A Primer on Stock Selection

Here are several steps to take for choosing a good stock.

- Has the company paid a dividend for years? Has the company increased dividends consistently for years?  Stocks that pay dividends tend to perform better.

- Read the company's 10Q and 10K reports for the last three years. These reports will give you an idea as to strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats the firm faces.  You gamble when you pick the winner.

- Has there been significant insider or institutional buying of the stock?  This could be a good sign.

- If the company sells necessities, you should be safer, especially if you buy during a recession or correction.  Companies that are "game changers" are more risky.  Read the news and 10k and 10q reports on the game changing companies.  Learn about the product for yourself. 

- When someone gives you a stock tip, a special report, or other pitch, one of the first things I'd do is research the competition.

You can find the answers to the questions posed above at Yahoo Finance, Seeking Alpha dot com, and at your brokerages web site.

This post gives you a good start.  But you can't stop learning.  Circumstances keep changing.
Happy trades to you, until we meet again. (LOL)