<p>1 - company’s who’s products I know and use, I do my research on the company and if everything else is good I figure that the company has a product that will appeal to others. I purchased NUAN recently (they are big into speech and imaging software) after they purchased one of my favorite services (that I use all the time) Jott.com . I would have purchased Jott anytime in the past year if I could have but they were a privately held company. </p>
<p>2 - Small company’s that have the potential to change the world. They must have top management who have expertise in the field (normally they were with the project at a major University) and good finical management. I purchased stock in a small co in Israel that is in late stage trials for insulin in pill form for diabetics. - I don’t ever put a large amount of money into there Co’s but figure if they have a viable product (and some have) then I do very well and if they don’t work out then at least some of my money helped push the science in a worthwhile direction. You need to let this money set and don’t expect to pull it out on a moments notice.</p>
<p>The best trader I know posts almost daily - he posts his trades and a chart indicating his stops and breakout buy points. He will sit out of the market for weeks or months at a time and then jump in around the bottom or one to three days afterwards, ride it up and then get out. I’ve seen him do this over and over and over for the last ten years. I try to piggyback on his trades and do my own trading as well.</p>
<p>Yes, they can be but it is a technical board and you generally won’t understand what others are talking about (besides the arguments which are common to trading boards) without the technical background.</p>
<p>DH and I may research on Motley Fool, the Fidelity website, etc., but we always end up going back to Value Line. It is VERY expensive to subscribe to, though occasionally an online subscription is offered at a reduced price.</p>
<p>Instead, we go to the public library and read through Value Line there.</p>
<p>Is your investment group a member of NAIC? My group uses Value Line and a tool kit program that can be purchased through NAIC–we do the stock study guide using that program. I get some of my research from Value Line, some from Ameritrade’s website and also use Yahoo. If a stock does not look good after doing the stock study sheet, we don’t buy.</p>
<p>Investor’s Business Daily is the best I’ve found, but it’s more for trading than investing. Somewhat technical, but very educational. The online subscription is about $400/year. I think they have a 2-week free trial. [Investors.com</a> - Stocks, Investing, Business, and Finance News](<a href=“http://www.investors.com%5DInvestors.com”>http://www.investors.com) </p>
<p>Oh, and depending on your politics, you can either read their editorials to validate your own dogma or to get a glimpse of how the other side thinks.</p>