Wednesday 16 July 2014

Short-term vs. Long-term stock investment

Summary:
There are many persons that run towards stock investment as a means to make some quick money. This is perhaps however not the best investment option for persons with short term rewards in mind.

Article Body:
There are many persons that run towards stock investment as a means to make some quick money. This is perhaps however not the best investment option for persons with short term rewards in mind. The best option when thinking of investing in stocks is if you are interested in accumulating funds over a long period of time. One such example is the investment for future needs such as a nest egg for retirement and so on.

In stock investment both short term and long term investments come with risks attached and therefore nothing is truly guaranteed in the stock market. Today could be very good and tomorrow very bad resulting in great gains or great losses as the case may be. However, in terms of long term investment, it is shown according to statistics that there are no 20 year portfolios that have lost on the stock market. The average returns have averaged about 10 percent and these accounts all have a broadly diversified portfolio of stocks.

In the short term the market is very risky. The market will go up and then go down so if you are only thinking of investing for a short period then this is not the best option. If you are nearing retirement age and now beginning to invest in stocks this is not a good option. The best option in these cases as a protection against inflation, rather than stocks, is to invest in stable investments such as bonds and other cash instruments. This offers more security than stocks in the short term.

So how long is considered short term? Many persons are under the misconception that short term means less than a year but this is in fact not so. In terms of stocks short term is considered to be five years or less and some persons will recommend more years rather than the minimum of five years. A good rule is that if you are going to need your funds in the next five years then stay away from stock investment. Another point to note is that unless you are an active trader then short term investments make no sense. If the funds being used are for retirement investment then being an active trader is also not recommended.

The average down time for some markets is a year but this has been seen to last much longer a well so though for a long term investor this downtime may seen to be a lifetime it will pass but if you are a short term investor you will lose a lot depending on the market fluctuations. Stock investment will offer many great opportunities but can be devastating for a short term investor. If you know that the funds you are investing will be required for use in a short time then choose investment options that are more secure and protected. It is true that you may get lucky and make a fortune but it is also true that the risks are high and that you can lose everything.


Sensex - Stock Market Simulation

Summary:
Why play the stockt market game.NASDAQ, Dow Jones, BSE & NSE; Do they ring any bell? They surely must have. Not every one knows what the color of money is, but what people do know is they want to feel more money and see more money.

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NASDAQ, Dow Jones, BSE & NSE; Do they ring any bell? They surely must have. Not every one knows what the color of money is, but what people do know is they want to feel more money and see more money.

Another well known fact is that the ever increasing number of the average human being would never want to jeopardize his money, which for him, is the sole means of existence. In the end, it is the human craving for more that makes him succumb to his urge and makes him take a plunge.

The only thing that makes the average investor lose out, is his inexperience. The Raging Bull lures many new people into its arena, but little do they realize what's in store for them. The market trends are tough to gauge. No one can ever be sure how high or low will stocks leap! Everything on earth has a risk involved, so does this market. We can't live with it but we can work around it.

Imagine a scenario where you as an amateur investor decide to take a dip. Based on a few tips from a few places, you make your pick. The possibility is that you might hit the nail, or may be you might get nailed. Every player who is a benchmark, be it a game, trade, business (depends on whatever you cal it) has had some level of practice and has learnt things the hard way. People have lost a lot of hope, money and many other things trying to figure out the market. They had to do it the hard way because they didn't have a place to hone their skills. A place where they could learn tricks of the trade, where they could make an investment without the fear of losing anything and at the same time, learn a lot more than the others.

But the question still remains! Would there be such a place. Is it one of those wonderland parties that people always think about and never find? Well!! Not this time. This time round all you investors are in for a good time. It fills me with pride to present to you the game of your lifetime. The SenSex Simulation!! This game is an assortment of all that I have gathered over the years.                                            

The Game is a complete replication of the stock markets with live feeds for the values of stocks. Registered members get to play around with money in their account, using which they can purchase and sell off stocks. The game would also give you your daily stats. These would include your portfolio, the value of your stocks, and whether you have gained or lost out, relative to the market. The SenSex Simulation provides you with a platform to stand out of the ring and get a look and feel of the rumble.

“By the time you know the rules, you're too old to play the game!” It's never too late to start learning. Life is a vicious circle. Someone, who does not stop learning, never stops growing.

It's Time to tame the BULL!!


Seasonal Trading Strategy for Stock Funds and US Federal Employee TSP 401k Retirement Accounts

Summary:
Of course we know past performance does not guarantee future results but there is something here that makes this investor think that just maybe there is something more to the story this time.

Article Body:
“Sell in May and Stay Away” Words to live and invest by?  I don’t know who coined the phrase but I did a bit of research and yes this strategy would have worked out for you is you had implemented it over the life of the TSP retirement account.   Of course we know past performance does not guarantee future results but there is something here that makes this investor think that just maybe there is something more to the story this time.

There are five funds available in the Thrift Savings Plan.

The C Fund is based on the S&P 500
The F Fund is designed to match the bonds in the Lehman Brothers U.S. Aggregate (LBA) index.
The G Fund invests in short-term U.S. treasuries
The S Fund follows the Wilshire 4500 index
The I Fund follows the EAFE index

From its inception in 1988 through the end of 2005 the C Fund (based on the S&P 500) has averaged 12.61556% per year.  In the months October through May it averaged12.87611%.   From June through September it averaged -0.26056%.   For the same 18 year period, the F Fund averaged 3.356111% for the four months June through September.   Had you sold all of your stock C Fund on May 31 and moved all your money into the F Fund and then moved all of your money from the F Fund back to the C Fund on September 30th, you would have realized a 3.616667% per year increase in your rate of return over 18 years.  Let me repeat this, a 3.616667% annual increase based on only two trades per year.

From 2001 through 2005 the C Fund (based on the S&P 500) annual average was only 2.22%.  Its average gain October through May was 9.24% while it’s June through September average was an appalling 7.02% loss.  Utilizing the same strategy as above, our average rate of return would have jumped from an anemic 2.22% to a healthy 11.38%.  That is an amazing increase of over 9% based on just two trades per year.

Since its inception in 2001 the S Fund (based on the Wilshire 4500 index) has averaged 9.314% and the I Fund (based on the EAFE index) averaged 6.56%.   They show the same pattern of gains October through May, with gains of 14.05% for the S Fund and 10.368% for the I Fund annually during those eight months. They also continue the S Fund pattern of losses Jun through September, a 4.736% loss for the S Fund and 3.808% loss for the I Fund.  Using the same strategy of eight months in the S and I funds and four months in the F Funds, you would have realized additional gains of 6.336% for the S Fund and 5.378% for the I fund brining your rate of return to 15.65% for an S+F strategy and 11.938% for an I+F strategy.  

What do you think about this?  Join the TSPcenter forum and let me know.  My gut tells me we are in for a bad summer.  Of course that could be a result of the pepperoni pizza I just ate.


An Introduction To CFD Trading (Part 1)

Summary:
Want to know all about successful CFD trading? It's easier than you think once you understand the keys to how CFD trading works. This article provides all the tricks and tips you need to know to make it happen.


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Here's a really simple yet useful tutorial on CFD trading that will get you up and running very quickly if you're new to CFD trading.

By the time you finish this article, you'll know how CFDs work, what makes them highly profitable, and understand the costs involved in CFD trading.

CFD stands for Contracts For Difference, which is a derivative product, where you profit from changes in the prices of stocks and shares.

For example, if you buy a CFD on a stock that's $5.00 and the price rises to $5.50, then you profit from that change in price. So if you bought 1000 CFDs, then your profit is $500. That is, the value of the CFDs mirror the underlying stock prices, and you can profit on this movement.

The reasons why CFDs are a very popular trading product, and understandably so, are:

1. CFDs are traded on leverage, and this leverage is typically 10 to 1, with some CFD brokers providing 20 to 1 leverage. This means that a trader with a small float can make decent profits from trading the stock market by using CFDs. For example, you may have a stock trading system that makes a 30% return per annum. On a $5000 float, this is $1500 profit in one year. With CFDs, because of the leverage, the same system can now produce a 300% return, which is $15 000 profit in one year.

2. You can just as easily short sell CFDs as well, and therefore profit from falling markets. This greatly increases the profitability of a trading system because trading opportunities increase dramatically, and the fact that you can profit from both bull and bear markets.

3. The costs in CFD trading are relatively low when compared to stocks. This is especially so, since for a similar and often smaller cost per trade, you can gain 10 or greater times the results from a trade due to the leverage available. The 2 main costs in CFD trading are interest and leverage. We'll come to these in a moment.

4. You can set automatic stop losses. This means that it will take you less time to trade, remove the emotion from exiting a trade when you should, and allow you to exit as the stop is hit, not a day later. You therefore avoid the slippage due to getting out of a trade later than when you intended.

5. You can place all your orders in the evenings. With many CFD providers, you can place orders to enter a position the night before. For people who are working, this is a great advantage as they can do all their trading (place their orders to enter and their stop losses) in the evenings, and not need to be at the computer screen or call their broker during the day. Also, if they have any stop losses that need adjusting, they can do so in the evenings as well. Their trading routine with a mechanical system can be about 10-15 minutes per day.

So these are the advantages of CFDs that have made trading accessible to so many people because they provide large returns for a modest float, and can also be traded once a day as well.

Now, we mentioned that there are 2 main costs in CFD trading. Let's have a closer look now at each of them:

1. Commission. With some CFD providers, there is in fact no commission. This also greatly increases the profitability of your CFD trading systems, as well as the fact that you can benefit hugely from the leverage. With other CFD providers, there may be a commission of say 0.15% of the trade size or $15, whichever is greater, each way. These costs are similar or less than the commission associated with stock trading, especially when you consider that the multiplied profits that the leverage gives you.

2. With CFDs, there's interest charged for long positions that are held overnight. For short positions, the interest is paid to you. The amount of interest charged is usually a reference rate plus approximately 2%, and the interest paid is usually the same reference rate minus approximately 2%. And the reference rate is usually a major bank's overnight interest rate.

For example, the interest rate charged for overnight held long positions may be 7.5% or 0.075 per annum. To calculate how much this is for a trade, we need to make it "pro rata". That is, we'd need to divide the 0.075 by 365, multiply it buy the number of days in trade, then multiply it by the trade size. For example, for a trade size of $10 000, held for 14 days, the interest cost is about $28. Not a huge cost. For a short trade, the interest is paid to you, so will offset the cost rather than contribute to it.

So there you have it.

You now understand the benefits of trading CFDs and why they're a trading instrument that allows people with a modest float to make very decent returns, as well as understand the costs involved with trading CFDs.

To learn more about CFD trading, watch out for part 2 of this article.

If you'd like to learn more now about CFD trading, go to this page with a comprehensive <a href="http://www.thecfdtrader.com/cfd-trading-tutorial.php" target="_blank">tutorial on CFD trading</a>


An Overview Of The Stock Market

Summary:
When you are interested in investing in the stock market one of the first things you will need is a reliable and affordable stockbroker

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When you are interested in investing in the stock market one of the first things you will need is a reliable and affordable stockbroker. At one point in time, a stockbroker was seen as a very high priced person that was extremely hard to understand. In today’s world, stockbrokers have become much different, they have begun to make their services cheaper to obtain and in such a way that is easier to understand. This is an extremely wonderful change for the simple reason that you will not be able to trade in any way, shape, or form without a stockbroker.

One of the major rules within the stock market is that no person is allowed to trade within the stock market unless they are a certified stockbroker. A stockbroker, within the United Kingdom twelve million investor’s trade in the stock market, performs every trade that occurs and each one has enlisted the services of a stockbroker.

So you are probably now wondering, what exactly can a stockbroker do for me? There is a wide range of abilities and services that any stockbroker can offer you, at the same time there are also various ranges of fees that will be collected from them. Typically, a stockbroker will charge a commission, a set fee, or some combination of the two. In regards to the services a stockbroker can offer you, there are three basic levels that include only execution, portfolio management, and advice.

When a stockbroker only deals with the selling and buying of particular shares, per the instructions you give them, this is generally called execution only or in softer terms dealing only. With this type of service, they do not offer you any type of advice on any action you want perform. Typically, investors that are experienced or novice in investing will use this type of service. Execution only is cheaper and extremely efficient the fees the stockbroker charges can range anywhere between £20 to hundreds of pounds, this will depend on the specific stockbroker you choose.

Portfolio management is extremely detailed and the most expensive type of service performed and dealing with advice is typically a little more expensive than execution only, because the stockbroker will offer advice and views on what is happening within the stock market. The stockbroker at this level of service will also take the time to explain anything you may not understand very well.

Within the portfolio management service, you can separate these into two other categories these are advisory and discretionary. When under the advisory category, the stockbroker will create a proposal of a portfolio for you; however, he or she will not take any action without express permission from you. Within the discretionary category, your stockbroker will completely run all aspects of your portfolio and will give you reports as needs on how the portfolio is working.


An Inside Look At Cameco’s Smith Ranch Uranium Facility

Summary:
Cameco Corp (NYSE: CCJ) is the 800-pound gorilla of the uranium sector. Cameco is to uranium what Wal-Mart is to retailing, and what Saudi Aramco is to petroleum. On a percentage basis, Cameco dominates its sector more so than either of the two. Cameco probably has more clout in turning off the electricity now powering your computer than any other company in the world.

This week, the spot price of uranium rose to $40/pound, for the first time since Ronald Reagan was presi...

Article Body:
Cameco Corp (NYSE: CCJ) is the 800-pound gorilla of the uranium sector. Cameco is to uranium what Wal-Mart is to retailing, and what Saudi Aramco is to petroleum. On a percentage basis, Cameco dominates its sector more so than either of the two. Cameco probably has more clout in turning off the electricity now powering your computer than any other company in the world.

This week, the spot price of uranium rose to $40/pound, for the first time since Ronald Reagan was president. That should help grow the uranium business in Wyoming by leaps and bounds. In Part 5, we look at the largest U.S. uranium producer, Cameco-owned Power Resources.

Understanding ‘In Situ Leach’ Uranium Extraction

“It took $284 million Canadian to build, and it operated with 546 people,” said Patrick Drummond, Plant Superintendent for Cameco subsidiary Power Resources’ Smith Ranch facility. He was pointing to Kerr McGee’s Smith Ranch underground mine on the wall across from desk, which was later converted into an ISL operation, first run by Rio Algom. “This operation cost US$44 million to build and 80 people to start.” Drummond was referring to the In Situ Leaching (ISL) uranium extraction facility, known as Smith Ranch. “That should give you the scale of the ISL versus an underground mine,” he explained.

The aging, but sprightly, Drummond knows his uranium. He’s worked in underground mines, open pit mines, and uranium mills since 1980. From 1996 to the present day, he’s worked in Wyoming for Power Resources at the company’s ISL uranium extraction facility. “I started off in the coal mines in Scotland,” boasted Drummond, who claims he can spot a coal miner in a bar, just by looking at the veins in his hands. “I worked up in Elliot Lake and the massive underground mines up there.” Clasping his hands and looking down, he seemed to apologize, “It’s also a massive environmental problem to clean up, a major undertaking. Quirk Lake was one of the bigger mines up there. It cost a lot of money to clean it up.”

The New Face of Wyoming’s Uranium Mining is the ISL uranium extraction method, also known as solution mining. The differences between mining uranium underground and an ISL operation are both minor and vast. Both methods mine uranium beneath the surface. So both methods are underground mining. However, that is where the similarities end. “With underground, you bring up the ore, grate it, crush it, and extract the uranium from the ore,” Drummond explained the basics of underground uranium mining. “That ore becomes waste, which is known as tailings. You then have to service these big tailings and then decommission.”

ISL is the new breed of mining. “With ISL, we don’t do that,” continued Drummond in his day-long lecture to our editorial team during a VIP tour of the Smith Ranch facility. “To mine underground with ISL, you drill the holes where the uranium is and extract the uranium from the underground ore,” he said. “Then, you process that into yellowcake.”

It’s not all wine and roses for Drummond, though. He pines away for his underground mines, “From a mining perspective, it’s not mining so it is not as exciting. Drummond laughs, “ISL is like a water treatment plant. We take water out and remove some ions.” He makes it sound so simple, “We remove the water from the underground and remove the ions, being the uranium ion. Then, we put the water back under the ground.” All of the water goes back into the ground? Actually no. Drummond explained, “We take our water out and we put 99 percent back in. The one percent we call ‘bleed.’ It’s a control function.”

Drummond cites more comparables, “To start an underground mine, it would take a year to do the shaft before you could start mining. Then, there’s the development cost of the mill complex. You have all that outlay of cost before you can get any benefit. It’s expensive to do underground -- $200 million plus – because of the upfront development costs.” From his perspective, the miner in Drummond has come to like solution mining. “ISL is easier. It is a lot cheaper: less expensive capital costs and less operating expenditures. It is less labor intensive.” Asked about the deadly radon emissions, often cited as a danger in underground mining, Drummond shot back, “This is a zero emission facility.”

Analyzing the two methods, he said, “You can start producing faster with an ISL operation. You start your first header house, and you can start producing and make money.” He added, “So you get a return on your investment faster.” What’s the downside? “We also recover less uranium with ISL,” Drummond admitted. “Some of Cameco’s mines in Saskatchewan are running around 5, 10, 15, and 27 percent uranium. In this area, or in an ISL, it runs less than one or two percent. It’s very low.” Plus the uranium ore body must be found below the water table. He added, “You can only do ISL in rock that’s porous and has water in it in the first place.”

To put it in the simplest terms, billions of years ago, the uranium found its way into the underground aquifers of Wyoming’s sandstones. “We add oxygen and get the uranium back into solution,” Drummond remarked. “We complex it with CO2 to keep it in solution, and then bring it to the surface. We extract it with an ion exchange base.” According to Drummond, extracting uranium works on the same principle as a water softener. “We add salts to the resin to get the uranium to back off from the resin. Then, we take that uranium and make it into a final product called yellow cake.”

And why it is called yellowcake? “Some of it is yellow; some of it is green or dark green. Some of it is black,” Drummond patiently explained. “The color is a function of how we dry it, not how we process it. There is a very definite correlation between drying temperatures of yellow cake and color.” It all depends on what chemicals you use while processing uranium. At Smith Ranch, we make uranium peroxide. It is very clean and yellow. We complex uranium with hydrogen peroxide to make our product. You can make different types of yellowcake. You can make a uranium diuranate, a complex made with ammonia.” Yellowcake can be made with other chemicals.

How is Wyoming’s ISL uranium dried? “We dry the uranium with vacuum dryers,” said Drummond. “The benefit of vacuum dryers is first of all, it’s a vacuum so everything is sucked inside the canister so nothing escapes into the environment. There are no gases that escape.”

Investigating the Environmental Issues

It was, at this point, we felt it appropriate to inquire about all the puzzling worries many of us might correlate when thinking about nuclear energy and uranium. How safe is all of this really? “When we first started uranium mining, we inherited people from the gold mines,” Drummond explained. “They were underground, and smoking, breathing in the dust. In the early days, we didn’t have good ventilation. In underground mining, you’ve got to keep the air moving.” Hard rock underground mining produces dust. “The shards of silicone you are breathing stick to the follicles on your lungs,” he noted. But that doesn’t happen during the ISL extraction process. No emissions, a farm of well fields with underground pipes and tubing, and very detailed safeguards explain they the lobby wall of Power Resources is lined with Safety Award certificates and plaques.

“On a daily basis, when we leave the facility, we are scanned for alpha radiation,” continued Drummond. “Depending upon your position here, you get urinalysis once per week or once per month. We also check for radiation levels.” How did Drummond fare on his most recent radiation check? “I was way below,” he laughed. “There are guys on the beach in Malibu that have higher radiations than I have.”

What precautions does Power Resources take to protect the environment during the ISL extraction process? “Since 1996, we have had zero excursions,” Drummond announced with steeliness in his voice. “We take very great pains to look at the topography, so if we do have an excursion, we make sure it does not enter what we call the ‘waters of the state.’ Any channel that could take that and move it into the ‘waters of the state,’ is something that we are very cognizant of.”

After the holes are drilled into the well fields, a company does a ‘baseline sample.’ Drummond said, “That’s a sample of the constituents in the water. When we mobilize the uranium, we mobilize other items. It is our duty here, after we start the well field, to return the aquifer back to baseline when we are done.” He added, “If we know what’s in the water before we start, then we know how to restore it to background.” Restoration of the underground tampering with Mother Nature can take anywhere from 18 to 36 months.

The company is meticulous in restoring the landscape as well. Any restoration work on the surface is called “reclamation.” That can involve farming. “When we start a well field, we have to, by license, remove the topsoil and store it somewhere,” Drummond explained. “When we go back to reclaim the property, we take all the pipes out, we take the houses down, and cut our wells off. It’s all identified. We put an ID marker on the well. In 50 years time, when Farmer Joe comes around and wonders what was there, the state can say, ‘That was a uranium well.’ From the time we’ve stopped mining, we put everything back to normal.”

It takes from two to four months, or up to seven years, to exhaust a well field, depending upon the roll fronts. While it can take up to 24 months to put in a well field, reclamation and restoration take longer. “We put back the topsoil on, depending upon the weather, as soon as we can,” said Drummond. “We re-seed, during the spring or the fall, which is the best time for seeds. The seed we use is dictated by the regulators so we use a certain amount of native vegetation.” Because it’s very dry at the Smith Ranch, nearly bordering on desert, and because it is also very windy, slapping down the topsoil won’t last very long. “First, we plant some fast-growing oats to establish a root bed,” he explained. “If we just planted grasses, it would all blow away. Because we plant the oats, we have fat antelope and fat deer.” From our observations, the sheep were well-fed and frisky.

How does Wyoming ISL mining compare to other places, such as in Texas or in Kazakhstan? “In Wyoming, the water is pristine, very clean, even compared to Texas, where they do ISL,” answered Drummond. “The water’s pretty clean down there also.” Is the uranium the same? “When we bring our uranium to the surface, it comes up as uranyl dicarbonate,” he responded. “In Texas, it comes up as uranyl tricarbonate.” What’s the difference? It’s in the processing of the uranium. “We get about 8.5 pounds of pounds of uranium per cubic foot of resin,” he explained. “In Texas, they get about 3 to 4 pounds of uranium per cubic foot of resin.”

Drummond described the Smith Ranch ion exchange operation, “We have two columns in the ion exchange, each with about 500 cubic feet of resin.” The resin costs about $200/cubic foot and, barring mechanical damage, can last up to thirty years, according to Drummond. The polymer beads – they look like tiny plastic ball bearings – capture the uranium during the processing phase. “In Kazakhstan, you get about two to three pounds of uranium per cubic foot of resin,” he continued. “They use hydrochloric acid because of the water conditions. Of course, you’ve changed the chemistry of the water and have all the acid to clean up.” Drummond described the water in Kazakhstan as very brackish, and yellowish. “The TDS (total dissolved solids) is very high,” he added. “The water’s not fit for human consumption anyways.” He laughed, “Using acid over there cleans their water up.”


An Industry Blueprint To Stocks And Shares

Summary:
In this day and age, a lot of things have changed from how they used to be, which can be new and exciting for most.

Because of the large size of the stock market, beginner investors appear to feel overwhelmed as to where to even activate investing their money. To most people, the stock market presents a messy web of options but does not reveal the highway map of clarity to guide their way along way in their investment adventure. The key to investing in the stock market is ...

Article Body:
In this day and age, a lot of things have changed from how they used to be, which can be new and exciting for most.

Because of the large size of the stock market, beginner investors appear to feel overwhelmed as to where to even activate investing their money. To most people, the stock market presents a messy web of options but does not reveal the highway map of clarity to guide their way along way in their investment adventure. The key to investing in the stock market is to become as educated as it is possible so that you know exactly what is taking place at all times. This helps people to make plausible and sound decisions about their money, thus, dropping the stress involved with investing.

The usual person, when beginning to entertain the idea of investing in the stock market, falls into one of two categories. Class one is the gambler who feels that investing is definitely a form of betting and no question what they do, they are certain that they will drop money slightly than make money. It seems that this opinion of investing in stocks is either formed from friends and family that have been baffled by the stock market or private experience and lost money. If someone has personally made losses in the stock market, it is pretty evident that they were not educated enough at the time of their investment in the stock market. Therefore, they must become educated as to what exactly the stock market is as well as how its system works in order to become a successful investor. Class two, on the other hand, represents the “go-getter” investor, which is an individual who knows that they should invest into the stock market for the safety of their monetary future, but they have absolutely no idea where to b

Essential to every economy is business...businesses that started out as small operations that have grown to become money making giants, raising capital by promoting stock in them to people who want to invest to make their futures financially secure. As small businesses start to grow, one of the supreme obstacles is generating enough money in order to develop into a superior operation. Businesses either scrounge the money in the form of a offer from a bank or venture capitalist, or someone that will invest money into a business in which they feel they will receive a high rate of return, or a reap from their investment into a business, in order to create the currency to expand. The most common choice for a business to gain money for the view of expansion is to take out a loan; however, there is no agreement that a bank will offer money to any given business.

What we have explored up to now is the most important information you need to know. Now, let’s dig a little deeper.

In this case, business owners roam to the stock market for help in the form of issuing stocks. Firm owners relinquish a tiny fraction of control over their business and in reciprocation; the stock market provides that business money that does not have to be salaried back, in order to guarantee expansion. As an added bonus, the business is permitted to “go public,” a saying that means a brand is selling stocks for itself for the first time, so that business owners no longer are required to borrow money from banks because they can merely use their own stocks for getting monies to use for expansion. Thus, as the business grows and sells their stocks to people, the better chance a sponsor has on gaining a return on their investment as opposed to a loss.

As an investor, it is to your advantage to efficiently study each and every business in which you propose to hold stocks. The more facts you know about any certain business, the easier it is to make a plausible decision as to whether you should hold stocks or want a different business in which to work with.

Try searching for a particular keyword from the title of this article on your search engine and you are sure to find a wealth of knowledge.


Against The Top Down Approach To Picking Stocks

Summary:
If you have heard fund managers talk about the way they invest, you know a great many employ a top down approach. First, they decide how much of their portfolio to allocate to stocks and how much to allocate to bonds. At this point, they may also decide upon the relative mix of foreign and domestic securities. Next, they decide upon the industries to invest in. It is not until all these decisions have been made that they actually get down to analyzing any particular securitie...

Article Body:
If you have heard fund managers talk about the way they invest, you know a great many employ a top down approach. First, they decide how much of their portfolio to allocate to stocks and how much to allocate to bonds. At this point, they may also decide upon the relative mix of foreign and domestic securities. Next, they decide upon the industries to invest in. It is not until all these decisions have been made that they actually get down to analyzing any particular securities. If you think logically about this approach for but a moment, you will recognize how truly foolish it is.

A stock’s earnings yield is the inverse of its P/E ratio. So, a stock with a P/E ratio of 25 has an earnings yield of 4%, while a stock with a P/E ratio of 8 has an earnings yield of 12.5%. In this way, a low P/E stock is comparable to a high – yield bond.

Now, if these low P/E stocks had very unstable earnings or carried a great deal of debt, the spread between the long bond yield and the earnings yield of these stocks might be justified. However, many low P/E stocks actually have more stable earnings than their high multiple kin. Some do employ a great deal of debt. Still, within recent memory, one could find a stock with an earnings yield of 8 – 12%, a dividend yield of 3- 5%, and literally no debt, despite some of the lowest bond yields in half a century. This situation could only come about if investors shopped for their bonds without also considering stocks. This makes about as much sense as shopping for a van without also considering a car or truck.

All investments are ultimately cash to cash operations. As such, they should be judged by a single measure: the discounted value of their future cash flows. For this reason, a top down approach to investing is nonsensical. Starting your search by first deciding upon the form of security or the industry is like a general manager deciding upon a left handed or right handed pitcher before evaluating each individual player. In both cases, the choice is not merely hasty; it’s false. Even if pitching left handed is inherently more effective, the general manager is not comparing apples and oranges; he’s comparing pitchers. Whatever inherent advantage or disadvantage exists in a pitcher’s handedness can be reduced to an ultimate value (e.g., run value). For this reason, a pitcher’s handedness is merely one factor (among many) to be considered, not a binding choice to be made. The same is true of the form of security. It is neither more necessary nor more logical for an investor to prefer all bonds over all stocks (or

Clearly, the most prudent approach to investing is to evaluate each individual security in relation to all others, and only to consider the form of security insofar as it affects each individual evaluation. A top down approach to investing is an unnecessary hindrance. Some very smart investors have imposed it upon themselves and overcome it; but, there is no need for you to do the same.


An Analysis Of Overstock.com (OSTK)

Summary:
Why is a value investor writing about an unprofitable internet company? Because value investing is about finding dollars that trade for fifty cents; with a market cap of less than 75% of sales, Overstock.com (OSTK) looks like it may be exactly that.

But isn’t it too risky?

The greatest risk in any investment is the risk of overpaying. So, the real question is: what is Overstock worth? I think it’s worth at least $1.5 billion. With Overstock’s market cap currently sitti...

Article Body:
Why is a value investor writing about an unprofitable internet company? Because value investing is about finding dollars that trade for fifty cents; with a market cap of less than 75% of sales, Overstock.com (OSTK) looks like it may be exactly that.

But isn’t it too risky?

The greatest risk in any investment is the risk of overpaying. So, the real question is: what is Overstock worth? I think it’s worth at least $1.5 billion. With Overstock’s market cap currently sitting around $500 million, my valuation certainly looks far fetched. But, there’s only one way to know for sure. Let’s take apart my argument piece by piece, and see if any of my assumptions are unreasonable.

First Assumption: Over the next five years, Overstock will neither generate truly free cash flow nor consume cash. In other words, its free cash flow margin will average 0%. Cash generation in some years will exactly offset cash consumption in other years. Obviously, this assumption is unreasonable, because there is almost no chance the cash flows will exactly offset.

That’s not a problem if it turns out Overstock does generate some free cash flow over the next five years. In that case, my assumption simply errs on the side of caution. If, however, it turns out Overstock actually consumes cash over the next five years, there is a problem – possibly a very big problem. So, which scenario is more likely?

Overstock’s revenues are growing quickly. Gross margins look solid at 13.3% in 2004 and 14.9% over the last twelve months. Overstock’s unprofitability is the result of its selling, general, and administrative expenses (SG&A) which have been growing exponentially. Will these expenses continue to grow? Yes, but not as fast as revenues. Over the last twelve months, Overstock’s spending on cap ex has been 5.6% of sales. That number is an aberration. In the long run, spending on cap ex should not exceed 3% of sales. Considering the business Overstock is in and the expected sales growth, the company will, more likely than not, generate some free cash flow over the next five years. Therefore, the assumption that Overstock will be cash flow neutral over the next five years is not overly optimistic.

Second Assumption: Over the next five years, Overstock’s sales will grow by 15% annually. Is this an unreasonable assumption? Again, I don’t think it is. Very few industries are expected to grow as fast as eCommerce. Overstock’s revenue growth in 2003 and 2004 was over 100%. In the past year, that growth has slowed. However, it is still closer to 50% than it is to 15%. Overstock isn’t in a cyclical business. So, there is no reason to believe current sales are abnormally high.

Also, all that spending on advertising is increasing consumers’ awareness of Overstock. A review of Overstock’s traffic data shows it has not only been gaining more visitors; it has also been climbing the ranks of the most popular web sites. While it is a long, long way from the Amazons, Yahoos, and eBays of the world (and will never reach those heights) Overstock is becoming a well known internet destination. This fact was most clearly evident in the weeks leading up to Christmas. Shoppers who visited Overstock during the holiday season obviously know it exists, and may very well return at some other point in the year. Analysts are predicting very high growth rates for Overstock; however, they are also recommending you sell the stock. I don’t put any weight in their estimates. But, for the other reasons given, I believe the assumption that Overstock will grow sales at 15% a year for the next five years is not unreasonable.

Third Assumption: Six to ten years from today, Overstock will have a free cash flow margin of 3%. Ten years from today, Overstock’s free cash flow margin will rise to 4% and remain at that level. Now, of all the assumptions I’ve made, this one is the most questionable. Sure, Amazon has that kind of free cash flow margin, but Overstock isn’t Amazon, and it never will be Amazon. Overstock’s gross margins are less than Amazon’s. In fact, Overstock’s gross margins are less than Wal – Mart’s. However, Overstock’s fixed costs will eat up a much smaller portion of its sales than is the case over at Wal - Mart.

If you compare Overstock to other online retailers, you will see that if Overstock does experience strong sales growth, a 3% free cash flow margin six years from now is not unreasonable. I assumed Overstock’s sustainable free cash flow margin will be 4%. There’s a case to be made that 4% is too high. I won’t make that case, because I don’t believe in it. Remember, that 4% number comes ten years out. That gives Overstock plenty of time to grow sales and thus reduce SG&A as a percentage of sales.

Fourth Assumption: Six to ten years from today, Overstock will be growing sales by 12% a year; eleven to fifteen years from today, Overstock will be growing sales by 8% a year; thereafter, Overstock will grow sales by 4% a year. Let’s see what this really means. According to these assumptions, Overstock’s sales will be as follows:

Today: $707 million

2011: $1.59 billion

2016: $2.71 billion

2021: $3.83 billion

2026: $4.66 billion

2031: $5.67 billion

2036: $6.90 billion

Seven billion dollars is not an unreasonable target – if you have thirty years to achieve it. To put that figure in perspective, Amazon.com currently has sales of about $8 billion. So, even after thirty years, these assumptions don’t lead to Overstock reaching the same size as today’s Amazon. Don’t forget these numbers assume some inflation. For instance, if inflation averages 3% a year over the next thirty years, Overstock’s projected $6.90 billion in sales only translates to $2.84 billion in today’s dollars. So, these assumptions only lead to a fourfold increase in Overstock’s real sales over a period of thirty years. I think that’s pretty reasonable.

If you take these four assumptions together, you get a value of $1.5 billion for Overstock. Today, Mr. Market is offering it for $500 million – that’s why I’m writing about an unprofitable internet company.


Active Stock Market Timing

Summary:
Active Stock Market Timing discusses the merits and pitfalls of stock market timing.

Article Body:
Copyright 2006 Equitrend, Inc.

Much has been written about the virtues and dangers of active stock market trading, or “market timing.”

Most of the pundits and so called "experts" will tell you that stock market timing doesn't work, that it's dangerous, and that "buy and hold" is the best and only way to invest.

But this conventional wisdom is patently untrue.  Here are the facts based on my research and extensive real time experience.

If you want to be a successful stock market timer, you need three key elements:

1.  A system that actually works.

2.  Discipline to follow the system.

3.  Patience to stick with the system long enough to make it work for you.

And it’s tough to do all three.

Here’s why:

Most market timing systems don’t work.  Or don’t work consistently enough to be valid.  Some will work in trending markets but get slaughtered during flat times.  Most systems don’t work in all markets.

Investors lack the discipline to follow a proven system.  Once an investor finds a viable program, he or she needs the discipline to follow it.  Sadly, some either can’t or won’t do that.  When they let their own judgment or intuitions interfere, they don’t get the results they want or could have enjoyed by simply following the buy and sell signals they receive.

Investors lack the patience to stick with their system. Many investors are constantly in search of the Holy Grail, a program that never loses a trade.  The fact is, no method will win every trade, and investors without patience will find themselves hopping from advisor to advisor with no rewards to show for their efforts.

However, there are a number of proven systems available that recognize these pitfalls and successfully time the market to massive profits year after year.  Anything you hear or read to the contrary is simply not true.  Wall Street has a vested interest in opposing stock market timing because it is a threat to their very existence.

Investors have two choices.  They can pursue the conventional wisdom of buy and hold and hope for the best, or the modern investor can educate himself and find a timing system with which he is comfortable to protect and grow his wealth.  There are a number of proven options available, but the absolute worst thing one can do is listen to the pundits who tell you that “stock market timing" doesn't work.


A Trading Strategy That Consistently Beats All Major Indexes

Summary:
Outperform the market everytime!  A trading strategy that consistently beats all major indexes.  Information is FREE.  No subscription required.


Article Body:
Are you looking to outperform the market and optimize your profits but are not sure how to pick the right stocks?  Has investing become a chore?  Do you find yourself investing in hot stocks after they have made their big move? Would you like to learn how I increased my portfolio by over 400% in under 7 years? Do you want to discover how I have outperformed the market over the past 3 years by a margin of 5 to 1?

Do You Hate Research? . . . I do!  

I have always wanted to find an investment strategy that made sense.  An investment strategy in which I do not need to know the intricacies of the market, predict market trends or follow specific stocks.  How can I get the inside information of what is hot before the rest of the market knows?  I can't. Nor do I need to.

Plus, I don't have that kind of time to commit to in-depth research.  Like you, I have a regular job that I need to devote my time to.  I am not a day trader; nor do I want to spend all of my free time on the computer doing research.  Always following the stock market and getting stock quotes is not how I want to spend my free time.

I Avoid Individual Stocks . . . they are too unreliable!

Everybody wants to buy low and sell high. While millions of people do make money this way (and many millions loose money), I have found an easier and more effective way to use the market to my advantage. I do not trade in stocks.  I do what I can to avoid individual stocks.  And I consistently beat the market . . . month after month after month.

If not stocks, what's the alternative?

Like many people, I got heavily involved in the stock market in the mid to late Nineties.  Tech stocks were going through the roof and I, like everybody else, wanted a part of the action.  It seemed an easy way to make money.  Everybody was getting rich.  You did not need a special investment strategy to beat the market.

During this time, I engrossed myself in the financial markets.  I wanted to learn as much as I could without giving up my day job.  I was trying to find the next best tech stock, IPOs and the occasional pre-IPO offering.  But it was not until I discovered options trading that I discovered an investment strategy (The Yager Trading Strategy) that can work in any kind of market . . . Bull, Bear or stagnant.

That's right...OPTION trading!

And I am not talking about stock options or writing covered calls. Options trading...I started selling options on S&P futures, using different methods and trading strategies.  And I did well. VERY well.

Between July 1998 and January 2000 (a span of 18 months), from my option trading system, I turned an initial $25,000 investment into $167,615.  That's over 670% increase.  And this was not paper money where you buy a stock and it has a certain listed value.  This was real, taxed income.  Profits collected on a monthly basis.

Market fluctuations and volatility have diminished greatly since then...reducing the premiums.  Those types of returns are no longer available, but the option trading strategy is still very sound.  I still consistently beat the market.  Even the years the DJIA, Nasdaq and S&P were all down, I posted more than a 22% gain.

Learn the option trading strategy or see how to make money with this strategy. I describe the strategy and show actual recent trades on YagerInvesting.  The information is FREE.  No subscription required.  This is a method for risk capital only.

For the preceding 12 months (May '06 through April '07) this is how my strategy, The Yager Trading Strategy, performed:

DJIA-----20.3%
NASDAQ-----14.7%
S & P 500-----17.3%
Yager Trading Strategy-----32.2%


A Stockbrokers Advice

Summary:
It can be a good idea to use a stockbroker for an active management of your stocks or mutual fund portfolio. It can be vital if you want a steady growth. It may also be unnecessary as a passive management alternative often is available for long term investing.

However, many prefer to use and pay for the services of a broker because they feel more comfortable making decisions about their finances with the interactive guidance of a licensed advisor.

Article Body:
It can be a good idea to use a stockbroker for an active management of your stocks or mutual fund portfolio. It can be vital if you want a steady growth. It may also be unnecessary as a passive management alternative often is available for long term investing.

However, many prefer to use and pay for the services of a broker because they feel more comfortable making decisions about their finances with the interactive guidance of a licensed advisor.

Using a stockbroker for financial guidance one must be aware of the fact that they do get paid on a commission. This can be a reason for them to trade more often as more trades make them more commission. The stockbroker is also paid on the result they can achieve.

Furthermore a conflict of interest arises when a stockbroker offers his/her services as a financial planner, because their revenue is generated as a direct result of your investment in the stock or mutual fund that they broker to you.

Your return on investment may not be as great, and the advice they give you might not be in your best interest. However, some mutual funds and stocks can only be purchased through a broker. In such cases their services are required to purchase the financial instrument in question.

If you use the services of your bank there are some facts to consider. When you talk about the options you have to invest your money, they will certainly recommend the funds they control themselves.

In some countries you can for example invest in a portfolio with shares and have a guarantee to at least get your initial investment back in 2, 3 or 4 years. Sounds great to many and when they say yes to invest, the bank charge 110%. In that way the bank make a profit and secure the costs from start. Do the bank take a risk? No, they cover themselves with other types of investments that function as an insurance.

So now your portfolio starts off with a backlog of minus 10%. Often the investment will recover and take back most of the initial loss and the guarantee makes many invest as they feel comfortable and secure when they invest in this way.

Back to the question about what kind of investments the bank recommend. Do they recommend other banks portfolios? I don´t think so. If you go to a car dealer that sell Ford, do they recommend you to buy a Lexus? Certainly not. A stockbroker working in a bank is not neutral, their job is to make you invest in the shares they make the biggest profit for them. If you make a profit too, that is fine but not their prime priority.

There are the authorities though to help the customer out. And there are rules and regulations about the way stockbrokers can and shall work. Depending on in which country you are investing the rules can vary. In some countries stockbrokers can have his own portfolio and the company where he works can also have an portfolio of shares.

This makes an eventual conflict arise whenever something special happens. There are numerous customers that suspect that they have been recommended shares in companies that will face problems and where the stockbroker wants to sell his own shares before the market drops. To prove these cases are almost impossible and to win them very rare. The number of transactions are also so big that it is almost impossible to trace and see a pattern. There might be just a few that went the wrong way.

Stockbrokers in general are behaving in a professional way and realise that their business will benefit most if the outcome for their customers are great. As a customer you are advised to check the results that a stockbroker have produced, trace their records. Do not look at the advertisements, the truth about the results are not there.

On the internet you can now use the statistics by independent companies that range stockbrokers, funds, shares etc. Here you can find facts – vital facts for the outcome of your future incomes from investing.


A Review Of The Stock Market Crash Of 1929

Summary:
The great Wall Street Crash just previous to the Great Depression of the 1930s has become a part of North American legend. People speak of the crash, its causes and its consequences, with great authority, although few people actually understand the fundamentals that led to the crash, and fewer still the intricacies involved in it. This article will detail a short review of the crash, analyze some of the myths evolving out of this period in American history, and also answer so...

Article Body:
The great Wall Street Crash just previous to the Great Depression of the 1930s has become a part of North American legend. People speak of the crash, its causes and its consequences, with great authority, although few people actually understand the fundamentals that led to the crash, and fewer still the intricacies involved in it. This article will detail a short review of the crash, analyze some of the myths evolving out of this period in American history, and also answer some questions such as why the crash happened, and if something like it could happen again.

The crash began on October 24, 1929 and the slide continued for three business days, ending on October 29 1929 (as we can see, the crash did not occur in the ‘30s, as many people believe). The first day of the crash is known as Black Thursday, and the last day is called Black Tuesday. The crash began when a rush of nervous spenders panicked and rushed to sell their shares- over 13 million stocks were sold on that first Thursday. In an attempt to halt the slide, several bankers and businessmen gathered and tried to rally the numbers by buying up blue-chip stocks, a tactic that had worked in 1909. This was to prove only a temporary fix, however. Over the weekend, while the stock markets were closed, the media added to the fear of investors as the published the wrap ups to the week. By Monday, a fearful populace, nerves on edge due to the reports, were waiting to liquidate. Again, industrial giants and other businesses tried to halt the panic by demonstrating their faith in the system by buying more stock, but t

As with any legend, the Wall Street Crash of 1929 carries with it several mythical misconceptions. To start with, the Crash did not lead to the Great Depression. In fact, many financial analysts and historians are still not sure to what degree the Crash even contributed. The economic forecasts were poor before Wall Street fell, and it was poor people who could not even afford to think about stocks that were the most affected by the Depression. For these people, poverty was mostly caused by very poor farming conditions. There was also not the onslaught of suicides that is commonly referred to- a few investors did succumb to depression, but their numbers are generally agreed to have been very small indeed- enough to count on one hand.

What was it that caused this Crash? Because the market had been doing so well, many Americans were investing- many more, in fact, than could afford it. These people were investing on speculation. This means that they were buying stocks with an eye to selling them in the future for a higher profit, and to achieve the capital to invest they borrowed from banks. When prices began to drop, people realized they would not be able to pay their debt, let alone make any money,. They rushed to get out as soon as possible. To prevent panics such as this in the future, buying on speculation is now illegal.


A Spiraling Market and Rising Penny Stock Opportunities

Summary:
It's been a wild and wooly couple of weeks on the international stock markets [June, 2006]. But is the recent slide grinding to a halt...or just taking a breather before tumbling some more? And more importantly, what does it mean to astute penny stock investors?

Article Body:
It's been a wild and wooly couple of weeks on the international stock markets. But is the recent slide grinding to a halt...or just taking a breather before tumbling some more? And more importantly, what does it mean to astute penny stock investors?

Wall Street recently stumbled to its worst week of the year, and global stock markets fell dramatically on concerns about rising interest rates and slowing growth. After rising almost 9% in the first four months of the year, the Dow Jones industrial average has fallen about 6.5% from a six-year high, reached May 10, 2006.

Stocks have been ailing because penny stock investors fear the Fed could be so focused on inflation that it ignores signs of an economic slowdown, raises interest rates too high and sends the economy into a recession.

Global stock markets were sent reeling last week after golden-tongued U.S. Federal Reserve Chairman, Ben Bernanke shocked penny stock investors in saying the Fed will continue raising interest rates to keep inflation in check.

And that decision will have a direct impact on the penny stock market. Higher interest rates hurt penny stock prices because investors believe it will curb economic growth and corporate profits.

But why is inflation heating up? Higher energy costs. Traders and penny stock investors are also worried that with the hurricane season officially under way, Gulf Coast refineries and oil production sites could be damaged again this summer and fall.

And higher interest rates have the ability to affect the entire economy. Finance charges on credit cards will rise. So too will rates on mortgages and home equity loans, putting additional pressure on homebuyers and a softening housing market. Ultimately, it will cost more to borrow for expansion.

But does this signal doom-and-gloom for the penny stock market? Au contraire. While the temptation to sell everything can be overwhelming, some see this as a great opportunity. "I would not be selling. I would tend to be buying," said one New York analyst.

So how exactly is this an opportunity? It just so happens that many companies caught in the market's downward spiral are cheaper than they were a few weeks ago. And as any seasoned penny stock investor will tell you, buying a great penny stock when it's been beaten down isn't a bad way to make money over the long haul.

If you can stomach some of the volatility that is. While many blue chip investors have difficulty handling the market's unpredictability...it's par for the course.

So, "snap out of it," said another watcher. A month of dizzying selling has brought the markets into an attractive range. Is it possible the markets will fall more? Absolutely. After all, no penny stock is a sure thing. But one thing is certain: "Stocks are much cheaper now than they were two months ago."


A Disciplined and Organized Approach to Trading in the Stock Market

Summary:
90% of traders in the stock market lose money most of the time. Find out what consistent winners have in common.

Article Body:
       A Winning Approach to Trading in the Stock MarketMany traders lose simply out of ignorance. They base their trades on hunches, news, or tips from friends, and do not define specific risk and profit objectives before placing trades.
Others have the merit of educating themselves but fall victims of their emotions. They hold on to losing positions hoping they will turn into winners and sell winners by fear of losing a small gain. They overtrade to fulfill a need for action or by fear of missing out.
The consistent winners follow a winning approach:
  • They have a strategy to enter and exit trades
  • They use good money management
  • They take consistent actions, they follow a trading plan
  • They keep good records so they can review their actions
  • They avoid overtrading
  • They have a winning attitude
A strategy to enter and exit trades
You need to a strategy to put the odds in your favor for each trade you take. Your strategy should be as objective as possible and include the following elements:
  • Entry: conditions required before you can enter a trade - may include technical analysis, fundamental analysis, or both.
  • Initial stop loss: price at which you will close the entire position if it does not go in your favor. The risk per share is the difference between the entry price and the initial stop.
  • Initial price objective: price at which you will take some or all profits if the trade goes in your favor.
  • Trade management: set of rules that dictates your actions while a trade is opened. It may include trailing stops, closing position, etc…
For every action you take, the reason should be clearly described in your strategy.
Money management rules to keep losses small
The goal of money management is to ensure your survival by avoiding risks that could take you out of business. Your money management rules should include the following:
  • Maximum amount at risk for each trade. The different between your entry price and your initial stop loss is your risk per share. Your maximum amount at risk for each trade determines the share size.
  • Maximum amount at risk for all your opened positions.
  • Maximum daily and weekly amount lost before you stop trading – avoid trying to trade your way out of a hole after a loosing streaks.
During your learning phase, your goal should be to survive, not to make money. Start with low limits and raise them as you become a consistent winner otherwise you will simply go broke faster.
Good record keeping
Although the process of gaining experience cannot be rushed, it can be made much more efficient by keeping good records of your actions. Good records will allow you to:
  • Review your actions at the end of each day to make sure you followed you strategy, not your emotions.
  • Learn from your losses – they cost you money, make sure you get the education in return.
You should also keep a journal of your observations.
A trading plan to keep emotions out of your decisions
During trading hours, emotions will turn smart people into idiots. Therefore you have to avoid having to make decisions during those hours. This requires a detailed trading plan that includes your strategy and your money management rules.
For every action you take during trading hours, the reason should not be greed or fear. The reason should be because it is in the plan. With a good plan, your task becomes one of patience and discipline.
You have to follow the plan without exception. Any valid reason for an exception - for example, correcting an oversight - should become part of the plan.
Overtrading
Sometimes the best thing to do is to do nothing. Not trading on those bad days is key to becoming a consistent winner – in some situations it is very tempting to overtrade:
  • If you trade to fulfill a need for action, to relieve boredom
  • If you can’t find the proper setup but can’t wait
  • If you fear you are missing out on a great trade or on a great market
  • If you want to make up for losses (revenge)
  • If you trade to feel like you are working instead of sitting around. Trading involves a lot of work other than the actual buying and selling.
You should not trade under the following conditions  
  • You are not following my trading plan
  • You have reached your daily or weekly maximum loss
  • You are sick or very tired
  • You are very emotional (upset, pressured to make money, self-esteem destroyed)
  • You are using new tools you are not completely familiar with
  • You need time to work on your trading plan
A winning attitude
Losing traders look for a “sure thing”, hang on hope, and avoid accepting small losses. Their trading is based on emotions. You must treat trading as a probability game in which you don’t need to know what is going to happen next in order to make money. All you need to know is that the odds are in your favor before you put a trade.
If you believe in your edge, which is you believe that the odds in your favor for each trade you enter, then you should have no expectation other than something will happen.
Your attitude will have a direct influence on your trading results:
  • Take responsibility for all your actions – don’t blame the market or world events.
  • Trade to trade well and for the love of trading, not to trade often and not for the money. The money will come as a result of trading well.
  • Don’t be influenced by the opinions of others. Reach your own decisions and follow them.
  • Never think that taking money from the market is easy and never assume that you know enough.
  • Have no particular expectation when you place a trade because you know that anything can happen.
  • Don’t try to guess the future – trading is a game of probabilities.
  • Use your head and stay calm – don’t get excited or depressed.
  • Handle trading as a serious intellectual pursuit.
  • Don’t count how much money you have made or lost while you are in a trade - focus on trading well.

Trading Framework was designed to help you build those crucial elements into your trading.
www.tradingframework.com

Tuesday 15 July 2014

Leasing


  1. Accounts Payable Outsourcing: things you need to check out
  2. All About Personal Accounting
  3. American Express Blue Cards: Which Blue Is For You?
  4. An Overview of Asset Finance and its Various Types
  5. An Overview of the Escrow Account
  6. Assistance For Seniors In Nevada Seeking Long Term Care
  7. Bacara el Preferido del Agente 007
  8. Baccarat History and American Baccarat Rules
  9. Benefits of Leasing Equipment
  10. Best savings account
  11. Can Health Savings Accounts Bring Down High Healthcare Costs?
  12. Car Financing: Which is Better: Buying or Leasing?
  13. Car Leasing Basics
  14. Charity car donation – steps to take
  15. Checking Accounts For Couples
  16. Leasing Is Often Better Than Buying
  17. Leasing software and fleet management converge to create synergies
  18. Living Wills and Healthcare Power of Attorneys Help to Make Sure Your Wishes are Met
  19. Loyalty Cards – Think Again!
  20. Mami joue au poker
  21. Medicare, Social Security and Retirement
  22. Nascar Races: Hot Tips to Car Racing
  23. New Rules for Donating your Car to Charity
  24. open an online savings account
  25. open an online savings account today
  26. Open More Than One Account
  27. Personal Accounts – Clever Ways To Manage Your Account
  28. Press Release: Why SEO Experts Should Not Use Press Releases
  29. Ready to Sign that Lease Agreement?
  30. Save Online, Try The Online Savings Account
  31. Savings Account Is Important
  32. Savings Accounts
  33. Savings Accounts – An Overview
  34. Savings Accounts - Professional Advice
  35. Should You Pursue Lease Options To Purchase a Home
  36. Signing for your card transaction is now a thing of the past
  37. Store Cards – Are You Storing Up Problems?
  38. Supermarket Smart Cart
  39. The best savings account
  40. The issue of car finance
  41. The Key Advantages Of The Subaru Master Card
  42. The Many Uses Of Prepaid Phone Cards
  43. The War on Marijuana and the War Against Online Gambling
  44. Top Mistakes with Equipment Leasing
  45. U.S. Account For Non US Residents
  46. Used Car Buying Tips
  47. Visa Card - Things You Should Consider First Before You Apply.
  48. Visa Vs MasterCard – Which Is The Best?
  49. Want To Buy A Car After Graduation? Opt For Driver's Edge Card For College Students
  50. Online Accounting


Online Accounting

Summary:
Accounting in USA has seen lots of change. There was a time when the accounting was more of book keeping done in huge ledgers and was the purview of select few. It’s not so anymore. Accounting is much more widely accepted as a business function and general people also look for the accounting details of the firms they are associated with. Also lot more transparency is required now. Keeping in line with the development of IT and other technologies, the accounting is also now ba...

Article Body:
Accounting in USA has seen lots of change. There was a time when the accounting was more of book keeping done in huge ledgers and was the purview of select few. It’s not so anymore. Accounting is much more widely accepted as a business function and general people also look for the accounting details of the firms they are associated with. Also lot more transparency is required now. Keeping in line with the development of IT and other technologies, the accounting is also now based on internet and has taken wide strides. Online accounting services, viewed as merely experimental only a few years ago are now becoming the run away business.

As such accounting industry as been little slow to adopt the newer technology and has not left fully its love for the pen and pencil work.

The SU accounting industry has seen new trend of outsourcing its work now. All these have forced the industry to adopt the Online Accounting. The internets as well as other technologies are used now to build more efficient book keeping systems. Also it’s becoming more cost efficient for larger firms to outsource the work. Outsourcing is very much easier with work being delivered online. It’s much more cost effective as well as fast also.

The shift from the practice where clients paid the accounting firms as per the billable hours to a fixed fee based system is forcing the accounting firms to deliver efficient work in cost effective manner. This means that they can not any longer cover their inefficient work by merely putting in more time into the projects. This has favored the Online accounting practices much. Value billing has forced accounting professionals to become more efficient.

Online accounting very effectively cuts short the time taken to transfer the time taken by information exchange between the clients and accounting firm. The seamless transfer is far more efficient and much faster. The accounting firm has dynamic access to the sourcing documents of the clients firms and can access anytime any information it requires from its clients side. The online accounting system also allows the accounting firm access to client data from far away locations at the a few clicks on the internet. The time sensitive financial data is readily available to the accounting firm.

Other then the speed and cost of services, online accounting enables better customer service and more reliability and trust. Accounting firms recently have been exposed as in cahoots with some very big clients, committing serious financial crimes. In this scenario the new practice builds more transparency also.

The online accounting practice also provide for more timely communication between the firm and clients. Since the client has more immediate access to information and to time sensitive documents with Online Accounting practices, questions and problems can be more easily identified and resolved. This translates into increased profits as well as happier clients!!

Since the clients get better service, they get more value for the money they spend. It is generally quite cheaper for the business owner to outsource the bookkeeping and accounting than to hire and supervise it in-house. Savings for the business owner can be as much as 30% for some clients! Online Accounting is great for such services.

The accounting firms also charge now a fee (fixed on a monthly basis) almost five times the average monthly fee (based on billable hours) they charged earlier.

Generally the various online accounting processes available are customized for their users where they can choose the menu of features they like.

Online Accounting is an excellent tool for accounting and book keeping, one that is help full for both the accounting firms as well as the clients.


Want To Buy A Car After Graduation? Opt For Driver's Edge Card For College Students

Summary:
There are very few people who have not heard of Citibank. The renowned company serves and caters to the needs of frequent travelers, business personnel as well as students. The Citi Driver's Edge Card for College Students is one such card that caters to the needs of students. The card is part of the Thank You Network.

Article Body:
There are very few people who have not heard of Citibank. The renowned company serves and caters to the needs of frequent travelers, business personnel as well as students. The Citi Driver's Edge Card for College Students is one such card that caters to the needs of students. The card is part of the Thank You Network.

Benefits of the Card

The card permits the students to earn rebates for the purchase of a new, used or leased car each time the student uses his/her card to make a purchase.

The card also permits you to earn 3% rebates at the drugstores, grocery stores or gas stations. On all the other purchases you make, you will be getting a 1% rebate. You can further gain rebates for the number of miles that you drive. All the points you gather can be used for purchasing a vehicle, only that the maximum amount of points that can be redeemed per vehicle is $5000.

The card has all the benefits offered by the other Citi student credit cards. The Citi Driver's Edge Card for College Students lets you shop with confidence whether you are buying online or from retail outlets. It shields you from credit card theft as well as identity theft. Furthermore, you can avail of customer service whenever you wish.

The card offers 0% annual percentage rate (APR) for the initial six months on purchases, balance transfers and cash advances. However, the regular APR is fixed at 18.24%. There is no annual fee and balance transfer fee.

Other Benefits

As a student, you will enjoy a 25% discount to shop for books at Peterson.com. (Peterson is a well-known career and educational advisory body). The card understands you and enables you to utilize all your accumulated rebates over a period of 5 years at the maximum, for repairing or servicing your car.

For better security, there is the provision of adding your photo to the face of the credit card. This will stop anyone from stealing and utilizing your card at a retail establishment. This photo ID is practical always.

The card further provides the benefit of zero liability for unauthorized purchases policy, which gives you mental peace. You can avail of the customer service 24/7, that too via the toll free telephone. The privilege of accessing your account online also comes with the card.

The free protection services that come with card include fraud early warning block, online guarantee and lost wallet service, making you feel secure, which is akin to the Citibank policies.

Added Advantages

The Driver's Edge Card for College Students comes along with other common benefits like many Internet account related services, emergency card and cash replacement, medical and legal referral services and different travel and emergency assistant services.

The card further provides automatic bill payments, auto rental discounts, and a maximum of $1000000 in travel accident insurance and many more facilities.


Visa Vs MasterCard – Which Is The Best?

Summary:
The two leading credit card companies in the world today are the competitors Visa and MasterCard. They both operate along very similar lines.

Article Body:
The two leading credit card companies in the world today are the competitors Visa and MasterCard. They both operate along very similar lines. While Visa can claim to have almost a billion cards issued, MasterCard has over twenty five thousand banks issuing its cards and it is difficult to find any difference in the number of locations worldwide that accept the cards, which is now estimated at over twenty million.

In fact, as far as most consumers are concerned, there is no real difference between the two. They are both very widely accepted in over one hundred and fifty countries and it is very rare to find a location that will accept one but not the other.

However, neither Visa nor MasterCard actually issue any credit cards themselves. They are both simply methods of payment. They rely on banks in various countries to issue credit cards that utilise these payment methods. Therefore, the interest rates, rewards, annual fees, and all other charges are issued by your bank and when you pay your bill you are paying it to the bank or institution that issued your card and not Visa or MasterCard.

How Visa and MasterCard make their money is by charging the retailer for using their payment method. So the truth of the matter is that a Visa issued by say the Bank of Scotland will have very little to do with a Visa issued by other banks and may in fact by more similar to the Bank of Scotland’s MasterCard.

What this means for the vast majority of customers is that you do not have to overly concern yourself with whether a credit card is MasterCard or Visa. You would be better off concentrating on the interest and other charges on the card, the balance transfer possibilities or their reward scheme. You are very unlikely to ever be effected by the fact that it is one and not the other.

If you prefer, if you are going to have two credit cards, you may decide that you want one of them to be Visa and the other MasterCard, this means that if something drastic were to happen to one company, or if you were in the unlikely position of finding a location that accepts one but not the other, then you would have the option of paying with either.

At the end of the day however, much more depends on the bank that gave you the card, than on the type of card it is.


Visa Card - Things You Should Consider First Before You Apply.

Summary:
If you are interested in applying for a Visa credit card, there are a lot of things you should consider first because there are so many types of cards. For instance, consider whether you fly frequently and would like a card that earns you frequent flyer miles, or if you need a card with a very low interest rate because you plan on keeping a balance, or if you are in need of a visa credit card for your business, child, or if you have bad credit. These are all things to conside...

Article Body:
If you are interested in applying for a Visa credit card, there are a lot of things you should consider first because there are so many types of cards. For instance, consider whether you fly frequently and would like a card that earns you frequent flyer miles, or if you need a card with a very low interest rate because you plan on keeping a balance, or if you are in need of a visa credit card for your business, child, or if you have bad credit. These are all things to consider first, because you don’t want to apply for credit card after credit card. It is better to decide what is best for you, and then begin applying.

Also, some very important things to evaluate on each card you are considering is introductory APR, introductory APR period, regular APR, annual fee, balance transfer and the type of credit needed for the card.

For instance, many credit cards provide an introductory APR to make the card more appealing and make you want to switch or apply for that particular card. IN some cases, visa credit cards will offer 0% interest for a year or six months, depending on the card. While the introductory APR can be a good thing because interest fees charged are either nothing or considerably lower than other cards, you need to keep in mind how long the introductory APR period lasts and what the APR is regularly.

If the introductory APR period lasts for six months to a year then that is a good period of time in which you can use the credit card to your advantage. However, you should keep in mind the date when the regular APR starts so you do not find yourself with high levels of interest rates and a large balance.

The regular APR for a visa credit card can vary significantly depending on the type of card and the individual’s credit. Everyone wants a credit card with a low regular APR, but the truth is there are not that many credit cards with really low APRs. This is because credit card companies make a lot of money on charging interest from month to month.

Also, you should only apply for Visa credit cards with no annual fee. This is because there are many credit cards that offer the card with no fee, so there is no need for you to pay $50 or more per year simply to carry the card. Make sure the visa credit card you are applying for does not charge an annual fee.

Check and see if the visa card you are applying for accepts balance transfers from other credit cards. If the new visa card you are applying for has a low introductory APR then when you are approved you will want to transfer your balances from high APR cards in order to pay it off more economically.

Finally, check the type of credit needed for the visa card you are interested in. If the card information says you need excellent credit and you have poor credit, do not even waste your time and the affects on your credit report by applying for that card.


Used Car Buying Tips

Summary:
Use these ten used car buying tips when you want a quality car at a great price.

Article Body:
Some of these used car buying tips won't be new to you. Often the trick is just to apply what you already know. On the other hand, when it comes to expensive areas of life like buying a car, one new thing learned can save you hundreds of dollars. Try some of the following.

1. Make a low offer. Okay, you knew this one. A trick you may not have used, though, is to make a low offer, and then leave your phone number with the seller. Time has a way of making sellers desperate, especially after you just helped convince them that they are asking too much.

2. Be careful with car price guides. Use the "blue book" etc, but try not to pay more than wholesale. I can't think of many times when people I know have paid more than "bluebook," so these "average" sales prices are doubtful.

3. Talk to people. This is one of the simplest and effective used car buying tips. Just let friends, family and others know you're looking for a car. Quite often people would be happy to avoid the whole process of advertising and showing their car if they could just get rid of it by giving a good deal to a friend.

4. Check out the engine. Have a mechanic look at the car, and tell you what it's likely to need in the next year or so. Then make a list, so the seller can see in writing why you are offering less than he wants.

5. Auctions. See if there is a public auction in your area. If not, maybe you can go with a dealer friend and give him a $100 to buy a car for you.

6. www.carfax.com. It's around $25 to run vehicle background checks for a month - long enough to find your next car. They'll show the chain of title, accident reports for the car, and even safety and reliability scores for that model.

7. "Ugly" cars. Watch for cars that sit on the lot for months. Dealers will often sell these "ugly ducklings" at a loss just to move them. Again, you may want to leave your phone number with a low offer.

8. Rental company cars. They are sold fairly cheap when they get the new ones in. Buy at bluebook wholesale or less, because they have had many different drivers, so they've more wear than normal.

9. Repos. Credit unions and some small banks do their own selling of repossessed cars. You usually bid on paper, maybe with a $50 deposit, and then get your $50 back if you're not the winning bidder. If they don't sell their own repossessions, ask where they are sold.

10. Consider gas mileage. High mileage may be better, but maybe a car that costs $500 less will use only $400 more gas in the two years you expect to own it. Do the math.

Use the tips here the next time you are shopping for a used car. Meanwhile, why not learn a few negotiating strategies. This helps in many areas of life, and is the most important of these used car buying tips.


U.S. Account For Non US Residents

Summary:
In early days Gold was considered the standard currency for exchange between the people of various nations. Gold used to act as a standard and everything was seen with respect to it. Over the years and with the emergence of US as a global power, both politically and economically, the US dollar has gained unprecedented importance in world trade. Though officially gold is still a standard, the US dollar is now accepted almost all over the world as a standard.

Article Body:
In early days Gold was considered the standard currency for exchange between the people of various nations. Gold used to act as a standard and everything was seen with respect to it. Over the years and with the emergence of US as a global power, both politically and economically, the US dollar has gained unprecedented importance in world trade. Though officially gold is still a standard, the US dollar is now accepted almost all over the world as a standard. For people who are in the business of where trade is across borders, the US dollar is the global standard. All freelancers and Web Developers and even exporters and importers who operate from various countries over the internet also need to keep a standard as far as the currency is considered and US dollar is the apt currency. A bank account with a US bank thus gains a lot of importance.

The US banking structure broadly classifies its customers into three categories:

1. The US citizens
2. Resident Aliens
3. Non Resident Aliens

As the names suggest the meanings of each of them is implied. The resident aliens are the non-US people who are residing in the US. These also sometimes include the people who have the Green Card. Non Resident Aliens, as the name suggests, are people who are neither citizens of the U.S nor are they residing in the U.S. The rules and regulations that govern the banking systems in US make it very difficult for the NRA’s. Well, the NRA’s are the most trouncing class, as they are treated most callously by the US banking laws. The laws put an austere procedure for NRA’s willing to own a US account; though definitely it’s not impossible for them as well.

So the question is what exactly are the benefits of a US account? Well here are a few:

1. First of all if you are in any sort of business that has even some amount of global appeal then you will probably, in the course of your trade, need to carry out transactions in the US dollars or any international currency. It’s great to go for a US account rather than in some other country because of the global acceptance of the US dollar.

2. And when I say global touch it includes all the deals that are carried out via the internet. So it includes all the web developer, content writers, freelancers etc. Even if your business is local, you can’t possibly deny the power of the internet and it would just be a matter of time after you actually go on the internet. So it’s actually to have a US account and take your business and ideas global.

3. Also if you are on the internet, there is a lot of possibility that you are dealing with US clients or people who are comfortable in dealing with US dollars. You having a US account would be a great advantage for you as it would make the entire process easier for you.

Earlier the laws very too strict, but now there are ways which make it possible for you to open a US account. These ways are still not a walk in the cake. One wrong move and you shall no longer be eligible for the account. But that’s not a big worry. There are guides which can help you with this. In fact I recently tried a guide myself http://www.non-us-bank-account.com and it really provided me a step-by-step formula for getting a US account opened. It was really nice and easy.

So what are you waiting for? Go ahead get yourself a US account and make your global presence more prominent.