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Showing posts with label stock market. Show all posts
Showing posts with label stock market. Show all posts

Saturday, August 29, 2009

first stock exchange


In 11th century France the courtiers de change were concerned with managing and regulating the debts of agricultural communities on behalf of the banks. As these men also traded in debts, they could be called the first brokers.
Some stories suggest that the origins of the term "bourse" come from the Latin bursa meaning a bag because, in 13th century Bruges, the sign of a purse (or perhaps three purses), hung on the front of the house where merchants met.

House Ter Beurze in Bruges, Belgium.
However, it is more likely that in the late 13th century commodity traders in Bruges gathered inside the house of a man called Van der Burse, and in 1309 they institutionalized this until now informal meeting and became the "Bruges Bourse". The idea spread quickly around Flanders and neighbouring counties and "Bourses" soon opened in Ghent and Amsterdam.
In the middle of the 13th century, Venetian bankers began to trade in government securities. In 1351, the Venetian Government outlawed spreading rumors intended to lower the price of government funds. There were people in Pisa, Verona, Genoa and Florence who also began trading in government securities during the 14th century. This was only possible because these were independent city states ruled by a council of influential citizens, not by a duke.
The Dutch later started joint stock companies, which let shareholders invest in business ventures and get a share of their profits—or losses. In 1602, the Dutch East India Company issued the first shares on the Amsterdam Stock Exchange. It was the first company to issue stocks and bonds. In 1688, the trading of stocks began on a stock exchange in London.
On May 17, 1792, twenty-four supply brokers signed the Buttonwood Agreement outside 68 Wall Street in New York underneath a buttonwood tree. On March 8, 1817, properties got renamed to New York Stock & Exchange Board. In the 19th century, exchanges (generally famous as futures exchanges) got substantiated to trade futures contracts and then choices contracts.
There are now a large number of stock exchanges in the world.

Hot Stocks to Invest in 2009

The stock market should present you with a wide variety of NEW hot stocks in 2009. Many of them are going to be new technology stocks that come from the nanotech, biotech, financial, energy, healthcare & communications sectors.Most of them might seem promising, but the truth is that a good number of these trading & investing opportunities could be extremely risky, while others are simply not as good as they look. That's why it's very important to know how to choose among the best especially if you want to day trade them. When you know how to pick and approach the best hot stock trading opportunities, you are able to generate a consistent and respectable amount of money in a very short period of time.Experienced day traders recognize that trading hot stocks on momentum can be the fastest way to make money in the stock market, especially on uncertain times like these.You don't necessarily have to trade momentum hot stocks all the time. But you can learn how to take advantage of them when you encounter the best opportunities for going long or for shorting them to make money when they are poised to fall down.If You decide to day trade stocks just keep always in mind that for a trader to survive and be consistently profitable, its necessary to keep things as simple as possible. To much confusion and technical indicators will most of the time make you slow in your decisions and froze you up when a good opportunity is right in front of your screen.In the end, stock market day trading is all about picking the best daily stock opportunities and following your buy and sell signals with ease and simplicity. Once you learn to master your trading decisions, you can aspire to produce

Optimism from Fed chief Bernanke and jump in existing home sales propel Wall Street to fresh 2009 highs.

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Stocks surged Friday, with the Dow, Nasdaq and S&P 500 all ending at fresh 2009 highs, after Fed chief Ben Bernanke said the economy is near a recovery and existing home sales posted their biggest jump in two years. The Dow Jones industrial average (I N D U) gained 156 points, or 1.7%, closing at the highest point since Nov. 4. The S&P 500 (S P X) index added 19 points, or 1.9%, closing at the highest point since Oct. 6. The Nasdaq composite (COMP) rose 31 points, or 1.6%, ending at the highest point since Oct. 1.Stocks have managed to rally in the last week, despite light trading volume and some worries about the impact of a potential economic slowdown in China. The advance got an additional leg up Friday after the economic news.In particular, investors welcomed a report that showed existing home sales jumped for the fourth month in a row, rising well beyond forecasts. "It was basically the highest level in two years and higher even than a year ago before the whole financial crisis, pre-Lehman," said Stuart Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services Group. He said it is notable that economic indicators seem to be getting back to levels prior to last September, when the collapse of Lehman Bros. exacerbated an already brewing financial market meltdown."The report is basically telling us that the housing market has hit bottom," Hoffman said.Gains were broad-based, with 29 of 30 Dow shares rising, led by Chevron (C V X, Fortune 500), Exxon Mobil (X O M, Fortune 500), Boeing (BA, Fortune 500), United Technologies (U T X, Fortune 500), IBM (IBM, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (J P M, Fortune 500), Caterpillar (CAT, Fortune 500) and 3M (M M M, Fortune 500).Since hitting a more than 12-year low in early March, the S&P 500 has gained more than 50% as investors have moved out of panic mode and into a sense of cautious optimism.That optimism is likely to sustain gains in the short term, as it enables investors to draw more cash out of money market funds and put it to work in riskier assets, said Mark Travis, president and CEO of Intrepid Capital Funds. "We've had an awfully nice run since March and there's still enough skepticism to keep us moving higher," Travis said. "Having said that, prices are not as attractive as they were in March and historically, there's often a bigger selloff."Housing: Sales of existing homes spiked 7.2% in July versus June and 5% versus a year ago.Existing home sales for July rose at a 5.24 million unit annualized rate from a 4.89 million unit annualized rate in June, the fastest monthly pace in two years. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com expected sales to rise at a 5.1 million unit annual rate.In other economic news, the number of states showing a drop in the unemployment rate tripled in July from June levels, according to a government report released Friday.Bernanke: The Fed chief said the U.S. economy is on the cusp of a recovery, speaking at the Kansas City Fed Economic Symposium in Jackson Hole, Wyo. Bernanke said that the pace of the recovery will be slow and that unemployment will remain high.Hoffman said the speech showed the significance of the coordinated actions taken by the Fed and Treasury and central banks around the world to stem the financial meltdown."The recovery is going to be moderate, but without all the actions taken over the last year, I don't think we'd be talking about the economy stabilizing right now," he said. "We'd be talking about how the recession has no end in sight."Company news: Gap (G P S, Fortune 500) reported higher quarterly earnings that topped forecasts in a report released late Thursday. But the clothing retailer also said sales fell from a year ago. Shares gained 3%.Market breadth was positive and trading volume was light. On the New York Stock Exchange, winners beat losers by four to one on volume of 1.48 billion shares. On the Nasdaq, advancers topped decliners by over two to one on volume of 2.28 billion shares.
World markets: In overseas trading, European markets gained. Asian shares ended mixed, with the Chinese market higher and the Japanese market lower. Oil: U.S. light crude oil for October delivery settled up 98 cents to $73.89 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, a 10-month high.Bonds: Treasury prices tumbled, raising the yield on the benchmark 10-year note to 3.57% from 3.42% Thursday. Treasury prices and yields move in opposite directions.Other markets: COMEX gold for December delivery rose $13.50 to $955.20 an ounce.In currency trading, the dollar fell versus the euro and gained against the Japanese yen.

Currency Exchange Rates

Currency Exchange Rates Exchange Currency - Trading Foreign Currencies In the market of foreign exchange trading is always done in currency pairs, and Forex brokers around the world access money indices via currency converters and online platforms with rates given in real time. The value of major currencies changes continually, with investors hoping to make a profit from the purchase of stronger currencies. Trading between two non-dollar currencies occurs first by trading one against the US Dollar and then trading the US Dollar against the second non-dollar currency. Exchange rates are usually given as one unit of one currency to units of another...

What is Foreign Currency Exchange Rate? The existing exchange rate of a foreign currency is one of the most desired financial information by many - name it exporters, importers, investors, tourists or even ordinary. Even the ordinary citizens outside the United States hold on to their precious dollars hoping for an increase in the foreign currency exchange rate later on CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATE information Foreign currency exchange rate refers to the value of a certain currency based or compared to the rate of another country’s currency. A foreign currency exchange is said to be increasing its value if it is gaining strength against the.

Saturday, August 22, 2009

Importance of stock market

Function and purpose

The stock market is one of the most important sources for companies to raise money. This allows businesses to be publicly traded, or raise additional capital for expansion by selling shares of ownership of the company in a public market. The liquidity that an exchange provides affords investors the ability to quickly and easily sell securities. This is an attractive feature of investing in stocks, compared to other less liquid investments such as real estate.

History has shown that the price of shares and other assets is an important part of the dynamics of economic activity, and can influence or be an indicator of social mood. An economy where the stock market is on the rise is considered to be an up and coming economy. In fact, the stock market is often considered the primary indicator of a country's economic strength and development. Rising share prices, for instance, tend to be associated with increased business investment and vice versa. Share prices also affect the wealth of households and their consumption. Therefore, central banks tend to keep an eye on the control and behavior of the stock market and, in general, on the smooth operation of financial system functions. Financial stability is the raison d'être of central banks.

Exchanges also act as the clearinghouse for each transaction, meaning that they collect and deliver the shares, and guarantee payment to the seller of a security. This eliminates the risk to an individual buyer or seller that the counterparty could default on the transaction.

The smooth functioning of all these activities facilitates economic growth in that lower costs and enterprise risks promote the production of goods and services as well as employment. In this way the financial system contributes to increased prosperity.

Relation of the stock market to the modern financial system


The financial system in most western countries has undergone a remarkable transformation. One feature of this development is disintermediation. A portion of the funds involved in saving and financing flows directly to the financial markets instead of being routed via the traditional bank lending and deposit operations. The general public's heightened interest in investing in the stock market, either directly or through mutual funds, has been an important component of this process. Statistics show that in recent decades shares have made up an increasingly large proportion of households' financial assets in many countries. In the 1970s, in Sweden, deposit accounts and other very liquid assets with little risk made up almost 60 percent of households' financial wealth, compared to less than 20 percent in the 2000s. The major part of this adjustment in financial portfolios has gone directly to shares but a good deal now takes the form of various kinds of institutional investment for groups of individuals, e.g., pension funds, mutual funds, hedge funds, insurance investment of premiums, etc. The trend towards forms of saving with a higher risk has been accentuated by new rules for most funds and insurance, permitting a higher proportion of shares to bonds. Similar tendencies are to be found in other industrialized countries. In all developed economic systems, such as the European Union, the United States, Japan and other developed nations, the trend has been the same: saving has moved away from traditional (government insured) bank deposits to more risky securities of one sort or another.

The stock market, individual investors, and financial risk

Riskier long-term saving requires that an individual possess the ability to manage the associated increased risks. Stock prices fluctuate widely, in marked contrast to the stability of (government insured) bank deposits or bonds. This is something that could affect not only the individual investor or household, but also the economy on a large scale. The following deals with some of the risks of the financial sector in general and the stock market in particular. This is certainly more important now that so many newcomers have entered the stock market, or have acquired other 'risky' investments (such as 'investment' property, i.e., real estate and collectables).

With each passing year, the noise level in the stock market rises. Television commentators, financial writers, analysts, and market strategists are all overtaking each other to get investors' attention. At the same time, individual investors, immersed in chat rooms and message boards, are exchanging questionable and often misleading tips. Yet, despite all this available information, investors find it increasingly difficult to profit. Stock prices skyrocket with little reason, then plummet just as quickly, and people who have turned to investing for their children's education and their own retirement become frightened. Sometimes there appears to be no rhyme or reason to the market, only folly.

This is a quote from the preface to a published biography about the long-term value-oriented stock investor Warren Buffett.[4] Buffett began his career with $100, and $105,000 from seven limited partners consisting of Buffett's family and friends. Over the years he has built himself a multi-billion-dollar fortune. The quote illustrates some of what has been happening in the stock market during the end of the 20th century and the beginning of the 21st century.

stock market

A stock market is a public market for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately.

The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion US at the beginning of October 2008.The total world derivatives market has been estimated at about $791 trillion face or nominal value, 11 times the size of the entire world economy. The value of the derivatives market, because it is stated in terms of notional values, cannot be directly compared to a stock or a fixed income security, which traditionally refers to an actual value. Moreover, the vast majority of derivatives 'cancel' each other out (i.e., a derivative 'bet' on an event occurring is offset by a comparable derivative 'bet' on the event not occurring.). Many such relatively illiquid securities are valued as marked to model, rather than an actual market price.

The stocks are listed and traded on stock exchanges which are entities of a corporation or mutual organization specialized in the business of bringing buyers and sellers of the organizations to a listing of stocks and securities together. The stock market in the United States includes the trading of all securities listed on the NYSE Euronext, the NASDAQ, the Amex, as well as on the many regional exchanges, e.g. OTCBB and Pink Sheets. European examples of stock exchanges include the London Stock Exchange, the Deutsche Börse.

Sunday, August 16, 2009

US Dollar: Is This the Turn Markets Have Been Waiting For?


The US Dollar fell near fresh year-to-date lows versus the Euro and other major counterparts, but a sharp end-of-week reversal suggests that the downtrodden Greenback could stage a larger recovery. Impressive S&P 500 rallies played a large role in dollar weakness. A late-week US University of Michigan Consumer Confidence nonetheless proved sharply disappointing, and the key risk sentiment barometer turned notably lower into the week’s close. The strongly-correlated safe-haven US currency continues to take its cues from risky assets, and a true turnaround in stocks could herald an accelerated USD correction. We feel that a sustained US Dollar rally is almost inevitable, but timing the turn remains extremely difficult and we’ve thus far been early in our calls for Greenback strength. Increasingly one-sided sentiment nonetheless that Friday’s USD rally could be the start of a bigger move. Limited US economic event risk in the week ahead leaves volatility expectations noticeably lower, but the dip hardly precludes short-term breakouts. Last week’s string of top-tier economic reports underlined the fact that forex traders still care about economic data, but market reactions are not always intuitive. Indeed, the dollar has frequently rallied on a number of disappointing US economic data releases. The strange dynamic owes itself to the USD’s strong link to risk sentiment and the S&P 500. When the S&P gapped lower following a clearly worse-than-forecast University of Michigan Consumer Confidence report, the US Dollar rallied sharply against the Euro and other key counterparts. If we can expect similar price action in the days ahead, US Dollar bulls should hope that domestic economic sentiment has likewise taken a turn for the worse. Recent Consumer Confidence figures suggest future consumption-linked reports may similarly disappoint. Foreseeable highlights in the week ahead include Treasury International Capital (TICs) data, Housing Starts and Building Permits reports, and an end-of-week Existing Home Sales release. The first report may prove especially interesting to recently-skittish US Treasury Bond traders, as it will underline the health of foreign demand for US Dollar asset classes. Much was made of a “failed” US Treasury auction at the end of July, where demand for 2 and 5-year Treasury Note was sharply lower than expected. Commentators suggested that supply of US Government debt had far outstripped demand and Treasuries tumbled on the news. Recent 30-year bond auction results nonetheless showed healthy demand for long-term debt—that which is particularly susceptible to fears of excessive government deficits and creditworthiness. We here at DailyFX could not help but notice that the news coincided with the Fed’s aggressive balance sheet expansion on the week. Indeed, the Fed’s Quantitative Easing measures have explicitly purchased Treasuries and likely overstated the health of demand for US debt. The TICs report will provide a breakdown of foreign purchases and demystify the source of robust 30-year bond demand, and any signs of weakness in foreign purchases could have noteworthy effects on the US Dollar and domestic stock markets. Prominent housing data could likewise drive volatility in the US S&P 500 and the Greenback, but results for the choppy data series are especially difficult to handicap. We will clearly keep a close eye on the S&P and other risky asset classes through upcoming trade. Whether or not the US dollar can finally stage a comeback will likely depend on the trajectory of financial risk sentiment. - DR

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Hot Stocks to Invest in 2009


The stock market should present you with a wide variety of NEW hot stocks in 2009. Many of them are going to be new technology stocks that come from the nanotech, biotech, financial, energy, healthcare & communications sectors.Most of them might seem promising, but the truth is that a good number of these trading & investing opportunities could be extremely risky, while others are simply not as good as they look. That's why it's very important to know how to choose among the best especially if you want to day trade them. When you know how to pick and approach the best hot stock trading opportunities, you are able to generate a consistent and respectable amount of money in a very short period of time.Experienced day traders recognize that trading hot stocks on momentum can be the fastest way to make money in the stock market, especially on uncertain times like these.You don't necessarily have to trade momentum hot stocks all the time. But you can learn how to take advantage of them when you encounter the best opportunities for going long or for shorting them to make money when they are poised to fall down.If You decide to day trade stocks just keep always in mind that for a trader to survive and be consistently profitable, its necessary to keep things as simple as possible. To much confusion and technical indicators will most of the time make you slow in your decisions and froze you up when a good opportunity is right in front of your screen.In the end, stock market day trading is all about picking the best daily stock opportunities and following your buy and sell signals with ease and simplicity. Once you learn to master your trading decisions, you can aspire to produce consistent profitable results.

Monday, August 10, 2009

Stock Market Money Management Skills


Let's start by saying: You can't be afraid to take a loss. The investors that are the most successful in the stock market are the people who are willing to lose money.Having a strategy and/or a specific philosophy is an excellent starting point to investing but it won't mean a thing if you can't manage your money. As I have said a million times: without cash, you can't invest.Most investors spend far too much time trying to figure out the exact pivot point or perfect entry strategy and too little time on money management. The most important aspect to investing is cutting your losses, 90% of the battle is won by protecting your capital, regardless of the strategy.Most successful money managers only make money 50-55% of time. This means that successful individual investors are going to be wrong about half the time. Since this is the case, you better be ready to accept your losses and cut them while they are small. By cutting losses quickly and allowing your winners to ride the up-trend, you will consistently finish the year with black ink.Here are some methods that can help you with money management:Set a predetermined stop loss (you must know where to cut the loss before it happens ¡°this will help control emotions when the time comes)." A 7-10% stop loss insurance policy is best. Tighten the stop loss range in down markets and loosen the range in strong bull markets.Establish smaller positions if your account has had a recent losing streak (the losses may be telling you important information such as a critical turning point, it may be time to sell and get out).If you think you are wrong or if the market is moving against you, cut your position in half ¡°this is the best insurance policy on Wall Street."If you cut your position in half two times, you will be left with only 25% of the original position ¡°the remaining stock is no longer a big deal as your risk is very low."If you sell out of a trade prematurely based on a minor correction, you can always reestablish the position again.Initial position sizing plays a big part in money management ¡°don't take on too big of a position relative to your portfolio size. Novice investors should never use their entire account on one trade no matter how small the accountKnow when you would like to get out of a position after a considerable profit has been made. Signs of topping could be a climax run, a spinning top or higher highs on lower volume.Finally, cut any trade that doesn't act the way you originally analyzed it to act.With these guidelines, you will be well on your way to solid money management skills that will help you profit in Wall Street year in and year out. Always remember, you are going to take-on losing trades at least half of the time. This is a tough concept to accept for most novice investors but it a fact. If you don't cut losses, you won't be investing for very long as you will run out of cash and the desire to continue to invest.

Hot Stocks to Invest in 2009


The stock market should present you with a wide variety of NEW hot stocks in 2009. Many of them are going to be new technology stocks that come from the nanotech, biotech, financial, energy, healthcare & communications sectors.Most of them might seem promising, but the truth is that a good number of these trading & investing opportunities could be extremely risky, while others are simply not as good as they look. That's why it's very important to know how to choose among the best especially if you want to day trade them. When you know how to pick and approach the best hot stock trading opportunities, you are able to generate a consistent and respectable amount of money in a very short period of time.Experienced day traders recognize that trading hot stocks on momentum can be the fastest way to make money in the stock market, especially on uncertain times like these.You don't necessarily have to trade momentum hot stocks all the time. But you can learn how to take advantage of them when you encounter the best opportunities for going long or for shorting them to make money when they are poised to fall down.If You decide to day trade stocks just keep always in mind that for a trader to survive and be consistently profitable, its necessary to keep things as simple as possible. To much confusion and technical indicators will most of the time make you slow in your decisions and froze you up when a good opportunity is right in front of your screen.In the end, stock market day trading is all about picking the best daily stock opportunities and following your buy and sell signals with ease and simplicity. Once you learn to master your trading decisions, you can aspire to produce consistent profitable results.

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