[henryduncan12]

Originally Posted by umfan92 »

This is all so confusing. I'm trying to learn but I honestly don't have a clue where to start. I read many articles and I just recently got a couple books, but I still don't think I'm doing it right.

You are going right. keep reading various article try to learn basic transactions. I think demo accounts can help you. It provides you the facility of demo account. Otherwise ask any reliable person that if he/she can teach you basics.

[mslk]

i would suggest limiting the scope of your research into something manageable. its very easy to get overwhelmed with all the info out there. think about this, if you watch trades on trading floors (on tv, on the web, or even in person), you'll see that they tend to trade the same stocks or instruments daily. they don't necessarily search for something new everyday.. as an example, find 10 symbols and do all the fundamental and technical research on them all. then pick two 'peers' for each stock based on sector and industry groups. line up all major variables - things like price-to-book, price\earnings, etc; do a layover chart and see how their picks stack up against the peers. then add the market indexes (djia, sp500, etc) to the layover and see how they fare against the entire market.

this should help you determine which symbols you want to trade - without getting overwhelmed. i only trade 12 or so stocks\options

good luck!
- mslk

[henryduncan12]

Originally Posted by SIUYA »

Also when it comes to learning - for the time being put away what the daily papers tell you....they will only serve to confuse more. Once you have formed enough of your own ideas, then the headlines might be worth reading again.

Yes and enough ideas can be formed by collecting updates regarding forex news, and other forex updates like various software, rules, etc.

[Josh7]

Originally Posted by umfan92 »

This is all so confusing. I'm trying to learn but I honestly don't have a clue where to start. I read many articles and I just recently got a couple books, but I still don't think I'm doing it right.

I have been going through the same ordeal and I am still learning. I was reading different books that focused on the various ways to analyze a stock/market. Some people use fundamental analysis(looking at the balance sheet, cash flow etc. of a company), use technical analysis(to see trends in a stock) and others. Then there are also strategies involved. The way that I have found useful is by asking questions and engaging in conversation with more experienced investors. There seem to be plenty of them on here who know a great deal. Once you fully understand it then you can create and share your own strategies which you feel comfortable utilizing.

Any question can get you started just look through some of the topics. I learned about bollinger bands a few months back just by asking someone "Do you think CREE will maintain the current trend?"

If you dont know any terms people say you can just look them up:

Investopedia.com Tutorials: Building Blocks and the Basics of Investing

Hopefully this helped you.