Stock Market News & Stocks to Watch from StraightStocks » money

Trading With Point And Figure Charts (Part I)

Ahmad Hassam — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 12:12:26 +0000

Do you know how to read Point and figure charts? Point and figure trading in many ways is similar to the support and resistance breakout trading on bar or candlestick charts. The main difference is the look and functionality of the price charts themselves!

A Diversified Portfolio Can Grow In Good Times And In Bad

Martha Vasquez — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 08:29:53 +0000

Nobody has ever said that investing in the stock market is a sure thing, but there are some things that you can do that will better ensure your success. One of those things is to make sure that you have a diversified portafolio that will spread out your money and protect you. A lot of beginner investors fail to do this and as one company goes, so goes their entire portfolio.

Learning About Short And Long Term Stock Market Investing

Investment Education Staff — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 11:48:21 +0000

During this turbulent economic time where stock market indexes are plummeting and rising almost every day due to the crisis calls for a special investment plan so that risk is minimized. There is a need for the clever planning of investment and saving strategies so that they reflect the changing nature of the playing field.

One Year Later, One (Trillion) More Dollars

Gareth Soloway — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 14:12:59 +0000

September 15th, 2008, a day that will live in infamy. Famous words, much the same, made in 1941 by our President Franklin D. Roosevelt. As the one year anniversary of the Lehman Brothers collapse approaches, I find myself looking at the economic picture and wondering if we really dodged a bullet or if we traded [...]

Smart Investments

Investment Education Staff — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 09:13:58 +0000

While some people today seem to be going into debt because of the strain of the economy, there are those people out there looking for good investments - maybe you are one of them. When you have money to spare, putting it in a savings account does not necessarily make sense; yet, the investment alternatives out there today seem to be risky. Because of this, many people are hesitant about where they want to invest their money - and, for good reason. However, there are solid, sound, and relatively risk free investments that are still available to people today looking to invest money.

How to Sell Gold for Profit

Investment Education Staff — Sat, 22 Aug 2009 07:53:25 +0000

This is the worst recession for over 60 years and as we have all had to cut corners, tighten our belts and look for ways to save cash, many people have been taking a good, hard look at where they can make extra money. Many of us have old jewelry which is simply wasting away in a drawer or a box somewhere - it is unlikely to be ever used again and it is in every sense of the word, dead weight.

Get Started Trading Today – Quickly and Efficiently

Investment Education Staff — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 09:12:58 +0000

I don't know about you, but whenever I'm ready to do something I don't have much patience if I have to wait around to get started doing it. This was especially true whenever I first started trading on the Forex market and I can tell you how anxious I was during those first few days. If you find yourself in the same situation, there is no doubt that you want to get started quickly as well.

How to Invest For Retirement

Investment Education Staff — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 08:01:03 +0000

There are many retirement saving options out there for people looking to invest in their future. The two most important ones are the 401k and the IRA. There are many different types of each of these options. Both options have different rules too. However, if you use these two options together, you will be able to save a lot of money for your retirement.

Steps To Avoid Risky Trading Strategy

Greg Deffson — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 13:26:14 +0000

Stock markets are the most risky way to make money. However, that said they are easily most easily available methods to make money and they provide gains which are far in excess of any other money making methods.

How to Invest – Selecting an Discount Online Broker Thats Right for You

Sara Ferguson — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:32:05 +0000

As a general rule, online investors who use discount brokerages arent seeking the advice of a traditional broker theyve known for the last ten years. Most online investors want brokerages that are stable, provide excellent customer service, and offer different types of choices. The following list shows some of the criteria that investors use to judge discount online brokerages:

A Few Tips About Correct Investment Research

Investment Education Staff — Mon, 11 May 2009 09:06:55 +0000

There are, literally, thousands of opinions, viewpoints and schools of thought when it comes to investing cash. Used in restoring different types of flooring, and I'll go over the basics here so that you understand what is involved.

Home loan lenders

Investment Education Staff — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 13:35:06 +0000

Co-submitted by: Asphalt Shingle Costs Estimator. The most common of procedures when you want to buy a house is to contact a home loan lender and get things into motion. There are situations when getting to work with a reliable company is some kind of rara avis, a most difficult thing to find.

How To Identify Stock Market Trends

Investment Education Staff — Sat, 25 Apr 2009 16:25:22 +0000

The stock market is very unpredictable. It can be a very great thing to invest in or it can be very risky and you may lose a lot of money. The best way to cut down this risk is by identifying stock market trends. It is the best way to make money in the stock market.

No Load Mutual Funds

Investment Education Staff — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 08:41:41 +0000

We aren't born with the right knowledge to effectively invest in stocks and bonds. Fortunately, you don't have to be a finance expert to invest your money. Mutual funds is a way to invest in a variety of investments and you don't have to do it all on your own. In fact, you can get someone else to do it entirely.

Cheap Stock Picks And Mutual Funds

Investment Education Staff — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 09:19:45 +0000

Before you buy any shares of a company the first thing to think about is if the price will go up or down in the foreseeable future. Failing to consider this one crucial point, might just cost you a fortune in a very short period of time.

Stock Market Corrections Are Beautiful— And Necessary

Steve Selengut — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 13:00:30 +0000

Every correction is the same, a normal downturn in one or more of the markets where we invest. There has never been a correction that has not proven to be an investment opportunity. You can be confident that governments around the world are not going to allow another Great Depression “on their [...]

Money Inflation vs Deflation and The Many Reasons

Investment Education Staff — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 11:23:03 +0000

Inflation & deflation and their many meanings, should be carefully dissected. Although both have similar meanings, deflation can differ a bit. Deflation can often be found to be the very reason for inflation. The solution for money inflation is the same for deflation. Deflation however often looks for increasing the value of money, but can in turn doing so, cause supply and demand to dwindle.

Remember 1979: Is this time different?

Eldon Mast — Thu, 12 Mar 2009 03:07:00 +0000

pa href="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~a/-VccS7-38rZpbWvNlKfDBaDTTaw/a"img src="http://feedads.googleadservices.com/~a/-VccS7-38rZpbWvNlKfDBaDTTaw/i" border="0" ismap="true"/img/a/pIn 1974 and 1975 a style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);" href="http://mast-economy.blogspot.com/2008/12/remembering-1975-majority-was-wrong.html"the majority was wrong/a about any positive prospects for the US economy. How about 1979?br /br /On the cover of Business Week magazine on Aug 13, 1979, the headlines announced "The Death of Equities" and the byline: "How inflation is destroying the stock market." But last year Money magazine said, "That, of course, turned out to be one of the great buy signals of all time." br /br /By getting into stocks right then, savvy investors beat inflation easily for the following 5 to 10 years.br /br /But this a href="http://www.economics.harvard.edu/faculty/rogoff/files/This_Time_Is_Different.pdf"time is different right/a? Yes and No. Of course 2009 is a different time in history. But a fascinating paper by the economics department at Harvard, reveals that a significant number of factors are the same now as compared to other financial crises that have occurred for 800 years!br /br /They find that these gloomy financial episodes "are typically spaced some years (or decades) apart, creating an illusion that 'this time is different' among policymakers and investors." Further they conclude that, "the recent US sub-prime financial crisis is hardly unique."br /br /So are stocks dead this time? Or a href="http://www.businessweek.com/investor/content/mar2009/pi2009039_346213.htm?chan=investing_investing+index+page_stocks+%2Bamp%3B+markets"just resting?/abr /br /Following the Business week article in 1979, buying stocks would have yielded, after inflation, an average annual return of 7.3%. The 10-year performance yield: 9.52% annually. Further, history shows that for 20- and 30- year periods, inflation-adjusted gains on stocks a href="http://finance.yahoo.com/focus-retirement/article/106708/Case-Closed-Stocks-Work?mod=retirement-preparation"have never been negative/a.br /br /So are we at a style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);" href="http://mast-economy.blogspot.com/2009/03/tipping-point-and-good-news-matches.html"the tipping point/a in the bear stock market of 2009-2010? Have another look at our recent a style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);" href="http://mast-economy.blogspot.com/2009/03/stock-market-chart-for-2009-2010.html"charts and graphs/a. You be the judge. Because remember most economists makespan style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);" /spana style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);" href="http://mast-economy.blogspot.com/2009/01/making-astrology-look-respectable.html"astrologists look respectable./adiv class="blogger-post-footer"div/div No Gloom here. Only Good News. div/div a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1416560610?ie=UTF8tag=thegooneweco-20linkCode=as2camp=1789creative=9325creativeASIN=1416560610"The Power of Positive Thinking/a div/div a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0743243153?ie=UTF8tag=thegooneweco-20linkCode=as2camp=1789creative=390957creativeASIN=0743243153"The Road Less Traveled/a div/div/divdiv class="feedflare" a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?a=ta0m2nh8W7c:I4MNh0RTAAg:yIl2AUoC8zA"img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?d=yIl2AUoC8zA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?a=ta0m2nh8W7c:I4MNh0RTAAg:63t7Ie-LG7Y"img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?d=63t7Ie-LG7Y" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?a=ta0m2nh8W7c:I4MNh0RTAAg:dnMXMwOfBR0"img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?d=dnMXMwOfBR0" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?a=ta0m2nh8W7c:I4MNh0RTAAg:F7zBnMyn0Lo"img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?i=ta0m2nh8W7c:I4MNh0RTAAg:F7zBnMyn0Lo" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?a=ta0m2nh8W7c:I4MNh0RTAAg:7Q72WNTAKBA"img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?d=7Q72WNTAKBA" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?a=ta0m2nh8W7c:I4MNh0RTAAg:V_sGLiPBpWU"img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?i=ta0m2nh8W7c:I4MNh0RTAAg:V_sGLiPBpWU" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?a=ta0m2nh8W7c:I4MNh0RTAAg:qj6IDK7rITs"img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?d=qj6IDK7rITs" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?a=ta0m2nh8W7c:I4MNh0RTAAg:KwTdNBX3Jqk"img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?i=ta0m2nh8W7c:I4MNh0RTAAg:KwTdNBX3Jqk" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?a=ta0m2nh8W7c:I4MNh0RTAAg:l6gmwiTKsz0"img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?d=l6gmwiTKsz0" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?a=ta0m2nh8W7c:I4MNh0RTAAg:gIN9vFwOqvQ"img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?i=ta0m2nh8W7c:I4MNh0RTAAg:gIN9vFwOqvQ" border="0"/img/a a href="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?a=ta0m2nh8W7c:I4MNh0RTAAg:TzevzKxY174"img src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~ff/TheGoodNewsEconomist?d=TzevzKxY174" border="0"/img/a /divimg src="http://feeds2.feedburner.com/~r/TheGoodNewsEconomist/~4/ta0m2nh8W7c" height="1" width="1"/

Mutual Funds Explained

Investment Education Staff — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 10:49:18 +0000

If you have ever set up a retirement account such as a 401K or if you have every picked up a money management magazine, you have probably heard of a mutual fund. If you don't know much more about it other than that it is an investment, you are not alone. Many people are in the dark when it comes to investments, and a mutual fund is neither a stock nor a bond, the two most common investments.

A Guide to Trading Penny Stocks and Small Cap Stock Stocks

James Brumley — Thu, 26 Feb 2009 19:02:59 +0000

Traders have given them many names, like bulletin board stocks, micro caps, penny stocks, and others. The attraction to them, however, is all built around the same premise " that the market is on the verge of deciding a particular company is the next big thing. There are a few lessons to keep in mind about trading small cap stocks though.

Five Benefits of the Obama Plan

Investment Education Staff — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 18:16:25 +0000

Now that the ink has dried on the Obama Housing Stability Plan, people want to know what's in it for them. So here goes: basically the Treasury Department will offer inducements and put pressure on lenders to reduce monthly payments for borrowers at risk of losing their houses which should result in five benefits for homeowners. They include:

The Hidden Gem of Credit Rating

Investment Education Staff — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 10:29:30 +0000

There are alot another method that we can cover your credit rating. Having "creditworthiness" is extremely vital in today's declining financial system .

Moving Your Money Around In The Bank

Investment Education Staff — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 12:58:45 +0000

Now hat its a new year everyone is asking what the best investments are. While at the end of the year 2008 bank CD rates were very popular, they have grown a bit cold and just aren't providing the great return that they used too.

Long Term Approach To Stock Market Riches

Investment Education Staff — Wed, 11 Feb 2009 08:15:56 +0000

Albert Einstein has often referred to compounding as the 8th wonder of the world. Indeed, the power of compounding is astonishing. The only problem is that at the beginning you won't see much of a reward. Yet this is the key to winning in the stock market: over the long term, you will make a lot of money because time is on your side. This article is not about get-rich-quick schemes involving the stock market. It's about setting up your plan so that you position yourself to be sitting pretty a couple of decades from now. Let's get started.

How To Trade Forex – Tips To Take Your Trading To The Next Level

Investment Education Staff — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 09:38:40 +0000

Foreign Exchange Trading Market

IG Markets-time for a change, see who we suggest

Investment Education Staff — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 08:31:41 +0000

Are you trading with IG Markets?We have researched all the Brokers and have a broker we believe has more to offer as a FOREX BROKER than IG MARKETS. Online brokers own an important role to play when you open an online trading account. To Each One broker can offer different services and features. You essential research all the online brokers to find the foremost broker to meet your needs. I experience listed a wide number of online brokers and placed their information for you to read in one easy-to-read webpage. This is a free, "no-cost to you" service for our valued reviewers and can be seen on this link: Best Online Brokers or you can email support@cfdfxreport.com

German 20 Mark Gold Coin: A Gorgeous Old Rare German Coin

Christina Goldman — Fri, 26 Dec 2008 12:43:27 +0000

Anyone who owns, trades, or collects gold coins would not have a complete collection without a German 20 Mark Gold coin piece. These beautiful gold coins display a wonderfully detailed profile of Kaiser Wilhelm and were minted between 1871 and 1913.

CFD REPORT- Singapore Stock Exchange

Investment Education Staff — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 10:55:52 +0000

What is the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX?)

Crisis Investing 101

Investment Education Staff — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 02:23:22 +0000

The meltdown on Wall Street has taught us all many lessons.

Get Trading Ideas- Use the Best

Investment Education Staff — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:57:02 +0000

If you want to make money in the stock market you are not alone. There are many people who have become millionaires by buying and selling stock at opportune times in the stock market. That being said, there are many others who have lost quite a bit because they had no idea about how the stock market works, or what stocks to invest in. Obviously, you want to join the former group. To give yourself the best chance of success it is important to collect as much information as you can before you start trading the stock market. Or you can look at getting some help.

American Eagle Gold Bullion Coin Sets: 6 Reasons Invest In Proof

Christina Goldman — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 09:42:18 +0000

Are you wondering whether you should invest in American Eagle Gold Proof Sets versus the American Eagle Gold Bullion coin sets? You're not alone. Many gold bullion investors often wonder which version of the two they should purchase. Gold proof? Or gold bullion? The answer depends upon your reason for wanting to purchase the coin in the first place.

Spending More Money

Contrarian Profits — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 20:19:34 +0000

pTurn back the clocks to 1950#8230; Currencies rally on the day#8230; Bank of Canada to cut rates today#8230;br / Fed Funds to zero? And Now#8230; Today#8217;s Pfennig!br / Well#8230; It looks like the new president wants to spend more money#8230; Yes, President-elect Obama, presented his economic plan yesterday, and before doing so, issued a warning that the economy is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. His plan calls for a pledge to spend the most on infrastructure since the 1950#8217;s#8230; Now, let me say this#8230; The Big Boss, Frank Trotter, and I talk about this all the time#8230; To spend money on Financial Institutions and things that don#8217;t get used more than once like bullets and bombs, isn#8217;t our #8220;fave#8221;#8230;/p

Investment Management – Put More Smart Cash In Your Future

Steve Selengut — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 14:12:53 +0000

The stock market is a dynamic place where investors can consistently make reasonable returns on their capital if they comply with the basic principles of the endeavor and if they don’t measure their progress too frequently against irrelevant indices. The income securities market is most often a less dynamic place where investors [...]

Investment Grade Value Stocks At Ten Year Lows

Steve Selengut — Fri, 10 Oct 2008 01:46:04 +0000

There has never been a correction that has not proven to be an investment opportunity. While everything is down in price, there is actually less to worry about than when prices are historically high. More money has been lost by people who bought into last year’s markets than by those who will [...]

Stock Market Video Trend Analysis 7/16/08

Brian Shannon — Wed, 16 Jul 2008 19:30:00 +0000

Brian
Just finished your book, and all I can say is WOW!!! I was a market maker on the CBOE for several years, and all I can say is I wish I had read a book like that 20 years ago my career would have been a little less frustrating. Thanks again for all your hard work and sharing with others.
Richard R

Hi Brian,
I was very impressed with your book "Technical Analysis Using Multiple Timeframes” and I read it with great enthusiasm. Your book is not overly technical or complicated and the methods taught are extremely sound and brilliant.
Your book provided me with the psychology behind the charts and clearly explained the market forces that affect the up and down swing of stock prices. You clearly explain the quirks of supply and demand with great intelligence, sensibility, understanding and most important simplicity.
I cannot praise you enough for teaching me to become a more disciplined trader, to keep my losses small and to focus on trading only with the major long term trend. I have confidently learned to recognize the trend and to wait to get in at the precise time long or short. I made $880.00 today using the lessons I learn from your book. It more than paid for itself in one trade.
In my opinion, "Technical Analysis Using Multiple Timeframes," is a “MUST READ” for anyone determined to consistently make money in the markets.
Thanks again Brian keep up the great work!
Peter

Naked Shorting in The Mining Sector

Alex Stanczyk — Wed, 25 Jun 2008 19:24:25 +0000

We have heard alot of discussion lately in regards to why the miners could possibly be doing so horribly, when history has shown us that mining stocks should be skyrocketing given the last 8 year bull run in precious metals. Two words: Naked Shorting Jim Sinclair has created a movement lately asking to enlist over 200,000 investors, [...]

Home Depot (HD) Insiders buying back in Spades

Frank Lara — Tue, 24 Jun 2008 18:03:18 +0000

Its no secret The Home Depot, Inc. (NYSE:HD) and Lowe's (NYSE:LOW) stock has taken a huge hit in recent months. But HD officers are laying their money on the line, buying up shares with the utmost confidence in their company. Since May Insider buying of HD shares totals $107.4 million. So should you be buying with them?

Barclays in denial

John Hempton — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 00:39:00 +0000

There is a lovely article in the Daily Telegraph about Barclays being in denial about the size of the losses that it needs to take. One thing that caught my eye was the following:It has even been suggested that Barclays chose not to offload its Allianc...

Bud keeps climbing …

Nilus Mattive — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 12:32:16 +0000

Two weeks ago, I wrote an article in Money and Markets talking about Bud's surge on takeover rumors. And I pointed out that InBev's rumored buyout price of $65 a share meant there was still plenty of upside ahead.

Since then, BUD stock has climbed to $61 a share, good for another 5% profit. Not too shabby given the broad market's performance over the same period.

There are still some hurdles to the deal -- inlcuding a strong backlash from U.S. beer fans -- so this may be as far as the shares go for a while.

Still, it's nice to see a solid dividend stock tacking on a little capital apprecation in a flagging market.

CNBC Bonus Bucks Trivia: How much did Warren Buffett bet that Wall Street pros cannot beat the S&P?

William Trent — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 18:02:08 +0000

How much did Warren Buffett bet that Wall Street pros cannot beat the S&P? Billionaire Warren Buffett has wagered roughly $320,000 of his own money that the S&P 500 will outperform a collection of hedge funds.

Barron’s Analyst Likes Ethanol Companies

CEO Blogger — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 15:41:58 +0000

Andrew Bary, analyst/reporter at Barron’s, highlighted Ethanol companies in this week’s Barron’s. He basically said that although it is a competitive industry (companies have a lot of debt and potential liquidity issues) and profits are volatile, the industry has government subsidiaries (until 2010) and is saving consumers money on gasoline. And, ethanol reduced gasoline demand [...]

China pollution report

Tony Sagami — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 23:00:51 +0000

Freedom of the press doesn't exist in China. In fact, the Chinese government directly controls it by owning the largest newspapers and the largest TV stations. The point of that is that the Chinese government often skews the news to look good. That is especially true of pollution. Chinese Ministry of Environmental Protection issued its annual report showed that water pollution is getting slightly worse while air pollution is getting slightly better. I don't buy either claim. There continues to be a mountain of money to be made by investing in companies that can help China clean up its severe pollution.

China ranked #1 by foreign investors

Tony Sagami — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 22:54:53 +0000

I think it is a good idea to ask people with money to invest where they want to put it. Ernst & Young’s fifth annual attractiveness survey, An Open World, found that 41% of investors ranked China as the #1 country to invest in today. India was #4.

CNBC Bonus Bucks Trivia: What comparison site did “On The Money” blogger Carmen Wong Ulrich recommend to help avoid hidden bank fees?

William Trent — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 16:05:44 +0000

What comparison site did “On The Money” blogger Carmen Wong Ulrich recommend to help avoid hidden bank fees? No thanks, Jason. Do you realize that I can just go to Bankrate.com or Interest.com and do a little comparison shopping from the comfort and convenience of my desk and get myself a whole new place to bank [...]

Global Gaming Expo in Macau

Tony Sagami — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 00:17:39 +0000

I am off to attend part of the 3-day Global Gaming Expo being held at the Macau Venetian. I hope to learn what countries are the most likely to offer Vegas-style gambling in the future (my money is on Taiwan) and more importantly, see with my own eyes what publicly traded casinos are raking in the biggest profits.

Buy Amazon (AMZN) just for the Kindle?

Ted Gottsegen — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 21:52:44 +0000

Believe it or not but Amazon.com (NASDAQ:AMZN) shares are trading in the $80 range, something not seen since before the 'bubble burst' back when we partied like it was 1999. Amazon's e-book solution the Kindle is rocking the industry so should you buy shares before the July Q2 earnings call?

Amazon might not be making any money with its Kindle e-book reader, but that's not dampening the enthusiasm of the device's most outspoken evangelist.

CNBC Bonus Bucks Trivia: On May 28, homeland security analyst Brian Ruttenbur praised which firm for its fingerprint-verification tech?

William Trent — Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:10:22 +0000

On May 28, homeland security analyst Brian Ruttenbur praised which firm for its fingerprint-verification tech? Ruttenbur’s first pick among homeland security companies is AuthenTec (AUTH), a maker of fingerptint-authentication sensors . “They’re growing roughly 45-50 percent a year, and they’re going on laptops and cell phones,” he said. “You’ll see the first cell phones [with fingerprint sensors] [...]

TONS Of Bullish Charts

Joshua Hayes — Fri, 30 May 2008 00:52:49 +0000

I don’t know what people are talking about. There is a LOT OF VERY BULLISH MONEY MAKING STOCKS OUT THERE!!!!! The good times will eventually end but some of you that have been so afraid of the “invisible bear” that you have now missed out on a 525% gain in MA since the August 2006 [...]

Time to gamble on JetBlue (JBLU)

Eric Cheshier — Wed, 28 May 2008 15:34:59 +0000

JetBlue Airways Corporation (NASDAQ:JBLU) hit an all-time low today and is trading just above $4 a share. The stock is falling because they have delayed orders for 21 planes to save money. Good for them, finally an act of goodness for shareholders. Let's get into why throwing the dice on JBLU may be worth it.

Times are tough so go with Wal-Mart

Ted Gottsegen — Tue, 27 May 2008 15:20:21 +0000

Gas over $4 a gallon, grocery prices through the roof, stagflation, where does it end? Calgon take me away? Nope, Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) to the rescue. Even rich people will be heading their to buy milk, movies, and even a gun or two to protect themselves from poor people. Wal-Mart's slogan, "Save Money. Live Better" makes sense to all Americans.

Stocks for Next Week

Brian Shannon — Sun, 18 May 2008 10:19:00 +0000

Last Saturday I posted some stocks I would be watching for Potential trend trades those stocks are in the table below. As much as I liked some of the setups, I did not expect the group to do as well as they did. The average stock on the list gained over 8% on the week. Seventeen of the stocks were up more than 10%! The best performing stocks were related to solar, shipping and Chinese companies. Of course there were losers too. Only one of the six short sale candidates declined in price, but the worst loser was a long candidate. The stock which lost the most was one I traded and posted the trade on FEED As the title of that post indicates, risk management is job number one of any market participant. I traded that stock long on the day it dropped hard but because of my risk management, I still made money on the trade.

I do not recommend individual stock trades, I trade the stocks on the list and do not ever want to be accused of shady dealings by telling anyone to buy a stock which I already own. If I did not trade them myself, then I might give buy and sell instructions, but if you really want to succeed in the markets you need to think for yourself. To find out how I find these stocks, how I trade the stocks on the list and how I manage risk, it is laid out very clearly IN MY BOOK Seventy five bucks isn't much for that info.

Here are some new ideas. I will continue to trade stocks like SOLF, CSUN, etc but I have not included many of the names which have already run, the ones below appear to be near a low risk entry level with good trend potential. Anticipate all scenarios, wait for price action to confirm before taking action and then aggressively manage risk with discipline.

If you expect nothing
and are prepared for anyything
you should never be surprised.

POTENTIAL LONGS

POTENTIAL SHORTS

Top 10 ETF.

Vlada Kynsky — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:13:00 +0000

ETF market is booming. Let's have a look which ETF are currently the biggest in terms of assets value. SPY is still leading and has also biggest nominal increase year on year basis. Among top 10, the highest percentage assets increase has been seen for Emerging market EEM (63%). Followed by Gold GLD 51%.
That's where ETF money had flowed in last 12 months.

ETF	Ticker	Assets ($ mil)
SPDR Index 500	(SPY)	75,121
iShares MSCI-EAFE	(EFA)	47,363
iShares MSCI-Emerging Mkts	(EEM)	26,285
iShares S&P 500	(IVV)	18,994
PowerShares QQQ	(QQQQ)	17,727
SPDR Equity Gold	(GLD)	16,247
iShares Russell 1000 Gr	(IWF)	13,447
iShares Russell 2000	(IWM)	10,485
Vanguard MSCI Total Market	(VTI)	10,422
iShares Lehman 1-3 Yr Treas	(SHY)	9,279

FRO’s Debut Today

Faisal Laljee — Thu, 08 May 2008 18:58:00 +0000

I got an email today from American Stock Exchange that I wanted to pass along:AMERICAN STOCK EXCHANGE ANNOUNCES LAUNCH OF FIXED RETURN OPTIONS (FROs) ON THURSDAY MAY 8, 2008 New York , May 1, 2008 – The American Stock Exchange® (Amex®) announced to...

More Theory Time

Roger Nusbaum — Tue, 06 May 2008 12:24:00 +0000

I've always wondered whether there really is a way make money long term by renting stocks for the dividend-dividend capture as it is known. There are of course funds that do this but the results while generally ok over longer periods of time have been not so great in the last few months.

Before we get into this, even if it makes sense strategically it would be very tax inefficient so the context is in an IRA of some sort. Lets say the theory would be to put something like 50-60% of the portfolio in one of the total world funds and the rest would be used to rent stocks around their dividend dates.

To keep the math simple lets assume 3% into 15 names at any one time. A quick mechanics note is that on ex-date a stock price is reduced before the open to account for the dividend. For example a stock closes at $100 today. Tomorrow it goes ex-div for $0.50. If it closed tomorrow at $99.50 it would show unchanged. Obviously buying at $100, taking in a $0.50 dividend and selling at $99.50 is a waste of time and commission dollars.

The idea would be to buy before ex-date and sell it for at least what you paid for it after ex-date or in the example about buy at $100, take in the $0.50 and then sell for at least $100. So the stock would need to work back up to the pre-dividend price. In a healthy market this doesn't take that long but of course it may never make back the dividend.

Below is a list of real stocks with the name changed (we're not handing out fish here) along with the most recent dividend and the days needed to make back the ex-date reduction.

Enormous Domestic Bank 1.6% (this was the yield for the quarter, so annual 6.4%) made back the ex-div reduction in six trading days (intra-day)

Big Foreign Oil 5.4% (this was a once a year div) made back the reduction in six trading days

Hot Potato Shipping 1.6% (for the quarter) made back the reduction the next day

Fat Yield Foreign Tech 2.1% (for the quarter) made back the reduction in five trading days

Big Cap Telecom 1.1% (for the quarter) made back the reduction in 15 trading days

Good Ole Boys Tobacco 1.04% (for the quarter) made back the reduction in six trading days

Widows and Orphans Electric 1.34% (for the quarter) 58 days and counting (the next div is right around the corner)

Emerging Market Bank 4.9% (annual) four days to make back the reduction

Big Global Health 1.1% (quarterly) two days to make back the reduction

US of A Chemical 1.1% (quarterly) five days to make back the reduction

Not So Big Chinese Company 5.3% (annual) 16 trading days to make back the reduction

Great White North Bank 1% (quarterly) made back the reduction next day (intraday)

Ginourmous Conglomerate 0.9% (quarterly) made back the reduction next day (intraday)

Non-Oil MLP 2.2% (quarterly) made back the reduction next day

Emerging Market Oil 8.1% (annually) made back the reduction in nine days

That's 15 names, one did not work and I was able to find these by only looking at 21 stocks. There is a long term upward bias to the market so it may be so that since I grabbed the most recent dividends and the market has generally trended higher in that time it appears to be working out. If I had done this two months ago it may not have worked out as well as now and to be clear a lot of ideas work when the market is in an uptrend.

These stocks listed above are real stocks but they would just be a sampling of what I think would be needed to to maintain a fully invested portfolio that presumably would turn over ever month. If all 15 of these paid in the same month (sorry but I didn't want spend all day building a database I'm not going to use) then the yield on this portion of the portfolio would have been 2.65% for the month.

Is that representative of every month? The argument no is because the list brings in several annual pays to which I would say there would be a few months in the year where you could really load up on annual pays.

If someone with the time and inclination to do this could muster 1.5% per month it would be a monster home run.

It is possible that certain CEFs and other sorts of investment products could work too.

How large would the data base of stocks need to be to pull this off? The example above is with 15 stocks. 15 times 12 is 180 stocks but obviously you could bring that number way down as most of the stocks pay quarterly and so they could be bought four times per year.

The flaws abound but there is not much realistic risk of a bunch of stocks like this (notice there is no undue sector risk relative to SPX) cutting in half all at once unless the overall market cuts in half. Of all of the stocks studied plenty dropped close to 20% with the market and only one, the Chinese stock, from the top down to the bottom dropped by 50%.

I am in no way advocating picking stocks just for the yield. Buying a stock without a thorough study of the company is straight up stupid. Obviously there would need to be some sort of exit strategy discipline. Widows and Orphans Electric has not worked out on this go around, probably because utilities in general have not done great, but nonetheless it has not worked. Holding for 58 days would not make sense, relative to the strategy because that's a long time to not capture another dividend which is the point of the exercise.

Obviously just because I had an easy time finding names that worked does not mean it would work in the future. There is an up-market logic that says it could work but there is no guarantee.

Another big risk that comes to mind is behavioral. For instance this could start out, in an up market, working just fine leading to a little more risk being taken, which might also work out, leading to a little more risk and the next thing you know you have six shipping stocks with colossal dividends and then the rug gets pulled out from underneath as was the case last year.

The human reaction of taking more and more risk when something seems to be working for a while repeats over and over.

This is not something I am going to do. I do not think it is a substitute for a diversified portfolio. I do think it is very worthwhile to explore crackpot ideas like this because it does provide the chance to look at portfolio construction from different perspective which is very constructive.

Alternative Asset Classes Defined?

Roger Nusbaum — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 13:10:22 +0000

Yesterday I asked what would you include in alternative assets? What would you like to see that does not already exist in the way of accessible alternative assets? A few people offered some thoughts and there was some half-kidding about baseball cards including a great one-liner about mothers throwing the cards [...]

ETF Rotation Strategies

Investment Education Staff — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 12:43:04 +0000

With so many exchange traded funds available now, it has become possible to maximize investment return by creating a strategy that rotates assets between exchange traded funds - such a technique can permit a trader to find sectors that are increasing in price no matter what the current market climate is.

Hedging Ideas for Iron Condors, Part 1

Condor Options — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 17:44:19 +0000

by CondorTrader What should you do when the underlying moves against an iron condor position you have open? (For example, if you’re a member, you may have noticed that one of our DIA trades for May expiration is looking threatened by the recent price action in the index.) Any time [...]

Alcoa and GE earnings spook markets

Faisal Laljee — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 20:15:00 +0000

The earnings season couldn't have got off to a worse star with Alcoa and GE both disappointing. But one has to question why the market reacted so violently this week to these 2 behemoths. After all, over the last 5 years, both stocks have made absolute...