more knowlege about stocks and bonds?

Answer 1

Since you weren't specific, I'm going to presume that you're looking to learn more about stocks and bonds and about investing.

So, congratulations on getting started. It’ll help you more than you know!

Your first dollars should be spent on getting educated on investing. You don't have to train to trade them professionally, but we are talking about your future here. So the more you learn, the more it'll help you! So let's start there.

You ask a very broad question, so be prepared for a pretty long answer. Just take it in chunks!


How to invest depends on what you already know. We'll assume that you're beginning!

A good primer is How to Make Money in Stocks by William O'Neil. You can get it cheap just about anywhere. It’s widely available new or used.

Another good one is one of Jim Cramer's books (he’s got a few).

But books will only get you so far. At some point, you'll also want to get at least a little training. There are some great education companies if you want to make the investment. Investools.com or optionetics.com are both very good companies as is tmitchell.com

For free, you can start by visiting thestreet.com and investopedia.com. That'll get you a pretty good primer so at least you'll understand what the markets are and what a stock is, etc.

If you get a chance, watch Mad Money on CNBC. Don't trade any of his picks until you track many of them over time. Just use the show to get you to understand some basics and get a feel for the market itself.

Next, subscribe to something like Investorsbusiness daily or something like that that can help you identify good stocks.

Once you understand stocks, go to 888options.com. It's a website that'll help you understand options (what they do, how they work, etc). You don't need to trade them, but the more you know, the more you'll see how options can really be the safest way to invest (once you're educated).

For discipline (which is crucial to successful trading), probably Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas or Mastering the Trade by John Carter

I know that’s a LOT to absorb. Just take it one step at a time for now. Start with a book or two to give you an idea of where to begin. Take your time, and let it seep in.

As you get up to speed, you should papertrade to practice (highly recommended). This should help reduce your losses in the beginning as you get used to buying/selling.

You can practice for free on almost any reputable broker site (optionsxpress, scottrade, thinkorswim, etc). And yes, you can definitely deal easily online.

Start slow, then as you figure things out, you can buy more shares.

Congrats again on getting started. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Hope this helps!

Answer 2

You should try with Penny Stocks Trading (you can find more info here: http://pennystocks.toptips.org )

Penny stocks, also known as cent stocks in some countries, are common shares of small public companies that trade at low prices per share.
I've been subscribing to this PennyStock web site for about a year now and have loved the objective advice they give. He really does look for quality stocks and I've made some pretty nice profits on a lot of his suggestions. Being still fairly new to investing I have been dabbling a lot in penny stocks to try and grow my account. I may not have a big account, but it's a lot bigger than it was a year ago. On just one of Nathan's picks this year I managed to make my investment back ten-fold! Be careful! Penny stocks are notoriously risky but if you follow the right method the risk is almost 0. I suggest to invest only little money first and then reinvest the profits. This is the site I'm using: http://pennystocks.toptips.org
Cheers ;)

Answer 3

Suppose you formed a corporation to build some houses. In forming the corporation you have to start with some uniform "share" of the company that you or others will be buying a piece of your corporation. Suppose you want to 'make it big' so you might start with something like 10 million shares, maybe set a par value based on how much 'upfront' money you need to put in when starting. Suppose you get a dollar a share, so your company has $10 million to work with. Then you discover a new factory or airport or shopping center or office building is going in nearby--retool the plans for some more upscale houses in your company's development, and maybe better streets, pool, street lights, etc. But to do that right you need another 5 or 10 million. But the banks don't want to issue a traditional loan but suggest that they would be interested in some bonds.

What you then do is essentially float your own loan. You make a $5 million bond issue where you agree to hold $5 million in corporate assets in 5,000 equal units of $1,000 each. The bankers probably told you the kinds of money they would want to get for interest rates, so as a new company we'll say 10 percent and for 10 years. Just as you worked to find people to invest in your company, you now have to sell the bonds to bankers or monied people who invest in corporate bonds. If the company fails, then the bond holders get their debts settled first, what is left of the value of the assets after the debts are paid, if any, then is split among the stockholders. Of course, if the business works, then in the course of time you set for the bonds, 10 years in this case, you set aside a million each year ($500k to pay interest, $500k to pay off the bonds when they mature ten years from now).

Answer 4

A bond is a debt security, similar to an I.O.U. When you purchase a bond, you are lending money to a government, municipality, corporation, federal agency or other entity known as the issuer. In return for the loan, the issuer promises to pay you a specified rate of interest during the life of the bond and to repay the face value of the bond (the principal) when it “matures,” or comes due.

Stocks: (1) ownership of a corporation represented by shares that are a claim on the corporation's earnings and assets. Common stock usually entitles the shareholder to vote in the election of directors and other matters taken up at shareholder meetings or by proxy. Preferred stock generally does not confer voting rights but it has a prior claim on assets and earnings - dividends must be paid on preferred stock before any can be paid on common stock. A corporation can authorize additional classes of stock, each with its own set of contractual rights. (2) inventories of accumulated goods in manufacturing and retailing businesses.