Stock Exchange

New York Stock Exchange

2006-12-17T09:39:00.000-08:00

The New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), nicknamed the "Big Board," is a New York City-based stock exchange. It is the largest stock exchange in the world by dollar volume and the second largest by number of companies listed. Its share volume was exceeded by that of NASDAQ during the 1990s, but the total market capitalization of companies listed on the NYSE is five times that of companies listed on NASDAQ. The New York Stock Exchange has a global capitalization of $21 trillion, including $7.1 trillion in non-U.S. companies.

The NYSE is operated by NYSE Group, which was formed by merger with the fully electronic stock exchange Archipelago Holdings. The New York Stock Exchange trading floor is located at 11 Wall Street, and is composed of five rooms used for the facilitation of trading. The main building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is located at 18 Broad Street, between the corners of Wall Street and Exchange Place.

Business

The NYSE trades in a continuous auction format. There is one specific location on the trading floor where each listed stock trades. Exchange members interested in buying and selling a particular stock on behalf of investors gather around the appropriate post where a specialist broker, who is employed by a NYSE member firm (that is, he/she is not an employee of the New York Stock Exchange), acts as an auctioneer in an open outcry auction market environment to bring buyers and sellers together and to manage the actual auction. They do on occasion (approximately 10% of the time) facilitate the trades by committing their own capital and as a matter of course disseminate information to the crowd that helps to bring buyers and sellers together. Most of the time natural buyers and sellers meet in a market that provides efficient price discovery in an auction environment that is designed to produce the fairest price for both parties. The human interaction and expert judgment as to order execution differentiates the NYSE from fully electronic markets. However, in excess of 50% of all order flow is now delivered to the floor electronically. Recent proposals have been made to adopt a Hybrid market structure combining elements of open outcry and electronic markets. The frenzied commotion of men and women in colored smocks has been captured in several movies, including Wall Street.

In the mid-1960s, the NYSE Composite Index (NYSE: NYA)was created, with a base value of 50 points equal to the 1965 yearly close, to reflect the value of all stocks trading at the exchange instead of just the 30 stocks included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. To raise the profile of the composite index, in 2003 the NYSE given it new base value of 5,000 points equal to the 2002 yearly close. (Previously, the index had stood just below 500 points, with lifetime highs and lows of 670 points and 33 points, respectively.) As of late 2006, the lifetime high of the NYSE Composite in trading stands at 9,171.82 points, reached on December 15, 2006, while its lifetime low (as currently calculated) stands at 347.77 points, reached in October 1974.

Since September 30, 1985 the NYSE trading hours have been 9:30 - 16:00 EST. The right to directly trade shares on the exchange is conferred upon owners of the 1366 "seats". The term comes from the fact that up until the 1870s NYSE members sat in chairs to trade; this system was eliminated long ago. In 1868, the number of seats was fixed at 533, and this number was increased several times over the years. In 1953, the exchange stopped at 1366 seats. These seats are a sought-after commodity as they confer the ability to directly trade stock on the NYSE. Seat prices have varied widely over the years, generally falling during recessions and rising during economic expansions. The most expensive seat, adjusted for inflation, was sold in 1929 for $625,000, which is over six million in today's dollars. In recent times, seats have sold for as high as $4 million in the late 1990s and $1 million in 2001. In 2005, seat prices shot up to $3.25 million as the exchange was set to merge with Archipelago and become a for-profit, publicly traded company. Seat owners received $500,000 cash per seat and 77,000 shares of the newly formed corporation. The NYSE now sells one-year licenses to trade directly on the exchange.

New York Stock Exchange

Major Stock Exchanges

2005-04-19T16:37:00.005-07:00

NYSE - New York Stock ExchangeThe New York Stock Exchange is the most prestigious of all the stock markets. Their website will give you a feel for all that this power house means to the financial world.
American Stock ExchangeThe American Stock Exchange has suffered from a lack of attention compared to the bigger and better known NYSE and NASDAQ, however it is a large exchange in its on right and home of some innovative products.
Chicago Board of TradeThe Chicago Board of Trade handles commodities futures and options. Although it doesn't make a market in individual shares of stock, the CBOT is an important part of our economy.
Pacific Exchange - Stocks and OptionsThe Pacific Exchange is one of several regional stock exchanges. The PCX trades stocks and options.
Chicago Stock ExchangeThe Chicage Stock Exchange is another regional exchange.
PHILADELPHIA STOCK EXCHANGEThe Philadelphia Stock Exchange in a regional stock exchange.

Stock Tips: A Big Waste of Your Time and Money

2005-04-19T16:37:00.004-07:00

Stock Tips: A Big Waste of Your Time and MoneyIn the last few years the majority of the general public seems to have accepted online stock chat rooms as somehow useful. Some of the over-hyped chat boards and news services include:
CBS MarketWatch
The Street
Motley Fool
Raging Bull
Silicon InvestorLet us be blunt. Imagine you are at Motley Fool and you receive a stock tip. You now know it is time to buy whatever the tip is. Big problem here now. When do you sell? How much do you buy? Of course, the tipsters never try to answer these questions. Stock tips are kissing cousins to the ever-popular lottery tickets. They might feel good, but stock tips are for losers (just like lottery tickets).For example, the stock market crash painfully proved the worthlessness of stock tips. No tip predicted the NASDAQ crash. How in the world could an opinion of some anonymous message poster, that only knows how to yell BUY, ever be useful?Trend Following trading does not attempt to predict the market. We couldn’t care less what a company does or what its new economy potential might be. It does not matter what a company's business plan is or even whether they have a potential to make money. When you trade properly, your only concern is price. If the price is going up you buy. If it's going down you sell. Don’t waste your time trying to determine the potential of a company. And don’t waste your time looking for tips on chat boards. You will only lose money if you go down the stock tip path.

Hot Stock Picks, Stock List and Stock Tips

2005-04-19T16:37:00.003-07:00

The most successful traders develop a core group of stocks that they go back to day after day, month after month, and sometimes even year after year. Some traders try to watch a core group of stocks as large as 150. We feel that 5 to 10 stocks is about right for most traders, especially if you are a beginner. Later you may want to expand to 10 to 20. Login to view the core group of stocks / options we trade on a regular basis. At one time our core list had just over 100 stocks. Today, we try to limit our stock picks to about 30 companies. Ten of which will be big name blue chips. We have another ten companies that we have picked as the best companies to trade options on. Our last and most popular group of stock picks consist of about ten lower priced stocks usually priced from $15 to $25. We screen this list monthly looking for an excuse to weed out underperformers. We compare our best with the almost-a-winner contenders to see if we can find an even better candidate.

Stock Brokers

2005-04-19T16:37:00.002-07:00

InvestradeMarket orders for stocks are $7.95 and limit orders are $11.95 for unlimited shares.www.Investrade.comTradeStationServing active traders, one cent per share up to 500 shares and .006 per share thereafter.www.TradeStation.comTD WaterhouseCommissions vary depending on market or limit order, account size, frequency of trades and other factors.www.waterhouse.comScottradeMarket orders for stocks are $7 for unlimited shares, while limit orders are $12. No inactivity fees and only $500 required to open an account.www.Scottrade.comSchwab Trader CTFormerly known as CyberTrader, now owned by Schwab. Targets day traders and active traders, $9.95 per trade for up to 5000 shares. Other fees may apply.www.SchwabTrader.comCharles SchwabFees vary depending on account size, trade size and frequency of trades. Charles Schwab is the largest online broker.www.Schwab.comEtradeCommissions vary from $9.99 to $12.99 depending on number of trades per quarter and account size.www.Etrade.comFree TradeEach month your first 20 stock trades are commission-free, including market, limit, stop, stop-limit, short sell, odd-lot and OTCBB orders. After that pay $3 per trade for 21st-100th trades, $2 per trade for 101st-200th trades and $1 per trade for your 201st trade and above. All support, communications and statements are done by email. Free Trade is owned by Ameritrade.www.FreeTrade.comInteractive BrokersTrade US stocks for a penny per share up to 500 shares and a half cent per share thereafter. 100 shares equals $1. 500 shares equals $5. 1000 shares equals $7.50 and 5000 shares equals $27.50www.InteractiveBrokers.comAmeritradeTrade unlimited shares for $10.99 per trade. This price includes both market and limit orders. Orders executed in multiple lots on the same trading day will be charged a single commission. When an order is partially executed over multiple trading days, the order is subject to a separate commission charge for each trading day.www.Ameritrade.com

Learn to Invest, Buy Stocks, Sell Stocks, Investing Financial Advice

2005-04-19T16:37:00.001-07:00

Learn How to InvestDiscover How to ...Buy and Sell Stocks and ...Learn How to Plan for Your FutureGreekShares.com - Learn How to Invest - is a unique investment guide and investor education web site.Using expert investing advice and financial planning, GreekShares.com assists you in learning how to invest and improves your investing skills.Determine Your Financial FutureThe GreekShares.com stock market, investing, financial planning and trading stocks, Internet web site and e-Book, aims at the following five profitable and distinct financial targets:1. With the Online Investing Education and the Investing, Stock Market and Financial Planning Tutorial:To provide you with all the free information and financial advice, so that you can learn to invest profitably in stocks and be able to successfully manage your financial future.2. With the Investment Guide:To help you easily acquire many new profitable investing skills and expand your economic, savings, financial, investing and stock market knowledge.3. With the Stock Market Guide to Profitable Investments e-Book:To present a clear, easy and safe investment e-Book and educational method by which you will be able to invest profitably in the stock market.4. With the Profitable Expert Financial Services and Investing Advice:To bring you in a position to accomplish profitable investments in equities, easily manage to make money now and plan for your financial future and5. With the Professional and Expert Stock Brokers and Financial Advisers:To achieve excellent returns on your stocks and investments and to familiarize and provide you with our excellent financial news, stock market investing, finance, art and stock brokerage services.Do You Invest ...Profitably?As you're most probably aware, you don't have to be an expert in order to invest profitably. But, you will pay a high price for neglecting your investments and your personal finances.Do You Know the ...Equities Rules?You can remember that in the past years, we have seen many losers and winners. The difference was knowing the "rules of the game" and adopting the right equity investing strategies to suit your individual circumstances and financial planning.Do You Need ...Expert Financial Advice?Here in our web site and investment guide, we do not claim to give stock quotes or "tips" on particular investments, but we do rather aim to provide you with the best and expert broad financial advice necessary to be translated into stock market success.Invest in ...Learning!Our profitable insight intends to not only provide you with our professional and expert advice on investments for beginners, but also aims to offer finance education and amazing new ideas for experienced investors.Define Your ...Investing ObjectivesOpen your eyes and heed the real advice of those that have come before you. Explore our web site, investigate your investments and define your goals and objectives.Invest and Make Money NOWAs you know, there are a lot of people these days investing and making money in the stock markets all over the world. It can really be profitable, safe, fun, very exhilarating and sometimes, it's almost intoxicating!Do Not Play ...Investing is NOT a Joke!You must treat investing as a real job and not as an easy "game" or a "joke." You must start investing instead of just "playing" and make money fast and now. The final safe investing decisions and the money will be yours and only yours.Wisdom is the Daughter of ...ExperienceStudy our site and e-Book and you will be provided with our experience. The wisdom... Will be YOUR OWN!

Online Stockbrokers

2005-04-19T16:37:00.000-07:00

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Worldwide Stock Markets & Exchanges

2005-04-19T14:39:00.000-07:00

Stock ExchangeSymbolCountry
American Stock ExchangeAMEXU.S.A
Amman Financial MarketAFMJordan
Amsterdam Exchanges AEXNetherlands
Arizona Stock ExchangeAZXU.S.A
Athens Stock ExchangeASEGreece
Australian Stock ExchangeASXAustralia
Bahrain Stock ExchangeBSEBahrain
Baltic ExchangeBIFFEXUK
Bangalore Stock Exchange LimitedBGSEIndia
Beirut Stock ExchangeBSELebanon
Belgrade Stock ExchangeBELEXYugoslavia
Bermuda Stock ExchangeBSXBermuda
Bolsa Boliviana de ValoresBBVBolivia
Bolsa de Barcelona???Spain
Bolsa de Bogotá???Columbia
Bolsa de Comercio de Buenos AiresSBAArgentina
Bolsa de Comercio de SantiagoBSANChile
Bolsa de MadridBMSpain
Bolsa de Valores de CaracasCSEVenezuala
Bolsa de Valores de Guayaqui - EcuadorBVGEcuador
Bolsa de Valores de Lima - PeruBVLPeru
Bolsa de Valores de NicaraguaBVNNicaragua
Bolsa de Valores de PanamáBVPPanama
Bolsa de Valores de Quito - EcuadorBVQEcuador
Bolsa de Valores de São Paulo - BrazilBVSPABrazil
Bolsa de Valores do Rio de JaneiroBVRJBrazil
Bolsa de Valores Nacional S.A. GuatemalaBVNSAGuatemala
Bolsa Electronica de ChileBECChile
Bolsa Mexicana de ValoresBMVMexico
Bombay Stock ExchangeBSEIndia
Boston Stock ExchangeBSEU.S.A
Botswana Stock Exchange???Botswana
Bourse de Paris???France
Brussels ExchangesBXSBelgum
Bucharest Stock ExchangeBSERomania
Budapest Stock ExchangeFORNAXHungary
Bulgarian Stock ExchangeBSEBulgaria
Cairo & Alexandria Stock ExchangeCASEEqypt
Canadian Venture ExchangeCDNXCanada
Cayman Islands Stock ExchangeCIECayman Is.
Cincinnati Stock ExchangeCSEU.S.A
Colombo Stock Exchange???Sri Lanka
Copenhagen Stock ExchangeCSEDenmark
Cyprus Stock ExchangeCSECyprus
Dhaka Stock Exchange DSEBangladesh
Ghana Stock ExchangeGSEGhana
Gruppe Deutsche BörseFSEGermany
Helsinki Stock ExchangeHEXFinland
Hong Kong Stock ExchangeHKSEHong Kong
Stock Exchanges of IndiaISEIndia
Irish Stock ExchangeISEIreland
Istanbul Stock ExchangeISETurkey
Italian Stock Exchange???Italy
Jakarta Stock ExchangeJSXIndonesia
Jamaica Stock ExchangeJSEJamaica
Johannesburg Stock ExchangeJSESouth Africa
Karachi Stock ExchangeKSEPakistan
Korea Stock ExchangeKSEKorea
Kuala Lumpur Stock ExchangeKLSEMalaysia
Lisbon Stock ExchangeBVLPortugal
Ljubljana Stock ExchangeLJSESlovenia
London Stock Exchange???UK
Luxembourg Stock ExchangeLSELuxembourg
Macedonian Stock ExchangeMSEMacedonia
Malaysian Exchange of Securities Dealing & Automated Quotation MESDAQMalaysia
Montreal ExchangeMECanada
Nagoya Stock ExchangeNSEJapan
Namibian Stock ExchangeNSENambia
NasdaqNasdaqU.S.A
National Stock Exchange of IndiaNSEIIndia
National Stock Exchange of LithuaniaNSELithuania
New York Stock ExchangeNYSEU.S.A
New Zealand Stock ExchangeNZSENew Zealand
OM Stockholm Stock ExchangeOMXSweeden
Oslo Stock ExchangeOSENorway
OTC Bulletin BoardOTCBBU.S.A
Pacific ExchangePCXU.S.A
Palestine Securities ExchangePSEIsrael
Philadelphia Stock ExchangePHLXU.S.A
Philippine Stock ExchangePSEPhilippines
Prague Stock ExchangePSECzech Rep.
Riga Stock ExchangeRSELatvia
San Diego Stock ExchangeSDSEU.S.A
Singapore Stock ExchangeSESSingapore
Stock Exchange of NewcastleNSXAustrailia
Stock Exchange of ThailandSETThailand
Surabaya Stock ExchangeSSXIndonesia
Swiss Stock Exchange SWXSwitzerland
Taiwan Stock ExchangeTSETaiwan
Tallinn Stock ExchangeTALSEEstonia
Tehran Stock ExchangeTSEIran
Tel Aviv Stock ExchangeTASEIsrael
Tokyo Stock ExchangeTSEJapan
Toronto Stock ExchangeTSECanada
Tradepoint Stock Exchange???UK
Trinidad and Tobago Stock ExchangeTTSETrinidad & Tobago
Warsaw Stock ExchangeWSEPoland
Wiener Börse AG WBAGAustria
Winnipeg Stock ExchangeWSECanada
Zagreb Stock ExchangeZSECroatia
Zimbabwe Stock ExchangeZSEZimbabwe

Online Brokers & Phone Numbers

2005-04-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

Allstocks.com’s Online Stock Brokers listings with the phone numbers.This list was
created to make it easy to find a broker and due to the Internet and server problems
that have created problems for Investors and Traders durring active stock markets.
If your online stock broker’s servers or the Internet acts up or goes down you will
need to call the online stock broker to place your orders for stock trades. Keep your
online stock brokers phone number handy! You never know when you will need it.
Thank you for using Allstocks.com.Online Brokerage Firms
A.B. Watley(888)229-2853
Action Direct ( Royal Bank CA. )(800)769-2583
Accutrade(800)882-4887
Aftrader(888)682-6973
American Century(800)345-2021
American Express Financial Direct(800)658-4677
Ameritrade.com(800)454-9272
Andrew Peck Associates, Inc.(800)221-5873
Atlantic Financial(800)559-2900
ATradeUSA.com, Inc.)(888)786-2545
Attain ( All-Tech Direct, Inc.)(877)528-8246
Attitude Online Trading(888)889-9178
Banc of America Investment Services, Inc.(800)765.4949
Bank One Corporation ( Oneinvest.com )(888)843-6382
Bank of Montreal ( InvestorLine.com )(800)387-7800
Belizebank Online ( Off Shore )(501) 2 72390
Benson York Group(888)409-4773
Bidwell & Company(800)547-6337
BlueStone Capital Partners, L.P.(888)872-3367
BondAgent.com(800)803-9052
Boom.com ( Off Shore, Hong Kong )(852)2255-8888
Brown & Company(800)822-2021
Bull & Bear Securities, Inc.(800)262-5800
Cales Investments, Inc.(303)765-5600
Castle Online(888)276-5490
Charles Schwab & Co.(800)372-4922
CitiBank.(800)275-2424
Columbia Asset Management ( USAFutures.com ).(800)435-9444
Comek Financial Group, Inc..(800)844-9492
Commonwealth Bank of Australia ( Off Shore ).61 2 8223 7014
Day-Trades.com.(888)325-9300
Direct Trade Inc..(800)756-0920
The Clark Financial Group(800)243-2207
CompuTEL Securities(800)432-0327
CyberCorp.com(888)762-9237
Day Trading Net(415)-331-2242
Datek(888)-463-2835
Direct(800)-327-1883
Direct Trade LLC(888)-756-0920
DiscountBroker.com ( Scottrade Securities )(800)619-7283
1st Discount Brokerage(888)-642-2811
Discover Brokerage Direct(800)566-2273
DLJ Direct(800)825-5723
Downstate Discount Brokerage, Inc.(800)780-3543
Dreyfus Brokrage(800)421-8395
EdgeTrade.com(888)440-3343
Empire Financial Group, Inc.(800)900-8101
Equity Trading Online, LLC(877)388-7233
E-Trade(888)387-2331
E-Trade Canada(888)872-3388
The Executioner(877)843-9999
Fidelity(800)544-5555
Field Logan(888)353-4353
The Financial Cafe(877)600-6410
Financial Discounts Direct ( Off Shore UK )01 420 549 090
Firefly Capital, Inc.(888)883-3359
First American Discount Corporation ( Futures )(888)621-4415
First Financial Equity Corporation(888)951-1010
First Midwest Securities, Inc.(800)776-3004
Firstrade Securities Inc.(888)988-6168
Fleet(800)221-8210
FMS, Inc ( Bonds, Tax Free )(800)367-2663
FOLIO[fn] Investments, Inc(888)973-7890
Freedom Investments, Inc.(800)381-1481
Freeman Welwood(800)729-7585
Freetrade.com, Inc. ( Ameritrade Holding Corp.)(800)237-8692
Frontier Futures, Inc.(800)278-6257
Garden State Securities Inc.(877)477-7862
Global Access Financial Services(888)366-8472
GlobalNeTrader(800)467-5197
Globeshare Inc.(877)456-2374
GRO Corporation(800)852-3862
Harris InvestorLine(800)621-0392
H&R Block Financial Corporation( Smart Vest )(800)249-5500
HSBC Holdings plc ( Off Shore )(888)398-1180
IForex.net ( Lincolnet Corp., Currencys )(212)563-2100
IJL Wachovia(800)775-6547
Instant Futures, LLC(877)583-9401
Interactive Brokers LLC(203)618-5839
IntlTrader.com Inc.(888)345-4685
Investex Securities Group, Inc.(800)822-2050
InvesTrade(800)498-7120
I-TRADEdirect.com(888)783-3100
Jack White & Company(800)233-3411
JB Oxford & Co.(800)468-1876
JPR Capital(800)577-2004
Key Bank, Brokerage(800)553-2240
Killik & Co ( Off Shore UK )0870 606 1444
Levitt-Levitt(800)671-8505
Lexit Capital LLC(888)778-4998
Lieber & Weissman Securities, LLC(800)261-9557
Lincolnet Corp.( Currencys )(212)563-2100
Live Broker.com ( Westminster Securities Corporation )(800)553-6428
Livestreet.com(516)873-4200
Man Direct ( Off Shore UK)0500 565 717
Mansion House Securities (F.E.) Ltd ( Off Shore HK )2843 1432
Marquette de Bary Co.(800)221-3305
MAX Trade, L.L.C.(888)741-8733
MB Trading(866) 628-3001
McDonald Investments(800)553-2240
Merrill Lynch, Pierce, Fenner & Smith Incorporated(212)449-1000
Midwest Discount Brokers, Inc.(800)397-0697
Morgan Stanley Dean Witter & Co.(212)761-4000
Mr. Stock, Inc.>(800)470-1896
MuniDirect.com, Inc.>(888)432-6864
Muriel Siebert & Co.(800)872-0711
My Discount Broker(888)882-5600
National Discount Brokers(800)888-3999
National Securities Corporation(877)672-8723
Navillus Securities Inc.(952)476-6002
Nestlerode & Co., Inc.(814)238-6249
Net Bank(800)553-9513
The Net Investor(800)638-4250
Net-Invest.com, Inc.(800)548-7796
Netstock Investment Corporation(888)638-7865
Net Vest(800)961-1500
Noble Trading(877)872-3311
Now Trade(877)669-8723
OLDE Discount Corporation(800)872-6533
One Financial Center, Inc.(877)554-6500
OnlineTrading.com(800)995-1076
On-Site Trading Inc.(888)402-0533
Patagon.com Securities Corp.(888)539-8723
Pennaluna & Company(800)535-5329
Penn Trade(800)953-2860
Peremel & Company, Inc.(800)737-3635
PowerStreet ( Fidelity )(800)544-5555
Preferred Capital Markets, Inc.(888)889-9178
Preferred Technology(888)781-0283
Prime Time Investment Services, Inc.(800)545-6436
Princeton Daytrading, LLC(888)665-9191
Professional Discount Securities(800)478-6257
ProTrade Securities(805)563-9017
Quick & Reilly(800)453-2517
Real Fast Trader(877) 286-9912
Regal Discount Securities(800)786-9000
The R.J. Forbes Group(800)754-7687
R.J. Thompson Securities Inc. ( RJT.com )(800)927-0202
RML Trading(888)765-4403
Royal Bank of Canada(800)769-2583
Sanford Securities Limited ( Off Shore AU )61 8 9321 1553
Savoy Discount Brokerage(800)961-1500
Scotia Discount Brokerage Inc.( Canadian )(800)263-3430
Scottrade(800)619-7283
Self Trading Securities, Inc(800)937-4162
Shochet Online(888)227-9964
Sloan Securities Corp.(201)592-9900
SmartVest ( H&R Block Financial Corporation )(800)249-5500
Spear, Leeds & Kellogg(800)395-6850
Speed Trader(877)773-3357
STA Trading Services, Inc.(800)781-0747
State Discount Brokers(800)997-8283
StockPower Inc.(877)430-7518
Stock Trade.net(800)261-9557
Stockwalk.com, Inc.(800)259-2800
Stocks 4 Less(888)414-5377
Sovereign Securities(888)882-5600
Summit Bank, Brokerage(800)631-1635
Summit Trading, Inc.(888)382-6552
Sunlogic Securities(800)556-4600
SuperTrade USA, GlobaLink Securities, Inc.(800)388-9788
SunTrust Internet Investing(800)710-8208
Sure Trade ( Quick and Reilly )(800)837-7220
SwiftTrade;(416) 351-0540
TD Waterhouse(800)934-4448
Terra Nova Online(866)866-6546
Thomas Cook ( Business Only )(800)522-2565
Thomas F. White and Company, Inc. ( White Discount Securities )(800)669-4483
T. Rowe Price Discount Brokerage(800)541-8803
Trade 4 Less(800)780-3543
TradeCast Securities Ltd.(877)303-7844
Trade.com(888)872-3367
Trade Fast(888)889-9178
Trade Portal(888)839-2227
Traderight Corp.(888)872-3335
Trade Scape(800)467-7065
TradeStar Investments(800)961-1500
Trading Direct(212)766-0241
Trade-Well Discount Investing(888)907-9797
Tru Trade(800)328-8600
Unified Management Corporation(888)862-7862
USAForce.com ( USACapital, Inc.)(888)483-6723
USAFutures.com ( Columbia Asset Management ).(800)435-9444
U.S. Bancorp Investments, Inc..(800)872-2657
U.S. Invest(213)653-1212
U.S. RICA Financial Inc.(888)887-7422
Vanguard Brokerage Services(800)662-7447
Vision Trade(800)374-1940
Wachovia Securities, Inc.(800)922-9008
Wall Street Access(800)925-5781
The Wall Street Discount Corporation(888)492-5578
Wall Street Electronica(888)925-5783
Wall Street Equities Inc.(800)321-4877
Wang Investments(718)353-9264
Waterhouse Securities, Inc.(800)934-4410
WealthHound Inc.(877)947-8776
Web Street Securities(800)932-8723
Wells Fargo(800)872-3377
Westminster Securities Corporation(800)553-6428
White Discount Securities(800)669-4483
Wise Choice Discount(800)490-6074
WIT Capital(888)494-8227
WR Hambrecht + Co, LLC(877)673-6476
Wyse Securities(800)640-8668
Yamner & Company, Inc.(800)221-5676
York Securities, Inc.(800)221-3154
XpressTrade, LLC(800)947-6228
Ziegler Thrift Trading Inc.(612)333-4206

Choosing A Compatible Broker

2005-04-15T08:25:00.000-07:00

How Does Choosing a Broker Relate to the Nickel? First off, we should make it clear that
we are not making any comment about Ameritrade. The "nickel" is important to many
investors (primarily traders), but it amounts to only a few dollars if you are buying
less than 100 shares. If you aren't an active trader, a nickel won't even show up on
the chart over the long term. So, worrying about "the nickel" when choosing a broker
matters only for particular types of investors. It's easy to see, then, that although
there may be many good brokerages out there, not all of them are geared to the
way you invest. Different investor personalities affect broker selection. The task
of making your selection may seem overwhelming at first, but with a little study
and some basic guidelines, you'll be able to make an informed decision suited to
your investing personality and end up with a broker that is right for you.
The Importance of Your Investing PersonalityYour investing style is one of the
biggest factors to consider when selecting an online broker. To determine your
style, you must define your needs. Here are some questions to help you do this:
Do you need personal advice, or can you do your own homework with research
reports?How long do you typically hold an investment?What is the size of trades
you typically make?How important is it to have direct access to a real person?
Is fast and efficient order execution absolutely necessary?There are four main
types of investor personalities. Try to determine what personality you resemble
most and ask yourself if your broker is providing the services that match your personality.Individual InvestorsThose classified under this category are also
known as
"retail investors". They don't require any special assistance or advisory services.
Individual investors empower themselves by doing their own research, selecting
their own stocks and knowing how to place online orders efficiently. The main
priorities for the independent investor are fast, consistent trade executions and
low commission levels. The fruit of such priorities and labor is the opportunity
to take advantage of the lowest commission rates around. Several brokers like
E*Trade and Ameritrade - known as "discount brokers" - have chosen to target
independent investors because this clientele makes up such a large and diverse
market.
Reliant InvestorsThese investors need some hand holding and assistance when
selecting a prospective investment. Typically, they require a broker capable of
offering individualized advice and assistance. This is especially true for new
investors, who may need all the help they can get when starting out. As you
can imagine, extra services equal higher commissions, and as more and more
investors become self-sufficient, brokers serving this market segment become
fewer and fewer. The ones that do stay around are generally larger companies,
such as Charles Schwab and Fidelity. Known as full-service brokers, they provide
many of the services necessary for successful investing: that is, not only picking
stock, but also tax planning, asset allocation and long-term planning. Additionally,
if you are a new investor with a fairly large amount of money, but you aren't
comfortable investing on your own, you may consider a wrap account. This type
of account charges one flat fee, usually quarterly, which covers all administrative,
commission and management expenses. The drawback is that wrap accounts
usually require minimum investments of between $50,000 and $100,000.
(For more on the wrap, see
Wrap It Up: The Vocabulary and Benefits of Managed Money.)
Short-Term Investors (Traders)Short-term traders are not the
same as day traders. Depending on the type of security, a short-term position
can range from an hour to a few months. For the most part, short-term trading
is a practice used primarily by the top financial players. These are the professionals
who have devoted time to understanding all aspects of trading and investment
and are often trading what are called "momentum stocks" or "
momo plays". Traders require access to superior research information,
excellent execution skills and most likely the ability to trade in other types of
securities, such as derivatives. With such experience and knowledge, short-term
traders require next to no assistance from a broker. Because these investors ar
e attempting to profit from the relatively short-term movements in a security's
price, they are more concerned about getting the best possible fill price than a
longer-term investor, but not as concerned as a day trader, as we explain below.
Discount online brokers supply the fast order execution, the low commissions and
the trading tools that are the biggest concerns of the short-term investor.

Five Things Overlooked by Investors

2005-04-15T08:18:00.000-07:00

Because there are literally hundreds of things about a company to examine when analyzing its stock, it is tough to know where to start. Most investors are good at evaluating
earnings, growth rates, revenue, and the P/E ratio, but they also tend to overlook
other aspects that can be just as important. Here is our list of five items on
which the average investor does not place enough emphasis:Cash Flow -
This represents the constant flow of money in and out of a company.
All companies provide separate cash flow statements as part of their
financial statements, but cash flow can also be calculated as net income
plus depreciation and other non-cash items.Proper cash flow levels vary
from industry to industry, but a company not generating the same amount
of cash as competitors is bound to lose out. A company without available
cash to pay bills is in real trouble, even if the company is profitable. By using
the cash flow-to-debt ratio, which compares the amount of cash generated to
the amount of outstanding debt, you can judge the health of cash flow.
This comparison reflects the company's ability to service their loan and
interest payments. For more details on analyzing cash flow, see the article
"Learn to Look at the Cash Flow" Management - This is one aspect of a
company that can make a world of difference. Think of management in
terms of sports: Michael Jordan might not have been the "whole show"
during his reign at the Chicago Bulls, but he was undoubtedly a huge
contributing factor to their success. The same is true for the management
of a business: good management doesn't do everything, but it certainly is
an integral part of the company. Sam Walton (of Wal-mart) and Jack Welch
(of General Electric) are examples of people who led their firms through
thick and thin, recessions and booms. This doesn't mean you should buy a
stock purely based on management, but do consider the significant value in
proven, long-standing leadership. Accounts Receivable - AR represents
the sales for which the company has yet to collect the money. Sales drive
accounts receivable, so when sales are growing, accounts receivable
will grow at a similar rate. Problems arise from an AR that is increasing
faster than sales, which indicates that the company is not receiving payment
for its sales and thus leaving itself short for handling the expense of producing
those sales. In an extreme case, AR can tell us whether a company is
"stuffing the channels," which is the practice of a company sending excessive
amounts of extra goods to retailers and recording the shipment as a sale.
The purpose is to to try and make it appear as though sales are increasing,
but eventually the goods will be sent back because retailers cannot sell the
excess supply, ultimately creating a blowup. Inventory - Inventory is the
finished items available for sale and ties in closely with accounts receivable.
High inventory is bad for several reasons. Firstly, there is a cost associated
with storing the extra inventory: increases in inventory cause higher storage
costs. Secondly, a growing inventory can indicate that the company is producing
more than it can sell. Like AR, inventory should increase at a rate similar to
that of sales. "The Big Picture" - The technique of looking at the overall company
and its outlook is sometimes referred to "qualitative analysis,"
and it is a perspective that is often forgotten. Peter Lynch once stated that he
found his best investments by looking at the trends his children follow.
(Read more on Peter Lynch here.) Whether it's Pokemon or Big Macs, you can't
argue against real life. Brand name is also valuable. Coke, for instance, is the most
popular brand name in the world, so the financial value of its name is measured
in the billions of dollars and therefore cannot go overlooked.Assessing a company
from the fundamental/qualitative standpoint is one of the easiest and most
effective strategies for evaluating a potential investment, and it is as important
as looking at sales and earnings. ConclusionThese five overlooked areas are by
no means the only things investors need to evaluate, but looking at more than
just the obvious will give you that extra advantage over other investors.
Earnings are important, but earnings are also the most widely published financial
figure for any company, so why base an investment decision solely on what
other people already know? The moral here is always to dig deeper by
doing solid research so that you can aim to be a step ahead of the crowd.
Cheers,

Stock Basics: Introduction

2005-04-15T08:14:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't you love to be a business owner without ever having to show up at work?
Imagine if you could sit back, watch your company grow, and collect the dividend
checks as the money rolls in! This situation might sound like a pipe dream, but
it's closer to reality than you might think.As you've probably guessed, we're
talking about owning stocks. This fabulous category of financial instruments is,
without a doubt, one of the greatest tools ever invented for building wealth.
Stocks are a part, if not the cornerstone, of nearly any investment portfolio.
When you start on your road to financial freedom, you need to have a solid
understanding of stocks and how they trade on the stock market.
Over the last few decades, the average person's interest in the stock market
has grown exponentially. What was once a toy of the rich has now turned into
the vehicle of choice for growing wealth. This demand coupled with advances
in trading technology has opened up the markets so that nowadays nearly anybody
can own stocks.Despite their popularity, however, most people don't fully understand
stocks. Much is learned from conversations around the water cooler with others
who also don't know what they're talking about. Chances are you've already heard
people say things like, "Bob's cousin made a killing in XYZ company, and now
he's got another hot tip..." or "Watch out with stocks--you can lose your shirt
in a matter of days!" So much of this misinformation is based on a get-rich-quick
mentality, which was especially prevalent during the amazing dotcom market in
the late 90s. People thought that stocks were the magic answer to instant wealth
with no risk. The ensuing dotcom crash proved that this is not the case. Stocks
can (and do) create massive amounts of wealth, but they aren't without risks.
The only solution to this is education. The key to protecting yourself in the
stock market is to understand where you are putting your money.It is for
this reason that we've created this tutorial: to provide the foundation you
need to make investment decisions yourself. We'll start by explaining what a
stock is and the different types of stock, and then we'll talk about how they are
traded, what causes prices to change, how you buy stocks, and much more.
Next:
What Are Stocks?
Table of Contents1) Introduction
2) What Are Stocks?
3) Different Types of Stock
4) How Stocks Trade
5) What Causes Prices To Change?
6) Buying Stocks
7) How to Read a Stock Table/Quote
8) The Bulls, the Bears, and the Farm
9) Conclusion and Resources
10)Test Your Stock Knowledge