How to Sell a Stock Short

The most basic way to trade the short side of the market is to sell stocks short. While selling stocks short is in some ways just the opposite of buying stocks, there are some important differences. In order to sell a stock short, there must be shares of the stock available to your broker for you to borrow. When traders sell stock short, they essentially borrow stock from their broker and sell the stock in the market. Because the trader has sold something he or she does not own, eventually the trader will need to buy back the stock he or she sold.

Wall Street Faces Earnings This Week

Data on Earnings, Retail Sales, Inflation May Bring Street Closer to Answer on Recession

This week’s flood of readings on inflation, retail sales and earnings is just what a data-hungry Wall Street has been anxious for.

But it could be a case of the old saying, be careful what you ask for, because you might actually get it. Evidence that consumers and companies are cash-strapped could mean the economy is on a fast track toward recession — or already in the midst of one.

Four Not-So-Friendly Gold Stocks

Soaring gold prices have gold bugs a-twitter. But how likely are many of these gold stocks to be higher one year from now?

PowerRatings are not just a way of knowing which stocks to buy. Investors can look at the opposite end of the spectrum, the low-rated stocks with PowerRatings of 1, 2, or 3 to see which stocks to avoid.

The Market’s Most Overvalued Stocks

In our previous article on the market’s most overvalued stocks, we focused on expensive real estate stocks, mostly real estate investment trusts and other financial-services firms. Hopefully some of you were able to push the sell button in time, because it’s been a rough couple of months in that space. For this installment, we focus on overvalued, low-quality and risky stocks that have outperformed the market (the S&P 500 in this case). We define low-quality companies as those which Morningstar analysts have deemed “no-moat”; that is, they likely don’t earn their cost of capital through an economic cycle, usually because they lack sustainable competitive advantages. We define risky companies as having a wide spectrum of potential outcomes, making it more difficult to determine the proper valuation of their stocks.

‘Fast Money’ Recap: 2008 Preview

The last day of 2007 was a disappointment for the bulls on Wall Street. The Dow finished Monday down 100 points and the Nasdaq lost 22 points. The cast of characters at CNBC’s “Fast Money” changed a bit, but the commentary was as strong as ever. A preview for 2008 took the stage front and center.

The Fast Money lineup for December 31st was made up of the following, Brian Schaeffer, Managing Director of Van Der Moolen Capital Markets, Carter Worth, Oppenheimer Chief Market Technician, Jon Najarian (Pete’s Brother) founder of Optionmonster.com and Guy Adami.

What’s up for 2008?

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Nasdaq 100 4Q Leaders & Laggards

Intuitive Surgical, Millicom International, Baidu.com Help Lift Nasdaq 100 During 4th Quarter

The Nasdaq 100 index finished slightly higher in the fourth quarter, boosted by gains from Intuitive Surgical Inc., Millicom International Cellular SA, and Baidu.com Inc.

The index, which includes 100 of the largest nonfinancial securities listed on the Nasdaq Stock Market, rose 0.76 percent during the past 13 weeks.

Investing for early retirement

Aggressive investing could help you retire early, but taking on too much risk could backfire.

Question: I’m 46 and have about $350,000 set aside in my workplace retirement savings plan in what I would call a moderately aggressive mix of stock and bonds funds.