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***Official*** 2012 Stock Market Thread

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What trade houses are you guys using?

What sites or tools are you using for research?

I understand some of the mechanics of how to valuate a company but not a lot about shorts, puts, and the trading lingo...
 
rifken2 said:
What trade houses are you guys using?

What sites or tools are you using for research?

I understand some of the mechanics of how to valuate a company but not a lot about shorts, puts, and the trading lingo...
Click to expand...

I use ameritrade. If you are going to trade w/ stock options, you really should go to a few seminars...there is a lot to be learning and its far more complicated than plain-jane day trading/investing.

Here is a basic guide to the lingo of option trading:

http://www.darwinsfinance.com/trade-stock-options-work-call-put/
 
The big thing to keep in mind about the market is that you have to develop really, really strong nerves. Have a plan/strategy and stick to it. Know when to hold on and know when to cut your losses.

For research, your broker will likely have analyst reports and such available to you. Read them. In addition, though, I recommend Seeking Alpha. Lots of really useful articles (and a lot of trash, too) written by a variety of people. Great place to springboard your research. Finally, learn to read a balance sheet.
 
Intel17 said:
The big thing to keep in mind about the market is that you have to develop really, really strong nerves. Have a plan/strategy and stick to it. Know when to hold on and know when to cut your losses.

For research, your broker will likely have analyst reports and such available to you. Read them. In addition, though, I recommend Seeking Alpha. Lots of really useful articles (and a lot of trash, too) written by a variety of people. Great place to springboard your research. Finally, learn to read a balance sheet.
Click to expand...

Single most important thing that you need to be able to do IMO before you even think about investing a dollar.
 
My MBA course taught me the ins and outs of a balance sheet, so I feel comfortable there...

Great point about nerves and strategy.

Thanks for the point in the right direction guys!
 
Also, reading a balance sheet is important but you guys seem to be speculative trading... how do you dig in to that? Not saying that is what I want to start out with, just curious how you are reading in to the last few stocks you guys talked about.
 
rifken2 said:
My MBA course taught me the ins and outs of a balance sheet, so I feel comfortable there...

Great point about nerves and strategy.

Thanks for the point in the right direction guys!
Click to expand...

The nerves develop over time. I remember the first time I lost 2k off a bad earnings report...I felts like I was hit by a truck! Earlier this year, I was down over 70% on one stock (near 9k loss) and I didn't lose any sleep over it (now down about 20% and charging towards the black on it!).
 
Maybe you can play one of the stock games where you can buy and sell fake stocks that follow real values. That way you can see how you would do without risking real money. I did that for 2 years and realized that I was not made for it. I have a broker that handles my investment and I just have a small fraction that I play with. I aim for 10% per year which blows a savings account out of the water and you can do without taking too much risks.
There's always the risk so only invest money that you can afford to lose.
 
Any good simulator sites? A quick search shows a lot of sites. Just looking to mirror the real world, not join a competition.
 
chusteczka said:
smartmoney.com - Best and Worst Brokers of 2012

I use a combination of Yahoo Finance (My Portfolios) and Google Finance for tracking stocks. Yahoo provides the creation of a list of stocks, or even several lists for various purposes. Google is good for day-tracking.
Click to expand...

heh I have WellsTrade (most bad marks in that link) since I get 100 free trades. I did notice the high fees when I had the broker involved so I keep transaction to a minimum with the broker. I do notice they are missing a lot of useful trading tools (trailing stops, bracket trading) and even their brokers can't set it up.
 
Decided to try out the Investopedia simulator. Wish they would let me start with $1,000 or even $400 as that will be closer to my situation with the ability to inject additional funds going forward.
 
Fmr12B said:
Kicking myself -

I bought NOK at $1.70 and sold at $2.00 - its up to $2.60 today. Who would have thought it would go up a buck in under a month.

UGH!
Click to expand...

You probably make the short list of "Luckiest Nokia Shareholders". Could be worse!

BTW. pcln..thats a slippery sucker.

So tomorrow.. Does this trade higher or lower than this after hours range of 566-576 (I guess I can include 582 as the upper end).. It was initially 582-592.. then it fell to a new range.. This is one of them I should've listened attentive to the earnings call.. but I just watched the price go back and forth.. Mesmerizing. Its not funny tho.. someone lost a lot of $.. AMZN does worse and gets a 7% pop. what gives. Who knows..
 
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Corporate Thug said:
The nerves develop over time. I remember the first time I lost 2k off a bad earnings report...I felts like I was hit by a truck! Earlier this year, I was down over 70% on one stock (near 9k loss) and I didn't lose any sleep over it (now down about 20% and charging towards the black on it!).
Click to expand...

Amateur🙂. I was down $15k at one point last August through October. FML.
 
rifken2 said:
What trade houses are you guys using?

What sites or tools are you using for research?

I understand some of the mechanics of how to valuate a company but not a lot about shorts, puts, and the trading lingo...
Click to expand...

Free tip.

Avoid the whole single stock thing, stick to IWM and SPY.

Why put all your eggs in one basket. And those two Etfs are very liquid and they offer a diversified basket of stock and low cost.
 
JTsyo said:
Maybe you can play one of the stock games where you can buy and sell fake stocks that follow real values. That way you can see how you would do without risking real money. I did that for 2 years and realized that I was not made for it. I have a broker that handles my investment and I just have a small fraction that I play with. I aim for 10% per year which blows a savings account out of the water and you can do without taking too much risks.
There's always the risk so only invest money that you can afford to lose.
Click to expand...

Kinda like madoff returns 😀
 
What trade houses are you guys using?<br />
<br />
What sites or tools are you using for research?<br />
<br />
I understand some of the mechanics of how to valuate a company but not a lot about shorts, puts, and the trading lingo...
Click to expand...

Hugo Drax said:
Free tip.

Avoid the whole single stock thing, stick to IWM and SPY.

Why put all your eggs in one basket. And those two Etfs are very liquid and they offer a diversified basket of stock and low cost.
Click to expand...

Hugo has some great advice.

DIA is also a good one (at the right price!), as it pays out monthly dividends which you then can reinvest via drip - dividend reinvestment program. You could purchase (at the right price) and make $ a year later even if it was flat! Wait for the next 'oversold' cycle and get a small amount, set up the drip and be patient - add to investment if/when you decide its needed. I'd think up some tolerance levels on when to -consider- adding. Remember that reducing would only be feasible if the amount you'd gain is significant enough to forgo capital gains tax.

One thing is near certain, DIA is not going to go 'tits up'. Beware of leveraged etfs and especially etns - they are not buy and hold - they are trading vehicles to make a quick buck.

Check on something like morningstar to see if an etf is trading at an obscene premium to nav.

Also pick up lqd if this bond bubble ever bursts - it'll always beat the treasury.
 
Blades said:
Hugo has some great advice.

DIA is also a good one (at the right price!), as it pays out monthly dividends which you then can reinvest via drip - dividend reinvestment program. You could purchase (at the right price) and make $ a year later even if it was flat! Wait for the next 'oversold' cycle and get a small amount, set up the drip and be patient - add to investment if/when you decide its needed. I'd think up some tolerance levels on when to -consider- adding. Remember that reducing would only be feasible if the amount you'd gain is significant enough to forgo capital gains tax.

One thing is near certain, DIA is not going to go 'tits up'. Beware of leveraged etfs and especially etns - they are not buy and hold - they are trading vehicles to make a quick buck.

Check on something like morningstar to see if an etf is trading at an obscene premium to nav.

Also pick up lqd if this bond bubble ever bursts - it'll always beat the treasury.
Click to expand...

UPRO doesn't seem to decay like the other leveraged ones.
 
Bought some MCD @ $86.60. I bet it gets back to $88 before EOD. Everyone's way too worked up about the same store sales #'s. Wish I was able to buy more than 100 shares. Heh. Some people here seem to have $1M+ trading accounts...
 
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Blades said:
Hugo has some great advice.

DIA is also a good one (at the right price!), as it pays out monthly dividends which you then can reinvest via drip - dividend reinvestment program. You could purchase (at the right price) and make $ a year later even if it was flat! Wait for the next 'oversold' cycle and get a small amount, set up the drip and be patient - add to investment if/when you decide its needed. I'd think up some tolerance levels on when to -consider- adding. Remember that reducing would only be feasible if the amount you'd gain is significant enough to forgo capital gains tax.

One thing is near certain, DIA is not going to go 'tits up'. Beware of leveraged etfs and especially etns - they are not buy and hold - they are trading vehicles to make a quick buck.

Check on something like morningstar to see if an etf is trading at an obscene premium to nav.

Also pick up lqd if this bond bubble ever bursts - it'll always beat the treasury.
Click to expand...


DIA is another good one, you also have MDY if you want exposure to the Midcaps. Using these basic ETF building blocks you can structure your portfolio in any way you want.

Another note you can also use Options with those ETFs to provide some hedging (ie short/long pairs etc..). The options market for SPY and IWM for example is very liquid. You can on paper and pencil work out different risk/return scenarios and structure according to your needs.


Anyhow www.optionseducation.org has plenty of Podcasts and free instructional materials to help you get up to speed.

With those ETFS and options you can build your own poor mans Hedge Fund 😀
 
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