Stocks and Blogs

The Modalities of Internet Stock Trading

2013-04-24T20:06:08Z

Apart from bringing businesses and customers together, the influence of internet has advanced to stock trading as well, making it convenient for investors to make quick decisions based on real-time info. While internet-based stock trading can be quite lucrative, there is a need to grasp the sophistication of the daily market.

Investment plan

The first thing that you should be absolutely clear is on what your investment plan is. Based upon the plan, accurate online stocks can be searched for. You have to match your investment plan with a stockbroker. The advantage of internet-based brokering is that you can access the international market at any point in time.

You have to exercise control in online stock trading. The tip is to take action sensibility and in consultation with analysts if possible. With the tirade of information that is available, you can match which stocks have shown good performance over a long period of time. The final decision will depend on whether you have short-term investment goals or are aiming long-term.

Understanding the Stock Market

Among the key premises concerned with virtual trading, knowledge of the market is important. One of the major benefits of internet-based trading is that it’s not necessary to hire expensive business analysts to tell you which stocks to invest in. You can simply monitor the stock market over a period of time, and highlight companies and stocks matching your goals. A simple excel sheet can help you to keep track of your stocks, or you can use smartphone apps as well.

Buying shares

The next important thing is that of buying shares and that can be done by a simple action. The order that is used is known as a market value order. If you have hired a broker for yourself, you can opt for a limit/stop order when they buy stocks for you.

When trading on the internet, there is a lot of benefit with stop order. Using it would protect you from potential loss on a declining stock. In the limit order, you identify the cost that you intend to spend on the stock and when would you want to sell them.

Taxation and diversification

You can pay taxes for your stocks through online tax filing. The tax sheet can be prepared by a brokerage firm, or you can do it by keeping track of your stock investments. The same principle can be applied for mutual fund information. The values that have to be calculated include those of dividends and capital gain based earnings.

Moving on, it is also very important to maintain diversification. The online account allows you a higher level of diversity. You can take a look at the big investing opportunities for 2013 and then identify your approach for the next 3 to 6 months.

A general trend seen in the online trading is that investors buy index funds which can be categorized as long term performers. This helps to expand and diversify your portfolio on a span of years.

Do not experiment with stocks when you are new to online trading. There is always the habit of new investors choosing companies that have introduced some new technology (not everyone is Apple). First, pick out the sure winners to make your confidence. Once you’re experienced, you may look into tech-forward companies and their stocks.

5 Ways to Be a Better Investor

2013-02-10T15:33:42Z

Investing in today’s society is essential, as you have to earn a return on your capital just to keep up with inflation. With the average inflation rate around three percent historically, and even higher than that lately, it’s important to make a return on your money. Otherwise, you’re losing spending power. Because of this, it’s critical to become a better investor. Here are five ways that you can become a better investor:

1. Stop Swinging for the Fences

Many people get in the habit of going from one “home run” solution to another. They think that if they just put all of their money into this one up and coming company, it will make them a ton of money. The problem with this scenario is that it rarely works out. If you will hit a bunch of singles, it will be just as effective as hitting a home run.

2. Know Where to Go For Information

When you want to be a good investor, you need to be able to have access to the best information. You can’t really make informed decisions if you are always struggling to keep up with what’s going on. Check out resources like Yahoo Finance or Zero Hedge. Because of his industry experience and knowledge, Charles Phillips is a great person to look to for investing advice.

3. Be a Student

Even if you do well as an investor for a limited amount of time, there is always something to learn. You have to be willing to make yourself better all the time. Devour investing books, magazines, videos, and other resources that you can get your hands on. If you will take the time to improve yourself, you’ll be much more able to handle problems that come up in the investment world.

4. Diversify

Diversification is one of the most critical investment concepts for you to keep in mind when you are trying to make money. Instead of putting all of your money into a single investment, spread it out over multiple investments.

5. Look Outside the Norm

Instead of just throwing your money blindly at the stock market, consider some alternative investments. For instance, putting money into precious metals, commodities, real estate, and currencies may make some sense in today’s investing climate.

There are no easy answers when it comes to doing well in the market. Just make sure that you keep your options open and always be resilient when things go badly.

Big Investing Opportunities for 2013

2013-01-22T17:49:06Z

As we kick off 2013 the economy is still one of the main concerns for many people. The housing bubble and resulting recession are still all too fresh in our memories. However this should not scare you away from investing in the stock market. In fact the uncertain economy is just one more reason why you should be investing in your financial future. Part of the key to successful investing is choosing the right investments. Therefore here are three big investment opportunities to consider in 2013.

Church & Dwight Company (CHD)

Church & Dwight develops, manufactures and markets a broad range of consumer goods found in many homes. The company’s core brands include Arm & Hammer, First Response, Nair, Orajel, OxiClean, Spinbrush, Trojan, and XTRA. From an economic standpoint, consumer goods companies typically fare better in a down economy than many other industries. Church & Dwight has the added benefit of producing a diversified range of products. The company also has a solid track record of growth, financial stability, and profits. They completed a two-for-one split in 2011, have paid uninterrupted quarterly dividends for more than 100 years, and experienced an 18% net increase for third quarter 2012.

Whole Foods Market (WFMI)

Whole Foods Market occupies a significant portion of the natural and organic supermarkets niche. Whole Foods’ strengths include robust revenue growth of 26.3%, well above the industry average of 6%; a solid financial position and reasonable debt management with a debt to equity ratio of 0.01; an impressive 42.9% earnings per share growth and 49.4% net income growth for the last quarter compared the a year ago, due in part to their expanding profit margins.

Coca-Cola (KO)

The beverage industry is another that tends to weather an economic storm quite well, and Coca-Cola is no exception. Their main areas of strength include revenue growth, increased profit margins, and good cash flow. Although the company underperformed in revenue growth last year compared to the rest of the industry, the revenue growth has affected the company’s bottom line, improving their overall earnings per share. They currently have a healthy gross profit margin of 64.80% and an above average net profit margin of 18.72%. Cash flow increased to $3,662.00 million or 15.95%, well above the industry average of 5.92%.

Note:

Fortress Investment Group, Pete Briger Principal and Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors joined Fortress in 2002 after 15 years with Goldman, Sachs & Co, reaching partner in 1996. Fortress offers a range of investment strategies for clients around the world.

Questions every Investor knows to ask first

2013-01-15T22:37:35Z

In order to find investment success you need to be prepared to work. Jumping in blind and putting your money into the first opportunities that come your way very rarely works out. If you want to get a good return on the money you put in, you need to be careful. You need to learn how investing actually works (these books by Ken Fisher are a great place to start). You need to ask smart questions. You need to ask questions like these.

1. When working with a financial advisor or investment broker, ask how that person is going to be paid. Some brokers and advisors are paid by the companies and funds they are promoting and in which they want you to invest. Sometimes they take a commission out of what you earn. Sometimes you pay them directly. Sometimes it is an amalgamation of all of these things and it changes over time. You don’t want to invest in something, believing that the advisor is being paid via the company and then get stuck with a bill in a few months. Don’t just ask about this year. Ask about next year, and the years after that—just to keep your bases covered.

2. How do you feel personally about the investment? A lot of investment professionals will tell you to take your personal feelings out of the equation but, according to this article by Chuck Jaffe, your personal feelings about the investment are just as important as your business reasons for doing so. You don’t want to invest in something you find morally reprehensible or else part of you is going to root for that investment to fail, which is not a healthy way to go into an investment, no matter how much it promises to pay out later.

3. What is the investment’s SEC status? Investments need to be either registered with the SEC or be deemed registration exempt. The company needs to have proof of this registration or exemption. Ask to see certified proof of their status and then use the EDGAR database to double check what they have sent to you. If you can’t find proof of their registration or exemption, do not invest in the product, company or fund.

While there are general investment questionsthat you should always ask, if you really want to make sure your money is safe, you’ll need to make sure you ask product/type specific questions too. There are different sets of questions that you need to ask with each investment you are thinking of making. Make sure you ask the specific questions as well as the general questions if you want to truly protect yourself.

Personal Investing: the Bigger Picture

2012-11-16T10:43:50Z

When you want to invest for your personal savings it is important to understand the best way to invest your money. There are many items and programs you can invest in but not all of them work for everyone. Learning the best way to invest your money is key in being successful at investing. Personal investing helps you to secure your future and the future of your family.

One way to learn more about personal investing is by reading items like articles by Michael Fertik. These articles are a wonderful resource to learn and gain knowledge on how to best invest your money for personal uses. You’ll discover great tips on investing in all sorts of items. Discover the best way to get the most out of your investment dollar by reading these informative articles. This is just one of many resources available to help you along your way.

One tip to consider when investing is putting your money in gold and silver coins. Some like going this route because they are tangible assets that can be easily liquidated if need be. There are many ways you can go about investing in these items. Local coin shows, coin dealers or online dealers can all help you get started. You can invest as much or as little in this area as you like.

Another tip to remember is that money markets give you access to your investments while they are working for you. These help you maintain availability with your money while still making money for you. This is important because there are times you may need to access that money and some investments charge penalties to do so. Many banks and institutions offer several different tiers for your money investments depending on how much you want to put in.

Others like to invest in stocks and bonds. This is an area that is best invested in after discussing your options with a counselor. While the market is a risky place to be at times, it can also be a lucrative investment opportunity for you. There are some areas that you can invest in at an earlier age that may be riskier but you have time to earn the money back if you have losses. These are good for those who are investing early.

Earning the most from your investment is key when you are dealing with a shaky economy. While it is always important it is even more so now. By being responsible and investing in your future you can prevent problems down the road. Learn how to do it wisely and where the best places to invest are before putting your money somewhere. This in turn will save you money and time in the long run.

Silver Commodity

2012-09-29T01:24:34Z

Contributed by: Guest Author

In the last few years, investors have been scrambling for a viable alternative to the stock market, as stocks have fluctuated unbelievably. With so much uncertainty, many investors have landed on precious metals like silver.

Over the last decade, the price of silver has skyrocketed thanks to this uncertainty. If you were lucky enough to own silver 10 years ago, you made a huge return on your investment. While the price of silver has been up overall, the last few months it has been lagging a bit. Many experts believe that this is due to the huge number of short sale deals that the investment banks have been making to try and manipulate the price.

However, with the recent uncertainty in the economy again, the price of silver has jumped back up. One of the big things that has been driving prices of silver back up is the situation in the Euro Zone. With the crisis that is unfolding in Europe, there are a lot of people who are investing in something solid like silver.

On top of the crisis in Europe, recent news of Quantitative Easing 3 or QE-Infinity has spooked investors even more. With this announcement, the Federal Reserve has basically said that they are going to be creating more money out of thin air and using it to buy mortgage-backed securities. This takes away a lot of the low risk investments from the market, and devalues the dollar. If you can’t keep your money in the dollar and retain any value, a legitimate alternative is to put it into silver.

Many investors have used this line of reasoning, and started buying up more silver. This has helped raise the price recently. Many experts believe that the price of silver is only going to continue to go up even further in the next few months and years.

Because of this unprecedented demand for the precious metal, companies like Lynas mining are staying busy. They are a great source for information in the silver market, and they are one of the leaders in the industry.

If you are searching for a viable alternative to the regular investments like stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, silver may be exactly what you are looking for. It will still be there regardless of what happens to the fiat money system in the next few years. It always has some value and is a valuable commodity to own.

Four Criteria For Deciding On A Safe Stock

2012-02-07T08:32:24Z

Many investors shy away from a stock over a hunch or superstition. Fluctuations in the market, especially during this historically rough stretch for the American economy, can create massive investor insecurity. People are looking to shave off dollars from their bottom lines. They’re opting for a prepaid Mastercard over an endless credit line; they’re looking for savings; and they’re especially looking for smart stock moves and dividends. While there is no set criteria for making money on the stock market, these four criteria may help you prioritize your plays this year:

Defensive industries—These are non-cyclical stocks that are typically equity securities or companies that sell necessary products or services. They usually have stable sales even when consumers and investors are scaling back, simply because they are indispensable. They are known as defensive because they protect your overall portfolio even when the market is doing badly. Examples would be toothpaste, shampoo, condoms, alcohol, etc. Some stocks truly are recession-proof and these are stocks that can make good investments, especially if dividends are offered.

Low debt burden—A company’s debt to ratio plays a big role in whether or not it will work as a long term investment and can drastically affect a company’s credit rating. The debt ratio is determined by the total amount of debt divided by total assets. The debt ratio determines a firm’s debt burden and indicates the strength of its capital. Low debt isn’t necessarily the best indication of whether a stock is reliable though. You want a company for which debt indicates their ability raise money from lenders from whom they can get a better return. A good company with a low debt burden will profit from their debt.

Increased sales—If a company is able to bolster its sales in tough economic conditions you have a pretty good indication of its value. This isn’t necessarily the same as being a defensive industry, it may just simply mean that the company’s business model appeals to a certain trend in society.

Healthy dividends—Any time you have a protracted period of low inflation and low interest rates, investors will seek out dividends. These are payments made to shareholders when a company makes a certain amount of profit. Dividends make a stock vastly more attractive to frugal investors.

These four criteria overlap in many ways, but they all speak to the health of a stock and its ability to weather tough economic conditions and fluctuations in the market. Investors would be wise to pick their stocks based on one or more of these conditions.

Recent Market Sell Off

2010-01-27T08:08:57Z

The recent market sell off that has seen the Dow Jones go from 10,700 to 10,100 is a little more than a mere regulation pull back. Attempted bounces and recoveries have failed and I can’t say I am surprised.

The economy shows little signs of recovery, and credit remains tight. Housing market has not exactly showed much improvement and now, President Obama is expected to curb spending by 17%, which will have an impact on companies that expected to receive government contracts (materials, engineering, infrastructure and energy come to mind). Inflation is still a threat even as gold prices hang around all time highs.

In other business related news, Google’s China move has seen its stock fall 12% within a few days. Apple is supposed to announce a tablet PC tomorrow, but I doubt if it will help the stock in the broader context of the market. In fact, I expect it to sell off along with the market over the next few weeks.

If you are an investor looking to buy during this sell off, be cautious. The stock market may still have a little ways to go down.

Some stocks I am looking to pick up when the time is right – Quanta (PWR), Qualcomm (QUAL) and some China names.

Los Angeles gets GMail

2009-11-21T01:12:43Z

The city of Los Angeles today signed a 5-year $7.25 million deal with Google to move all their 30,000 city email accounts online to Gmail. For those that have questioned Google’s “Give it Away Free” approach, here is yet another way they make money, but remain consumer friendly. If you are wondering this contract is basically worth $48.30 per user per year.

Android’s Impact on Google’s future

2009-10-28T01:33:05Z

In a short period of time, Google’s mobile operating platform, Android, which competes with Windows Mobile, Apple’s iPhone OS, Symbian and Palm OS has garnered plenty of attention and accolades. As was the case when Apple’s App Store was launched some 15 months ago now, Android’s Market, which is Google’s version of Apple’s App store, has generated a lot of attention. According to mobile analytics and advertising providers Flurry and AdMob, developers are devoting significant resources to the mobile platform, which will result in a boom in Android apps. Flurry, a San Francisco-based mobile metrics company, reported a 94 percent increase in the number of projects started by Android developers between September and October.

According to recent reports, over 3 million Android handsets have been sold so far, and the share of requests AdMob gets for advertising from Android smartphones sits at 17 percent of all smartphone traffic as of September. Currently 12 Android phones are available in the market with more than 75 million Android handsets slated to ship in 2012, according to Gartner Research. Moreover, T-Mobile and Verizon have stepped up their efforts to market a competitor phone to iPhone, which is still exclusively available through AT&T.

Predicted Smartphone Market Share in 2012

The increasing marketshare and presence of Android has created a unique opportunity for Google. It now has the potential to be front and center in the hands of everyone who carries a mobile phone. According to ZD Net, 60% of the world’s population now owns a mobile phone. This equates to over 4 billion active mobile subscriptions worldwide. The US mobile adoption rate is 91.4% according to eMarketer, which amounts to 281 million subscribers.

To put broader context around Google’s opportunity in mobile, consider this – Nielsen reported that in Q1 of 2009, the average mobile user exchanged 486 text messages, while making only 182 phone calls. In other words, voice calls are taking a back seat on mobile phones when compared to SMS and other internet-based features such as E-Mail and browsing. To further underline this point, consider that Smartphones currently make up 20% of all mobile phones in use. By 2013, this number is expected to grow to 77% (239 million smartphones) of mobile phones (based on Parks Associates Industry Research). If Google’s Android OS has 20% of this market share in 2013, it gives Google, which is already the largest online advertising medium, immediate and direct access to 48 million users in the US alone. This does NOT include those users who don’t own an Android phone, but will still use Google services on competing systems. Additionally, Google has plans to release a Google branded phone which will not be specific to a carrier, rather it will be sold like a computer, with the user having the choice of carrier much like an internet provider.

While overall mobile advertising is less than a $500 million market in 2009, it is expected to grow to over $1.5 billion by 2012, a small drop in Google’s bucket, but other opportunities lie in mobile applications, which Google may or may not choose to monetize in some form or the other.

Another question that arises here is how far Google will go with their Chrome netbooks? Chrome will be an OS that will compete with Microsoft Windows for PC market share. I would imagine this is something we will see rolling out over the next 6-12 months. Frustrated Windows users would like nothing more than a competing OS which they can have for free.

Then there is the question of Google Voice. Without cell towers and expensive infrastructure, Google has managed to give people free phone service, albeit you still need a carrier to actually use Google Voices, but the idea is neat and it allows Google to have yet another way to reach audiences.

Earlier this month, Google released their quarterly earnings, which were nothing short of stellar. The company reported earnings of $1.64 billion, or $5.13 a share, up from $1.29 billion, or $4.06 a share, in the same period last year, a gain of 27%. Net revenue rose to $4.38 billion from $4.04 billion.

Needless to say, Google presents a threat to Apple, Blackberry and Microsoft with it’s focus on operating systems, mobile phones and applications. As such, Google as a stock remains one of my favorites. Earlier this year, when the stock was at multi-year lows, I recommended Google as part of my Top Stocks to Buy for 2009 series. Since then, Google stock is up 35%. I recommend buying Google on a pull back.

– Faisal Laljee

Full Disclosure: I do not own GOOG, but my position can change anytime without notice.

Stocks and Blogs

The Modalities of Internet Stock Trading

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5 Ways to Be a Better Investor

Related Posts:

Big Investing Opportunities for 2013

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Questions every Investor knows to ask first

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Personal Investing: the Bigger Picture

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Silver Commodity

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Four Criteria For Deciding On A Safe Stock

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Recent Market Sell Off

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Los Angeles gets GMail

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Android’s Impact on Google’s future

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