Tag Archives: finance

I think TradeMonster might be the right answer

September 21, 2010

After spending quite a while looking at different online brokers, I think TradeMonster might be the one I’ll choose. Its commissions ($7.50/trade) are higher than TradeKing and Zecco (and barely higher than Scottrade), but I pay a lot less in commission every year than I do in margin interest. Trademonster’s margin interest rate is super-low, around 3.5% for $0-50,000. This will save me hundreds and hundreds of dollars per year over Scottrade. The cost in commissions will be a bit, [...]

Siebert: Hates Google Chrome

September 21, 2010

So, I went to check out Siebert today. Turns out they hate Google Chrome. I guess they’re not getting my business.

Thoughts on Zecco

September 21, 2010

So, Zecco works OK, but there could be some major improvements to it. 1. Stock quotes in different tabs interfere with eachother. You’ll be reading about ADBE in one tab, and click to change the stock chart, and all of a sudden you’ll be looking at the chart for MSFT but it will still say ADBE at the top! This is really horrid, and I’m pretty sure I’m going to switch because of it. 2. The charting settings don’t seem [...]

TradeKing forces users to click their password so others can read it.

September 17, 2010

After learning about Zecco’s margin rates, I set out to find a brokerage with a very low margin rate, as this represents more of my cost than commissions. Most traders will be different. TradeKing seems to have a very low rate, and their commissions are very competitive with Zecco. Yet the first thing I encountered when signing up for an account was the “ultra-secure” password entry: Not only is this extremely insecure because of shoulder surfing, but it’s a problem [...]

Zecco: $0 Stock Trades! Too good to be true!?

September 17, 2010

Zecco is my new favorite discount brokerage. They offer $4.50 trades for stocks and options, as well as $0 trades if you execute more than 25 trades a month or have more than $25,000 in your account. This is huge, as it basically eliminates a big part of the cost of personal investing. I highly recommend switching from whichever brokerage you’re using now. They have a really nice user community interface that allows you to see what other users are [...]

Selling Covered Calls

September 2, 2010

I never really thought about it, but a good strategy would be to sell out of the money puts at your loss point depending on if you’re bullish on a stock. I always tell myself I should set stop loss orders at -5% on all my stock purchases, but I never do, and it ends up hurting my portfolio. This way, I could make some extra cash immediately from selling the contract, and the worst case is I have to [...]

A little options strategy

August 30, 2010

The story I got burned by options a couple years ago, and have stayed away ever since. But in the last few days, I’ve been learning how to manage risk using options, especially by using spreads. I decided to try out some spreads today in my optionshouse practice account. WARNING: If you are not familiar with options, the next part is going to be gibberish. Use Google to find a good resource on educating yourself about options if you are [...]

Some stock picks…

August 27, 2010

Here’s some little stock analyses I did today using QTStalker. Google Fibo 50% and upward trendline should help this go up a bit, assuming Android continues to get market share. Atwood Oceanic These guys are in a lateral channel between the 61.8 and the 38.2 Fibo lines. Buying around $25 looks like a win. Cintas This looks good – a bounce off the 38.2 at the same time as a bounce off the uptrend. Also, the RSI is getting back [...]

Citibank says checks are cleared as soon as you see them online…

August 10, 2009

I called Citibank tonight to confirm that one of my checks I deposited was finally collected. This is a good thing to ask your bank if you are concerned that a check might bounce. They indicated, as is said in the following audio recording, that if a check shows up in your transaction log online, it’s cleared. [Audio clip: view full post to listen]

Democratic representative introduces amendment to waste paper

May 1, 2009

Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-IL) this proposed amendment: (d) MINIMUM TYPE-SIZE AND FONT REQUIREMENT FOR CREDIT CARD APPLICATIONS AND DISCLOSURES.- All written information, provisions, and terms in or on any application, solicitation, contract, or agreement for any credit card account under an open end consumer credit plan, and all written information included in or on any disclosure required under this chapter with respect to any such account, shall appear- (1) in not less than 12-point type; and (2) in any font [...]

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