Investing 101 » Wall Street Facts

2010 Review of Investments: Silver is Big Winner

admin — Sun, 02 Jan 2011 19:27:09 +0000

2010 Investment Performance

Dow Jones Industrial Average: up 11%
S&P 500: up 13%
NASDAQ: up 16%
Oil: down 1%
Gold: up 29%
Silver: up 89%

What should you buy in 2011? Based upon the performance in 2010, Silver is the clear winner.

There are many ways to invest in Silver:

Silver coins and bullion. Open an account at Bullion Vault to have them buy and store silver bullion for you.
Silver ETF (NYSE ticker symbol: SLV) claims to hold Silver and tracks the price of bullion
Central Fund of Canada is audited to contain about 45% of its assets in silver (NYSE ticker symbol: CEF). The rest is in gold bullion.
Silver mining stocks (NYSE ticker symbols: HL, SVM, CDE) which provide good leverage to the price of silver

Review of Investments in 2010: Dow up 11%, S&P 500 up 13%, NASDAQ up 16%, Oil down 1%, Gold up 29%, Silver up 89%

How Does the New York Stock Exchange Work?

admin — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 20:04:19 +0000

Since 1817, the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) has been functioning as a trading transaction source. The market hasn’t changed much since then, if you disregard the incredible technological advances.

The New York Stock Exchange

In its simplest form, the NYSE (and the other stock exchanges like American, NASDAQ, etc.) is much like a food supermarket. Unlike a small convenience store, a supermarket has hundreds, if not thousands of food choices for customers. The NYSE offers thousands of varieties of stocks for investors.

Combine the number of buying/selling options with a “flea market” mentality, where sellers want $X for their stock and buyers want to pay $X minus $Y, and you understand the basics of the NYSE. The addition of volumes of data that apply to each company and the sophisticated technology that permits real time trading, covered call writing, online Wall Street access, and many more trading options and you see how the New York Stock Exchange works.

As you learn to trade stocks, you’ll see that the NYSE (and the other exchanges) serves as a “highway” to transport you from a personal buy/sell decision to a completed transaction. Some Wall Street training courses, like the Investing 101 course offered here, may complicate your perception of the mechanics involved. Therefore, try to keep the image of a supermarket or flea market vivid to keep the process as simple as possible.

The Importance of Wall Street Companies

admin — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 20:33:00 +0000

Throughout much of recorded financial history—at least since the 1800s—Wall Street companies were considered the financial nexus of the investment world. Formerly home to most the of the largest banks, investment firms, analysts, and, of course, the New York Stock Exchange, Wall Street and its inhabitants have influenced the financial mood and success of the U.S. and the world for many years.

Many believe that the U.S. financial center shifted a bit from the “Street” upon the completion of the World Trade Center (1970-1971) because of the emergence of the global economy. Yet, Wall Street stock market activities and companies remain the “spiritual” center of the world’s financial events. Regardless of the pre-eminence of the Internet and high-speed global communications, ringing the Wall Street bell in the morning signals the start of the financial day for many investors around the world.

New investors should pay attention to Wall Street companies and their activities. Companies offering Wall Street quotes, forecasts, and analysis still deliver high value to new and experienced investors alike. Respect is not a given; it is earned. Even the original Customer’s Afternoon Letter, which evolved into the venerable Wall Street Journal, like all Wall Street companies, earned its reputation over many years of delivering news, opinion, and projections based on solid research and technique.

Newer, younger investors should always remember the adage, “Those who do not learn from history have no future.” Wall Street companies still have much to offer investors, young and old. Listen, read, evaluate, and learn.