The Stock Market Game

Did you know there are several "virtual" stock market games you can play to hone in on your investing skills? These games are a great way to learn how to invest in the stock market without actually risking your own hard earned cash. If you're a beginner to investing in the stock market or if you just want to see what you could do with a few thousand bucks, then I suggest you check out this collection of some of the more popular stock market games available on the internet.

Source: Stock Market Tips

Forex Trading Myths

There are numerous Forex myths but the one enclosed is perhaps the biggest myth of all and one that most novice traders fall for, if you make this mistake, you are odds on to lose so lets take a look at it...

The myth is that forex trading is easy and you can follow and Expert Advisor and just get instant success.

Fact: Forex Robots etc Lose Money

They offer an instant income stream for $100.00 or so - but that's obviously not true, otherwise the whole world would be trading and not working! Read the full article: Forex Trading Myths

Company Stock Options

Are Company Stock Options a Good Buy?

Many companies offer stock options as a part of their compensation package. But are these options a good buy? Stock options are a sort of promissory note. They allow an employee to purchase the company’s stock for a particular price. Usually there is a specified grace period. The employee is allowed to buy the stock at their option price, but they cannot sell it until the grace period is over.

Often, this gives the employee the opportunity to buy the company’s stock at a discounted price. Sounds like a great deal right? Not always. There have been cases where employee’s retirement packages were heavily invested in the company’s stock. When the company’s stock took a nose-dive, these employees were left with very little in their retirement portfolio.

What these employees did was put too many of their eggs in one basket. Their portfolios were too centered around the company’s stock. This is never a good idea, even if the company that you work for seems to be a very solid company with a lot of growth potential.

A well-balanced portfolio should include a wide variety of investments. This is called diversification. It creates a certain amount of safety in your investments because if one stock does poorly, there is a chance that others will do well and the average balances out.

Employees would do well to invest in their company’s stock, especially if it is a company that they believe will do well. It’s even better when they can get the stock at discounted prices.

Help Selling Mutual Funds

Mutual funds are designed to be held on to for the long term. Because of this, they like to discourage active trading by charging fees for early sales. For example, they may charge you a hefty fee if you sell your shares within 30 days or six months of purchase. If you have not owned your shares for very long, you sell your shares, you should carefully read your fund's policies with regards to early sale fees.

Also, some types of shares may carry back-end charges that were waived when you purchased. If you bought these types of shares, you would be required to hold those shares for a certain period, typically six years, before you would have the fee waived completely. The fee typically declines at a certain rate every year, and the earlier you sell, the more you would have to pay in back-end charges.

3 Ways To Profit With Options Trading

In a bear market, most people lose a lot of money. Are you cognizant of the bursting tech bubble and consequent recession circa 2001-2002? In this article, we will be covering three option trading strategies for a recession or a bear market, which will allow you to maximize profits rather than lose money.

Option Strategy No. 1 - Buying Put Options
It is fairly easy to purchase put options. If your broker authorizes you, you can use this option trading strategy in an IRA account. There is a stock falling in value that you want to pick. You desire to select a stock, which you feel has a good chance of going down in price.

Read the entire article: Option Trading Stategies