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 : 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 : Daniel Su

Trade the forex market or currency market can be a highly profitable experience Learning to trade forex right is the first step to gain possible riches on what could be an enriching journey To do that, you'll need to know these 2 factors of how a forex trading system can bring success to you and how it should be done

1 Network With Forex Traders - Although forex trading may seems like a one man show, but in truth, you may need some reliable forex friends or partners to talk about the market conditions It will be good that if you and your partners share the same forex trading system and talk about the same forex strategy

This means that everyone is using the same system and can remind each other of their trades Imagine if you are trading using the system yourself and no one is using it You met with difficulties, unable to understand why does it happen this way, losses pile up and then eventually you give up on yourself But if you have partners who can trade together using same set of forex trading strategies, then you can encourage each other in times of difficulty and help each other out

Therefore, it will be good that among all of you who are using the same forex trading system, one or 2 of you are really good in it and when some weak or inexperienced traders encounter problems, you can solve it easily

2 Creating Your Own Forex Trading System - For newbies in forex trading, it's understandable and acceptable that most of them are always looking around for forex tips, new methods, new trading systems or strategies to help them to profit in the forex market

We do not try to penalize them because they are new and do not really know how the market actually works That is why I setup a blog on forex trading, giving people the right education so that they can trade correctly and profitably

If you have been trader for months or years, but still cannot make a consistent income from the market, you really have to reevaluate on your actions Is it you are trading the wrong way, too impatient or what?

What I suggest to many traders is that once you can profit using the forex trading system that you got it from somewhere, but still not really that comfortable with the trading timeframe or style, then it's time you consider creating your own system by modifying others' systems

In other words, try to integrate your knowledge with the current resources to make the system suit your lifestyle This is important because the trading system follows you the rest of your trading career and you want it to be at your finger tips

It may seem like it's a mountain to climb when you just started trading, but when confidence starts kicking in, patience and emotions starts to be in control and some experience has built in you, then you may be soon over the steep learning curve and begin a new life of trading

To learn how to make money online, click here to download my FREE 56-page ebook Forex Trading To Riches.
The author, Daniel Su, is the founder of ForexTradingPower.com where you can get free premium forex trading tips and resources.

So you want to learn about the Forex market, and trading internationally but you are risking your personal wealth if you jump in before knowing all about how trading takes place. Online, you will find many games and simulations while learning the methods involved in forex market trading. The forex markets include countries from around the world, where all countries involved are using different currencies, and when faced against each other are worth more or less than the original valued currencies that are being traded. The forex markets are used to build wealth in, for governments, banks, and brokers, and for many countries.

To get started in learning about forex trading, you will need to locate the forex trading software, education-learning system you want to use. As you find the games, as they are called, you will enter information about yourself, about what you are interested in learning and then you will download software to your computer. In following the ‘game’, you will learn how to make and lose money in the forex market. This type of game is going to make you more aware of what happens daily, how the markets open and close, and how different the various countries currencies really are.

You will open an online ‘account’ using the gaming system. You will then be able to read the news, find and compare markets, and you will be able to make ‘fake’ trades so you can watch your money build or be eaten away in losses. As you learn the system, using it a few times a week, you are going to be more prepared, more educated and you will be ready to use the forex trades to make money. Of course, you may still need the aid of broker or a company to make your transactions happen but you will better understand the process, what will happen, and what calls you may want to make when you read about the news, the markets, and the currencies in other countries.

The forex market is also referred to as the FX market. If you are interested in joining the millions who are making money in the forex markets, you want to ensure you are dealing with a reputable banker or company involved in forex trading. With the spur of interest in the forex markets, there are many types of companies that are popping out on the Internet appearing to be genuine forex trading companies but in reality, they are not. Forex trading can be completed through a broker, a company that deals in the funds, and from within your own country. For example, the US has many regulations and laws regarding forex trading and what companies are permitted to work with the public dealing with international trading and markets.

So you want to learn about the Forex market, and trading internationally but you are risking your personal wealth if you jump in before knowing all about how trading takes place. Online, you will find many games and simulations while learning the methods involved in forex market trading. The forex markets include countries from around the world, where all countries involved are using different currencies, and when faced against each other are worth more or less than the original valued currencies that are being traded. The forex markets are used to build wealth in, for governments, banks, and brokers, and for many countries.

To get started in learning about forex trading, you will need to locate the forex trading software, education-learning system you want to use. As you find the games, as they are called, you will enter information about yourself, about what you are interested in learning and then you will download software to your computer. In following the ‘game’, you will learn how to make and lose money in the forex market. This type of game is going to make you more aware of what happens daily, how the markets open and close, and how different the various countries currencies really are.

You will open an online ‘account’ using the gaming system. You will then be able to read the news, find and compare markets, and you will be able to make ‘fake’ trades so you can watch your money build or be eaten away in losses. As you learn the system, using it a few times a week, you are going to be more prepared, more educated and you will be ready to use the forex trades to make money. Of course, you may still need the aid of broker or a company to make your transactions happen but you will better understand the process, what will happen, and what calls you may want to make when you read about the news, the markets, and the currencies in other countries.

The forex market is also referred to as the FX market. If you are interested in joining the millions who are making money in the forex markets, you want to ensure you are dealing with a reputable banker or company involved in forex trading. With the spur of interest in the forex markets, there are many types of companies that are popping out on the Internet appearing to be genuine forex trading companies but in reality, they are not. Forex trading can be completed through a broker, a company that deals in the funds, and from within your own country. For example, the US has many regulations and laws regarding forex trading and what companies are permitted to work with the public dealing with international trading and markets.

Author : Bernice Eker

Foreign Exchange trading happens around the clock with over billions if not trillion of dollar transactions everyday Hence, Forex market is said to be the most active financial markets It is the largest market in the world where a currency is traded for anther currency While a huge number of forex traders have invested more on currency market, some forex traders however rely on automated forex trading programs to help them come up with tough decisions

Most forex trade investors find it easy to rely on some sort of automated forex trading programs for reasons that they are able to save more time and prevent big losses on the money they invested

The birth of the Internet as well as the advancement of technology has paved the way to the development of automated forex trading softwares This opens up an opportunity for anyone who has computer and Internet connection, a good trading platform and a forex brokerage account to participate in the forex market The forex market has gained tremendous popularity in the recent years In fact, several banks and big financial institutions are now luring small to medium investors in the forex market

The growing number of Forex trade investors can't get enough of the automatic forex trading system It is a tool that provides them extreme assistance on currency specification The small amount you invest on the system will help you purchase and sell orders in no time Not just that, an automatic forex trading system can make you become profitable in the forex market despite your lack of expertise in the field of trades You are able to make trades at anytime you want to, and with or without your presence So there is no way to miss a single profit on trades even if you are away from your computer

You can also take advantage of multiple forex trading strategies as well as the different systems offered in the automatic forex trading The use of different forex trading systems allows you to diversify your investment and the risk involved into something profitable Even your emotions will not hamper your chances of making profitable trading decisions since you are assisted with an automatic forex system to do the work for you Your task here is to manage multiple accounts made on your trading platforms, monitor currency pairs, follow them up and execute them all

Needless to say, automated forex trading system offers you a great advantage on trading multiple accounts and multiple markets simultaneously In spite of all these, you are still required to learn the fundamental concepts of forex trading, market indicators and the best strategies to execute You have to remember that an automated forex trading is fully programmable so it may also incur errors

To ensure consistent trading profits and zero losses, you have to make better decisions and do not just rely on the system But you can always customize the system according to your needs so as to increase your chances of making profitable trades

For more information on forex trading and help with forex automation visit: http://forexweek.co.uk

Author : Bernice Eker

A good Forex trading course will teach you how to make a solid profit from the Forex market However, if you fall for some courses that teach unproven Forex systems, it could also mean big losses for you

So a Forex course can be a double-edged sword It can be your friend or it could also become your worst enemy at the Forex Because of this, it would be very critical to choose the right Forex course for you

Choosing the right Forex trading course may sound easy but it is not With hundreds of Forex courses being sold on the Internet, it would be very difficult to identify which one would help you succeed

So here are some important things you have to consider when choosing the right Forex course These pointers should help you to identify which course is good and which ones are worthless

Do Not Buy the Basics

The first thing you have to remember is not to buy a course that will teach only the basics of Forex You can easily get such information for free Even your Forex broker can provide free basic trading courses and tutorials

You will only waste your money on courses that teach you how to trade, how to read charts, and other information that you can get for free Most probably, these courses are just written by authors who compiled different Forex information and sold them as a Forex course

Focus on Strategies and Advanced Techniques

What you should be looking for is a Forex trading course that will teach you the step by step process of building your own trading strategies However, you need to ensure that the strategy being discussed by the course has been proven in actual market conditions This means you have to make some research and ask around if such Forex trading course can really increase your chances of winning big at the market

Choose a Course that Offers Hands-On Services

Majority of Forex course are packaged into ebook modules which you can read and study Although these types of courses may provide valuable input to sharpen your Forex knowledge, it would be best if the course provider can include hands-on training

For example, if you are buying a course on developing a unique Forex system, the provider should also include a demo platform in the course package This way, you can try the theories and techniques being discussed in the course on the demo platform to see if they really work On the other hand, if you are buying a Forex charting course, the package should include actual use of Forex charting software

Look for a Money-back Guarantee

Course providers will promise you that their systems could improve your Forex prospects A reputable provider will also give you a money back guarantee in the event that the course will not meet your expectations

So it is always best to buy a Forex trading course with money back guarantee Such guarantee could protect your interest when you buy a Forex course on trading strategies and systems

For more information on forex trading and help with forex automation visit: http://forexweek.co.uk

Author : Daniel Su

I know no one can win in forex trading for every trade he does, but we can prevent from losing a lot with some forex strategies in place Imagine that if you risk 2% of your trading account on every trade, a small losing streak of 5 trades will mean that it will cost you a 10% loss in your account Although it's not considered a very big amount, but the thought of losing 5 trades in a row is a very daunting experience for those traders who are just learning to trade forex

You have to remember that the psychological of human is very reactive We humans are very emotional when it comes to forex trading In mathematics, we can say that we only risk a trade with 2%, but it can accumulate can becomes 5% the next time you have another trade Why? This is because most newbies will make a mistake of overtrading or have the mindset of trying to revenge the losses they incurred Before they knew it, they already lost much of their trading account So what you can do is to take a break from the forex market if you have few losing trades in a row

1 Kill Your Losing Streak - If you have noticed, losing streaks usually start off with small losses It may be a little mistake that you have made in technical analysis or that particular day is just a day with bad luck, which leads to your lost forex trade Then from there, you want to try again and hope to recoup the losses But the losses amplifies and everything repeats again In order to reduce losing streaks, you have to cut the losing streaks short and close the charts to take a rest This will prevent you from wanting to trade more, leading to more mistakes made

2 Take a Break From Trading and Clear Your Head - You might lose your concentration if you stare at the forex charts for a very long time or the losing streaks might be caused by information overload Once you sense that, go for a short break before coming back again to trade You should always look at the charts when your mind are refreshed

3 Preserve Your Trading Capital - This is the most important forex tips If you have lost all your capital, then how are you going to trade again? Always trade a small margin of your forex trading account according to your money management rule This will prevent you from losing your hard earned money from making stupid mistakes

When I was a newbie, I had some losing streaks using my demo account Luckily it's not a live trading account! During then, I did not implement any money management rule Until when I realized that money and risk management is a important factor for me to be successful, I started using those rules and from then, my trading account kept growing

So please do not be reckless in your trading no matter what your forex trading strategy is Build your gains slowly and you'll take a step to being successful in forex trading

To learn more forex tips and get trading signals, click here to download my FREE 56-page ebook Forex Trading To Riches.
The author, Daniel Su, is the founder of ForexTradingPower.com where you can get free premium forex trading tips and resources.