Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with finance and trading

Assuming that I believe that the U.S. economy will not recover in the near future, what's a relatively simple way to make a bet that would profit from my belief?

realpseudonym — Fri, 17 Jul 2009 12:08:24 -0800

Assuming that I believe that the U.S. economy will not recover in the near future, what's a relatively simple way to make a bet that would profit from my belief? I don't have a lot of money to bet, but I'm willing to lose all of the amount that I put down.

I've never set up any kind of trading accounts before and don't intend to be an active trader in the future, so I would prefer something with relatively low setup (both in terms of time and money).

One thought I had was to bet on the price of crude oil. Any other suggestions?

Queenback to Greenback

awenner — Fri, 02 Jan 2009 08:14:10 -0800

Who will tell me when the Canadian dollar rises again? As a Canadian student going to school in the US, I make regular tuition payments in USD. My payments are spread over six-week increments, which means that I can to schedule my purchases of US dollars in order to get the best rate. I'd like to avoid constantly staying glued to Google Finance, but neither Google nor Yahoo allow you to add currency to your portfolios. Is there a service that will just email me when the Canadian dollar hits USD$0.84, for example?

This question could apply to anything traded, I suppose.

30 Year Swaps for the personal account?

raz5 — Fri, 24 Oct 2008 11:25:43 -0800

Is there a way I can buy the 30 year swap for my personal account? Right now the 30 year swap is trading at ~4.03...I'd love to make a long term bet where I pay out 4.03% fixed rate and receive floating. The irony is that while I work for a bank and can make that bet in size on my book, I want to do it for personal account and have no idea as to where/why the mechanics of how it would work. Would the account get marked to market/margin called? Is there a way I can buy that swap for straight cash (not sure how this would work, as how could a counterparty take on someone's personal credit risk?). Anyone out there have an idea?

Got any advice for trading Futures?

dragontail — Sat, 11 Oct 2008 12:05:57 -0800

MarketFilter: Got any advice for trading Futures? Help a newbie! I've entered the BP trading game. which is a virtual futures trading game for university students. According to their site, I'll be able to trade live futures prices for ICE Brent Futures and ICE Gasoil Futures over a period of a few weeks.

I've got some idea what to look for when trading stocks (PEs and other bits of fundamental analysis), but have never traded futures before. Have any of you guys got any advice?

Stocks and bonds and...silver or something?

sarelicar — Wed, 12 Mar 2008 23:36:52 -0800

What are some great, informative sites/forums related specifically to trading/investing in/selling metals? Apparently metal is where it's at now that the dollar is dropping. I know little to nothing about finance and trading, etc. - but my boyfriend does and he's getting into metals trading/futures/whatever you call it. He needs to bone up a bit on his knowledge of the particular subject, but I'd also like to support him by learning about the stuff myself. This whole question is probably worded incorrectly, so you should realize that I personally am a complete novice. I'd like to be able to talk to him about his work.

With that said; please, kind, brilliant, all-knowing Mefites, direct me to some quality entry-level info on the subject and also to some material that's more advanced (in other words, assuming the reader is in the industry) so I can support my wonderful man in his new endeavor. Thank you most kindly!

Very Specific Character's Job Title?

np312 — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 17:53:46 -0800

Help me ascertain the correct job title for a character I’m writing who deals in high stakes international finance. Difficulty level: I have a limited understanding about stocks, bonds, or securities. Hi there—now there are several plot points that can’t be changed that I must work around, so it would be a great help to find a job title/description for this character that fits the following constraints.

The character I’m writing needs to be a high-paid person in finances, the type who might get sent down to Argentina in the months immediately preceding the 2001 Corallito/2002 Bankruptcy in order to broker some sort of high-stakes financial deal involving a US firm (hers) and an Argentine company of some sort.

Here’s the most important part: she’s trying to get these Argentinean businessmen to come on board with her JP Morgan-ish company in some way (invest abroad? Partner up for some reason?) and they are all set to do so –until- the country’s fiscal crisis spirals out of control in the fall of 2001, and she loses the contract/client because of it.

Some job titles that seem to fit are Emerging Markets Bond Trader or Financial Analyst, but I’m still a bit unsure of what those jobs actually entail. So! Any ideas of what this character’s job is and what kind of financial deal is she could be responsible for in this particular situation?

Thank you for all help/ideas!

How can I become a trader?

smitt — Wed, 17 Jan 2007 14:01:02 -0800

I'm looking to become a trader in Canada, and need some ideas on how to go about it... I'm just finishing my final year in the Business Admin / Finance program at Sheridan College (www.sheridaninstitute.ca) and have already completed the first of two exams required for the Canadian Securities Course. I will be done the second exam at roughly the same time I finish my program at Sheridan.

And with the CSC, it will be fairly easy for me to secure a job with any number of Canadian banks in a retail branch location doing sales work.

But I want to become a trader in Toronto, and am not entirely sure what it'll take to go about it.

I realize this is a fairly vague question, but was hoping some of the MeFi-ites might have some relevant information they could pass down. Thanks alot!

Share your share knowledge, please!

timpollard — Mon, 07 Aug 2006 00:30:14 -0800

UKSharesFilter: Some of my relatives have had a small selection of the shares in an inherited portfolio disappear over time from their online tracker, so my question is what has happened to the following stocks: CHB.L; GAA.L; MFBUEUGI.L and MFBUTRU.L, and should they have received any notification, documents or even cheques, (and what can be done about finding out more)? (I should clarify that they still have the certificates and haven't sold, traded or otherwise physically disposed of them, it's the listing themselves that now come up as 'No Such Symbol' on the internet listing of the portfolio).

ETF Returns

spicynuts — Wed, 23 Nov 2005 07:52:14 -0800

When researching Indexed ETFs or Closed-End ETFs with the intention of buying, should I be looking at the fund's Yearly NAV Return or the Market Value Return as an indicator of success? Which number will tell me how much the fund has earned over the various periods displayed in the fund's charts? Which should I be paying more attention to, and if the answer is 'It depends on your goals' then what are the differing goals that each return number is germaine to? Also, any additional info on ETFs in general is appreciated.

Investing Online

adrober — Tue, 11 May 2004 22:39:53 -0800

I just graduated law school and have received a significant amount of money in graduation gifts. I'd like to "invest" the money in the market but I have no idea how to do that. I'd like to use online investment software that is very intuitive. Any suggestions?