Question by Kelsey608: Any savvy stock market followers?
Hi! I have a question for all of you that follow the stock market frequently.
What are some good websites for tracking stocks and deciding which are good to buy/invest in?
Also, if you have a recommendation for a stock to buy, I’m open to suggestions.
Any hints/tips/advice are appreciated!!!

Best answer:

Answer by SilverTonguedDevil
Most of the stock tip sites are a bit flaky. There main purpose is to sell newsletters that are delivered to your email weekly.

Read everything you can by Benjamin Graham and Warren Buffet. This is 90% of what you need to know.

Many people think timing is the secret to investing in stock. Timing is looking back and knowing where you were before now. Long-term investment is not only better for your nerves, but also financially rewarding. Less than one third of day traders make a profit after one year.

The two experts I mentioned above say you should choose good companies that you understand. If a company makes DNA recombinant lab equipment and you have trouble spelling DNA, that’s not the company for you. Take this test: Choose two of these companies that you think did well in the past ten years, and then verify their stock performance at Finance.Yahoo.com:
Microsoft || Apple || Nike || CocaCola || IBM || Yum! Brands {KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s, and A&W} || Whole Foods Market

They all seem to be good companies that have been in business for a long time, but which one was a good investment for the past ten years? If you guessed two winners, you should trust your judgment. If you picked two loosers, you should learn more about the ins and outs of corporate management.

Websites that may help and what they do best:
* Forbes.com — lots of info, lots of experts, but not so easy to search.
* Fool.com — very good suggestions overall, but they make some big blunders; their lingo is absolutely over the top in coolness, so it is often quite difficult to understand.
* Street.com — same as Fool.com
* http://www.investopedia.com/categories/stocks.asp?viewed=1 (can help you understand the non-slang terms used on the other sites)

Sometimes general trends are a good place to start. For example, about five years ago, many experts suggested international rather than U.S. investment. The ones who narrowed it down even more suggested China, Brazil, and India. You can see this was good advice in light of the 2008 U.S. super-recession (can we call it a depression?).

Steer clear of options, futures, and shorting until you are an absolute expert. Read about periodic investing as a great tool for a beginner.

Unless you want to pay commissions, start with an online investment company such as ScotTrade. Use “limit orders” as a safeguard against rapid market changes. Look it up.

Stock values rise and fall for various reasons. If a company’s stock falls because they make faulty products, steer clear. If they fall because they are copy-cats and don’t innovate, steer clear. If they fall because they are in an industry down cycle and the news suggests it will take a turn for the better soon, buy.

Last but not least, buy low and sell high. You’d be surprised how often people ignore this strategy (“Company A is loosing money. I should dump their stock before I lose even more.” Company B’s stock has skyrocketed in price. I should buy their stock to take advantage of the sure continued rise.”) The only sure continued rise is the sun tomorrow.

Answer by UnclePug
This will sound corny, but I often use Yahoo Finance, the interactive analysis tool is pretty fast when I want to view several statistical trends, like MACD , Slow Stochastic or 20 day EMA.

How to decide: Follow your instincts as to where you think trends are headed. I have made AND lost money sellign and shorting home builders, copper, silver, Martha Stewart, etc. You need to know how much risk you are willing to accept, how much money you can risk, and how you think market forces and people will affect your stock picks.

I personally expect 2010 to see low retail sales starting mid-year. The Greek-German-Euro crisis is just an appetizer for national currencies to swing wildly, which will make banks hesitant to open large credit lines. When you hear the TV talking heads use the word “recovery”, ask yourself what you see when you go to the mall, bank, etc. Yes, some business is going on, it’s not all doom and gloom, but it isn’t picking up yet either, is it? People who aren’t getting a raise in 2010 aren’t going to buy a newer fancy house.

In previous recessions, stocks that didn’t get hit as badly or made profits included Johnson & Johnson, Proctor & Gamble, YUM , MCD, etc. Hope this helps!

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Jeff’s Story of Recovery – In these 4 videos, Jeff summarizes his 3 addictions and what helped him. Jeff’s cigarette addiction ended in 1979 with a 5 week pure behavior modification course. After the 5 weeks was over they were told to celebrate, and he went to Atlantic City and only managed to worsen his gambling addiction. His drug addiction started with marijuana, and to cocaine in law school. He was pulled over for a traffic violation and the officer booked him for finding drugs. Especially as a lawyer, he couldn’t chance being arrested again so he did an intense outpatient program called the “Alliance at St. Barnubus” and has not had drugs or a drink since ending the program in 1991. However, he turned even further to gambling, which started at 14 when he would play card games with friends on weekends. It wasn’t about the money, but about the good feeling of winning and being the big shot. His panacea was the racetrack. In 1997 he switched career paths from a lawyer to pursue a degree in counseling to help. At a lecture on gambling he heard himself described to a “T”. He went to dinner with the lecturer, who invited him to a Gamblers Anonymous meeting that day. He hasn’t made a bet since that day. He believes Gambling Anonymous works because of these 5 reasons: 1) Identification — people understand you. 2) Acceptance — non judgmental. 3) Pressure relief 4) 12 steps 5) Someone is there for you 24/7. Different addictions are related and the brain of a drug addict looks just like the brain of a …

 

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