But if there are restrictions on the type of stocks you can buy or that you are actually buying stocks for yourself, then you probably want to buy shares of recognizable companies, IBM, GOOG, GIS, MO, GM, etc. You can find more stocks here http://www.american-ticker.com/
The difference is like playing Grand Theft Auto and actually doing those things in real life. And obviously, it's more fun to play :)
Well currently the market is not doing well which is quite understandable because the market did really well right now. My hot stock that I own is Cal Amp. Ticker is Camp. I would also consider investing in Amazon(amzn), google(goog), petro china oil(ptr), Whole foods(WFM), catepillar(Cat). I would also recommend watching mad money with jim cramer and reading about hot stocks. My best advice for you would to buy companies that have potential short term growth, have a P/E, have been gaining momentum, or have taken a recent hit but are poised to bounceback. Investopedia is a good app. Please report back your results and Good luck.
From what I read of your question, your "professor" is "misguided" when it comes to "investing".
He said you want to make sure they are doing good in 4 months.
Warren Buffett, the legendary investor, could care less about results in 4 months. Buffett is concerned about results in 4 decades.
Investing triples your money in a decade.
Gambling triples your money overnight (or 4 months)
If your grade involves picking stock winners in 4 months, you would be better off learning to handicap horse races or baseball games.
The "blue chips" (PG, WMT,AAPL) are likely to increase very little in 4 months. Only "penny stocks" can see a sizable gain (or total loss) in a relatively short period of time.
Here's some websites that will tell you what some of the professional think
MSN - http://money.msn.com/investing/stockscou...
Naveller - http://navelliergrowth.investorplace.com...
Stock Picker - http://www.stockpickr.com/
good luck
Stick with well known companies such as Proctor & Gamble, Walmart, Apple. Bank of America etc.
