What are the Tax Implications for Making a Profit (or Loss) On a Stock?
Gains on stock investments will be taxable in the current year unless they can be offset with losses. Stocks that appreciate in value do not incur any tax liability while they are held, unless they pay dividends. Dividends will generally be taxable as ordinary income. For this article we will focus on capital appreciation instead of dividends. Capital appreciation can be considered long-term gains or short-term gains by the IRS upon the sale of the shares. A stock held for less than a year will incur short-term capital gains taxes, which are taxed at ordinary income rates. Continue reading...
What is a Variable Annuity?
Variable annuities generally provide investors with downside protection for a fee (the insurance guarantee), while also providing market exposure that may give the investor upside potential. A variable annuity is characterized by offering market exposure, and the risk and upside potential that comes with it, in the form of “separate accounts” which are institutional-level mirrors of retail mutual funds. Typically a variable annuity will not deplete the amount of your initial investment with sales charges, and may even credit your annuity with an initial bonus amount of several percent. Continue reading...
What is the Falling Pennant (Bearish) Pattern?
The Falling Pennant (or Bearish Pennant) pattern looks like a pennant turned upside down (the mast points up). It forms when falling prices experience a consolidation period, and the price moves within a narrow range defined by the converging lines through points (2, 4) and (3, 5). After the consolidation, the previous trend resumes. This type of formation happens when anticipation of downtrend is high, and when the price of a security consolidates during a declining trend. It may indicate growing investor concern of an impending downtrend. Continue reading...
What is the Dead Cat Bounce (Bearish) Pattern?
The Dead Cat Bounce pattern appears when a pair’s price falls quickly but has a temporary “v-shaped” recovery before resuming its downward trend. The temporary bounce (from point 2 to point 3) may be explained by shorters covering their positions, or buying by investors who think the price has already reached a low point. It is important to wait for the confirmation move, which is when the price breaks below the low where the dead cat bounce occurred (point 2). Continue reading...
How to use Simple Moving Averages in trading
Investors and traders are in constant search of tools they can use to gain any possible advantages from shifting markets. Technical indicators are especially vital parts of any trader’s kit, and few indicators are as consistent (and dependable) as moving averages. A Simple Moving Average (SMA) is a technical indicator that can help traders determine whether a bull or bear trend will continue or reverse course. It typically adds up closing prices for a given time period, then divides that figure by the number of time periods used for the average. Continue reading...
What is Cash and Cash Equivalents?
Cash and cash equivalents are negotiable instruments which have a stable value and are highly liquid. Cash and Cash Equivalents is a phrase used often in the financial world. Generally money market accounts are the most used cash equivalent. They are invested in currency, and their goal is to preserve the value of the the investor’s dollars. Money market accounts are basically completely liquid, and investors can even write checks and make ATM withdrawals from their money market accounts. Continue reading...
How Much Money Will I Need to Get Started Investing?
First things first, accumulate six months’ of cash as emergency savings. Then you can start investing. From there, it makes sense to try and set up a monthly investment plan, where you set aside a certain amount of money each month and stick to that schedule. If there is any extra money in any given month, put that away too. Once you build up a few thousand dollars, you can start buying broad-based ETFs or mutual funds to gain diversification while also getting equity exposure for growth. Continue reading...
What is Adjusted Gross Income?
For tax purposes, Adjusted Gross Income is the basis of an individual’s income tax calculations, before “below the line” deductions. Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) is Gross Income (all of an individual’s earnings for the year) minus above-the-line deductions such as retirement plan contributions, education and medical expenses, Health Savings Accounts, alimony, military exemptions, and so on. After these adjustments, a person can take the standard federal deduction or itemize their other deductions. These are known as below-the-line deductions. Continue reading...
What is a 10-k?
A 10-k is an annual filing required by the SEC for companies over a certain size, which provides the regulators with more detail than can be found in an Annual Report. If a company has over $10 Million in assets and equity shares divided among 500 or more people, it must file a 10-K within 60 days of the end of the fiscal year, as well as 10-Q filings quarterly, whether it is publicly or privately traded. The 10-K will include specific details that companies may not have put in their Annual Report to shareholders, such as executive compensation, subsidiaries, audited financial statements, lawsuits, and so on. Continue reading...
Learn How to Get Human Intelligence Insight with Community Predictors
Tickeron’s Community Trend Predictors allows you to see how others in the community vote and follow them to hear more about their trade ideas. Check out predictors by their ranking, and learn more about prediction types and statistics. To access, from the menu bar, simply click the Marketplace tab, then click on Top Predictors. Use Instant Search for specific tickers, and Advanced Search to narrow down tickers by asset classes, confidence levels, price ranges, and prediction types (bullish vs. bearish vs. sideways). Once you set up their Advanced Search criteria, use the daily Alerts to remember the specifications, and to receive notifications about the group of stocks. Continue reading...