10 Websites For Online Stock Traders

CNNMoney.com provides up–to–the–second news on the stock market, technology, jobs and economy, personal finance and more. The site also has articles and commentary that discuss strategy and investing tips from the popular magazines “Fortune,” “Money,” “Business 2.0” and “FSB”.

CBS.MarketWatch.com has the latest news on market data, portfolios, mutual funds and personal finance. You can join a discussion and share information with other investors or look at the Tools and Research page for the statistics on any given stock.

Investopedia.com is a database built for investors. Here you will find articles, a dictionary, tutorials and even a stock trading simulator.

NYSE.com
This is the official website of the New York Stock Exchange—a comprehensive resource for investors and issuers looking for news and information.

AMEX.com
This is the official website of the American Stock Exchange with all of the current information and news.

NASDAQ.com
The official site for the National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations. Here you’ll find investor tools, news and more.

StandardandPoors.com
Standard & Poor’s is the world’s leading contributor of independent credit ratings, indices, risk evaluation, investment research, data and valuations.

StockCharts.com offers ShartCharts tools to create attractive financial charts, the Scan Engine instantly provides the market’s best investment opportunities and the Chart School is full of educational articles. Though some of this information is only accessible with a paid subscription, this is still a valuable source if you don’t have a subscription.

MoneyCentral.MSN.com
MSN’s MoneyCentral has articles and information on investing basics for the new investor and resources for the seasoned pro. Here, you’ll find current news, market reports and quotes. You can also watch business news clips from CNBC.

Forbes.com —“Home page for the world’s business leaders.” This is a vast library of up–to–date information. You can find anything from stock reports to information on travel to a guide to philanthropy.

Auto loans: What you need to know

Common financing missteps can cost you thousands on a new or used car. Here's how to get it right.

Few of us have the means to write a check for the full amount of a new - or even used - vehicle.
Unfortunately, car buyers, treating financing as an afterthought in the car buying transaction, can easily waste thousands of dollars.
Here are some tips on what to do and what to avoid.

Know your incentives

Web sites like Edmunds.com (which provides automotive data for CNN's Web sites) list available incentives in your area. Often there are low-interest, or even zero-percent, financing deals you might qualify for.
Don't assume you need perfect credit. Ford Motor Co. (Charts), for example, has recently opened up its zero-percent financing incentive to buyers with a few potholes in their credit history.

Don't go in empty-handed
Hybrid vehicles top fuel economy list

It's true that a car company's "captive finance arm," - for example, Ford Motor Credit or Toyota Motor Credit - will probably be able to offer you a better financing deal than an outside bank or credit union. After all, it's their job to help you buy one of their parent company's products.
But that's not automatic. It can't hurt to make them work a little for your business by researching the cheapest financing you can get before you go to the dealership. A credit union or an organization like AAA or USAA can sometimes offer you access to rates you couldn't get at a regular bank.
Companies like Capital One Auto Finance will even allow you to bring a check to the dealership without having to agree to take the loan. The loan doesn't start until you write the check, which can be up to a pre-approved amount. Until then, all you've done is arranged competitive financing. You can still take it or leave it.
Just don't forget that interest rates are negotiable. If you arrange financing at a car dealership, part of that interest goes to the dealership itself. The dealership's business manager also has an incentive to work with you to earn your business.

Don't get stretched

Before you go car shopping, you have to know how much car you can afford. That means you need to know how much of a down payment you can make, how much you're likely to get for your current car and how much your monthly payments will be.
It's tempting to just let the dealership work it all out for you.
In that scenario, you tell the salesman what kind of monthly payment you're looking for and show them your trade-in. They'll tell you whether you should stick with the entry-level model or if you can move up a step or two. And you'll probably be pleasantly surprised that you can drive a much nicer car than you thought for monthly payments that fit your budget. Yes, the loan stretches out for six years but... look at this car! Feel those seats. Listen to that big, strong V8. Come on, if you can afford it each month, who cares how long the loan is?
Well, obviously, another year or two of payments means thousands of extra dollars out of your pocket. It's just being removed more gently.
Then there's another problem you might find out about years later. The longer your car loan is, the longer you'll be "upside down" in your car payments. In other words, a longer loan extends the period during which you'll owe more on the car than the car is worth.
So figure out your payment situation and know what you can afford before you start shopping.

Do your own math

Once the deal's all figured out, there's one simple step a lot of people forget to take. Get out your pocket calculator and figure out how much that car is really costing you.
Just multiply your monthly payment by the number of payments you'll be making. Then add on your down payment and the value of your trade-in. If you were fortunate enough to qualify for zero-percent financing, there shouldn't be any surprises.
If you're paying interest, especially if you've taken out a long-term loan, you might be shocked by how much that car is costing you.
For example, a six year loan at 7.9 percent on a $35,000 car would cost you almost $10,000 more than the same vehicle if you were paying no interest, according to Edmunds.com.
Then you can decide if that car is really worth almost $45,000.

Peter Valdes-Dapena

5 serious taxpayer problems

National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson submits her annual report to Congress, criticizing the AMT, the tax gap, IRS use of private debt collectors and more.


The most serious problem facing taxpayers today is complexity, and no tax represents that complexity better than the Alternative Minimum Tax, according to National Taxpayer Advocate Nina Olson in her annual report submitted to Congress on Tuesday.
The National Taxpayer Advocate is appointed by the Treasury Secretary and is charged with representing taxpayer interests before the IRS and Congress.
Olson's report outlines for lawmakers what she considers to be 21 of the most serious taxpayer problems - not a conclusive list by any means, as she notes in her report.
Here are five that Olson details:

Alternative minimum tax

First imposed in 1969, the AMT was intended to ensure that the wealthy few paid their fair share of tax by preventing them from exercising too many loopholes, many of which have since been closed.
Today, because its income exemption levels were never adjusted for inflation and because it disallows key breaks allowed under the regular tax code, the AMT threatens to capture millions of primarily married couples with kids and incomes in the middle- to upper-incomes range.
Now, Olson writes, "the AMT is left to punish taxpayers for engaging in such 'classic tax avoidance behavior' as having children or living in a high-tax state."
To make matters worse, it's hard for taxpayers to figure out if they owe AMT, which imposes a higher bill than they would pay under the regular income tax code. And if they find out they do, they may also be subject to a penalty for failure to pay sufficient estimated tax if they didn't count on having to pay AMT.
"'Gotcha' taxation is not good for taxpayers or the tax system," Olson writes. She recommends that lawmakers repeal the AMT as it pertains to individuals.
Leading tax writers in the House and Senate have said they would make AMT a priority issue this year, but given the high cost of repeal - estimated in the neighborhood of $1 trillion over 10 years - repeal is a tall order.
More likely, but in no way guaranteed, are possible reforms to the AMT - such as indexing income exemption levels for inflation. (Here's a closer look at the AMT and whether you may be subject to it.)

Tax gap

Every year, $290 billion in federal taxes owed are not collected. The biggest reason for this "tax gap" is the under-reporting of income, but not all of it intentional. The IRS has noted that confusion over how to comply with complex tax laws also contributes to the gap.
"It is a problem for taxpayers because the average taxpayer is paying thousands of dollars in extra tax each year to subsidize noncompliance by others," Olson writes.
To close the gap, she recommends a number of things, including a move toward fundamental tax simplification, greater third-party information reporting, and better IRS compliance efforts that respect taxpayer rights.

Costs and benefits of private debt collection

Olson has come out strongly against the IRS's recently instituted practice of farming out some of its past-tax-owed debt collection cases to private agencies.
The initiative was intended to be cost-effective, but Olson writes that the IRS has acknowledged it can deal with delinquent accounts more efficiently than private companies, and the Taxpayer Advocate Service has found a high number of complex cases assigned to private companies, instead of the less complex ones which they were originally intended to get.
"The IRS has a nearly $2 billion collection budget with thousands of collection employees. In contrast, (private collection agencies) PCAs at this stage of the initiative are using 75 employees to collect on these accounts , and the IRS is using 65 employees to monitor them," Olson writes.
What's more, she says, the Taxpayer Advocate Service has observed "poor customer service to multilingual taxpayers, (private collection agencies') operational plans being withheld from public disclosure, and PCA collection scripts through which PCA employees attempt to manipulate taxpayers."
Her recommendation to lawmakers: Repeal the IRS's authority to use private debt collectors.
In a six-page response to Olson's charges on private debt collection printed in the report, the IRS noted that two of the three private companies it uses have bilingual staff and the third is in the process of arranging assistance for non-English callers.
In general, the agency said, "Given the backlog of IRS receivables and our limited collection resources, [this] initiative allows the IRS to ensure that more delinquent taxpayers are personally assisted in meeting their obligations. ... [A]nd we will continue to make program decisions to protect the privacy and security of taxpayers while collecting outstanding government debt."

Transparency of the IRS

The IRS needs to do a better job of disclosing to the public its updates to procedures and IRS guidance, and the agency needs to make sure its employees as well as taxpayers and practitioners are aware of what is most current, Olson contends.
"Transparency in tax administration is essential to assure taxpayers that the tax laws are being administered fairly," she writes.
The IRS, in a written response to Olson's critiques, said it is "committed to improving the way it manages instructions to staff. We acknowledge we have experienced growing pains as we have moved towards electronic creation and delivery of the plethora of instructions to staff we produce."

Early intervention in IRS collection cases

Not dealing with delinquent accounts early enough "contributes to long-term financial problems for many taxpayers and costs the government billions of dollars in lost revenue," Olson writes.
And cases are left pending even when taxpayers have tried to settle their debts through installment agreements or offers in compromise, she notes.
Olson recommends that the IRS improve the way it prioritizes cases, initiate more personal contact with taxpayers and become more flexible in the way it provides realistic payment options for taxpayers who owe back taxes.
In its written response to Olson's critiques, the IRS said it agrees that early intervention is important, noted that it is analyzing the rates at which cases are deemed "currently not collectible," and stressed that "all of our processes are designed to reduce personal burden by directing taxpayers to the right treatment at the fastest possible time."

Jeanne Sahadi

An experienced investor is confident in his diversified stock portfolio

Get your bond fix - the easy way
An experienced investor is confident in his diversified stock portfolio - but where do bonds fit in?

NEW YORK (Money) -- Question: As aggressive savers and investors, my wife and I, who are 50 and 48 respectively, have accumulated a significant diversified portfolio of stocks. What we lack are bonds, and I have zero experience in this area. I put some money in a bond fund a few years ago, and it went down immediately. My wife and I are positioned to retire in five to 10 years, so I know we need some bonds to protect us in the event of a market meltdown. But I'm feeling intellectually paralyzed. Help! - Anthony S., Honolulu, Hawaii

Answer: I understand perfectly. When you were younger, so much younger than today, you never needed anybody's help in any way. But now those days are gone and you're not so self-assured. Now you find you've changed your mind, you've opened up the door.

Oops, sorry. That final plaintive plea at the end of your question hurled me into a Sixties time warp and suddenly I couldn't get the Beatles' "Help!" lyrics out of my mind. Not to worry, though. I'm happy to help you get your feet back on the ground - and your portfolio in shape for your looming retirement.

First of all, you should know you're hardly alone when it comes to being mystified by the workings of bonds. In many ways, the bond world is like looking through a Glass Onion where what we think of as economic reality gets distorted.

For example, most of us hate to see the economy go into recession. But the bond crowd, as the saying goes, likes a recession and loves a depression. That's because interest rates tend to fall in a stagnant economy. And since interest rates and bond prices are like two ends of a see-saw, falling interest rates mean rising bond prices - and rejoicing among bond investors (as long as companies and governments keep making those semi-annual coupon payments).

And then there are all those arcane terms: calls, premiums, discounts, coupon, zero-coupon, maturity, duration...it's enough to make you Cry Baby Cry.

Well, relax. There are plenty of ways to get the benefits you need from bonds without having to become a bond expert. That said, learning about how bonds work and what some of the lingo means never hurts. So before you do anything, I suggest you take a look at our MONEY 101 lesson on Investing In Bonds. You might also want to check out a bond site that, appropriately enough, is also called Investing In Bonds. Run by The Bond Market Association, the site has a lot of good tutorials and articles about bonds and plenty of data for people who want to get into the nitty-gritty of bond investing.

But let's Get Back to some specific Help! for you.

How much in bonds

Basically, between now and retirement you want to transition to a less volatile portfolio by dialing back the percentage of equities in your portfolio and increasing the amount in bonds. There's no specific figure for how much ought to be in bonds vs. stocks. But as a general rule, I'd say that by age 60 or so, you probably want somewhere between 40 and 50 percent of your portfolio in bonds.

As you age, you can then continue to increase your bond exposure, so that by age 70 your bonds represent 50 to 60 percent of your portfolio and by age 80 maybe 30 to 40 percent.

These are general guidelines. The figure that's right for you will depend on how much risk you're willing to take, what other sorts of resources you have (Social Security, other pensions, income from an annuity, etc.) and how much money you have (if you're really loaded and a short-term setback in the market won't seriously affect how much money you can draw from investments, then you can afford to be more aggressive, if you wish).

But the two most important things to remember are: first, you don't want to go into retirement with too aggressive a portfolio; and second, while there's a place for bonds in your portfolio leading up to and even after retirement, you still want to keep some of your savings in stocks in order to provide some growth to maintain the purchasing power of your portfolio.

Which bonds to buy

Okay, so what should you buy to get whatever amount of bond exposure you feel is right for you?

You could go with individual bonds, but generally that's a hassle and can be expensive unless you're investing, say, $50,000 or more. The exception is Treasury bonds, which you can buy directly from the U.S. Treasury, but even there I'm not sure it's worth the effort for most people, especially if you want to reinvest your bond interest payments.

So for most people I think mutual funds are the investment of choice for bonds. With funds, you could put together a portfolio of your own combining funds with short- or intermediate-term maturities that invest in government or high-quality corporate bonds and maybe even some high-yield bond funds.

But the easiest way to go - and a way I think makes good investment sense - is just to go with a total bond market index fund. You get virtually the entire investment-quality bond market in a single fund. And since you're buying an index fund, the annual expenses are extremely low, which is always a plus but particularly so for bond funds since higher expenses exert a bigger drag on bonds' generally moderate returns.

(For recommendations of specific funds you might consider, see the bond funds in the MONEY 65.

You don't have to pull off this move into bonds all at once. In fact, you're better off making the transition over several years. You can start by putting any new investment dollars into bonds. If it appears this approach isn't going to give you enough bond exposure by the time you're ready to retire, you can always start selling some of your stock funds and plow the proceeds into bonds. You can do this as part of the process of annually rebalancing your portfolio.

To the extent you can, try to confine these moves to tax-deferred accounts like 401(k)s and IRAs so the Taxman doesn't siphon off any profit on the sales. But if you must sell stocks or stock funds in taxable accounts, then look for opportunities to mitigate the tax bite by selling shares that will trigger losses or only small gains.

If you do all this over the next five to 10 years, I've Got A Feeling things will Come Together quite nicely and, financially at least, you'll be Free as a Bird in retirement.

Walter Updegrave

Look beyond the biggest stocks in the biggest markets

Time to see the world in a new way
International mutual funds can do a lot for you, but it's easy to head off in the wrong direction. Hint: Look beyond the biggest stocks in the biggest markets.

Until recently.

Nearly $130 billion has poured into overseas stock funds this year, more than five times the amount invested in U.S. equity offerings. A lot of that is just performance chasing, since foreign stocks have trounced domestic ones over the past three years thanks to faster overseas growth and a falling dollar.

But chances are you need to invest even more in foreign markets, and it wouldn't hurt to be a little more adventurous about it too.

Just as American tourists tend to flock to the familiar big names such as London, Paris and Tokyo, U.S. investors are sending almost all of their money to those markets as well. That's no way to really see the world - and it's no way to invest in it either.
Increase your stake

As recently as five years ago, many investment advisers recommended stashing just 10 percent to 20 percent of your stock portfolio in international funds. Most of us don't come close to that small amount. In a recent survey, for example, Fidelity found that two out of three of its 401(k) plan investors did not hold a single overseas equity fund.

That shortfall is especially worrisome today, when pros recommend putting 25 percent to 35 percent of your equity portfolio in foreign stocks. "The U.S. accounts for only half of the world's market capitalization," points out Anthony Ogorek, a financial adviser in Williamsville, N.Y. "And overseas economies are growing faster than in the U.S., so that's where the best returns can be found."

Foreign funds also give you a way to hedge against the U.S. dollar, since they hold companies that earn returns in overseas currencies. When the dollar is weak, as it has been lately, you get a boost when those returns are converted into U.S. greenbacks. The reverse is true when the dollar strengthens.

Look beyond large-caps

There is no question that large-cap overseas funds make great core holdings. By owning shares of huge multinational companies, these funds are a relatively safe way to play overseas markets, which is why they have become a staple of 401(k) plans. But if you stash your entire overseas allocation in large-caps, you won't get the full benefits of international diversification.

"In today's globalized economy, the financial markets of developed countries have become more closely tied than before," says Yale finance professor William Goetzmann. "So the stocks of big companies tend to perform in the same way, no matter where they're headquartered."

A U.S. money center bank such as J.P. Morgan Chase, for example, isn't all that different from Germany's Deutsche Bank. Both operate overseas, and they have similar reactions to global economic moves.

Moreover, if you restrict your international investing to large-cap funds, you will miss out on large swaths of the world's markets, as well as some of the best returns. That's because these funds invest the bulk of their assets in a few developed countries while holding little or nothing in emerging markets.

Get off the beaten path...

One way you can diversify beyond foreign large-caps, suggests William Rocco, a senior analyst at Morningstar, is to invest in a small-cap and midcap foreign-stock fund. These offerings mainly buy shares of companies with stock market values of $8 billion or less that trade in developed countries, although many invest a small stake in emerging markets as well.

Just as with U.S. small stocks, foreign small fry tend to grow faster than their large-cap siblings.

And because small companies typically get most of their sales locally, they are more closely tied to their country's economic growth than to global markets. That provides you with greater diversification.

Small-cap foreign funds are more risky than foreign blue chips, however, so put no more than 5 percent to 10 percent of your stock portfolio in one.

A top choice: T. Rowe Price International Discovery (PRIDX (Charts), which is on our Money 65 list of recommended funds. Recently the fund's top stakes included $2.5 billion Soitec, a French producer of silicon chips, and Financial Technologies, a $2 billion Indian developer of trading software.

...Or go even further

If you're the adventurous type, consider a diversified emerging markets fund, which holds the stocks of companies in developing countries. With these funds you have the potential for bigger returns - and bigger losses. It's not unusual for emerging markets to plunge by as much as 20% in a month, as they did earlier this year, before rebounding.

Invest no more than 5 percent of your equity portfolio in these funds. On our Money 65 list, we recommend SSgA Emerging Markets (SSEMX (Charts), as well as Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock (VEIEX (Charts), an index fund that is also available as an exchange-traded fund (VWO (Charts).

Once you have arrived at an asset mix that suits your goals, it's important to keep your expectations in check. Since overseas equity funds have had a tremendous run, chances are their returns will cool down, but no one can really say when. So be prepared to hang on.

And remember, experienced world travelers are ready to cope with any change in the climate.

By Penelope Wang, Money Magazine senior writer

Building a business

This family has aggressive financial goals but a conservative mix of stocks and bonds. Their goal: retire from their corporate jobs in a decade.

NEW YORK (Money Magazine) - When Doug van Almelo's job as an airplane mechanic was transferred from Los Angeles to Indianapolis after Sept. 11, he and his wife Carole saw it as a chance to start over.

"With the high cost of living and the fast pace, it was hard to set aside money and time," says Carole, who runs her own Web design company.

Thanks to lower housing costs in the Midwest, the couple were able to use the proceeds from the sale of two homes in California to pay off all their debts and seed a $300,000 portfolio.

Determined to build up their investments even faster, they drastically cut their living expenses, hoping to save half of their six-figure salaries. Their plans hit another bump, however, when Doug was laid off in 2003.

Then, after working as a contractor for a year, he was called back to his old job - in Los Angeles. Now, Doug, 49, commutes home every three weeks for a two-day stay.

In two years, Carole and sons Alex, 15, and Nicholas, 11, will join him on the West Coast. "It's difficult, but we look at this as an opportunity to really save for all of our futures," says Doug.

Still, the van Almelos are eager to leave the corporate world behind and strike out on their own. Within 10 years, Doug wants to retire from his airline job. At that point, he and Carole, 48, hope to buy a small business or farm and work together in a second career.

Where they are now

Despite the fluctuations in their income over the past few years, the van Almelos have managed to build their total portfolio to $400,000, which includes $100,000 in 529 plans for the boys.

The rest of the money is spread among IRAs, 401(k)s and taxable accounts, with 35 percent in bonds, 39 percent in large-cap stocks and 20 percent in international equities. They also have $20,000 invested in a handful of individual stocks, including Google and Apple.

When they return to L.A., the van Almelos figure they'll buy a small condo, which should keep their housing costs roughly in line with what they are in Indiana.

Though he no longer gets a pension from his airline, Doug is socking away 20 percent of his pay in the company's 401(k), and Carole maxes out her Roth IRA. Luckily, Carole's parents have offered to help pay for the boys' school expenses, so they no longer need to add much to the 529s.

Carole and Doug have weathered several financial storms the past few years and have recovered admirably, says Indianapolis financial planner Walt Koon. But starting a new business at 60 is ambitious, especially considering that neither has a pension, Carole works for herself and Doug is in a volatile industry.

What they should do

The van Almelos' best shot at hitting their goal, Koon says, is to save as much as possible outside their retirement plans before they leave their traditional jobs - and to be far more aggressive in their investment strategy.

Right now about a third of the van Almelos' money is in Dodge & Cox Income (DODIX (Charts), a long-term bond fund. "A bond fund is for capital preservation. But at their age, they still need growth," says Koon, who recommends that they reduce bonds to just 9 percent of their portfolio.

He'd also like Carole and Doug to sell their individual stocks and pare back their stake in large-cap funds from 39 percent to 35 percent.

They should use some of that money to boost their stake in international stocks as well as mid- and small-cap domestic equity funds, which are more volatile than large-caps but historically have higher returns.

They can keep a lid on costs by selecting Money 70 index funds such as Vanguard Small-Cap (NAESX (Charts) and iShares MSCI EAFE (EFA (Charts).

"When it's crunch time, we've always been able to save money," says Doug. "I think we can stretch a bit more to fund our goals."

By Donna Rosato, Money Magazine staff writer