The Stock Market: A Beginners Guide.

Introduction
Apart from the glitz and panache of Hollywood or the iconic World of the pop star the stock market is probably seen as the most glamorous way of making a living (and a very healthy living at that!). Over recent times advances in technology have made the Stock Market far more accessible to the general public. This has made the possibility of becoming rich from stocks far more realistic than obtaining a record deal or a landing a role in a Hollywood production.

Unfortunately involvement in the Stock Market is not a one-way street. It is commonly acknowledged that losing a fortune in Stocks is much easier than gaining one. You will constantly see figures touted for the percentage of people who lose money trading or investing. They range from 90% to as much as 99% depending on which ?market guru? is selling you their foolproof guide to making money.

Ignoring the Hearsay
The chances are that all you hear concerning the Stock Market comes from either a work colleague or the ten-second report delivered on your evening news. This news report is as interesting as it is useful, not at all. On the other hand what you hear at work should be ignored for other reasons. If you are a complete stock novice, no offence intended, this hearsay might sound very interesting and possibly even tempting. The typical conversation will go something like this:

Colleague: ?Did you hear about Mike from payrolls??
You: ?No, what about him??
Colleague: ?He made a few grand from Stock ?WXYZ? last month.?
You: ?Wow, I could really do with that money right now.?

Colleague: ?Me too. He says he has a few more hot tips for us if we are interested.?

Well done to Mike, but the chances are the next conversation you have with this colleague will go something like this: