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Concerned investors are, shall we say, paying close attention to 2008 scenarios and the domino effect the home mortgage mess may have on stocks, toppling real estate, gold and the economy in general.

Sweating bullets may be more like it. Many in-the-know investors are now sweating bullets about what 2008 holds.

And rightfully so. The order of magnitude of the housing-ignited financial crisis-and its potential to widen and deepen-is far greater than the typical TV news-watching man and woman in America ever suspects. If they suspect anything at all.

So what could happen? How bad could it get? Are we in for a mere shake? Or a severe shake and bake?

Or could it, as with countless "paper dangers" in the past, somehow pass us by?

Ever see one of those domino-toppling exhibitions? Someone pushes a domino over, just one mind you, and it leads to a fascinating chain reaction that eventually topples each and every domino in the complex design. Well, if we can get away with comparing our complicated economy to one of those neat designs, here's one domino effect that (as plausible as it may turn out to be) we hope never happens.

The Trigger Domino

Could consumer spending be the trigger domino, the one that knocks all the others over? Yes, and for good reason. American consumer spending is the engine that drives the world economy. Our enthusiastic buying of cheap imports keeps China happy, and our tanking up with ridiculously high priced gas keeps Saudi sheiks in silk.

Which may, surprisingly enough, be a very good thing since both nations (plus other Gulf States), have nearly $3 trillion in cash reserves and are, needless to say, pretty disgruntled over the direction those dollars have been heading these last few years. Threats have even been made of the nuclear option, of China and the Middle East dumping their dollars in favor of the euro and a basket of other currencies.

So far, the great antidote for that nuclear option has been the American consumer-as long as Americans are eagerly spending, China and Saudi don't seem particularly trigger-happy. They show little interest in burying the very people who are buying their stuff.

But if that spending grinds to a halt, all bets are off.

The Fed's Hail Mary Pass

So...what is the 2008 outlook for the American consumer? Here's the one-word answer: Housing. With housing in historic trouble, America's home-based "ATMs" are effectively shut down. There will be no more borrowing against the formerly lofty appraised values of our homes, not when, in some areas in Florida for example, houses are already selling for half their 2005 values.

This is serious business. The president of Wells Fargo, John Stumpf, certainly didn't mince any words: "We have not seen a nationwide decline in housing like this since the Great Depression." Stumpf is by no means a lone voice in the wilderness. "I've never seen the market as bad as this. And it could get worse," said veteran Wall Street analyst, Ivy Zelman. Similar dire quotes could fill up this article.

The Fed's answer to this cataclysm in the making is arguably its answer for everything else these days: cut and print. Cut rates and print more dollars. The thinking here is that cut and print will lead to even weaker dollars, subsequently cheaper looking stocks to foreigners and-the Fed earnestly hopes-an eventual rising stock market. And that would include the average Joe's and Jill's 401ks.

Will this Hail Mary pass work? Will stocks go up and, even with housing crashing all around us, will we be encouraged enough to keep spending until the crisis is effectively over?

Question: Do most Hail Mary passes work?

The Dreaded Domino Effect

Okay, just so we cover the bases here, let's look at, worst case, what could happen in 2008.

In the third quarter 2007, foreclosures rose to their highest level since the Mortgage Bankers Association began keeping records back in 1972. Just as ominously, homeowners behind in their payments rose to a 21-year high. That frightening trend continues well into 2008.

With so many people either losing their homes or working at second or third jobs at McDonald's just to make their payments, buying the latest big screen HDTV not only isn't a priority, it isn't even a consideration. Neither is a new dining room set, fishing boat, next-generation computer or digital sound system. These are all discretionary purchases, luxuries hard-pressed folks can do without.

Consumer spending tanks.

The Fed keeps up with its cut and print strategy but, like drugs given to an addict, it seems to have less and less effect on the markets. Maybe that's because a credit crunch is now going on-nobody's borrowing and nobody's lending-not to mention the fact that banks are in terrible shape. Some estimates put their coming sub-prime losses at up to half a trillion dollars. Some estimates put it even higher than that. It's hard to throw a party for the latest rate cut when the house is burning down.

As hoped for by the Fed, with the dollar setting record lows virtually every week, foreign money is now moving into America's "cheap" stocks. But it's not happening fast enough and, burdened by negative consumer sentiment, the market isn't rising high enough. People aren't exactly thrilled over their meager 401ks.

Meanwhile, China and the Gulf States are now getting hit with a double whammy: their $2.7 trillion in cash reserves is losing value almost by the minute, thanks to the Fed's excessive rate cutting, AND their revenue from American consumer spending is plummeting.

Frighteningly enough, the nuclear option is now back on the table.

What happens if China and Saudi play that option? That's another story for another day. Suffice it to say, with a floundering economy and a decimated dollar, people are desperately searching for another means of savings and exchange. Something universally accepted by both sellers and buyers, that, unlike paper money, has never, ever been worth nothing, no matter what banks or governments throughout history have tried to do.

Gold.

By that time, an ounce of the shiny stuff could be worth well over $1,000. Maybe even over $2,000 or more. Who knows? What you should know, whether the domino's topple like this admittedly dark scenario or there's just the chance that this could happen to you, your family, your stocks or your home, is that gold still serves as both the ultimate money and the ultimate diversification... particularly if your portfolio only contains, well, paper.

You cannot trade or invest in stocks unless you open an account with a stock broker. Since investing in stocks has been much facilitated by the advent of computers and internet, you can easily register your account online with any stock brokerage firm.
Before you open an account, you must find out the minimum amount you have to deposit with your broker irrespective of the type of account you opt for from the website of your brokerage firm. Each broker has his own minimum account limit, which may range from $500 to $10,000.

The guiding principle before accepting the minimum amount deposit should be your budget and also the facilities and services that the brokerage offers for a particular level of minimum amount deposit. A comparison-shopping in this respect would prove highly beneficial in long term trading. While it may be true that the less minimum deposit you pay, the less you get in form of services as well, there are some brokerage firms that deliver much more value than the minimum deposit they demand.

A good brokerage firm may demand a minimum deposit for example $ 2,500 but may deliver much more value in terms of lower commissions, as low as $1.50 to $ 3.00 per equity trade, free dividend reinvestment plans and a large number of free trades spread over a long time. They may not even charge you any thing if your account becomes inactive for some time. If you are beginner in stock investing, these benefits can prove to be of immense value in form of risk free investments and savings.

The next step is to choose an account. You can choose an:

1.Individual Account

2.Joint Account

1.Individual Account

As the name suggests, an individual account is an investment account that is opened for one person. You must have reached the age of majority, i.e., you should be 18 years old or above in your state of residence. The age of majority entitles you to full legal rights as an adult. Besides, you must also be a US citizen or a resident alien with a valid social security number. A resident alien is a person who is a non-US citizen but legally resides in the US and also pays the taxes.

2. Joint Account

A joint account is an investment account that is opened for two or more people with the proviso that both people who open accounts should have reached the age of majority in their state of residence. Joint account can either be set up as Joint Tenants with Rights of Survivorship-JTWROS- --or as Joint Tenants in Common-JTIC.

Opening both kinds of accounts is an easy process. It takes about five minutes to open an account on line. All you need to do is to select the account type you want to open and fill in your personal information.

You also have to read and confirm the subscriber agreements, which include the 'account agreement', 'customer acknowledgment of risk' and 'day trading risk disclosure statement'.

Besides these you are also required to comply with the exchange rules. So you have to read, understand and comply with both the New York Stock Exchange and the New York Stock Exchange data subscriber agreements. You should read the agreement as you scroll it down to the bottom. Read both the sections of the agreement and check both the boxes before you move on.

The next step is to choose your user ID and password. You also have to provide your email id for correspondence. You also need to select one of the four secret questions and provide answer to them. This information is needed to assist you to get your password in case you forget about it.

You have also to provide your personal information including your name, date of birth, residential address, marital status, employment, number of dependents, phone numbers, mother's maiden name, social security number and country of citizenship. You have also to provide your financial information including your employer's name, annual income, net worth and liquid net worth.

The answer to these and a few other simple questions completes the account opening process and you are ready to start investing in stocks and shares immediately thereafter.

We constantly hear the stress on going green and developing alternative sources of energy not only for conserving energy but also for fighting global warming. Galloping world prices have also been responsible for increasing attention on finding renewable sources of energy.

As petrol prices have risen remarkably with expectations of further growth, non-economical renewable resources are expected to become economical. Hitherto many of them could not be developed because of prohibitive costs.

Solar energy is one of the most prominent alternative sources of energy. Many countries have been toying with the idea of its development. Unfortunately its share in overall energy sector is a measly 0.1 percent. According to statistics, solar power has recorded a growth of 22 per cent during the last 10 years, with 35 per cent having been recorded during the last 5 years alone. However, it must be remembered that we are talking about a small base on which these growth rates are calculated.

Prominent Solar Stocks

With the spectacular growth of solar energy, there have been rising expectations, reflecting extremely high valuations of solar stocks. First Solar has been having a valuation of more than 182. Everyone seems to be catching up for a share of solar companies. Most prominent solar companies which found favor with a large number of investors are:

• First Solar (FSLR)
• SunPower Corporation (STP)
• Suntech Power Holding Ltd. (LTP)
• JA Solar (JASO)
• Solar Enertech Corp (SOEN(
• Nano Solar
• Miasole
• China Sunergy (CSUN)
• LDK Solar (LDK)
• Solarfun (SOLF)

In addition to the above there are a large number of smaller players which are still under the development stage. Most of these are young companies. Take the case of First Solar. Even this company started only in Nov 2006.

On The Thresholds of High Tech Bubble

To many critics, investing in solar stocks is just like investing in high tech stocks towards the end of the last century only to burst. To them there is much hype associated with these stocks. The main reason for this impression is that it is extremely difficult to develop economical and viable solar energy. Costs associated with these are extremely high and therefore, it is very difficult to be profitable.

This is also confirmed with the behavior of equity prices. With all time highs, most of these stocks fell by as much as 50 per cent at one time. These are extremely volatile and may not be suitable for majority of investors.

It is also opined that there are many other high growth companies in which investors can put their incomes. There is no need to risk one's money in these risky stocks.

Many solar stocks like Solarfun and First Solar rose several fold during 2007 alone. Because of the greed involved in stock markets, many investors tend to get attracted and ultimately lose their money.

Most of these companies are china based. We may not be sure of the final valuations of their businesses.

The Bright Side

However, all is not gloomy with solar stocks. Solar companies have billions of long term contacts, they have bright guidance, they are backed by their national governments and in some countries there is plenty of sunshine available, ready for exploitation.

Venture capitalists are pouring in huge amounts of money in this energy sub sector. Who knows some solar stocks may turn out to be gold mines.

Recommendation

Investment in solar companies seems to be very risky, though lucrative. Investors in these should pay attention to their PEO ratios. Another lucrative option can be solar ETFs. Moreover some companies like GE are spending heavily in solar power though as a fraction of their total investments. It might be advisable to invest in these companies instead for the sake of safety.

Stocks and shares, during pre-recession, attracted many investors and the Indian sensex exhibited figures above the 20,000 mark. The price of stocks and shares rose and investors trading in the stock share market reaped rich dividends. Though they incurred losses in a day, on another day they gained profits; the mixed bag of profits and losses saw the profit side weighing more in the weighing balance. But the recession and post recession times saw the stock share market dwindling with the Indian sensex displaying a poor figure. However, the story is not the same and things are improving though at a snail's pace. Investors who panicked are now seeing rays of hope in the stock market share horizon.

Big capital is not always the base for investing in stocks shares. You can start as a small investor if you have less funds. There are many examples of investors growing step by step as small investors in stocks and shares and later emerging as big players. There are also many who face losses at every stock shares investment, forcing him/her to leave the stock share market altogether. To gain profits, you should be familiar with the share market basics and get updated on every aspect related to stock share market including Indian sensex. You should also be acquainted with the process of trading in stocks shares. Thorough research of the market prior to investing does help you earn profits while minimizing your losses. Another factor that is important is finding out companies in the market that have a rich market legacy. Price of the stock as well as the quantity of shares obtainable for shares trading hold equal significance. This is not always possible until you become a member with an online brokerage portal or read about the stock market every now and then. If you are wholly into stock market trading, then you can give your full time and commitment. But if you are already engaged in some other assignments or job and investing in stocks and share is a part time venture, you should register yourself in a brokerage platform. You will then get market updates and everything you subscribe in your mailbox or in your cell phone via sms. Even if you don't register yourself in any of these online sites, you can still view market fluctuations or of the Indian sensex, Nifty and more by just browsing through the pages. To invest in the stock share market, you need to hold a trading account or a demat account with funds in it. The funds will be automatically utilized once you buy a share, and after you sell it, the profits will be credited automatically too. Your complete trading will be handled by a stock broker.

It is easy to apply for a demat account online. It requires submission of few documents like identification proof, photograph, PAN card, etc. and filling of the details. Once you become an account holder, you can start trading in the stock share market.

There are lots of free information about investing in the Internet will be found if you know where to look. To save time, try to visit Shareslink.com search engines, which has links to many useful investing sites.

Investment Education: Decide your investment

There are many different approaches to investing and none of them are guaranteed to be successful. Decision on a fundamental analysis approach, such as value investing, or a technical conceptdetermine the kind of research you need to undertake.

Stock screeners

If you do not have a particular stock in mind try using stock screeners to kick start your journey. Stock screeners are interactive online tools that are used to filter out stocks that meet your selected criteria. Some screeners use technical analysis parameters, filtering stocks based on their price action in relation to moving averages, volume, momentum or other technical indicators. Free Custom has Screener often have a variety of filters based on fundamental criteria such as price / earnings, price to book and leverage.

Virtual Trading

Virtual online trading is the next evolution of the trade on paper. Tracking your virtual trades is a fun and harmless way to test your investment strategies, especially if they focus on short-term capital gains.

Insider Trading

Insider trading mayconducted both legally and illegally. For legal insider directors and executives to give their actions to buy or sell shares of their company to the stock exchange they are listed with. This public knowledge can be very useful. Insider selling a business can be a bearish sign while insider buying can sign a bullish about.

Institutional Ownership

Institutional ownership of a business can also be very useful. Investment funds are institutional investorsand their decisions come from their own research teams. Assuming their jobs are on the line they are motivated to try their best to make good investment decisions. A recent increase in institutional ownership of a particular stock may reflect this research or some other information that may not be well known and this could be considered a bullish sign. Unfortunately a decrease in institutional ownership of a stock you own may mean that there is already a fall in that stock's price. Please note the nature of the institutional ownership - especially with the subprime shake-eye - as some funds to the individual exposed to mortgage-backed or junk bonds are dire times and may have to sell assets.

Broker Recommendations

There are many people skeptical analyst or broker recommendations but there is no harm in finding in the recommended stocks and then do your own research.

Company Research

Ifyou arm yourself with some fundamental knowledge you can investigate a company's future possibilities through their annual reports and company announcements. Company research links are available under the analysis link of Shareslink.com

Economic data

Interest rates, inflation, employment & wages figures, sentiment surveys & other economic data can impact on different company sectors positively or negatively.