How does the Stock Market Work for Me?

By Barry W. Kaller

When you turn on the television and watch the news or when you open up a newspaper, you probably read and hear all about the stock market. You've probably heard about people making a lot and losing a lot of money, but how does it work?

Don't worry, the stock market isn't that hard to understand. First let's discuss a market. A market is where goods and/or services are bought and sold. Think of a supermarket. At the local supermarket, food and other goods are bought and sold.

Stocks are bought and sold on the stock market. Stock is basically ownership in a corporation. When you own stock you have equity in that corporation. In other words, you own part of that corporation.

Stocks are bought and sold on stock exchanges such as the New York Stock Exchange. The NYSE is one of the most common exchanges, but there are stock exchanges all over the world where stocks are bought and sold.

How do you make money from buying stocks? It is very simple. It's just like buying and selling other goods and services. You buy the stock for one price and then sometime in the future you sell it for a higher price to make a profit.

It's just like buying and selling anything else. Take ebay for example. You might find at a yard sale a dvd that is very cheap, maybe $4. You go to ebay and you sell it for $7 after fees. That is a gain of $3, your profit.

How do you buy and sell the stock? This is where the exchange comes into play. You don't have to go around and find someone to buy from or sell to. You set up a brokerage account and a broker buys or sells the stock for you with your money when ask them.

This is basically how the stock market works. It's not too complicated. Just make sure you buy low and sell high. This is how you make profit. Do this at least most of the time and you will consistently come out ahead. - 23222

About the Author:

Want to know how the stock market works? Learn more about the stock market and learn how to buy stocks to start making your money grow.

Internet Trading Story

By Rick Amorey

When people wanted to invest, once upon a time, they needed to call their brokers on the phone to secure an order. Then the broker would input the order into a system connected with trading floors, and then the order is made. It was a complicated process to invest in these times, and you really had to know what you were doing if you wanted to invest.

This time is now long gone. With the help of the Internet, potential investors now place their orders online, and can even trade with other investors through Electronic Communications Networks. Of course, a number of orders are still directed to the broker for approval. This way, the clients as well as the brokerage firm are protected from improper trades that could affect the client's portfolio. But on the whole, the system is a lot easier now.

But, easier is not the same thing as safer, though. Investors may still fall into the clutches of brokerage firms of ill-repute, and find themselves scammed out of their hard-earned money. It's easier to go about by an anonymous or fake identity on the Internet, so it's good to be skeptical about anyone who wishes to help you "handle" your finances. It's sound advice to triple-check the credentials of the brokerage firm in question; are they licensed? It's vital for a potential investor to find it out.

Anyone who wishes to invest should know the dangers when placing an order without seeking advice from a trained Stock Broker or Investment Advisor. If you do not go for their experience and knowledge in these, or if you neglect their advice, your endeavor will most likely be doomed to failure. This is why a lot of online brokers offer a number of investment tools.

Finally, an investor must be fully aware of the business, sector, and financial statements of each company who they want to buy stock from. This knowledge will help you from being to rash about your decisions. Remember these things, and you will be okay when it comes to online trading. - 23222

About the Author:

Rick Amorey does not advice you to go for get-rich-quick schemes that are rampant on the Internet! With the help of Emini Trading, you will learn a disciplined, solid methodology that will get you to consistently earn more and more with trading. Join the Emini Trading System now!

The effects of Politics on Forex

By Stuart Baker

When you think of forex and its contributing factors, one that is often forgotten but plays a very large roll, is Politics.

A countries political issues can lead to it's currency to go up or down, and traders often base their decision to trade in that currency on what is happening politically. Here are a number of examples that explain this a lot better.

Take, for example, a government that is very unstable. Politically, the government could change tomorrow without anyone really knowing what or why. All they know is that because the government is so unstable, the changes a new government could make would effectively ruin any sort of economic growth. For example, in Zimbabwe, because of politics, they have a ten million dollar bill and yet its value is almost nothing.

Another time that things can be good in Forex is when there is a new government coming in that is known to be a lot more fiscally responsible. What this means is that the traders believe that if they invest in this currency, it will go up over time because there won't be any diabolical currency problems because the economy will have responsible people at the helm.

Interestingly, when there are a lot of issues with the economy of the world, one of the currencies that is always snapped up is the Swiss Franc because it is known to be very safe.

These currencies that people call 'safe havens' are ones that might not have as much movement because they're so steady, but they're safe to put money into. They won't collapse the next day. The Swiss Franc is especially an example of this because Switzerland is an isolationist.

It is important for a trader to really look into this sort of a situation. However, there are numerous other economic things for a trader to look into when considering playing around with Forex. - 23222

About the Author:

Stuart Baker has been trading forex online for a number of years and has used a number of different online trading robots. One such robot designed for the current economic environment is The Forex Phantom. Please visit his blog here at The Forex Phantom Blog

The Smart Way to Get Your Finances Moving

By Rick Amorey

The economy of our nation is not exactly a closely guarded secret. There are a lot of news about layoffs, an overall increase in product prices, and controversies regarding payment of insurance companies. The light at the end of the long dark tunnel seems so far away. But there is still hope, and we must keep in mind that in this time of crisis, it's important to keep going.

Jobs are more difficult to get these days, it's true. There are a lot of people who are now unemployed and are now suffering unemployment woes. These days, being frugal is now in and more people are embracing it, but it doesn't mean that we should completely hide away our money. We should instead find way to use even a fraction of our savings to earn a bit more. Invest in something and put that money to work.

That being said, we are in an economic crisis, so it's probably a good idea to put your savings into a low-risk investment for now. Keep in mind that a courageous backing of your investment should come coupled with common sense. If you're unemployed at the moment, then you especially cannot afford a big loss.

So how do you know if an investment is as good as it seems? I'm afraid there's no easy answer; but if you invest a little time studying it, you will learn that the world of finance is not as alien as you thought it would be. Pretty soon, you'll be able to judge if a deal is high-risk, or if it's relatively safe.

Remember the fact that there really is no quick way to increase assets overnight. It will take patience hastened by a skill to notice and seize opportunities to earn big. You may also want to go for the slower and surer path, and get decent returns that will help you see through the economic crisis. - 23222

About the Author:

Do not fall for get-rich-quick schemes that are rampant on the Internet! With the help of Emini Trading, you will learn a sound, well-built plan to slowly but consistently earn more and more with trading. Join the Emini Trading System now!

Learn Forex Trading

By Hass 67

Forex trading is being called the Recession Proof Business of 21st Century. Forex trading is becoming the best home based business opportunity. You only need a computer and a good internet connection to start trading forex from your kitchen table.

Forex and stock markets work differently in many ways. Forex market is highly liquid as compared to the stock market. Stocks are basically a long term investment method where ordinary people buy stocks either individually or through mutual funds and wait for these stocks to rise in order to build their retirement portfolios.

Forex markets are open 24/5 meaning 24 hours, 5 days a week except on Saturday and Sunday. As compared to forex markets, stock markets have fixed hours usually from morning to evening. After the close of a stock exchange the trading on that stock exchange stops.

90% of the people who trade forex are speculators meaning they are looing for making a quick gain. Many forex traders are day traders. Stock trading has traditionally been a long term investment. Once you buy a stock you have locked in your money for a considerable time.

In forex trading, you are only dealing with mostly 5 currencies: USD, GBP, CHF, EURO and JPY whereas in stock trading, you have to look for promising stocks among thousands of stocks listed on the stock markets.

The trading costs are also lower in forex where you only pay the bid/ask spread as compared to the stock trading where you have to pay a commission to your broker per trade. So, you can see yourself forex trading is a better opportunity than stock trading.

Stock Market Crash of 2008 was terrible. More than $11 trillion of wealth was wiped out in 2008 alone. Many people lost more than 60% of their retirement savings. Even investments in blue chip stocks considered to be safe lost considerable value.

It is feared that sotck markets will take 2-3 years at least to recover. This bear market has wiped out many investors. But there is always a bull market in forex. Even a small change in dollar or euro exchange rate may be an opportunity for you to make a fortune.

Over the years, forex markets have grown in size. Daily $3+ trillion are being traded in currencies all over the world. If you combine, all the stock exchanges in the world, they still can't reach 40% of this figure. Currency markets have become so huge that they are beyond the capacity of any single agency or agent to control.

Now, most of the people are wondering how they can recoup their losses in the stock market crash and build their retirement accounts again

Learning forex trading is the answer. Many people want to learn forex trading but are afraid. If you can only spare one hour per day, you can learn forex trading in a month. Forex trading as a hobby has the potential of making you a fortune.

If you are interested in learning forex trading risk free then read my blog where I give you a risk free forex trading method on autopilot. This method will only take 30 minutes and works on autopilot. More than 25,000 people are using this method all over the world to make a fortune from home. - 23222

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam is a Harvard University graduate. Know more about Forex Autopilot Turbo. Visit his blog for Auto Forex Trading.