Fingerinthehair12 Jul 2008 17:45
Look up the terms Nett profit and Gross profit on Wikipedia or a business terms site. Gross profit is not the one to pay that much attention to, Nett profit is, that tells whether the company can or cannot or is makeing money. Hardly any AIM companies pay a dividend, if you want that invest in Blue Chip stocks or Bonds.............Speculative Oil companys and Miners and researching Pharmas and some Computer companies invariably show losses, the gamble being that they'll discover something or patent a new technology etc. Be careful of companies who put big value on Goodwill sometimes put under Intangible Assets (refer to Wikipedia) on the accounts. This is an area where Shorters target overvalued companies. Good Luck and don't jump into any stock without researching it first, look at the trends, always buy at the bottom no matter what, don't be afraid, then hang on. The few times at bought at mid range on a share I've been burnt. Recent example Tanfield (TAN), just look at their graph and you'll see why.........Good luck, learn all you can and you'll make good decisions and don't believe all you read on these boards, but there are some whose advise is brilliant!