If you're an investor, you've almost certainly heard the term “futures” tossed around before. It's a common enough of a term that it should be familiar to just about every investor. However, that doesn't mean you know exactly what it means. That's why we're going to take a moment to fill you in on what futures contracts are. We'll also talk about how they relate to stock markets. The Futures Contract So what is a futures contract anyways? A … [Read more...]
Have you ever heard of a CFD, or contract for difference? This is a very important term for people looking to invest in futures. If you're thinking about investing in these financial instruments, you need to make sure you understand how a CFD works. Before you understand this term, however, you need to understand futures. What are Futures? Futures originally evolved as a way for sellers of certain goods, often commodities such as wheat and … [Read more...]
If you're looking to get a jump on markets, you can engage in premarket trading. Premarket trading was once largely the realm of professional investors. However, advances in technology and other things have made it easier for “average” investors to also engage in this type of trade. Premarket trading normally takes place between 8 and 9:30 AM. As you are probably aware, the major stock markets in the United States generally don't open until … [Read more...]
Few statistical measures are talked about more than return of assets. Return on assets helps investors figure out how much profit a company is producing relative to its assets. In a sense, you can think of ROA as an indicator of how efficient a company is at producing profits. A company might be producing big profits, but if its ROA is low, it suggests that the company is not producing those profits very efficiently. For investors looking for a … [Read more...]