are newbies allowed to invest?

[ghostcheck]

Hi,
are newbies allowed to invest before their newbie restrictions are lifted off?
I'm guessing the stock exchange has nothing to do with the forum. But in a way
everything about the companies are communicated here...

[julz]

You shouldn't really think of it as 'the stock exchange' - even though one particular company presently has the lion's share of trade.

So to answer your question, yes - you're completely free to buy and sell coins with any of the various Bitcoin exchanges.
Your choice will probably depend on what country you're in and what methods of transferring money in and out is most practical for you.

I believe this forum happens to be hosted by the team who runs MtGox - but isn't really connected.
(users are completely separate for example, and it's most likely on completely different machines)

[Stephen Gornick]

You shouldn't really think of it as 'the stock exchange' - even though one particular company presently has the lion's share of trade.

Since ghostcheck mentioned "companies" it is probably safe to assume the GLBSE market is what is being referred to.

Hopefully, ghostcheck, that you take the time to read up to understand exactly what those "companies" are.  None (or not most) are "companies" in any legal sense (i.e., not registered as a corporation or LLC).  That doesn't mean you can't make money through "investing" in some of those projects, but just be sure to understand that this "stock exchange" is not the same as ones you might already be familiar with.