Brokers, info: where to start?

I'm a young student wanting to learn how to invest my money. I've been looking at online brokers and everybody has a different opinion. Which one is the best to use when starting out? With etrade would it be worth paying more per trade for live data? Can someone share with me the pros and cons of commsec, belldirect, etrade, cmc etc?

Also what information, books etc should I be looking at when starting out? I want to learn as much as possible and be successful. I just don't know where to put my foot in the door. I have 2000 dollars to play with at the moment...


Thanks...

I'm no-one special matey. But you know what I think.

Learn Forex.

bullhunter said:

I'm no-one special matey. But you know what I think.

Learn Forex.

Click to expand...

Originally that is what i was going to learn ironically. But the stock market appeals to me. Do you say forex simply because of the capital i have?

Thanks for your input.