NEW buyer

[EvaluatingStocks]

Hi All - I agree with the comments posted which recommend staying on the sidelines for now. Use this time wisely to educate yourself and build a long term investing strategy. Once this strategy is in place and you know more, then you can chase above average near term gains. Some books I like:

Basics
1) The Neatest Little Guide to Stock Market Investing - Jason Kelly (use only for understanding basics - hold off on implementing strategy)
2) High-Powered Investing for Dummies (I am first to admit to being a dummy)
3) The Little Book of Common Sense Investing - John Bogle (started Vanguard funds)
4) Stocks for the Long Run - Jeremy Siegel (Wharton Professor)
5) All About Asset Allocation - Richard A. Ferri (Asset allocation is important for long term plan)

Good Luck! Remember: Time, diversification, and the power of compounding are your friends. Fees charged by brokers / funds, etc. are the enemy!

[PND4]

Well thank you. I will definitely look into these books. Ill take anything. Now speaking of dummy what is a sector? and what makes the ones mentioned appealing? How do you think the market is looking this week, depending on the outcomes of this bailout? What does it mean that the nation's credit is stuck? If you get tired of all of these supererogatory questions please excuse me. I am just a child seeking instruction.

[kingsrookie]

By all means ask. I would rather you ask questions from us than to learn from your mistakes, which could be costly.

1. A sector is an area of stocks that specialize in one think. The energy sector, comprised of GE, TSL, DUK, and vso just to name a few. All these stocks are companies that specialize in the energy department. Now, these sectors can be broken down further into renewable energy, or green energy or conglomerates but as a sector of whole, they are energy based companies.

2. All sectors are good in their own ways. We will always need energy, consumer staples because even though we are in a recession,people still need the bare neccessities. Technology, because we are advancing in it everyday. Just pick a sector and do your research in it.

3. Personally, I like the way the market this week. I am young so I have the time available to wait for a recovery. Others, it is really volatile because the credit issue and financial markets are slumping from excessive debt.

4. Our credit is stuck because big companies let people borrow to much money. We are in a recession and people are having a harder time paying of debts. You buy a shirt at wal-mart with credit. Wal-mart gets its money already. Say your card is from wachovia. You lost your job and pay it back. Wachovia has already paid walmart based on your credit but has lost that amount in value by default. You cannot pay it back. It is like that with big companies. Others take on debts from other companies that eventually go bankrupt and throw similar companies into disarray. A volatile company but you can still profit. Just make sure you learn first.

[vincent]

I recommend you some good trading book to start.Here is the book I read and found pretty useful.
1. come into my trading room
2. high probability trading
3. profitable candlestick trading
4. trading for a living
5. entries and exit
6. Technical Analysis of the Financial Trend

[aquaswim47]

It's highly attractive, in my opinion. In my opinion, we are at, or near, a bottom of the market.

However, the crystal ball has been flaky, thus I'm hoping that I'm right.

I'd stick with the books on the recommended reading list at BobBrinker.com.

[PND4]

Alright. I am starting to see a little bit. Thank you very much. I am looking into some of those books. When buying stocks, what should one look for? How should one go about looking for the right things in a company and what sort of industries besides energy are appealing right now?

[PND4]

okay. if im buying today. right now. i have 200$. Give me two companies to buy into. in energy or whatever. my best bets for the most profit. i dont want to pass this up. 2 companies. give them to me.

[Flounder911]

there are no companies that are truely worth buying into with 200 $ as stated in the other topic that you started...

here what you have to ask yourself, what companies are you interested in, and what do you think will work for you? from there you should read spread sheets and try to come up with a method (if its possible at this time in the market) to figure out if the stock you pick will be a good one...

putting everything in 2 stocks is not a good idea... when you invest 50% of your total allowance in one stock, and that stock goes down you only lost alot of money... you loose what ever you loose on the market going down plus you would loose the commission fees for the broker...

if i were to *SUGGEST* one stock i would say take a look into apple, they are apparently releasing their new line of notebooks this coming week, which may stimulate stock growth...

i am a complete newbie to this market, i havent done a single real trade, but one thing i do know is that you should NEVER make a trade according to what other people tell you... always do your own research, if you dont know how than ask, people here will tell you, and Blain has a great learning the stock market page up with alot of help full stuff in there...

on another note i am playing with a stock simulator right now getting the swing of things with the market, and my apple stock on there has been going up at a steady pace since i bought in since i caught wind of the new notebooks a while ago... i highly suggest from one newbie to another, look into a stock simulator to get the hang of the market, while you play with the simulator, put away some money so you can invest and not have to risk so much of your allotted money for the stocks...
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hope this wasnt too drawn out and helps you some