were to happen, you might decide to close your FTSE 100 spread bet at 5131.

Profit/Loss = (closing price of the market - initial price of the market) x stakeProfit/Loss = (5131 - 5086) x 2 stakeProfit/Loss = 90 profit

However, if the market had decreased to, for example, 5043 - 5044 you may want to close your spread bet to limit your losses. If that happened, you would sell back at 5043.0.

So, with the same 2 per point stake:

Profit/Loss = (closing price of the market - initial price of the market) x stakeProfit/Loss = (5043 - 5086) x 2 stakeProfit/Loss = -86 loss

As the example above highlights, there are risks. Spread bets do carry a high level of risk so you should only speculate with money you can afford to lose.

Before you trade, please ensure that spread betting matches your investment objectives, make sure you familiarise yourself with the risks involved and seek independent advice where necessary.

Of course there are other advantages to this form of trading. When the closing bell sounds, not all spread betting markets close. So whilst the London, New York and Frankfurt stock exchanges may close many important spread betting markets remain open. Some remain open throughout the night.

And of course, unlike traditional share trading, you can sell a market. Spread betting lets you trade in both directions. You can bet on markets to go down. If you think the Sterling/Dollar rate will go up you can bet on it to go up. If you think the price of Gold will go down you can bet on it to go down.

* Tax laws may vary if you live outside if the UK or Ireland and can vary from time to time.

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The Most Reliable Stock Market Indicator - Investment - Stocks and Bonds

There are many more serious issues facing the economy in the coming

months that I don't think any amount of fiat dollars will help. Seven

million unemployed, rising foreclosures, a bankrupt FDIC, FHA under

water, residential"option arms" reset in 2010, 59% of prime mortgages

in some stage of forclosure, $3.5 trillion Commercial real estate is

collapsing, $12 trillion national debt and $50 trillion unfunded

liabilities (medicare, medicaid, Social Security). these problems are

not going away.If you want to know the direction of the S&P or the markets in general,

watch the direction of interest rates. When rates move higher it makes

business less profitable, prevents business investment, job creation

and generally slows the economy.

One of the best gages of an interest rate increase is the TLT (ETF,

Lehman 20 year Treasury Bond) and the LQD (coporate bond ETF). The TLT

below 90 and the LQD on a move below 103 are warning signs that rates

are moving up and should be headed. Rising interest are a leading

indicator so there is sufficient time to position for a sharp decline

(I would also want to see some type of technical confirmation).All asset classes are in competition for capital and money goes where

it gets the highest return. So, it can be said that dividend yields are

in competition against bond yields for investor's cash. When money

market yields are below the rate of inflation (like they are today)

money moves to metals. Because of the perceived inflation (money

printing) building in the economy the only protection is in

commodities.With the S&P index trading @ 29 times next years earnings and the

Wilshire 5000 @ 30 times and yielding less than 2%, there are no more

bargains in the stock market. A 10% unemployment and a housing market

that won't recover for another 6-10 years, the market has risen on the

wings of cost cutting and government bailouts. Stock market dividend

yields must move above treasury yields in order to attract investment

capital and the only way for that to happen is for the stock prices to

fall. If the yield on long dated treasuries rise, stock prices will

fall proportionately to increase their yield and attract capital from

the bond market.

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Familiarize Yourself With Stock Market Terms - Business - Entrepreneurship

The stock exchange is a great business for people to make a fortune, however, for many people beginners, all the hustle and bustle of stock trading may well cause a lot of confusion, especially if that you are not familiar with the many conditions and strategies used for negotiations.

Should you be a rookie during the stocks game, just remember to familiarize and educate yourself well on stock trading stocks knowledge. You possibly can certainly, start off by widening your vocabulary. Insightfully few terms that you might must familiarize:

Stocks are probably crucial and frequent items traded in the stock market. These are actually shares of specified companies that are publicly sold and traded.

Whenever people buy a portion of stock at a precise company; this shows that they buy a share of ownership and buying that specific business. Through this, a stockholder is given sure rights towards the corporation such as a vote in stockholder meetings and in addition his or her capital market from the company's earnings.

Broker

A stockbroker is a particular person who handles the actual transacting of shares. He or she does the negotiations to purchase and sell the shares in behalf for these investors as well as the companies involved. A variety of brokers sometimes include; whole-service, site, auto-trade and discount brokers.

Bull Market

A bull industry is a market that manifests a continuous increase in the value of its shares in addition to being a steady growth. Generally, with this kind of industry, investors gain an upbeat attitude and could buy more rather than sell shares.

Bear Market

Bear markets mainly characterize large losses and declines in the particular sector. With such a behavior among shares, most investors would generally plan to sell more of their stocks and may be pessimistic in relation to investing.

Dividends

Dividends are added or extra payments awarded to stockholders just after a profitable quarter. With this sum of fund, advertisements are able to often reinvest on more shares of stock, allowing individuals to receive so much.

Futures

Futures, as with stocks, are also traded in the market. However, these are purchased against future expenses of commodities. It is easy to earn from these, if in time, the particular price of commodities grown to be higher than what you paid for the futures. On the other hand, you may also lose money if the worth becomes discounted that what you covered for.

Day Trader

A day trader is a person who buys and sells shares aggressively in one day. Usually, they do this for repeatedly regularly in order to make several small proceeds within the day.

Buying and selling on Margin

Buying and selling on margin may be similar to trading stocks with the use of borrowed dollars. Through this, it is easy to purchase shares of stock for only a portion of the specific price. The remainder of a cost can be paid upon the specific sale of a specified stock, or on a later date.

These terms are only a few from the in most cases used language in stock trading. And upon encountering them, chances are to certainly possess the impression of in what way intimidating the stock market might get. With the many complicated terminologies and techniques, you might easily get backtracked if you have no idea enough pertaining to what you happen to be coping with.

Don't forget - if you are new at doing business in this environment, make positive that you take the extra mile to learn more dealing with more conditions and in addition strategies on how it is possible to best maximize profit. A little hard work will surely provide far, and one of these days you'll comprehend so how all this will be worthwhile.

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China Economy: China Drives Stock Markets Crazy - Business

China Drives Stock Markets Crazy

About: ( China Stock Digest, Global stock markets, National Bureau of Statistics, China's GDP, President Obama, China-based ADRs, china stock, china economy, china stock market)

Global stock markets fell into a swoon as China announced stellar new growth figures. As we predicted, fourth quarter growth hit double digits, coming in at a slightly better than expected 10.7 percent " the fastest rate of economic expansion since 2007.

The economic numbers released in Beijing contain almost entirely good news for investors. But China's blazing growth has been blamed for market declines in Asia, Europe and the U.S. Shanghai was one of the few exceptions, as China's main stock market gained slightly on the news.

Does it make any sense to blame China's success for market declines elsewhere?Not much.

The theory we're hearing from talking heads on TV and print pundits is that China's soaring growth will spark a tightening of monetary policy by Beijing. That much is likely true. Inflation is at almost two percent in China and increased interest rates and higher bank reserve ratios are pretty much a certainty.

But why would non-Chinese stock markets take a hit because of double-digit expansion and probable monetary tightening in China? After all, China's robust GDP expansion was widely predicted within 0.2 percent of the final number days earlier. Monetary tightening in China is already underway and more clampdowns on excess lending were predicted weeks ago by the China Stock Digest, and were widely anticipated in the popular press over the past week.

In other words, the announcement of China's world-beating growth was already baked into stock prices.

One of the few sectors that will feel the effects worldwide of a Chinese clampdown on lending may be the commodity sector. Beijing will probably rein in new loans to heavy industries that are overbuilt, including the steel industry. But a future reduction in demand for some resources can't be blamed for a market-wide meltdown, especially in the U.S. A more probable cause of the market plunge in New York is President Obama's decision to clamp down on the size of US banks and on the kind of risks they can take.

For the record, the news from China was very positive on many fronts.

Retail sales rose 16.9 percent last year. That gain was the biggest since 1986. Sales jumped even more in December on a year-over-year basis, climbing 17.5 percent.

Industrial production increased at a pace of 18.5 percent. Urban fixed-asset investment jumped 30.5 percent in 2009.

China has staged a clear "V-shaped" recovery according to the National Bureau of Statistics.

China will be the "world's biggest engine of growth" according to Bloomberg. The World Bank raised its forecast for global expansion in 2010 to 2.7 percent from 2 percent last June. The bank predicts 9 percent growth in China during 2010. The only cloud on the horizon is the widely expected arrival of moderate inflation.

Many China-based ADRs have been rattled by the media panic over monetary tightening in China. The market's fear is that businesses in general will suffer from tight money policies.

But Beijing has no interest in putting the squeeze on the entire economy. China's leaders have said repeatedly that their target has been "reasonably fast" economic growth with a target of approximately eight percent expansion.

Beijing hit the bull's-eye with an average of 8.7 percent growth for all of 2009.

By hitting the brakes on some parts of the economy, China can easily deliver another year of world-beating growth in the eight percent range without risking runaway expansion and overheating.

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Learn to Invest In Stock Markets - Investment - Wealth Building

In the aftermath of the recent worldwide recession, many people have turned away from shares and for good reasons. But before you blindly follow the masses, find out yourself first before making a decision as there are many advantages to investing in the stock markets. Buying company shares in the stock market can be one of the best and most profitable investment you could ever have.

For long term investments, stocks and shares have continually outperform all other types of investments including property, bonds, commodities and money saved in a bank account. Many consulting and finance companies have done researches which basically arrived at the same conclusion.

Stocks are shares in a company. When you invest in a company's stock or buy its shares, you own part of that company. How much you own depends on the number of shares you hold. If the company is profitable your shares will increase in value. If the company performs poorly then you may lose some or all of your money.

In any type of investments, there are advantages as well as disadvantages.

Advantages- Stocks have a long historical track record of outperforming other types of investments.- Shareholders have voting rights and can therefore influence the affairs of the company.- While your voting rights gives you some influence over the affairs of the company, you are not involved in the ongoing daily operations of the company.- Suitable for long term investors who do not mind taking on some risk.

Disadvantages- Returns are not guaranteed as stock prices often go up and down. Not ideal for short term investments but if you are willing to buy and hold long term then your chances of getting a decent return is huge.- A shareholder may lose part or all of his money.- Unless you have good advisors, it can be hard to manage by yourself.

Hopefully I have given you enough basics on what stock market investing is and how you should also consider it in your wealth building goals.

We will also give you more investment tips later on.

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How to Invest in the Stock Market - Investment - Stocks and Bonds

To invest in the stock market must you have to be rich? Not at all. The stock market is, after all, just another form of investing. Having said that, unlike putting your money in to a bank or building society account, returns are by no means guaranteed. In fact, in extreme cases a company`s shares can be worthless if it goes bankrupt, and investors can lose all of their money. That`s why it is worth repeating never to invest what you can not afford to lose.

When you invest in a building society account you will periodically receive interest on your savings. When you buy shares, however, you may receive dividends. The value of those dividends often fluctuates in line with how well the company is doing, and sometimes a company might decide on occasions not to pay a dividend to shareholders. Hopefully though you can expect to see the value of your shares increase over time. This is particularly the case where investors take the medium to long term strategy and hold on to their shares to ride out the rough times when markets are faring badly.One method of accessing the stock market for the smaller investor is through Unit Trusts, or an Open Ended Investment Company (OEIC). Both these forms of investing are designed to pool funds of investors' money, which are then used to buy a range of shares, gilts, or bonds. A fund management company might be involved in purchasing shares in say property, or commodities, shares in Japanese com panies, US smaller companies and so. The list of available trusts is huge, and varied.

This method of getting into the stock market is ideal for smaller investors, especially as many trusts allow units to be purchased monthly by direct debit. The minimum amount can sometimes be as low as 10 a month. That money is then used to buy units in the plan of your choice. Doing it this way means you are benefiting from something called `pound cost averaging` which means that when the shares (or units) are low in value you get more for your money. On the other hand of course when the shares (or units) are higher in value you get less of them for your money. Overall though pound cost averaging helps to smooth out the peaks and troughs. In addition, investors have to remember that fund managers don`t work out of the goodness of their hearts. There are charges involved, sometimes up front, sometimes they come out of the value of the shares or units at certain intervals.Essentially it simply means you are drip-feeding your money into one or more of the available trust pla ns. During a time when markets are volatile that can be a very good time to benefit from drip-feeding. Although it can never take the risk out of buying shares, it can at least reduce the risk.

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Trading US Stock Market Indices and FX Markets - Finance - PersonalFinance

It can be seen that certain investors are speculating that a period of stock market consolidation is just around the corner. This is not a surprise when you consider that the S&P 500 has rallied over 75% since March last year.

Stock market fundamentals are also looking stretched, with the S&P 500 Index now trading at around 19 times reported operating profits, the highest PE ratio this year.

The Dow seems to have run into a bit of a brick wall with the 10950/11000 points area blocking the way to higher prices.

Having said that, the more representative S&P 500, which covers the top 500 US companies, is showing no such signs of fatigue. New 'recent highs' are being created on a weekly basis. As with the Dow at 11000, the S&P also has a psychological resistance mark looming into view at 1200. It is this area which may prove crucial.

Note that back in October 2008 it was the breaching of the 1200 level which triggered the huge fall down to 830 in just a couple of weeks trading. Most of the rally of the last year has just served to recoup this two week period of chaos.

If the market were to run into trouble at the 1200 level then note that this is where financial spread betting can be useful. With a spread bet you can buy and sell the markets. If you think the S&P 500 will fall you can speculate on it to go down.

Looking at specific opportunities in the tech sector, investors have digested Apple's iPad sales figures. The firm sold around 300,000 units on the first day of trading the new must-have product. Although this was ahead of the number of iPhones sold on the first day, it was under the median of a wide range of forecasts. Apple's shares were practically unchanged on the news.

Looking at the forex markets and, over the last year or so, many investors have preferred the higher yielding 'commodity currencies' such as the Australian Dollar.

The good news for those investors is that the Royal Bank of Australia has raised rates again. And it looks like there is more to come.

The RBA raised its policy cash rate from 4.0% to 4.25%. Although it was not a surprise, the RBA's observation that 'today's decision is a further step in that process' was enough to convince investors that there is more where that came from. 6.0% next year still looks possible.

Looking at the general trend elsewhere in the forex markets, it is interesting to note that in the past five weeks the Sterling/Dollar exchange rate has changed direction a dozen times and gone nowhere.

That's not all bad news though. If you are spread betting and the markets are repeatedly covering the same ground it is often good for range traders.

Although, when you are range trading you need to be careful. When a market breaks out of a range it can do so in dramatic fashion and catch out the unwary. A stop loss order on a spread bet can help reduce the risks.

With spread betting you can lose more than your initial investment. Spread betting carries a high level of risk. Please ensure that spread betting matches your investment requirements. Familiarise yourself with the risks involved. If necessary, seek independent advice.