Futures contracts vs. stocks?

I am a beginner investor so if what I am about to say makes no sense correct me... In Curtis Faith's novel, "Way of the Turtle", he constantly refers to trading futures contracts, and mentions trading specific things like oil, cocoa, and grains. Is this the same thing as trading stocks? If not, will the system he outlines still work in the stock market?

Futures are not stocks and trade on separate exchanges.

A stock represents a partial ownership stake in a company. If the company does well, the value of the company overall will increase, which means the price of your individual share will increase.

A future is a contract to purchase or sell a quantity of a specific good (such as a commodity like oil or gold, or a stock) at a specified date in the future. The value of the future contract will fluctuate based on changes in supply and demand of the underlying good.

I'm not familiar with the novel you mention, but futures are still actively traded today.

you need to learn more do not throw money away ... You need to learn first. Start with stan weinsteins book. Secrets for profiting in bull and bear markets.

Tags

　　Small Business 　　Renting & Real Estate 　　Personal Finance 　　Investing 　　Insurance 　　Credit 　　Corporations

Related information

Who would Wall Street like to become the next president of the United States?

idk. but i'm hopeing 4 obama

...

Foreign investors are buying up the United States?

Foreign investment in The U.S.A. is the best thing that could possibly happen. Americans are buying stock in foreign companies, and they're buying stock in ours. Now it matters to us what happ...

Am I missing something on Maguire Preferred A or MPG-PA?

If they sellout the pref'd doesn't become whole unless the new company calls it in. There is much irrationality in income products right now ... and your assessment seems right on ......

I have an idea to improve products already on the market?

If your improvement is essentially making that product different, I think you might need a patent. Be careful about sharing your idea/insight with too many people. Be wary of the nay-sayers. ...

I am looking to benefit bussinesswise off of the Babyboom Generation- wht should I get into to accomplish ths?

Unfortunately for you & I, it isn't that the Boomers aren't WILLING to retire, it's that only about a quarter of them had the foresight to even think about saving to have enough ...

Is this a good time to buy DOM?

Why did you buy this stock in the first place? First and foremost you should never purchase a stock because of its dividends you should buy a stock because you expect its dollar value to increase o...

Time to buy losers?

That has been the trend in the past. I believe there have been studies of that effect by erudite college professors looking to make a name for themselves. Go ahead and see if it will work on C. ...

Can someone help me understand the stock market? all the tricks and trades...?

I鈥檇 et a book from the library, because My Grandpa taught me. But I was sooo confused! K the symbols you should look up, For example if you wanted to invest in Microsoft the symbol is 鈥淢SFT鈥? ...