Stock market investment

Questions and Answers

shall I get free advice on stock market investment?

Q) indian stock market.

A) How about some of these, which I know of from the US ADRs that are traded here: INFOSYS (INFY)--it is profitable, but pricey (PE of about 45) WIPRO (WIT)--also profitable, but a recent downtick althought the trend line is still up with a good slope TATA Steel (TATAFM)--it recently agreed to buy the English Corus Group steel manufacturers, so there is usually a dip after an acquisition. As we say around here, any of those 'float your boat'?

Does anyone use the PCAA stock market investment programme? How do you rate it?

Q) I have been given the opportunity to buy this and just want some comfort that I am not buying into some sort of sham!

A) Ask yourself the following :- If this program actually WORKS, then why are they selling it to me instead of using it to Invest in the Stock Market themselves ??? It's exactly the same as all the Horse Racing 'forecast' software ... IF IT REALLY WORKED THE OWNERS WOULD BE BILLIONAIRES ... and not wasting their time putting small ads in the Racing Times and trying to rip-off the punters for a few quid .. Essentially the only people who waste time with this sort of rubbish are gamblers (== losers) who are always looking for 'something for nothing' - they are not prepared to actually do any hard work and are always hoping to find some 'miracle system' will solve all their problems.... There is no guaranteed way to make money in the Stock Market no matter what you are told = you have to spend time and effort doing your own research to select shares that MIGHT return a decent profit OR pay through the nose to some 'Financial Adviser' who might give halfway decent advise but who will also milk you for every penny they can by pushing whatever 'product' pays the most commission today (eg. Endowment Policies). If you are still intereted, follow the link to wikipedia 'Charting' ...

can unsecured loan companies make you sell investments/shares in stock market to pay back their loans?

Q) i am currently going through bad patch and cannot meet the repayments. i hope to be back at work soon though?! any help greatly appreciated.

A) Not without a court order, they can not. If the loan is unsecured, it is unsecured. Their recourse is limited. Mostly to harrasing phone calls. A court would be extremely unlikely to attach your shares, especially if they did not know about them. Mum is the word.

What and why do stock market traders shout at each other on the trade floor?

Q) When watching business or economics news, you may often see that people who work on the trade floor often appear to be shouting at each other and srambling with figures etc. Does anybody actually know what these people are doing to earn their money? Do they earn commission? Are they looking after shares of companies? Is this what investment banking is all about? Does it affect exchange rates? Blah blah blah. Essentially, what are they saying to each other?

A) Outside the US very little shouting goes on these days. Traders standing in a pit yelling have been replaced by computers. It is faster, more efficient and cheaper not to use real people. The film you see on the business news is either from the very small exchanges that haven't automated yet or six year old film taken when Liffe (the London futures market) still had a trading floor. The big exchanges in the US still have traders shouting at each other, but they're slowly moving the business onto computers as well. In three or four years those highly paid traders will be driving taxis or opening a shop. The people you see on the news are buying and selling assets. They might be trading stocks, oil, gold, copper, derivatives, exchange rates, bonds, etc, etc. The basic principle is the same. All the shouting is pretty pointless, they do that to try to gain attention and intimidate the other traders. There is a system of hand signals used to indicate what they're doing (broadly pushing the hand away indicates selling, pulling it to you indicates buying). They are trying to agree a trade with one of the other traders in the pit and then pass it on to one of the Exchange staff monitoring the fun so they can record it. At that point the trade becomes legally binding. Some traders have their own accounts and decide for themselves what they want to trade. Most work for one of the big investment banks. Orders are phoned in to one of the administrative assistants who then pass them on to a trader. Traders are paid a basic salary, with a performance bonus that can be several times their salary if they do well.

What and why do stock market traders shout at each other on the trade floor?

Q) When watching business or economics news, you may often see that people who work on the trade floor often appear to be shouting at each other and srambling with figures etc. Does anybody actually know what these people are doing to earn their money? Do they earn commission? Are they looking after shares of companies? Is this what investment banking is all about? Does it affect exchange rates? Blah blah blah. Essentially, what are they saying to each other?

A) Outside the US very little shouting goes on these days. Traders standing in a pit yelling have been replaced by computers. It is faster, more efficient and cheaper not to use real people. The film you see on the business news is either from the very small exchanges that haven't automated yet or six year old film taken when Liffe (the London futures market) still had a trading floor. The big exchanges in the US still have traders shouting at each other, but they're slowly moving the business onto computers as well. In three or four years those highly paid traders will be driving taxis or opening a shop. The people you see on the news are buying and selling assets. They might be trading stocks, oil, gold, copper, derivatives, exchange rates, bonds, etc, etc. The basic principle is the same. All the shouting is pretty pointless, they do that to try to gain attention and intimidate the other traders. There is a system of hand signals used to indicate what they're doing (broadly pushing the hand away indicates selling, pulling it to you indicates buying). They are trying to agree a trade with one of the other traders in the pit and then pass it on to one of the Exchange staff monitoring the fun so they can record it. At that point the trade becomes legally binding. Some traders have their own accounts and decide for themselves what they want to trade. Most work for one of the big investment banks. Orders are phoned in to one of the administrative assistants who then pass them on to a trader. Traders are paid a basic salary, with a performance bonus that can be several times their salary if they do well.

Are eastern europe investment funds the most attractive in the world?

Q) Are eastern europe investment funds better then Asian/Latin American ones? i want to invest in aggressive stock-based investment funds. i checked Polish funds and they bring around 50%-60% yearly (30% for 6 months, 15% for 3 months). these funds are managed by well known institutions like Fortis and Commerical Union. And they are sold as umbrella funds so if the stock market goes down i can easily switch to bond-based funds. now, as 50-60% they generate is the same or even higher then Asian and Latin American funds, plus the fact that European countries are much more stable (NATO, EU members), why would anyone want to invest in Chinese, Indian or Latin American funds at all ?

A) why do you assume past performance is a guide to future success? This view is self defeating because past performance shows that shares which have done very poorly for a year on average outperform the market over the next 5 yrs.

are eastern europe investment funds better then Asian/Latin American ones?

Q) i want to invest in aggressive stock-based investment funds. i checked Polish funds and they bring around 50%-60% yearly (30% for 6 months, 15% for 3 months). these funds are managed by well known institutions like Fortis and Commerical Union. And they are sold as umbrella funds so if the stock market goes down i can easily switch to bond-based funds. now, as 50-60% they generate is the same or even higher then Asian and Latin American funds, plus the fact that European countries are much more stable (NATO, EU members), why would anyone want to invest in Chinese, Indian or Latin American funds at all ?

A) Your understanding of investment funds is either fantastic or you have just read a prospectus . Why you ask would we not invest in these products, simple risk and reward ratio with most of these funds they are off the scale. The 2;30 at Doncaster is a safer bet than most Eastern European indexes.China, the great communist state and India the new factory and office of the world. are no doubt great but highly volatile. Latin America was wonderful but what rises like a fountain goes down as quick, as can be seen by current returns. Talk to a investment adviser don't listen to soothsayers

Could the US Treasury Market be compared kind of to a World Bank for other countries to put their money in ?

Q) How similar and how not similar? Also could the US Stock Market be kind of like the Investment Department of that bank?

A) In no way what so ever. There is more to the world then America

Is my money at risk with certain stock brokers?

Q) I'm about to start trading stocks on the stock market. I believe Just2Trade.com offers trades for only $2.50. Thing is I will be transfering about £10,000 of my hard earned money to them so I can start trading. What if they went bust? Would I loose all my investment? Am I protected or should I use a more reputable stock broker i.e a well known bank that charges more?..

A) I recomend reading this book"does Your Broker Owe You Money?"by Daniel R Solin. If you can choose your stock you can make the money. If they go broke just make sure you have have a list of the stocks you own and how much so you can put them in another company.

how does somebody working from 9am-5pm earn some extra money buying and selling shares on the stock exchange?

Q) I have been buying and selling shares on the London and New York Stock exchange for some time. By the time you make a small gain on the shares going up you have made a loss because you have paid £15 to buy the shares and £15 to sell them. I have looked at stock on the FTSE 100 and AIM (Alternative Investment Market).I have looked at bonds,government bonds,futures and options. i have even looked at spreadbetting to cover different ground when you can make money when shares go down as well as up. i have studied bull and bear markets all year round,commoditites and big picture events. i have even looked at the shares from a different angle by looking into Hedge funds and hedge fund managers.I have studied past performance from graphs to determine what would happen to certain stocks in the future.Warren Buffett the second richest man in the world has even come across my research. All i want to know is how do you make small amounts of money investing in the right stocks,so u can progress?

A) day trading and swing trading as you have defined your strategy is best done with fairly large positions 1000 shares and up. Below that number the incremental gains as you have found out are eaten by commisions not to mention your loosing positons. If you do not have the capital to due 1000 share bets, you are better off riding long term trends--3 months and beyond. Give your bets a chance. This is also a better stategy for 9 to 5 ers because you do not have to spend company time all day watching the markets. 3 times a day will be sufficient. Your employer will also appreciate that.

How soon will Internet TV take off as a stock market investment?

Q) How long do you think it will take for Internet TV to take off as a stock market investment? Given that a lot of people are likely to get their TV over the internet and virtually anyone will be able to set up a TV station, how do you see the TV industry changing over the next 10 years? Which individual companies and types of companies are going to be the winners and losers? Are there any stocks you would particularly recommend or avoid?

A) You'll laugh, but I remember people asking this same question 10 years ago. For investments, I've found that it's always difficult to predict precisely when a certain technology will take off, or which of various forms will dominate. In the end, I don't invest in companies like this until they actually start to show profits. By then, we can usually get a pretty clear picture of where things are going, and there's usually still a sizeable upside left. Hold on to your good idea, and wait until the winners become apparent. Meanwhile, I would guess that companies with holdings in both TV and Internet sites might have an edge. Consider something like IACI, perhaps. Best of luck to you.

Stock Market Investment?

Q) What are some companies that are sky rocketing that I could invest in for the Stock Market game in school? What are some that are staying steady and are good to invest in? All opinions are appreciated!..Especially from the business people!

A) Hi Dani, Unfortunately, nobody (at least legally) knows the answer to your question. This is particularly the case with contests like yours, where the time frame is short. That said, in most such contests (I don't know about yours), there is recognition for winning, but no distinction between second place and last place. What that means is you might as well play to win and not worry about the prospect of coming in last. So, to have a chance of winning, take as much risk as possible, and hope for the best. Do this by buying 5-6 companies in different industries, each with very high betas and low capitalization. These will have the most likely big price swings, and you could win if those swings are up. You can look up companies by beta and capitalization on finance.yahoo.com. Hit the link to "screener" under stocks on the left, then pull up the HTML Screener. Ask it for betas of at least 4, and capitalization as small as the menu will allow. Then pick a few of the companies that come up. A lengthy answer, and not what you were wanting, but it could work. Have fun!

I want to invest my P10,000.00, can it be enough for stock market investment? how?

Q) I receive P10,000.00 from my GSIS-a government insurance and Im looking for something to invest it. I have heard about stock markets, can it be possible to invest in stocks? Can anybody explain to me how stock market goes in a layman's term.

A) Yes, you can invest it in the stock market. However, your question "Can anybody explain to me how stock market goes in layman's terms." means you should NOT be investing in the stock market yourself. You numbers look like you are from the Republic of Philippines. 10,000 pesos is roughly $200 U.S. dollars and that is too small to be a decent investment into the the U.S. Stock market. Since you are in the Philippines, I suggest you talk to Prudential Financial, a highly reputable american company. They will sell you an annuity, a different form of investment that you can get stock-like returns in, but it will not have the risk of the stock market. Inexperienced people can lose a lot of money or all of their money on the stock market, besides the amount of money you talking about is too small. There are other companies you can get involved with, but I reccomend getting involved with an American company because too many Philippine companies have financial trouble. And, I do business with Prudential as well as own stock in the company. Actually, I have been doing business with Prudential since 1978.

Is direct selling / MLM, Real estate investment and Stock market investment all subjected to income tax?

Q) Best answer 10 points! All active or earned income from employment and business are subjected to income tax. Do passive income from real estate and stock and direct selling business / MLM subjected to income tax? Note: Forget about stock and real estate capital gain tax because there is none in Malaysia.

A) Income from direct selling/MLM is earned income and is taxable. For investment in property it depends on whether you're speculating or investing long term to derive rental income (which is taxable). If you buy and sell a property within a very short time, that is not capital gain, that is speculating and the gain is taxable. As far as I know, gains from playing the stock market are not taxable.

Which is the more risky stock market investment, selling short or traditional long positions?

Q) Which is more risky right now? Which is more risky in a bull market? Which is more risky in a bear market?

A) In general, selling short is the riskier investment. Selling short means you're betting that the price of a particular stock will drop by selling shares today that you don't already possess and having to buy sometime later to account for these shares. Lets assume you short one share of a stock today at $20. Even if the stock drops to zero (theoretically) and you buy back the share immediately, then you made $20 in profit, which is the max you can profit. However, theoretically, the stock could rise to any price, and thus your loss could be really high. So lets say it rises to $200 and you're forced to buy, then you've lost $180! Buying long positions mean you buy a stock and keep it for long term, hoping the price will rise. Lets say you buy a stock at $20. The MOST you can lose is $20. Whereas the gain theoretically can be infinite. Because of the above two examples, your potential loss can be much greater with short positions, and thus is more risky. In a bull market, short positions are extremely risky, because a bull market means positive gains for stocks while you're hoping for drops. In a bear market, it's the opposite, as long positions are more risky, because a bear market means negative gains for stocks while you're hoping for rises. However, long term investors don't really worry too much about dips in the market. They're banking over many years that a well-run company's stock price will increase over time, which the market has shown historically over and over again. Selling short can be profitable, but requires lots of attention, as market timing is more critical, and you must be disciplined in knowing when to cover your positions. Due to the potentially high loss and timing factors, short positions are definitely more risky. Good luck!

what is the best historical stock market investment since 1985?

A) A cool question! I measured this from 12/31/1984 to today. Amongst US companies trading today that were around back then, we have (I rounded the returns a bit): #1 Amgen (AMGN) : 59,610% #2 United Health (UNH) : 44,919% #3 Franklin Resources (BEN): 44,147% So Amgen, the Biotech, wins! On the longer list provided in the answer above from 1988, note Dell did not start trading until 1988 and NTY did poorly during 1984-88. and GAN did not start trading until 1986. Hope this helps!

Which software is the best tool for stock market investment ?

Q) I have Option made easy ,not bad but also is not good enough for predicting and analysing. I am thinking to buy Investools. Any recomendations which are the best software to invest ?

A) I think the best way to invest is to first see what the best traders are buying and selling. Then use that knowledge to hopefully improve your portfolio's return. This is the idea behind the site http://www.top10traders.com - this is a free site that lets you create a portfolio of stocks with $100,000 in "play" money. Each day the site ranks the best performing portfolios, so you can see how your picks perform compared to other investors. You can also read posts on investing from the best traders, as well as share your own investing ideas. Here are this month's best traders: http://www.top10traders.com/Top10Standings.aspx Good luck.

Tell me about marketing investment on stock market. What is the main problem?

A) speculation is the main problem that investors have. They love to speculate rather than invest. The lure of get rich quick is a temptation very few can resist. So instead of being satisfied with 8 to 10% a year, they try for 50 to 100% per year and many if not most wind up loosing 50 to 100% per year.

What are the best sites for Investment in Indian Stock market ?

Q) what factors should be considered for Investment. & what level the present Stock market will up in the coming years.

A) No particular sites. However there are really only 11 Indian stocks traded on our exchanges. Those symbols are: hdb ibn infy mte rdy redf say sify ttm vsl wit Also one exchange traded fund, symbol ifn. For the past year (3/05-4/06) India is the leader for individual country gains. Using the above you would have to do the research and find what you have faith in and are comfortable with.

5. Do you think that more people are attracted towards stock market for investment?

Q) If yes, what are the reasons to attract?

A) Yes more people are behind stock market for following reasons. 1.Some invest for short term gains while some for long term gains. 2. Volatility in stock price is too much. One can make 10% to > 500% returns. Or may occur ahuge loss also. So it is avery risky tool. But careful & disclipned investment give > 15 % return yearly if investment is for long term. 3. In India economic growth is very huge for next 20 years. So capital appreciation through stock market is belived to be highest. These are the major reasons behind the attraction of people towards stock market.