Dividend Reinvestment Programs

A Dividend Reinvestment Plan, also called a DRP or DRiP, is a method of investing that allows an investor to gradually build a large amount of shares in a specific company. You can choose to get involved in a DRiP most easily if you are an employee of the company, but you can also choose to participate in a companies program as an external investor - since every companies program can be run on their own terms, you should contact the company directly. These plans have obvious appeal for investors, for several reasons:

* You can start out with a very small of shares, even as little as one share in a company.
* You usually have an automatic deduction set up that means you purchase a set price worth of the companies shares on a regular basis.
* When dividends are paid, these are reinvested into more shares.
* The share price for participants in a DRiP is discounted by many of the companies that run these programs
* Since you deal directly with the company, there are no brokerage fees.

It all sounds pretty good right? Well that's because it is! DRiP investing is a great way to invest your money, and provides better value than buying the same amount of shares through a broker in many cases. By setting up automatic deductions, you are forcing yourself to save money - money that you will probably never notice missing. However one point that you need to consider is that it is very important to diversify your portfolio. A DRiP only lets you invest in one company, so to achieve a balanced portfolio you will need to join the program with a range of companies, or else join a DRiP to complement your other investment strategies.

DRIP investing is a useful strategy for those who wish to grow their portfolio over time, but don't have significant assets starting out. However you should diversify your portfolio over time - this might mean participating in the DRIP programs of a range of companies.

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When Stock Paper Trading is of Great Use

If you are a novice in investing in the stock-markets, the best way to hone your skills would be to undertake some stock-paper trading. This is essentially a simulation game; if one may call it a game, where investors buy and sell paper stocks fictitiously.

You as an investor can undertake paper stock trading without committing any real money.

How Do You Do This?

There are various sites available on the internet which allows investors to undertake such trading. You can choose your stocks and build a portfolio on such a website without committing any real money.

Prices of stocks on such investment sites mirror the actual prices of stocks on markets where they are listed. Thus your portfolio valuation will move up or down depending on how the stocks you have 'bought' have performed in real life on that day.

Benefits Of Stock Paper Trading

This is good practice arena, and any potential investor should first spend some time doing such trading before venturing into the stock-market. It will give you an idea of how good your stock selection strategy is. It will show you how the sectors in which you have invested have performed, which in turn will make you realize whether you have invested in the right sectors.

While stock-prices vary according to the performance of each specific company, sectoral performances are based on broader macroeconomic indicators which affect that specific sector. You should therefore be in the right sector at the right time. Choosing a stock whose performance has historically been outstanding, but the outlook of the sector to which it belongs is bleak, owing to factors such as over capacity and new government regulations, may not work well for you.

All investors when they embark on the stock-investment path, do make mistakes. Many lose a lifetime of savings. It is therefore better that you practice your hand in stock paper trading before you take the plunge.
It is not that months spent on such practice will guarantee you good returns on the stock-markets. Returns will depend on the stocks you have bought and the overall condition of the sector and the economy.

What stock-paper trading trains you in is the manner of selecting potentially good return stocks and how to avoid pitfalls in the markets.

Options Available

Many companies provide this type of trading opportunities; some are free while others charge a fee for the service. Apart from the basics of trading in the markets, you can practice higher level investment options such as simultaneously setting up different positions to compare the payoffs in each, short selling, futures trading and leveraging.

It is a good idea to do some stock-paper trading before you put in real money into real stocks on the real stock-markets.

Mr. Albertina Belmont is a financial advisor and professional of finance area. He designed a website to avoid financial crisis and his website offers a huge free collection of stock trading information, stock trading tips and tricks. Visit us http://www.financeenquiry.com today and start to avoid your financial and stock trading problem every day activity in a realistic and music way.

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Stock Trade - Merits and Demerits

You require a deep knowledge of stock trade before venturing into the market. Almost 90% of people who start trading in the stock market get out of it in the first year, after losing money. Both lack of knowledge and overconfidence are the main reasons here. Hence, a high degree of mental strength and willpower is required to sustain in this area.

Stock Trade - Advantages

Good returns - Investing in stocks can give very good returns. Although there are many other options to invest your money but stock market is known to give the best profits.

Compound interest - One of the often ignored benefits of the stock market is the facility to earn compounded interest. Dividends paid by many stocks can be reinvested to earn extra returns. You can make your money grow faster this way.

Tax deferral - You're only taxed on the profits, not on earnings from the sale of the stock. After all, important thing is not what you make but what you keep after tax.

Diversification - By investing in stocks the investor can get exposure to a broad variety of areas in the economy.

Time - You don't need people and space for stock trading. In fact here you can work alone from the comfort of your home. There is also enough time left to have fun with family and pursue hobbies.

Flexible - Unlike your own business, where you have to bear losses and fight hard to make it lucrative, in trading, you can invest more in the stock you find profitable and sell some of which is not gainful. You have total control over your investment decision.

Stock Trade - Disadvantages

Loss of money - You can lose a lot of money in stock trade if the market goes down or if you make wrong choices - you can even end up broke.

Lot of hard work - The learning curve is very steep in the beginning. You also have to do a lot of homework and learn how to select your investments intelligently.

Sufficient funds - Be sure that you have enough savings to get you through a crisis before you trade in stocks. Otherwise, if your investments go down you may find yourself in trouble in even making ends meet.

No assurance - This is the chief disadvantage as there are many things which affect the market such as, political issues, natural disasters and government policies, etc., so you cannot be sure of growth.

One should enter into market only after understanding all these merits and demerits. Although everyone is not successful because share investment does not assure a fixed return but a wise investor who goes for stock trade can gain success and can make return of even 35 percent.

Mr. Albertina Belmont is a financial advisor and professional of finance area. He designed a website to avoid financial crisis and his website offers a huge free collection of stock trading information, stock trading tips and tricks. Visit us http://www.financeenquiry.com/category_view.php?catid=16 today and start taking advantage of to avoid your financial and stock trading problem every day activity in a realistic and music way.

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Stock Trading Terms That Novice Traders Must Be Aware of

There are several stock trading terms that are frequently used in the day trading market. If you are not a trader, it will be very difficult for you to understand what these terms actually mean unless you study them specifically. If you are considering entering the mystic world of stock trading, it is very important for you to be well aware of these terminologies first. You must be a good learner. You must know how to make the best use of every single opportunity to increase your knowledge about the market. Following is a brief rundown on some of the most common stock trading terms.

Trader
Traders refer to the individuals who transact financial instruments (such as, stocks) in financial markets. They sometimes do it on behalf of someone else, but most of the times, traders do it for themselves only. There can be different types of traders, such as head traders, pattern day traders, and commercial traders. A commercial trader is the person whose primary task is to use the future markets. The head trader is the one who works in a trading firm and supervises all the traders working for that firm. Pattern day traders on the other hand are primarily involved in trading securities 4-5 times a day over a period of five days.

Stock
"Stock" obviously is one of the most common stock trading terms. It mainly refers to a security or equity that entails ownership in a firm or company.

Current Market Value
The current market value indicates the actual value of a stock on the basis of the current market trends.

Capital Loss And Capital Gain
"Capital loss" and "capital gain" are two serious terms that traders and investors must be thoroughly aware of. Capital loss is often termed as CL, which refers to the loss that traders or investors have to suffer when they sell stocks at a price lower than the initial purchasing price. On the other hand, CG indicates capital gain, which refers to the profit resulting from the sale of the stocks at a price higher than the initial purchase price.

Volatility
Volatility, as it may sound, has nothing to do with the trader's temper. This is also one of the most-heard-of stock trading terms that is used to indicate the movement of securities. You have to calculate the annualized standard deviation of the daily changes in stock prices in order to determine the volatility.

Securities and Exchange Commission
In the United States of America, there is a specific administrative agency that regulates and governs the stock trading market - this agency is known as Securities and Exchange Commission.

Reaction And Rally
When the price of a stock suddenly decreases after seeing a rise, it is called reaction. On the other hand, rally refers to the increase in the prices of stock.

Tender Offer
When a company makes an offer to another company to buy their shares from their stockholders, this activity is referred to as tender offer.

Overall, having knowledge of these stock trading terms will definitely make things much easier for the novice traders.

Mr. Albertina Belmont is a financial advisor and professional of finance area. He designed a website to avoid financial crisis and his website offers a huge free collection of stock trading information, stock trading tips and tricks. Visit us http://www.financeenquiry.com/category_view.php?catid=16 today for more stock trading feature and help.

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The Bergamo Acquisition Corporation

The Bergamo Acquisition Corporation is probably not a name you will be very familiar with. It is not a household name, and yet it is a penny stock that could well be worth keeping a closer eye on at the moment.

Known by the symbol BGMO on the stock market, this company improved its stocks by nearly eight per cent -- 7.94% to be exact -- on the morning of 22nd October.

So what do we know about Bergamo? Is this a company which could produce more gains in the near future, qualifying it as a potential penny stock worth investing in? As always research and careful thought and planning should be put into place, although even then there is no guarantee that the penny stocks you choose will gain a profit.

So why is the Bergamo Acquisition Corporation worth looking at?

The business itself is based in Nevada but has interests in Pakistan. In fact, it focuses on three projects for the infrastructure in Pakistan. The focus is on clean energy and as such renewable energy and highly efficient products and plans are being put into place. Pakistan wants to move ahead and develop the country so that it can take advantage of its natural resources. And Bergamo is helping it achieve this aim.

It is this forward thinking, green energy thrust that is indicative of several penny stocks that are doing particularly well in these current times. Recycling and other green issues are proving to be good stocks to invest in, and with that 7.94% increase in a single morning, it could point to a stock that is worth buying in order to sell at a higher price later on.

Only time will tell if the increase in the value of the stock will continue. But Bergamo is certainly a promising company with plenty of time and effort invested in helping Pakistan sustain its energy needs for the future. And with a budget of $1.5 billion dollars available this is definitely a solid venture between Pakistan and Bergamo that will continue long into the future.

As such perhaps we could speculate that the value of the stock will improve as time goes by and more is completed. But since this is very early days at the moment, we can only wait to see how work progresses and the Bergamo Acquisitions Corporation handles the developments planned for Pakistan.

Next, check out our free stock picks that have made huge gains. Your #1 spot for top ten penny stock picks.

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Xtend Medical Corp

If you have been watching the stocks for the Xtend Medical Corp group recently, you will know they have gone through the roof. That might be a frequently used saying in the area of stocks and bonds, but in this case it is warranted. They have increased by over two thousand per cent, and some say they could go even higher.

While only time will tell whether that will happen or not, the reason why their shares have improved so much is worth looking at. Apparently they are looking to merge with another company. This is happening because they want to promote further technology in the medical field and they cannot do so without the help of another party.

What makes Xtend Medical Corp different from many of their counterparts is the fact that they think globally - even with regard to third world countries which can sometimes be left behind in this respect. The current product they are looking to have promoted is called the BioHarp. This works in an imaging capacity, so it is able to take complex pictures of the body in order to identify problems - most notably cancer cells.

The BioHarp is extremely versatile and very useful since it fits into your hand. This isn't a huge machine that people need to go and use - it can instead be taken to the patient. Consequently the potential is huge.

Of course the fact that the item has the ability to detect cancer by using nanotechnology holds a huge amount of potential. Could we imagine a world in which a device such as this gives more and more people the chance to fight cancer due to its earlier detection? Indeed we could - and because of this we can envisage those stocks going up further as time goes by.

News of the merger with this other company - BioHarp Korea - should give plenty of scope for higher stock prices in future days and weeks as well. We are not yet in a territory where the penny stock has become anything but. But even though it still qualifies as a penny stock it has certainly done well to increase in percentage by such a huge amount.

Could we see Xtend Medical Corp go even higher? It is more likely to go in that favourable direction than it is to go the other way, but of course caution should always be exercised when buying any type of stock.

Next, check out our free stock picks that have made huge gains. Your #1 spot for top ten penny stock picks.

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Understanding the Stock Index Trading System

A lot of people try their hand at trading stocks at some point in their lives. But you need discipline, determination and a willingness to learn if you hope to have any real success at it. More than that, you will also find it easier if you have some kind of stock index trading system to use.

It has been said -- and proved -- in the past that the stock market goes in cycles. Many things in life do this, and the stock market itself is no exception. Learning how it happens will help you to predict when it will happen as well, and having a system of some kind is useful to this success.

You may already be familiar with the concept of bear markets and bull markets. A bear market occurs when stocks are generally decreasing in value. Conversely a bull market describes a time when those same stocks are improving in value. A stock index trading system should be able to predict when these times will happen, so that you in turn can make the best deals at the best times.

The catch is that there are lots of different systems available to use. There is no reason of course why you cannot come up with your own system, but you need a significant amount of experience and knowledge to do this. Many companies online offer their own system -- usually at a cost -- which means you have to do your research to find one that you are happy to use.

A key point to remember with this type of trading is that it can easily be done online. You can also get better profits here than you may be able to get in other areas of stock trading. These are two of the main reasons why people focus in on this type of trading. If you are going to give it a try, make an effort to find out how many systems you can find online before deciding on a particular one. You may see the name WD Gann crop up too -- while he was alive he predicted many major events in the stock market, and many people even now use his methods and systems to trade themselves.

But whichever stock index trading system you use, you should know that it can make you a lot of money. As always, be cautious and accept the risk of loss too, but it could well lead you to a nice profit.

Next, check out our free stock picks that have made huge gains. Your #1 spot for top ten penny stock picks.

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United America Indemnity

If you are looking for some interesting stocks to keep an eye on, United America Indemnity might be worth adding into the mix.

Recent reports have shown that this is enjoying a good run at the moment. The company itself deals in insurance, and as such it is wrapped up in the financial market. But it has not suffered greatly of late - something that cannot be said of many other similar companies.

As with many companies though, United America didn't have a particularly good time last year. A net loss of nearly twenty million dollars was recorded back then, but just one year later the company was firmly back in the black again. The net income for that same period just twelve months on was over twenty seven million pounds.

That was reflected in the company's shares, which are looking healthier now than they were back in 2008. Consequently a lot of investors are now expecting the stock to continue to rise in price. It remains to be seen whether this actually happens, but if their results continue to climb and do well, that could indeed be what we have to look forward to.

The NASDAQ sign for this particular company is INDM, so watch out for the results it has to show us in the coming days and weeks. This is one of the few good results we have to seize on at the moment. As such there is a distinct possibility that investors looking for somewhere to put their money will pounce on United America as a good place to do just that.

Some experts have pointed to this as a market which is now bullish in nature. Basically this means that it is expected to continue to do better as time goes by. People who get in now could enjoy a good profit as time goes on, although of course there is no firm guarantee of this. As always if you are thinking of investing in the stock market, the more information you can amass beforehand, the better.

It should also be remembered that while this particular company is doing well, it doesn't follow that all companies in the finance sector will start performing the same way. For now though, United America Indemnity is definitely one to watch to see if it can indeed plough forward into a bullish market. If it does, their shares will rise accordingly.

Next, check out our free stock picks that have made huge gains. Your #1 spot for top ten penny stock picks.

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3 Reasons to Fear Penny Stock

Having built a career, not to mention a massive following, around the investment vehicle known lovingly as "penny stock," it may seem strange for me to warn you to fear these speculative investments. Yet, warn you I will, because I've seen three major reasons why these sub-$5 shares might be too risky for you.

People getting involved with penny stock investments are buying the wrong companies, for the wrong reasons, and then using the wrong trading tactics with the shares. All of these mistakes can end up washing out hopeful investors, and leaving them broke and resigned to an ever-burning disgust of any company that trades in the lower price-per-share ranges.

The Wrong Penny Stock Companies:

Often, people invest in a "hot" penny stock because they heard about it through a friend, or it has a good story behind it. Rarely do these hyped-up investments have strong fundamentals or growth of revenues and market share.

Too often people get involved with these shells of companies simply because they think that the business objective is a good idea, or will result in massive revenues if they are successful.

A better idea is to wait until that hot investment proves itself first, by booking revenues or landing big contracts. Usually, they don't, Most times, investors in these companies lose. Of course, if you think that all it takes to make money in the game is to find a great story, then you will deserve what you get.

Trading Penny Stock For The Wrong Reasons:

The majority of penny stock investors are impatient or desperate, and are simply looking for a way to get rich quickly. While this can and has happened, it usually does not.

The best way to get involved in any type of investing is to find high-quality, well run companies that have rock solid fundamentals and proven management teams. Look for those investments that pass Leeds Analysis (the standard research method for low-priced shares).

Finding companies like this is significantly time-consuming, but if you become good at it, there is no more lucrative way to invest.

The Wrong Tactics for Penny Stock:

Once people decide on a penny stock that they want to buy (or choose when they want to sell one), they often use poor trading tactics.

For example, most traders buy or sell all their shares at one time, rather than staggering the trades. Selling part of your holdings over time and in three or four trades is often better than just dumping the whole lot at once. This is true of bigger stocks, and even more so with smaller ones, as their thin trading volume leaves investors subject to significant price volatility if they scoop up or dump a big block of shares all at once.

Other penny stock investors buy and sell with market orders, rather than limit orders. This is a major mistake when trading low-priced or thinly traded shares, but one that is easily avoided. With a market order, you get whatever price the person on the other side of the trade has dictated. With a limit order, you decide on the price you are willing to pay (or at which you would sell, if you're on the selling side). You can learn more about buy and sell order types from your broker, or online.

By paying attention to, and therefore hopefully avoiding, the three reasons to fear penny stock, you might then dramatically improve your odds of trading success with these low-priced investments.

If you get involved with the right penny stock companies, and you trade those shares for the right reasons, and with the right tactics, you will be among an elite group. Specifically, you will be one of the few who make dramatic profits from good, high-quality low-priced investments that can make you very wealthy, while avoiding the downfalls that give the sub-$5 investment vehicle a bad name.

You can learn more about Peter Leeds by visiting him online, or checking out his penny stock website, which details penny stock companies through full reports and daily updates, all 100% online and unbiased.

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Why Penny Stocks Are the Best?

You can make a lot of money in a short amount of time by trading in penny stocks. If that appeals to you, then take heart and don't be one of those who backs away. Some people shy away from this kind of trading because they're afraid of the erratic nature of these stocks.

They worry too much about the risk instead of focusing on the possible gains. However, with a little guidance you can minimize the risk and thus do very well. I'm here to give you some of that guidance you need as you begin your trading career.

The first thing you need to be aware of is that there are definite patterns you can locate and follow in penny stocks. It's kind of like riding a wave. This is true with all stocks, but especially true of these. This is where you have to do your research. You go back over the history of a particular stock's trading life.

You'll begin to see where the stock rises and where it falls and whether it does a similar thing such as rising for a while and then falling again over a period of a couple of months. This way, when you see it fall, you can buy with confidence knowing that it will probably rise again.

You're buying at the low point which is always wise. The other thing you need to do is to keep a record of the information you discover. Don't just leave your findings up in your head because you'll think you remember correctly but you really won't.

Then you might buy prematurely or not buy when the time would be absolutely right. This way you become "friends" with a certain group of stocks. You know them well, and you'll always know when buying and selling is indicated. It's like having a group of investments at your beck and call just standing in the wings ready to make some money for you when the time is right.

Want to know where to find penny stocks? Click Here Now!

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How Do You Know Which Are the Best Penny Stocks?

Investing in penny stocks is often thought to be a waste of time. Too much risk, for too little reward is what most people believe. These people are obviously not aware of the potential for amazing profits when the risk is actually kind of small.

And with a little information and tips from someone who's been there and done that you too will soon be investing successfully in penny stocks. First, study the market looking for trends or patterns. This simple step can help you make a huge profit. Simply study the history of a stock price and try to see the patterns or trends that occur naturally in all stocks. All stocks ebb and flow like the ocean.

The price may go up for a month or two and then fall back down. Always buy when the price is low. Be careful to study the history, the pattern may be drop a month or two and then jump to a higher price. This trend is a little harder to pin point when to buy. Another thing you need to be careful of is the amount of time the pattern or trend takes to complete it's cycle. Some cycle in weeks or months. Others take years to cycle.

You must keep a watchful eye on the market and be ready to buy at the expected low. Secondly, you need to keep a record of all the patterns or trends you find. This is were the truly serious money can be made. Once you identify a trend or pattern you can use it over and over to make money.

This means you can make that one stock with the known pattern make you a profit as often as you want it to. Imagine, if you found 10 stocks that you could identify a set pattern for, the kind of profit you could make. And, if you recorded these patterns so you knew exactly when all ten were going to be high and low, you could have reliable investments at practically no risk to you.

Chris Braff has become an extremely successful penny stock trader. He found a system which tells you where to find penny stocks that have the most chance of increasing in value. Click here to find out more information.

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Should You Be Using a Penny Stock List?

As you begin to trade penny stocks, you need to know that there are no short-cuts. You have to do your research and then do it over again every day. In order to escape this, some people take advantage of the free penny stock lists that some traders and companies are trying to offer.

This seems appealing, but is very risky. You're taking your investment life in your hands for a couple of reasons. For one thing, the free lists are often made up by people who don't know very much about penny stocks. They may know the regular stock market and how it works, but they don't understand the penny stocks work very differently. So they're offering you fool's advice because you really don't know very much at this point.

You think they know what they're talking about because you've seen their names in various places, but you don't realize that their names have been used in other trading contexts. The other reason not to take the free lists is that some of the stock companies pay those who compile the lists.

Of course, the compilers don't tell you that they're being paid for giving you suggestions on what to buy. They just take the money from the ones who want their stocks to rise in value and you never realize that there's a conflict of interest going on behind your back. This makes the whole operation of questionable value. You have to be dealing with people who are on the up and up when you're in the market.

You don't need people on the inside making money from your ignorance. If there's no trust, there's no reason to be listening to them. Don't rush into this kind of trading. Take your time. It's better to wait than to make foolish purchases and sales. In this economy none of us can afford to lose money.

Do your own research. If you're going to look at a list, make it a list that you purchase after you've ascertained that it's put out by a reliable compiler of such information. You can search the internet for free to learn about penny stocks. First get yourself familiar with the literature and the companies. Then you're in a position to decide whether a particular list will be helpful to you or not.

Chris Braff has become an extremely successful penny stock trader. He found a system which tells you where to find penny stocks that have the most chance of increasing in value. Click here to find out more information.

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How Can I Tell Whether a "Hot Penny Stock" is Actually Worth Buying? How Can I Tell Whether a "Hot Penny Stock" is Actually Worth Buying?

North American micro-cap investors have access to thousands of penny stock opportunities, each competing for your attention - and dollars. But of these, only a small fraction will ever deliver the lucrative short-term returns that make investing in penny stocks so attractive. It's critical that you do solid research and careful due-diligence before risking your hard earned capital.

The financial media and the major Wall Street analysts rarely cover micro-cap companies. As a result, investors may need to do more original research and get information from other sources. These might include the target company itself, or firms such as OTCMarketBulls which specialize in analyzing penny stock opportunities.

The information you use to assess the investment value of a micro-cap company will often be quite different than that you would use to examine a large, blue-chip corporation. For stocks listed on the major exchanges, an investor will typically use financial and stock price information to determine whether a stock is worth buying. You might look at 52 week stock price highs and lows, profits, debts and other markers.

However, relying on financial and stock price information alone to assess micro-cap investments can be very misleading. The best penny stock investments are small, growing companies which likely haven't yet seen a lot of trading activity. With heavy investment in start-up, research and development or marketing, these companies are likely showing small or negative earnings and may have high debt-to-equity ratios. And for small, rapidly growing companies, financial statements get out of date very quickly.

While you should never completely ignore the numbers, smart penny stock investors focus most of their attention on the non-financial information. In other words, they look at the company's strategy and business model to determine whether or not a stock has the potential for high short-term growth. Some of the things you should consider include:

Company Offering: Closely examine the products or services offered by the company and compare them with other key competitors. Look for products or services that serve a large niche market while differentiating from the competition through lower pricing, better technology, a unique approach, etc.

Customers: Who is the company's target market? Look for a large base of potential customers with the resources and interest in purchasing the products or services being offered.

Distribution Channels: Look for companies with a clear, concrete strategy for delivering their product or service to their target market.

Marketing Strategy: Pay close attention to a company's marketing and public relations activities. Are they effectively reaching their target audience? Also look at the company's investor relations and stock promotion efforts as these can affect share prices.

Management Team: Get to know the company's leadership. Look for relevant experience, past success and an enthusiastic vision for short and long-term growth.

OTCMarketBulls uses these and other measures to select stocks to watch for our newsletter (click here to subscribe - Hot Penny Stocks). While no research can fully eliminate your risk, proper due diligence can greatly increase your chances of picking a winner for your portfolio.

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Secrets to Find Penny Stocks Picks Revealed

Penny stock is popular business in the business world. Though it is risky, there is great chance to make huge amount of money without any physical labor. What you have to invest in stock trading is your money and brain. The stock investor should have foresight and good knowledge on stock market to make a good return in this business. Therefore, certain strategies have been made to become a successful penny stocks trader.

The following points can help you choose the good penny stocks:

*Check industry trends

Before making any investment, look for industry trend. Find a trend when it's just dealing with its upward swing. That means finding companies that are producing products that are just starting to grasp in their target market. When everyone knows about the product, it's already too late to make the greatest profit.

*Build a list

Once you've chosen a few companies that seem promising, put them on your watch list. Observe how these stocks move every day for at least a few weeks.

*Develop a trading philosophy

Gather your experience-based trading lessons into a logical trading philosophy. As a trader gathers more experience and knowledge, the existing philosophy should be revised accordingly.

*Do your research

Read articles, blogs, forums, or message boards. Join online stock trading communities. Research a company before you by stock in it. Actually profitable penny stock investing requires more research that investing in more popular stocks because these stocks don't follow the same filing and disclosure rules stocks on larger markets. It can help you to get dynamic penny stocks list.

*Brokers Recommendations

Recommendations can often be a good way to get a head start, but you should always you make your own research whether the company has good records or not and other market values before you buy any stock.

*Use a screener

Stock Screener is an indispensable tool that allows traders to deal with thousands of stocks and return a dynamic list of stocks that match technical and fundamental criteria. There are several of the highest quality screeners available free online, but all of these do not include penny stocks.

*Newsletter

Some newsletters are given out for free. In this business, information is delicate and precious. There is money at the end of the line. Stay alert for free information. If a company is paying IR professional money to profile a stock to its subscribers, don't dismiss a paid profile as publicity.

To discover more about it, please visit: penny stocks Please Contact Us: http://www.beststockreport.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Peter_Kk_Wilson
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How to Triple Your Investments by Identifying Which Penny Stocks Will Skyrocket

The stock market is a great place to begin investing these days because of the current state which our economy is in. Many stocks are at bottomed out, all time low prices and can be taken advantage of, particularly if you can differentiate between which penny stocks will jump from the others which are continuing to drop.

To accomplish this, many traders are beginning to embrace analytical stock software which does all of the number work for you so that when it's your turn, you have a specific stock to invest in which is set to go on a profitable trend in the immediate future. This is more on what you need to know about stock analytics software and how you can use it to triple your investments.

Penny stock analytics software predicts market activity and which penny stocks are set to perform the best by using the same practices used in utilized by the significant trading houses. They go back into the past to find successful trends of stocks and attempt to find overlaps and similarities between the origins of those proven successful stocks and current real time market data to find similar stocks which exhibit similar origin patterns.

This is effective as it is likely that that current stock pick will behave quite similarly. Cyclical behavior is nothing new in the stock market and can be evidenced in the market on the longer, broader scale as it is clearly evident that our stock market goes in and out of recessions like clockwork every several years.

Some stock analytics software only targets penny stocks and find which penny stocks are set to jump in value. These are the cheapest investments which you can find in the stock market which are not nearly as established as the well-known stocks. But because of their cheaper purchase prices, it's quite often that you see one of these stocks quickly jump in value because it takes a great deal less of outside trading influence to send them skyrocketing.

For example, with the stock analytics software which I've been using as of late which works to only identify which penny stocks will behave the most profitably specifically, the first pick which it generated for me was valued at $.18. I invested in around 1000 shares simply moving my money in my online trading account and I didn't even check back in on that stock till near the end of the day of the trading day to find that it had already jumped to $.38 a share and was steadily climbing from their.

The next day I started checking on that stock constantly as it continued to rise, finally briefly topping off and leveling out at $.57. Ultimately I more than tripled my profit on this one simply by relying on the precision of good stock analytics software as well as the volatility aspect of which penny stocks are known for.

There's a great deal of profit potential in these cheaper stocks, and good stock analytics software can sniff it out and put you in the position the make money from it without the experience.

Even if you're fresh off the boat when it comes to stock investing or you don't have the time to devote to it, if you're ready to realize your financial independence I highly suggest you give a program which identifies which penny stocks are set to behave the best a chance.

I've compiled a review site to share my experiences and reviews on the best systems I've used which you can visit by clicking on this link for which penny stocks will perform the best.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonathan_Langley
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How to Place Stops Using the SafeZone

Where should traders put their stops? This is one of the hardest questions in technical analysis. Stops have to be tight enough to protect capital and also have to be distant enough to keep clear of meaningless swing.

If look at trading in engineering point of view, the concept of signal and noise in engineering can be applied to trading by considering the trend as the signal and the non-trending motion as the noise. To reject noise and allow the signals to come through, filters is designed in engineering. Therefore the stops in trading have to be designed to allow the trend come through and reject the countertrend motion.

The SafeZone Stop was developed by Dr. Alexander Elder and was introduced in his book Come Into My Trading Room. The SafeZone Stop measures market noise and places stop at a multiple of noise level away from the market to protect traders from getting whacked by meaningless intraday swing.

To define the market trend in the SafeZone, the slope of EMA might be used. Traders also need to choose the length of the look-back period for measuring noise level. This length must be long enough to track recent behavior but short enough to be relevant for current trading.

If the trend is up; to measure the average level of noise in the current uptrend, find the average downside penetration for the selected look-back period. The average downside penetration is calculated by mark all downside penetrations during the look-back period and add their depths, then divide the sum by the number of penetrations.

The stops have to be placed farther away from the market than the average level of noise. So the average downside penetration should be multiplied by a coefficient, starting with two, but experiment with higher numbers. Then subtract the result from yesterday's low, and place the stop there. If today's low is lower than yesterday's, do not move the stop lower since lowering stops on long positions is not allowed.

Reverse these rules in downtrends!

Taro is an experience trader who trades in stocks, futures, forex. He strongly focuses on technical analysis, trading systems and money management. If you would like to find more articles on MetaStock Tutorials, MetaStock Formulas, Trading Systems and Money Management. Please visit MetaStock Trading System.

You would also find the recommended trading books, DVDs, software and tools at MetaStock Trading Store.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Hideyoshi_Taro
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Common Stock - Value, Growth, Large, or Small?

Common stock (frequently referred to as equity) represents ownership in a corporation. Stock owners participate in the profitability of a company by receiving dividends, which is the distribution of a company's profits (usually quarterly). As a company grows, its dividends commonly increase, motivating investors to pay more for the stock. This appreciation of a stock's value is another way investors profit from stock ownership. Historically, dividends have accounted for approximately 40% of a stocks return, and the other 60% has come from appreciation.

Common stock owners have the ability to vote in elections for a company's board of directors. If the company goes bankrupt, common shareholders only receive what remains after bond holders and preferred stock holders have been paid. This makes equities more risky to own than bonds, but stocks frequently rewards investors with higher returns over the long run.

Value stocks generally have low price-to-earnings ratios, and are considered to be undervalued in relation to other equity investment options. Traditionally, value stocks pay out the majority of their earnings in dividends. Investors buy value stocks at low prices, and hope their prices increase.

Growth stocks have a high price-to-earnings ratio, and usually pay either a small or no dividend because earnings are constantly reinvested into the company. This allows the company to grow at a faster rate. Investors buy growth stocks at high prices and hope their prices go even higher.

Of course, companies come in various sizes, as measured by market capitalization (number of common shares multiplied by the price of the stock). Generally, a small company is a firm with a market cap of less than $2 billion. A mid-sized company is a corporation with a market cap between $2 billion and $10 billion. Lastly, a large company has a market capitalization above $10 billion. Smaller companies are usually considered to be a more risky investment, and thus, traditionally have provided a higher return than large cap stocks.

Stocks have a place in every investment portfolio, if for nothing other than diversification benefits. Speak to an independent financial planner who can help allocate your assets between stocks, bonds, and cash.

Lon Jefferies is an investment advisor representative with Net Worth Advisory Group, a fee-only financial planning and investment advisory firm in Salt Lake City, Utah. He specializes in developing custom financial plans, implementing investment strategies, and providing ongoing support and service in order to help clients reach their financial goals. He can be contacted at (801) 566-0740 or lon@networthadvice.com. Visit the Net Worth Advisory Group website at http://www.networthadvice.com and read Lon's blog at http://www.utahfinancialadvisor.blogspot.com.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lon_Jefferies
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The Riskiest Option Trading Strategy Known to Man

Today, I wanted to discuss the riskiest Option Trading Strategy known to man. I am going to go through the strategy and then I am going to give you the names of two other strategies that you will want to stay away from because each one of them is using the risky trade within the strategy. So, let's get started.

The Option Trading Strategy with the highest risk to an investor is known as selling naked calls or short a call. How this strategy works is as follows:

1. You find a stock you think will not have much upside nor volatility, aka SPECULATING. This should be your first indication that this strategy should not be used.
2. You sell a call naked (this means you do not own the stock, but, you are obligating yourself to selling this specific stock sometime in the future at a predetermined price.)
3. You receive a premium (meaning someone is paying you to have the right to buy the underlying stock, that you do not presently own, from you sometime in the future.)
4. Now, this is where this strategy can get UGLY!! READ BELOW

Selling naked calls (short a call) is gambling. You receive a premium from an investor that gives him the right to buy either from the market or from you, whomever is cheaper. Consider the example below.

You sell one (1) naked call on ABC stock at a strike price of $20. The buyer of your naked call pays you $3. (Alright, you just made $3 per contract, or $300.00)*
The current market price of the stock is $15.

Sounds good so far huh? You have $300 and the stock would have to move from $15 to above $23 ($20 strike price plus the $3 premium) before the person holding the call option would come to you and have you buy the stock at the market price and sell it to him for $20. Well, just to let you know, because there is no ceiling on how high the price of the stock can climb, your risk is UNLIMITED!!

Let say you wake up one morning three weeks into the future and find out the stock that was trading at $15 back when you sold the naked call just spiked up $50 per share. Well, guess what, the person that bought the call from you is doing? He is outside banging down your door to get you to sell him the stock at $20, so he can sell it in the market at $65. What an ugly predicament you are in now. You have to buy the stock at $65 and turn around and relinquish it at $20 leaving you with a loss of $42. (Your cost of $65 minus what you sold it for $20 equals $45. But remember, you were already paid $3, so your loss is $43 per share or $4300.00) OUCH!!

Now granted, this is an extreme example, but it is better to just stay away from selling naked calls so you don't end up on the wrong side of a run away stock while you were sleeping. Get my drift.

Well, hopefully you understand the risk involved in selling naked calls now, here are two other option trading strategies to avoid like the plague:

short straddle: short a call and short a put
short combination: short a call and short a put (combination will have different strike prices, i.e. sell a 20 call and sell a 30 put)

* One (1) contract equals 100 shares of stock, therefore if you receive $3 per contract, you will receive as a premium $300.00.

About the Author Visit my Pro Option Trading Strategies Blog for more information and a FREE PDF on the 6 essential option trading strategies.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Alan_Manns
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Why You'll See Dow 10,000 Before Year End

Lately I've been really positive about the markets. But a few nights ago, all of my thinking was thrown for a loop.

I had dinner with my friend, Jay. We sat on his back porch eating grilled chicken and Caesar salad. The scotch flowed freely. After a couple of drinks, our discussion took an interesting turn.

Jay's business is struggling.

A few years back, he could count on earning more than $100,000 a year. Now he's struggling to make half that. With crushing mortgage payments, putting kids through college, and the constant pressure to save for retirement... he is exhausted.

And Jay's not alone.

Millions of people are out of work. One business manager I know has a telling story. Every day for the past three months, people have been walking in off the street looking for work. It's getting so bad, he's considering putting up a sign - "No Jobs Here".

Those lucky enough to have a job are finding their work hours cut.

It's impossible to gather accurate figures, but some estimate millions of workers are working fewer hours. Just look at the auto industry. Mandatory plant closings... reduced work days... lower pay... reduced benefits.

It all adds up.

I had to ask myself again... Am I too positive on the markets?

Then I cracked open my issue of CFO magazine. Don't laugh. You know I read some really strange stuff. You never know where a great idea or an interesting data point might come from. What I found in my magazine was surprising...

They were looking at data from surveys of CFOs around the world. Who better to talk to than the guys holding the company checkbook?

Two things jumped out at me.

The first was a question regarding their outlook. Simply, were they more or less optimistic about the company's financial performance? An amazing 40% of CFOs in the United States said they were more optimistic.

But that's nothing when you look at the responses out of Asia.

Asian CFOs are apparently an optimistic bunch. Greater than half said they were more optimistic about their company's financial performance. (Maybe we should spend more time looking to the Asian emerging markets for investment ideas... but that's another article.)

It was the second item that really grabbed me.

Nearly 3 out of 4 CFOs are expecting the economy to recover in the next 12 months. And, a shocking 53% of those believe the recovery will begin before the end of 2009. Isn't that astounding? A huge number of CFOs see the US exiting the recession in just a few months!

I don't mean to bore you with all these facts and figures.

What I want to point out is simply this... CFOs are normally a pessimistic bunch. And as a group, they're seeing not only their own businesses recover, but the economy improving as well.

Take it as a warning. Individual stories of struggle and misery are sad. But don't rely on them as an indicator for the whole economy. If we see a recovery half as good as what these CFOs expect... I don't think Dow 10,000 can be too far behind.

Brian Mikes is the editor of the Dynamic Wealth Report, one of the world's most popular investment newsletters that offers investment ideas and news you can't get from the mainstream press. Brian and his team bring decades of Wall Street and Silicon Valley experience to help you discover profitable trading ideas you can use today.

In addition to economic recovery trade ideas, you'll also receive FREE updates on penny stocks, options, ETFs, commodities and currencies that offer the best opportunity for immediate profit.

For more information on a FREE subscription to the Dynamic Wealth Report, please visit: http://www.DynamicWealthReport.com/new.htm

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Is it Too Late to Buy Shares?

Since March our market has risen by 24%, posing a dilemma for people looking to buy. Should they buy now in the hope that the rally will continue, or are they better to wait, on the basis that the market has run too hard and a pull back in prices is inevitable?

Since 2004 our market has given investors a rollercoaster ride. From 2004 to 2007 it rose 50% on the back of the global economic boom. Then, from October 2007 to March 2009, as the recession and global financial crisis started to bite, it fell by an unnerving 40%. But it has staged a remarkable 24% recovery since March.

Before we get too excited, we should acknowledge that even though it has bounced beautifully over recent months, the market is still 27% below its 2007 peak. It needs to gain a further 38% to regain this 2007 high point.

Therein lies a very important lesson for investors of shares. Notice that the 40% decline requires a recovery of over 60% to get the market back to square. Such is the brutality of maths - losses require gains of a much higher magnitude to get back to the starting line.

It is worth bearing this mathematical reality in mind as we ponder whether to buy now or not. Many people are regretting missing out on this latest rally. But the truth is that today, even after a 24% rally, people who reduced their share exposures in 2007 but also missed buying in March, are still well ahead of those who suffered the 2008 losses but stayed in the market and benefited from the recent bounce.

A conservative approach, it would seem, is still the best way to approach the market. It is far more important to be right about avoiding losses than it is to be right about picking rallies.

Frankly, I do not nor, I would humbly suggest, does any other human being, have any idea whether it will continue upwards or not from here. Markets are utterly unpredictable.

But after such a strong spike in the market, it would seem prudent to take a cautious tack. The golden rule that is better to buy when markets are low than when they are high, still applies.

I see a number of experienced investors at present, that are wary of the risk of a decline in price, but also recognise that the market could continue northwards, who are approaching the market by investing in installments.

I believe this is a very wise approach. It takes timing right out of the equation. These people are splitting their investment capital into smaller chunks and then drip feeding this into the market. They are also choosing to buy the companies on their buy list that look the cheapest.

This is a very sensible way of mitigating the risk of buying just before a fall, while also gradually allocating capital to the market in case it continues to rise.

It is also important to take a long-term view on investing. People who are buying shares with a five or ten-year view can accumulate in relative confidence that prices should, over this time frame, appreciate.

Even better, investors who are buying shares in companies that provide solid dividends can invest with even more confidence. As long as the companies they buy can maintain or grow their dividends, receiving a regular income stream from your shares makes the ups and downs of share prices more tolerable.

Rather than spending too much time in trying to guess whether the market is going up or down, it is perhaps better to identify a range of high quality companies that pay solid dividends and then apply a measured approach to your investing. Gradually accumulate shares in those companies over time.

Craigs Investment Partners Limited (formerly ABN Amro Craigs.) is an NZX Firm that was established in 1984. It is one of New Zealand's largest and most established investment advisory firms.

Craigs Investment Partners is 100% owned by certain staff and close business associates. Services offered include: Sharebroking, Portfolio Strategy and Management, Retirement Planning and Superannuation, Investment Advisory, Custodial Services, Foreign Exchange, Asset Allocation, Cash Management, Portfolio Lending, Research and such other services as introduced from time to time by Craigs. http://www.craigsip.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cam_Watson
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Investing in Stocks - Why Now?

Maybe you don't currently invest because you think it's too risky. Or maybe you have owned stocks and over the past couple of years and have seriously reconsidered your investing strategy because your portfolio took a turn for the worse during the recent bear market and still hasn't recovered. If either of these situations describes you, you have company.

In the wake of the recent financial meltdown, many people have had trouble understanding why or how they should be investing in the stock market. To many, the thought of investing in the stock market has become nothing less than frightening. The vast majority of people have seen their portfolios take a dive, or at the very least know other people who have lost a lot of money in the stock market.

As a result of the decline in the value of their portfolios, many people were forced to at least temporarily alter the direction of their lives or careers. Many people who were close to retirement needed to postpone retirement because their 401k's lost too much money.

Others have stopped investing in the stock market altogether. They decided that it was just too risky. If you are one of these people who has completely given up on the stock market or if you have simply decided to sit on the sidelines for a while, I would like to outline a few reasons that you should reconsider your investing strategy.

First, let's define investing. According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, the primary meaning of the word invest is "to commit money in order to earn a financial return". Using this definition, you can potentially classify a number of financial activities as investing.

Some people claim that putting money into a savings account is investing. You probably have a savings account. A savings account is a very safe place to keep money, since your deposited money is insured by the federal government up to $250,000. The problem is that savings accounts yield extremely low interest rates, usually much lower than the rate of inflation, which typically hovers around 3 percent. If your money is losing more to inflation than it is gaining in interest, then, since your aren't experiencing a real financial return on your money, is it really investing?

Money market funds, for most practical purposes, are very similar to savings accounts. They usually pay slightly higher interest rates than savings accounts, but typically have higher minimum balance requirements. Although these accounts can pay a higher interest rate than traditional savings accounts, the real return is extremely low when considering inflation. Also, as opposed to savings accounts, there is a very small risk of actually losing money with a money market fund.

CD's, or certificates of deposit, are also a popular financial vehicle that you are probably familiar with. CD's usually earn a slightly higher rate of return than savings accounts, but the interest rates are still very low compared to the rate of inflation. In addition, once you put your money in a CD you usually can't withdraw it without a penalty until the CD matures.

Bonds are another popular place that people put their money. With bonds, the rate of return depends on the risk involved. Short-term and government bonds are typically considered less risky, and therefore yield a lower return. On the other hand, long-term and corporate bonds typically carry a higher risk, and thus typically have a higher return. In general, bond returns are typically higher than both CD's and savings accounts, but the gap between the rate of return on an average bond and the rate of inflation is still relatively small.

The stock market is commonly and erroneously considered to be the most risky place to invest money. While it is true that stock prices vary in the short term, and sometimes widely, if you look at the long-term rate of return of the stock market versus other investment vehicles, the stock market has consistently and handily outperformed all of the other previously described investment vehicles.

Depending on the source you check, the long-term real rate of return of the stock market ranges anywhere from 8 to 10 percent. Comparatively, according to Charles Schwab, the average long-term return on Bonds is 3.6%. The return on CD's and money market accounts might range anywhere from 2% to 4% in the long-term.

In addition to the higher long-term rate of return, individual stocks have virtually unlimited upward potential, whereas bonds and the other types of investments we have discussed don't have this type of potential. A stock could go from $20 per share to $40 within a matter of days or weeks if conditions are right.

On top of this, if you invest in an average stock mutual fund or index fund, your long-term rate of return might be around the overall stock market average of 8-10 percent. However, if you can train yourself to do your own stock research and weed out the underperforming or badly run companies, don't you think it might even be possible to earn even more than the 8-10 percent market average in the long run?

Let's briefly go over a brief example to illustrate the difference between investing in stocks and other lower-yielding financial instruments. If I invest $10,000 now, in 2009, and earn, on average, a modest 8 percent rate of return in the stock market, after 30 years I will have around $93,000. If I only earn a 3 percent return by investing in a money market fund or CD, I will only end up with around $23,565 after 30 years. Pretty big difference between the two scenarios, isn't it?

If you also consider the long-term rate of inflation at 3.42 percent (according to Inflationdata.com), your initial $10,000 would be equivalent to around $26,369 at the time you retire. In simpler terms, a car that costs $10,000 today would cost around $26,369 in 2039. This means that, in real terms, if you had invested in an account that only yielded 3 percent, you would, for all practical purposes, you would have essentially lost money on your initial investment. In other words, after 30 years you could no longer afford to buy the same car in 2039 that you would have been able to purchase with the original $10,000 in 2009.

Economic downturns, like the one in which we currently find ourselves, can be some of the best times to start investing in stocks. If you had invested in the stock market when the Dow Jones hit its low in the 6000's just earlier this year, you would've earned almost a 50 percent return on your investment in the ensuing months. Or, if you had invested in the Dow Jones in April of 1932, at the bottom point of the stock market crash during the great depression, in a mere 3 years your investment would have more than doubled, and would have more than quadrupled within 5 years. While it may be very difficult to time the market exactly right, being methodical and investing gradually over time can lead to big gains over the long-term.

In conclusion, investing in stocks can be a very profitable proposition. Over the long term, you are likely to make much more money and actually minimize your risk because you are likely to earn a higher average return than most other popular investment vehicles. If you are still unsure, test the waters by investing a small amount of money in a few blue-chip dividend-paying stocks or an index fund. Twenty or thirty years from now, you'll be happy you made the decision.

Dan Cappel writes about investing and runs SmartStockResearch.com, a website that provides free tools that help investors research stocks and generate investing ideas.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_Cappel
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Shares Need to Become More Likable For New Zealanders to Invest in the Share Market

Shares are not a very popular investment with New Zealand investors. For the good of our economy and our investment portfolios, shares need to win a few more friends.

Only around 10 percent of New Zealanders own shares compared to over 40 percent of Americans and Australians. You can point to many reasons for why shares are so much more popular overseas than they are in New Zealand.

For starters, our alternative investments are so much more attractive than they are overseas. Even though our government stock rates and term deposit rates are currently only barely over 4 percent, they remain the highest in the developed world. Investors overseas are lucky if they earn 0.5 percent on cash and 2 percent on bonds.

New Zealanders are happy to stick their savings in fixed income where the returns are okay, than bother investing in the sharemarket.

The other alternative to shares is of course property. It has done exceptionally well for New Zealand investors since the 1960s and remains an important and excellent investment.

The elephant in the room is of course tax. Property investment has tax advantages over shares and these tax benefits are undoubtedly are a key attraction for many investors. The Tax Working Group that is reviewing our tax regime has highlighted property as a problem area.

New Zealanders have $200 billion of money tied up in investment property and not a cent of tax is received on this money. In fact it goes the other way - the IRD distributes refunds of $120 million on this massive lump of capital.

To give you an idea of size, all of the companies on the New Zealand sharemarket currently have a collective worth of $40 billion. Perhaps half of this value is owned by overseas investors, meaning that the investment property market is about 10 times the size of the locally owned sharemarket.

Shares have an image problem with New Zealanders and a lot of work needs to be done to overcome these negative perceptions.Small shareholders need to gain more confidence that their boards, in particular the independent directors, are acting to protect their interests. Executive remuneration is a hot issue, and rightly so. Managers must be remunerated to perform but also to manage risk.

Communication is also important. Small shareholders appreciate frank and candid communication from their companies rather than marketing spin.

Education is another issue. Shares are admittedly relatively difficult to research. It is arguably easier to assess whether a house is a good investment than it is to analyse a share. Share brokers and analysts have a lot of work to do here. Our reports need to have less jargon and be written in plain English.

Share brokers should also work more with the likes of the NZ Shareholders Association who do sterling work in helping educate people about investing and shares. It is also a pity that investment doesn't yet feature prominently in the school curriculum.

An important part of this education process should include advisors and share brokers advising people not to treat the sharemarket as a racetrack. So many investors shun blue chip companies in favour of minnows or high-risk shares. While these companies can make interesting, not to mention entertaining, niche holdings, serious investors should focus on the best companies.

Investors who do best in shares tend to buy high quality companies that pay solid dividends. When it comes to shares, cash flow is king.

The two best things about shares are dividends and the ability to buy small parcels. Unlike property where you have to invest a lot of capital in one building, with shares you are able to invest small amounts in many companies.

This diversification is incredibly valuable to protect against risk and many investors do not use this diversification advantage enough. Shares also provide a very good income stream from dividends. Better returns tend to come from owning shares that pay you to own them.

So, there is much work to be done before we get Kiwi's enthused about the sharemarket. But it is worth the fight. If, as a country, we can shift some capital from property and into businesses, whether they be listed businesses or unlisted, it will have a positive impact on our economy, both in terms of growth and jobs.

Craigs Investment Partners Limited (formerly ABN Amro Craigs.) is an NZX Firm that was established in 1984. It is one of New Zealand's largest and most established investment advisory firms.

Craigs Investment Partners is 100% owned by certain staff and close business associates. Services offered include: Sharebroking, Portfolio Strategy and Management, Retirement Planning and Superannuation, Investment Advisory, Custodial Services, Foreign Exchange, Asset Allocation, Cash Management, Portfolio Lending, Research and such other services as introduced from time to time by Craigs. http://www.craigsip.com/

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Cam_Watson
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Stock Markets - Do They Still Have Room to Rally?

One year on from the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers and we have seen global stock markets spend six months plummeting to a low in March 2009 and then six months rallying back again. Broadly the Dow and S&P are about 15% below the levels at which they stood on the Friday before Lehman went bankrupt on the weekend of September 15th 2008. We are still amidst the fog of war and nobody can quite work out whether stock markets are now too high following the impressive 50% rally since March or whether stock markets still have room to rally because an economic recovery may be starting (which then leads to an argument about whether the stock markets will fall again in 2010 should there be a double-dip recession).

If we track back to the week before Lehman went bankrupt then stock markets had already fallen 20% from their highs in October 2007 and they were discounting some type of a recession and had not yet begun to rally in anticipation of an economic recovery. The bankruptcy of Lehman changed the outlook so severely that markets sold off savagely to discount some type of 1930's-style depression (with leveraged players being forced to sell their investments which pushed share prices down even further). The governments and central banks stepped in with some determined spending of taxpayers' money and as the spectre of a depression has receded, stock markets have rallied back to their current levels (which are still below where they were on the eve of Lehman's bankruptcy).

So have stock markets rallied too far or do they still have room to rally some more?

Although markets never move anywhere in a straight line, it feels as if they still have room to rally further as the tentative economic recovery which has begun goes on to establish itself more firmly. Given that on the eve of Lehman's bankruptcy markets had not yet even begun to discount an economic recovery then in order to discount whatever shape of economic recovery we are about to experience, stock markets should logically be higher than where they were in early September 2008. The US reported positive economic growth for the quarter just ended (Q3 2009) and only time will tell whether the US economy goes on to report another quarter of growth in the final quarter of 2009.

So stock markets may well continue to climb the current Wall of Worry for the next couple of quarters and we can then start to consider the possibility of whether there will be a double-dip recession in 2010. Although central banks continue to print money and interest rates will stay rooted near zero for a long while yet, a sense of normality is starting to return to corporate life with takeover activity returning to stock markets (Kraft/Cadbury and Balfour Beatty/Parsons Brinckerhoff being two recent cross-border examples) and companies are finding it possible to raise equity capital (even though they are most unwilling to get deeper into debt).

Tentative it may be, but the recovery (which may well be long, slow & grinding) is only just beginning. The fog will clear from the battlefield over the next few quarters and investors will be able to assess things more clearly. The bad memories of the last year are still fresh in investors' minds but stock markets look forwards, not backwards.

Please click through for more intelligent discussion on investments and stock market commentary, or Ask Antonne by following the link.

© 2009 Octisage Ltd

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Antonne_Owen-Thursfield
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How to Invest in the Stock Market - Penny Stocks

More and more people are interested in investing in the stock market to add another stream of income. However, there are literally thousands of stocks to choose from and many traders have a rough time picking quality companies. This is especially so for newbies to the investing world. Quite a few people, especially newbies to the stock market, have started investing in more small-capital, or penny, stocks. There are various penny stocks that are available for people to invest their money into, although the risk is much higher than with a myriad of other big-board stocks on the market. If you have also chosen to invest in small-cap stocks, you will want to know which ones are the best to invest your money.

It is imperative to know before you start investing in penny stocks that the top penny stock picks can change quickly from one day to the next. Of course, this means that the volatility of penny stock trading is much higher than usual, but you can use some strategies to find the best penny stocks that are worth the time and effort to invest in the stock market. First and foremost, you will want to research and analyze any company that you are considering buying or selling. This is a good rule to follow when you invest in the stock market. You will be looking for penny stock companies that have good, and preferably audited, financial statements (which can sometimes be difficult to find). A decent net income, strong cash flow, and assets that have been stable for at least three years are all excellent qualities that should begin to calm your 'is this a scam?' fears. Research the company through several different sources. Their own web site is always a great place to start. You should also find information, such as a variety of financial statements, at the Securities and Exchange Commission site. Never invest in any company that you have not yet researched and analyzed for yourself.

To find good ideas on where to start to invest in the stock market, you can always consult newsletters, online forums, and blogs as well. It is imperative for you to consider that all of the information that you find on these newsletters, forums, and blogs may not be correct. Therefore before you invest in the stock market, you must always do your own due diligence to fact-check the information you find on blogs, newsletters, and forums. There are times when you will find accurate information and good leads on these web sites, but you must remember to never make an investment blindly. As with investing in any sort of company in the stock market, you will want to look for chart patterns within the penny companies. For the most part, penny patterns can be predictable enough to take advantage of them, even if their movement changes quickly. Success will not happen right away, of course. Looking for company statements and patterns in the stock market can take weeks or months, but your patience will pay off.

About the Author:

Adam W. Porter is a successful investor, and has been trading stocks for over a decade. Adam is the owner of PowerfulStockTips.com, where he offers stock tips and advice through a free newsletter. Learn more about Adam and sign up for his newsletter by visiting PowerfulStockTips.com today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adam_W._Porter
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How to Invest in the Stock Market - Penny Stocks

More and more people are interested in investing in the stock market to add another stream of income. However, there are literally thousands of stocks to choose from and many traders have a rough time picking quality companies. This is especially so for newbies to the investing world. Quite a few people, especially newbies to the stock market, have started investing in more small-capital, or penny, stocks. There are various penny stocks that are available for people to invest their money into, although the risk is much higher than with a myriad of other big-board stocks on the market. If you have also chosen to invest in small-cap stocks, you will want to know which ones are the best to invest your money.

It is imperative to know before you start investing in penny stocks that the top penny stock picks can change quickly from one day to the next. Of course, this means that the volatility of penny stock trading is much higher than usual, but you can use some strategies to find the best penny stocks that are worth the time and effort to invest in the stock market. First and foremost, you will want to research and analyze any company that you are considering buying or selling. This is a good rule to follow when you invest in the stock market. You will be looking for penny stock companies that have good, and preferably audited, financial statements (which can sometimes be difficult to find). A decent net income, strong cash flow, and assets that have been stable for at least three years are all excellent qualities that should begin to calm your 'is this a scam?' fears. Research the company through several different sources. Their own web site is always a great place to start. You should also find information, such as a variety of financial statements, at the Securities and Exchange Commission site. Never invest in any company that you have not yet researched and analyzed for yourself.

To find good ideas on where to start to invest in the stock market, you can always consult newsletters, online forums, and blogs as well. It is imperative for you to consider that all of the information that you find on these newsletters, forums, and blogs may not be correct. Therefore before you invest in the stock market, you must always do your own due diligence to fact-check the information you find on blogs, newsletters, and forums. There are times when you will find accurate information and good leads on these web sites, but you must remember to never make an investment blindly. As with investing in any sort of company in the stock market, you will want to look for chart patterns within the penny companies. For the most part, penny patterns can be predictable enough to take advantage of them, even if their movement changes quickly. Success will not happen right away, of course. Looking for company statements and patterns in the stock market can take weeks or months, but your patience will pay off.

About the Author:

Adam W. Porter is a successful investor, and has been trading stocks for over a decade. Adam is the owner of PowerfulStockTips.com, where he offers stock tips and advice through a free newsletter. Learn more about Adam and sign up for his newsletter by visiting PowerfulStockTips.com today.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adam_W._Porter
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Invest Money Online - Where to Buy and Sell Stock Online

Working hard and succeeding is the American way. However, few of us have learned how to successfully make the money we earn, work hard for us. Investing your money in a safe and strategically sound way is necessary to gain financial freedom. Today, many people have turned to the internet as an investment tool because when you invest money online, you save money and also gain access to terrific resources for support and education.

The question of where to invest money online is sometimes difficult to answer. There are many options open to investors and choosing the right internet stock broker to invest through is key to your overall success. The right stock investing website for you is the one that tailors itself to your level of investing knowledge, and the amount of trades you plan on performing.

Different sites cater to different investors. There are some that lend themselves best to big investors. People who make many trades daily, in high sums receive big trading discounts. There are other sites that deal with the moderate investor who makes several trades monthly, in moderate increments. Then there are sites that deal with the beginning investor. The amount charged for each trade may be a bit higher, but there are no minimums and there are also great educational tools and courses available to their users.

Investing online gives the investor the freedom to buy or sell a stock at any time of the day or night, 365 days a year. The advantages of this are several. Top on the list is the fact that you don't have to wait for a stock broker to get to your buy or sell order. Secondly, you save a lot of money on the trade since traditional brokers can charge as much as $70 per trade. Online, you can pay as little as between $2 and $10 per trade.

The educational resources available vary from research tools that help you determine whether investing in a specific stock is a good idea or not, to extended learning courses that help to educate you on all sides of online investing. Making use of these tools is a great idea since when it comes to investing, the more you know the better.

There are several reputable and inexpensive online investing sites out there and each lend themselves best to a specific type of investor. For help in choosing the best online broker to match your level of knowledge and size of investments, visit the Cheap Stock Trading Guide.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Lynn_Hanson
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The Value of Stock Trading Training

No one starts investing in the stock market with the hope of losing money. Of course, it is our goal as investors to make financial gains and have our money work for us. However, many of us begin investing online with little or no real knowledge of how to invest safely and strategically. It is a good idea for every investor to get some quality online stock trading training before they invest even a dollar. The good news is, there are stock trading training courses available for little or no cost online.

Is a specific company sound enough to invest in? Do you know how to check the financials of a specific company? What is an exit strategy and do you know how to set one to maximize your potential profits and minimize your losses? All of these things can be learned through good stock trading training courses. Many of the internet stock brokers out there will provide their members with free training courses because a successful investor is one who will continue to perform trades.

Find a stock investing website that is geared toward your level of investing knowledge. There are sites designed to help beginners get started in investing and to help educate them so that their chances of success are higher. The amount you will pay per trade may be a little higher than it would be on other sites, but the small increase in the cost of a trade is well worth the education and strategic planning you will receive.

There are several reputable and inexpensive online investing sites out there and each lend themselves best to a specific type of investor. For help in choosing the best online broker to match your level of knowledge and size of investments, visit the Online Stock Trading Guide.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jennifer_Lynn_Hanson
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How to Trade Penny Stocks - The Basics

Right now, with the stock markets just beginning to make a recovery from a freefall, many people are contemplating getting in while the values of these shares are low. By a simple technicality, the concept of penny stocks has always been shares of stock that are under $5 per share. Thanks to the recent economic crisis, some Fortune 500 companies could be almost considered as penny shares.

Before the economic recession, there was a clear line between what was considered to be a penny stock and what was not. Today, the only real difference is that the penny stocks are not available through the major indices; but rather are sold over the counter and most likely through your online broker. Buying them is an easy process assuming your broker offers them. However, researching the companies themselves may not be a very simple process at all. In the end though, your goal is to buy low and sell high.

Penny stocks are known for being very unstable and while in a steady market, they may be a great choice for some quick profits, but they will not actually make you rich; well at least not in this market. At the same time, there are several major corporations whose shares are selling just as low. These companies are strong and have held out throughout the recession without failing. Their values will increase once again and now is your chance to pick up as many of the shares as you possibly could.

Could you imagine picking up a thousand shares in a Fortune 500 company today only to see it bloom over the next year and double, triple or even quadruple in value? Sure you can because that is what is happening right now. The markets are recovering and now is the only opportunity you have to pick up some of these shares of stocks at penny stock prices. Of course if you miss out on the opportunity, you can still trade in regular penny stocks; but you will need to have a broker who deals with them. Most of the online brokers will make these penny stocks available to you, but always keep in mind that while there is a high potential for profit associated with them, they are very risky and therefore also offer greater chances for complete losses.

While looking for Swing Trading stock Strategy and the best Mutual Fund you can refer to AllBestArticles.com

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Penny Stock Daily - Staying on Top of Your Penny Stock Changes

We are all well aware of how the stock market fluctuates up and down consistently throughout the entire day. Trying to get a hold on this fluctuation can be super frustrating! Trust me, I know! At times you can feel like there is no way to keep track of your penny stocks and know what is going on, whether it's a penny stock your looking to jump into or already in here are some great ways on how you can stay on top of your investing game!

Here's the best way to keep it simple yet effective, most of us these days have a smart phone, iPhone or a Blackberry. With these crazy cells come thousands of software apps which we can add. How about a stock watching and alert application! Yeah I know, it might not of been something you had considered but it reeeally helps. Have all you're alerts messaged to you and updated on your cell when you're on the go.

Ok, how about this one! Doing your homework the night before. The stock market is all based around how you do your research. Finding all the information that you can allocate, watching trends, and predicting what your investment might before it even does it. If you've done your due diligence on your stocks you should have a good hold on what to expect and what moves to make in the following days and weeks!

It doesn't take much but some effort on your part. If you know what you're doing and know how to go about handling those crazy fun stocks that have you up all night then you should feel pretty confident in your outcome. Planning ahead, staying on top of your investment and having access to your information on hand can ease your mind and have you stop sweating bullets throughout the day! Look into it and give it a try, you'll be happy you did.

Staying on top of your penny stock daily can be a hassle! It's time to start taking the "set it and forget it" approach. Watch your penny stock investment grow like never before... Follow the best hottest penny stocks that will flip your investments for profits. Know when to invest and when to sell! After all, that is the key to successful penny stock trading isn't it?!

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=David_B.
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How to Identify and Pick Out the Best Automated Trading Stocks Program

An automated trading stocks program is a good idea if you are new to the stock market but are interested in investing or don't have the time to do the analytics work yourself because these are programs which do all of the analysis work for you and deliver ready to invest in picks which are set to perform well.

This technology has been growing in popularity in the past several years as it becomes more and more precise and adapt at finding profitable picks, enabling newer traders to earn the same kind of gains as the more experienced traders have been doing for years.

Not every program is as good as the next, however, so here are some things which I recommend that you go with to make sure that the automated trading stocks program which you go with it to ensure you get the best possible and most profitable programs for the money.

The first thing to look for is the inclusion of a money back guarantee. Because this technology has become so popular in recent years, a number of publishers have thrown their hats into the ring and designed faulty or ineffective automated trading stocks programs which are sometimes just looking to piggyback on the success of the programs which do work.

Regardless of what their sales letter says, make sure it has a money back guarantee in place of anywhere from 30 days and beyond so that you can run the program and receive a handful of picks to gauge their performances in the market before you invest any money.

I also recommend going with a stock program which only deals with penny stocks. Penny stocks offer some of the most volatile and profitable action to be found in the market because of their cheaper prices leave them open to greater outside trading influence.

Finally, refer to user review sites for in depth reviews from people who have tested the best and worst automated trading stocks programs firsthand and chose to share their experiences online. Oftentimes they'll be skewed towards someone just like yourself and can be a major help if all else fails.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jonathan_Langley


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Learning the Stock Market For Beginners

There are markets all over the world where the stock of thousands of corporations are traded regularly. It is a place where many people risk their money with hopes of making a high return on their cash. It is a huge market where a lot of money can be made. A lot of money is made, but a lot of money is also lost and not always because of unlucky stock picks.

Why do People Lose Money in Stocks?

There are several reasons why people lose a lot of money in the with stocks. It is often due to a falling market or poor corporations, but a lot of times, it is largely due to uneducated investors. The stock market for beginners and inexperienced investors is much different than for experienced and knowledgeable stock investors. There is a certain amount of guessing to succeed with stocks, but that should be far from your excuse for doing poorly.

Learn the Basics of Stocks

In order to get started on the right foot, you need to learn about the stocks for beginners. The first thing you need to do is read and study. This is a very important step. Do not pass it by. For many beginner investors, the knowledge of stocks and how they work just isn't there. You need to get lots of books and read all you can to learn. There is a lot of information out there available to you.

Practice with Stocks Risk Free

The second step is to practice and get hands-on experience. This is very important. This is when you will take all that you learned and put it into use. This is how you will practice with the stock market for beginners. A great way to practice in the stock market is by using a simulation game. A simulation or fantasy game will let you invest in the real stock market with fantasy money. You won't lose anything, but you won't gain any money. You will, however, gain experience and knowledge.

As you are taking this all in and doing everything you are supposed to, soon you should start investing real money in the real markets. This is how you will actually start earning money. If you want to make money in the stock market for beginners, you need to follow these steps carefully and develop your own investing strategy. With a solid investing strategy and lots of experience, you can start making stock picks that earn you the highest return possible.

Do you want to sign up for a free stock market simulation game? You can sign up for the free stock simulation game and start investing in the stock market. This is an excellent way to get your feet wet in the real stock market for beginners.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Robert_Y._Corrison
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