The advent of the internet has simplified so many things. There used to be a time when I order to carry out a trade, you had to look for lots of statistical information in news papers and cable channels, add to that finding a reliable broker. The hold back was, that this information was not readily available, and although some companies had taken it upon themselves to gather this information for when traders needed it, it was going to cost you. With the internet however, in a single click, you gain access to a whole variety of information and statistics, which makes online stock trading an advantage. It speeds up the process, and that with much convenience and lesser costs (in the form of internet data mostly) to get information.

Online Stock Trading is one of the best ways to invest for beginners!
A share of stock is basically a tiny piece of a corporation. Shareholders -- people who buy stock -- are investing in the future of a company for as long as they own their shares. The price of a share varies according to economic conditions, the performance of the company and investors' attitudes. The first time a company offers its stock for public sale is called an initial public offering (IPO), also known as "going public."

When a business makes a profit, it can share that money with its stockholders by issuing a dividend. A business can also save its profit or re-invest it by making improvements to the business or hiring new people. Stocks that issue frequent dividends are income stocks. Stocks in companies that re-invest their profits are growth stocks.


Brokers buy and sell stocks through an exchange, charging a commission to do so. A broker is simply a person who is licensed to trade stocks through the exchange. A broker can be on the trading floor or can make trades by phone or electronically.

An exchange is like a warehouse in which people buy and sell stocks. A person or computer must match each buy order to a sell order, and vice versa. Some exchanges work like auctions on an actual trading floor, and others match buyers to sellers electronically.