If you list at least two of the books im reading this month i'll give you the "Best Answer"
So what are you guys reading?
2. The Stock Trader: How I Make a Living Trading Stocks by Tony Oz
3. The Nasdaq Trader's Toolkit by M. Rogan LaBier
4. The Master Swing Trader: Tools and Techniques to Profit from Outstanding Short-Term Trading Opportunities by Alan S. Farley
5. Tools and Tactics for the Master DayTrader: Battle-Tested Techniques for Day, Swing, and Position Traders by Oliver Velez
6. The Undergroundtrader.com Guide to Electronic Trading: Day Trading Techniques of a Master Guerrilla Trader by Jea Yu
7. Day Trading on the Edge: a Look-Before-You-Leap Guide to Extreme Investing by Leslie N. Masonson
8. The Guts and Glory of Day Trading: True Stories of Day Traders Who Made (or Lost) $1,000,000 by Mark Ingebretsen
I do not need investment advice, or research. I have these tools available to me through other means. Instead I simply need someone to execute trades on my behalf. Timing is moderately important but not critical (i.e., within 10-15 minutes, so I don't think it should be an issue). I'm really looking for execution, and minimal cost.
So far the best solution I've seen is Scottrade's online system. Any advice is appreciated – either regarding Scottrade (hidden fees?) or other options.
Thanks!
You may also want to try E-Signal and NinjaTrader.
If you have a lot of money and you want top-of-the-line software, then you might want to try Bloomberg, Reuters, Thomson, Moody's, etc.
I would recommend you do a lot of research before you get involved with real money. Do "pretend" investing while you study the Motley Fool site carefully. It is full of great ideas.
$3000 is too high a cost to pay to learn what's all free and available all over the net.
Go and download the "OPTIONS TOOLBOX" and play with it. Everything you need to know is there.
You can get this from http://www.cboe.com/LearnCenter/RCTools.aspx
Explore CBOE – Chicago Board Options Exchange, for wealth of free information on options. There you have links to other sites too – Options institute etc.
Buy the book – Options as a Strategic Investment by Lawrence G. McMillan, for lot less than $3000 ( think it's $50 at Amazon.com )
p.s.
Mr.DowJones assessment that Option trading is riskier cannot be more wrong. On $ for $ basis, with respect to Risk & Reward, stock trading is lot riskier than option trading. Options goal is to minimize risk and maximize reward. No such thing with stock trading
so how excatly does it work, is it as simple as buy it when its low, and say the share price triples, can u sell it for quick payoff when ever you please? or is it more complicated.
Start by reading the book Master the Trade by John Carter and then read Winning the Day trade game. Those'll give you a primer on which to build and will allow you to better ask your next round of questions. 
You can also visit sights like eSignal and Kwikop to see some of the charting tools/indicators there are out there that you'll be needing once you do get started.
Hope that helps!
Are the London Markets as fast on Level 2 and are there any extra obstacles such as minimum Day Trading account balances or maximum round trips per day?
I use Yahoo News and charts on the American markets as a secondary back up tool but on the London markets their service is sub standard. I also use Knobias for News feeds.
What tools are needed for Day trading success on the London markets.
Iearned today of a 0.5% Duty on all share purchases In London so that is one reason it is not as good, Any others?
Any info, advice or experiences are much appreciated.
You can visit http://stocksguide.checkouttoday.info for some useful tips and info related to your query. Good luck!
Your first dollars should be spent on getting educated on investing. You don't have to train to trade them professionally, but we are talking about your future here. So the more you learn, the more it'll help you! So let's start there.
You ask a very broad question, so be prepared for a pretty long answer. Just take it in chunks!
How to invest depends on what you already know. We'll assume that you're beginning since you say you want some books for beginners!
A good primer is How to Make Money in Stocks by William O'Neil. You can get it cheap just about anywhere. It’s widely available new or used.
Another good one is one of Jim Cramer's books (he’s got a few).
Once you finish those, read Mastering the Trade, by John Carter
But books will only get you so far. At some point, you'll also want to get at least a little training. There are some great education companies if you want to make the investment. Investools.com or optionetics.com are both very good companies as is tmitchell.com
For free, you can start by visiting thestreet.com and investopedia.com. That'll get you a pretty good primer so at least you'll understand what the markets are and what a stock is, etc.
If you get a chance, watch Mad Money on CNBC. Don't trade any of his picks until you track many of them over time. Just use the show to get you to understand some basics and get a feel for the market itself.
Next, subscribe to something like Investorsbusiness daily or something like that that can help you identify good stocks.
Once you understand stocks, go to 888options.com. It's a website that'll help you understand options (what they do, how they work, etc). You don't need to trade them, but the more you know, the more you'll see how options can really be the safest way to invest (once you're educated).
For discipline (which is crucial to successful trading), probably Trading in the Zone by Mark Douglas or Mastering the Trade by John Carter
I know that’s a LOT to absorb. Just take it one step at a time for now. Start with a book or two to give you an idea of where to begin. Take your time, and let it seep in.
As you get up to speed, you should papertrade to practice (highly recommended). This should help reduce your losses in the beginning as you get used to buying/selling.
You can practice for free on almost any reputable broker site (optionsxpress, scottrade, thinkorswim, etc).
Start slow, then as you figure things out, you can buy more shares.
Congrats again on getting started. If you have any questions, please let me know.
Hope this helps!
