11 Simple Tips for Stock Market Success

collected by :Haron Adler

according to In 2018, employees can contribute up to $18,500, or $24,500 if you're age 50 or older, to a 401(k) or 403(b) plan. If you can't contribute that much money immediately, see if your plan offers automatic escalation, a feature that increases your contribution rate every year. Automatically increasing your contribution rate can be easier on your budget and it can pay off handsomely. For example, a 30-year old earning $40,000 per year, who contributes 3% of income, and earns a 6% return annually, would wind up with a nest egg worth $133,721 at age 65. Increase that contribution rate to 10%, and that portfolio would be worth $445,734 at 65.

What Happened in the Stock Market Today -- The Motley Fool

As for individual stocks, Etsy (NASDAQ: ETSY) popped on strong sales and growing margins, while Zillow Group (NASDAQ: Z) (NASDAQ: ZG) tumbled after the company lowered its outlook and announced an acquisition. Etsy crafts strong sales momentumOnline marketplace Etsy reported strong sales gains in the second quarter and raised guidance for the year, causing shares to jump 3.3%. Revenue growth and improved margins led to a 118% increase in adjusted EBITDA to $27.7 million. The company's projection for revenue growth was raised a percentage point to 33% to 35%. Investors were pleased with results and an outlook for strong sales ahead.

The Stock Market Is Shrinking. That's a Problem for Everyone.

as informed in For a far larger assortment of smaller companies, though, profit is often out of reach. In 2015, for example, the top 200 companies by earnings accounted for all of the profits in the stock market, according to calculations by Kathleen Kahle, a professor of finance at the University of Arizona, and Professor Stulz. That's one of the main arguments for buying stock in the first place. Aside from the top 200 companies, the rest of the market, as a whole, is burning, not earning, money. ■ A quirk of accounting is at the root of some of that profit deficit, especially for smaller and younger companies.