6 Great Subjects For Learning About The Stock Market

How should a beginner start learning about the stock market?

It goes without saying that any subject as large and potentially diverse as stock market investing could be studied from many different directions and with a large number of goals in mind. Yet despite that, there are some things that almost certainly should remain constant.

It might be worth pointing out early, that if you dislike reading, learning and soaking up new information, learning about the stock market and investment generally might not be for you. However, if you are still reading... 1. Understanding the day-to-day market news and moves is an absolute must do. The first place to start is with a great quality newspaper. Where you live and which market you plan to invest in will largely determine the newspaper which is most appropriate to you. However, some great papers with excellent international coverage include the Financial Times of London and the International Herald Tribune. The Wall Street Journal is another excellent and informative read.

2. There are many weekly magazines that specifically cover money, finance, stocks and investment. These will look at the annual reports and news releases of all quoted companies in a way that a daily newspaper cannot. In the UK, for example, is the Investors Chronicle - one of the longest running magazines in Britain and with excellent coverage of all stock and share related investments. Find one relative to your market and add it to your regular reading matter.

3. Much can be gleaned from studying history. Here, we are suggesting that some stock market history be studied. Even the great Warren Buffett suggests that every investor should learn about market history and what made things happen and why. Who can argue with that? Most of the history of any market will coincide with the movements of the business cycle which will link to the basic economic knowledge you'll need (discussed below).

4. The world of finance and investment has seen many great minds. Some of these stars are still operating in markets today, others have long since passed. Many of them have put their thoughts, experiences and strategies down on paper either to show us all how great they are / were or in the hope of book sales. Either way, shortening your own learning curve by studying their work will be very useful.

Some names to look for include, Warren Buffett, Benjamin Graham, Jesse Livermore, Peter Lynch, George soros, Jim Slater and more. A few works by or about these people will teach all new and most experienced investors a thing or two.

Learning about the stock market also requires some background knowledge in other related areas. You won't need to become an expert, but when you read about the thoughts and commentary of experts, it will be useful to be able to understand them.

5. Getting to grips with some basic economic terminology will be very useful. Most investors do not need to be economists, but understanding the business cycle and broad economic states won't hurt. Equally, should you plan to invest internationally, an understanding of how and why currencies move as they do will help.

6. Good investment is the study and selection of good businesses. That being the case, all businesses - good and bad - use accountancy to keep score. Again, you don't need to become an accountant to be successful at investment, but you will see lots of numbers. It will be important to understand what these numbers and ratios mean, what they relate to and their impact on an investment or stock price. Being able to understand some of an annual report will be a real advantage in the long run. Reading just one book about accountancy will probably be enough -

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