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Auction Rate Securities Basics

Amid the ongoing crisis in the auction rate securities (ARS) market, complicated information about investment banks, investment firms, and broker-dealers is easily available, while information on the basics of the auction rate securities market is surprisingly scarce. For many people, coverage of the ARS market collapse is more confusing than helpful. Without details as to how the auction rate system works, why these securities were attractive, and the factors which contributed to the market’s downfall, reports on the subject are little more than gibberish.

Should I Use a Local Broker Or a US Broker to Buy US Stocks?

I am a Singaporean, currently working as a trader in a hedge fund. I regularly contribute my investment ideas in my personal blog, and some of my investment ideas are US stocks. This is a frequent questions asked by my readers: Is it cheaper to buy US stocks through a US broker?

How to Trade Stocks – Part 3 – Choose an Online Brokerage Account – 7 Essential Questions

Whether you start investing with penny stocks or expensive stocks like Google, or the many-priced stocks in between, you need a brokerage account. An online account offers the cheapest way to trade. Whether you start investing with penny stocks or expensive stocks like Google, or the many-priced stocks in between, you need a brokerage account. An online account offers the cheapest way to trade. This is a plus. However, if you want your hand held, this may not be the route for you. Online brokerage trading accounts are inexpensive because they offer limited services. No matter what the $ investment you make in the trade, a brokerage firm always needs to assist you in these transactions. Therefore you always have a fee attached to the buying AND the selling of your trade. Online firms provide minimal service to their customers and have low fees. Full service brokerage companies – like Schwab charge more. They also provide a higher level of customer service like having your own broker to talk to instead of reaching a call center and getting the next available customer service representative. There are vast differences between the various online brokerage firms so, do your homework.

Penny Stocks – An Unknown Investment Game

In the U.S., a penny stock is a common stock that trades for less than $5 a share and are traded over the counter (OTC) through quotation services such as the OTCBB or the Pink Sheets. Although a penny stock is said to be “thinly traded,” share volumes traded daily can be in the hundreds of millions for a sub-penny stock – Thank you, Wikipedia.

Company Profiles – Deutsche Boerse

The Deutsche Boerse (DB) is a company that owns stock exchanges in Germany and which manages many other exchanges in the world. The company is listed on the German DAX since 2001.

Trading in the Stock Market

Stock trading can be difficult, but if done correctly it can lead to a decent income and in some cases, a lot of money gained. The key is to know what you are getting into prior to starting investing or trading, just like any other business you might get into.

Understanding the Basics of Stock Day Trading

Opinions about day trading vary widely. Some people swear it is the best way ever to make a profit in the stock market…others, including the SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission) advise strongly against day trading, insisting it is too risky. As with many things having to do with investing and the stock market you will hear all kinds of things about day trading. The trick is to sort the information out.

Stock Market Data Calculations – Choosing Stocks Part 1 of 2 – Data Sources

There is a vast amount of stock trading information available to the investor. For the typical investor this deluge of information may seem overwhelming. However, if the investor can learn to filter information based upon a degree of confidence they have in the information prudent decisions can easily be made. All information is useful, just to varying degrees.

Stock Market Data Calculations – Choosing Stocks Part 2 of 2 – Some Obvious Factors

If an investors looking for a quick profit in the market there are some very tangible factors which when taken together often indicate that this type of gain is about to happen. This is a quick and easy listing of those factors.

Cash Rules the Day

From this title I will indulge in the complementary uses of financial statements, in this case the use of cash flow from operations (CFFO) to determine the quality of earnings. CFFO can be defined as: Net Income + accumulated depreciation and other non cash flows +/- the change in net operating assets (NOA). It is from this metric we can determine the quality of reported profits. The reason is that accruals can mask cash exchanges while reporting bloated profits at the same time.