Best stock picks?

For a novice that is not yet able to trade with confidence but is eager to get some experience, can any of you recommend a well researched and relatively reliable source of stock picks that are likely to perform well over the coming days/weeks/months? I am in the process of reading books recommended on this site but want to try as I learn, so to speak.

I have checked out other threads on the topic and know trading is 100% my own responsibility etc. I just feel I would learn faster trading a little as I educate myself.

Open a demo account somewhere and learn to papertrade it yourself, don't base your trading on someone elses opinions.

No such thing exists IMHO. If someone could consistently predict stock movements why would they make them public rather than trade them themselves? IMHO again people that publish tips fall into one of these categories:

-- Wishful thinkers and/or newbies who want to believe a stock will rise for whatever reason and post on public boards. Long-term success = little if any.
-- Pump & dumpers who buy the stock, hype it up, and sell into whatever momentum they can generate. Long-term success = some for them perhaps, none for you.
-- Professional sharks who make a living publishing useless pay-for tips.
-- Institutional sharks who publish buy notes and make money on your volume.
-- Idiots, mischief-makers and ego-trippers compensating for their insecurity.

The thought that one could buy or get for free a "relatively reliable" source of tips that on balance is very likely to give you a net gain is a nice one, but do you think it exists? The market is full of hard-nosed bast4rds who know what they're doing and only want to take your money. They could tell you things worth hearing, but won't. It's also full of bumbling ignoramuses who can't tell you anything worth hearing, but do anyway.

The best thing I ever did was to find this site and spend a LONG time reading and digesting. Do that, then re-read, then throw much of it away, and re-read the good stuff (there's a fair bit). Then start work on your own stuff. You won't get quick tips to "try as you learn" but that may be for the best. IMHO again :-) Happy reading!

Blackcab

Thanks for this informative reply. Off the top of your head can you direct me to "the good stuff" on this site? If that's a bit of task then don't worry, I'll keep on reading myself.

Thanks again

Some good advice there Blackcab. I'm a novice too and just about to embark on my own adventure in the world of stocks and shares. For the past 3 months I've just been researching over the Internet and reading till my head hurts! There is a wealth of information out there and I feel like I have learnt so much on this fascinating topic. The more I read the more eager I am to get started. My next step is to devise a trading strategy and then start paper trading for a few months. If all goes well I will start the real thing!

Going by everything I've read, that approach already gives you a headstart over most other newbies (myself included!).

It depends on what you're looking to do, but read everything and you'll get some idea of who knows what they're talking about. Be skeptical of everything though :-)

Thanks Blackcab I've also been researching a few of the 'main' online brokers (TDW, Barclays, Squaregain, ETrade etc) and I have come to the conclusion that Barclays offers the best features for the price (for me anyway). The main attraction is their facility for placing trailing stop orders, which I dont believe the others offer. They also offer discounts on their rates the more frequently you trade.

I'd be interested to hear from others who have used Barclays Stockbrokers before to see how well they rate compared to the others.

Sorry to hijack the thread but hopefully its all relevant to the original thread

I've been trying to find a way to screen for stocks to day trade. I know there is no golden source of stock pick, but I'm just trying to find a way to identify volitile stocks. Preferably ones like RIM.TO that have large swings daily. I've been making nice money off a few stocks that I've found, but I'd like a way to screen for possibles.

Cheers