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Stocks FAQs

  1. How do I start using technical analysis?

  2. What is the difference between weighted average shares outstanding and basic weighted average shares?

  3. What does it mean when there is "price action"?

  4. What is a cross hedge?

  5. What is the difference between an options contract and a futures contract?

  6. What is the McGinley Dynamic?

  7. Do stocks that trade with a large daily volume generally have less volatility?

  8. Why is the 1982 AT&T breakup considered one of the most successful spinoffs in history?

  9. Which two companies underwent the biggest corporate merger of the 1990s?

  10. When holding an option through expiration date, are you automatically paid any profits, or do you have to sell the option and pay commissions?

  11. How do I use the Nova/Ursa ratio?

  12. How do I value the shares that I own in a private company?

  13. How do I employ a cash-and-carry trade?

  14. What is the significance of a Schedule 13D?

  15. What is high-frequency trading?

  16. Does the balance sheet always balance?

  17. What is the difference between an acquisition and a takeover?

  18. What does it mean when "N/A" appears for a company's P/E ratio?

  19. What was the first company with a $1 billion market cap?

  20. What is the Coppock curve?

  21. Why would a company do a reverse merger instead of an IPO?

  22. What is the difference between return on equity and return on capital?

  23. What are the penalties for withdrawing from my Traditional IRA less than a year after acquisition?

  24. How do I use a premium put convertible?

  25. What business processes were used to establish the Chevrolet motor company?

  26. How do I take qualitative factors into consideration when using fundamental analysis?

  27. Short selling vs. purchasing a put option: how do the payoffs differ?

  28. I want to buy a stock at $30, sell when it reaches $35, don't want to hang on to it if it dips below $27, and I want to do all this in one trading order. What type of order should I use?

  29. What is the difference between leverage and margin?

  30. What is a GTEM order?

  31. What is the "random walk theory" and what does it mean for investors?

  32. How does pyramiding work?

  33. What number of shares determines adequate liquidity for a stock?

  34. What is the difference between options and futures?

  35. How can I hedge against rising diesel prices?

  36. Would a slow stochastic be effective in day trading?

  37. In M&A how does an all-stock or all-cash deal affect the equity of the buying company?

  38. What is a virtual trailing stop order (VTSO)?

  39. A cash buyout agreement has been announced for a stock I own, but why isn't my stock trading at a per-share price equal to the buyout price?

  40. What is a Bermuda swaption?

  41. What is the difference between fundamental and technical analysis?

  42. How does a pump and dump scam work?

  43. I placed a limit order to buy a stock after the market closed, but the stock's price gapped above the entry price and my order never got filled. How can I prevent this from happening?

  44. What is the haircut rate imposed by clearing corporations?

  45. Why do some stock quotes appear in bold print in the newspaper?

  46. Does a strong trend (ADX > = 40) cause an increase in volatility?

  47. How are the interest charges calculated on my margin account?

  48. What's the difference between old- and new-economy stocks?

  49. What technical tools can I use to measure momentum?

  50. How long does a stock that has done a reverse split keep the letter "D" at the end of its symbol?

  51. Can an option have a negative strike price?

  52. How is the Parabolic SAR used in trading?

  53. How long does it take for a merger to go through?

  54. Why are P/E ratios generally higher during times of low inflation?

  55. Is technical analysis used only to analyze stocks?

  56. What is a staggered board?

  57. How is spread calculated when trading in the forex market?

  58. How can I determine a stock's next resistance level or target price?

  59. What happens to my call options if the underlying company is bought out?

  60. What is a typical day in the life of someone in M&A? How long does a project last?

  61. What is a back door listing?

  62. Where can I find the P/E ratios for the Dow and S&P 500?

  63. What is the difference between fast and slow stochastics in technical analysis?

  64. What is the difference between a simple moving average and an exponential moving average?

  65. Do stop or limit orders protect you against gaps in a stock's price?

  66. What is the best time of the day to trade?

  67. How can I use market breadth to my advantage?

  68. Can a company declare a dividend that exceeds its earnings per share?

  69. What does it mean when a stock symbol has a .PK after it?

  70. What's the difference between a regular option and an exotic option?

  71. What does the 'FIG' at an investment bank refer to?

  72. Is tracking error a significant measure for determining ex-post risk?

  73. Is maximizing stock price the same thing as maximizing profit?

  74. How can a futures trader exit a position prior to expiration?

  75. What is the Pac-Man defense?

  76. What is a penny stock?

  77. Can a stock have a negative price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio?

  78. Should I buy options that are in the money or out of the money?

  79. If I reject the tender offer for acquisition of the stock that I own in a company and the company goes private, what happens to my stock?

  80. What do the numbers that follow the bid and ask numbers in stock quotes represent?

  81. What do you call a candlestick with no shadows, and what does it mean?

  82. How do companies use the Pac-Man defense?

  83. Why do option volume quotes differ on different websites?

  84. Is there such a thing as a nano cap or micro cap index?

  85. How do I measure option liquidity?

  86. I keep hearing about the 50-day, 100-day and 200-day moving averages. What do they mean, how do they differ from each other, and what causes them to act as support or resistance?

  87. Why do futures' prices converge upon spot prices during the delivery month?

  88. What do the different colored candlesticks mean?

  89. Who is Mr. Copper?

  90. How do I use a "basket" option?

  91. What do the phrases "sell to open", "buy to close", "buy to open", and "sell to close" mean?

  92. What is the weighted average of outstanding shares? How is it calculated?

  93. Can I make money using put options when prices are going up?

  94. When computing the PEG ratio for a stock, how is a company's earnings growth rate determined?

  95. Do noise traders have any long-term effect on stock prices?

  96. How do you determine a company's percentage of credit sales?

  97. What is a split-adjusted share price?

  98. In the forex market, how is the closing price of a currency pair determined?

  99. What is the difference between a merger and a takeover?

  100. What is a stock-for-stock merger and how does this corporate action affect existing shareholders?

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Last Questions Asked:
  1.

    How do I start using technical analysis?

  2. What is the difference between weighted average shares outstanding and basic weighted average shares?

  3. What does it mean when there is "price action"?

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