Explanations

Stocks are pieces of a company that someone would buy intending to make a profit of some kind.  The stock value fluctuates based on the value of the corporation they are part of. If the company looses money, so does the stock and vice versa.  There are several different types of stocks as well as different ways stocks are traded and invested in.  A trade involves buying a stock with the intent to resale it sooner rather than later.  The opposite of a trade is an investment which would mean holding a stock for a longer period of time rather than a short period of time.  If a stock is bought as an investment, dividends are something mny investors look for in that particular stock.  A dividend is when a corporation offers it's stockholders a certain percentage of their income back per stock that that shareholder owns.  So if the dividend-yield were 2% the company would give a shareholder with 2 stocks, 2% of what was made on that stock during a particular time.When a stock is bought as a trade, the investor will often buy the stock on the assumption that there will soon be a catalyst that will shoot the price up which would allow the owner to sell at a higher price.