Stock Market Education (112 Articles)
How do stock options work? What is the Pattern Daytrader Rule? What is an ask? It's all here in this section as I try to explain some of the more complicated stock market concepts.
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Nancy Pelosi's Latest Options Buys: Apple and Microsoft
Nancy Pelosi and her husband are back with a few new options purchases - Microsoft and Apple. Will they win again?
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What Caused Tesla's Massive Move Higher?
Tesla has had a massive move higher as of late - we take a look at the main reason for the pop in this article.
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How Forex Trades Work
How do forex trades work? Can you help me to understand the forex trade? What are lots and pips and stop losses?
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The "Manuel Fund Report" Launches
The Manuel Fund Report, which tells you which stocks that 97 of the largest hedge funds and institutional investors bought and sold in the first quarter, has just launched.
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Some First Trading Session of the Year Statistics For You..
Does the first trading session of the year give a good indication as to where the markets will close for that year? The data is here..
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Are Hedge Fund FoFs on the Way Out?
A major New York pension fund recently announced that they are going to largely avoid using fund of funds from now on, which leads many to wonder: is the FoF industry going to become obsolete?
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20 Years Later and the Nikkei 225 Still Hasn't Recovered (Or Come Even Close to Recovering)
Stocks and major market indexes don't ALWAYS recover - for proof of this, all you have to do is view the chart of the Nikkei 225 over the past 20 years.
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How is the United States Able to Borrow All of This Money?
The US government is currently issuing trillions upon trillions of dollars per year of debt to remain in operation. Who is buying all of these debt issues, and why?
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What Are V-Shaped, U-Shaped and L-Shaped Recessions?
What are V-shaped recessions? What are U-shaped recessions? What is the dreaded L-shape recession? And the most important question is - which one are we currently experiencing?
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Online Broker Reviews
A list of the top online stock brokers in the world - a list that includes the likes of Thinkorswim, Interactive Brokers and Questrade.com. Who are the best brokers? Who are the top-rated brokers?
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Jim Cramer Action Alerts Plus Review
Review of Action Alerts Plus, a service which is offered by Jim Cramer and TheStreet.com. With this service, subscribers can follow along as Jim Cramer buys and sells stocks in his $3 million dollar portfolio.
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What Is A Depression?
What exactly is a depression? What is the definition of a depression? Are we in a depression right now? What are the causes of a depression?
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Free Real-Time Stock Quotes: Some Of The Best Resources
Many of our readers ask us where they can view stock quotes in real time. Without further ado, here is a (not so) comprehensive list of some of the best free real-time stock quote sources on the Net.
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Interactive Brokers Review
Review of Interactive Brokers, which is one of the most popular online brokerages in the world due to their rock-bottom commissions and extremely customizable software package.
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What Is A "Bad Bank"?
The Obama administration may be on the verge of setting up a bad bank, which would be used to absorb some of the toxic debts on the books of many books and get banks lending again. Will it work?
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There Is No Reason Why You Can't Manage Your Own Money
Most people really don't need a stock broker, especially in this day and age. How can you begin to manage your own money? What are the advantages of managing your own money?
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The Two Best Online Stock Brokers In the United States
What are some of the best online stock brokerages for those who are living in the United States? Who provides the most bang for the buck? Who is the most reliable?
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The Top Three Online Stock Brokers In Canada
What are some of the top Canadian online stock brokers in Canada? Are there options outside of firms such as Etrade and TD Waterhouse?
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Three Stocks That I'll Be Buying in 2009
It's no secret - 2008 was a pretty disgusting year for the markets. In fact, 2008 will go down as on...
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What Is A Fund of Hedge Funds?
What is a fund of hedge fund? Why are these funds creating havoc for a number of hedge funds that have actually had strong years in 2008
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The Recession Explained: What Is a Recession?
What is a recession? What is the actual definition of a recession? Are we currently in a recession right now?
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What is Dollar Cost Averaging?
Dollar Cost Averaging - What is it, and is it useful in these turbulent economic times?
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Where Is the Stock Market Headed in November?
One of the worst months in the history of the markets is now over. Where will the markets head in November of 2008? Here are some things to expect..
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What Is the Definition of a Short Squeeze?
What is a short squeeze? What conditions are optimal for a short squeeze? What exactly happened with Volkswagen's shares recently?
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How Have The Major North American Stock Market Indexes Performed Short-Term After Very Bad Years?
The Dow, Nasdaq and S+P 500 are set to post extremely weak years in 2008. Historically, how have these indexes done after horrible years?
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When Will the Stock Market Hit Bottom?
With the markets trading lower on an almost daily basis, the question needs to be asked - when will we hit bottom?
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The Worst Years in the History of the Dow Jones Industrial Average
What have been the worst annual performances for the Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) and how does 2008 compare?
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Does the PPT (Plunge Protection Team) Actually Exist?
Does the Plunge Protection Team actually exist? And if so, what is their role in the markets?
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Five of the Biggest One-Day Drops in the History of the Nasdaq
Five of the biggest one-day drops in the history of the Nasdaq stock exchange.
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The Biggest One Day Gains (and Losses) For the Dow Jones Industrial Average
The Biggest Historical One Day Advances and Declines for the DJIA
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Entreprise Value - What is It?
A number that you may have come across during your investment research is "Enterprise Value". "Enter...
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What is the High Water Mark as It Applies to Hedge Funds?
This is a term that you have probably heard mentioned (if you follow the world of hedge funds), but ...
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Hedge Fund Fees: A Primer
Most hedge funds usually have the same type of fee structure. First you have the "management fee", a...
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Knowing the Difference Between a 10-K, 10-Q and an 8-K
If you want to become a serious investor, then you need to start reading SEC fili...
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Don't Get Married to a Stock
The most valuable piece of advice that I ever received when it came to trading wa...
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Short-Selling is Not the Problem
Short-selling has been in the news quite a bit over the past week. Just now, as I am viewing my Goog...
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What Exactly is a "Bear Market"?
If you have been watching the news over the past few weeks, then you have likely heard that the stoc...
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What is a "PEG Ratio"?
If you have been using a site such as Yahoo! Finance or Google Finance to check up on your favorite ...
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What is a "Dutch Auction" IPO?
If you are involved in the stock market (and most importantly, initial public offerings), then you m...
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Did A Stock That You Own Get Halted? What Happens Now?
There is nothing scarier than waking up in the morning and hearing that a major stock in your portfo...
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So You Want to be a Contrarian Investor?
You've probably heard it many times before.
"The real money is made...
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Be Wary Of Companies Who Launch Anti Short-Selling Campaigns
From time to time you will find companies who will issue press releases, imploring their shareholder...
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Daytrading Do's and Don'ts: Success and Failure in the Active Trading World
Do: create your own trading strategy. Keep fine-tuning. Draw from other sources but develop your own...
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What is a "Margin Call"?
First off to receive a margin call, you must have a margin account.
A margin account,...
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What is a "Bear Raid"?
If you have been watching the financial news as of late (which is likely considering the recent fall...
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The Greater Fool Theory
The "Greater Fool Theory" can be applied to any form of investing, whether it be investing in the re...
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Why Doesn't Berkshire Hathaway Split Its Stock?
This is quite a common question. With Berkshire Hathaway's "A" stock currently trading at $129,360 (...
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What is a Reverse Stock Split? And Why Is It Usually a Bad Thing For the Stock?
If you are currently holding shares of a company and they have just recently announced plans to inst...
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The Top Seven Reasons Why 90% of Daytraders Fail
First off, I have no idea whether or not the "90% of daytraders don't make it" is even true or valid...
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Can I Make a Living Through Online Trading?
This is an often-asked question of me. It's really an impossible to answer question. When people ask...
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Why is it So Hard for Me to Get Shares of an IPO?
Let's say that there is a hot Initial Public Offering hitting the market soon. You know that the off...
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Calculating EPS (Earnings Per Share) and P/E Ratios (Price to Earnings) and Why They are Important
If you are new to the stock market, you may have come across a couple of unfamiliar terms when you w...
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What Exactly is a "Poison Pill" and How Does it Apply to the Stock Market?
You may have been watching CNBC one day and heard the term "poison pill" being discussed. You have p...
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Why Do Companies Announce Stock Splits or Reverse Stock Splits?
Let's cover the topic of regular "stock splits" first.
Why would a company want to sp...
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Insider Buying Signaling a Major Bottom in the Market?
According to Bloomberg, CEO's, directors and other senior officials are buying more shares in their ...
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What is a Stock's "Float" And Why is it Important?
What exactly does it mean when people refer to a company's "float", and why might the size of a comp...
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What is an IPO (Initial Public Offering) and How Do I Buy Into One?
First off, what exactly is an IPO? An IPO is an "Initial Public Offering" in which a company will se...
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Stock Dividends - How Exactly Do They Work? Ex-Dividend Dates, Dividend Yields and More Explained
Before we get into the explanation of how dividends work, we need to understand exactly what they ar...
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What is a "Whisper Number" And Why is it Important?
You may have heard this term being used on television or on an online financial news site and wonder...
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Buying Small-Cap Growth Stocks: Your Six Point Checklist
Including some small capitalization, more speculative growth stocks in your portfolio should always ...
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More Stock Market Terms Explained: Limit Orders, Market Orders and Stop Losses
If you are fairly new to trading, then you may be a little uncertain as to what these three terms me...
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Buying Penny Stocks: The "Dos" and "Don'ts" of Penny Stock Speculation
So you are interested in speculating in the world of penny stocks? It's dangerous territory out ther...
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Panicking During A Market Meltdown Probably Means That Your Portfolio Diversification Strategy is Out of Whack
I don't care how old you are. I don't care if you are 20 years old or 55 years old.
I...
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Options Beginners Lesson: Strike Prices, Time Decay and Premiums
If you are new to the world of trading options, then you are likely somewhat confused by some of the...
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Front-End Load, Back-End Load, "Level Load" And No-Load - Breaking Down Mutual Fund Fees
If you are planning on buying a mutual fund, your head may be spinning after reading the fund's pros...
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Averaging Down or "Doubling Down" Can Be Financial Suicide If You Don't Have a Plan in Place
If you invest in the stock market, then I am sure that you have faced this situation:
...
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How to Become a Daytrader | Becoming a Daytrader
Before I get into this article, let me dispel a couple of myths associated with daytrading.
<...
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What Is a "Recession"?
A "recession" is quite a misunderstood event. If you watch the news at all, then I am sure that you ...
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Becoming a Successful Stock Trader Requires An Iron Will and A Tremendous Work Ethic
If you are a stock trader or even interested in one day trading stocks full-time, then you are proba...
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High Negative Investor Sentiment Usually Signals That the Time to Buy Stocks Is Near
This is one of the ideas that many investors can simply not wrap their heads around, but is a very i...
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Using Arbitrage To Make Money in the Stock Market is Not As Easy as It Sounds
On the surface, "merger arbitrage" or "risk arbitrage" would seem like easy money. One company has a...
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Daytrading (Daytrader) Stock Chatrooms - How To Find the Best Rooms and Avoid the Worst
Daytrading chat rooms run the full spectrum from either really, really bad to really insightful and ...
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The Effects of a Falling US Dollar on the Economy of the United States
Many people tend to shrug off news reports that talk about the plunging US dollar. "A rising or fall...
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What Is a "Dead Cat Bounce?"
If you follow the stock market, then you have probably heard the term "Dead Cat Bounce" at one time ...
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Naked Short Selling: What Is It Exactly?
Naked short selling is probably one of the most misunderstood concepts in the stock market. You ask ...
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Why Short-Selling Is Necessary in the Stock Market
Many people slam short-sellers.
"They are wrongly profiting at the expense of hard-wo...
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What is Meant by "Short Interest" and "Short Ratio"?
In the last article we touched a bit on short-selling. Basically, short-selling is when you bet that...
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Bids, Asks and Spreads - A Primer on Stock Trading
I get asked the same questions all the time. What is a bid? What is an ask? Why are there two differ...
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The Top Ten Fastest Ways to Lose Money in the Stock Market
10. Trading options or forex if you don't know what you are doing. Forget the get-r...
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The Top Ten Most Outrageous Stock Market Scams of all Time
Scams occur in the stock market every day. Stock market scandals are woven into the fabric of our cu...
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The Top Twelve Stock Market Scams of the Last Twelve Years
The title is self-explanatory. Here are the top 12 scams since 1995:
12. The Emulex P...
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A Low Share Price Doesn't Necessarily Make a Stock "Cheap"
Here is one of the biggest problems that novice (and even some advanced) investors in the stock mark...
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How the Market Tends to Perform After Interest Rate Cuts
Everyone is always curious as to how the stock market tends to perform after there have been sizable...
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Be Your Own Guru
"Gurus" are a dime a dozen when it comes to making money on the Internet.
Everyone ha...
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Why Is it That Stocks Sometimes Go Up on Bad News?
It's an interesting phenomenon.
A stock will come out with worse than expected earnin...
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The Current Global Economic Situation is Extra Scary
I've been pretty heavily involved in studying economics and the capital markets for nearly a decade ...
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Breaking Down the Payout Structures of Most Hedge Funds
If you were ever wondering how hedge funds make money, then this article is for you.
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Why Can't I Invest in Hedge Funds?
For years, the SEC has had a rule in place blocking the "Average Joe" from investing in a hedge f...
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What To Look For When Selecting a Stock Market Newsletter to Subscribe To
Who better to write this article than someone who operated a stock market newsletter for almost four...
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Stock Options Lesson: The Straddle
About a month ago, we detailed an options strategy called the "strangle." Today, we are going to exp...
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Twenty Things That I Have Learned During My Time as a Stock Trader
Here is my list:
1. If you are wrong about a stock, you need to get out, no matter ho...
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Hitting a Brick Wall: What to Do When Your Trades Stop Working
Everyone has gone through it before. No matter how good of a trader you are, you have without a doub...
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Window Dressing: What Exactly Does It Mean?
You have probably heard the term at one time or another when you have been watching CNBC or reading ...
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What Happens If a Stock That I am Short Goes Bankrupt?
This is a common question that I often here from people that short-sell. What happens if a stock tha...
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What is the Pattern Daytrader Rule?
When the Internet bubble popped in mid 2000, the NYSE and NASD moved quickly to introduce something ...
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Is the Repeal of the Short Sale Tick Test Rule Behind This Market Volatility?
I was reading through the Wall Street Journal this morning, and an article caught my eye that made m...
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Quant Hedge Funds: How Did They Lose So Much Money?
Many people out there are probably confused when they hear about quant hedge funds taking huge losse...
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Real-Time News Services: Do They Matter to a Serious Trader?
There are two sets of traders out there it seems.
The first set of traders don't worr...
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Another Stock Market Trading Tactic for You All To Know About
About a month ago, I outlined one of the strategies that I use to trade on the stock market; trading...
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Bloggers Need to Understand SEC Disclosure Rules
Blogs are an amazing tool for amassing personal wealth if you have a substantial amount of traffic. ...
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Stop Losses and Profit Stops - Two Extremely Powerful Weapons in Any Traders Arsenal
What is a stop loss? What is a profit stop?
Let's say that you buy 1000 shares of MSF...
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Why Do Stocks Get Halted?
It is probably one of the worst feelings in the world. You own 1000 shares of a stock, and you hear ...
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Starting up a Hedge Fund: What are the Costs Involved?
To be sure, running a hedge fund sure sounds like an appealing job. The money, the power, the presti...
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Ten Things That You Need to Know About the Stock Market
You thinking of investing some of your hard earned money into the stock market? There are some thing...
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Direct Access Trading: What You Need in a Broker
When it comes to direct access trading solutions, there is plenty of competition out there. Differen...
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Trading Forex: It Can Be Lucrative, But Understand The Risks
Forex trading can be a pretty lucrative business.
You have probably heard about some ...
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Stock Market Gurus: Are They Necessary For You to Become a Better Trader?
Here's a little secret. I used to be a "stock market guru." From the end of 1998 until the end of 20...
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Level II (2) Quotes: Are they Necessary for You?
Level II quotes are a big selling point for most online stock brokerages out there. You will find th...
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Stock Options Lesson: The Strangle
The strangle is probably one of my favorite options plays. I enjoy this play because if I am unsure ...
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How to Choose the Right Online Stock Trading Broker for You
I've been trading stocks online since 1998. I've been through a bunch of online stock brokers.
...
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Trading Secondary Stock Offerings for Profit
Becoming a successful trader is all about finding edges. Once you find an edge, you need to exploit ...
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Short-Selling Should be a Major Part of Your Market Strategy
Alright, since this site is all about making money online, I'd be remiss if I didn't talk about onli...
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