It is only an offer and will not be accepted if the seller is not willing to let go at the offer price. This offer price pertains to all traded investments.

The difference between the ask price and the sell price is called the “spread” and it is kept by the broker.

If you are brand new to investing then take time to understand what you are reading when viewing a Stock Exchange Symbol and learn Stock Market Investing Basics.

Many people start trading stocks and never learn about stock trading risk management. The one’s that do learn, usually learn after they have been trading for a while, not before they start trading.

A REIT or Real Estate Investment Trust may be the perfect investment vehicle. REITs own, and often operate, real estate but are publicly traded like stock.

The U.S. Dollar has lost more than 30 percent of its value relative to other world currencies. Shorting the U.S. dollar and buying other world currencies is one way to make money from this trend.

By measuring the compilation of similar stocks instead of just one or two stocks, a stock index provides information about that particular market or segment.

A non-bank organization that regularly trades large blocks of stocks.

A way to evaluate potential profit on an investment by making a projection of growth over several years. For example, if a company makes a 7% profit increase in the prior quarter, an accountant could project 7% profit increase for the next quarter.

A series of technical indicators used by traders to predict the direction of the major financial indexes.

A national government that owes money to international financial institutions such as the World Bank, foreign governments, or to foreign lenders.

Many stock analysts have identified market trends related to specific times of the year. The success ratios of these trends are often far stronger than most other indicators.

A technical analysis indicator that compares advancing and declining stock issues and trading volume as an indicator of overall market sentiment. The Arms Index, or TRIN (Traders Index), is used as a predictor of future price movements in the market primarily on an intraday basis.

A market indicator used to determine volatility levels in the market without factoring in price direction. It is calculated by taking the absolute value of the difference between the number of advancing issues and the number of declining issues. Typically, large numbers suggest volatility is increasing, which is likely to cause significant changes in stock prices in the coming weeks.

A technical analysis tool that represents the total difference between the number of advancing and declining security prices. This index is considered one of the best indicators of market movements as a whole. Stock indexes such as the Dow Jones Industrial Average only tell us the strength of 30 stocks, whereas the advance/decline index can provide much more insight into the movements of the market.

By aggregating the value of a related group of stocks or other investment vehicles together and expressing their total values against a base value from a specific date. Market indexes help to represent an entire stock market and thus give investors a way to monitor the market’s changes over time.

Simplest, oldest, and most common form of business ownership in which only one individual acquires all the benefits and risks of running an enterprise. In a sole-proprietorship there is no legal distinction between the assets and liabilities of a business and those of its owner. It is by far the most popular business structure for startups because of its ease of formation, least record keeping, minimal regulatory controls, and avoidance of double taxation.

Definition: The minimum amount of equity that must be maintained in a margin account. NYSE and FINRA a 25% margin of the total market value of the securities in the margin account. This is a minimum for all margin accounts and many brokerages have higher maintenance margin requirements of 30-40%. Maintenance Margin example If you Read More…

The percentage of the purchase price of stocks (that are purchased on margin) that an investor must pay for with his own cash or marginable securities.

Margin calls happen when your account value drops to a value below that allowed by a broker.