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mikey answers:

Whoa… Some other answerer chose China as a safe place, and I’ve got to disagree with that. China is ruled by laws, but property rights are a new concept there – particularly for foreigners – particularly those w/o billions of dollars and ties to the Chinese government. My advice: be careful in China. (good news is, as a foreigner, you can’t even buy on the Shanghai exchange)

My opinion: The US, UK, Canada are good. Then at a very slightly small step down: Australia, NZ, Western European countries… And Japan. Then: South Africa, Brazil (Argentina used to be here). Then: Peru, China, India. Then:Russia, middle eastern countries.

It’s important to know a little about geopolitics for stuff like this, because some places have a history of screwing investors (and their populations at the same time), and some, based on current policies, may not have a history, but have a risk.

mikey answers:

Good companies – companies that have made enough of a profit to be able to not only pay a dividend but to increase that dividend each year for the past 25+ years.
See www.dividendsvalue.com/analysis/stock-ideas/ or dividendinvestor.com for a list.
Bad companies – any company in which you don’t understand their future prospects, what they do or how they make their money.

mikey answers:

Congratulations on getting started. It’ll help you more than you know!

Your first dollars should be spent on getting educated on investing. You don’t have to train to trade them professionally, but we are talking about your future here. So the more you learn, the more it’ll help you! So let’s start there.

You ask a very broad question, so be prepared for a pretty long answer. Just take it in chunks!

How to invest depends on what you already know. We’ll assume that you’re beginning since you say you’re a newbie!

A good primer is How to Make Money in Stocks by William O’Neil. You can get it cheap just about anywhere. It’s widely available new or used.

Another good one is one of Jim Cramer’s books (he’s got a few).

But books will only get you so far. At some point, you’ll also want to get at least a little training. There are some great education companies if you want to make the investment. Investools.com or optionetics.com are both very good companies as is tmitchell.com

For free, you can start by visiting thestreet.com and investopedia.com. That’ll get you a pretty good primer so at least you’ll understand what the markets are and what a stock is, etc.

If you get a chance, watch Mad Money on CNBC. Don’t trade any of his picks until you track many of them over time. Just use the show to get you to understand some basics and get a feel for the market itself.

Next, subscribe to something like Investorsbusiness daily or something like that that can help you identify good stocks.

Once you understand stocks, go to 888options.com. It’s a website that’ll help you understand options (what they do, how they work, etc). You don’t need to trade them, but the more you know, the more you’ll see how options can really be the safest way to invest (once you’re educated).

For discipline (which is crucial to successful trading), probably Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas or Mastering the Trade by John Carter

I know that’s a LOT to absorb. Just take it one step at a time for now. Start with a book or two to give you an idea of where to begin. Take your time, and let it seep in.

As you get up to speed, you should papertrade to practice (highly recommended). This should help reduce your losses in the beginning as you get used to buying/selling.

You can practice for free on almost any reputable broker site (optionsxpress, scottrade, thinkorswim, etc).

Start slow, then as you figure things out, you can buy more shares.

Congrats again on getting started. If you have any questions, please let me know.

Hope this helps!

mikey answers:

….just go to yahoo/finance….. Where you see a box marked ” quotes”…you enter the symbol of the company you bought stock in… If you don’t know the symbol…use the ” symbol look- up ” function.
If you are looking for companies or stocks ..just for the project…try BEXP ( Brigham Exploration Co )…. Doing very nicely lately…….. Or see if you can invest in ETF’s like UYM..( materials )…or EDC ( emerging markets )……they are ‘ leveraged” meaning they gain two or three times the daily percentage that the sector they are invested in..(.good for fake investing !!!)

mikey answers:

AIM shares are legit,they have to adhere to strict rules laid down by the FSA,i think your problem is just impatience but you should always look long term – invest – and if your oil/gas shares have great potential then stop worrying about what this or that book said because it will only do your head in,,one last thing – if you keep buying and selling just because one of them has had a bad day well that’s the fastest way to lose your money,HOLD….