Education
When to Open a Roth IRA? A Key Deadline Is in a Month

When to Open a Roth IRA? A Key Deadline Is in a Month

Roth IRAs help you avoid taxes, and a key deadline is exactly one month away. April 15 is tax day in the U.S. It's also the last chance to fund your Roth IRA for 2018. "IRA" stands for individual retirement account. There are two types: traditional and Roth....

S&P 500 Isn’t the Only Chart Hitting New Highs for 2019

S&P 500 Isn’t the Only Chart Hitting New Highs for 2019

Stock indexes, along with crude oil, just closed at their highest levels of the year. Is it the top, or the start of another rally as fear leaves the market? Let's review some of the key points with equities in the midst of their third straight winning month. One big...

Why Stocks Move: Business Transformation

Why Stocks Move: Business Transformation

This post is part of a series about the catalysts for stock movements. It’s based on a series of talks at TradeStation’s Master Class learning sessions.  Business changes over time, and companies need to keep up. This process creates...

These Tools Can Simplify Your Tax Reporting

These Tools Can Simplify Your Tax Reporting

Disclosure: This post is for educational purposes and should not be considered tax, legal or investment planning advice. Tax season is here, but traders have no fear! No longer must you rely solely on a pen and calculator to crunch your trading profits. Each year...

Comex Gold Futures: Contract of the Week

Comex Gold Futures: Contract of the Week

Gold's one of the world's oldest measures of value. It's also one of of the most actively traded commodities, thanks to CME's Comex Gold Futures. These contracts use the symbol root GC and track 100 troy ounces of gold. That means every point represents $100 of change...

Tax Experts Break Down ‘Big Year’ of Changes

Tax Experts Break Down ‘Big Year’ of Changes

Disclosure: This post is for educational purposes and should not be considered tax, legal or investment planning advice. Have you seen the new tax laws? Wish you had a map to navigate them? There are several new and revised 2018 tax forms based the Tax Cuts and Jobs...

Nasdaq-100 E-Minis: Contract of the Week

Nasdaq-100 E-Minis: Contract of the Week

The "Nasdaq." Few words better represent the most innovative parts of the economy. Did you know the entire Nasdaq market can be traded virtually any time with CME's Nasdaq-100 futures? Like CME's S&P 500 E-minis, Nasdaq futures are active from Sunday night through...

WTI Crude Oil: Futures Contract of the Week

WTI Crude Oil: Futures Contract of the Week

When people think about "commodities," few items spring to mind faster than crude oil. Let's consider a major way to trade it: Nymex WTI crude oil futures. These contracts track the oil most commonly produced in the U.S. and fluctuate with global energy markets....

You Have Less Than Two Months to Fund IRAs for 2018

You Have Less Than Two Months to Fund IRAs for 2018

Most people know tax day is less than two months away. But did you know it's also the deadline to fund an IRA? Individual retirement accounts are a special way to save. It's a little ironic the deadline is April 15 because their whole purpose is to save you money on...

S&P 500 E-Minis: The Biggest Show in Town

S&P 500 E-Minis: The Biggest Show in Town

You've probably heard of about "stock market futures," but do you really know what they are? Today let's start by looking at the most popular item in the market: CME's S&P 500 E-minis. These contracts track the most widely followed stock benchmark in the world....