Trading and market structure
Plain-English guides with worked examples: how to read financial statements, value a business, use technical indicators and manage risk. See the complete Financial knowledge series →
All 154Market basics 15Trading and market structure 16Reading financial statements 15Ratios and business quality 15Valuation 15Advanced valuation and methods 15Technical analysis 15Portfolio, risk and behaviour 15Economy, sectors and the calendar 22Commodities 2Forex 5Hedge funds 3Rates and macro 1
Trading and market structure8 min read
Bid-ask spread explained: bid, ask, spread and liquidity
Learn what the bid, the ask and the spread mean, how they measure a hidden trading cost, and why liquidity decides how easily you can enter...
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Trading and market structure5 min read
Market, limit and stop orders: choosing the right order type
Compare market, limit, stop and stop-limit orders, see what each one guarantees and risks, and learn how time-in-force settings change when...
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Trading and market structure4 min read
Pre-market and after-hours trading: hours, risks and quirks
See when US extended-hours trading happens, why prices can swing on thin volume, and why an after-hours move does not always carry into the...
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Trading and market structure5 min read
Trade settlement and T+1: what happens after you buy
Learn the difference between trade date and settlement date, how US stock settlement moved to T+1 in 2024, and what clearing does behind the...
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Trading and market structure5 min read
Short selling explained: how it works and where it goes wrong
Learn how selling borrowed shares works, why losses on a short can exceed the amount invested, and what short interest, borrow costs and squ...
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Trading and market structure4 min read
Margin and leverage: how borrowing amplifies gains and losses
Understand how margin accounts let you borrow to invest, how margin calls are triggered, and why leverage magnifies losses just as it magnif...
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Trading and market structure5 min read
Options basics: calls, puts and what a premium buys
Learn what call and put options are, how the premium is built from intrinsic and time value, and how to work out break-even and maximum loss...
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Trading and market structure5 min read
Futures contracts basics: what they are and who uses them
Learn what a futures contract is, how margin and daily settlement work, and why hedgers and speculators both use index and commodity futures...
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Trading and market structure4 min read
Bull and bear markets: definitions and what history shows
Learn how bull and bear markets are usually defined, how long and how deep past US bear markets have been, and why the label only becomes cl...
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Trading and market structure4 min read
Market corrections and crashes: how they differ and how they end
Learn how pullbacks, corrections, bear markets and crashes are defined, how recoveries have varied, and why a 50% loss needs a 100% gain to...
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Trading and market structure4 min read
Volatility and the VIX fear index
Learn what volatility measures, how the VIX turns S&P 500 option prices into an expected 30-day swing, and what it cannot tell you about mar...
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Trading and market structure5 min read
Market makers and high-frequency trading
Learn how market makers quote both sides of a stock, how high-frequency traders use speed, and what both mean for the prices and liquidity e...
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Trading and market structure5 min read
Dividends: declaration, ex-dividend, record and payment dates
Learn the four dividend dates, who actually receives a payment, why the stock price drops on the ex-dividend date, and how T+1 changed the c...
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Trading and market structure5 min read
Share buybacks explained: when they help owners and when they do not
Learn how share repurchases work, why they raise earnings per share, and how to tell a buyback that creates value from one that merely offse...
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Trading and market structure5 min read
Dual-class shares: voting control and what it means for investors
Learn how dual-class share structures separate voting power from ownership, why founders use them, and what to check in a proxy statement be...
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Trading and market structure21 min read
How to Read the COT Report: Commercials, Speculators and Net Positions
What the CFTC's weekly Commitments of Traders report shows, who the commercial, non-commercial and managed money groups are, how to calculat...
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Educational only, not financial advice.