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What are stocks and bonds? How can you tell which stocks are best? And where do you get them?

Also, what is better, stocks or bonds, and are they wise things to invest in? How can you tell what stocks are good?

Public Comments

1. 1) Visit Wikipedia. 2) The answer to that question is way too complex and pointless if you don't even know what is a bond. 3) TradeKing, Sharebuilder, Scottrade or any other broker. 4) Stocks. 5) Yes. 6) You don't have to. (That is my job) Top 5 Answerer in the "Business & Finance" Category.
2. A great resource of specific financial definitions, and encyclopedia-type explanations, is Investopedia.com http://www.investopedia.com/ Go to your local library and walk down the row upon row of books on these subjects. One beginner's book on investing will answer all of these questions in detail. If you have problems or don't understand, then ask a question. You've asked a question "How do I build a house?" Way too broad and general. You do the work first, then we help. Try to determine your time horizon. Short-term, long-term? Take a look at charting and Technical Analysis for following trends in the markets. Why would you own a stock that is in an obvious decline? Realize right away there are two sides to the market, not just the upside. What goes up, eventually comes down at least part way. Learn how to analyze risk, and make this your primary approach, not by compounding profits and erroneously analyzing how much money you can make. For example, most traders don't make any money at all; more than 80% blow out. Learn about money management techniques, and maybe you'll stick around awhile. Try to find these books: They say "Buy and Hold" for the long term is better, but that depends on when you get in, and what your definition of "long term" is. The phrase "Buy low and sell high" infers that you buy after a decline; but how much of a decline? If you had bought after a 1000 pt decline in the Dow in 2000, you would still be waiting to get back to even, six years later in most stocks. How to start trading online: http://www.bernanke.cn/stock-trade/...... http://www.stock-trading.jims-info.com/.... http://money.howstuffworks.com/......... http://www.investopedia.com/ http://sharebuilder.com/ stockcharts.com Beginner’s Books on Investing "Which Is Better, Buy-and-Hold or Market Timing?" "Do You Have What It Takes to Be a Market Timer The Beginner's Bible in Technical Analysis is: Edwards & McGee"Tech. Anal. Of Stock Trends" Droke, ClifTechnical Analysis Simplified Kahn, Michael N.Tech. Anal. Plain & Simple Kamich, Bruce M.How Technical Analysis Works Lefevre, EdwinReminiscences of a Stock Operator
3. Stocks and bonds are both financial instruments. Stocks are part ownership of a company. Bonds are debt like from a company or the government (i.e. Treasury bonds). As for investing and picking stocks, that's a loaded question. So, since you ask a very broad question, be prepared for a pretty long answer. Just take it in chunks! How to invest depends on what you already know. We'll assume that you're beginning! A good primer is How to Make Money in Stocks by William O'Neil. You can get it cheap just about anywhere. It’s widely available new or used. This'll help you greatly in being able to evaluate good fundamental stocks. Another good one is one of Jim Cramer's books. But books will only get you so far. At some point, you'll also want to get at least a little training. There are some great education companies if you want to make the investment. Investools.com or optionetics.com are both very good companies as is tmitchell.com For free, you can start by visiting thestreet.com and investopedia.com. That'll get you a pretty good primer so at least you'll understand what the markets are and what a stock is, etc. If you get a chance, watch Mad Money on CNBC. Don't trade any of his picks until you track many of them over time. Just use the show to get you to understand some basics and get a feel for the market itself. Next, subscribe to something like investorsbusiness daily or something like that that can help you identify good stocks. Once you understand stocks, go to 888options.com. It's a website that'll help you understand options (what they do, how they work, etc). You don't need to trade them, but the more you know, the more you'll see how options can really be the safest way to invest (once you're educated). For discipline (which is crucial to successful trading), probably Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas or Mastering the Trade by John Carter I know that’s a LOT to absorb. Just take it one step at a time for now. Start with a book or two to give you an idea of where to begin. Take your time, and let it seep in. As you get up to speed, you should papertrade to practice (highly recommended). This should help reduce your losses in the beginning as you get used to buying/selling. You can practice for free on almost any reputable broker site (optionsxpress, scottrade, thinkorswim, etc). Start slow, then as you figure things out, you can buy more shares. Congrats again on getting started. If you have any questions, please let me know. Hope this helps!