Register for free to join our community of investors and share your ideas. You will also get access to streaming quotes, interactive charts, trades, portfolio, live options flow and more tools.
For thou convenience $EARH BarChart Technical Analysis NITE-LYNX
http://www.barchart.com/technicals/stocks/EARH
These participants each perform different functions and each has different constituents. Understanding how they work together and compete against each other to create a more efficient OTC marketplace will help make understanding more complex market concepts easier.
To assess a industry group's potential, an investor would want to consider the overall growth rate, market size, and importance to the economy. While the individual company is still important, its industry group is likely to exert just as much, or more, influence on the stock price.
$CVX Chevron (NYSE:CVX), Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO) and Delta Air Lines (NYSE:DAL) have complained to the FERC about fees Colonial Pipeline charges to ship gasoline, diesel and jet fuel over its vast fuel network.
What Are The Odds Of Scoring A Winning Trade?
When many of us think of probabilities, the first thing that comes to mind is a coin toss - having a 50% chance at being right on a given toss. Can something as simple as a coin toss be applied to the market effectively? It can at least provide us with some tools for approaching the markets, and it can be applied in many more ways than one might expect. A traders current views of probability could be completely wrong, and could very well be why they are not making money in the markets. This article is an introduction to the probabilities of trading and to a commonly overlooked but integral part of the financial system - statistics. But dont be scared off by the word statistics; everything will be explained in plain English and without many numbers or formulas.
Understanding the Coin Toss
In the short term, anything can happen; this is why the coin toss is an appropriate analogy for the stock market . Lets assume that at a given moment in time the stock could just as easily move up as it could move down (even in a range, stocks move up and down), thus our probability of making a profit (whether short or long) on a position is 50%.
While hopefully no one would make completely random short-term trades, we will start with this scenario. If we a have an equal probability of making a quick profit (like a coin toss), does a run of profits or losses signal what future outcomes will be? No! Not on random trades. This is a common misconception. Each event still has a 50% probability, no matter what outcomes came prior.
Runs do happen in random 50/50 events. A run refers to a number of identical outcomes that occur in a row. Here is a table displaying the probabilities of such a run; in other words, the odds of flipping a given number of heads or tails in a row.
Run Length
Chance
1
50%
2
25%
3
12.5%
4
6.25%
5
3.125%
6
1.5625%
Here is where we run into problems. Lets say we have just made five profitable trades in a row. According to our table, which is giving us the probability of being right (or wrong) five times in a row based on a 50% chance, we have already overcome some serious odds. The odds of getting the sixth profitable trade looks extremely remote, but actually that is not the case. Our odds of success are still 50%! People lose thousands of dollars in the markets (and in casinos) by failing to realize this. The reason is that the odds from our table are based on uncertain future events and the likelihood they will occur. Once we have completed a run of five successful trades, those trades are no longer uncertain. Our next trade starts a new potential run, and after the results are in for each trade, we start back at the top the table, every time. This means every trade has a 50% of working out. (Learn how to illustrate an asset returns sensitivity read Find The Right Fit With Probability Distributions.)
The reason this is so important is that often, when traders get into the market, they mistake a string of profits or losses as either skill or lack of skill. This is simply not true. Whether a short-term trader makes multiple trades or an investor makes only a few trades a year, we need to analyze the outcomes of their trades in a different way to understand if they are simply lucky or if there is actual skill involved. Statistics apply on all time lines, and this is what we must remember.
Long-Term Results
The above example gave a short-term trade example based on a 50% chance of being right or wrong. But does this apply to the long term? Very much so. The reason is that even though a trader may only take long-term positions, he or she will be doing fewer trades and thus it will take longer to attain data from enough trades to see if simple luck is involved or if it was skill. A short-term trader may make 30 trades a week and show a profit every month for two years. Has this trader overcome the odds with real skill? It would seem so, as the odds of having a run of 24 profitable months is extremely rare unless the odds have shifted more in his favor somehow. (Find out if mutual fund managers can successfully pick stocks or if youre better off with an index fund. Read Is Stock Picking A Myth?)
Now what about a long-term investor who has made three trades over the last two years and has been profitable. Is this trader exhibiting skill? Not necessarily. Currently, this trader has a run of three going, and that is not difficult to accomplish even from totally random results. The lesson here is that skill is not just reflected in the short term (whether that is one day or one year, it will differ by trading strategy ), but will also be reflected in the long term. We need enough trade data to accurately determine whether a strategy is significant enough to overcome random probabilities. And even with this, we face another challenge: while each trade is an event, so is a month and year in which trades were placed.
A trader who placed 30 trades a week has overcome the daily odds and the monthly odds for a good number of periods. Ideally, proving the strategy over a few more years would erase all doubt that there was luck involved due to a certain market condition . For our long-term trader making trades that last more than a year, it will take at least several more years to prove that his strategy is profitable over this longer time frame and in all market conditions.
When we consider all time frames and all market conditions, we actually begin to see how to be profitable on all time frames and how to move the odds more in our, attaining greater than a random 50% chance of being right. It is worth noting that if profits are larger than losses, a trader can be right less than 50% of the time and still make a profit. (This phenomenon can cause a trader to abandon a proven strategy or risk everything on chance. Find out how to avoid it, check out Random Reinforcement: Why Most Traders Fail.)
How Profitable Traders Make Money
So, obviously people do make money in the markets, and its not just because they have had a good run. So how do we get the odds in our favor? The profitable results come from two concepts. The first concept is based on what was discussed above - being profitable in all time frames or at least winning more in certain periods than is lost in others.
The second concept is the fact that trends exist in the markets, and this no longer makes the markets a 50/50 gamble, as in our coin toss example. Stock prices tend to run in a certain direction over periods of time, and have done this repeatedly over market history. For those of you who understand statistics, this proves that runs (trends) in stocks occur and thus we end up with a probability curve that is not normal (remember that bell curve your teachers always talked about) but is skewed and commonly referred to as a curve with a fat tail. This means that traders can be profitable on a consistent basis if they use trends, even if it is on an extremely short time frame.
Bringing It All Together
If trends exist and thus we can no longer have a random sampling of data (trades) because there is a bias in those trades that will likely reflect a trend, why is the 50% chance example above useful? The reason is that the lessons are still very valid. A trader should not increase his or her position size or take on more risk (relative to position size) simply because of a string of wins, which should not be assumed to occur as a result of skill. It also means that a trader should not decrease position size after having a long profitable run. (Find out if taking the path less traveled will work in your favor - or against it, see Trading Systems: Run With The Herd Or Be A Lone Wolf?)
This information should be good news. New traders can take solace in the fact their researched trading system may not be faulty but rather is experiencing a random run of bad results (or it may still need some refining). It also should put pressure on those who have been profitable to continually monitor their strategies so they remain profitable.
This information can also aid investors when they are analyzing mutual funds or hedge funds. Trading results are often published showing spectacular returns; knowing a little more about statistics can help us gauge whether those returns are likely to continue or if the returns just happened to be a random event. (From picking the right type of stock to setting stop-losses, learn how to trade wisely
Feast thine eyes upon $CYUXF BarChart Technical Analysis NITE-LYNX
http://www.barchart.com/technicals/stocks/CYUXF
Companies that are unwilling or unable to meet OTC Markets' Guidelines for Providing Adequate Current Information but have submitted some but not all of current information required are rated as having limited information. These are often companies with financial reporting problems, economic distress, or in bankruptcy.
Granted, there are many studies and disputes raging on the performance of equity mutual funds, but it is safe to assume that about 75% of equity mutual funds underperform the S
Investing Basics: Flight To Quality
Investing in stocks comes with the prospect of earning big returns, but it can also carry some considerable risks. At times of financial market stress, investors will often flee from risky assets and into investments that are perceived as very safe. Investors will act as a herd and try to rid themselves of any risk in what is termed a flight to quality. Whether or not an investor takes part in the flight, it is important to understand the concept, its indicators and its implications for the market.
What is a flight to quality?
A flight to quality occurs when investors rush to less risky, more liquid investments. Cash and cash equivalents, such as Treasury bills and notes, are key examples of the high-quality assets investors will seek. Investors try to allocate capital away from assets with any perceived risk into the safest possible instruments they can find. Investors usually tend to do this en masse and the effects on the market can be quite drastic. (Knowing what the market is thinking is the best way to determine what it will do next. Read Gauging Major Turns With Psychology.)
The Causes
The causes for a flight to quality are usually quite similar, and normally follow or are concurrent with some level of distress in the financial markets. Fear in the market generally leads investors to question their risk exposure and whether asset prices are justified by their risk/reward profiles.
While every market has its own intricacies, most upswings and downturns are somewhat similar: a sharp downturn follows what, in retrospect, were unjustifiable asset prices. A lot of the time the asset prices were unjustified because many risk factors such as credit problems were being ignored. Investors question the health of companies they are invested in and may decide to take profits from their riskier investments , or even sell at losses in order to move into lower-risk alternatives. Unfortunately, most investors dont get out at the early stage. Many join the flight to quality after things start to turn sour and leave themselves open to even bigger losses. (The option to bolster after-tax stock returns through tax-loss harvesting can reverse investor gloom. Check out Tax-Loss Harvesting For An Unsteady Market.)
Once major issues in the market come to light, the bubble begins to burst and panic occurs in the market as participants reprice risk. Sharp declines in asset prices add to the panic, and force people to flee toward very low-risk assets where they feel their principal is safe, without regard for potential return. A flight to quality is often a pretty abrupt shift for financial markets; as a result, indicators such as fear and shrinking yields on quality assets arent noticed until the flight has already begun.
Negative T-Bill Yield
An extreme example of a flight to quality occurred during the 2008 credit crisis. U.S. T-bills are perceived as some of the highest quality, lowest risk assets. The U.S. government is considered to have no default risk, meaning that Treasuries of any maturity have no risk of principal loss. T-bills are also issued with maturities of 90 days, so the short-term nature makes interest rate risk minimal, and, if held to maturity, non-existent.
T-bill interest rates are largely dependent on the federal funds target rate. When the Federal Reserve consistently lowered rates during 2008, eventually setting the federal funds target rate at a range of 0-0.25% on December 16, 2008, T-bills were certain to follow the trend and return next to nothing to their owners. (For more on T-bills, see the Money Market Tutorial.)
But, could they actually return less than nothing? As the flight to quality drove institutions to shed any sort of risk, the demand for T-bills quickly outpaced supply, even as the Fed was quick to create new supply. After taking a bloodbath in nearly every asset class available, institutions tried to close their books with only the highest, most conservative assets (aka T-bills) on their balance sheets. (Learn about the components of the statement of financial position and how they relate to each other in Reading The Balance Sheet.)
The flood of demand for T-bills, which were already trading at near-zero yields , caused the yield to actually turn negative. On December 9, 2008, investors bought T-bills yielding -0.01%, guaranteeing that they would receive less money three months later. Why would any institution accept that? The main reason is safety. If an institution bought $1 million worth of T-bills at the -0.01% rate, three months later their loss would about to about $25. (For more on what happened, see Why Money Market Funds Break The Buck.)
In a time of market panic and flight to quality, investors will take that very small nominal loss in exchange for the safety of not being exposed to the larger potential losses of other assets. Negative T-bill yields are not characteristic of every time the market experiences a flight to quality, but an extreme case of where demand forces down the yields of high-quality assets. (Learn more in The Fall Of The Market In The Fall Of 2008.)
Dont Panic
A flight to quality is logical to a certain point as investors reprice market risk, but can also have many adverse consequences. First, it can help exacerbate a market downturn. As investors grow fearful of stocks that have experienced sharp declines, they are more inclined to dump them, which helps worsen the decline. Investors suffer again as their fear will prevent the buying of risky assets, which after the declines may be very attractive. The best thing for an investor to keep in mind is to not panic and be the last person selling their stocks and moving into cash when stocks are likely hitting lows.
The consequences read through to businesses also, and can affect the health of the economy, possibly prolonging a downturn or recession. During and following a market crash and flight to quality, businesses may grasp cash similar to investors. This low-risk, fear-driven strategy may prevent businesses from investing in new technologies, machines, and other projects that would help the economy.
Conclusion
Just like with bubbles and crashes, a flight to quality of some degree during a market cycle is pretty much inevitable, and impossible to prevent. As investors become jaded with the risky assets, they will seek out one thing and one thing only: safety.
Is there a way to profit from a flight to quality? Not unless you can predict what everyone else will do and do the opposite. Even then, you need to time it perfectly to avoid being trampled by the herd. It may be hard, but dont panic.
Feast thine eyes upon $NNHE BarChart Technical Analysis NITE-LYNX
http://www.barchart.com/technicals/stocks/NNHE
After an extended advance from 27 to 64, WorldCom (WCOM)[WCOM] entered into a trading range between 55 and 63 for about 5 months. There was a false breakout in mid-June when the stock briefly poked its head above 62 (red oval). This did not last long and a gap down a few days later nullified the breakout (black arrow). The stock then proceeded to break support at 55 in Aug-99 and trade as low as 50. Here is another example of support turned resistance as the stock bounced off 55 two more times before heading lower. While this does not always happen, a return to the new resistance level offers a second chance for longs to get out and shorts to enter the fray.
When you open a brokerage account, you must sign a new account agreement. You should carefully review all the information in this agreement because it determines your legal rights regarding your account.
When Stock Prices Drop, Wheres The Money?
Have you ever wondered what happened to your socks when you put them into the dryer and then never saw them again? Its an unexplained mystery that may never have an answer. Many people feel the same way when they suddenly find that their brokerage account balance has taken a nosedive. So, where did that money go? Fortunately, money that is gained or lost on a stock doesnt just disappear. Read to find out what happens to it and what causes it.
Disappearing Money
Before we get to how money disappears, it is important to understand that regardless of whether the market is in bull (appreciating) or bear (depreciating) mode, supply and demand drive the price of stocks, and fluctuations in stock prices determine whether you make money or lose it.
So, if you purchase a stock for $10 and then sell it for only $5, you will (obviously) lose $5. It may feel like that money must go to someone else, but that isnt exactly true. It doesnt go to the person who buys the stock from you. The company that issued the stock doesnt get it either. The brokerage is also left empty-handed, as you only paid it to make the transaction on your behalf. So the question remains: where did the money go?
Implicit and Explicit Value
The most straightforward answer to this question is that it actually disappeared into thin air, along with the decrease in demand for the stock, or, more specifically, the decrease in investors favorable perception of it. (For more on what drives stock price , see Stocks Basics)
But this capacity of money to dissolve into the unknown demonstrates the complex and somewhat contradictory nature of money. Yes, money is a teaser - at once intangible, flirting with our dreams and fantasies, and concrete, the thing with which we obtain our daily bread. More precisely, this duplicity of money represents the two parts that make up a stocks market value: the implicit and explicit value.
On the one hand, money can be created or dissolved with the change in a stocks implicit value, which is determined by the personal perceptions and research of investors and analysts. For example, a pharmaceutical company with the rights to the patent for the cure for cancer may have a much higher implicit value than that of a corner store.
Depending on investors perceptions and expectations for the stock, implicit value is based on revenues and earnings forecasts. If the implicit value undergoes a change - which, really, is generated by abstract things like faith and emotion - the stock price follows. A decrease in implicit value, for instance, leaves the owners of the stock with a loss because their asset is now worth less than its original price. Again, no one else necessarily received the money; it has been lost to investors perceptions.
Now that weve covered the somewhat unreal characteristic of money, we cannot ignore how money also represents explicit value, which is the concrete worth of a company. Referred to as the accounting value (or sometimes book value), the explicit value is calculated by adding up all assets and subtracting liabilities. So, this represents the amount of money that would be left over if a company were to sell all of its assets at fair market value and then pay off all of liabilities. (For more insight, read Digging Into Book Value and Value By The Book.)
But you see, without explicit value, implicit value would not exist: investors interpretation of how well a company will make use of its explicit value is the force behind implicit value.
Disappearing Trick Revealed
For instance, in February 2009, Cisco Systems Inc. (Nasdaq:CSCO) had 5.81 billion shares outstanding, which means that if the value of the shares dropped by $1, it would be the equivalent to losing more than $5.81 billion in (implicit) value. Because CSCO has many billions of dollars in concrete assets, we know that the change occurs not in explicit value, so the idea of money disappearing into thin air ironically becomes much more tangible. In essence, whats happening is that investors, analysts and market professionals are declaring that their projections for the company have narrowed. Investors are therefore not willing to pay as much for the stock as they were before.
So, faith and expectations can translate into cold hard cash, but only because of something very real: the capacity of a company to create something, whether it is a product people can use or a service people need. The better a company is at creating something, the higher the companys earnings will be and the more faith investors will have in the company.
In a bull market, there is an overall positive perception of the markets ability to keep producing and creating. Because this perception would not exist were it not for some evidence that something is being or will be created, everyone in a bull market can be making money. Of course, the exact opposite can happen in a bear market .
To sum it all up, you can think of the stock market as a huge vehicle for wealth creation and destruction.
Disappearing Socks
No one really knows why socks go into the dryer and never come out, but next time youre wondering where that stock price came from or went to, at least you can chalk it up to market perception.
For thou convenience $NYXO BarChart Technical Analysis NITE-LYNX
http://www.barchart.com/technicals/stocks/NYXO
Assist with Entry Point
Technical analysis can help with timing a proper entry point. Some analysts use fundamental analysis to decide what to buy and technical analysis to decide when to buy.
Translating Ticker Talk
Ticker symbols offer quite a bit of information to savvy investors who know what to look for when they see a ticker. In addition to identifying a company, a ticker may indicate the exchange on which a company is traded, whether that company is delinquent in terms of its Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings, or if a company is currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings. With so much information available in just a few characters, its imperative that investors learn the basics of stock ticker symbols. Here we translate ticker talk into plain English.
What Is a Ticker?
First and foremost, the word ticker refers to a series of letters or numbers identifying a particular security on a particular exchange. Stock tickers are the most familiar types of ticker symbols, though options, futures contracts and other types of securities also have ticker symbols.
A few examples of stock tickers include:
Figure 1
Copyright © 2011 Investopedia.com
You may notice that the number of characters differs for these tickers. For example, why does AT
OTC trading, and all securities trading, responds to the supply and demand in the market place for certain securities. Individual investors, professional investors, and broker-dealers desire to buy and sell securities at certain prices. The number of orders, the volume (e.g., share size), the timing of buy and sell orders, and the availability of information determines how prices will move for a particular security.
For thou convenience $STVF BarChart Technical Analysis NITE-LYNX
http://www.barchart.com/technicals/stocks/STVF
Support Equals Resistance
Another principle of technical analysis stipulates that support can turn into resistance and vice versa.
Priced quotations in the OTC Link or the OTCBB inter-dealer quotation systems are firm for certain minimum sizes. Minimum quote sizes are based upon quote price. As the price of a quote decreases, the size associated with a price increases. Mandatory sizes assure a minimum amount of liquidity in the market and add weight to a member’s firm quote obligation.
Introduction To Investment Diversification
Diversification is a familiar term to most investors. In the most general sense, it can be summed up with this phrase: Dont put all of your eggs in one basket. While that sentiment certainly captures the essence of the issue, it provides little guidance on the practical implications of the role diversification plays in an investors portfolio and offers no insight into how a diversified portfolio is actually created. In this article, well provide an overview of diversification and give you some insight into how you can make it work to your advantage.
What Is Diversification?
Taking a closer look at the concept of diversification, the idea is to create a portfolio that includes multiple investments in order to reduce risk. Consider, for example, an investment that consists of only stock issued by a single company. If that companys stock suffers a serious downturn, your portfolio will sustain the full brunt of the decline. By splitting your investment between the stocks from two different companies, you can reduce the potential risk to your portfolio.
Another way to reduce the risk in your portfolio is to include bonds and cash. Because cash is generally used as a short-term reserve, most investors develop an asset allocation strategy for their portfolios based primarily on the use of stocks and bonds. It is never a bad idea to keep a portion of your invested assets in cash or short-term money-market securities. Cash can be used incase of an emergency, and short-term money-market securities can be liquidated instantly incase an investment opportunity arises, or in the event your usual cash requirements spike and you need to sell investments to make payments. Also, keep in mind that asset allocation and diversification are closely linked concepts; a diversified portfolio is created through the process of asset allocation. When creating a portfolio that contains both stocks and bonds, aggressive investors may lean towards a mix of 80% stocks and 20% bonds, while conservative investors may prefer a 20% stocks to 80% bonds mix.
Regardless of whether you are aggressive or conservative, the use of asset allocation to reduce risk through the selection of a balance of stocks and bonds for your portfolio is a more detailed description of how a diversified portfolio is created rather than the simplistic eggs in one basket concept. With this in mind, you will notice that mutual fund portfolios composed of a mix, which includes both stocks and bonds, are referred to as balanced portfolios. The specific balance of stocks and bonds in a given portfolio is designed to create a specific risk-reward ratio that offers the opportunity to achieve a certain rate of return on your investment in exchange for your willingness to accept a certain amount of risk. In general, the more risk you are willing to take, the greater the potential return on your investment.
What Are My Options?
If you are a person of limited means or if you simply prefer uncomplicated investment scenarios, you could choose a single balanced mutual fund and invest all of your assets in the fund. For most investors, this strategy is far too simplistic. While a given mix of investments may be appropriate for a childs college education fund, that mix may not be a good match for long-term goals, such as retirement or estate planning. Likewise, investors with large sums of money often require strategies designed to address more complex needs, such as minimizing capital gains taxes or generating reliable income streams. Furthermore, while investing in a single mutual fund provides diversification among the basic asset classes of stocks, bonds and cash (funds often hold a small amount of cash from which the fees are taken), the opportunities for diversification go far beyond these basic categories.
With stocks, investors can choose a specific style, such as focusing on large, mid or small caps. In each of these areas are stocks categorized as growth or value. Additional choices include domestic and foreign stocks. Foreign stocks also offer sub-categorizations that include both developed and emerging markets. Both foreign and domestic stocks are also available in specific sectors, such as biotechnology and healthcare.
In addition to the variety of equity investment choices, bonds also offer opportunities for diversification. Investors can choose long-term or short-term issues. They can also select high-yield or municipal bonds. Once again, risk tolerance and personal investment requirements will largely dictate investment selection.
While stocks and bonds represent the traditional tools for portfolio construction, a host of alternative investments provide the opportunity for further diversification. Real estate investment trusts, hedge funds, art and other investments provide the opportunity to invest in vehicles that do not necessarily move in tandem with the traditional financial markets. Yet these investments offer another method of portfolio diversification.
Concerns
With so many investments to choose from, it may seem like diversification is an easy objective to achieve, but that sentiment is only partially true. The need to make wise choices still applies to a diversified portfolio. Furthermore, it is possible to over-diversify your portfolio, which will negatively impact your returns. Many financial experts agree that 20 stocks is the optimal number for a diversified equity portfolio. With that in mind, buying 50 individual stocks or four large-cap mutual funds may do more harm than good. Having too many investments in your portfolio doesnt allow any of the investments to have much of an impact, and an over-diversified portfolio (sometimes called diworsification) often begins to behave like an index fund. In the case of holding a few large-cap mutual funds, multiple funds bring the additional risks of overlapping holdings as well as a variety of expenses, such as low balance fees and varying expense ratios, which could have been avoided through a more careful fund selection.
Tools
Investors have many tools to choose from when creating a portfolio. For those lacking time, money or interest in investing, mutual funds provide a convenient option; there is a fund for nearly every taste, style and asset allocation strategy. For those with an interest in individual securities, there are stocks and bonds to meet every need. Sometimes investors may even add rare coins, art, real estate and other off-the-beaten-track investments to their portfolios.
The Bottom Line
Regardless of your means or method, keep in mind that there is no generic diversification model that will meet the needs of every investor. Your personal time horizon, risk tolerance, investment goals, financial means and level of investment experience will play a large role in dictating your investment mix. Start by figuring out the mix of stocks, bonds and cash that will be required to meet your needs. From there, determine exactly which investments to use in completing the mix, substituting traditional assets for alternatives as needed. If you are too overwhelmed by the choices or simply prefer to delegate, there are plenty of financial services professionals available to assist you.
Feast thine eyes upon $TRTH BarChart Technical Analysis NITE-LYNX
http://www.barchart.com/technicals/stocks/TRTH
Short sellers are subject to price manipulation schemes – or short squeezes. In a short squeeze, traders believing that there are a lot of short sellers begin buying shares to force the price and the short sellers losses higher. These traders hope that the short sellers will be forced to buy pushing the price even higher at which point they can sell their shares at a profit. Short squeezes are easier to execute in illiquid securities.
Management
In order to execute a business plan, a company requires top-quality management. Investors might look at management to assess their capabilities, strengths and weaknesses. Even the best-laid plans in the most dynamic industries can go to waste with bad management (AMD in semiconductors).
Feast thine eyes upon $QASP BarChart Technical Analysis NITE-LYNX
http://www.barchart.com/technicals/stocks/QASP
Contemplating Collectible Investments
If you have much space for storage, your attic and garage might be stuffed with old furniture, books and other items youve held onto over the years. If this is the case, you may be sitting on a few valuable collectibles just waiting to make you money. That said, you are just as likely to be looking at little more than a pile of junk. In this article well take a look at collectibles as an investment and help you decide whether this emotional market is a good place to park your money.
All Things Old Made New Again
140,000,000 B.C: A young Allosaurus missteps and finds itself mired in a sink hidden beneath the underbrush. Millions of geological ages later, an amateur paleontologist helps him out - or at least what was left of his head. In 2005, the Allosaurus restored skull sells for the high price of $600.
1908: Honus Wagner of the Pittsburgh Pirates hits his tenth home run and ends the year with a .354 batting average, marking one of the best years of his career. The next year, the American Tobacco Company commemorates Wagner by putting a trading card inside its cigarette packages. Less than 60 make it into stores before it is discovered that Honus is vehemently against smoking. In 2000, Wagners cigarette trading card is sold on EBay for $1.1 million.
1962: Stan Lee creates a superhero who has to worry about rent, his ailing aunt and passing his next test - all in addition to saving the world. Peter Parkers misadventure with a radioactive spider hit the stands with a $0.12 cover price. And, in 2006, the first edition of The Amazing Spider-Man is among the most valuable comics with a price around $6,000 or more, according to Wizard: The Guide To Comics pricing guide.
These are all examples of the strange and wonderful world of collectibles. While there is no denying the thrill of owning a juvenile Allosaurus skull, is collecting really a form of investment?
All That Glitters ...
The reason we began by discussing a fossil, a comic and a baseball card is that people have no qualms about calling them collectibles. However, when you speak about diamonds, gold and other precious materials, people tend to call theminvestments . In theory, these materials - and even stocks - could be termed collectibles because their price is based more on what people are willing to pay for them (or market value) than on their actual intrinsic value. But in the practical world, precious metals and stocks have an intrinsic value. For metals, this value is based on rarity and the fact that if you melt it, burn it or bend it, you still have the same atomic substance in the end. For stocks, the value is produced by the underlying brick and mortar company that the share represents - a company that is generating earnings to justify the prices you pay for its stock.
What makes collectibles different is that even a little damage can erase all of a collectibles value. This is because a collectibles value is based on emotional factors like nostalgia. These emotional factors can be as erratic as they are powerful. If you were asked whether people would be willing to pay more for a dinosaur skull or a baseball card, even if you chose one over the other you would give them both a higher value than, say, a torn up baseball card or a box of bone fragments. Those items you would probably call worthless (unless you are an archaeologist or a fan of papier-mâché).
The 20-Year Itch
It is said that nostalgia runs in 20-year cycles. In other words, the things that are popular now will become collectibles in 20 years when people want to reconnect with their past. This doesnt mean that you can buy the top 10 items from consumer polls, incubate them for 20 years and then sell them for a fortune. It means that some items this year will become collectibles if they meet two conditions: rarity and appeal.
Rarity is becoming a harder thing to find as mass production methods allow companies to (over)fill demand without incurring that much extra cost. Beanie Babies have devalued as more and more product lines are introduced. It is profitable for a company to sell as many products as it takes to satiate demand, and that mentality destroys a future collectors profits. (For more on this concept, check out Economics Basics.)
Appeal is also a difficult thing to nail down. To make money at collecting, you have to predict what will become popular in retrospect - perhaps something that is not in high demand now will become popular in the future, either because they are rare or they were not fully appreciated at the time. For example, in the 1950s and 1960s, wing-tipped plastic sun glasses with glass lenses were sold for a few dollars in drugstores, but they can now fetch hundreds of dollars in collectors markets.
Reasons Not To Buy Collectibles
Mark-ups
When you buy a collectible from a dealer, that dealer is usually marking up the price to make a profit. Unlike collectors, dealers do not have the luxury of holding an item for years and years while the value may or may not increase - they have sales to make and a business to run.
Maintenance
Many collectibles require special care to keep them in top condition. These can range in cost from the $1 plastic cover used to keep hockey cards safe to a special room with moisture, heat and light monitors to lengthen a paintings life. On top of the storage costs, there are the added costs of buying insurance for the more valuable types of collectibles as well as paying to have professionals, appraisers, restorers and dealers look at the collectible before you sell it. A collectible doesnt produce income while you hold it, and it may actually eat income while you wait for it to increase in value.
Wear
Most categories of collectibles - from Pokemon cards to antique plumbing fixtures - have a manual classifying how much an item is worth in pristine condition and what sorts of damage degrades it by what percentage of value. For example, a well-read copy of the aforementioned Amazing Spiderman #1 may only be worth 30-60% of the $6,000 list price, depending on what type and what degree of wear it shows.
Counterfeiting
Most museums display dinosaur fossils models - not the real thing. Can you tell the difference between an Allosauras skull made of plaster and cement and one made of fossilized bone? No matter how experienced the appraiser, forgeries do make it to the dealers and then through to the collectors, which could leave you holding a very expensive piece of criminal art.
Low Returns
Collectibles tend to have lower returns than a stock market index fund, a money market account and most bond funds. If you took an average of the returns on all collectibles – which is practically impossible to do given some have little or no market to measure – it would be dismal compared to the S
The security is being promoted to the public, but adequate current information about the issuer has not been made available to the public. OTC Markets believes adequate current information must be publicly available during any period when a security is the subject of ongoing promotional activities having the effect of encouraging trading of the issuer's securities.
It is important to be aware of these biases when analyzing a chart. If the analyst is a perpetual bull, then a bullish bias will overshadow the analysis.
Behold the $NTRR BarChart Technical Analysis NITE-LYNX
http://www.barchart.com/technicals/stocks/NTRR
Rational Ignorance And Your Money
Ignorance is regarded as rational when the cost of information and finding out exceeds the benefits. This is especially true in situations where it would be a waste of time to learn about the particular issue. A classic example of this would be in general elections, where one vote really does not count much. Clearly, however, if everyone thinks this way, there is a problem, but the fact remains that rather than poring over election promises and campaigns for hours, you would do better to invest the time learning more about and managing your portfolio of assets.
The Two Faces of Investor Ignorance
In the world of money, with its countless traps, endless alternatives, conflicts of interest and shady dealers, ignorance is probably less rational than in any other context. However, investors have to contend with two associated problems, which I would term inevitable ignorance and induced ignorance.
Inevitable Ignorance
Inevitable ignorance arises because it is just not possible to know everything about your investments. Clearly, the amount known varies very substantially between investors, due to huge disparities in experience, education, the amount of time people are able and willing to devote to their money, and so on.
However, everyone is ignorant about some aspects of their own investments and of the industry. For instance, nobody knows all there is to know about every company on the New York Stock Exchange, let alone those in France, China, Brazil and the rest of the world, developed, developing and in between. Not to mention, who could possibly know about the management and future prospects of all those thousands of funds out there, ranging from equities, to bonds, to futures and options, to alternative investments and CDs? (Consider yourself a beginner? Need to brush up on the basics? Start with Why You Should Understand The Stock Market.)
Induced Ignorance
Sadly, the wheeler and dealers of the industry are fully aware of this and therefore create ignorance quite deliberately in order to sell things that people would not buy if they were fully informed. It is well documented in the marketing literature that people take advantage of rational ignorance by increasing the complexity of a decision.
The rogues in the investment industry exploit both rational and irrational ignorance by ensuring that products are either so numerous and/or available in so many combinations and permutations that buyers are overwhelmed and find it too much trouble to make an informed decision; they just take their chances and, at worst, way too much risk.
To be fair, some of this complexity is inherent to the products and markets themselves; there are a lot of people selling a lot of things that are not particularly easy to understand. People often dont like having to think and worry about money, so they leave it to others who do not always behave ethically, and who themselves may be ignorant. In the case below, we have a combination of the above factors leading to continued ignorance. (For an additional on dishonesty in the market, check out The Rise Of The Rogue Trader.)
An Information Brochure for Certificates
Precisely because of widespread financial ignorance, advisors and brokers in Germany are obliged to provide a certain type of brochure with certificates and other investments. These are along the lines of what you get with medicine, and the documents are termed just that, Beipakzettel (package brochure). Similar to what you get with pills, information is to be provided on the risks and opportunities, as well as cost and taxation implications.
A study performed in Sept. 2011, however, revealed that this measure does not help much. For starters, there are no guidelines as to who is to provide the brochures, so it usually ends up being the seller.
For the study, a tabloid newspaper article, which is generally considered very understandable, was compared to the financial product brochures for bonus or caped-bonus certificates; they were found to be barely comprehensible. The long, unfamiliar words, complex sentences and clumsy grammar left readers totally perplexed. The literature for the major banks tested varied, but overall the results were extremely poor.
Part of the problem, explained one consultant, was that the providers found themselves in a quandary. On the one hand, they had to provide sufficient information in three pages to convey the relevant issues. On the other hand, they wanted to ensure they were covered legally. This resulted in legalese formulations designed to be legally watertight, but which severely reduced the readability and comprehensibility.
The moral of the story is that even well-intentioned efforts to reduce rational investment ignorance,¬ by making it easy and rational to be informed, can easily fail. So what does this say about bad-faith attempts to sell lousy investments through a smoke screen?
The Bottom Line
In this context, the regulators really do have an important role to play, but it needs to be done better than in the above case. Banks have to resolve the legally watertight vs. readability trade-off. Somehow, they need to get the message across clearly, but without opening themselves up to legal problems.
As always, investors must find out as much as they can, including who to trust, but they also need to understand and accept the limits of what they and others can and do know, and act accordingly. It is certainly advisable to buy only what you understand or trust, but as implied above, eliminating everything you dont understand fully, may mean burying your cash in the garden, which is not a great investment either.
It used to be that free cash flow or earnings were used with a multiplier to arrive at a fair value. In 1999, the S
BarChart Technical Analysis NITE-LYNX $PVSP
http://www.barchart.com/technicals/stocks/PVSP
Although they may not be required to make financial information available to the public, many OTC-traded companies do so voluntarily. You can search our Financial Reports to obtain the reports of any issuer that has voluntarily provided their financials and other disclosure to investors via the OTC Disclosure and News Service.
Getting Started In Stocks
So youve decided to invest in the stock market. Congratulations! In his 2005 book The Future for Investors, Jeremy Siegel showed that, in the long run, investing in stocks has handily outperformed investing in bonds, Treasury bills, gold or cash. In the short term, one or another asset may outperform stocks, but overall stocks have historically been the winning path.
Tutorial: Stock Basics
But there are so many ways to invest in stocks. Individual stocks, mutual funds, index funds, ETFs, domestic, foreign - how can you decide what is right for you? This article will address several issues that you, as a new (or not-so-new) investor, might want to consider so that you can rest more easily while letting your money grow.
Risk Taker, Risk Averse or in the Middle?
You may be eager to get started so that you, too, can make those fabulous returns you hear so much about, but slow down and take a moment to contemplate some simple questions. The time spent now to consider the following will save you money down the road.
What kind of person are you? Are you a risk taker, willing to throw money at a chance to make a lot of money, or would you prefer a more sure thing? What would be your likely response to a 10% drop in a single stock in one day or a 35% drop over the course of a few weeks? Would you sell it all in a panic?
The answers to these and similar questions will lead you to consider different types of equity investments, such as mutual or index funds versus individual stocks. If you are naturally not someone who takes risks, and feel uncomfortable doing so but still want to invest in stocks, the best bet for you might be mutual funds or index funds. This is because they are well diversified and contain many different stocks. This reduces risk - and doesnt require individual stock research. (For more insight, read Personalizing Risk Tolerance, Mutual Fund Basics and The Lowdown On Index Funds.)
Have much time and interest do you have for investing?
Should you invest in funds, stocks or both? The answer depends on how much time you wish to devote to this endeavor. Careful selection of mutual or index funds would let you invest your money, leaving the hard work of picking stocks to the fund manager. Index funds are even simpler in that they move up or down according to the type of company, industry or market they are designed to track.
Individual stock investing is the most time consuming as it requires you to make judgments about management, earnings and future prospects. As an investor, you are attempting to distinguish between a money-making stock and financial disaster. You need to know what they do, how they make their money, the risks, the future prospects and much more.
Therefore, ask yourself how much time you have to devote to this enterprise. Are you willing to spend a couple of hours a week, or more, reading about different companies, or is your life just too busy to carve out that time? Investing in individual stocks is a skill, which, like any other, takes time to develop. (For more on this research, read Introduction To Fundamental Analysis.)
Eggs in One Basket
It is best that you not be exposed to only one type of asset. For instance, dont put all of your money in small biotech companies. Yes, the potential gain can be quite high, but what will happen to your investment if the Food and Drug Administration starts rejecting a higher percentage of new drugs? Your entire portfolio would be negatively impacted. (For related reading, see The Ups And Downs Of Biotechnology.)
It is better to be diversified across several different sectors such as real estate (a real estate investment trust is one possibility), consumer goods, commodities, insurance, etc., rather than focusing on one or two or three, as above. Consider diversifying across asset classes, as well, by keeping some money in bonds and cash, rather than being 100% invested in stocks. How much to have in these different sectors and classes is up to you, but being invested more broadly lessens the risk of losing it all at any one time. (For more insight, check out Introduction To Diversification.)
A Portfolio for Beginners
If you are just starting out, think seriously about investing most of your money in a couple of index funds, such as one tracking the broad market (e.g. the S
Supply, Demand, and Price Action
Many technicians use the open, high, low and close when analyzing the price action of a security. There is information to be gleaned from each bit of information. Separately, these will not be able to tell much. However, taken together, the open, high, low and close reflect forces of supply and demand.
For thou convenience $DECN BarChart Technical Analysis NITE-LYNX
http://www.barchart.com/technicals/stocks/DECN
OTC Markets has determined that there is a public interest concern regarding the security. Such concerns may include but are not limited to promotion, spam or disruptive corporate actions even when adequate current information is available.
What You Should Know About Inflation
Inflation is defined as a sustained increase in the general level of prices for goods and services. It is measured as an annual percentage increase as reported in the Consumer Price Index (CPI), generally prepared on a monthly basis by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. As inflation rises, purchasing power decreases, fixed-asset values are affected, companies adjust their pricing of goods and services, financial markets react and there is an impact on the composition of investment portfolios.
Tutorial: All About Inflation
Inflation, to one degree or another, is a fact of life. Consumers, businesses and investors are impacted by any upward trend in prices. In this article, well look at various elements in the investing process affected by inflation and show you what you need to be aware of.
Financial Reporting and Changing Prices
Back in the period from 1979 to 1986, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) experimented with inflation accounting, which required that companies include supplemental constant dollar and current cost accounting information (unaudited) in their annual reports. The guidelines for this approach were laid out in Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 33, which contended that inflation causes historical cost financial statements to show illusionary profits and mask erosion of capital.
With little fanfare or protest, SFAS No. 33 was quietly rescinded in 1986. Nevertheless, serious investors should have a reasonable understanding of how changing prices can affect financial statements, market environments and investment returns.
Corporate Financial Statements
In a balance sheet, fixed assets - property, plant and equipment - are valued at their purchase prices (historical cost), which may be significantly understated compared to the assets present day market values. Its difficult to generalize, but for some firms, this historical/current cost differential could be added to a companys assets, which would boost the companys equity position and improve its debt/equity ratio.
In terms of accounting policies, firms using the last-in, first-out (LIFO) inventory cost valuation are more closely matching costs and prices in an inflationary environment. Without going into all the accounting intricacies, LIFO understates inventory value, overstates the cost of sales, and therefore lowers reported earnings. Financial analysts tend to like the understated or conservative impact on a companys financial position and earnings that are generated by the application of LIFO valuations as opposed to other methods such as first-in, first-out (FIFO) and average cost. (To learn more, read Inventory Valuation For Investors: FIFO And LIFO.)
Watch: Monetary Inflation
Market Sentiment
Every month, the U.S. Department of Commerces Bureau of Labor Statistics reports on two key inflation indicators: the Consumer Price Index (CPI) and the Producer Price Index (PPI). These indexes are the two most important measurements of retail and wholesale inflation, respectively. They are closely watched by financial analysts and receive a lot of media attention.
The CPI and PPI releases can move markets in either direction. Investors do not seem to mind an upward movement (low or moderating inflation reported) but get very worried when the market drops (high or accelerating inflation reported). The important thing to remember about this data is that it is the trend of both indicators over an extended period of time that is more relevant to investors than any single release. Investors are advised to digest this information slowly and not to overreact to the movements of the market. (To learn more, read The Consumer Price Index: A Friend To Investors.)
Interest Rates
One of the most reported issues in the financial press is what the Federal Reserve does with interest rates. The periodic meetings of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) are a major news event in the investment community. The FOMC uses the federal funds target rate as one of its principal tools for managing inflation and the pace of economic growth. If inflationary pressures are building and economic growth is accelerating, the Fed will raise the fed-funds target rate to increase the cost of borrowing and slow down the economy. If the opposite occurs, the Fed will push its target rate lower. (To learn more, read The Federal Reserve.)
All of this makes sense to economists, but the stock market is much happier with a low interest rate environment than a high one, which translates into a low to moderate inflationary outlook. A so-called Goldilocks - not too high, not too low - inflation rate provides the best of times for stock investors.
Future Purchasing Power
It is generally assumed that stocks, because companies can raise their prices for goods and services, are a better hedge against inflation than fixed-income investments. For bond investors, inflation, whatever its level, eats away at their principal and reduces future purchasing power. Inflation has been fairly tame in recent history; however, its doubtful that investors can take this circumstance for granted. It would be prudent for even the most conservative investors to maintain a reasonable level of equities in their portfolios to protect themselves against the erosive effects of inflation. (For related reading, see Curbing The Effects Of Inflation.)
Conclusion
Inflation will always be with us; its an economic fact of life. It is not intrinsically good or bad, but it certainly does impact the investing environment. Investors need to understand the impacts of inflation and structure their portfolios accordingly. One thing is clear: depending on personal circumstances, investors need to maintain a blend of equity and fixed-income investments with adequate real returns to address inflationary issues.
The objective of analysis is to forecast the direction of the future price.
For thou convenience $MINE BarChart Technical Analysis NITE-LYNX
http://www.barchart.com/technicals/stocks/MINE
Complaints regarding companies should be directed to the SEC, while complaints regarding broker-dealers or other investment professionals should be directed to FINRA.
Financial Advice With Zero Return
Many people rely on financial advisors, either independent ones or those employed at banks. The good ones will at least ensure that you have a sensibly diversified portfolio and that it stays that way. However, a recent study indicates that many advisors do not increase the actual investment returns on an ongoing basis.
What Advisors Do and Dont
An investigation conducted at the University of Frankfurt in Germany reveals that neither portfolios advised by banks nor independent advisors, do any better than those for which no advice was given. Finance professor Andreas Hackethal explains that the main problem is the failure of advisors to correct systematic investment errors sufficiently, while at the same time, they generate additional costs. (For related reading, see Diversifying Your Portfolio.)
Furthermore, this work almost certainly applies to the United States. According to Hackethal, an investigation by Bergstresser et. al in the U.S., demonstrated that mutual funds sold through U.S. broker channels underperform other mutual funds. They take this as indirect evidence that brokers or advisors do not add value for clients.
The Frankfurt-based study used client data from a large German bank and from an online broker that specializes in providing independent advice. The survey sample that was given advice, performed no better than the execution-only group.
The researchers also confirm that banks (and certain other advisors) have the wrong incentive structures, so that the advisory process all too often helps only the seller and not the investor. (To learn more, read Paying Your Investment Advisor - Fees Or Commissions?)
Investor Reluctance to Obtain and Follow Good Advice
Good advisors are clearly hard to find, but they are indeed out there. However, Hackethal found a widespread client reluctance to use good, skilled advice, preferring to rely on their own generally mediocre investment skills. A staggering 95% of those questioned were not even interested in free independent advice from an advisor with no incentive, at all, to recommend specific products.
Equally amazing is the fact that of the remaining 5%, only half actually followed the advice that they were given. Of this tiny group, half again followed the advice only half-heartedly, even though the recommendations would have led to substantially better returns.
It seems to be mainly wealthy, experienced investors who really appreciate the value of good advice from the right people. Yet, almost anyone would benefit from a second, objective opinion on what to do with their hard-earned savings.
The Solutions
The Frankfurt researchers do not believe that more governmental regulation is the answer either. In particular, given the above consumer attitudes to advice, purely seller-side regulation seems doomed to fail. For instance, Hackethal doubts that simply providing more information in the form of brochures, for example, will help much. It will take a lot more to achieve the necessary transparency and learning effects … with respect to investment risks and opportunities.
Clearly, somehow, investor attitudes towards advice need to change and the incentive structures in the industry as well. In addition, investment selling processes at banks may need to be overhauled in a more general sense. There is a compelling need to establish just why, in so many instances, the advisory process fails to work for the investor.
There are undoubtedly independent and bank advisors who can and will help people get more bang (and bank) for their buck. What is lacking is an understanding of the difference between good, mediocre and really bad advice. Above all, far greater market transparency is essential, so that people are able to draw the appropriate distinctions between a fine investment, a rip-off and the various shades of gray between the two extremes. At present, too many investors just do not know who they are dealing with. As Hackethal puts it the person sitting opposite them could be excellent or an outright crook. The clients just dont know. (Learn more on how to Find The Right Financial Advisor.)
An Important Benefit Remains - with Genuinely Independent Advisors
Independent financial advice can, however, at least prevent excessively risky, undiversified portfolios. That is, even if an advisor does not lead to better returns, if they can prevent you from having a high risk portfolio that rockets in a boom and plummets in a bear market, that can be worth a lot. This is a separate issue and needs to be kept in mind. The above research dealt with better investment performance, not with avoiding disastrous losses in a crash.
The Bottom Line
Financial advice can be pretty ineffectual for two main reasons. Firstly, when the incentive structures are wrong, the advice benefits mainly or only the bank or broker. Secondly, investors are remarkably reluctant either to seek out or follow objective advice from a third party. Overcoming this highly unsatisfactory situation entails a combination of changed structures and attitudes on both the buyer and seller sides of the market. This is not easy to achieve, and regulation alone will certainly not do it. The industry needs to take a long, hard look at what it is doing, both wrong and right.
1 Overview of Financial Analysis -
This link will help thou $NFDS BarChart Technical Analysis NITE-LYNX
http://www.barchart.com/technicals/stocks/NFDS
How To Become A Self-Taught Finance Expert
So you want to become a financial expert, but dont know where to start? Have no fear, a wealth of information is at your fingertips, and getting started is easy. From a basic introduction to personal finances to advanced security analysis, anyone interested in learning can get access to the necessary resources. (For more on a career in finance, check out Is A Career In Financial Planning In Your Future?)
For a basic introduction to sound financial concepts, you cant do much better than The Richest Man in Babylon. Its a tiny little book, written in an uncomplicated style. It also captures the wisdom of the ages in an easy to follow manner.
Once youve covered that, the famous For Dummies series provides insight into everything from budgeting to mutual funds. Managing Your Money for Dummies, Budgeting for Dummies and Mutual Funds for Dummies are three titles that will help you expand your knowledge of basic concepts.
By the time you finish those four books, you are likely to have identified specific items that you would like to learn more about. For these inquiries, theres no better place to go for fast, easy access to information that online. Investopedia and similar sites provide access to a wealth of information that will keep you busy for weeks if not months. Investopedias tutorials are particularly notable, as they provide an in-depth look at a wide variety of topics.
Google and other search engines let you hone in on specific topics, and many mutual fund companies and financial services firms offer a wealth of free information. A visit to their websites can reveal everything from general education on a wide array of products to economic forecasts and economic insights from professional market watchers. With a just a little effort, you can even identify and follow comments from your favorite economist, investment strategists, portfolio manager, or other expert.
The library, you local bookstore and multiple online retailers also offer literally thousands of books on every conceivable topic. From financial history and Wall Street villains to hedge fund analysis and day-trading strategies, theres a book (or ten) for every topic of interest. (For more read, Can You Learn The Stock Market?)
Television, Radio and Podcasts Can Help Too
Television broadcasts and/or podcasts are from a variety of experts. At the national level, Suze Orman and other gurus cover the common topics. Kramer and his peers talk stocks. At the local level, your hometown is likely to have an expert or two that you can tune into at no cost. (To read more on gurus, see Investing Quotes You Can Bank On.)
Ready to Step Up Your Game? Hit the Books Again
After you have covered the basics and want a solid overview at a more detailed level, The Wall Street Journal Guide to Investing is a great place to start. When you are done with that, your local library or bookstore will contain a variety of magazines covering both timely and general financial services topics. When you are ready to learn about stock research, Value Line is a great publication that provides an introduction into how you can begin to research and analyze stocks. Some libraries provide access to Value Line for free. If your local library does not, the service is available by subscription. Even if you choose not to conduct your own stock analysis, the Value Line website is worth a visit.
If you make it this far, you are clearly serious about your endeavor. Now its time to make your quest a daily habit. Subscribing to the The Wall Street Journal will give you a daily overview of the issues impacting global business operations. The Journal also has a great Money and Investing section. Barrons is another fine publication read by many professionals in the financial services industry. There are many other top-quality publications dedicated to various aspects of the financial services world. Find one that matches your interests and read it. (Check out, 5 Must-Read Finance Books.)
Talk to the Experts
Once you have solid understanding of the various aspects of the financial services world, it is time to spend some time talking to the experts. Financial services professionals make a living with their expertise and can help you learn about everything from mortgages and debt management to retirement savings and estate planning. Some of these topics are covered in seminars, others in one-on-one consultations. You can even pick up a thing or two just by having an informal conversation. Talk to a professional financial advisor, talk to your banker, talk to your accountant and your attorney. Then listen and learn as they share their knowledge. (For help on locating an advisor, read Advice For Finding The Best Advisor.)
Ready for More?
If you like what you have seen and heard and are ready for more, the CFA Institute (a non-profit organization that offers a range of educational and career resources, including the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and the Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM) designations) provides access to the curriculum for several of their well-regarded programs for free:
• http://www.cfainstitute.org/cfaprogram/courseofstudy/Pages/study_sessions.aspx
• http://www.cfainstitute.org/cipm/courseofstudy/curriculum/Pages/index.aspx
The Certified Financial Analyst program is an extremely well regarded curriculum, and the Certificate in Investment Performance Measurement (CIPM) Program is the investment industrys only designation dedicated to investment performance analysis and presentation. If articles with titles like Evaluating Portfolio Performance by V. Bailey, Thomas M. Richards and David E. Tierney, and Investment Performance Measurement: Evaluating and Presenting Results, Philip Lawton and Todd Jankowski, eds. (Wiley 2009) capture your interest, the CFA institute has a reading list that you are sure to like. (For help choosing a designation, check out CPA, CFA Or CFP - Pick Your Abbreviation Carefully.)
A Life-Long Pursuit
The financial services field is constantly evolving and changing. Recent decades have seen the rise of unified managed accounts, the development of exchange traded funds, the evolution of annuities and insured investment products and a host of other developments. Change is par for the course as the industry adapts to dynamic economic conditions and changes in what investors want and how they wish to deploy their assets. In this environment, there is always something new to consider, something old to revisit and something interesting just beyond the horizon. Keeping up with the industry is an important part of a financial service professionals life, and continuing education requirements are required for many of these experts to maintain their credentials. What this means for the-self taught expert is that you will always have an opportunity to add to your body of knowledge.
Arbitrage is the trading strategy that takes advantage of the price differential between two or more markets for the same underlying asset. Investors and traders profit from the price differential by buying at the cheaper price and selling at the higher price or vice versa. In liquid markets, arbitrage is a short-term strategy because traders quickly recognize the imbalance and correct their prices.
In addition to understanding the business, fundamental analysis allows investors to develop an understanding of the key value drivers and companies within an industry.
Feast thine eyes upon $SGCP BarChart Technical Analysis NITE-LYNX
http://www.barchart.com/technicals/stocks/SGCP
The 8 Most Volatile Sectors
Just like people, stocks seem to have their own personalities. Some are volatile, bouncing all over the short term, rapidly up and down in price like a yo-yo. Others are relatively docile and move more slowly, with a small changes in price on a steady pace over long periods of time. Volatility may be caused by a variety of factors - among them are trader emotions like fear and panic, which can cause massive sell offs or buying sprees.
In a jittery, uncertain market with nervous investors, major news events, both positive and negative, can cause big price moves, either down or up. Wars, revolutions, famines, droughts, strikes, political unrest, recessions or depressions, inflation, deflation, bankruptcies of major industries and fluctuations in supply and demand can all cause stock prices to drop precipitously.
Some big hedge funds and private equity firms, with excessive debt incurred to finance stock market investments, have been forced to sell assets in a declining market to pay off margin calls. These large-lot sales also cause big declines in stock prices.
The Sectors
Technology was the most volatile sector, according to a 2009 study conducted by a firm that tracked U.S. stock performance in the S
All states require financial institutions, including brokerage firms, to report when personal property has been abandoned or unclaimed after a period of time specified by state law — often five years. Before a brokerage account can be considered abandoned or unclaimed, the firm must make a diligent effort to try to locate the account owner.
Followers
|
1494
|
Posters
|
|
Posts (Today)
|
0
|
Posts (Total)
|
821321
|
Created
|
03/04/10
|
Type
|
Free
|
Moderator PhotoChick | |||
Assistants Nilbud ManicTrader |
Posts Today
|
0
|
Posts (Total)
|
821321
|
Posters
|
|
Moderator
|
|
Assistants
|
Volume | |
Day Range: | |
Bid Price | |
Ask Price | |
Last Trade Time: |