Can I Spread Bet on Major Companies Stocks?

The reason why spread betting has become so popular in recent years is the ability for traders to place bets on a whole range of different markets using just one platform. These markets range from stocks, currencies, commodities, bonds and indices. Many spread betting brokers also provide multiple other special markets. Traditional stock traders have made a simple transition to spread betting, not only because it is a simple way to make money from share price movements, but also because it requires less capital to make money from these movements.

The World is Your Oyster

If you are looking to place bets on major companies stocks, this is possible on all trading platforms and with all major brokers. These typically range from the largest companies from the UK and US, with many spread betting platforms offering the possibility to place bets on large companies from other European and Asian stock markets. These markets are derivative markets, meaning that you will never actually own any of the stocks that you place bets on, they follow the actual price movements of the underlying asset and provide the same charting possibilities as regular stock investing.

Spread Bet With Limited Funds

One of the major advantages of trading stocks using spread betting is that it does not require a large amount of capital in order to make significant profits. Unlike traditional stock trading, spread bets are placed on a per point basis, meaning that a trader can place a stop loss of just a few points and invest very little in each bet. Traditional stock trading requires stock to be purchased at the actual share price; this requires a large investment in order to make rapid profits from expensive stocks such as Google. Betting per point allows even small movements in the value of a stock to be highly profitable whilst requiring a far lower investment.

Spread betting platforms use highly advanced charting software in order to analyse the potential for good trades. These charts use exactly the same analytical studies that professional stock traders use to spot investment opportunities. The benefits of spread trading major company stocks are enhanced by the fact that, in the UK, earnings on stock spread betting are tax-free. Earnings on traditional stock investing are taxable in the UK so the benefits on profits made through spread trading can be seen as instantly more attractive than conventional stock trading.

Tristan from http://www.spread.co.uk is interested in how spread bets can be made on the largest stocks with limited budgets, giving you the chance to make money when the big companies do.

Photo By Iman Mosaad and Lars Plougmann on Flickr License By  http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

Read More

Guide to Facing your Forex Trading Fears

We often talk about market knowledge and the amount of research that you should undertake before you embark on the exciting journey that is forex trading. This however is not going to get you those large profits that everyone visualizes in large gold dollar signs. Speculation is risk-free when removed from the real situation. Playing the “I would never have done that” game is a whole lot easier than sitting in front of your computer screen watching large sums of your own money fluctuating in the forex trading market, susceptible to powers beyond your control throughout the exchange. Here are a few tips and things to consider when facing up to your fear of diving in headfirst.

The Thrill

When playing with large amounts of currency, which is often necessary in forex trading if you want to win big, the practice will evoke a whole range of emotions, from excitement to fear. This fear factor is not easy to get over. Possibly the height of this anxiety comes after a first real loss or the misfortune of sitting too long and missing out on a great trading opportunity. The trading system is relentless, but channelling your emotions into a good space can definitely pay dividends. Let them get the best of you and it could be a bitter pill to swallow.

1 Step Back, 2 Steps Forward

Although an essential part of forex trading is entering the market at the right time, you may be sitting online one evening in despair if you haven’t exited at a good time as well. On a lot of occasions you will find yourself having to absorb a small loss before things turn bad. If you find yourself accepting this loss just before there is a large rise in the market it could put a huge dampener on your forex trading venture.

Befriend the Trend

Many people are under the impression that forex trading involves sitting online throwing a few pounds into the ring, grabbing some dollars and selling them back when things have moved up a bit. This theory omits many key points. To be a successful trader it’s non-negotiable that you need to befriend the trend. Learn a much as possible beforehand and more haste, less speed.
Forex trading is such an appealing practice because it involves plenty of excitement and feeling of accomplishment when you are rewarded with success. If you are intimidated then seek help initially by consulting a professional trader. Once the first hurdle has been jumped, the thrill should keep you going.

Dave Peterson has always been interested in the stock market. After playing his hand at forex trading a while back, he's become quite the expert and now advises where possible.

Photo By n8k99 on Flickr License By http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

Read More

Should You Invest In Gold Or Gold Mine Stocks

Investing your money in gold is a much better decision than choosing to invest in many other investment such as mutual funds. The reason behind this is that investing in gold poses much less risks than other investment methods do. Investing in gold is a long term plan and can offer you a steady return on your original investment.

But after deciding to invest in gold many people run into what is one of the most common dilemmas that there is when it comes to gold investment. This dilemma is what is best to invest your money in – gold or gold mine stocks?
The purpose of this article is to really get to the core of this question and to determine which is the best thing to invest in.

One of the main reasons that people invest is gold is that they want to hedge against the inflation rate. The price of gold has almost always been much higher than the inflation rate, so has been a good a good investment for a number of years. It continues to be a good investment as the value of gold keeps increasing and increasing and shows signs that it will not slow for a long period of time.

However although the value of gold is often high, it can become subject to large crashes that may rapidly dwindle the return that you get on your original investment. As gold is a long term investment you always have to bear in mind that in the years to come the price of gold may plummet. This is very difficult to predict as markets change on a daily basis making it impossible to work out how they are going to be in the years to come.
Yet owning physical gold is often seen as a better investment than gold mines stocks as it protects you against a lot of risks that come with gold investment.

The value of gold mine stocks depends on the current price of gold. For example if gold is worth $1600 dollars per troy ounce and the production cost to make the gold is $800 then the gold mine is going to make $800 dollars. This would mean that your stocks and shares are going to be a worthwhile investment. But the risk comes if the price of gold dips. This is because the production cost is going to be more than the value of the gold, which means that gold market stocks will be running in the red.

Therefore actually owning physical gold is seen to be much better as you already own it so don't have to worry about production costs affecting its value. It is also good to own physical gold as if you ever need to withdraw you investment you can, but if you have invested in gold mine stocks you can't as you don't actually own any gold.

Due to all the reasons discussed, investing in physical gold is a much more safer option. It can also be more fun as you can invest in gold items such as gold coins or you could just stick with gold bullion. Gold market stocks on the other hand rely on too many factors, so If you are considering investing you need to make sure that you research it extremely well.

This is a guest post by Daniel Roberts. Occasional guest blogger on online shopping and full time blogger on investing in precious metals.  Daniel currently represents Regal Assets the best gold coin delears online.

Photo By digitalmoneyworld License By http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/deed.en

Read More

How To Avoid Loss in Trading Commodities

Well if at all there is a better way of trading commodities then one of the few strategies that will work are those that reduce the chances of loss to zero. When you start trading commodities you must be patient and avoiding overly risky and  bad investments should be you top priority.If at all you can avoid loosing you can keep trading even if you do not make profit.In commodity trading it is important to-keep in mind that it is more of long-term investment than a short one and that means in the end of it all, the final objective will always be to stay in the trade as much as you can. So how doyou avoid loses in trading commodities? Here are some important tips.
Set an amount that you can loose in a day (stop loss order)
Astop loss order is actually a set amount that a trader sets such that incase the loss amount is reached then they close all activepositions in the day’s trade and call off the day. Here you need to get it right when you are setting your stop loss order. The amount you set should be that amount that even if you loose, you will have the chance to trade another day. In other words this should be a loss you can recover from easily. Theproblem withmany traders is that they do not withdrawactivepositions when the stop loss is reached with the hope thatthings are bound to get better.
Trade professionally as possible
Trading professionally in the commodities markets is essential in making the right calls when need be. A professional tradingapproach should be based on realities in the markets and not hopes and feelings. Assessing the market involves known variables and that point well noted it is in the best interest of your portfolio that you are able to approach trading with that professional touch. In case you are not a financial expert or for that matter lack experience,you can source some of the best managers at easy processes or better still get the best brokerage firms in the industry. The importance of professional trading is that it allows you to make right decisionno matter how unpopularthey might be.
Be disciplined in you trade activities
Disciplined trading is very important in meetinggoals as far as financial and commodities trading areconcerned. In disciplined trading,you just stick with the strategy as it is. The reality many traders have very effectivestrategiesbut the hope ofmaking more than expected drives them to deviate fromtheir initialapproach. This in any case will affect your trade and in worse cases itcan reallyinfluence how much you earn. Disciplined trading should be a personal commitment on your part that you should strive to uphold.

Michael Hastings is an editor at HowToTradeCommodities.com. He specializes in gold and silver trading.

Read More

Quick Starter Tips for Investing on the Stock Market

An investment fund manager should always play an important role in the success of your stock market investment. They will help you plan your entire investment stock market strategy and also help manage your portfolio for you. Selecting a good investment manager is an essential decision because they have access to your account and can make your financial stock market decisions for you.   Because of this you need someone you can trust and should take your time and consideration when choosing an investment manager. Once you have an investment manager, you will need to tell them what kind of strategy you wish to follow.

Below are some hints and tips to help you get started on the stock market, with the abiding message being one of patience and diversification.  Try not to employ a fund manager that is simply going for quick wins or who has a vested interest already in the shares they are advising you to purchase.

Diversify your Stock Market and Share Portfolio

Not all shares and stocks shares are going to result in exactly the same set of profits or will perform how you expect, no matter how similar they look. The investment market is an ever changing one and rises and falls in prices are constantly occurring – as an example you just need to look at the recent global economic crisis and the impact that had. For this reason, it is very important that you diversify all of your stock market investments and portfolio choices. When you diversify, you are actually lessening your risks and spreading them over several different investments. You can further diversify your investments by buying options in global stocks outside of the US as well as looking at companies in varied industries.

Speculation on the Stock Market

Quick profits from stock market speculation might be the most attractive option, but it can be a trap that many a new investor falls into. It is far better to invest in quality assets that will appreciate over a longer period of time.  You should select blue chip stocks rather than speculative stocks, which may or may not have high returns. When selecting stocks and shares it is advisable to read up investment advice tips such as newsletters and online forums before you invest in any type of shares.

Financial Booms and Recessions

Investment markets tend to cycle with a boom in the financial industry, often a good run can be followed by a downturn after a few years. Investors need to develop patience and keep on investing to ride the downturn. You have to keep track of the investments in order to prepare for the bad times and take full advantage of the boom times.  Don’t be discouraged if you lose money in the short term as history shows that stock market prices can rise and fall.

About the Author

Mary Brownlee regular contributes to the blog on the Wall Street Subscriptions website.  To read more of her articles, please makes sure that you click for website in order to read them in full.

Photo By on 401(K) 2012 fickr License By http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en

Read More

Understanding Basic Elliott Wave Pattern In Stock Market For Beginners

Stock market rise up and down it’s obvious but did you known all the stocks moves in basic phase called Elliott wave. The Theory was fist introduced by R.N Elliot and was named after it was further developed by Robert prchet.

Elliot waves are nothing but a graphical representation of human physiology of emotion when they trade to understand this concept better you check the following patterns.

Here you will find two types of waves the waves which moves I the direction of trend are called impulse wave while those get against it are corrective waves.

If the stock market trend is up or you can say when the stock market is on the rise impulse wave goes in upward direction while corrective wave as always goes opposite direction toward downward just the opposite happens when stock market goes down this time impulse wave goes downward and corrective wave are upward.

How these waves help you as a trader

Corrective wave are upward. Elliott waves are great way to understand the movement of stocks the more better you understand the movement of stocks the more better you understand the more money you are going to make.

Wave 1 : It starts with a uptrend against the sliding market you can also say it’s a signal that market going to rise but we have to wait watch for the pullback to confirm our prediction.

Wave2: Wave 2 goes below the wave 1 highest point but it’s above the wave 1’s lowest point now we are sure uptrend market has just started so be sure to get at this point otherwise you will be going to miss the biggest money making opportunity.

Wave 3: The money maker has just unfolded it is what we are talking about wave 3 has just started it’s the longest of all waves ad most money can be made over this waves you may be highly disappointed when you miss this opportunity. Most experienced traders always looking for a chance to ride this wave.

Wave 4: Surprisingly it goes downward against the wave 3 it’s the last pullback of the uptrend it’s also the signal that market has become slower and it’s the last buying opportunity for traders.

Wave5: this wave gradually moves up but very slowly and also the end of uptrend so it’s better to sell off your stocks and book profits.

Wave A: It moves downward just as any regular pullback but no it’s a starting of a downtrend the wave goes below the wave 5 giving an indication that market is going to break.

Wave B and C

Wave b as you can see is pullback too but it doesn’t go hirer than wave 5 it confirms that that market has started to turn down and c is just impulse wave towards the larger degree.

Read More

Reason People lose Their Money on Stock Market

Many people invest their money on stock market but why there is some bright mind stay ahead of others and they make more money than losing there are basic concept of timing and experience that lead to successful trade and here is how all wind and loss happens:

Every price of stocks of a company moves like a ripple in water it goes up and obviously goes down lets name it level 1,2,3 and level 4 respectively.

Level 1

Let assume a stock price of a company ABC is showing heavy downturn for e.g. like it was trading on 150 but have slipped to just 130 which is 20 points down at this stage newbies who have invested their money can’t resist their losses and start selling off their share as they were holding in hope that stock will rise and due to their aggressive selling stocks goes down again to 110 further 20 points down.

At this level where everyone is at panic this is where smart investors steps in with their dollars while other showing no interest on this stocks this is where our level 1 has begun and it’s ready to see some big upstream.

Level 2

After going download hill stocks starts to get strong and show improvement and gradually rise up to reach our point called level 2 this is also a money making stage and most money are made on this level only but others still don’t trust on this uptrend and most of the people are those who have previously experienced losses on this stocks till now no newbies have entered the rally now and the people who are trading are experienced investors.

Level3

Now the stock of that company is at its peak and trading in good numbers at this point most of the smart investors are busy in selling their stocks and cashing of their money at this level where all smart investors are selling and getting out newbies are now showing interest in it and starts to pour their money on it and now you can call this point at level 3 as the equilibrium has reached.

Level 4

After the level 3, Investors who have invested at the peak point will going see a dramatic downfall at this level one should just leave out this dangerous stock new investors holds there stocks assuming that the market will rise but the market has no signs of upstream now as the upstream rally has ended and they have missed the golden chance and the only thing at this stage the stocks can go is just downside at some point new investor will lose hope and will sell off their stocks with heavy losses and this is where our level 4 ends but it’s also the beginning of level 1 and all thing just repeat all over again.

Photo By MJ/TR (´･ω･) of flickr license by creativecommons.org

Read More

7 Important Stock Trading Tips For Beginners

So you are a newbie in stock investing well I was a newbie once and I admit that I have done lots of mistakes when I was new at that time there was no one to direct me to do right trading but you are lucky to find this article here I am going to share my trading experience and tips so that you don’t repeat those mistakes which I have done.

Day Trading or Intraday Trading: It’s something which you should avoid when you are just starting it’s not that day trading is bad but risk involve in day trading is also high and it’s not a place for starters you should first gain experience I mean a lot of experience then exploit this sector otherwise you may see some major loss of your money here.

Getting Emotional With Your Money: When you start trading think of it as a business sometimes people become emotional when they face loss of their money and to cover them up they hold their stocks thinking that market will rise but doing such activity they generally loss even more money so stepping out when you reaching the stop loss point is the key to minimize losses rather than holding up. It’s said that “if you want to win something you should also learn to lose”

Patience: Stock markets check the patience of investor. Did you know? Warren buffet once holder stocks of Motorola for more than 4 years when you think of investing you hard earn money you should also prepare yourself for long term waiting.

Long Term investing (A best investment option for starters) : If you are just tasting the water of the market you should avoid only short term investing and think of some long term investing too like you can buy 50% of you investment on some high profile reputed stocks on companies which has strong management and has stable growth for long term and the rest of you money in short term to improve your trading skill the half or your money will acts as a risk minimizer when anything goes wrong it’s like insurance of your investing.

It’s a game of Experience: Experience comes from time the more time you spent on investing the more you are going to earn. There are millions of factors that affects stocks market movement I know it’s impossible to learn them all but you can learn at least as much as you can. Don’t’ forget even the most experienced smart traders are also learners but they have learned much to trade in profits.

Buying Stocks Right Away: New investors specially young investors are in hurry to earn money fast and they just buy any stocks they came across without investigating much details, but this is very risky mistake you can do as an investor a right way is to read all the latest news and activities of the company this will give you an idea about how company is performing currently and there future plannings. This will help to pretty much predict the movement of their stocks.

Creating a portfolio: You have 5000$ to invest how would you invest that? Most new investors just select one individual company and invest all their money in it and when the company stocks falls they get heavy losses, so right way of investing is by creating an investment portfolio.

How to do that? Either investing in individual company stocks you should invest in multiple company this way the risk of losing is also divided eventually risk is minimized so when one of the stocks falls the other will get you profit or at least cover up your money.

Read More

How To Start Investing Your Money In Stock Market

Investing is quite lucrative way of making money out of your money and some of the bright minds like warren buffet have become billionaire with investing  if you are too willing to get your hands on investing but you are unable to find a way how to get started this guide will help you out.

Before you start investing first I want to tell you about some basic sector of investing which are of three types

Commodity Investing: This sector deals with investing in some physical metals like gold, silver, crude etc. Investing on these doesn’t mean that you have to store these physically like if you invest 5000$ on gold you will sign a trading slip which will be the proof that you are the owner of 5000$ worth gold and when you want to sell it you will be given the amount of the current market price. It may be more or less depending upon current market price.

Forex Market: It deals with investing in currency, generally the exchange rate of currency changes with the economy growth. Forex market trades with the flxuation in the currency rates.

Stock Markets: It deals with investing in the shares of a company or corporation.

How to Get Started

Open a bank account: You need to have a bank account as all you amount of money will be credited to this account.

Open a Demat Account (Trading Account): trading account can be opened in any trading company. This company will provide personal trading number through which you can trade on any company stocks by phone.

Documents required opening a trading account

Pan Card: it must be provided for identification verification purpose.

Address Proof: For address proof you can provide either you voter card, driving license, electricity bill or any other govt issued document which has you name and your address

Cancelled check

A trading account opening charge (varies from company to company)

Today online trading can also be another option to trade stocks

Read More