Author : Caterina Christakos

So many investors have taken a "beating" in the stock market recently that more are looking seriously at the Gold market For anyone not heavily involved in the stock market, that may be a very good strategy to, not only prevent more loss, but to build their capital with the rising price of Gold Gold is predicted to reach $1,100 an ounce within this year (2009) Other optimistic individuals foresee gold reaching $2,000 an ounce at its peak Liquidating all of one's investments into the purchase of gold is not recommended Neither is putting all of one's capital into any other one vehicle Diversification is advisable Never put all your eggs in one basket, as they say

Many people are actually collecting the gold jewelry that they have lying around, not being worn and taking it to a gold dealer for the cash Maybe once they've done that, they will take the cash they receive and buy gold on the stock market as an investment

Let's look at gold investment potential

For the sake of this discussion, let's imagine you invested 10,000 in the gold market in 2000 By December of this year (2009) you would be looking at a tremendous profit in your investment approximately 238% or nearly $34,000 That same amount invested in stocks in the S&P 500 would be realizing a loss of near 40% in the same period of time There has even been a 198% rise in the investment of those owning rare coins Many strategists foresee gold becoming a real Bull Market, and the wealthy are not losing any time at buying gold for their investment package

Want some reasons to invest in gold?

Check these out The price of gold is determined by inflation, fluctuations in the dollar, and by increases and decreases in the other commodities Gold is produced for its intrinsic value as an accumulation commodity Gold is money

Gold is a hedge against inflation It is a hedge against the falling dollar Gold has been called the crisis commodity and has been shown to outperform other investments when there is world tension When banking crises occur, like now, everyone is looking for a safe haven and therefore, looks to investing in gold Gold will always maintain its value It is recommended as a diversifier for a stock portfolio Its price increases in value in markets that negatively affect stocks and bonds

Read more about the Gold Market on the internet or talk with a financial advisor to find out what the procedure is to convert one or more of your stocks or bonds into gold

What China is doing

China's economy is expected to become the 2nd largest in the world by 2020, next to the United States And now, China is passing legislation go afford their population the ability to buy gold bars from their four commercial banks Gold is in It may be that the time is right for you to get on the bandwagon

Caterina Christakos is a private investor and published author. To get more information about the stock market visit: http://financialinvestmentsdirectory.com

Author : John Merritt

Many people chose to buy penny stocks due to the potential profits of picking the right stock and having it pay off big However, knowing the risks of these types of stocks is critical Because if you don't know the risks, chances are you will lose money!

When we talk about penny stocks, it's a good idea to first define what qualifies as a penny stock While most people would probably consider any stock priced under $1 00 to be a penny stock, there are almost as many investors and larger funds that consider any stock priced under $5 00 to be in penny stock territory So for the sake of this discussion, we'll use $5 00 as our cutoff for what we'll refer to as a penny stock With that in mind, here's some factors that can influence (or increase) the risks of penny stocks that you may not find in stocks that trade at higher prices:

1 The stock exchange

Is the stock listed on one of the exchanges? Buying a stock on one of the exchanges is less risky than trading stocks over-the-counter In other words, it's much easier for "sketchy" or questionable companies to get listed through OTC pink sheets than the three major exchanges The NYSE, NASDAQ and AMEX all have tougher requirements in place to get listed, as well as rules for financial reporting and market capitalization, among others Any company that falls out of compliance is booted off the exchange if not brought back into compliance

2 Trading volume

How much trading volume is there each day? If not many shares are traded in the particular stock, this can make buying and selling the stock at a market price very difficult and can increase the risk of losses For example, if you want to sell 100,000 shares of a stock with a last trade of 10 cents but the closest best bid with that many shares is all the way down to 06 cents, you may end up losing 40% if you need to sell the stock right then This is sometimes called "liquidity risk" and although it can be a risk of higher priced stocks as well, it is not as pronounced as in penny stocks

3 Stock price

Why is the stock a penny stock in the first place? The price of the stock itself is important, because many times the reason a stock is trading for such a low price is the company itself may be having financial problems or other issues The company may even be on the verge of bankruptcy Can you be sure the company isn't going to fold the day after you buy the stock? It's a good idea to check recent news and press releases for the company to make sure there's no suprises you aren't aware of

4 Volatility

Is there much historical volatility? And what I mean by this, is if you look at a 1 year chart for the stock does it make big price moves often, either up or down? While volatility can be your friend, it can also be your worst enemy Imagine buying a stock for $1 00 a share, and having it fall to 30 cents in just a few days That's a big loss, especially if you've put a lot of money in one stock

5 News, information and research

Since the bulk of penny stocks tend to be smaller, lesser known companies, it's sometimes hard to find any information about them The company may rarely (if ever) release news about company developments, it's products or general business conditions This makes it very diffuclt to do research or decide if it's a company worth buying stock in And this increases risk

6 Location of the company

Given all these other factors, one additional thing to consider is where is the company located? Since the US, Canada and the UK tend to have more securities laws and regulation in place to discourage fraud, corruption and other unethical business practices, other countries may not, or if they do they may be loosely enforced Buying stock in a small, unknown company in the US may be risky enough, but buying stock in a small, unknown company in Russia or some other country that may not be subject to the business or securities laws of your country can increase the risks exponentially And just to be clear here I am not picking on Russia, I love Russia and I love Russians, they are some of the smartest business people out there - I only use this as an example to make a point

What do I think?

Overall I think penny stocks carry higher than average risk, so I would not invest a lot of money in these types of stocks However, if you are a person who is interested in penny stocks and think the risk is worth the potential big gains, just be sure you fully understand the risks and take steps to mitigate them as much as possible Good luck!

John Merritt is an active investor and founder of invest.us, which offers resources for investing in America. Visit us for more investing basics, or link to this article on penny stock trading.

Author : Steve Selengut

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 watch"

Every correction is different, the result of various economic and/or political circumstances that create the need for adjustments in the financial markets
While everything is down in price, as it is now, there is actually less to worry about When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping

In this case, an overheated real estate market, an overdose of financial bad judgment, and a damn the torpedoes stock market, propelled by demand for speculative derivative securities and Hedge Funds, finally came unglued

But it is the reality of corrections that is one of the few certainties of the financial world, one that separates the men from the boys, if you will If you fixate on your portfolio market value during a correction, you will just give yourself a headache, or worse

Few of the fundamental qualities that made your IGVSI securities sound investments just two years ago have permanently disappeared We'll be using credit cards, driving cars and motorcycles, drinking beer, and buying clothes twenty years from now Very few interest payments have been missed and surprisingly few dividends eliminated

Only the prices have changed, to preserve the long-term reality of things---and in both of our markets

Corrections are beautiful things, but having two of them going on at the same time is like a trip to Fantasy Land Theoretically, even technically I'm told, corrections adjust prices to their actual value or "support levels" In reality, it's much easier than that Prices go down because of speculator reactions to expectations of news, speculator reactions to actual news, and investor profit taking

The two "becauses" are more potent than ever because there is more self-directed money than ever And therein lies the core of correctional beauty Mutual Fund unit holders rarely take profits but rush to take losses Additionally, the new breed of unregulated index-fund speculations is capable of producing a constant diet of volatility overload New investment opportunities are everywhere

Here's a list of ten things to think about or to do during corrections:

1 Don't beat yourself up by looking at your market value You don't live in a vacuum and you should expect lower valuations That is why you should only buy the highest quality securities in the first place and stick with a well-defined asset allocation plan Look for ways to add to your portfolios

2 Take a look at the past There has never been a correction that has not proven to be a buying opportunity, in spite of the media hype that this one is somehow special When they are broad, long, and deep, the rally that follows is normally broad, long, and steep Get ready to party

3 The "Smart Cash" produced by interest and dividends should be placed in new stocks for rapid profitable turnover--- don't be shy when you're looking at 50% discounts from recent highs Buying too soon, in the right portfolio percentage, is nearly as important to long-term investment success as selling too soon is during rallies

4 Take a look at the future Nope, you can't tell when the rally will come or how long it will last If you are buying quality securities now, as you certainly should be, you will be able to love the rally even more than you did the last time--- as you take yet another round of profits

5 Buy more quickly in a prolonged correction, but establish new positions incompletely so that you can add to them safely later There's more to "Shop at the Gap" than meets the eye, and you should remain confidently fully-invested at least until the media starts whispering: "rally"

6 Cash flow is king Take smaller profits sooner than usual as long as there are abundant buying opportunities Today, nearly sixty percent of all Investment Grade Value Stocks are down more than 25% from their 52-week highs As long your cash flow continues unabated, change in market value is just a perceptual issue

7 Note that your Working Capital is growing, in spite of fallen market prices, and examine your holdings for opportunities to average down and increase your yield on fixed income securities Examine both fundamentals and price, lean hard on your experience, and don't force the issue

8 Identify new buying opportunities using a consistent set of rules, be it rally or correction That way you will always know which of the two you are dealing with in spite of the Wall Street propaganda Focus on Investment Grade Value Stocks; it's easier, less risky, and better for your peace of mind

9 Examine your portfolio's performance in terms of market, interest rate, and economic cycles as opposed to calendar time intervals Apply your asset allocation to your analysis for meaningful-to-you results

10 So long as everything is down, there is little to worry about long term Downgraded, or simply lazy, portfolio holdings should not be discarded during general or group specific weakness--- unless you don't have the courage to get rid of them during rallies

Corrections of all types will vary in depth and duration, and both characteristics are clearly visible only in institutional-grade rear view mirrors The short and deep ones are most lovable; the long and slow ones are more difficult to deal with

Most corrections are relatively short and difficult to take advantage of with mutual funds So if you over-think the environment or over-cook the research, you'll miss the after-party Unlike many things in life, Stock Market realities need to be dealt with quickly, decisively, and with zero hindsight

Amid all of the uncertainty, there is one indisputable fact that reads equally well in either market direction: there has never been a correction-rally that has not succumbed to the next rally-correction

Steve Selengut Sanco Services Kiawah Golf Investment Seminars Author: 'The Brainwashing of the American Investor: The Book that Wall Street Does Not Want YOU to Read' and 'A Millionaire's Secret Investment Strategy'.

Author : Nick Messe

Options trading has been around since 1973 but really didn't take off until the last 10 years or so During that period the number of options contracts traded on U S exchanges increased by more than 600% What accounts for this increase in the popularity of options trading?

One major factor is that options are now understood better than they previously were Because options have many variations it is quite easy to misunderstand how they work, and as a result many investors - or their brokers - had bad experiences when they first tried them

The influence of the internet has also been a significant factor Not only has the internet provided the means for low cost options trading, but it has been a tremendous source of valuable information

This has served to demystify the options trading process to a great degree Prospective options traders can draw on the experience and advice of countless numbers of people who have successfully engaged in trading, learned its ins and outs, and developed a sophisticated understanding of the activity

One commonly held view about options trading is that it is risky - mostly because it is relatively difficult to understand and the new investor will usually be uncertain about the best strategy to employ

One of the simplest strategies to understand, and one that can actually be used to reduce risk is the use of a put option as a hedge against dramatic declines in a stock's market value

The traditional way stock traders protect themselves against such losses is to place a "stop-loss order" on a particular stock they hold When it trades at or below the limit specified in the stop-loss order, the stop-loss order automatically becomes a market order to sell

This procedure has some serious shortcomings When a stock starts fluctuating in price a stop-loss order virtually guarantees that it will be sold for a loss because it will be sold as soon as it dips to or below the stop order price

More importantly when a stock worth, say, $50 at closing opens in the morning at $30 it will automatically be sold at that price This serves to lock in some pretty significant losses

Purchasing a put option, on the other hand, lets you purchase the right to sell a specific stock at a predetermined price (the "strike price") for a specified period of time So if you suspect a certain stock is going to decline in value you can purchase a put option for a quantity of that stock If its market price goes below the predetermined strike price you have the option of selling it at the strike price

For example, let's say XYZ stock is trading at $50 today, but you suspect it might go down quite a bit in value over the next two or three months You might purchase a put option for 200 shares of XYZ stock at a strike price of $42 for a period of three months

What this means is that you can sell 200 shares of XYZ at $42 per share any time within that time period - even if the market price of the stock should go to $30 In other words you are paying a price to lock in a guaranteed value for a limited period of time

This contract would cost you a "premium" - say it is $3 per share If the stock price does not go down during the period of your contract you can simply let the option expire and forfeit your premium Of if it does go down you can sell your stock if you actually own some and take less of a loss than you otherwise would have

Or even better, if you don't actually own any of the stock you could buy some at the current price and sell it at the strike price predetermined in your option contract

The bottom line is that options trading can be fairly simple like this example and can be used to reduce risk rather than increase it On the other hand, some strategies used by options traders are very complicated and carry considerable risk

Anyone considering getting involved in options trading should take it one step at a time Find a good online trading site that specializes in options trading and has low fees Then learn as much as you possibly can about options trading strategies before you try anything too adventurous

Join more than 130,000 other satisfied traders by opening an account with TradeKing.com, where options trading online is our specialty.

Author : Matthew Stanton

Now that the world is faced in a big problem regarding the economic status of most countries, may people are in desperate need of some soul uplifting, the current problems may be taking it toll but then a simple and convenient way to solve that, like internet stock trading can be done to ease up the burden

There is no denying that people now are frantic about the situation of the economy There are just a lot to think about and consider Despite the efforts of many to stay calm in this situation, there is still a lot of pressure that pushes people into the edge of their patience Some sad to say, could not bear the problems but then the innovative ones and the ones who are feisty and always eager to fight can find their way through no matter what

It is not true that there are no ways that these problems could not be solved; of course there are countless ways by which you can do that It is not yet the end of the world and so long as you are eager and determined, you can always find your way out of the burning tower

There are many media that are available, many avenues by which you can find hope, a waning light against the dark alleys you are in right now, and the economic problem is not one thing that you should be on your knees about Well, why not use the internet?

With training, you can work wonders There are training courses available that will make you a stock market wizard in hours and with internet stock trading, everything is possible Now who says the only way out is by jumping out of the burning tower? The internet is readily available and with the sufficient knowledge that you can get through trainings and courses you can save your self

There are numerous ways by which the internet can save you This way you can just forget about your woes By buying and selling stocks you can earn money Now you need not be an economist to understand that the stock market is a place where most transactions such as buying a folio of stocks happen When you have stocks, you have a claim to a certain company and you can earn money by keeping, buying or selling those stocks that you have And with the internet as a medium what else can go wrong?

After going through the processes of acquiring such folio of stocks and submitting your self to the necessary processes, the way to earning is just easy The internet as a medium of this exchange is very convenient With millions of people all over the world using the internet and the availability and accessibility of the internet, there certainly is nothing else to hinder you

Investing is always a risk; you should remember that this is not a one time big time kind of thing Despite the future promised by internet stock trading you should still be very careful There is no way you would want to lose whatever things you have gained The only thing you have to remember is that you need to keep a good strategy and everything else will follow

Matthew Stanton writes an article about Internet Stock Trading and how this type of investment can help you amidst the economic crisis we have these days. Simply visit this site for information at http://www.tradestocksamerica.com/stock-trading-course.php

Author : Matthew Stanton

Intraday trading refers to the opening and closing of a position in a trading day You can say that it is the best way by which you can capitalize on the small movements, that is the rise and fall, in the value of a security using leverage or margin or in simpler terms, borrowing of money

Basically, this is the buying and selling capitalizing on a potential rise in the securitys value and covering the potential drop in the value

Most of these traders accounts are allowed to an initial position of four times the original value though some get more leverage For example your initial account has $20,000 that will be allowed to four times more, that is up to $80,000, or more depending on the leverage This amount is for the purposes of the day trading only You are not allowed to hold it overnight Only about twice the value could be held over night

The basic strategy that you have to bear in mind is to always cut your loses and keep your profits run The leverage inherent allows small gains to yield meaningful profits

Perhaps you can compare this to a person who is only working for a day If that person will not use the right strategy, say he or she will decide not to work in his regular day job so he can sleep to work on the night job offered by a friend that will get him a better pay, two things will likely to happen First, he will be able to work their in the nigh job and get a good pay but still not be able to work the next day in the regular job that he has because of exhaustion or second, he will have to work the next day still very exhausted Either way, the sacrificing of his day job over the night job will make him exhausted and less active the next day

Though that is on the negative, the principle of intraday trading is much like that You can move about on a day to day basis It really depends on you if you will be moving buying stocks or selling some, get profit or lose some Still that will have to be worked on in the course of a day

Like the person in the example, you can be fifty percent wrong in your stake but still you can earn profit if you get into this The only thing that you have to really look into is that you cut on your losses, cover them up with your profits

There are many strategies associated with this day to day investing these are the scalping which is the taking of profits where small gaps expanded; trading rumors and news events which requires you to have connection to several news sources and move your way as to how the market would react to the news; channel or range trading which is assuming that the stock will move in a price range; contrarian trading which is prices that rise or fall in a momentum will reverse its course; and trend trading which is basically at that a rising price will continue to rise and prices that fall will continue to fall

Matthew Stanton writes an article about Intraday Trading and how you can make the best out of this type of investment amidst the economic crisis we have these days. Simply visit this site for information at http://www.tradestocksamerica.com/day-trader.php

Author : Matthew Stanton

The understanding of the stock market is quite a very complicated component of the business sector In order to have an idea of how the stock market operates or runs, one has to analyze the functions of the stock market, the benefits an investor derives from the stock market, and how one can expand business through the stock market

Firstly, we must consider that in the stock market, bonds, stocks and certain goods, which we may simply refer to as stocks are offered for buy and sell to the public sector This in reality concerns with trading or exchange of stocks and money It needs a careful study for one to be involved in this kind of business One who finds it interesting to go into stock market needs understanding the stock market as a business An investor has to comprehend the win-and-loss concept of the business

Giant companies usually put their stocks in the trade or exchange business for interested buyers to purchase in forms of shares of stocks The buyer of the stocks in this case becomes a stockholder of the company where the stocks originated This new stockholder then may in turn offer his own stocks for sale This time, he is already investing his own shares of stocks in the market

Some investors make real good fortune in the stock market, and this has been their very means of living Other people make good money here by being a broker The broker is a middleman or an agent of an investor Thus, it is a must that broker and investor communicate well enough to follow what is the status of the stocks in the market When we say follow up, it entails a close monitoring of the ups and downs, meaning price hike or fluctuation of the market share and the prevailing prices of the commodities involved

It may be noteworthy to mention that a vivid idea of this colorful business of the trade market be given due importance This is a business of risk When we talk of risk, this connotes losses and gains Thus is the trade market or stock exchange business, the investor has to be fully aware beforehand that the investment in this sort of trade is not always amassing lots of wealth, but considerable loss is likewise inevitable Those individuals who contemplate on doing a venture on this business must equip themselves with ample knowledge and guidance as to how the business works A wise investor often hunts on presumably saleable stocks at a lower price and wait for the appropriate time to sell his stocks In this manner, said investor then gains tons of fortunes

As a beginner in the industry, it is suggested that one refers to the expert on this matter to be able to have the chance of fully understanding the stock market which can be a very manipulative venture

Matthew Stanton writes an article about Understanding The Stock Market and how you can have a better view of what is happening in the stock market. Simply visit this site for information at http://www.tradestocksamerica.com/stock-market-education.php

Author : Nick Messe

Options trading is different from the more widely understood practice of stock trading With stock trading the most commonly employed strategy is to buy low and sell high - the trader counts on the value of the stock increasing, so the skill involved basically boils down to predicting the movement of stock prices and timing buys and sells accordingly

With options trading it is potentially much more complex than this Even relatively simple call options can have subtle variations that determine whether you win or lose by purchasing a specific option

The call option is probably the simplest, most familiar, and easiest to understand type of option because it shares some of the thinking involved in stock trading For instance when you purchase a call option you are purchasing the right to buy a block of stock at a specific price some time before a set point in time - usually two or three months down the road

This bullish strategy is analogous to buying low and selling high That is because your ability to make money on the deal is based solely on the upward movement of the underlying stock price

When you buy what is called an "out of the money" call, you are buying the right to purchase a certain stock within a specified period of time The only reason you would purchase such an option is because you expect the underlying stock to move higher than the strike price These options are relatively cheap to buy, and that is why they are so attractive to inexperienced traders without a lot of imagination

For instance, say you spot a stock currently selling at $50, and you have good reason (you think) to expect the value of that stock to increase substantially over the next two or three months Say you expect it might go as high as $65

Based on that "information" you might purchase an option to buy that stock at a strike price of $55 some time in the next two months This is called buying an OTM (out of the money) option because the strike price is higher than the current market value of the stock

This is a relatively cautious way to go about trading options because the amount you can lose is limited to the premium you pay for contract If the contract cost you only $1 per share and you purchased a block of 100 shares, then your total outlay would only be $100 This is a fairly small amount compared to what you see as potentially large gains if the stock price should go as high as you anticipate it might

If it should go to $60 a share within your contract period you could exercise your option and buy it for just $55 That would be a profit of $5 per share minus the $1 premium you paid for the contract That sounds fairly painless because your risk is minimal - just $1 per share

But there is a reason this kind of contract is cheap and that is because the probability that the stock will behave as you anticipate is relatively low After all, these are seasoned options traders setting these probabilities and the chances are very good they know at least as much as you do about the future movement of stock prices

So while your potential losses are relatively small, your chance of making any serious profit is also relatively small Not only does the stock price have to move in the direction you hope, but just as important, it has to do it within the time frame established in your contract Timing is much more important in options trading than it is in stock trading

As Brian Overby of TradeKing(dot)com says, " buying OTM calls outright is one of the hardest ways to consistently make money in the options world If you limit yourself to this strategy you may find yourself losing consistently and not learning very much in the process "

As an alternative strategy Overby suggests your try selling an OTM call (rather than buying one) on a stock you already own In other words, he is suggesting you turn the tables and play the very odds that work against the buyer of an OTM call

This is called a "covered call" It is covered because you already own the stock What you are saying is that you are prepared to sell the stock at the strike price - even if it is lower than the then-current market price - in exchange for a premium up front

If the stock actually goes up higher than the strike price, you will still have made a profit on the sale - just not as much as you would have if you were not holding the contract Plus you will already have the premium price in your pocket

If the stock does not go up and the option is not exercised, you simply keep the premium In that case the premium is pure profit And if the stock starts going south and you decide you want out you can just buy back the option and sell the stock

As you can see, this is a more imaginative approach which is also less speculative It allows you to profit from the miscalculations of others while risking very little yourself At the same time it gives you a better opportunity to learn how the options market works so you can move on to even more sophisticated strategies

Join more than 130,000 other satisfied traders by opening an account with TradeKing.com, where options trading online is our specialty.