i know this probably isn't the best place for this, but whatever

For fluffs and giggles, I decided to throw a chunk of change into the US Stock market and self trade. I invested in 3 major companies less than 4 weeks ago.

I have seen a +10.1% return in ~4 weeks.

I never really looked into the market before, and i invested kinda hunch like. aka i invested in seasonal companies.

My parents lost a fluff ton of money in the market in the early 2000s when the market crashed, so I'm really weary of it however, this small luck streak is giving me a itch.

all 3 were traded on the NYSE btw

Look for smaller companies in high growth potential situations. I helped someone else make a bunch of money on a company that sells American drugs to Chinese hospitals, for example. Buick is the fastest sales growth brand in China. Hyundai Motor Co. has an up arrow that seems to get bigger all the time (I know, those aren't small companies). Also, are you familiar with the difference between preferred and common stock?

funny

the 3 i invested in were

HOG
SMG
HMC


HOG is paying off like a motherfluffer right now


but like i said, i know little and invested in them because this time a year is when their retail sales usually jump like crazy

That's a good plan. Get out while the getting is good, and get into something now that has a peak season around June, then rotate again.

The difference between the stocks is that Preferred stocks get paid a dividend first, if any is declared. Many large, profitable companies (think Microsoft, Sony, etc) declare dividends every quarter, but only for preferred stock holders. So preferred stock is more like buying an annuity, whereas common stock is a voting share and is the more common "gambling" type of stock.

i trade on the english markets and certain months have higer returns than others due to earnings etc..and after so long it becomes sentiment. eg december in the last 20 years has seen growth 17/20 months. so people expect returns more buys more growth.

banks always rise in earnings season and fall after then rise again after towards the next earnings season.

if you see trends like this your a swing investor or a momentum investor. short term but longer than day trading.

anything longer do some good detailed reasearch
but two facts before we go furthur. in the first 6 months 80% of new people lose some money. however Stock markets have a favourable upwards trend. in the growth of the economy the stock market grows we see more years of growth than decline.

so using the above comments Buick is the fastest growth brand in china.
Why? whats their product? Its got growth in china but how much has it got in the usa? and what proportion of total buisness is each nation worth to it. and then look at other options
if buick is growing cause china likes american cars. why cant company A or company B do well.

Learn your investment style. anything longer than a couple days or weeks needs thought out reasearch before investment. And also look at technicial analysis on a chart is it up or down. How many times does it trade on earnings is this comparable to your peers in the same industry? lear/noten key dates for reporting updates as this can have big differences in share prices.

january is the best month for stocks from what I am told in my classes ;)