You do recall you've started this thread before?
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=174610
At the time I'd kinda outed myself with a similar post to this one which follows, then had it deleted (some excerpts below). But if it'll help someone I'll say what I can and maybe it'll do some good. Just don't ignore all the good advice you've already gotten above and previously and start the same thread in a few months?
MCBTunes said:
I'm 18, I have a little cash I'd like to invest. (but seriously, not just GIC's). I'm seriously looking to learn how the stock market works, ...
Cool. Go for it - true empowerment ! I started in my teens too - I wasn't of legal age yet so my parents had to sign all my forms. LOL. Now I manage their investments, sit on the boards of public companies, have published widely read newsletters (of over 1000 susbcribers) ... man time flies.
Well, I'm still closer to being a teen than a fogey thankfully.
If you want to know how the market works, start by taking the Canadian Securities Course
http://www.csi.ca/ It'll look great on your resume (very well regarded by those in the biz), and can be done via correspondence.
I completely and respectfully disagree with the assertion that the only good books worth reading are published post tech crash. The tech crash was nothing new, in fact the same thing has happened here and abroad with great regularity. For that reason, some made good money during that crash.
To that end, check out "Reminiscences Of A Stock Operator" by Edwin Lefevre. It's about the turn-of-the-century panic & crash. Turn of the *last* century. But it's word-for-word applicable to every boom and bust since then. Very amusingly written and fast-paced first-person account of a trader who went from rags to riches to rags to riches, and you'll get a real feel for the history of North American stock markets, commodities markets, and the major players such as JCPenny, et. al.
And watch the movie "Pi" - the main character is obsessed with finding patterns in the stock market - great soundtrack, and while there's no "code" to crack, there are frequently repeated trends and signals you can use to your advantage.
And check out the book "The Elliot Wave Principle" by Frost & Prechter.
Also, anyone have any stock tips, feel free to PM me, please
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Here you go. One of these is already up over 100% since this post I made last month, and most are up at least 30% - some are up several hundred percent since I started mentioning them here over the past year (see below for reference). Some won't fit your budget, but if you're serious and dput a bit of effort into th pursuit I have several others that'd suit a smaller portfolio - depends how much you have, what the risk tolerance is, for how long, etc.
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2313083&postcount=9 Some will be up another 1000% (yes, some are already up that much since I bought) and much more soon enough, and I'll reference this post in a year's time to prove it. IMO! Disclaimer - I've been in these for around a year now so I have a vested interest and you must do your own due diligence etc. etc. Bonus - most are Canadian or cross-listed here so you needn't expose yourself to foreign/US currency slides.
You'll also need to take a look at "How To Buy Stocks" by Engel & Hecht.
It'd be best if you have a passion for something or a certain business sector you know about and go with what you know. For example you might invest in Guitar Centre if you shop there and like their stores. That way at least you could follow it and learn the ups and downs vs. going blind like you do with mutuals or most portfolios really. I bought a Motorola phone recently which was the only one out of the hundreds on the market that met my needs. Had I taken that as a "sign" (and I did consider it) I'd have bought MOT stock and now been up about 30% in a few months. Just look to your day-to-day life for inspiration.
I was thinking after these disasters it would be good to invest in some lumber, or timbre area's but it's probably a little late to jump on that bandwagon.
I have some lumber and lumber lands holdings and they haven't moved due to the hurricanes. Maybe down the line there'll be a bottom line impact reflected in the share price, but currently the high CDN dollar has these somewhat out of favour so maybe you'd be "buying low" but I'd expect a long and boring ride up not some immediate hurricane effect.
I'm not bullish on them - some I have due to connections to the lumber industry, and others because I saw a change for arbitrage on the land value vs. the timber holdings and while that went well I'm not longer bullish in the long term on North American land.
Maybe solar/electrical energy would be a good place to start.
Good instinct, but No. Oil and oil/refining services and especially uranium (see link above). To that end, please read "Twilight In The Desert" by Matthew R. Simmons (or save money and look him uponline and stream his speeches to get the gist of what he's on about).
In the deleted post in your original thread which I mentioned at the top of this post, dated April 10 this year, I posted this (anyone wants to call me on it, I'm glad to prove it - Tim Cole had quoted it so I'd asked him to delete his post quoting same and many mods can still see that 'soft deleted' post which is how I got this excerpt so rather than take my word for it, I hereby give my assent for any mod to verify that but don't wish the full contents made public as there's personal stuff I decided to keep personal ergo the deletes. Most is rehashed within this post anyway, but better phrased IMO. Anyway, here's the excerpt which I still believe to be valid :
"If you're at a loss, then go with energy. Gas/oil is due to keep going and going higher, and emerging markets like China and India will only exacerbate energy shortages thus pushing demand and prices higher. My favourite by far are urnanium plays. Some of those you can get into for quite cheaply - even only $1000 and among the best ones (of which there are very few) happen to be Canadian and some in Saskatchewan so that's local for you."
But my goal here is to learn how the market works.
To some degree it's merely institutionalized fraud. But there are some legit companies with a bright future and some are very affordable. What do you want to know? I can literally write a book-length personal account on almost any facet - from incorporation to going public, petitioning SB-2s to the SEC, busting scams and how they work, value investing, high risk investing, etc. etc. But I'd rather refer you again to the CSC course. All brokers in Canada have had to take and pass it, so you'll be on an even keel in that regard. It can be dry, and it's tougher than most university courses you'll encounter, but not if you put some effort into it.
The components involved, and how to take advantage of it.
A mentor would help, or at least some reliable source of info, and learning for yourself and by doing. Do you even have an account yet? I'm guessing you'll go discount online brokerage (BMO is good, as is TD) since you'll learn nothing by believing anything a broker will tell you (they're just trying to unload their house's paper on you). SUbscriptions to decent newsletters would help - try
http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showthread.php?t=174610 They're cheap and not too bad. Very simplistic, but that's idea in your situation. A lot of low-cost plays, some that don't move and others that do really well. I have a basket of some of their calls. Suggest you stick with those that have regular volume and the nearly dead ones can be hard to get in and out of and are too boring to watch.
Josh's is great advice. Can't comment on the other posters as I don't know their trading angles or their resource recommendations. ... Except for the paper trading - that is a great way to get a feel for things but your *real* trading will always go differently. The decisions you make with real money on the line will be different. You have to learn the hard way, and it'll be costly - in finance no one is to be taken seriously unless they've lost big and then rebounded and won bigger by learning from their mistakes.
Joshua will appreciate this quote I think. "The only lessons that you learn are from things that you regret."
BTW, if you're not sure where to track stocks, for historical charting Bigcharts.com is great and for setting up & tracking portfolios (mock or not) quotes.yahoo.com works well.
People are expecting a crash in October, so expect a dip which lemmings will sell into making for a big one or two day "crash" and then a big rally into year's end. People are brainwashed with this "big crash in October" thing, but don't realize that the big crashes historically *end* in October. As I said above there's nothing new, and when a lot of people say something will happen (such as a crash this October) you should put money on the opposite (which is why I turned bullish short-term on real estate after the mass media started agreeing/promoting the idea of a debt/housing crash - which to me means at least another 30% appreciation to suck more buyers/debtors in before a real crash takes place).
Using the tech crash as an example, everyone said it the bull run couldn't last and feared Y2k fallout, but the markets kept roaring. Once Y2K proved to be a non-event even the bears bought into that "new paradigm" rubbish (the signal to sell and/or go short) and sure enough in March 2000 the crash began ... except for those who went short or moved into resources. Interestingly, if you put that crash chart over the chart of the Nikkei crash it's virtually identical - greed and panic cycles have hallmark chart patterns - again nothing new which is why I stress that concept.
So if you're set up and serious about trading with dollars, the next couple weeks could provide some good entry points. For long-term plays though, just get in whenever you can rather than trying to outsmart the market and time pricing. I took a few new long positions just the morning, in fact - trying to practice what I preach. I don't need to catch every minor dip, so long as I get out before the big crash in '07.
I hope this proves useful. Some people pay dearly for this same advice, but for a young Kid from the 'Toon and fellow bassist I'm glad to take the time to type it but forigve me any typos as it's too late to edit. Understand no one can just hand it to you, and what works for me and my experiences may not work for everyone or mirror the expriences of others. Understand that you will lose - and that it's better you lose a little bit early than get lucky at first and lose a lot later. It will take a lot of time and effort and discipline to succeed and overstand (sic) it - and a lot of ups & downs - just like anything of value.
Simply reading what I consider to be shameless hype sheets like Fortune or following CNBC will not put you ahead of the curve (sorry Bop! - but I wouldn't recommend people line their birdcage with most of those publications). Do you show discipline in other aspects of your life - sports, music, school? If so you have a very small chance of success if you're able to focus that discipline a thousandfold into this endeavor, and if not you might as well just light your money on fire and save some time.
Oh, and if you're ever awake at night sweating one of your positions, you're in too deep. This business can take a heavy toll on your health, spirit, and life expectancy. Don't be like the guy in "Pi" and allow it to consume you and next thing you know you're staying up all hours crunching numbers and plotting graphs and ... ah the days of holding the Cowan NYSE Thomson IPO ADRs and trading the shares overnight on the Paris Bourse
If that sounds like Greek to you, get studying !
Oh yeah - Good luck !
Not get rich! No I know where your coming from. This is actually why I started the thread.... both threads 
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