I need some help with stocks...?

I've been investing since the mid 1980's and have seen a lot over those years. First off I wouldn't start with penny stocks rather stick to solid companies. Perhaps someday when you want to throw money away you can try penny stocks!

Personally I have about 2/3rd of my investments in mutual funds which are rather boring, but is well diversified. The other 1/3rd of my money is in individual stocks which are more risky, but also more rewarding.

My first adventure with buying stocks was using a brokerage firm (before internet) and they picked 4 stocks for my investments -- Three of the 4 went bankrupt and I lost most of my investments. At that time I took over my own investments and have successfully built up a decent portfolio over the years.

So if you are willing to take a risk you could buy stocks, but I would avoid those penny stocks. You could hit a home run with penny stocks, but more likely will lose money. With only $1,000 I would find at most 2 stocks that you think might grow. Utilities have been great but have recently been hit because of rising interest rates. Still they are not a bad investment to start with and typically pay a decent dividend.

You might also consider buying stock in something you might know. When I was first married back in the early 80's we would drive 40 miles to the nearest Wal-Mart to buy baby formula because it was so much cheaper than the typical stores available in our town. I recall thinking that I should have invested in Wal-Mart and if I had done so back in the early 80's and not sold I would have made lots of money.

You say you heard to sell at 25% increase -- I disagree, why limit it to 25%. I have stocks and funds in my current portfolio that are up 300% and I would have lost lots of gains had I sold at 25%. That said, there is nothing wrong with selling a stock at a profit. But remember if you hold a stock longer than 12 months the taxes on the gains are typically less (depends on your income).

Food and Clothing stocks are considered "non-discretionary" investments -- People need these items (maybe not high-end clothing) so the stocks of these companies tend to be more stable. But when the economy is good discretionary may outshine.

Tech companies are also an option. Can be risky but also good rewards. Facebook is probably a company you heard of. A few months ago the stock was selling for around $20/share -- It finally has gained traction and is in the upper $30's today so almost doubling the last 3 months.

Small caps will be more risky than large caps, but like always more risk, more rewards and conversely more potential losses.

So research some companies. Yahoo Finance is good place to start. Good luck and hopefully you make a million dollars.

Hi. The stock market is a great place to make some money. I'm still a beginner also, but I've been doing pretty well so far. I recommend you look for companies that meet a certain group of criteria. Look for good returns on equity and strong growth in earnings and sales, as well as cash flow from operations and book value. Low debt also.

1- You should sell when the stock is being sold heavily by institutions. You can always add a stop-loss on your orders to avoid big losses. I recommend a stop-loss of 5%. Also, sell if you're really in need of the money.

2- Ahh, penny stocks. They are like life and death situations. I once watched a penny stock go from around 1.50 to over 20. I was close to commiting suicide for not buying!(not really). You can buy some penny stocks as long as it's a solid company(good ROE and ROIC) and you MUST add a stop-loss on this. Some penny stocks have gone to $0 !!

3- I cant help you there, sorry.

4- Go for either small or large cap, as long as its a good company.

5- Yes, investing in silver isnt a bad idea. Not sure about the rest since theres no way to predict whats best.

Hope i helped!

Right now, I would suggest staying out of both the stock and bond markets as there is no longer any oversight or rule of law. The big players are using superfast computers that buy and sell millions of shares in nanoseconds, and most of the mutual and hedge funds are loaded with derivatives. When they reinstate Glass-Steagall and a string of other protective legislation, and get rid of the Stock Modernization Act (that legalized and legitimized derivatives), you might stand a good chance of coming out okay. We're staring at a probable collapse in the current bubble in a matter of months. The last 2 bubbles were the dot-com and mortgage bubbles, which both crashed around 15,000 Dow. The Dow might make it to 16 or 17,000 because of all the money being pumped into the top of the system by the Fed, but it will crash and take your money with it. You can't have an economy based on debt alone with no industrial production.

If you have money to invest... consider buying some silver bullion while you can still get it at about the cost of production. The reason for this is the big players in the futures markets are determining the spot price of precious metals (and just about everything else) by printing paper silver and selling it (futures contracts) in huge quantities to suppress the spot price in spite of the lower production and several major mines being removed from business. We've seen a huge draw-down in vault inventories (40% over the last few months), so we are expecting defaults in the futures exchanges. When that happens, real market price discovery will happen... and $500 silver.

a saving account is the best place to put your money on despite the low interest rate you can spend the money when needed

or on a saving account with a little higher interest rate but they have some small print thus some restrictions

money invested in funds like shares mutual funds or bonds and the fee payd for any transiction is the amount of money you can loose

example

when anybody buys one stock in anoted fund at a stockmarket in currency other than the account is in

in numbers it

10 + 5 / 1.23 = 14.06 currency of account

when the money needed and selling one stock then you have to pay your broker an amount between 0 and ten when the fee for selling is also ten

doing it yourself is making a plan

keep away from anoted stock at the stockmarket that are explained in the rules of that specific stock market and placed on the bench

ivesting is a thing you are doing yourself this means a lot of reading

By your questions it would appear you know nothing, or very little, about investing. With $1000 you will not get an advisory broker so you need to learn more. LOTS more. Otherwise you will just lose that $1000 very quickly (and not even enjoy it).

Buy a beginners book on investing. Read it thoroughly and again, if necessary.

READ,READ and READ. Make sure you understand what you read. If you don't then ask questions until you do.

What can you do with $1000?

Maybe spreadbet with small amounts, buy one, well-researched stock, buy some sort of tracker fund (ETF).

Don't mess around with practice accounts!!

Get some knowledge, pick your investment (to the best of your ability and knowledge) and be prepared to lose all your money.

+1 for revsuza's answer. Great sources there.

Stay out of the stock and bond market or you're going to lose your shirt.

Read everything written by Robert Kiyosaki - he's not perfect but what he says makes more sense than what you read or hear in the usual investing press.

Invest in businesses. With such a small starting amount, get started with peer to peer lending like Lending Club or Prosper. You'll be insulated from the markets and get to see the impact of your investments as well as understand what's working and what isn't.

Apple. they're high right now but if your time frame is beyond january they're a no brainer. Did you know the iPhone was the biggest selling phone in the US last month? That, and it's implications, is not yet priced in.. and neither is Apple's marketshare being at the tipping point and about to explode. 185 now. 240+ by Jan.. (and if you're lucky you may get a dip to buy at a160 within the next couple of weeks).

Tips for Checking Out Brokers and Advisers

Federal or state securities laws require brokers, advisers, and their firms to be licensed or registered, and to make important information public. But it’s up to you to find that information and use it to protect your investment dollars. The good news is that this information is easy to get, and one phone call or web search may save you from sending your money to a con artist, a bad broker, or disreputable firm.

Before you invest, make sure your brokers, investment advisers, and investment adviser representatives are licensed to sell securities. Always check and see if they or their firms have had run-ins with regulators or other investors.

This is very important, because if you do business with an unlicensed securities broker or a firm that later goes out of business, there may be no way for you to recover your money – even if an arbitrator or court rules in your favor.