How should I learn about the stock market basics?

Question

How should I learn about the stock market basics?

Answer 1

The first suggestion is not to invest in anything you don't totally understand. Also, don't invest anything that you cannot afford to lose. Stocks go up and down and split and sometimes can completely dissolve to lose every dime you've put in. I have learned alot from library books like those by Suze Orman. The internet will have alot of basic information but much of it is biased with opinions. Check out magazines like "Money" and similar titles, available also from the library. Talk to others who are in the stock market but only pay attention to the successful ones. Start small and build your portfolio as your comfort and knowledge increases.

Answer 2

go to investopedia.com, they have tutorials and everything you need to learn about finance.

Answer 3

Do paper trading. For example write down how much stock you would have bought and at what price then track the results. Don't forget to include trading fees. It is a lot less stressful than losing real money. You can also watch BNN. It is a stock market channel you can watch free episodes on the internet. http://www.bnn.ca/  It's a Canadian station but you get the same idea. There are quite a few books out there. Look in amazon.com and see which one has the highest ratings and the most.

Some things to consider:

currency risk

stop loss orders

value investing - warren buffett

blue chip stocks

dividends

also look at the taxation issues like capital gains vs. dividends

what happens if a company declares bankruptcy (stock wise)

short selling (risky in a sense)

dollar cost averaging (might  be good for current lousy market)

Also look at holdings of good performance major mutual funds (cheating). Usually if you buy their major holdings you will get a way better return than a mutual fund (and no MER). You will also notice that most mutual funds have the same major holdings. And if some of their major holdings change, they change at the same time.

Answer 4

Many good books out there.  Go to Morningstar.com they have some great books.