Beginner Investing

Beginner Investing – What Happened In The Stock Market Today.

What happened in the stock market today is what I like to refer to as a “Sales Event”. When the Dow Industrial Average and the S&P 500 have days like they had today, you must be ready to buy. Many beginners investing in the stock market miss out on an opportunity of the major indicies dropping nearly 10%, but for those who’ve seen this type of trading day know to get ready to build a position.

The stock market volatility has been unstable for the last two days. The ^VIX (Volatility S&P500) was holding the last couple of days at 20, but it gained 20% yesterday and climbed 60% today. The VIX shows an investor how much uncertainty there is in the markets. As it increases, so does the uncertainty on Wall Street.

For the last few months, I’ve been writing on my other blog, Beating The Stock Market, about how the markets were going to turn ugly, and informing my readers to sit patiently on the sideline to prepare for a day like today. I’ve mentioned how when a sell off like this happens, there is always too much selling of any and all stocks. Other investors are too busy saving their own skin to realize that so many more are doing the same. Causing the price of most stocks to fall below or close to the company’s “book Value”. To figure a company’s book value, look at the shareholders’ equity minus all intangible assets. This will give you in theory, the value of the company’s tangible assets, also known as “net tangible assets. There are plenty of stock market books as well as stock market trading software to assist you in learning more about book value.

The big sell-off started just after 2:30pm and the DOW fell below the 10,000 mark around 2:45pm at which point investors realized that too much selling had occurred, at which point it was time to put in Limit orders to start acquiring more shares. After the DOW and the S&P 500 fell 10%, I started to buy. I may have been a little early but it’s fine with me. I typically wait for the markets or an individual stock (one that I’ve researched) to fall 8% before I buy more shares or start a new position. That is one of my stock market strategies to help me make more money.

Today was a great day to make some quick money in the stock market today, If you’re a day trader, I’m sure you jumped out of those position before the end of the trading day, but if you’re an average investor, be prepared to sell off those share real soon. Like I also stated on my other blog, I expect the markets to fall much further than it did today.

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Penny Stock Guide to Investing

Investing in penny stocks is potentially a very profitable venture. As with all very profitable ventures, there is also a great amount of risk involved. Because of this, make sure you do your research and consult a penny stock guide before investing.

What is a Penny Stock?
A Penny Stock is a stock whose shares trade for less than $5. These stocks are a bit risky to invest in, but also have the potential to generate huge gains.

What are some of the Dangers?
One of the greatest dangers of penny stocks is their lack of visibility. Because most of these companies are newly established or small, there is less information about them. This fact requires you to make decisions based on limited information compared to what is available for larger, more established companies in major stock markets. Another great risk is that these stocks can sometimes trade slowly from low liquidity, making it difficult to cash out on your investment.

What are the positives?
By its nature, a penny stock has a lot of potential. That is to say, it has a lot of potential to move either up, down or disappear completely. That being said, there is much more potential for growth than there is for loss. As a result, a good penny stock pick can reap huge returns and give a nice boost to your investment portfolio.

What else should I keep in mind?
Even some of the top penny stocks to buy are not quick, easy money. Despite what anybody tells you, these stocks require great care and educated investment. You should take into account that these shares trade slower than larger shares. Many of the companies selling these penny stocks have high debt loads and are selling stocks to reinvest into the growth of their companies.

Some of this may sound scary. However, with the correct knowledge and prudence, penny stocks can not only be profitable but enjoyable to trade. There is a certain rush that you get from trading in a volatile environment. You also have the opportunity to be part of a someday great company. Many of our largest technology firms were funded in this way. With the correct penny stock guide, you could be well on your way to taking part in the next big venture.

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Tags: Investing, Investment, investment portfolio, penny stock guide, penny stocks, penny stocks to buy, profitable ventures, selling stocks, stock market

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Trading Natural Resources In A Volatile Market

Kevin Kerr’s unparallleled expertise in futures and commodities has made him a regular contributor to news outlets like CNN FM, CNBC and CBS Marketwatch, where he has been quoted in over 500 articles.

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Tags: Commodities, energy, futures and commodities, Investing, Trading

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Buying GE Stocks

The stock to buy now is always the stock you never though was worth purchasing months ago. There are several good companies out there that have been undervalued by the global recession and are in my opinion, poised to make a comeback. Here are a few examples.

Toyota

Toyota is a stock to buy now because it is a good car company. Many people are foolish about Toyota stock because they think that the company is doomed due to the major recall issued regarding their cars with runaway acceleration. However, people forget that Toyota has been making cars for more than 50 years and their cars are usually very high in quality. A problem like this happens only once in the history of a car company. While the stock may dip lower due to the fear of pending lawsuits, Toyota will be fine in the long term. It is a very profitable company and has been profitable when other car makers were not. Even though Toyota faces problems in the United States, it actually does very well internationally. That is why you might want to consider Toyota stock.

General Electric (GE)

Ge is another great company worth investing in simply because it makes great products and makes many of them. GE has a real future in commercial aviation and wind turbines. GE is the biggest supplier of wind power machines and thanks to the current administration, investment in this area will continue to rise. Wind power is a mature technology. Windmills have been around for several hundred years and the principals remain the same. The wind power phenomenon benefits GE because people buy from them to create these megawatt wind farms.

GE also have a very successful aviation business where it designs engines. One growing market is the one for private jet engines and regional jet engines. GE has invested a lot of money into these engine designs. People want to fly further and in quieter planes. Airlines want more efficient engines that run with low maintaining costs. GE has invested a lot of money in this area and they have the potential to lead sales when demand grows.

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Tax Free Municipal Bonds Or Taxable Bonds?

If you’ve been a diligent saver and maxed out your 401k at work and Roth IRA at home, congratulations! You’re well on your way to a comfortable retirement. But what if you still have money to invest? One of the more difficult questions to answer when it comes to taxable investing is whether you should reshuffle your tax-advantaged accounts to make more room for tax-inefficient bond funds or to go with tax free municipal bonds in a taxable account.

The Rule Of Thumb:

The rule of thumb is that bonds go in tax-deferred accounts and more tax-efficient equity funds should go in taxable accounts (assuming you don’t have enough room for both in your 401k). The reason for this is that taxable bonds have much higher yields than even the most generous high yield municipal bonds. That said, most investors will eventually hit a point where they simply don’t have enough room in their tax-deferred accounts for the quantity of bonds required to fill out their asset allocation. Part of this is due to the fact that the longer you invest, the larger your portfolio will naturally become. But most of it is due to the simple fact that as we grow older, we usually become more conservative and wish to allocate a larger percentage of our portfolio to bonds.

The Taxable-Equivalent Yield Formula:

So you have no choice but to own bonds in a taxable account. How do you decide which is better, tax free municipal bonds or taxable bonds? The formula is actually pretty simple. Note: If you buy municipal bonds from the state you live in (for example California if you live in California, etc), the interest earned on them is also exempt from state income tax, which you should factor into the formula below.

Taxable-Equivalent Yield = municipal bond interest rate / 1 – (federal tax rate)

If the taxable-equivalent yield of a particular muni bond fund is greater than the yield on a comparable taxable bond fund, you are better off owning municipal bonds. If it’s lower, you’re better off owning taxable bonds even after paying tax on the income.

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Tags: 401k, bond funds, bond interest, equity funds, high yield municipal bonds, interest rate, Investing, investor, investors, ira, money, municipal bond, roth ira, tax free municipal bonds, taxable bond fund, taxable bonds, taxable equivalent yield

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Investing in Real Estate

A fully revised, new edition of one of the bestselling real estate investing guides of all time

Through its five previous editions, Investing in Real Estate has shown investors how to intelligently build wealth with their investments in houses, condominiums, and small apartment buildings. Unlike many titles in this genre, Investing in Real Estate steers clear of the hyped-up “no cash, no credit, no problem” promises. Instead, it provides sound, real-world advice and instruction that reflects the author’s time-tested wisdom and experience. This book shows you how to invest profitably, safely, and reliably as you navigate the risks and opportunities of today’s property market. It covers all the topics investors need to master, including how to find, negotiate, finance, lease out, and manage your property acquisitions. Plus, you will discover how to add tens of thousands of dollars of value to nearly any property. Whether you plan to start investing or move your current investing strategy to a higher level, two decades of sales success testifies to the fact that this investing guide stands superior to any others that you will find.

This new edition covers all the recent changes in the market, including the latest housing rescue legislation from Congress, a historical review of how to profit from property cycles, and insightful new ways to gain from the current excess inventories of for-sale properties, foreclosures, and REOs.