Can anyone explain stocks to me?

topic posted Fri, January 13, 2006 - 11:31 AM by  Omelette dat...
just like basic stuff...you buy a stock and then what...I am just curious b/c I understand very little about it. Thanks.
posted by:
Omelette dat slide
SF Bay Area
  • Re: Can anyone explain stocks to me?

    Fri, January 13, 2006 - 11:34 AM
    kuze should be a master at that.
    • Re: Can anyone explain stocks to me?

      Mon, January 16, 2006 - 9:08 AM
      yes i am the master of the universe, actually. kinda like He-Man, minus the short shorts

      what do you want to know specifically?
      • Re: Can anyone explain stocks to me?

        Mon, January 16, 2006 - 9:47 AM
        First - can you lose more money than you put up to buy in to a Co.'s stocks?
        • Re: Can anyone explain stocks to me?

          Mon, January 16, 2006 - 1:07 PM
          sure. if you short-sell a stock, your losses can be infinite.

          if you "buy long" aka, go to your nerd schwab broker, or online account and click "gimme 50 shares of GOOG beatch", then you can only lose the $ you invest, plus commission (if any), plus transaction fee.

          there are also tax implications, but you would actually get a tax benefit on a loss...
          • Re: Can anyone explain stocks to me?

            Mon, January 16, 2006 - 1:19 PM
            no short selling. Just bought a little stock which I may keep a long time...and wanted to see what the worst deal was...I aws thinking it could fall so low I lose what I put in but that is the extent of my risk...and that seems to be right.

            That was my pressing concern as it was really very little money - I just wanted tp see what this stock market was all about - but then after making said purchase (which I still have) I got the fear that I could lose more than my investment...which it seems you have put to rest.

            I have heard a bit about the short-sell stock and all that and I am not that much of a gambler...and not wise enough on the market in general to make that be anything more than a gamble for me.

            Thanks Kuze..