online day trading

Forex Managed Accounts Explained

2007-11-02T15:10:00.000-07:00

Do you want to trade in the highly liquidated and extremely profitable foreign exchange market, but don't want to learn all those terms, charts, indicators, and technical details that you need to be successful on your own? Then maybe you're looking for forex managed accounts. Don't know what that is? Then keep reading; maybe you'll learn a thing or two after all.

Forex managed accounts are as simple as they sound: accounts in the foreign exchange market which are managed by a trader, paid for by an investor, and result in lots of good money. There are two kinds of forex managed accounts, and each has its own advantages and disadvantages when it comes to trading in the market. It's up to you which you pick.

The first type of forex managed accounts is the robot, or the automated account. This completely automatic program is designed by experienced traders in the forex market and supplied to the investor for simplicity. This is clearly the most efficiently managed account available to you, as it takes into consideration all indicators and statistics open to it. When the time comes, the robot receives a signaland trades. It's that easy. However, robots do lack an instinctwhich can be a good thing, if you're hoping to avoid emotional trades, or a bad thing, if you want someone who'll take advantage of a huge opportunity.

The second type of forex managed accounts is the employeethe investor hires an experienced trader, someone who has long been successful in the market, to make the investor's trades for him. This is at least as good as the robotprobably because the employee designed the robot in the first placeand it's all personalized. Unlike other markets, where money is pooled to maximize profits, your trades are done in your name, and yours alone. It's forex trading by an individual, for another individual, and it stays that way. On the other hand, a personal employee to make your trades for you could cost you a lot more in commissions and fees. You can find out more about forex trading and forex accounts at http://www.forextradingsystemsoftware.com

But why should you have one of these forex managed accounts? Why can't you just casually trade on your own, like a money-making hobby on the side? Because trading in the forex market is hard work, and not just anybody can do it. This is a market in which over two trillion dollars are traded every day, and with a market that size, somebody has to be losing. Statistics indicate that that somebody is 90-95% of new traders. Without the right education, you'll lose quickly in the forex market, and education costs money, too. If you're not getting a forex managed account, then you're not getting a hobbyyou're getting a job, complete with prior training and continuous studies.

Still interested in working the forex market as a hobby? Or are you sure that one of these forex managed accounts is the right thing for you? It's up to you which type you use, and it's up to you where you get the program or individual to do your trades for youbut a managed account lets you keep your job if you want and rest easy at night, knowing that you're still making money, even while you sleep, without the hassle of training.

Article by Dean Forster at http://www.forextradingsystemsoftware.com for everything you need to know about profitable forex trading, software, systems and training Forex Trading Software

A Few Tips On Buying Underfloor Heating On the Net

2007-11-02T13:41:00.000-07:00

As one of the fastest growing sectors of the building trade electric underfloor heating is becoming more and more popular, but with that comes more and more companies to choose from, most of these being online companies.

If youre like me thinking how do i sort out the good from the bad? How do i know if Im buying from a company that will deliver once I have handed over my card details? & that can stand buy me if i have a problem? The answer is simple really if you follow some of the pointers bellow:

First thing to do is check that the company address is displayed somewhere on the site, usually on the contact us page, if you cant find it what are you going to do if you need to contact them? Check they have a "proper" land line telephone number you can phone, and they are not just "hiding" behind a "080" number as many companies do.

Check to see if the company is a member of any online trading scheme, like the ISIS Internet Shopping Is Safe scheme this ensures that online traders follow strict guidelines that protects you the customer should something go wrong and its a point of contact for you to use if you do have a problem.

Look out for things like ISO9001:2000 registered company, if you see this and its genuine then you know for certain that that company has a set quality management system in place.

When your selecting your underfloor heating products and your thinking "wow this is too good to be true" then it probably is, the company may be selling the goods so cheap because they dont know what there doing, it may be a secondary income for them they may not be bothered about selling something to make 20, but they certainly arent going to be about to help you out when you need them and more than likely will just pass you on to the manufacture.

Another thing to remember when the goods are so cheap is: were do the goods come from? Are they cheap because the quality is cheap? What happens if i have a problem?

The morel of the story is in todays world you usually get what you pay for and when it comes to underfloor heating its just not worth scrimping and trying to save 30 at the end of the day, for most consumers its a little touch of luxury and normally its a one off expense that needs to last as long as the floor, so those companies who charge that little bit extra have the staff, insurance and resources to stand by you at anytime in the future, plus they have a reputation to uphold. All of the above should help to give you a more pleasant experience of buying electric underfloor heating on the net.

There are a few really good companies out there as well as not so good companies just be aware.

Underfloor heating is one of the most efficient forms of domestic and commercial heating today. Most underfloor heating systems are aimed at the DIY market but if you dont fancy doing it your self then why not contact us for a free no obligation quotation.

Forex Options Market Overview

2007-11-02T00:14:00.000-07:00

The forex options market started as an over-the-counter (OTC) financial vehicle for large banks, financial institutions and large international corporations to hedge against foreign currency exposure. Like the forex spot market, the forex options market is considered an "interbank" market. However, with the plethora of real-time financial data and forex option trading software available to most investors through the internet, today's forex option market now includes an increasingly large number of individuals and corporations who are speculating and/or hedging foreign currency exposure via telephone or online forex trading platforms.

Forex option trading has emerged as an alternative investment vehicle for many traders and investors. As an investment tool, forex option trading provides both large and small investors with greater flexibility when determining the appropriate forex trading and hedging strategies to implement.

Most forex options trading is conducted via telephone as there are only a few forex brokers offering online forex option trading platforms.

Forex Option Defined - A forex option is a financial currency contract giving the forex option buyer the right, but not the obligation, to purchase or sell a specific forex spot contract (the underlying) at a specific price (the strike price) on or before a specific date (the expiration date). The amount the forex option buyer pays to the forex option seller for the forex option contract rights is called the forex option "premium."

The Forex Option Buyer - The buyer, or holder, of a foreign currency option has the choice to either sell the foreign currency option contract prior to expiration, or he or she can choose to hold the foreign currency options contract until expiration and exercise his or her right to take a position in the underlying spot foreign currency. The act of exercising the foreign currency option and taking the subsequent underlying position in the foreign currency spot market is known as "assignment" or being "assigned" a spot position.

The only initial financial obligation of the foreign currency option buyer is to pay the premium to the seller up front when the foreign currency option is initially purchased. Once the premium is paid, the foreign currency option holder has no other financial obligation (no margin is required) until the foreign currency option is either offset or expires.

On the expiration date, the call buyer can exercise his or her right to buy the underlying foreign currency spot position at the foreign currency option's strike price, and a put holder can exercise his or her right to sell the underlying foreign currency spot position at the foreign currency option's strike price. Most foreign currency options are not exercised by the buyer, but instead are offset in the market before expiration.

Foreign currency options expires worthless if, at the time the foreign currency option expires, the strike price is "out-of-the-money." In simplest terms, a foreign currency option is "out-of-the-money" if the underlying foreign currency spot price is lower than a foreign currency call option's strike price, or the underlying foreign currency spot price is higher than a put option's strike price. Once a foreign currency option has expired worthless, the foreign currency option contract itself expires and neither the buyer nor the seller have any further obligation to the other party.

The Forex Option Seller - The foreign currency option seller may also be called the "writer" or "grantor" of a foreign currency option contract. The seller of a foreign currency option is contractually obligated to take the opposite underlying foreign currency spot position if the buyer exercises his right. In return for the premium paid by the buyer, the seller assumes the risk of taking a possible adverse position at a later point in time in the foreign currency spot market.

Initially, the foreign currency option seller collects the premium paid by the foreign currency option buyer (the buyer's funds will immediately be transferred into the seller's foreign currency trading account). The foreign currency option seller must have the funds in his or her account to cover the initial margin requirement. If the markets move in a favorable direction for the seller, the seller will not have to post any more funds for his foreign currency options other than the initial margin requirement. However, if the markets move in an unfavorable direction for the foreign currency options seller, the seller may have to post additional funds to his or her foreign currency trading account to keep the balance in the foreign currency trading account above the maintenance margin requirement.

Just like the buyer, the foreign currency option seller has the choice to either offset (buy back) the foreign currency option contract in the options market prior to expiration, or the seller can choose to hold the foreign currency option contract until expiration. If the foreign currency options seller holds the contract until expiration, one of two scenarios will occur: (1) the seller will take the opposite underlying foreign currency spot position if the buyer exercises the option or (2) the seller will simply let the foreign currency option expire worthless (keeping the entire premium) if the strike price is out-of-the-money.

Please note that "puts" and "calls" are separate foreign currency options contracts and are NOT the opposite side of the same transaction. For every put buyer there is a put seller, and for every call buyer there is a call seller. The foreign currency options buyer pays a premium to the foreign currency options seller in every option transaction.

Forex Call Option - A foreign exchange call option gives the foreign exchange options buyer the right, but not the obligation, to purchase a specific foreign exchange spot contract (the underlying) at a specific price (the strike price) on or before a specific date (the expiration date). The amount the foreign exchange option buyer pays to the foreign exchange option seller for the foreign exchange option contract rights is called the option "premium."

Please note that "puts" and "calls" are separate foreign exchange options contracts and are NOT the opposite side of the same transaction. For every foreign exchange put buyer there is a foreign exchange put seller, and for every foreign exchange call buyer there is a foreign exchange call seller. The foreign exchange options buyer pays a premium to the foreign exchange options seller in every option transaction.

The Forex Put Option - A foreign exchange put option gives the foreign exchange options buyer the right, but not the obligation, to sell a specific foreign exchange spot contract (the underlying) at a specific price (the strike price) on or before a specific date (the expiration date). The amount the foreign exchange option buyer pays to the foreign exchange option seller for the foreign exchange option contract rights is called the option "premium."

Plain Vanilla Forex Options - Plain vanilla options generally refer to standard put and call option contracts traded through an exchange (however, in the case of forex option trading, plain vanilla options would refer to the standard, generic forex option contracts that are traded through an over-the-counter (OTC) forex options dealer or clearinghouse). In simplest terms, vanilla forex options would be defined as the buying or selling of a standard forex call option contract or a forex put option contract.

Exotic Forex Options - To understand what makes an exotic forex option "exotic," you must first understand what makes a forex option "non-vanilla." Plain vanilla forex options have a definitive expiration structure, payout structure and payout amount. Exotic forex option contracts may have a change in one or all of the above features of a vanilla forex option. It is important to note that exotic options, since they are often tailored to a specific's investor's needs by an exotic forex options broker, are generally not very liquid, if at all.

Intrinsic & Extrinsic Value - The price of an FX option is calculated into two separate parts, the intrinsic value and the extrinsic (time) value.

The intrinsic value of an FX option is defined as the difference between the strike price and the underlying FX spot contract rate (American Style Options) or the FX forward rate (European Style Options). The intrinsic value represents the actual value of the FX option if exercised. Please note that the intrinsic value must be zero (0) or above - if an FX option has no intrinsic value, then the FX option is simply referred to as having no (or zero) intrinsic value (the intrinsic value is never represented as a negative number). An FX option with no intrinsic value is considered "out-of-the-money," an FX option having intrinsic value is considered "in-the-money," and an FX option with a strike price at, or very close to, the underlying FX spot rate is considered "at-the-money."

The extrinsic value of an FX option is commonly referred to as the "time" value and is defined as the value of an FX option beyond the intrinsic value. A number of factors contribute to the calculation of the extrinsic value including, but not limited to, the volatility of the two spot currencies involved, the time left until expiration, the riskless interest rate of both currencies, the spot price of both currencies and the strike price of the FX option. It is important to note that the extrinsic value of FX options erodes as its expiration nears. An FX option with 60 days left to expiration will be worth more than the same FX option that has only 30 days left to expiration. Because there is more time for the underlying FX spot price to possibly move in a favorable direction, FX options sellers demand (and FX options buyers are willing to pay) a larger premium for the extra amount of time.

Volatility - Volatility is considered the most important factor when pricing forex options and it measures movements in the price of the underlying. High volatility increases the probability that the forex option could expire in-the-money and increases the risk to the forex option seller who, in turn, can demand a larger premium. An increase in volatility causes an increase in the price of both call and put options.

Delta - The delta of a forex option is defined as the change in price of a forex option relative to a change in the underlying forex spot rate. A change in a forex option's delta can be influenced by a change in the underlying forex spot rate, a change in volatility, a change in the riskless interest rate of the underlying spot currencies or simply by the passage of time (nearing of the expiration date).

The delta must always be calculated in a range of zero to one (0-1.0). Generally, the delta of a deep out-of-the-money forex option will be closer to zero, the delta of an at-the-money forex option will be near .5 (the probability of exercise is near 50%) and the delta of deep in-the-money forex options will be closer to 1.0. In simplest terms, the closer a forex option's strike price is relative to the underlying spot forex rate, the higher the delta because it is more sensitive to a change in the underlying rate.

John Nobile - Senior Account Executive
CFOS/FX - Online Forex Spot and Options Brokerage

Potential SPX Overshoot

2007-11-01T19:43:00.001-07:00

The most recent article "Lower Volume Trading Range" showed SPX held the cyclical bull market low, intermediate-term technical indicators may have bottomed, and an SPX 1,246 to 1,290 range may take place in July. However, the possibility of a rise above 1,290 should be taken into account.

The two charts below show daily SPX (right scales and candlesticks) and daily NYSE Oscillator (NYMO; left scales and green lines) in 2004 and currently with SPX 50 and 200-day MAs. NYMO closed above 72 on Monday, which is the highest level since early-June 2004.

The first chart shows SPX topped in March 2004 at 1,163 and began a volatile downtrend. The second chart shows SPX topped in May 2006 at 1,326 and also began a downtrend. The gray arrow in the 2004 chart may indicate SPX movements over the next month. The first two weeks of July tend to be bullish. So, it's possible, SPX may rally into earnings season, stay high, and sell on the FOMC anouncement August 8th. A short-squeeze may be triggered above 1,290 with upside potential to around 1,310.

However, there are major differences between the 2004 and current charts. When the 2004 NYMO rose above 80, it began below negative 100 (both the high and low were historical extremes), while the current rise began slightly below negative 50. Also, SPX rose above the 50-day MA on the first bounce after the top in 2004. However, SPX failed to reach the 50-day MA on the first bounce after the top in 2006.

Over the 2004 downtrend, SPX made lower highs. So, 1,290 continues to be major resistance, and the 1,246 to 1,290 range may take place in July. Nonetheless, a sharp rise above 1,290 should be taken into account. Also, the charts indicate SPX will be much lower within three months, and SPX may bottom in October or sooner, perhaps below 1,200.

Free charts available at PeakTrader.com Forum Index Market Forecast category.

Arthur Albert Eckart is the founder and owner of PeakTrader. Arthur has worked for commercial banks, e.g. Wells Fargo, Banc One, and First Commerce Technologies, during the 1980s and 1990s. He has also worked for Janus Funds from 1999-00. Arthur Eckart has a BA & MA in Economics from the University of Colorado. He has worked on options portfolio optimization since 1998.

Mr Eckart has developed a comprehensive trading methodology using economics, portfolio optimization, and technical analysis to maximize return and minimize risk at the same time and over time. This methodology has resulted in excellent returns with low risk over the past four years.

How to Choose a Low Spread Forex Trading Platform

2007-11-01T18:17:00.001-07:00

When you start your Forex trading you will find that the Forex brokers - online or conventional, do not ask for a commission for their service. But of course, they do not perform their operations for free. They make money by charging a spread from the investor. It is therefore very important to find out a low spread Forex trading platform.

The spread is the difference between the bid price and the ask price for the currency being traded. The broker adds this spread onto the price of the trade and keeps it as their fee for trading. So you can consider this as a hidden commission.

One good thing about the spread is you pay it when you buy and not when you sell. A trading of 4 pips vs. 5 pips makes a difference of 25% on your trading costs! This makes the point clear why you would need a low spread Forex trading platform.

The popular currency pairs like the EUR/USD or GBP/USD typically have the lowest spreads. Some brokers offer different spreads for different types of accounts. A low spread Forex trading platform may not offer good mini trading and may have higher spreads than a full contract account. Obviously the smaller the spread on currency pairs the better the conditions for you as investor and trader.

You will find many online sites offering different platforms for Forex trading. Through these platforms you can actually buy or sell the Forex. You will have to identify a low spread Forex trading platform from them.

A good Forex trading platform shows live prices that you can actually trade at, and not indicative quotes. The low spread Forex trading platform should be fair and should let you know the actual prices so that you can have an idea of the spread.

While choosing the low spread Forex trading platform you wish to trade from the factors you should consider are:

Platform execution This refers to how fast and consistent the execution of trades are.

Fractional trading The low spread Forex trading platform allows the investors and traders to trade on a fractional basis. Instead of full lots 100,000 units or 300,000 units, it allows you to trade 163,345 units or 325,911 units. This is very helpful for traders risking certain percentage of their balance on each trade.

User friendly The trading platform should be easy to use and understand. It should be reliable during fast moving markets. The platform should offer services like one click buying or selling, trading directly from a chart, supports mobile devices, trailing stops, etc.

Minimum investment The Forex trading platform should offer minimum amount of money to open a trading account.

To find out which Forex brokers offer the lowest spreads and the best trading software please visit our Forex Reviews and Advice website

E-currency Trading - An Alternative to Futures & Forex Trading

2007-11-01T16:50:00.001-07:00

I find it amazing that nearly everyday I receive something online or offline that is the greatest break-through in Trading. You know the stuff. This system or that method has been thoroughly tested and back-tested in every conceivable fashion and is wildly successful. Some work for a period of time but most do not. The decades old statistical fact still remains, 90+% of Futures Traders will lose all of their trading capital within their first year of trading. Now there is a new and promising alternative.

Enter e-Currency Trading. In simple terms e-currency is Internet Money. E-Currency allows the purchase of Internet goods and services at lightning speed and most importantly with a high level of security. Much higher than credit cards, bank transfer etc. The demand for e-currency should only grow as Internet Commerce grows.

So what does this have to do with trading? There are literally hundreds of different e-currencies. Each is backed by an underlying Currency or a precious metal. The need arises to exchange between these e-currencies or convert an e-currency to hard cash. Much like the Euro is to the European Union. We can profit from the exchanging process and profit from the fluctuation of the underlying currency value.

The same basic strategies apply to e-currency trading as with futures trading. Supply and demand dictates price primarily. You could buy e-currency that has historically performed well (buying the trend) or go the opposite way and buy those that are under-performing, looking for a turn-around. You can even chart them if you like.

Leverage, that double-edged sword that Futures Traders are so familiar with is also present in e-Currency Trading. You can borrow against your portfolio to buy more e-currency. The compounding affect is almost outrageous. Some would argue that you never have to pay back the leverage. I contend that it is paid back if you closed your e-Currency account, because your final balance would be less the amount leveraged. The point here is the leverage in futures trading is often times the demise of a well intended trader versus the leverage afforded an e-currency trader combined with the daily compounding affect creates portfolio growth at a phenomenal rate. It is not uncommon to see portfolio growth of 20 40% per month.

Futures Trading and e-Currency Trading have a common downside. The learning curve is huge and can be frustrating and costly. Each has unique terminology, which is impossible to work around until you have a good understanding of the meaning. Thankfully in this world of information, we are able to find resources online and offline that shorten that curve. How much it is shortened is dependent on how much time you want to dedicate.

Industry experts have debated for years the optimum amount one should fund their futures trading account with. The obvious moving target is enough capital to withstand the drawdown periods. Many factors go into this but Ive seen numbers range anywhere from $10,000 to $50,000 and up. If this is the case then there is little doubt why most futures traders lose as most are willing to fund only the amount required to cover Margin or the Brokers account minimum usually a few thousand dollars. One of the biggest reasons for small business failure is being under capitalized, the same holds true in futures trading.

E-Currency Trading is different in that the experts recommend starting with a few hundred dollars and let the system build your account. Whatever route you choose, only trade with risk capital.

E-Currency Trading certainly has advantages over traditional futures trading and may well be worth your serious consideration.

Merv Thompson is the owner of a website that provides trading tools, resourses and reviews for todays futures trader. http://www.futures-brokers-review.com

Merv has started his own personal e-currency trading account and will periodically post updates - Visit the website to view the results

Additional information about e-currency trading can be found on his website at http://www.futures-brokers-review.com/ecdwnld.html

9 Tips For Becoming a Profitable Forex Trader

2007-11-01T15:25:00.001-07:00

Regardless of your trading style; day trading, swing trading, or position trading there is a simple step by step plan you can use to improve your odds for success.

1. Start by paper trading until you can be consistently profitable on paper. I would also recommend doing a lot of practice trading with a real-time demo account. This is the next best thing to real trading without risking money.

2. Regardless of how much money you have, start trading with a small amount of money and work up over time. You need to make all your mistakes with the smallest amount of money. Trust me, it will be a lot less painful!

3. If you are a day trader, avoid the very small time-frames like 1 or 2 minute as you get a lot of signals which can lead to over trading. These fast time-frames are full of market noise and insignificant price activity.

4. Make sure that all your entry criteria are met for the trade setup. Don't jump the gun until everything is in place.

5. If there are no clear signals in the market, then do nothing. Forcing trades almost always ends up with losses.

6. Always place your protective stop immediately after entering the trade!

7. In your studies you will be exposed to many techniques. You will improve your results by concentrating on only one or two strategies. Get real good and consistently profitable with them first.

8. Don't watch too many currencies at one time. This leads to too much confusion and indecision about which trade to take. I wouls stick to two or three of the major currency pairs.

9. Win, lose or draw dont deviate from your strategies or change things.

These 9 points may seem very simple, but they are actually very hard to carry out as they require a lot of focus and discipline. Stick to them and you will trade better than the majority of forex traders out there.

Dr. Jeffrey Wilde, a trading veteran with 16 years of experience is a trading coach to over 3500 traders in 63 countries. His new blog http://www.askjeffwilde.com offers free trading articles, tips and advice. He also teaches a variety of courses found at http://www.win-at-trading.com and http://www.fastforexprofits.com

Investments and How to Find Them

2007-10-12T21:14:00.000-07:00

There are risks involved in all investing. The skill of investing is knowing which risks are worth taking, and which should be avoided. Finding and knowing which risks to take is the essence of good investing and the whole reason that investments can pay such a high reward. It cannot be done without careful research and analysis. You must give yourself every chance to make the right decision. Investing without carrying out sufficient research is like playing roulette. You are giving yourself virtually no chance of covering your investments and avoiding disaster.

There are certain steps you will have to take in order to give yourself a fighting chance of being a successful investor. If you are considering investing in company shares on the stock market, then you should be aware that all publicly traded companies must provide investors and potential investors with access to company financial data. This data is generally available from the company so if you are considering buying into a company, then get access to this information and satisfy yourself that the company is in a good financial state before parting with any money.

Be Aware

If you do research a company, and are taking a look at its financial position, then you should look back two to three years into the past. You probably dont need to go back further than this but if you go back less, there may be important trends in the finances that you will miss. Take special note of the quarterly statements and the revenue and earnings per share.

You should be trying to identify trends in certain figures. While these are no guarantee of what might happen In the future it is undeniable that an upward trend in revenue and profits will be a positive sign to look out for.

Once you have satisfied yourself with the basic financials of the company and that the prospects of making good profits into the future are favourable you will be in a position to consider putting money into the share. There is an ongoing debate over whether its preferable to buy shares that will increase in value, or shares that pay good dividends and the answer to this question must always lie with the individual investor. What must be remembered however is that there is little point in chasing dividends. This refers to the practice of buying a share just before a dividend is expected to be announced. The price of the share will already have taken the dividend into account so you will be paying for it in any case.

Joseph Kenny is the webmaster of the loan information sites http://www.selectloans.co.uk/ and also http://www.ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk At the Personal Loan Store you can find some of the latest personal loans explained in detail.

Power of Candlestick assist you in Forex Trading

2007-10-12T18:19:00.000-07:00

An Introduction To Candlesticks There are two ways to analysis a market price, (i) fundamental analysis, (ii) technical analysis.

Fundamental analysis- is used to gauge the market price according to the number of stock, such as price or earnings ratio, return on invest, or anything related to the economic statistics.

Technical analysis - is used to deal with psychological component especially the emotionalism of traders. It is always seeking answer for the question "how are other traders viewing this stock, and how would them react for that future trading?. So, the candlestick chart is always considered as the most effective way to gauge the reactions of other traders.

Lets compare the candlestick charts with the western charts. There are four components in the western bar chart, (i) open, (ii) high, (iii) low (iv) close. For the vertical bar, the top and bottom of the bar represents the high and low of the session. For the horizontal bar, the left horizontal line represents the open and the right horizontal line represents the close.

By using the same data, the Japanese Candlestick Line has created a much more visualize pictures to show the traders how the market stock is going. The main colour thick part of the candlestick bar is called the real body. It represents the range between the price of opening session and close session. The red real body represents that the session close at a lower price than the open point; while for the green real body, it represents that the session close at a higher price than the open point. The top and bottom lines are called shadows. The shadows represent the extremes of one sessions price. The top part shadow is called the upper shadow and the bottom part shadow is called the lower shadow. So, the upper shadow represents the high of the day and the lower shadow represents the low of the day.

The major difference between the Western Line and the Japanese Candlestick line is the relationship between opening and closing prices. The Western Line gives more priority to the closing price regarding to the previous close. But for the Japanese Candlestick Line, the Japanese gives more priority to the close regarding to the open of the same day. To make the words clearer, lets compare the daily chart plotted with Western Lines and the Japanese Candlestick lines by using the same data. There is nothing much difference between those charts as both charts can be easily interpreted the overall trend of the stock. However, with the Japanese Candlestick chart, the sentimental changes day to day is more easier by viewing the real body colour changed (from green to red or vice versa).

I know it is very difficult to visualize without the graphic assisted. But i have no idea to put the chart and candlestick bar here. If you need more information, go Easy Forex Strategy or http://www.learnforexsecret.com

Learn Forex Secret

To Enjoy Your Retirement Years And Have Enough Money You Need To Plan Now

2007-10-12T16:53:00.000-07:00

It is never too late or too early to start investing for the future. Of course there will be a lot of advantages if you start investing for the future at an early stage. Note that if you start investing while you are still very young, time could work to your advantage. The value of money and properties could go higher with time, thus in most instances, the longer you keep the investment, the greater will be your gain.

Contrary to some myth that you will need a fairly large sum of money to start investing, you could actually start small. If you were financially hard up that every dollar would count to tide you over to the next payday, with more reason for you to save and invest your money into some profitable ventures. Why would you save when you can hardly afford to buy the basic necessities in life?

Although you might think that setting aside savings for investment purposes is illogical when you are financially hard up, this could actually be the soundest thing to do. Just think about it, if you are financially challenged today and you don't do anything about it, you will still be financially challenged the next day, the day after next and so on. You must do something different and break the chain of living from paycheck to paycheck and whining about it too.

How much do you really need to start investing in stocks or mutual fund portfolio? To open an account, you could actually start with just $100 and then build up your portfolio by contributing about $25 to $50 monthly. If you don't have hundreds now, you can save some amounts every payday until you have enough to open an account. You must understand that the dollars that you invest now could be worth a lot more in a few years. By building your portfolio slowly, you could accumulate a lot of money after a few years. Studies shows that people who have invested in mutual funds when they were in their early twenties have earned a great deal of money by the time they reach the age of forty. In some instances, people who started investing early could have enough money to plan for an early retirement.

There are many companies offering investment programs that could suit your needs. If you are really serious about building a financial nest for the future, you could start getting information online on how to open investment accounts. Find a good website which could give comprehensive information about how mutual funds or shares of stocks could work to your advantage. It is always a good idea to learn more about the product that you want to invest your money in before you actually put up your money. Note that it is important to pick a winner when investing or else you will end up losing some money instead of earning some.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about this as well as a stock investing at http://www.investingmaster.com

Understanding and Managing Market Turbulence

2007-10-12T15:26:00.000-07:00

The initial trigger for the huge market turbulence was the possibility that the Chinese government would impose taxes aimed at stopping speculative activity and controlling the speed of growth in the countrys market, which has doubled in value over the past 12 months. The rumors set off a sudden wave of selling in China, sending China's stock market index down by more than 8% in a single day which was its steepest decline since the September 11 attacks in 2001.

This strong decline was accompanied by a tremendous volatility in the global market. Over the course of just five days, the principal stock exchanges of Europe lost an average of 6.9%. In the United States, the Dow Jones dropped 4.6% and the S&P 500 dropped 5.19%. These declines are slight in comparison with the losses suffered in the stock exchanges of emerging markets. In Latin America, the Buenos Aires exchange plunged 12.58% during this period; the Bovespa in Brazil dropped 10.88% and the IPC in Mexico fell by 8.05%.

Of course circumstances leading up to the crises varied across countries and regions. But each of these events had one dynamic in common - the confluence of a sharp increase in risk perception, and the subsequent actions taken by financial institutions and investors to limit their exposure and to hedge against further losses.

Volatility can, and should, be expected along the way and we encourage investors to use this market volatility to reassess their asset class weightings and level of risk in their portfolios. While market corrections are not pleasant for investors we consider it normal and expect such market movements on occasion. The truth, of course, is that without risk no investment would ever produce a return worthy of the name.

Volatility expectation can be forecasted using historical volatility that is a measure of how much an exchange rate or any asset has varied, on average, over a specified period, say one year. As its name suggests, historical volatility is backward looking. This measure has the advantage of telling us something about expected volatility over the certain timeframe. It therefore has a forward-looking component.

Achieving ideal returns by managing and diversifying away risk is a weightier issue than ever for Resolute Capital Growth Fund. In our view market-neutral investing is one of the hottest strategies for achieving downside protection. Resolute Capital Growth Fund opens investors up to new thinking on highly effective approaches to return enhancement and risk reduction through our market-neutral investing techniques that hedge exposures to neutralize the impact of market volatility on investment performance. Resolute Capital Growth Fund has shown it can outperform in down markets as well as in up markets, and, if there were a recurrence of such market condition, we would expect a similar outcome. The objective of the Fund is to achieve consistent equity growth regardless of market conditions by investing in the global markets using the most advance asset allocation process.

The never-ending dilemma for investors is to decide to what extent they should remain invested in risky assets when risk premiums have been eroded. Focus your concern on your portfolio allocation, your portfolio diversification, and whether your investments are inline with your expectations.

With RESCGF you can enjoy the long-term benefits regardless of the market conditions, because we accept volatility and we learned to ignore it. Considering the current state of global markets, our approach will not change moving forward. We will continue to proceed with caution given the state of financial markets, a strategy that has proven to be a sound approach in light of recent events.

Forex Trading - Earn Bigger Profits Now By Applying the 80-20 Rule

2007-10-12T14:00:00.000-07:00

The 80:20 rules applies in many spheres of life and if you know what it is and apply it in forex trading you will increase your profits dramatically. So lets take a look at what it is and specifically how to apply it to forex trading.

In the late nineteenth century an Italian economist named Vilfredo Pareto observed that, in his native country of Italy, a small group of people held nearly all the power, influence, and wealth.

Came to the conclusion that in most countries, about 80% of the wealth and power was controlled by about 20% of the population and he referred to this as:

Predictable imbalance, which became known as the 80:20 rule.

He concluded that in relation to an individuals effort:

20% of your effort or energy output will produce 80% of your income furthermore, 20% of your time will produce 80% of your work out put or income.

Does this apply to forex trading?

Yes it does and the lesson you can learn from the 80:20 rule is to work smart not hard. Concentrate your effort on the trades that have the best risk reward.

Cut The Number Of Trades You Do

Its a fact that most traders trade too much and execute trading signals to often, as they want to force the market to give profits, but of course profits cannot be forced.

The way to apply the 80:20 rule to currency trading is drop your frequency of trading. If you look at forex charts you will see that there are very few big trends each year but when they do occur they produce huge profits.

How do you spot them?

Here is a checklist

1. Look for valid resistance levels, that if broken are considered significant by the market.

2. Learn how to use a breakout methodology and go with breaks of these support and resistance levels.

3. To increase the odds even further make sure that you use momentum indicators to confirm that price momentum is supporting a break.

4. As you are trading less you can afford to risk more on these trades and increase profitability.

5. Dont trail stops to close and have a profit target that relates to the size of the break.

The above method will ensure you are trading a lot less and it could be as much as 80%, but your profitability will be increased.

Its a fact that most of the big profits are generated from trades that break from new market highs - NOT market lows.

So if you have been buying dips its time to re think your forex trading strategy.

Trading Less for More Profits

If you like excitement and the thrill of trading this strategy is not for you. The above strategy is all about making money and trading the trades with the best risk to reward which can yield triple digit annual gains.

If you have been trading and making marginal profits, apply the 80:20 rule to your trading, cut the frequency of trades and increase the profits!

GRAB 3 X FREE TRADER & FREE TRADER PROFITS NEWSLETTER

On all aspects of becoming a profitable trader including features, downloads and some critical FREE Trader PDF's and more FREE Forex Education visit our website at http://www.net-planet.org/index.html

Best Forex Trading System

2007-10-12T13:30:00.000-07:00

Venturing oneself in any kind of investments is not easy. Though most people consider capital as the major element, still many failed to find success. Perhaps you have heard about forex trading as a business venture, but you dont understand what its all about. This article will give you a little overview, before you can examine the benefits it can provide you.

Trading of foreign currencies through brokers is known as forex market. Movement of currency is the basis of forex exchange depending on market conditions. Process of dealing with the forex market to investors is called forex trading. Objective of every investor here is to profit. Opportunities of becoming rich or bankrupt via forex trading are speculative, because changes in forex rate are unexpected.

As time goes by, the impact of engaging in forex trading business is becoming more and more powerful especially to those who focused and risk their lives in this kind of gamble. Thus, every business individual or company at the back of this venture must not only be knowledgeable and responsive. There are so many qualities to own, ideas to adapt, and techniques or approach to apply in order to include your self in the series of successful forex trading investors.

Recently, many forex trading companies are providing best forex trading systems for their million clients. These systems can be accessed online, even without using your phone or going out somewhere else. In short, everybody deserves an effortless way of gaining profits at home. Online systems like these, provides historical display where you can back-check previous market exchange conditions. Having this is so simple. They can be downloaded directly to your PC, providing you a tutorial training based on video that will enhance your skills step by step. After this, why not imagine yourself profiting more in the biggest currency market in the world.

In fact, best forex trading system can be successfully achieved by examining first what is applicable or ideal for you. In choosing the best, you need to examine what is the difference between two kinds of forex systems discretionary and mechanical forex trading systems.

Discretionary systems uses good or bad experiences, direct perception or immediate apprehension on input and outputs while programs coming out directly from mechanical systems following systematic procedures and technical studies are categorized under mechanical systems. Which of the two can fulfill your preference? Its your duty to find out.

Know your personality first. If you think you can accomplish something based on the given standards of your systems, fearing yourself to be placed in risky situations, then it is recommended that youll use a system that belongs mechanically. On the other hand, if youre flexible enough to adapt in any kind of forex trading conditions, then discretionary type of system is ideal for you. With this kind of set up, you need to plan what to execute next.

The ways you choose the best forex trading system actually do matter. At the end, you still need to consider several significant points before having one. Determine the compatibility between the system and your personality; otherwise you will end up waiting for nothing. Have one for trial and two as a second option is possible.

Discover the best forex trading system recommended by Ricky that enable him to earn $545 per day working only 2 hours a day.

Shares or Mutual Funds - Which One is Better for You?

2007-10-12T00:34:00.000-07:00

Every Investment has got some level of risk associated with it. This risks ranges from low to high and the rate of return from the investment is directly proportional to the risk associated with it. That is, if you invest in a high-risk instrument, the rate of return is high and if your investment is in a low-risk instrument, then the rate of return on that investment is low.

Shares and Mutual funds are now considered as best option for investment. Shares belong to high-risk investment category. Before starting investment in a particular share, you have to do a deep research on the company you are going to invest, its future plans and current performance. But in the long run, if the company is under performing, then the share price can come down resulting in a significant erosion of your total investment.

Mutual funds are the next best option if you have a low-risk appetite. You can buy a Mutual Fund in units. Instead of you directly managing your funds, the Mutual fund company does all the buying and selling of shares through its Fund managers on your behalf. Fund managers are experienced professionals who are appointed by the Mutual fund company to look after your investment. He manages your investment carefully during turbulent economic upheavals.

The performance of a Mutual fund is reflected on its Net Asset Value. This is commonly known as NAV. If the NAV of a unit is more than the NAV at which you bought the unit, you can book profit or wait for some more appreciation on your investment. If the NAV is less than the rate at which you bought the unit, then you are in a loss. You can wait till the time NAV reaches above the NAV at which you bought the units.

Visit http://www.giftsspace.com/learningcntreasysearch.php?words=Share for more information.

Gijo George Vist http://www.giftsspace.com for Unique Gifts and Crafts around the world.

Forex Trading - Spotting the Big Trends For Big Profits Part 2

2007-10-11T22:45:00.000-07:00

In part 1 we looked at how human psychology pushes prices away from fair value.

When there are extreme moves away from fair value you can make a contrary trade to the majority and pile up big profits with low risk.

So what tools do you need? Lets take a look.

As a general rule these tools will work in any market not just forex markets.

What sets ups do you look for?

Generally you want a set up that is the news where there is no end in sight to a spike move.

This generally indicates that greed and fear have taken hold and the market being looked at is emotionally driven and away from fair value.

This happens all the time:

The recent spike in crude oil, the 87 stock market crash and many others including in the forex market.

First place to start

Is the chart look for huge price spikes in short time spaces accompanied by experts and the news telling you there is no end in sight.

Now delve a bit deeper to see the true picture.

Useful technical tools are:

RSI, Sochastics and Bollinger bands

Then add in these sentiment tools to the mix.

% Bullish

This indictor is a poll of people, experts, brokers etc that have a view or interest in the market.

When this poll indicates above 70% are bullish the market is in overbought territory and when below 30% is in oversold territory.

In the currency markets we like to look for even more extreme readings of below 20% and above 80%

Commitment of Traders Net - Traders Position Report

This is a tool used for years by futures traders and shows the breakdown of open interest among three main participants.

We will explain what it means in a minute buy here is its definition of the groups.

Hedgers The smart money commercial traders

Large speculators These are normally large funds with reportable positions

Small speculators everyone else.

The commercials are long term traders and are close to the fundamentals and move very slowly they are hedging not speculating and not influenced by greed or far and are the smart money.

Speculators on the other hand, both funds and small speculators, are driven by greed and fear

If you see a set up where commercials start to move the opposite way to speculators at a market top or bottom and hold an opposite extreme, then prices have moved to far from fair value.

With the commercials taking and building the opposite position to speculators in a rampant bull or bear market you know prices are probably due to re bound.

You must only use extremes with this tool and this normally means 8 months to 2 years.

Breaking it down

Study chart first, look for experts telling you there is no end in sight to the move, then look at % bullish and then net trader report.

Finally, use the technical indicators to confirm the move.

These moves do not happen often.

Maybe a few times a year.

But when they do

You can zero in on a contrary trade that not only offers huge profit potential but offer low risk.

FREE ESSENTIAL CONTRARY TRADING PDF'S

On all aspects of becoming a profitable trader including features, downloads and your essential FREE Trading PDF's visit our website at http://www.net-planet.org/index.html

FOREX Brokers - Tips for Choosing the Best Forex Broker

2007-10-11T21:22:00.000-07:00

There are many Forex brokers to choose from when trading currencies online - and choosing the right one is essential, if youre going to maximize your FX trading profits.

This article is all about choosing the best broker to help you trade online - and help you achieve currency-trading success.

Firstly, you need to understand the following:

A Forex broker is there to help you place orders and give you a good service when doing so.

Many novice traders however choose a broker assisted account - and then expect their broker to help them make money!

You shouldnt use a broker-assisted account.

To succeed in FX trading you need to understand that you alone are responsible for your trading success, and no one else.

Now you have your FOREX trading system / trading plan, its time to choose a broker. Here are some tips to help you:

Spreads Offered

Spreads can be very competitive and you need them to be. Transaction costs mount up - especially if you are trading frequently.

The tighter the spread, the more profits you will make.

Today, many brokers offer spreads as tight as 3 - 5 pips - and this is what you should look for.

Deposit Online

Look for a broker who will take online payments to your Forex account - and make sure the payment method is secure.

This is a great facility for funding your account quickly - and getting your trading profits back into your bank account!

Guaranteed Stop Loss Protection

The leverage is one of the main reasons that people are attracted to currency trading, as it increases the profit potential dramatically.

Of course, leverage is a double-edged sword - and where there are high rewards, there is high risk.

Many traders are nervous of trading with the potential to lose more than their initial deposit. With this in mind many Forex brokers now offer guaranteed stops and negative balance protection.

This is a sensible service to utilize when you first venture into trading, as it gives peace of mind for a small fee.

Leverage Offered

The leverage brokers will give you varies dramatically from broker to broker.

You should look at a broker who will grant you at least 200:1, as it will maximize your potential profits.

In fact, many brokers will give you leverage of up to 400:1.

Other Charges

Your only transaction cost should be the currency spread - you should not pay other commissions.

Always make sure that the currency spread is the only fee youre charged, and that you dont pay any extra brokerage commissions.

Investment Amounts

Today, currency trading is not just the preserve of wealthy individuals and banks - anyone can get involved, as deposits are affordable to all investors.

You can open a trading account online with as little as $100.00 this means that novice traders who want to start out with a small amount can do so.

Trading Platform

If you are trading online, you will go through a Forex trading platform - and you should look at this closely when looking to trade with a broker.

You want ease of use and reliability but also check that the broker provides assistance and support.

FOREX Trading Education

While you should always make your own investment decisions, its nice to get free trading tools such as:

FREE trading guides
Forex training seminars
Trading news
Trading recommendations
Forex trading systems
Trading books

These can be useful when you first start to learn Forex trading, and you are developing your own Forex trading strategy.

Choose Your Broker Wisely

When choosing a Forex broker you have a lot of choice, and the above tips will help you choose a broker that will be a valuable partner in your quest for profits from online Forex trading.

Grab 5 FREE Trader PDF's and get the support you need to trade like a pro with our user-friendly multi-lingual online trading platforms. Get up to date financial news, real-time market prices, tight pip spreads, built-in risk management system, and 24-hour professional support. Grab your FREE PDF's NOW:
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Short Selling for Investors

2007-10-11T20:08:00.001-07:00

Shorts. Lets see. If there are shorts there must be longs. Which is best? Longs or shorts?

If you are trading in the stock the stock market experts like longs better than shorts. If you are long that means you own stock and that is good. If you are short you have sold stock and that is bad. At least that is what Wall Street preaches. And why do they want to make you believe this and is it true? Lets examine the facts.

Today I hear stories on the financial news and there are articles in the paper that people who are short driving the market down. They have sold more stock than they own and this is causing the market to collapse. I even hear that Congress is trying to pass a law that will not allow people to sell short. They are blaming hedge funds who are allowed to sell short. The basic flaw in this concept is when a short sale is initiated it must be done on an up tick. That means the stock must be going up in order to make a short sale. No short sale may be made to pressure the market down. That is a fatal pin in the balloon of that lie.

There are reasons people will make the sale of a stock. If you own it you may just need the money now or if it is going down you may not want to lose money should the downward trend continue. There is on old saying in the market the trend is your friend. If you see a stock that is declining you may want to sell it first and when it declines further you will buy it back at a lower price later on. This actually puts a floor under that stock because some time in the futures you MUST buy it. Whoever is doing the shorting does not matter whether it is an individual or a hedge fund. They are actually doing two things that are both good for the market. They are providing a future buy to support the price at a lower level that keeps it from going lower and they are providing liquidity to the market.

When you buy long you want it to go up so you can sell it later at a profit. When you sell short you sell it now with the idea of buying it back after it declines. Both are driven by the profit motive. How can one be good and the other bad? It is like saying there is good electricity and bad electricity.

If company CEOs dont want people to short their stock I suggest they look in the mirror to find out who is at fault. The CEO is not running his company properly and that is why the stock is declining. No outside person or group can drive a stock lower that is making a good profit. There is a good reason for the price decline.

Buying short does not put the market down. The ultimate outcome of a short sale (covering the short) is very positive for the market.

INVESTMENT LETTER 3 month free trial.
http://www.mutualfundmagic.com Copyright Albert W. Thomas All rights reserved. Author of If It Doesnt Go Up, Dont Buy It! Former 17-year exchange member, floor trader and brokerage company owner.

Two Little Four Letter Words

2007-10-11T18:42:00.001-07:00

The two words that every share trader has to come to grips with every time that they trade is "Risk and Fear." Combine the two of them and you have concocted a poisonous mixture.

As soon as you start with your first trade transaction you are leaving your self wide open to "Risk." That is the risk of losing part or nearly all of your original capital.

The first loss you encounter which you have no control over is brokerage. The amount depends which stockbroker you have chosen to deal with. So the share price has to rise a little bit just for you to break even. If the share price decreases then the loss compounded.

One of the first things that will help you to overcome "Fear" and to survive in the share market is by using a trading plan and sticking to it. Without one you are doomed to eventually fail. For all you are doing is a hit and miss affair.

By using a trading plan the odds of your survival and trading success arc dramatically increased tenfold if not more. By having a trading plan and adhering to it does not a guarantee success just puts the odds more in your favor.

Now the action we take to protect our trading capital is a "Stop Loss." This is also known as a conditional order.

Now before you set the stop loss in place you need to have planned in advance how much of your precious capital you are prepared to lose. Once you have agreed upon the stop loss and have put it into place you can then sit back happily knowing that you have done the best you can possibly do to save your trading capital.

In a successful trade the share price is rising and soon you are experiencing a paper profit. It is called a paper profit because as yet we haven't as yet physically taken a profit. This only occurs when we sell the stock and not before.

Now we experience the risk and fear of losing that hard won profit. That is assuming that you have picked a preset level of profit according to your trading plan.

To safely lock in that profit we use a variant of the stop loss we first employed when we opened the trade. This is called a "Trailing Stop Loss." The purpose of this is to follow the share price upwards and it effectively locks in your profit that you have made so far.

These stop losses are based on either a percentage or a dollar figure. Most important of all is that they must be reviewed every day in case they need an adjustment. And when required do not procrastinate but do them straight away for it could cost you dearly.

By doing all of the above you have alleviated a lot of the risk and reduced your fear levels considerably which makes for sleeping better at night worry free.

Christopher Strudwick is a keen amateur investor on the Australian Stock Market. Visit his weblog for more free articles and useful information at http://www.asxnewbie.com

Currency Trading Courses - What Makes a Good Training Manual?

2007-10-11T17:16:00.001-07:00

Many Forex courses use past information and facts as a basis for their training materials. The main problem with this is that they do not spend enough time on the practical side of investing. A better than average currency trading course should be able to help you understand the practical and technical workings of the Forex market which in turn will help yoin in developing and applying a strategy that you have formulated yourself.

Good courses should not spoon-feed you all of the information, sure they should teach you new things but it is important they also get you thinking for yourself. This is the only way you will learn how to apply the information they preach. You should be asked to think of your own approach to solving a particular problem.

Another sign that you have found a great course is if the manual is able to provide you with some first hand experience of the market or at least something simulating it. Video demonstrations, access to a safe, practice trading arena and a good level of support are always good signs that the currency trading course in question is worth purchasing.

Whilst Forex courses have their advantages, the one thing that has no substitute is confidence. A currency trading course must implant in you a confident attitude in making decisions related to Forex trading. Trading after all, is about taking risks and that is not possible until and unless you are confident about your own abilities.

When you are buying a currency trading educational course you must be sure that the material it offers you will prime you for successful trading in the real world not just in a practice environment. You will have to make a number of decisions in Forex trading and these actions that you choose will depend a lot on your instincts and on the knowledge. Therefore you are using the course to gain knowledge, which in turn builds your trading confidence and brings better results - thats the theory anyway!

It goes without saying that like any other field you want to enter, you need to have a basic understanding of the field. Forex trading is no different, if anything it is even more important to understand the fundamentals of the market than with any other market. Unlike stock trading you do not just need knowledge in one company or industry, you need global knowledge as a change in one currency can effect a change in another.

Most of the currency trading courses start with the US Dollars for the simple reason that it is the most predominant player in the market. With time, you should gain experience and knowledge about Forex trading with the US Dollar and after some practice you will find yourself more able to trade intelligently in other currencies also.

The currency trading courses can also teach you how to calculate the pip which, put simply, is the difference with which a currency rate increases or decreases. In other words, if the current exchange rate for two currencies is 1 to 45 and the next day it turns to 1 to 45.3, this means that the pip is 0.3. Calculating pip is not difficult but predicting it is essential in making profits and analyzing risk in any Foreign Exchange trade.

In summary, if you are looking to utilize a currency trading course to learn more and improve your Forex profitability then please do remember to consider the issues raised in this article carefully. A course should not be seen as a magic tutor that will bring you instant profits but should instead be viewed as a very useful learning experience that will boost your confidence and make you a more secure trader.

Paul Bryan operates Forex Reviews, News and Advice - A site aimed at bringing you the best and most independent Foreign Exchange information and articles.

Forex Education - Success You Follow These 2 Golden Rules

2007-10-11T15:50:00.001-07:00

I read a lot about forex education and most of it is wrong; its a fact that 95% of traders lose, because they learn forex trading in the wrong way. Forex Trading success is easy but most traders simply have no idea how to acquire the right forex education and thats what this article is all about.

Learn these two golden rules and you can have a successful forex trading strategy and they are:

1. You are Responsible for Your Success

The problem for most forex traders is they think they can buy success from a vendor for a few hundred dollars. These gurus and mentors make millions from gullible and naive traders.

Most of the currency trading systems sold on the net are junk and simply promoted by clever marketing and the best example is perhapsforex day trading. Great story but it doesnt work.

The only person who can make you successful is you.

This means devising your own forex trading strategy for success.

If you devise your own strategy (its not as hard as many people think and is covered in our other articles) you will have a total understanding of your system and why it will work. This will give you two key character traits for success:

Confidence in your system and the discipline to follow it through inevitable losing periods.

2. Work smart and learn the RIGHT knowledge

There are those traders who are naive and gullible and believe someone else can give them success for a few hundred dollars, on the other hand there are others who believe that to make money you need to work hard their logic is the more you put in, the more you will get out but this is simply not true.

There are plenty of smart people working hard trading forex and a lot of them lose.

Why?

Because in the world of forex trading you only get a reward for being RIGHT and the market gives you nothing for effort.

So what does working smart entail?

Firstly, if you are new to forex trading develop a simple technical system with just a few indicators.

Simple systems work far better than complicated ones, as there are less elements to break in the brutal world of currency trading. Then, you need to focus on the long term trends and use a breakout methodology - its easy to understand, easy to apply and it's very profitable.

All the information you need is available free on the net.

If you seek out this forex education, you will be able to get a system that is robust and works and get a forex trading strategy together in less than 2 weeks.

If you are a long term trend follower you will only be executing forex trading signals a few times a month and your forex analysis will take under half an hour a day.

Is It Really That Simple?

Yes it is.

Currency trading success is built on a simple robust system and the ability to apply it with discipline.

Unless you develop it yourself, you wont confidence to follow it with dsipcline and without discipline, you dont have a method in the first place.

Currency trading is all about having the right knowledge and the right attitude to apply it.

Its a fact that everything about forex trading can be learned and anyone can become a successful trader, but 95% dont for the reasons outlined above dont make the same mistake.

GRAB 3 X FREE TRADER & FREE TRADER PROFITS NEWSLETTER

Learning Forex Trading - The Eight Steps To Get You On Your Way

2007-10-11T09:08:00.001-07:00

Learning forex trading can certainly be a daunting process if you have no idea where to start. Although forex is less complex than some other methods of trading because it only deals with one specific commodity, it can still be a chore to get to grips with. There is so much involved when learning forex trading, especially if you want to be successful, but by following the tips below, you can soon obtain the knowledge and know how that you need.

1. Research forex trading You can never walk into any kind of investment without first investigating the possibilities and weighing up the advantages and disadvantages, and learning forex trading is no different. You should at least know what it is and how the concept of forex trading works before committing yourself to attempting to profit from it.

2. Learn all about currencies Most individuals know a little about the dollar, pound and euro, but it is essential to learn about all currencies and their histories whilst learning forex trading. Without having basic knowledge of the fundamentals of currency, you cannot hope to do well at forex trading.

3. Assess the odds The odds of success and failure are part and parcel of learning forex trading because you need to be able to recognise trends, analyse profit margins and recognise potential.

4. Learn the key terms Every investment opportunity has some form of jargon attached to it. Ensure that you have a full understanding of the jargon associated with learning forex trading before progressing to the next possible step.

5. Watch the market As with anything in life, always watch the market to get the feel of it before progressing to participation. Learning forex trading is all about understanding before participating, and the only way for you to do that is to watch other before attempting it yourself

6. Use software to trade for free Some softwares enable the learning forex trading before you actually invest. You can trade imaginary amounts via simulators to give you practice and give a greater understanding of the system. You can analyse your mistakes and rectify them before actually investing your own money!

7. Set a budget Always work out what you can afford to trade whilst you are learning forex trading. It is easy for an individual to get in over his or head and end up losing far more than he or she can afford, so make sure that you are not one of those people!

8. You are ready to begin for real Your learning forex trading crash course is complete so as soon as you feel confident, go for it!

Simon Aridej is the owner NewForexLive.com a site which provides a good information about forex trading tips, how to trade like a professional forex trading free forex trading ebook and much more. You can download forex trading ebook for free by Click Here!

Flat Panel Displays - Beyond Plasma

2007-10-10T13:20:00.000-07:00

The term set-top box will become something of a misnomer in the near future, as most displays will become too thin to allow a box to placed on top of them. As the price of plasma & LCD displays has plummeted and their image quality has improved, they are popping up in homes everywhere.

Although they are the darlings of the media and the generic for flat panel display in the minds of many, plasmas are about to be in a serious fight with other technologies for the flat panel crown.

LCD displays, seen on the desktop for years as computer monitors, and commonplace in smaller flat panel TVs, are finally increasing in size to the point they are becoming a rival to plasmas in the 42" 50 size range. Picture quality is similar to plasmas; however LCDs are immune to the burn-in that can affect plasma displays. This burn-in occurs when plasma units are used to display static images such as video game screens and stock or sports tickers.

Plasmas generally have an edge in the ability to produce deeper blacks and more saturated colors than LCDs. Plasmas are also better at producing full motion video than LCDs because of the response time of the LCD panels, although this difference is disappearing.

LCD TVs are a bit more expensive than plasmas at 42" and larger sizes, but they should last a while longer. Plasma displays should last 20,000 25,000 hours and LCDs should give 30,000+ hours of useful life. However, the latest generation of plasma displays from NEC, LG & others is claimed to have a 60,000 hour life. If that is an industry trend, the traditional lifespan advantage held by LCDs may soon disappear. This comes at a time when Sony and other major consumer electronics manufacturers are either abandoning plasma or reducing their plasma offerings. Others, such as Panasonic, Fujitsu and Pioneer are firmly commited to Plasma technology.

Currently Sony has a 42", NEC a 40", Sharp a 45", and Samsung a 40" LCD TV or display. Samsung also has the big one, a 46" that started shipping in early September of 2004. The Samsung 46" was the first consumer LCD video display to have a 1080 line native resolution. This allows it to display 1080p native when that format arrives for HDTV. The Samsung has been joined by Sony, Toshiba and others, to endow the mid 40" size category with some pretty solid LCD offerings. The largest consumer LCD TVs or monitors are the Sharp 65" and Sony showed a prototype 82" LCD from their Bravia line at the 2006 CES in Las Vegas.

Other technologies are on the horizon as well. One that has shown great promise is OLED, for Organic Light Emitting Diode. Developed by Kodak and Pioneer, this technology has been used for a few years in car stereo and cell phone displays. It's just about ready for prime time. Philips has shown a 13" unit, Samsung a 17", and Seiko-Epson has shown a 40" prototype.

OLEDs advantages are many. It actually emits its own light, so it requires no backlight and has better contrast than a traditional LCD. OLED displays have a wide viewing angle like a plasma display. Power usage is very low, less than 1/2 that of a traditional LCD display. At around 2mm deep, OLEDs are much thinner than either a plasma or LCD.

They have a refresh rate about 1,000 times faster than a traditional LCD, so they will be far superior for video applications. They have fewer parts than LCD or plasma and can be manufactured using a novel ink jet printing process. This promises to keep prices low as the technology is implemented. It is expected to see sub 20" displays in stores by 2006 with larger units following one to two years later.

Other promising display technologies on the horizon include SED (Surface-conduction Electron-emitter Display) and carbon Nanotube. SED was developed by Canon, who began research into the technology in 1986. SED is basically the same principle as CRT, however there are important differences. The most important from a consumer standpoint is thickness. An SED display is only an inch or two thick, depending upon screen size.

The basic construction is two glass plates separated by a vacuum. One of the plates is coated with phosphors the other is mounted with electron emitters. Electrons are ejected when a voltage of about 16 to 18 V is applied to the emitters. These electrons are then accelerated by a higher voltage into a beam similar to that in a CRT display.

The visual advantages of SEDs are as for CRT displays, great color, deep black levels and quick motion response. These advantages, combined with the slim form factor, low cost and small power requirement should make for a real winner.

A unit shown by Toshiba at a Japanese trade show in April of 2005 even had its contrast ratio up to an incredible 100,000 to 1 by significantly reducing black luminance. Even if the specs were a bit inflated this would still amount to a fantastic contrast ratio, on the order of 5 times that of a traditional CRT. At one time, Toshiba indicated they would move to this technology for all displays over 40 by 2006. However, after a spectacular demo at 2006 CES by where they indicated a late 2006 debut, both Canon and Toshiba, Toshiba resheduled their release date for SED until mid 2007, ostensibly to allow them to produce lower cost SEDs.

There is another fly in the SED ointment too. On April 21st, 2005 US firm Nano-Proprietary has filed a suit against Canon in the U.S. District Court of the Western District of Texas, alleging that the surface (SED) televisions that Canon plans to release violates a licensing agreement signed 5 years ago between the Japanese giant and Nano-Proprietary.

The pace of change in the home theater and entertainment display market has just kept accelerating. There are some promising technologies around the corner that will allow, as usual, higher performance, lower cost and more compact form factors. As prices for advanced technologies plunge and technology improves, it will make it even easier for the average person to have a fantastic media system almost anywhere in their home.

Steve Faber has almost 15 years in the custom installation industry. He is a CEDIA certified designer and Installer 2 with certifications from both the ISF and THX. His experience spans many facets of the industry, from the trenches as an installer and control systems programmer, and system designer, to a business unit director for a specialty importer of high end audio video equipment, a sales rep for a large, regional consumer electronics distributor, and principal of a $1.5M+ custom installation firm. He currently is senior sales engineer for Digital Cinema Design in Redmond, WA. For much more about flat panel technology, home automation and home theater, go to flat panel displays for your home and theater

Five Fundamental Steps To Successful Stock Option Trading

2007-10-10T00:15:00.000-07:00

Stock option trading presents the opportunity to potentially make a fortune trading options than almost any other form of online trading in todays market. The level of reduced risk combined with above average leverage allows a skilled option trader the chance to make sizable gains but an aspiring option trader must have a solid understanding about what creates a reliable option trading method to insure long term success at option trading. There are five fundamental steps that any option trader must implement when creating a superior stock option system.

To begin with you must realize the affects of time on the premium of the option you are choosing to trade. There are two parts you must factor when considering time into the stock option trading process. The first part that has to be considered is the time left on an option till expiration. Since stock options have a defined time period of anywhere from 30 days up to three years in some cases then you must be sure to select the proper stock option with enough time on it in order to profit. You must be sure that you purchase the correct option containing enough time on it to insure that time decay doesnt erode your investment away before your position has enough time to be profitable.

This brings us to the second part of the option selection process of trading options successfully is factoring time into your trading system. Trading a particular stock option and knowing the key factors of your option trading system or setup by knowing the average time period of a trade once it has been signaled and entered. For example, if your average holding time for an option trade is five days then you dont want to buy an option with four months of time premium left on it because you would be paying more for the extra time with the options purchase price. Nor would you buy an option with less than 30 days till expiration as time decay would eat away the value of option so rapidly that even if the stock options underlying stock moved favorably in your direction the time decay would be so great you would be too late to capture a gain in the option itself.

The third step to successful stock option trading is comprehending the relationship of volatility between the market, the underlying instrument that the option is based on, and the effect is has on the cost of the option itself. When the stock market as a whole as an index goes thru periods of low volatility or experiences low trading volume then the stocks that make up the market tend to follow general market and also begin to follow suit with periods of low volatility which cause cause the value of stock options to become cheap. However if the general markets volatility begins to spike it causes individual stock option premiums to increase in value as long as the market moves in the traders favor.

The fourth key in successful stock option trading is having a trading method that takes factor these key steps into giving clear entry signals, clear exit signals, a defined system of trade management, and a profit factor greater than your average loss over a series of trades. Understanding all steps of various trade setups is meaningless if you dont have a trading system that guides you through each step of the trade management process. A solid trading stock option system guides you by the hand and details each step while guiding you towards being a consistent winning trader in the markets and being profitable in the end.

The fifth and final step to trading stock options successfully is trading psychology. Traders and there mental makeup are usually complex so it is very important that stock option traders have a sound stock option trading system or method that factors this into their overall approach to trading the markets as well as the discipline to follow their trading methods. You can give two traders the same exact profitable trading system but its very likely that they will experience very different results. The reason for this is usually is because the one that has the ability to remain as detached from his losing trades as well as his winning trades while maintaining the discipline to follow the systems rules no matter the individual trading result will come thru as the most profitable trader in the end which shows us that it comes down to a superior mental process towards trading the markets.

Using these five steps as a foundation to create your own stock option trading system can help you avoid the mistakes of many other stock and option traders. By understanding time decay, factoring an options time into your trading method, how volatility impacts a stock options intrinsic value, what details a winning stock option trading system, and your own trading psychology you now have a the key steps to build your trading career on.

Would like to earn greater profits in today's markets? Sign up for a free newsletter and ebook at StockOptionSystem.Com and read more articles like this one at StockOpSys Article Directory!

Avoid "Buying" Mutual Fund Dividends

2007-10-09T22:25:00.000-07:00

At this time of year, you need to be aware of the ex-dividend date of any mutual funds you plan on purchasing. If you heed this advice, you avoid some nasty tax and investment performance consequences.

To explain why, let me first define ex-dividend date. On the ex-dividend date, all registered owners of a mutual fund become eligible to receive any declared dividends and capital gains distributions. If you do not own the fund by that date, you do not receive the payout. You also want to keep in mind the distribution date. After that date, you can go ahead and buy your shares without the negative impact on the NAV (Net Asset Value).

At this time of year (Oct Dec), most mutual funds declare their dividend and capital gains distributions. You have nothing to worry about if you want to buy stock. Such distributions do not impact the share price. However, if you own mutual funds you need to consider the impact of this distribution on the NAV or share value. On the day of the distribution, you will see the NAV of your mutual fund shares drop by the declared dollar amount. In industry parlance, we call this buying dividends.

Heres how it works. Throughout the year, the cash from dividends paid by stocks within the fund and capital gains realized from the sale of assets either accumulates adding to the funds cash balance or gets reinvested in equities by the fund manager. At the end of the year, the fund must distribute at least 95% (?) of the dividends/realized capital gains not reinvested in new securities. Typically, funds declare this distribution in the months of October and November.

At the end of the year, the NAV of the fund reflects the value of all the investments it contains plus the starting cash balance and the accumulated cash resulting from dividends and capital gains. When the fund manger distributes the dividends and capital gains, the NAV drops a corresponding amount. Thats fine for the people who have owned the fund most of the year. They enjoyed the NAV appreciation that resulted from the growth of the investment, the dividends, and the realized capital gains. An investor who buys just before the ex-dividend and distribution dates has purchased cash value. When the fund distributes the cash, the new shareholder sees the value of her fund shared decrease, receives back part of her investment, and then gets to pay taxes on in essence her own money! Not a good deal.

A look at an example will show why you want to avoid buying dividends. Suppose the ex-dividend date is tomorrow and you buy shares at a NAV of $25. The fund declares a dividend of $3.00 per share. Doing so means that tomorrow the fund distributes $3.00 of the NAV so your shares are now worth $22 instead of the original $25. You now owe taxes on $3.00 per share even though you didnt enjoy the price appreciation you would have had if you had purchased at the beginning of the year.

You can see that you lose in this situation. You should avoid buying dividends. Instead, wait until after the after the distribution date to purchase your shares. Then you will get to enjoy any price appreciate throughout the year and not pay taxes on the return of your own cash!

About the Author:

Catie Fitzgerald is a 10+ years veteran of the money management profession and the founder of Financially Savvy. Financially Savvy provides investors with the education and resources necessary to gain confidence in making their own financial decisions. We offer a variety of educational venues including classroom sessions, one-on-one coaching, and online resources. If you have a personal finance question you would like answered, contact Catie at cfitz@financiallysavvy.com.

Forex Strategy - How Do You Trade The Non-Farm Payroll Report?

2007-10-09T21:36:00.000-07:00

In the development of your forex strategy do you wonder how you can trade the non-farm payroll report?

Seeing this is one of the most, if not the most, volatile announcement during the month (first Friday in every month) newer traders watch the huge movements and wonder how to make money from all that volatility.

The answer given below you may not fully appreciate until some explanation is offered.

Question

"How do I trade the non-farm payroll report?"

Answer

"You DON'T!"

Or to put it another way, "By maintaining a neutral position!"

The market is far too volatile at this time to expect a high probability trade. There may be some gamblers out there who relish the thought of 'placing a bet' to go long or short. But serious traders know better.

Actually, the professional traders I know all say the same thing: "Stand aside and wait for the market to calm down."

This may take between 30 to 45 minutes in some cases and even then the direction of the market may be uncertain.

Some suggest you can trade volatile market movers such as the non-farm payroll report by waiting for the first leg of the move, up or down, then wait for price to pull back 10 or 15 pips, then enter a trade to catch the second leg of the move which often follows.

That's one possibility but still high risk. Personally I prefer to base my forex strategy on sound market assessment and carefully researched trades.

Trading The Aftermath

However, while many professional traders sit out the non-farm payroll report, that doesn't mean they don't trade afterwards.

After the market has made a violent move in one direction you sometimes see price stalling and then give a clear signal that it's momentum is exhausted.

Look For Combination Factors

This may be in the form of a candle pattern such as a hammer with a very large shadow which also happens to be on a key support or resistance level.

Now you can enter a trade with a small level of risk as you place your stop just above the high or low of the candle signal.

By applying a number of technical indicators to the chart pattern after a non-farm payroll report, you may see a point where a previous support/resistance level convergences with a Fibonacci retracement or extension, or the 200 EMA (Exponential Moving Average), or a pivot point.

If a distinctive candle forms at that level also you can expect a reasonable price bounce and extract a number of pips from the market.

This advice applies to all fundamental announcements which are considered 'market movers'.

By developing a cautious forex strategy based on sound trading principles, you will enjoy this business and get the satisfaction of seeing your account equity steadily growing.

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Set Yourself A Set Of Forex Trading Rules And Stick To Them

2007-10-09T20:46:00.000-07:00

One of the biggest problems for the new Forex trader (and quite a few experienced traders) is that they are no real rules to Forex trading. Now in some ways that's one of the beauties of forex trading and it's nice to have the freedom to trade when you want to, to enter and exit positions whenever you feel like it, to increase or decrease an existing position and simply not to trade at all if you don't feel like it.

But within this freedom there also lies considerable danger.

No matter what we do in life there is no doubt that we do much better if we have a clear objective in mind and a roadmap to get us there. However, even though having a road to follow is essential, it is also important that we have a set of rules to follow to keep us on that road and to stop us from taking a wrong turning and ending up heading off course or driving up a dead end road.

In Forex trading there's no doubt at all that traders who follow a strict set of rules meet with far greater success than those who simply 'wing it'. Also, if you speak to traders who do follow a set of rules they'll tell you that, nine times out ten, when they have a bad day it's because they don't follow the rules and, when they have a good day, it's because they stick to them like glue.

The problem is that, since Forex trading doesn't really have any rules, you have to create a set of rules for yourself.

Now exactly what rules you will lay down for yourself will depend very much on your own trading plan and your rules will need to be reviewed whenever you update your plan - which you should do on a regular basis. So what sort of rules are we looking at?

Well, you might for example decide that you will never enter a trade without ensuring that you have a stop loss order in place. You might also decide that you will only enter a trade if certain analytical conditions are met. In other words, you will not enter a trade simply because you have a feeling about it, but will only do so if the numbers tell you that you should do so. In addition, you might decide when you are in a profitable trade you will move your stop when your profit reaches a pre-determined level in order to protect your position.

These are just a few ideas and your own list will need to meet your own particular trading strategy. However, whatever shape your list takes and however long or short it is, it is vitally important that you draw up a list, having thought about it very carefully, and that you then stick to it and also review it at regular intervals.

ForexOnlineTradingSystem.info is the ideal place to learn Forex trading and provides information on a wide range of topics including currency exchange rates and the benefits of testing the water through mini Forex trading.

Futures Contracts - Profitable Investment Alternatives?

2007-10-09T20:10:00.001-07:00

With the growing popularity of futures trading, more and more people are jumping into this interesting form of investing. People quickly find out that futures contracts are vastly different than agreements to purchase common stocks; with futures contracts, you are not actually buying a particular commodity, you are obtaining the right to purchase the underlying asset during a particular time period.

Pork Bellies?

Another difference between investing in the stock market and investing in futures contracts is the asset itself. Of course stocks are the assets involved in the stock market, while the commodity assets in futures contracts include:

Currencies The currency market is one of the best known commodities, trading the likes of the British pound and the American dollar.

Interest Rate Futures T-Bonds represent long-term interest rates and Eurodollars are for short-term interest rates.

Energy Futures Natural gas, heating oil and crude oil futures are the most widely known in this sector.

Food Sector Coffee, orange juice and sugar are well known commodities in this sector.

Metals Gold, silver and copper are traditionally strong commodities.

Agricultural Wheat, coffee, cotton, soybeans, pork bellies and corn futures are among those that are best known.

With so many futures contracts available, it can be difficult to decide which commodities interest you, especially if you are new to commodities trading. Sometimes it can be helpful when you start trading to begin with more popular commodities.

Below are five of the most popularly traded futures contracts:

1.S&P 500 E-mini This is extremely popular for those investing in the futures markets. The E-mini can be traded electronically 24 hours a day, five days a week. In addition, the E-mini has most of the same advantages of the regular S&P 500 commodity but the cost of investment is much less.

2.E-mini NASDAQ 100 The E-mini NASDAQ 100 follows the movement of the NASDAQ 100. Like the S&P 500 E-mini, this futures contract can be electronically traded and the contract and the amount of margin you have to set aside to trade the contract are smaller than a standard contract. Since most individuals don't have large enough accounts to trade regular contracts for the NASDAQ 100, the E-mini works out great.

3.Light Sweet Crude Oil Probably the most famous commodity traded is oil futures. When you see the price of oil discussed on the evening news or in an investment newsletter, this is exactly what they are discussing.

4.Gold If oil isnt the most famous futures contract, then gold surely is. A gold contract tracks the price variations of one ounce of gold. Gold became an important part of the US economy when the United States went to the Gold Standard in the 1970s. Since then, the price of gold changes dramatically, almost always in the opposite direction of the US dollar. Gold investments are frequently used as hedge funds because of the relationship with the US dollar.

5.E-mini Euro FX - The E-mini Euro FX contract tracks the movement of the exchange rate between the U.S. dollar and the Euro. The "E-mini" means that the contract and the amount of margin you have to set aside to trade these futures contracts are smaller than regular contracts. Most individuals don't have large enough accounts to trade a regular contract for the Euro, so E-minis are excellent investment strategies.

Conclusion

Futures contracts provide interesting and potentially profitable investment alternatives to many investors. Understanding the investment basics of futures contracts and commodities such as these will help you to be a more successful trader when it comes to futures contracts.

http://www.candlestickforum.com/PPF/Parameters/1_21_/candlestick.asp A site dedicated to stock market investing using Japanese Candlesticks

Vertical Spread - Vertical Option

2007-10-09T19:57:00.000-07:00

When option traders or investors engage in spread strategies, many times they are working with vertical spreads.

Any spread is created when a person buys and sells call options on the same stock or buys and sells puts on the same stock.

A vertical or price spread gets it's name from the vertical movement of prices. In this options strategy, the strike prices are different but the months are the same.

Vertical vs. Horizontal

A horizontal spread is when the strike prices are the same, but the months are different. They are also called calendar spreads. A vertical strategy is the opposite. The months are the same, but the strike prices on the options are different.

The strategy behind this is to make money on the strike price difference potential or the premiums - if a premium gain was achieved. All spreads come down to premium gain vs. trading or exercising potential. Verticals can be credit or debit.

Debit Spread

When a spread is created and the investor has lost money on the premiums (more money was spent on the buy then the sell), it is a debit spread. Because money was lost on the options, the investor will lose money if the options expire worthless (which is possible). The only way a debit spread holder can profit is by the options widening or getting exercised. Widening refers to the premiums growing and the contracts becoming valuable enough to trade later on. A vertical debit spread tells the trader that these contracts need to be traded or exercised for profit.

Credit Spread

When a spread is set up and the investor has gained money on the premium, it is a credit spread. The profit here rests with the options expiring worthless and the person making the premium as their maximum gain. A vertical credit spread is a strategy that does not work if the options are exercised. The strike prices would be inverted - profit wise.

Examples

Buy 1 WEF Oct 60 Call for $500
Short 1 WEF Oct 70 Call for $200

This is a vertical or price spread because the strike prices are different. It is also a debit, because the premiums have resulted in a $300 loss. This is also a bullish spread. It is bullish because the trader needs the market to rise, hoping the options get exercised. The buy call gives him the right to buy the stock at 60 and the short call carries an obligation to sell the stock at 70. This 10 point potential gain on the stock is why someone would create a vertical debit spread. If the options expire, the maximum loss would be the $300.

Buy 1 GHF Apr 30 Call for $600
Short 1 GHF Apr 20 Call for $900

This is a price or vertical spread as well, but it is a credit spread. It is also bearish. The strike prices are not attractive to this investor, as he will suffer a 10 point loss on them - if exercised. The goal here is for the stock to decline and the vertical options to expire. Credit spreads are always bearish.

These and all spread strategies are most effective profit wise, when working them with stocks you are familiar with. Knowing the trading ranges and price habits of your stocks can make them attractive candidates for options or vertical spreads.

Real Estate Property Investment Series: Focus Morocco 2007

2007-10-09T19:08:00.000-07:00

The Moroccan government realised that the way forward for their nation in terms of creating employment and boosting the economy significantly was to increase tourism and to create an environment so attractive for investors that they would come in their droves and buy up real estate stock.

To that end the government has been promoting Morocco around the world there is a permanent stand at Walt Disney World Resort in Florida heralding the virtues of this North African nation that practically touches Europe across the Mediterranean Sea that divides it from mainland Spain for example, and now the skies over Morocco are open to cheap flight operators from across Europe and the UK. The nation has year round sunshine and is directly south and a short flying time from affluent Western Europe and all of these factors are starting to affect Morocco positively.

In 2006 in the first nine months alone tourism traffic was up almost 10% on the previous year with revenue generated from tourism up almost 30% which proves that the government are targeting the right sort of tourist i.e., the ones who come, stay, enjoy and spend money in Morocco! Looking to the longer term the Moroccan government has plans to increase tourism until 10 million visitors annually enter the nation by 2010. There are even plans afoot to build a tunnel under the sea to connect Morocco to Gibraltar in Europe

But why all this information about tourism I hear you ask?

Because it is the tourism market that property investors in Morocco are targeting. On the one hand they are targeting those seeking villa and apartment rental and on the other hand they are aware that todays holiday maker is tomorrows second, retirement or holiday home buyer. And investors really are in Morocco buying up and developing real estate stock. Already six brand new coastal resorts are in the planning and development stages, money is flooding in from Dubai and Qatar based development companies and European buyers are purchasing off plan knowing full well that their real estate assets are appreciating even before they are completed and handed over. Buyers in 2007 have a chance to buy in ahead of the continued predicted rise in tourism and before Morocco is established in many peoples minds as a place to invest in real estate.

Consider buying off plan and flipping stock or better still, simply buying and renting to the tourism market on the Atlantic or Mediterranean coasts or in the mountainous ski resort of Oukaimeden. Rental income is earned tax free in Morocco for the first five years and those who hold property for ten years or more pay no capital gains tax when they resell, furthermore one is not subject to local inheritance tax in Morocco either. In conclusion - Morocco offers an investor a wealth of opportunity. Basically an investor needs to consider his preferred investment approach and his target market and then seek suitable real estate with room for growth or with prospects for returning good yields.

Rhiannon Williamson writes about property investment worldwide, to read more about property investment in Morocco in 2007 and beyond visit her site http://www.amberlamb.com

FOREX Brokers What I Learned as a Broker Trading 5,000 Clients

2007-10-09T19:05:00.001-07:00

I spent 10 years as a forex broker and traded thousands of clients, here I will give you a brokers view of trading clients.

I will reveal who won, who lost, how we made money and how we treated them.

I joined as a rather green salesman and had no idea about the reality of forex and futures trading.

I was excited about joining an industry where millions were made and millions were lost by clients It was very exciting!

The company

I was rather shocked at the reality which was:

Clients didnt appear to win very often and the company based its balance sheet on commission to equity.

The view was that about 95% of clients would lose and they would do it all on their own, with no help from us.

The clients we liked (from a financial perspective) were the ones who made commission for the company and top of the list were:

Day traders:

They lasted for short periods, never won and made loads of money for the company.

If they believed it worked, let them get on with it and we would take the commission.

Shoot from the hip traders

The action men.

They loved the buzz, in and out all the time, trading the news and advice from gurus and with no discipline.

Again, they wiped themselves out and made us plenty of money.

The company did not dislike its clients.

We treated all clients well and did what a good broker should:

Help them with queries and made sure they got fast accurate executions.

We just let them do as they wanted and in most cases they lost thats simply the reality of trading.

The clients

We had clients from all walks of life, from retired people, to highly educated mathematicians and the few that did win surprised me.

The ones I personally hated were the ones I will refer to as educated fools

Cocky as anything and believed they had a divine right to win, because they were clever.

They would ignore my warnings, that they would not win with systems that were too complicated and tell me to mind my own business.

If I am honest, when they learned the reality of a wipe out, I felt a little inclination to say told you so, but never did.

Perhaps my favorite client was a retired lady, 81 years of age, who lived on a sheep farm in Australia.

A lovely lady and she taught me a few things, that I remember to this day.

She devised a system and showed it to me.

It was a simple buy and sell strategy and relied on holding big trends for months on end and you could learn it in a few hours.

Personally I thought it was to simple to work, but she built a $5,000 account to $39,000 in three months and had passed $100,000 in under a year.

She drew her charts by hand ( this was the late eighties) and didnt have a TV and never read the papers.

Each day she would check her prices draw her charts and make her trades if she needed to.

A polite, humble trader, who was loved in the office by all.

We all had respect for the way she was our most profitable trader, even above some quite well known money managers.

We had many other clients.

Most lost and some won ( very few), but the ones who did win were humble, had simple systems, traded only when their systems told them to, had iron discipline and believed they were right.

This is just my experience.

I did trade a lot of people.

They from all walks of life and I learned very few won, but the ones who did, kept it simple, the ones who didnt, had big egos, or liked excitement and traded with their emotions lost.

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Stock Trading Psychology

2007-10-09T18:18:00.000-07:00

A key strategy and habit to successful stock trading is the ability to take losses comfortably. The stock market is not stable, it never was and it is not likely to be. This requires the trader to have proper stock trading psychology. Due to the unpredictable nature of stock trading, the trader must be able to face the prospect of unexpected losses. Even the best traders will eventually run into some loss making situation, there is simply no way to avoid it. The only thing is to be prepared and watch out for the signs that indicate imminent loss.

Stock trading psychology indicates that traders tend to become perfectionists when they face a loss. All traders assume that every single day will end in profit when that is simply not true. A good day in stock trading is not defined by profits at all. Instead, experts in stock trading psychology define a good day as one that is researched and planned and follows an overall trading strategy. Planning is the key to facing and walking out of a loss and also the key factor that enables the trader to accept loss as a part of the game.

Stock trading psychology suggests that a trader focuses on what is within control. In this unpredictable market there will always be random factors that can lead to frustration and despair. Do not focus on things beyond your control. This essentially means that neither profits nor losses are exactly in your control. You are always playing against a market that has a mind of its own so you have to be able to understand this. Your control is limited, so focus on that.

Within this control is your freedom to fully understand the stock market and develop the right strategies. Use every experience to refine these strategies and come up with a strong trading plan. The more you understand your own strategies, the better results you will achieve.

The stock trading market is no place for perfectionists. Instead, you must train yourself to be realistic. A perfectionist will always see a small loss as an overall failure and that is bad stock trading psychology. This eventually leads to obsession with failure. The realistic traders understand that loss is just part of the market and they have to face it eventually. Instead of focusing on failure, you must focus on limiting your losses. A trader that becomes obsessed with failure will find it next to impossible to bounce back and even the best strategies will not be able to get that trader back into the profit zone.

Stock trading psychology experts recommend 3 strategies for effectively stopping losses. These are called Price Based, Time Based, and Indicator Based strategies.

Priced Based stops simply involve a low point beyond which you will cut your losses and quit the trade. Time Based means you wait for a specified time to make a profit and if the time expires you quit. Indicator Based strategy uses market indicators. This requires some experience and you will eventually be able to pull out based on indicator movement.

Alan King is a writer that concentrates on helping people better themselves, for cutting edge information you NEED to know about stock trading before you try to cash in on this multi TRILLION dollar industry I strongly suggest that you check out my friend Mark Crisp's awesome free 9 page e-book at http://www.stressfreetrading.com

Essential Investment Books What I Learned Losing a MILLION Dollars

2007-10-09T17:59:00.001-07:00

This book by Jim Paul and Brendan Moynihan is a book any trader should read The book correctly states that there are lots of different ways to make money and only a few ways to lose it. Therefore you need to concentrate on not losing first

If you have not read this book you will see the markets in a completely different light and one that could lead you to bigger profits and is simply one of the best investment books ever writtten.

What I Learned Losing a Million Dollars is a fascinating, insightful, easy-to-read true story of Jim Pauls rise from a humble country background to jet-setting millionaire trader and Governor of the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

It is an examination of the lessons he learned from losing a million dollars in the market which brought about his demise and then covers his rise from the ashes.

This book contains no technical theories and really focuses on how NOT To lose money there are plenty of ways to make money so how come most traders lose it?

The answer lies as we have stated that:

Its not how you make money thats important there are many ways to do that, but are only a few ways to lose it and if you are mindful of them and dont make losing mistakes - you can emerge a winner.

The book is essentially divided into two parts:

Section 1

The first half of the book about Jims life makes you feel close to him and the experience he is facing as his world crashes around him. Its both funny and sad in equal measure and is a superb fiction story.

Section 2

After the loss and its aftermath, comes the authors views of what he had learned and this really is original, thought provoking and insightful. The authors show you how to identify and manage the risks, both monetary and emotional that is part of any decision making including trading.

Playing great defense

The authors covers the key areas ALL losing traders fail in, that let losses get out of control.

Key areas covered are:

- The three biggest mistakes traders make and how to avoid them.

- Why the most important part of building wealth is not losing it.

- The psychological pattern which all losses take in a traders head, regardless of the position size

The discussion on the risk/reward ratio, and why most other books get it wrong is perhaps the most interesting part of the book.

This point is worth the books price alone as the aothor explains

Why you have to take into account the PROBABILITY of return, and PROBABILITY of loss, when trading and not simply divide the size of your expected return by the size of your expected loss, as most authors suggest if you do you will lose!

This really is the key point of the book if you want to keep losses under control as it states in the preface.

This book is a case study of the classic tale of countless entrepreneurs: the risk taker who sees an opportunity, the idea that clicks the intoxicating growth, the errors and the collapse. Our case is that of a trader, but as with all case studies and parables the lessons can be applied to a great many other situations.

If you want a book to show you the importance of emotional discipline and the art of risk management, then this is it.

This book has recently gone out of print, so get your hands on a second hand copy or get to the library and read it.

GRAB 3 X FREE TRADER & FREE TRADER PROFITS NEWSLETTER

What is the Foreign Exchange Market

2007-10-09T17:29:00.000-07:00

Introduction
Foreign exchange, Forex or FX as it is know is the Planets oldest and largest financial market. It is the place where one countrys currency is exchanged for that of another. On average $2 Trillion exchanges hands every day in the form of currency transactions. This volume makes equity markets look minuscule by comparison. For example, the daily market for equities is $50 billion and the average daily value of futures contracts traded is roughly $30 billion.

Trading Hours
Foreign exchange is a 24-hours-a-day, interbank (or OTC) market. Since currencies are traded 24-hours-a-day there is no central exchange like you will find with the Worlds major stock markets. Proceedings begin in the financial centres of the Far East after the weekend and close in the US on a Friday evening. There are three main financial centres, each of which has specific opening and closing times. Tokyo: Open 19:00, close 04:00
London: Open 03:00, close 12:00
New York: Open 08:00, close 17:00
All times EST.

Who Participates?
The arrival and the growth of the Internet has allowed individual speculators to enter a market that was once dominated by large investment banks, multinational corporations, currency dealers and international money. There are currently countless on-line brokerage firms who offer access to the currency market. The advantages of this competitive market place are low spreads and very often, no commission on your trades.

Why Participate?
The main reasons for participation in the foreign exchange market are:

Actual currency exchange: From the small scale money exchanges made when you want to go on holiday to a foreign country to large multinationals changing profits made abroad into their domestic currency.
Hedging: Large multinationals often hedge against unwanted currency fluctuations that can harm profit figures.
Speculation for profit: It is estimated that 95% of foreign exchange participation falls under this category. Large multinationals, investment banks and individuals are all active at this level.

How does it work?
Currencies are traded in crosses and pairs such as EURUSD, GBPUSD and USDJPY. This means that every time you trade a currency pair you are simultaneously buying one currency and selling another. For example, if you were to buy the EURUSD at 1.2700 then you are buying the Euro and selling the Dollar, or buying the Euro against the Dollar.

The most commonly traded currencies are those of the Worlds largest economies. It is estimated that 85% of currency trading takes place involving the U.S. Dollar, the Euro, the Japanese Yen, the British Pound Sterling, the Swiss Franc, the Canadian Dollar, the Australian Dollar and the New Zealand Dollar. These currencies are popular because of the stable political environments in their respective countries as well as respected central banks and sound monetary policy.

USD: US Dollar
EUR: Euro
JPY: Japanese Yen
GBP: Great British Pound
CHF: Swiss Franc
CAD: Canadian Dollar
AUD: Australian Dollar
NZD: New Zealand Dollar

Currency rates are displayed as follows:

EUR/USD 1.2723/ 1.2725
EURUSD 1.2723/ 1.2725

A quote is read as follows: For our EURUSD example earlier of 1.2700, 1 Euro (the first currency in the quote) is worth 1.2700 U.S. Dollars. The first currency is known as the base currency. It is always the case that the base currency is assumed to have the value of 1 unit. So if the EURUSD is currently quoted at 1.2700, 1 Euro is worth 1.8870 Dollars. This means it will take 1.8870 Dollars to buy 1 unit of the Euro.

Therefore if the quoted value is higher than 1, it means that one unit of the base currency has a higher value than one unit of the second currency in the quote (quote currency, counter currency or terms currency). This is not always the case; for example, the AUDUSD quote currently reads 0.7490. This means that 1 Australian Dollar currently has a market value of slightly less than 0.75 US Dollars (or 75 cents).

You will also notice that a quote is listed as 1.2700/ 1.2702. The difference between the first price (bid) and the second price (offer) is known as the spread.

Foreign exchange currency is traded in something known as lots. There are three type of lots, standard or maxi (100 000 units of currency), mini (10 000 units of currency) or micro (1 000 units of currency). You are free to trade in as many multiples of these lot sizes as your account balance will allow. However, not all brokerage firms offer all of the different lot sizes and you should check before opening your account. In each case you are trading in units of base currency.

Advantages of currency speculation
The fact that the Forex market is so large is significant for the following reasons:

All of this money changing hands creates massive liquidity (the degree to which a currency can be bought or sold without affecting its price). Therefore as your account grows you have no worries about ever moving the market or having an order only partially filled (however the reliability of your broker may have something to say about this). In effect you can remain completely anonymous within the market place.
The fact that the foreign exchange market is so large is partly due to the fact that big banks (both commercial and federal) are active participants. By following their money you can, in theory, eliminate a lot of risk from your trading.
As we have already established, there are smaller costs associated with Forex trading when compared to trading stocks or futures. Forex brokers also offer a higher rate of leverage. Typically this figure stands at 1:100, which means that you can command a $100 000 position with a balance of $1 000.

David Thorpe is a senior contributor for http://www.passion-trading.munbuns.com a free educational resource centre for traders and investors. The site has a dedicated forex trading and currency trading portal and its goal is to stimulate the minds of its users, enabling them to achieve a greater understanding the forex market, thus helping them to become more profitable.

Learn How to Trade in Foreign Exchange

2007-10-09T16:53:00.001-07:00

There are millions of people around the globe who trade in foreign exchange. It can be pretty easy or difficult to trade in foreign exchange depending on whether or not you know how to.

First of all some facts - Foreign exchange market operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Trade in foreign Exchange is a multi trillion market. Yes, Multi trillion dollars change hands each and every day of the year.

So it is really obvious that thousands of people are taking to trade in foreign exchange every day. But it is really surprising that only a few people know how to trade in foreign exchange. This is also a fact that more than 90% of the people who take to trading in foreign exchange lose lots of money because they fail on the first basic principle - They did not invest in learning how to trade in foreign exchange.

There are a number of different strategies which you can choose from before deciding on how to trade in foreign exchange. The most important thing is you will need to come up with a strategy that suits you.

At the end of the day exactly what strategy you decide to adopt is largely immaterial but, what is important, is that have you a strategy before you start to trade in foreign exchange.

Many traders today choose to base their strategy on a technical approach to trading while others prefer to follow a fundamental approach. Both approaches are fine but the truly successful traders will tell you that the real secret lies in not selecting one or the other but in combining the two.

Deep technical analysis reveals that prices follow trends and that markets possess clearly identifiable patterns which can be recognized if you know what you are looking for. Both knowledge and experience play an important role in technical analysis but here it is a case of knowledge and experience of not just the patterns in the market but of working with the barrage of tools which are now available.

Many people who trade in foreign exchange like to work with what are called support and resistance levels. In this case a support price is a low price to which a currency repeatedly returns, effectively representing the bottom of the market or the price at which it supports the market. By contrast, a resistance price is the high price which a currency reaches from time to time but above which it tends to resist rising.

The importance of these two levels is that once a currency price drops below its support level it will commonly continue to fall and, similarly, once the price exceeds its resistance level it will continue to climb.

It is also common for many traders to make use of moving averages which show the average price of a currency over a given period of time within a longer period. This is extremely useful for eliminating short term fluctuations in a currency price and producing a clearer picture of the movement of a currency over time.

These are of course just the two of the strategies. And there are many more if you want to learn how to trade in foreign exchange. I cannot stress it enough that how important it is to learn to trade in foreign exchange before you dive right in. You will owe it to yourself in the long run.

I have highlighted one course for you right here. You will learn three strategies, not one.Click here to gain access

Forex - Trade The Non-Farm Payroll Report for Super Profits

2007-10-09T16:39:00.000-07:00

Many investors in the foreign-exchange (FOREX) market trade only at or around the time of the release of the U.S. Non-farm Payroll Report (NFP). They are attracted by the volatility of currencies - particularly the major pairs involving the U.S. dollar - that occur during that time. Investors relying on this and other financial news events for their trading activity are referred to as news traders. Many others, while perhaps utilizing other methods of trading are sure to include the NFP on their trading calendars. Let's find out why so many traders are interested in this report.

The NFP comes out once per month, typically on the first Friday at 8:30 a.m., New York time. On occasion, it will come out on the second Friday of the month rather than the first, but always at the same hour of the day. The U.S. Department of Labor is responsible for the compilation and release of the report, which is kept secret until the official time for release arrives. The report contains data regarding unemployment in non-agricultural sectors of the U.S. economy. Incidentally, other industrialized countries also publish some semblance of this type of report. Simply put, if the numbers published in the NFP represent a major revision of the estimates previously made, the market response is likely to be quite pronounced.

The reaction to the anticipated NFP data on the part of traders world-wide, in terms of buying and selling activity, generally causes the price of the U.S. dollar to spike up or down. This usually happens the very moment the report becomes public. Sometimes, the spike occurs early, i.e. within the minute immediately preceding the 8:30 a.m. release. Although less frequently, it has also been observed that the spike can occur up to 15 or 20 minutes after the release of the report.

Other regular financial reports can also move currency prices, but are not as consistently dramatic or dynamic as the NFP in their result. Within the past couple of years, the range of movement in the price of the U.S. dollar as a result of the NFP has usually been between 50 and 90 pips in one general direction. Re-tracement, i.e. movement of the price back toward the original price, often provides additional trading opportunities. Many traders experience returns ranging from 5 to 20 percent from this one report alone.

Why does the NFP stand out in its ability to move the market? The NFP is published by the government of the United States as an official statement of what the U.S. economy is doing. Based on the contents of the report, the measurement of the health of the country is viewed in terms of its employment situation. Many scholars and traders alike view the employment situation in a country as a leading indicator of how things are economically with that country. If the employment situation is bleak, so must be its general economy. A weak economy invariably spells bad news for the currency of that particular country.

One must acknowledge and appreciate that the U.S. dollar has always generated a lot of interest among traders world-wide. Known for its liquidity, relative stability, and being backed by the worlds largest economy (at least until China takes the number one spot as expected in 2026), the greenback is often accepted as payment for goods and services all around the world. This is true even where it is not the official currency in a given jurisdiction. It is one of the relative few currencies known as hard currency, in the global financial realm. It is always in the spotlight as a global player.

Recent times have seen the U.S. dollar in a weakening trend in comparison to other currencies. Undoubtedly, global events including the U.S. involvement in Iraq, Pakistan and Afghanistan have contributed to the dim view shared by some regarding the value of the dollar. On the other hand, some see it as a good opportunity for U.S. corporations, large and small, to export goods and services to other countries. This may result in a rebound of the dollar in the long term.

Various strategies have been devised to take advantage of the tendency of the market prices to spike during the time of the NFP news release. As one might expect, some strategies work better than others. More and more vendors and programmers are developing and selling automated software to traders interested in the fast-paced environment surrounding the release of the NFP. The price range of such software can be anywhere from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars. Of course, manually trading the NFP can still be done successfully as many traders are proving. Regardless of the method or strategy, many in the trading world will continue to pay attention to the NFP and utilize its release as one of the greatest regular and recurring opportunities for trading in the FOREX market.

If you are ready to change your future by stepping into the exciting world of trading FOREX, go to winningtradersassociation.com for more information. Sandy Robinson, J.D. is part of the Winning Traders Association, an educational organization founded by John Beiler, President. The organization consists of a network of committed trainers and motivated traders willing to provide support to those interested in trading foreign exchange. Many of the members work from home.
Sandy Robinson, J.D.
Copyright 2007

Tell Me What to Do

2007-10-09T15:50:00.000-07:00

Because almost everyone has been baffled by Wall Street baloney they have accepted the conventional wisdom that every investor needs a stock broker or financial planner if they are going to invest in the stock market.

That would be true if brokers and planners were trained to not only pick stocks, but also protect the investors money. Neither is true. That seems like a pretty horrific statement. I know because I used to own a brokerage firm and have hired 300 brokers. Only 1% or 2% of them knew what they were doing and consequently lost money for their clients. That probably applies to so-called financial planners because they all went to the same non-school.

Yes, I said they received no training which is true in almost 99% of the individuals. What little advice they received was based on false and untrue premises. The Buy and Hold philosophy is the biggest lie of Wall Street. No broker is taught an exit strategy how and when to sell. Protection of customers money should be number one on their list; however, brokerage companies do not want you to sell . They would rather have you go broke. (Of course, they dont say that.) The investor is quoted the Ibbotson study. Unfortunately, the quote only shares one half of the study and the part about why Buy and Hold does not work is never given.

Wall Street has told you that you are too dumb to pick your own investments and that you need a broker to help you decipher the intricate maze that leads to financial freedom. Too bad most brokers havent learned or the 7 trillion dollars in losses that occurred from 2000 would not have happened.

Not only have liars and thieves been uncovered in Enron and World Com, but now we find that the fund managers of great bastions of safe investing in mutual funds have also been stealing from their shareholders. Yes, late trading is theft and has been misnamed market timing. This also leads me to realize that the SEC has not been doing their job of protecting the small investor.

With all this corruption you, the investors, are more confused than ever. What do I do now? Where should I put my money? You need expert advice and I must say to you that you will not get it from a broker. Advice from a broker is a eulogy for your money. No, now is the time for you to take charge of your own investment portfolio. Could you have done any worse in the past 3 years than letting a professional handle your money?

There are many places you can seek advice, but none of them are on Wall Street. The library and the Internet are both great sources of information. Find someone who does not fit the Wall Street pattern. Several someones. And start your financial education.

Go look in the mirror and say, Tell me what to do.

Al Thomas' book, "If It Doesn't Go Up, Don't Buy It!" has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple 2-step method. Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know.

Seecrets on Investment: Tired of Making Huge Losses in the Stock Market - Part 2

2007-10-09T15:47:00.001-07:00

Fundamental analysis.

Fundamentals analysis says the best way to predict the future trends of a stock is to understand the financial figures of the underlying company. The fundamental analyst would calculate a theoretical value of the company using cash flow analysis, recent dividends and earnings, future dividends and earnings projections plus a host of other economic numbers. If the current stock price is lower than the calculated value, a trader who uses fundamental analysis would buy this stock.

This writer has the opinion that fundamental analysis is difficult to master for it to be useful as a forecasting tool. Understanding and analyzing balance sheets and profit and loss accounts is not enough. You will need to analyze the micro and macroeconomic picture as well. Often you will need to be have the same knowledge equivalent to senior-management of a company you want to analyze minus the leadership and management skills.

Take the example of Googles free 2 GB e-mail service. How much does it cost them? Probably about $2 yearly for each customer. Assuming 100 million internet users sign up, the advertising revenues from this segment alone would provide a tidy profit. It is the analyst job to provide a good educated-guess of this number. More importantly, this new signings will provide a customer base to challenge Yahoo and Microsoft. With Googles dominance in the search engine market, the data mining of such a huge pool of internet users will provide them with an edge in deciding future strategies over its two nearest rivals. Try translating this to what can Google earn in the next two quarters.

One of the better tools is the Z-Score, developed by Edward Altman, a financial economist and professor at New York University's Stern School of Business, in 1968 to predict corporate bankruptcies within a two-year period. This formula has a 70-plus percent accuracy rate

Technical analysis.

The price action discounts everything premise is central to charting, also known as technical analysis. Technical analysis uses graphic representations for prices and makes uses of various quantitative techniques to forecast price trends.

A technician makes profits in any market by having positions in line with the price trend. When the trend is up, then buy. Conversely, when the trend is down, then look to sell. Technical analysis is not an exact science, but it is easy to learn and effective.

Technical analysis is a good starting point for beginners. The foundation should include classical technical analysis, Japanese candlesticks, trendlines, RSI, MACD, ADX, stochastics and moving averages. Learners can complete these core topics within three to six months. With constant practice, you should be able to independently analyze and identify the current trends in the stock market.

Most users of stock charts may only focus on daily charts. However, if users pay equal attention to weekly as well as monthly charts, the picture is intuitively more complete. This is equivalent to understanding how the short, medium and long-term investors are viewing the markets, after all three main types of investors form the market. A handful of stock charting software has this feature of showing say, the relative strength index for the daily, weekly and monthly values on a single screen.

One last point - no single method in technical analysis is sufficient for real-world investing. For example, even if you master Elliott Wave Theory or Gann techniques, by itself it would bring more heartache and disappointment. Often, you will need knowledge from other disciplines and sources to improve your overall investing skills.

Some tips for successful investing in stock markets.

1.Investing is a business. The rules of running a profitable business are the same as investing in stock markets.

2.Learn to spot your own mistakes fast. When a mistake is made, exit your position and live to fight any day. The faster you realize your own mistake and the faster you react will reduce your losses, hence increasing your chances of winning in the long run. A useful method is using a 10% stop loss exit strategy. If you are long, and your stock price goes down by 10%, exit. If this same stock reverses and starts to surge, take this as your mistake of not identifying a more accurate (lower) entry point.

3.Understand yourself inside out. What makes you happy, sad, excited, depressed, ecstatic - the whole spectrum of human emotions are merely states of the mind. This is easier said than done but you have to keep improving your own control mechanisms.

4.Learn the methods of successful fund managers diversification, emotional detachment and having realistic expectations. Investing is a marathon not a sprint.

5.Money management skills. Whether the amount is $10,000 or $10 billion, the same rules apply. There are plenty of sources of information on this subject from the internet.

6.Learn technical analysis.

The main thrust of this article is to avoid making mistakes that will cost you dearly. How you prepare yourself for bear markets, sideways markets and market crashes are vital to your success.

There are no secrets in investing no magic formula, no discovery of some useful ancient secrets. Just knowledge, hard work, common sense and discipline will serve you well in the years ahead. This verse from a 2500-years-old text is a useful reminder:

Those who know do not speak, Those who speak do not know.
- Tao Te Ching, 56th verse

Stan Seecrets Postulate: There are two types of people in the world those who know what they dont know and those who dont know what they dont know.

You may freely reprint this article provided you publish it in its entirety, including the authors bio and activating the link to the URL below.

The author, Stan Seecrets, is a veteran software developer with 25+ years experience at (http://www.seecrets.biz) which specializes in protecting digital assets. He has developed real-time prices delivery systems and has witnessed stock markets collapse of 1987 and 2000/2001 in real-time. You can contact him via email (Stan at Seecrets.biz).

Forex Trading - Understand Your Principles

2007-10-09T14:58:00.000-07:00

Forex trading has been growing rapidly among day traders since the 1990s, as day traders have seen the advantages that trading currencies can have over trading stocks. However, since there are fewer currencies for beginners to purchase over the large number of stocks available, forex trading can be much more difficult for a newcomer to learn and master. Still, there are some basic principles that someone new to forex trading should learn, and these concepts may even be helpful to the experienced trader.

The first principle of forex trading is to understand that trading is an investment, not an income. If you are looking to constantly boom in forex trading, then you may need to do a reassessment. forex trading, like other forms of trading, allows you to make a good return on your initial capital annually. However, during that year you need to expect some ups and downs in your forex trading. You could even have several months where you have consecutive losses. It is probably in your best interest to have another source of income while you do forex trading.

Another area where beginners sometimes find themselves frustrated is that they try to predict the forex trading markets. Thousands of traders have influence over the forex trading markets, along with politics and economic events, so there is no way to predict which way the market will move. There are some types of analysis that may provide an educated guess into market flow when doing forex trading, but they are not always reliable. Do not be discouraged, though, by the fact that you may lose on more trades that you gain on, as using sound money management can help you be successful with forex trading.

Making money from forex trading means that you need to make enough to cover your losses and gain profit to increase capital. When forex trading, you will need to allow your money-making trades ride while knowing when to cut your losses as soon as possible. forex trading means learning some finesse, as there can be a fine line where you will want to wait a little for the market to turn in your favor on your losing trades and also making sure you do not take your profit to soon on your better trades.

One way to handle your forex trading is to use a tested system and a money management strategy. There is no room for emotion when forex trading, so you will need to use a business-like approach that has been tested on market data. Using a tested approach will save you a lot of stress when forex trading. Also, using a sound money management strategy will allow you to use your capital in the best way when forex trading so that you can maximize profit and avoid major losses.

Read the rest of the article here: Forex Trading.

Download the Home Based Business Manual (Free $97 Value!) and receive valuable tips, strategies and techniques designed to grow a very successful Home Based Business.

Copyright Charles Fuchs is an established online marketer who specializes in helping people start their very own Home Based Business. He specializes in showing people the best way to Make Money at Home.

Why A Dividend Payment Is Important To An Investor

2007-10-09T14:41:00.001-07:00

To an investor looking for high and fast capital gains, a company that makes a dividend payment is a low priority. However, for long term investors, research shows that such a payment is an important part of the overall return on investment.

Many of the biggest quoted companies have been paying an annual dividend every year for years. Part of the appeal of their shares as an investment, and part of the valuation in the price is this dividend policy and reliability.

As a general rule, the largest companies also make the largest and most secure dividend payment. Of course, this can never be true of every situation, but the bigger and more established businesses have the security and often the profits to cover a payment comfortably.

It may not be the most rewarding of actions for a company which has a track record of creating a high return on investment to pay funds out to shareholders. Unfortunately, there are too few businesses of this nature. Company management also recognize that by paying an annual dividend their company can potentially be called an income stock.

Income stocks are not necessarily viewed as 'sexy' in the market, but there is a wide array of mutual type funds that specifically invest in such companies. This of course opens the way to much larger institutional investment in a firm which in turn will help to underpin the price in the market. As big funds buy big holdings, the number of shares floating in the market will usually be reduced. By lowering liquidity, the share price will generally be assisted.

There are, of course, many investors that will purchase company stock and are specifically attracted by the payment of a dividend. These investors will use the payment to subsidize their income and as such, value stability.

It is for this reason that once company management has started paying an annual dividend, they will be fearful of ceasing payment. Should the income funds be forced to sell their holdings, the market price will almost certainly suffer. The bonuses and stock options of management are usually tied to this market price!

A private investor will almost certainly be required to pay income tax on any or all dividend income received. In many countries, some of this tax is deducted at source so that the dividend payment is reduced and the company sends money to the tax authorities on behalf of investors.

Stuart Langridge is an experienced investor, investment adviser and writer. For more information about the workings of the stock exchange, please visit:

http://www.stockexchangesecrets.com/dividend.html

Why the Rich Keep Getting Richer

2007-10-09T14:09:00.000-07:00

Rich people: fortunate, lucky, selfish, and arrogant? Or highly educated, caring, brilliant individuals? Becoming rich isnt hard, but it does require a bit of time and knowledge. Having time to get rich, educating oneself, and buying assets are the three key factors in attaining untold wealth.

Rich people usually either have or make time to get rich. Most people that now own huge mansions, have wonderful riches, and drive the nicest cars usually begin taking the road to riches in their spare time. One plan, the most common, is to work at a low-risk, steady job until one has enough money to invest in something that will feed one for the rest of their life. But before one can invest in anything, one first has to educate oneself.

Although the best way to educate oneself in a particular investment is to have a mentor, and thereby gaining valuable hands-on experience, another excellent way to do this is to listen to tapes and CDs and to read books on the subject. I have done both, mainly pertaining to real estate, but also I have read a wonderful book about making money on the Internet, called Multiple Streams of Internet Income, by Robert Allen.

Lastly, after creating time to get rich, and educating oneself, one simply MUST buy assets that will create money for one, and not liabilities and toys such as a new car every other year, and boats. These come only after one can prove that he is capable of handling and keeping money. Simply put, according to multi-millionaire Robert Kiyosaki: Assets will feed you, and liabilities will eat you. An example of an asset is a rent-house, or stocks and bonds in a certain company. Only, that is, if the company is good and the stocks are ultimately going up in value.

In conclusion, we see that the three most important ways the rich keep getting richer are: having or making time, subject education, and buying assets. These are the key factors influencing wealth. I personally plan on educating myself in real estate, as it seems the simplest and safest way of getting rich.**

**Note: If youd like to use this article, feel free to do so, but please remember to include this message, and my resource box in every copy. Thank you!

Aaron Kater has been writing articles for quite a while, and has his own weekly newsletter, Katerzine! If youd like to subscribe, please visit his website at www.aaronkater.4t.com, or send him an email at aaron_kater@yahoo.com

What's An EMA? The Concept Behind The 5 EMAs Forex System

2007-10-09T13:35:00.001-07:00

There is a concept in forex trading and in trading in general that is used as an indicator by many forex traders. This widely used concept is that of the moving average. Its used in the field of finance and specially with technical analysis. It belongs to a family of many similar statistical techniques widely used to analyze time series data.

You can calculate a moving average for any time series, but in our case we are mostly concerned about this average calculated over currency pair prices over time. As an averaged quantity, MAs can bee seen as a smoothed representation of the current market activity and an indicator of the trend influencing the market behavior. Thus highlighting longer-term trends or cycles. The limit between short-term and long-term depends on the market you are observing, and the parameters of the moving average should be set accordingly.

There are three main types of moving averages. Simple moving average, Weighted moving average, and the Exponential moving average. They are all moving averages but differ on how time period are weighted for the final value of the indicator.

In the case of the Exponential Moving Average (EMA), which is also called Exponentially Weighted Moving Average (EWMA) sometimes, during the calculation the formula applies weighting factors which decrease exponentially. What this means is that more weight (importance) is given to the latest data.

From this definition we can conclude that an exponential moving average reacts faster to recent price changes than a simple moving average. The 12 and 26 day EMAs are the most popular short-term averages. And in general, the 50- and 200-day EMAs are used as signals of long-term trends.

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E-Security Legal Issues

2007-10-09T13:19:00.000-07:00

One way for a reseller to gain an edge on competitors is to market the advantages associated with its products in a unique way. In the security channel, a white paper marketing the legal and commercial advantages of a security product presented in a compelling way may prove to be a successful method of enticing a customer into purchasing your security solution.

Security is critical, there is no doubt about it. The smallest breach or compromise can result in situations that can cripple business. Recently, the two big e-security stories have been the disruption to the Russian Trading System (RTS) stock exchange caused by a virus in early February and the extradition proceedings currently underway in the UK against a hacker who allegedly hacked into approximately 100 Pentagon, NASA and other American military networks.

One area of e-security that a white paper could be prepared on is surveillance. Many organisations are already aware of the vulnerabilities posed by internal staff and subcontractors using the organisation's corporate network and always-on internet access. In fact, most large organisations now track their employees' internet and email usage to ensure that trade secrets are not being leaked to competitors via these means and that employees are not using internet access for other unscrupulous purposes.

In New South Wales, parliament recently passed new workplace surveillance legislation that is now in effect. Your customers should be made aware of these laws. The new laws regulate the use of computer, camera and tracking devices. The main obligation imposed on your customers under these laws is the obligation to notify employees of surveillance practices at least 14 days prior to commencing surveillance activities. The new laws also set out specific procedures and practices associated with covert surveillance. Further, obligations are imposed in relation to the retention of surveillance records and there are new obligations related to computer policies and other documentation that employees need to be made aware of. The new laws should not be taken lightly. Breach of the new laws may attract significant penalties. In addition, if a company contravenes any provision of the new laws, all directors and management of the company may also be held accountable.

Another way of enticing your customers is to mention the legal consequences associated with breaching e-security. Hackers can be brought before courts under Australian computer crime laws for gaining unauthorised access to computer systems. These laws may even see hackers thrown in jail.

Organisations who are serious about e-security should ensure they are covered by an insurance policy that extends to loss occasioned as a result of hacking or breach of the organisation's e-security generally. Customers should be reminded that breaches of electronic security measures can be just as disastrous as breaches of physical security measures.

Disclaimer: This column is for general informational purposes only. It is not legal advice nor is it a substitute for legal advice. Readers should seek legal advice on their own particular circumstances.

Alan Arnott is a technology & telecommunications lawyer with qualifications in computer science and law with Arnotts Lawyers in Sydney. For more information, please visit http://www.arnotts.net.au

Invest in Stocks

2007-10-09T12:30:00.001-07:00

INVEST IN STOCKS AND GET HANDY FUTURE

A risk cell, comprising of bulls, bears, and a competitive market with tones of manipulative elements, have been unearthed with the passage of time. The stock market as commonly said is the market, which involves high risks on high amounts. It purely involves playing with the difficulties of the shares and commodities of the stock market and making or loosing money accordingly. It is a tough decision to make to invest in stock, as there is a high risk involved of loosing the hard-earned money. Every single second counts in the Share Market when it comes to the change in prices of the stocks.

Stock is nothing but a part of assets of other company being owned by other person in return of the money. This money acts as an asset for the company to be used in further functioning of the company on part of the company accounts and serves as an investment for the stakeholder who invests his hard earned saving to earn better profits for him. The profits of the company are shared with the people who invest in them. Stock, as such, is not as simple as it seems. It involves various categories involving shares, commodities, mutual funds, and a lot more. It can be stated that stock is a vehicle of choice for those who agree to bear all the risks involved and try to stock better monetary results for them.

Well, investing in stocks is not a childs play. It demands good grip of knowledge about the season chance in the market along with an expertise comments. The share market expertises are generally the brokers who are involved in the trading of stocks. Invests in stock relate to the sale and purchase of stock in the share market. These brokers are the facilitators of change that helps to locate funds in the right direction to fetch maximum return and relocate the profits to squeeze more out of it. In return, of their services, a fair percentage of the invested amount is paid in order to motivate them to make the way clear for investment in stocks, known as brokerage. They act as a guiding manual for the investor in an unknown world of stock market.

The stock market has been uncovered with the passage of time due to improvement in technology along with the rearrangement of ideas of peoples minds. The shares play was generally associated with the bureaucrats, leaders and the crme of the society. It went to the common man with the advancement of technology to the ground level. Going to share market to trade seems to be the story of the medieval period. Times have changed, so the trends have. Now, a person sitting at home can operate in stock market as an active player. The brokers are available with their services and tips on cyber space itself. Cyber space, commonly known as information superhighway or internet has become the backbone of every market through out the world. It provides same services as a virtual presence of a person may offer. An investor may communicate to people, buy and sell stocks and may transfer the money from one place to another. All these functions can be carried out within fractions of seconds through internet.

The advantage of working on Internet lies in its high speed, along with the accomplishment of work without virtual presence of the particular person at the work place. It also offeres the huge ocean of information that supports the activity of the investor. However, its disadvantage lies in its incredibility and the uncertainty of the quality of the work offered.

As such, despite of the downsides and risks involved in investing in stocks, it is still charming and welcoming the investors to trade. In simple words, the facilities of online trading add to the glory and charm of the invests in stocks.

Get extensive information on online stock investing and get expert tips on how to invest in stocks.

W.D. Gann Trading Methods - Genius Trader or Overrated Guru?

2007-10-09T11:58:00.001-07:00

W.D. Gann is one of the most famous traders of all time, and has a huge devoted following - however the fact is, Gann never made the huge profits many of his disciples claim.

He did not have a success rate of 90%, as is often claimed - the logic his methods are based upon are unsound, and his predictive methods dont predict - they leave everything to subjective opinion!

Lets examine his theories of investment in more detail and see.

Lets look at some common myths about how great a trader Gann actually was:

Many sources quote Ganns trading profits at $50 million dollars, however this is not true.

An interview that Alexander Elder had with his son tells the truth.

Firstly, his son confirmed that when his father died in the 1950s his estate was valued at just $100,000 - and that included his house.

Secondly, his son confirmed that Gann was unable to make enough money from trading, and therefore supplemented his income by writing and selling courses.

W.D. Ganns Predictions

Many sources quote he had a success rate in all his trades of over 90% - again not true. We can easily deduce this from the value of his estate.

If he could make money trading and had a 90% success rate, he would have made hundreds of millions in his trading career - and he clearly did not - thats why he had to sell books and courses.

The only evidence of a 90% success rate came from a small number of trades - and was not representative of them all.

Ganns Methods are Predictive

Gann came to the conclusion that all natural phenomena are cyclical - including financial markets. This is true, but this is an obvious statement - we all know were going to die but when exactly?

A predictive theory is not a predictive theory if it cant predict.

If Ganns theory really is predictive, then there would be no market - as we would all know the price in advance!

Ganns theory is subjective - and he really had no way of predicting the future with accuracy. Its all subjective analysis and this is NOT a predictive theory.

Ganns Logic

The basis of Ganns theory is the principle that price and time must balance.

His methods are based on the squaring of price with time - this occurs when a unit of price equals a unit of time.

Gann for example would take a prominent high in the market, convert that dollar unit into a specified period of time and project it forward. When that time is reached, price and time are squared - and a market turn is due.

What? - How can one unit of price equal one unit of time? If you think about and answer this question for yourself, you will see how absurd the connection is.

This isnt the only inconsistency used in his analysis - we also have the legendary Fibonacci numbers which are supposed to work with stunning accuracy - but they dont, and neither do all sorts of astrology and geometry, that appeals to the far out investment crowd.

As we have seen, Gann was a trader who had modest success, and claimed to have discovered a predictive theory - which predicts nothing with accuracy.

Finally, we have so many subjective indicators cobbled together, that the theory can prove anything in hindsight, but if you want a tool to trade the markets look elsewhere.

For those of you still not convinced - I recently saw on the Internet, Ganns trading methods selling for under $1,000!

Sounds like a bargain to get trades with 90% accuracy - I wonder how many serious money managers have it on their bookshelf.

Enough said.

New! A valuable FREE Currency Trader CD containing 9 critical trading reports, tips, strategies and trading systems info. Visit our web site now and grab your CD http://www.tradercurrencies.com.

Fair Value with Negative Growth

2007-10-09T11:24:00.001-07:00

Our investing journey revolves around finding the fair value of a common stock. You can invest in companies that grow rapidly and lose money. On the other hand, you can also invest in companies in a declining industry, yet you can still make money. Investing profitably does not merely depend on what you invest in, but rather how much you pay for a given company.

Therefore, let's look at company with negative earning growth. How do we value them? For a 0% growth company, P/E ratio for the fair value is 13.4, which is equal to 7.45% return year in and year out. For negative growth company, P/E ratio should be lower of course, since it is giving less and less as the year goes by.

Let's try valuing negative growth with the following assumption. EPS growth is negative ten percent for the next five years and then stay constant. EPS for the current year is $ 1.00. So, after five years, EPS will come in at $ 0.59. Now, this is the constant $ 0.59 that we will get five years from now. The value of that cash flow today assuming 4.5% discounting rate is $ 0.47. Applying P/E of 13.4, this company is fairly valued at $ 6.34. Currently, earning per share comes in at $ 1.00 per share. If you look at the stock trading at $ 6.00, you may think that it is cheap since it is trading at a P/E of 6. But, if you expect it to have negative growth of negative ten percent for the next five years, this P/E of 6 doesn't sound cheap after all.

If you expect negative growth, even a seemingly low P/E ratio does not translate into profitable investment. The industry I can think of right now is the auto industry. The US auto maker has been struggling for years to compete with its Japanese counterparts. Investors has priced in negative growth for quite sometime now. If you look at say GM or Ford, they have been trading at a seemingly low P/E ratio for several years. Until this year, both of them has been able to post profits. This year, they are all expected to post a loss. The moral of the story here is to watch out for company with low P/E ratio.

Want more investing ideas? You can get it for free by visiting our commentary section at http://www.noviceinvesting.com

Eight Rules For ETF Success

2007-10-09T11:07:00.001-07:00

Managing a global portfolio of exchange-traded funds (ETFs) is a great way to build a diversified portfolio with exposure to equities around the globe. Fortunately, you need not be a rocket scientist to do this, but many investors fail to observe some basic guidelines, and it can get them into real trouble. Follow these eight steps and sleep easier.

1. Liquidity Comes First: Before you even think of building an investment portfolio, you should set aside about six months of income in a rainy day account. This could be put into a money market fund or U.S. Treasury securities. Having this money set aside will ease your mind and allow you to be more open and creative with your global portfolios.

2. Separate Portfolios: You should separate your core conservative portfolio from your growth portfolios. With the core conservative portfolio, your top priority is capital preservation, and growth is a secondary consideration. Your growth portfolios are more speculative, with capital growth as the primary goal.

3. Really Diversify Your Portfolios: You need positions in your portfolios that are likely to offset each other as unexpected events and market movements become a reality. This is not accomplished with different sectors of ETFs or a mix of small-cap, mid-cap and large-cap ETFs. Rather the goal is to have some investments that are on both sides of risks.

For example, if the U.S. dollar declines, have some investments in precious metals or denominated in other currencies, such as Switzerland or Australia or Singapore ETFs. If inflation heats up, have some investments that hedge this risk such as timber, gold or Treasury inflation-protected bonds (TIPs). If political events or policies in one country take a turn for the worst, it is helpful to have investments in other well-developed countries to offset any loss of value. You get the idea, spread your risk and avoid having one ETF account for more than 5%-10% of your core portfolio.

4. Be Careful Which Countries You Pick: You need some guidelines to help keep you from getting carried away and having too concentrated a position in a particular country or region. In particular, take a good look at the following: 1) the stability and overall political and corporate governance; 2) the legal environment, respect for contracts, low levels of corruption, due process and rule of law; 3) the macroeconomic environment including fiscal discipline and currency strength; and 4) political risks that could affect financial markets.

Keep in mind that the quality of the countries you choose to invest in is the primary but not the only factor. The price or valuation of a countrys stock market is also extremely important. Oftentimes, the best time to buy into a countrys stock market is when it is beaten down, but there are signs that its economic and political problems will sharply improve. If you have a long-term perspective, you might consider annuities specially structured for ETF portfolios.

5. Minimize Company Risk by using our buy countries, not stocks strategy. Instead of trying to pick the best three stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, why not just minimize company risk by buying the iShares MSCI Japan Index, which tracks the Nikkei 225 and spreads this risk across 225 Japanese companies.

6. Monitor ETF Country And Company Exposure: Be careful to look under the hood of ETFs to see where your money is going. For example, lets look at the iShares MSCI Emerging Markets ETF. It invests in 26 different countries, so it is natural to think that you will get broad exposure to all 26 countries. You would be wrong: 50% of your investment in this fund is going to four countries: South Korea, South Africa, Taiwan and China. In addition, incredibly, 7.5% is going to one company, Samsung Electronics of South Korea.

The same is true for the MSCI Europe, Asia and Far East index. It contains 21 developed countries, but 48% of the money you invest would go to just two: Japan and the United Kingdom. Meanwhile, less than 1% would go to Singapore and Ireland! Country specific ETFs such as the new iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index can also have a fair amount of concentrated risk. Although the China ETF tracks a basket of 25 companies, the largest five companies account for nearly 50% of your exposure.

7. Cut Losses With A Trailing Stop-Loss Policy And ETF Put Options: We have all been there. You buy a stock or fund, and it appreciates in value rapidly. Then it stumbles and begins to decline. What do you do? Should you buy more, let it ride, or sell? Save yourself a lot of pain and agony by following a simple rule. If a position ever falls more than 20% from its high, sell it immediately and reassess the situation. If you invest in an ETF with a sizable downside risk, why not spend a few hundred dollars to purchase a put-option as an insurance policy?

8. Rebalance Your Portfolio: At least annually, you need to make some changes so that you are not overly exposed to countries that have higher risk factors and volatility. One way is by selling some shares of your winners and increasing exposure to under performers. This accomplishes another goal, locking in gains and taking some money off the table. Remember, only a fool holds out for top dollar, especially in the more volatile emerging market countries.

Building your portfolios with low-cost, tax-efficient ETFs is a smart strategy, but dont set it on auto pilot.

For more information go to http://www.chartwellasia.com or call 877-221-1496

Carl Delfeld is head of the global advisory firm Chartwell Partners and editor of the the "Asia-Pacific Growth" newsletter. He served on the executive board of the Asian Development Bank and is the author of "The New Global Investor." For more information go to http://www.chartwellasia.com or call 877-221-1496.

12 Tips for Currency Trading Success

2007-10-09T10:17:00.003-07:00

Here are 12 tips for currency trading success if you are new to trading each point is explained more fully in our other material, but these are the basics that can lead you to successful forex trading.

Use them in your trading plan, your chances of currency trading success will be increase dramatically.

1. You are responsible

You need to take responsibility for your actions only you can give yourself success. Dont follow anyone else blindly.

2. Desire to Succeed

All the great traders have a burning desire to succeed and learn the right way to succeed and this involves getting a trading edge.

3. Work Smart - The amount of effort you put into currency trading has no bearing on how successful you will be and you can easily do all your trading in under an hour a day which leads onto:

4. Simple Systems are best

Many traders think the more complex a system is the more better it will perform, but the opposite is true.

Most of the top trading systems are simple. Why?

Because they are more robust in the fact of brutal market conditions.

5. Dont day trade

This is the biggest myth of currency trading. You will lose the odds are against you read our other articles and you will see why this is a guaranteed way to lose.

6. Dont follow the herd

Most of your most successful trades will be uncomfortable as the majority will not agree with. Keep in mind thats no bad thing as most currency traders lose

7. Discipline

Many traders have good trading methods but they lack discipline to apply the method this is normally because they are following someone elses system without having confidence in it. Which leads on to, you guessed..

8. Confidence

You must have confidence in your ability to make money longer term from the method you are using which means knowing exactly how and why it works.

9. Patience

Many traders think they always need to be in the market and want the excitement but there is no correlation between this and making money.

The big trends only come a few times a year so be patient wait for them and hold them

10. Risk Management

All traders know that money management is one of the keys to trading so you need a money management system that allows you to maximize risk and reward.

11. Be Realistic

Dont be in to much of a hurry to make money or you will lose it quickly be patent and realistic in your trading aims.

12. Whats your edge?

By a trading edge we mean, what makes your system likely to succeed when 90% of traders fail to make money?

If you dont know what your edge is you dont have one and will lose.

Currency trading success looks easy to achieve but it is not. Of course you can succeed but you need to approach it in the right way, with the right method and have the confidence and discipline to succeed.

MORE FREE BETTER TRADING INFO

On all aspects of becoming a profitable trader and some essential exclusive FREE PDF Trading downloads visit our website at http://www.net-planet.org/index.html

Online Currency Trading Strategy The Insider Secret

2007-10-09T10:17:00.001-07:00

If you have an online currency trading strategy, then you should incorporate the advice given in this article to make bigger profits - and maybe even change a losing system into a winning one.

The advice were giving here is contrary to almost everyone else on this subject - keep in mind however that 90% of traders lose! So, lets stay away from the losers and make some profits.

Get Set for Bigger Profits

So, whats this insider secret anyway? - Its about looking at money management in a different light.

Money Management and your Odds of Success

Most traders are virtually guaranteed to lose - because they have money management strategies that ensure they are constantly going to get stopped out by normal market volatility.

For example, many traders risk say 2% of their equity on a trade. On small accounts, this amounts to just a few hundred dollars. They enter the trade, and market volatility ensures their stop is hit. The market then goes back in the direction they had anticipated - and piles up thousands of dollars! Our trader though, thinks he was just unlucky - and tries again, but he wasnt unlucky, and volatility will take him out every time.

Money Management Guaranteed to Lose

A string of small losses soon adds up, and the trader runs out of money - and his online currency strategy is at an end.

The trader may have been right, on where markets were going - but got stopped out of the trade - and ended up losing instead of winning.

Does this sound familiar? - It happens all the time.

How to Protect Equity and make Bigger Profits

Here are seven tips to incorporate into your currency trading strategy, to protect equity and build huge profits.

1. Dont listen to advisors or brokers. Advisors dont care if you win or lose - and brokers certainly dont mind, as they work on the assumption you will lose anyway. The more commission a broker makes the better - and tight stops ensure this.

2. You need to risk more per trade - so you need to be very selective in trades. Forget day trading, and concentrate on the big, longer-term trends.

3. Keep in mind this truism with risk goes reward. Without risk, there cannot be big rewards. Currency trading offers big rewards - but you have to be prepared to take the risk.

4. Taking a risk with no thought, and taking a calculated risk, is entirely different. If you are taking a bigger risk, you are not necessarily going to lose - it depends on the logic behind the trade - and the profit potential. Thats why you should trade sparingly - and concentrate on the big trends.

5. Use up to 10%, or maybe even more, on the trades you are confident in - these are the big moves - and you dont want to be stopped out!

6. Dont move stops up too quickly to protect equity big currency trends last months or years - so give the trade room to move. You dont want to get into a big trade, and get stopped out on the first correction - if you think the trade is going to be big, then have the courage of your conviction.

7. Use options as a vehicle theyre great if used correctly - to give you staying power. Use at the money, or in the money options - with plenty of time value, for greater staying power. Options are a great tool, but NEVER buy out of the money options - or options that are close to expiry.

An online currency strategy consists of a number of components - and the one that lets down the bulk of traders, is money management. They try so hard to avoid risk, but end up creating it - and lose. Dont make this mistake in your currency trading strategy - you need to take risks, pure and simple - and as the famous, US general George Patton said:

Take calculated risks - that is quite different from being rash

The fact is, most traders dont believe this they end up creating risk by trying to avoid it - and thats why their currency trading strategies fail every time dont make the same mistake!

New! A valuable FREE Currency Trader CD containing 9 critical trading reports, tips, strategies and money management info. Visit our web site now and grab your CD http://www.tradercurrencies.com

Some Healthy Investor Skepticism

2007-10-09T09:27:00.001-07:00

It seems as though Enron is a distant memory. The markets have already discounted the sub-prime meltdown and the demise of New Century Financial (see old post pre-collapse with warning signals). The headlines are now focused on Iran and less importantly, Anna Nicole and abysmally, whether Sanjaya will win American Idol. Although Sarbanes-Oxley was meant to prevent another Enron, all it really did was make the U.S. exchanges less desirable to list on. Note the resurgence of the London exchange and deceleration of U.S. listings. Sarb-Ox didn't really and can't address the true root cause of Enron: unbridled greed and lying. Just because the CFO and CEO now need to validate financial reports, it doesn't preclude them from the same behaviors that led to the demise of Enron. Therefore, continued vigilance and skepticism is required, especially on the part of individual investors. And if put to the right use, it can be quite profitable.

Markets are efficient, but not quite so for the masses, who generally don't have access to program trading and advance warning of impending disasters. What small investors can do though, is be skeptical. Questioning abnormal projections, erratic and abhorrent behavior on the part of company executives can save you money; or make you money if you want to hedge your portfolio with stocks just itching for a crash. Rather than going 100% equities in a portfolio, broad diversification is important. This means a lot of things to a lot of people. To me, it means some commodities, some international, some small cap, large cap, real estate, etc. It also means a component of my portfolio that zigs when the majors zag. A nice way to do that is to buy puts on the major indices (rudimentary and somewhat counterproductive), by owning some funds that employ hedging strategies (more successful, but not always a perfect negative correlation; see earlier posts on hedge funds for the masses) or finally, by shorting (for sophisticated investors only) or buying puts on overpriced stocks (easy to do; options offered for most listed companies with some volume).

What are some warning signs of companies that are about to go down? In hindsight, a lot of these crashes were staring us all in the face and only a few vigilant analysts or hedge fund managers were crying foul. In some cases, there were too far out ahead of the pack and had to cover their positions as the stocks rallied. For those who could hold out or timed it better, they made a killing. Is it coincidental that Dennis Koslowski was buying thousand dollar shower curtains and throwing lavish parties for his wife's birthday with company funds while the stock was poised for a precipitous decline? Did it seem odd that Enron executives were telling their employees to hold their company stock and cursing (for real, in recorded conference calls) at analysts who questioned the sustainability of their earnings from fictitious subsidiaries?

What else to watch for? As Cramer would say, when you hear "accounting irregularities", RUN. By then, it's usually too late for individual investors. That's where some independent research and healthy investor skepticism comes in handy. These two sites are great resources for independent skepticism.

Stocklemon, newly named Citron Research (I guess they're all grown up now): This site is a MUST for any small cap you're thinking about. I was very pleased with the quality and depth of the research completely outing scams and shell companies. They routinely report on the back-office pump and dump schemes, the family members who happen to be the "analysts" reporting favorably on the stocks, and phone numbers listed for companies that are just unused cell numbers. If you're even thinking about investing in a smaller unproven company for that speculative part of your portfolio, check it out here. If you're lucky enough to find a stock that you don't think is all it's cracked up to be AND it lists put options, this may validate your opinion.

http://www.citronresearch.com/index.php

Another great resource is Footnoted.org. This site scours 10-K, annual reports and other SEC filings for things that look...strange. For instance, they noted that the CEO of ITWO was alloted 6 times the annual spending compared to last year for being ferried around on the company jet for about a million dollars. The site abounds with information that needs to be reported, but appears in the fine print and requires a seasoned investigator to highlight.

http://footnoted.org/

Everydayfinance Blog: http://www.everydayfinance.blogspot.com

The 16th Century Entrepreneur Who Created the Concept of the Taxi

2007-10-08T23:39:00.000-07:00

The 16th century was a time of amazing transformation in Europe. The Dark Ages were gone, the Black Plague had run it course and Middle Age fears and superstitions were slowly disappearing. The printing press had been invented and it was completely revamping the way people communicated. Columbus had discovered the Americas and the great age of exploration was in full swing. Medical advances, the Reformation, the creation of the great Italian banking houses and the Dutch trading companies had completely changed the way people thought, worked and worshipped.

And yet, there was one area in which there had been virtually no advance since the time of Christ: transportation. Horse or mule, horse drawn carts and boat were the methods of travel utilized to convey people, goods and foodstuffs. Travel was slow. It was uncomfortable. And, it was often very dangerous. Brigands and pirates faced little in the way of organized policing. A bandit pretty much had a field day during the period.

Of all the difficulties a traveler faced, the most frustrating by far was speed: or the lack thereof. As the great Florentine, Venetian and Genoan merchant banks financed warfare, fleets, crops, expeditions and colonization, they had to continually factor a risk premium into their risk/reward computations before settling on the interest to be charged on each loan. The slowness of receiving news of progress, success or failure on the status of an investment vehicle was agonizing to all parties participating in an enterprise. Did the fleet sink, or is it close to home with a valuable cargo? Has the battle been engaged, and who won? Was a new land discovered, and what did it offer in minerals or trade goods as materials for profit?

Knowledge is power, and speed provides the edge that makes this power so important. If I know today, what my enemy or rival will not know for several days, I have a decided advantage on strategizing to my advantage and profit. In the 16th century an industrious Belgian family developed the first international service to address the ages old problem of slow communication.

The Tassis family had obtained the rights to handle a rudimentary postal service in several Duchies in what is now Belgium. The service promised a decent living for the Tassis family by the standards of the time. However, they wanted to do more, expand and create a service that could become the international standard.

The Tassis family divided the work responsibilities between family members and had them disperse throughout Europe. The key to their success was a cohesive, standardized system of fleet horses, experienced, responsible riders, a network of terminals to change horse, rider and re-route mail and packages, and scheduled delivery times. Spain, France, Italy and Germany were little more than a polyglot of feudal city states during this time. There was no central government to handle a service like mail delivery that we consider routine today. The opportunity for a private company to organize and manage an international operation of this import and scale was a wonder.

The Tassis received contracts to handle the delivery of mail throughout most of continental Europe. From Naples to the Danube, and Gibraltar to Copenhagen, the family built a delivery network that managers at DHL, UPS, or FedEx would admire and recognize today. A treaty, legal contract or purchase order that took five weeks to reach Genoa from Madrid, could now be delivered in seven to 10 days. As the loads increased the price was lowered and this only accelerated the use of the service.

The family became rich, powerful and across Europe became members of the aristocracy. The name Tassis in the German language is spelled taxis. Today, everywhere in the world, people call for a taxicab when they need to transport themselves for a fare. The taxi service created by the Tassis was an important part of the development of the Renaissance.

The Tassis are responsible for one of the most elemental and important service enhancements in history. The ability to accelerate the movement of important commercial, legal and governmental communications enabled decisions to be made more quickly and on a grander scale. The entrepreneurial innovation that the Tassis family introduced enriched their family, business, government and, most importantly, the working class that benefited so much from the rapid expansion of capital and trade. Even today, we can still learn from the historical record that the ability to offer a novel new benefit pays off in so many ways.

Geoff Ficke has been a serial entrepreneur for almost 50 years. As a small boy, earning his spending money doing odd jobs in the neighborhood, he learned the value of selling himself, offering service and value for money.

After putting himself through the University of Kentucky (B.A. Broadcast Journalism, 1969) and serving in the United States Marine Corp, Mr. Ficke commenced a career in the cosmetic industry. After rising to National Sales Manager for Vidal Sassoon Hair Care at age 28, he then launched a number of ventures, including Rubigo Cosmetics, Parfums Pierre Wulff Paris, Le Bain Couture and Fashion Fragrance.

Mr. Ficke and his consulting firm, Duquesa Marketing, Inc. (http://www.duquesamarketing.com) has assisted businesses large and small, domestic and international, entrepreneurs, inventors and students in new product development, capital formation, licensing, marketing, sales and business plans and successful implementation of his customized strategies. He is a Senior Fellow at the Page Center for Entrepreneurial Studies, Business School, Miami University, Oxford, Ohio.

FOREX 101: Make Money with Currency Trading

2007-10-08T22:00:00.000-07:00

For those unfamiliar with the term, FOREX (FOReign EXchange market), refers to an international exchange market where currencies are bought and sold. The Foreign Exchange Market that we see today began in the 1970's, when free exchange rates and floating currencies were introduced. In such an environment only participants in the market determine the price of one currency against another, based upon supply and demand for that currency.

FOREX is a somewhat unique market for a number of reasons. Firstly, it is one of the few markets in which it can be said with very few qualifications that it is free of external controls and that it cannot be manipulated. It is also the largest liquid financial market, with trade reaching between 1 and 1.5 trillion US dollars a day. With this much money moving this fast, it is clear why a single investor would find it near impossible to significantly affect the price of a major currency. Furthermore, the liquidity of the market means that unlike some rarely traded stock, traders are able to open and close positions within a few seconds as there are always willing buyers and sellers.

Another somewhat unique characteristic of the FOREX money market is the variance of its participants. Investors find a number of reasons for entering the market, some as longer term hedge investors, while others utilize massive credit lines to seek large short term gains. Interestingly, unlike blue-chip stocks, which are usually most attractive only to the long term investor, the combination of rather constant but small daily fluctuations in currency prices, create an environment which attracts investors with a broad range of strategies.

How FOREX Works

Transactions in foreign currencies are not centralized on an exchange, unlike say the NYSE, and thus take place all over the world via telecommunications. Trade is open 24 hours a day from Sunday afternoon until Friday afternoon (00:00 GMT on Monday to 10:00 pm GMT on Friday). In almost every time zone around the world, there are dealers who will quote all major currencies. After deciding what currency the investor would like to purchase, he or she does so via one of these dealers (some of which can be found online). It is quite common practice for investors to speculate on currency prices by getting a credit line (which are available to those with capital as small as $500), and vastly increase their potential gains and losses. This is called marginal trading.

Marginal Trading

Marginal trading is simply the term used for trading with borrowed capital. It is appealing because of the fact that in FOREX investments can be made without a real money supply. This allows investors to invest much more money with fewer money transfer costs, and open bigger positions with a much smaller amount of actual capital. Thus, one can conduct relatively large transactions, very quickly and cheaply, with a small amount of initial capital. Marginal trading in an exchange market is quantified in lots. The term "lot" refers to approximately $100,000, an amount which can be obtained by putting up as little as 0.5% or $500.

EXAMPLE: You believe that signals in the market are indicating that the British Pound will go up against the US Dollar. You open 1 lot for buying the Pound with a 1% margin at the price of 1.49889 and wait for the exchange rate to climb. At some point in the future, your predictions come true and you decide to sell. You close the position at 1.5050 and earn 61 pips or about $405. Thus, on an initial capital investment of $1,000, you have made over 40% in profits. (Just as an example of how exchange rates change in the course of a day, an average daily change of the Euro (in Dollars) is about 70 to 100 pips.)

When you decide to close a position, the deposit sum that you originally made is returned to you and a calculation of your profits or losses is done. This profit or loss is then credited to your account.

Investment Strategies: Technical Analysis and Fundamental Analysis

The two fundamental strategies in investing in FOREX are Technical Analysis or Fundamental Analysis. Most small and medium sized investors in financial markets use Technical Analysis. This technique stems from the assumption that all information about the market and a particular currency's future fluctuations is found in the price chain. That is to say, that all factors which have an effect on the price have already been considered by the market and are thus reflected in the price. Essentially then, what this type of investor does is base his/her investments upon three fundamental suppositions. These are: that the movement of the market considers all factors, that the movement of prices is purposeful and directly tied to these events, and that history repeats itself. Someone utilizing technical analysis looks at the highest and lowest prices of a currency, the prices of opening and closing, and the volume of transactions. This investor does not try to outsmart the market, or even predict major long term trends, but simply looks at what has happened to that currency in the recent past, and predicts that the small fluctuations will generally continue just as they have before.

A Fundamental Analysis is one which analyzes the current situations in the country of the currency, including such things as its economy, its political situation, and other related rumors. By the numbers, a country's economy depends on a number of quantifiable measurements such as its Central Bank's interest rate, the national unemployment level, tax policy and the rate of inflation. An investor can also anticipate that less quantifiable occurrences, such as political unrest or transition will also have an effect on the market. Before basing all predictions on the factors alone, however, it is important to remember that investors must also keep in mind the expectations and anticipations of market participants. For just as in any stock market, the value of a currency is also based in large part on perceptions of and anticipations about that currency, not solely on its reality.

Make Money with Currency Trading on FOREX

FOREX investing is one of the most potentially rewarding types of investments available. While certainly the risk is great, the ability to conduct marginal trading on FOREX means that potential profits are enormous relative to initial capital investments. Another benefit of FOREX is that its size prevents almost all attempts by others to influence the market for their own gain. So that when investing in foreign currency markets one can feel quite confident that the investment he or she is making has the same opportunity for profit as other investors throughout the world. While investing in FOREX short term requires a certain degree of diligence, investors who utilize a technical analysis can feel relatively confident that their own ability to read the daily fluctuations of the currency market are sufficiently adequate to give them the knowledge necessary to make informed investments.

Rich McIver is a contributing writer for The Forex Blog: Currency Trading News ( http://www.forexblog.org ).

Mutual Funds - A Secure Investment For Your Future

2007-10-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

Investment opportunities galore in today's globalized world, but if you do not want to take too many risks and earn handsome returns as well, then mutual fund investments are certainly your best bet. No doubt, a large portion of your invested money will be ultimately channeled to the so-called volatile stock markets, but you need not worry because your funds and that of other investors will be put under the management of seasoned professionals who will take care of the risks involved and ensure that you get the best possible returns from your investments. Moreover, since the mutual fund company will not charge you anything more than a small amount as processing fees, it makes more sense to opt for mutual funds rather than to make direct investments in the stock market.

Mutual funds have always been one of the most secure investment options available because they are based on the time tested logic - "never place all your eggs in the same basket." Money collected from retail investors such as you is channeled to various investment avenues such as equities, bonds, short-term money-market instruments and others, something that automatically reduces the associated investment risks. Investments risks are also reduced because most mutual fund companies often have intra company shareholdings that act as insurance against potential future downfalls or volatility in the money market.

It is not that your returns are guaranteed, but since the chances of earning profits is relatively more in case of mutual fund investments, it is always better to park your hard earned money in such secure instruments. You will benefit not only from the dividends that you will be entitled to receive, but also from the appreciation in the NAV (Net Asset Value) of your mutual fund units. Liquidity is also not a problem because you can sell your mutual fund units as and when you want at market rates (NAV). Your decision to sell will however be dictated by factors such as your present financial needs and your present and future financial goals and objectives.

Mutual funds are certainly one of the most secure investment avenues, but still you need to be prudent simply because not all mutual funds available in the market offer the same benefits. To ensure the safety and profitability of your investments, you will thus have to select only those funds that hold the most potential for future growth. It is only then will you be able to do justice to the phraseology: "Mutual Funds - A secure investment!"

GREG S. owns and manages his Mutual Funds website where you can get more useful information about investing in various types of Mutual Funds.

IF - The Wonders of Investing

2007-10-08T16:09:00.000-07:00

If it seems as if all investors are

selling, who is buying?

If trading has become entertainment

for you, it may be time to refocus

on profits.

If your stock has reached an annual

low, can it go any lower?

If your stock has reached an annual

high, can it go any higher?

If all the television analysts jumped

off a bridge, would anyone care?

If your portfolio is based solely on

fundamental analysis, perhaps it

is time to learn technical analysis.

If I said you had a beautiful portfolio,

would you hold it against an index?

If you are tired of losing value on the

long side, perhaps its time to learn

both sides of the market.

If you do not have a written financial

plan, you should.

If you could put aside $205 at the

beginning of each month for thirty-

five years, with an 11% annualized

return you may save over $1

million.

If you have stopped looking at your

portfolio statements, does that mean

your game plan is off?

If a fool and his money are easily

separated, who introduced the two?

If buy and hold is your philosophy,

why do you need a broker?

If a tree falls in the forest, does it ruin

the stock market for the day?

If someone invented a computer

program for investments that proved

100% correct all the time, we would

never know about it.

If you think the market capitulated,

you are not in a state of selling

hysteria.

If 1,000,000 lemmings jump, can they

all be wrong?

If you want to know what Greenspan

thinks about economics, count the

times he smiles.

If you expect nothing of your

portfolio, you will not be

disappointed.

If you are a rational investor, can you

benefit from an irrational market?

If you managed your money like the

government, you would take money

from your neighbor and spend it on

stock options that expire this week.

If you are confused with the opinions

of the media, create your own.

Wardlaw has been involved in the fields of investments and insurance for over twelve years. The author's belief is that familiar life elements best illustrate practical investment strategies; not typical investment jargon. For comments and questions, please contact the author at tools2invest@yahoo.com.

Recent Trends In Real Estate

2007-10-08T14:45:00.000-07:00

Real Estate industry in the recent years has been on a boom in all its five sectors, viz. Residential, Commercial, Retail, Industrial as well as Investment. Though there have been reports and rumors of crashing, real estate market has been fairly steady in its growth and will be growing further in the second half of year 2007. This is evident through economic indicators like stable rates, falling dollar, changing demographic trends, rising stock market.

The number of immigrants coming to USA has been increasing rapidly. It is estimated that USA will witness a rise in the number of immigrants from approximately 9 million in 1990 to around 12 million by 2010. The demand for home ownership among this section in USA is very high and they will make up for almost 30% of the market share by 2010. If the predictions made by Harvard are to be considered, they will have a combine purchasing power of $1.5 trillion. Also they might account for around 55% - 60% of first time homebuyers.

Homebuyers are becoming more and more cautious of their purchase decisions. Thus the real estate agents and brokers need to adopt more of a financial planner approach. Being the traditional real estate agent is not going to work for long. Thus the real estate industry has to be more global, institutional and professional. They need to have complete knowledge and reduced response time.

Technology too has a substantial role to play in changing real estate trends. The market scenario has been changing continuously, with more and more people taking help of Internet technology and engaging in free flow of information about buying and selling of property. Thus the real estate industry is shifting from its traditional broker dependent model to a new social networking model. Around 77% of the homebuyers surf through net to buy their dream house. The realtors too have joined this trend by providing free information online through their websites.

There has been a change in real estate advertising trends too. Since consumers have hands on ample knowledge, their tolerance levels have decreased. They expect real estate agents to give them more than usual. If consumers are not given exactly what they want, they'll instantly switch to other options. This calls for realtors to brand themselves more strongly.

Lets talk about the most preferred places for homebuyers in USA. Online searches make it evident that city of Manhattan; San Francisco, Philadelphia, Los Angels, San Diego, and Washington are more looked for.

While most parts of United States of America are witnessing a boom in real estate sector, people in New Orleans, Louisiana and Mississippi are struggling to sell their home. Sign boards saying, prices reduced' and new prices' can be seen alongside Victorian homes. All this comes as after effects of hurricane Katrina. Prices of property insurance have soared high here. There is a shortage of upper class buyers like doctors and other professionals. Looks like a complete rehabilitation here is going to take some more time.

Martin Lukac represents RateEmpire.com Purchase Loan and Refinance Loan financial marketplace which connects consumers with multiple mortgage companies that compete for their business. For more information please visit Recent Trends in Real Estate

How To Start Investing On The Stock Exchange

2007-10-08T13:20:00.000-07:00

Without a doubt in my mind, I believe that the main reasons that most people are unsuccessful as investors are a lack of both preparation and discipline.

Investment in any form is a show of faith in the future, optimism if you prefer. Whether you are buying property, antiques or stocks, you are displaying your positive outlook for your future years.

Yet despite this obviously good intention, many people make dreadful investments and lose large amounts of money. This optimism can become blinding and prevents us from seeing obvious risks or pitfalls. If we do see them, we may discount them or fail to understand their potential implications.

Therefore, understanding the nature of risk is a key lesson that all investors should try to learn before they begin to invest directly in companies quoted on the stock exchange.

For years, investment newcomers were advised to start by choosing a few companies and investing on paper. In other words, the new investor would follow the progress of the company and share price without actually buying. Each day a new plot on a hand drawn graph of the company would help the investor to understand just a little more.

Over time, the investor might spot trends between the company and a leading index or sector. The price might move in odd and unpredictable ways causing a desire for more understanding and education to explain these mysteries.

This desire for new knowledge is a core trait of successful investors. To succeed in stock exchange investments, it is vital to firstly keep up to date, but if possible to stay ahead of the pack. This might mean reading trade journals, the annual reports of competing firms, company reviews, interviews and much more. This ongoing education is vital to success.

As computer technology has advanced and investment analysis tools that only a few years ago were expensive and highly specialised have proliferated, the basic learning process for an investor has changed.

Should it?

If plotting points on a graph hepled to truly understand the workings of a moving average or stop loss system, why stop? This used to be 'investment 101' but is now a task to be downloaded. For many investors, it was the most valuable investment they made. They learned to invest and to understand the workings of the stock exchange. They learned a skill, for others a trade.

This time and investment in learning will help the decision making process of an investor for years to come. It may both earn and save many thousands as the years pass.

Is this a process that you have taken? To accompany all the reading and theory that goes with investment generally, paper trading is an important pillar in understanding both investments and the stock exchange.

Stuart Langridge is an experienced investor and investment adviser. If you would like to read more of his down to earth investment advice, please click here: http://www.StockExchangeSecrets.com

Forex Day Trading Tips You Need to Know

2007-10-08T09:30:00.001-07:00

The popularity of forex currency trading system continues to grow as more and more people have realized the potential income that they can earn from forex trading.

With a massive daily profit of $1.5 trillion, forex trading has definitely surpassed the combined profits of bond market and global stock market. This is probably the main reason why many people were enticed to try forex trading.

Along with the massive growth of forex trading comes the forex day trading. As its name implies, forex day trading mainly refers to the actual selling and buying of various foreign exchange currencies all throughout the day. Its main purpose is to come up with no net variation in place at the last part of the day. In other words, for every forex currency bought, there should be one currency sold.

In order to see the profit or the deficit, one must look into the discrepancy between the current values of the currency being sold to the purchase amount. The main incentive of this method of trading is to lessen the burden of maintaining a position during the night.

Normally, the open price may have considerably altered from the earlier days final currency value. Hence, forex trading that involves traders who are dependent on the currencys performance during the day is known as forex day trading.

In essence, forex day trading is not as dangerous as the other types of forex trading activities. But then again, the usual employment of margin purchases such as utilizing funds on loan increases the deficits and profits. So to speak, the potential shortfall and returns may happen in very little time.

For this reason, experts say that it is normal to expect that nearly 90% of forex day traders will lose profit. Hence, it would be more enjoyable on the part of forex day traders to gamble their money that is not important to them.

The main point here is that even if forex day trading aims to provide you with the right amount of money that you need to gain, it should still be separated from the psychosomatic point of examination and trading activities.

To know more about forex day trading, here are some tips that you need to know, or you can read about forex futures trading.

1. You should know that forex day trading is course oriented

This means that forex day trading is focused more on the development. Forex day traders are expected to identify what comprises the winning trade. By the time you have already identified the outline, you will have more confidence in taking the trade.

This means that you will easily make good decisions without feeling regretful. In addition, at the end of each transaction, you will be able to feel good about your decision.

2. You are bound to lose before you can gain something

Forex experts say that every successful forex traders has definitely lost some hefty amount of money before they were able to achieve something. In fact, they say that this is the primary factor needed in order to gain success in forex day trading.

However, it does not necessarily mean that because you are bound to lose money at one point or another, you should expect loses all throughout. It is still important to remember that as a forex day trader, you must do everything just to win the game.

This can be done by speculating positively at all cost, taking risks without uncertainties. Of course, losing is part of the game. But remember that losing is not a major issue in ones success.

Fail if you must; that is, if you will think that losing is inevitable. Yet, one should also keep in mind that these loses are relatively small and will only take few minutes of your time to make those errors.

And lastly, it is important that you know what you are doing. Do your homework and find out more about forex day trading. In this way, you will learn the basic safety measures of forex day trading. You will also learn the important steps you have to make if ever the unforeseen circumstances take place.

So the next time you want to start a career in forex day trading, it is important that you start on the insides first. Know what the client wants. From there you can already make a fresh start in trading.

For more information and tips about forex trading. Visit us at http://www.ForexTradingSpot.net.

The Role of an Online Stock Broker

2007-10-07T23:56:00.000-07:00

Online stock brokers play a large role in the investment life of people who want to get into investing but either dont know where to start or dont have a large capital to get them started. Online stockbrokers are very different from usual brokers. So they will help you with investing but will not normally manage your investments and money.

The investment world that we live in now it has become increasingly hard to know what the best path for your money is. There are no longer any sure bets. There is however an art to the science of investment.

The stock exchange has always been the middle ground that acts like a platform for the stock traders and the offering companies to buy and sell. Generally once a company is invested in, it will use the invested funds to grow the company and expand areas, which will help them, achieve long-term goals. So once a company is ready to float, it means that is ready to grow.

In the pre-Internet world the traditional stock market works a little like this. Investors use and are assisted by stock brokers who will help their clients buy and sell their stocks. The broker will help their clients build a portfolio and help manage it. This is still done, but because of the Internet you have options.

The Internet provides you with the option of having an online stockbroker. An online stockbroker will offer you help in reaching your financial goals. By keeping a breast f the financial condition your online broker will make informed decisions. Online stockbrokers will charge less in commissions but will generally give you a little less for it. But if you work with someone that you trust, it should work out to your benefit.

When choosing and using an online broker you should however take these points in to consideration.

1.Its best to start with a full service broker and wean off then to an online broker.
2.Check your performance regularly so that you are familiar with your portfolio.
3.Always have a range of contact points for your broker.
4.Always choose a broker that has range of services and can offer you a range of options.
5.Go for a broker, which will allow you to start with a smaller minimum deposit. Perhaps go for a broker that will let you open an account without a minimum deposit. You will gage their dedication by this.
6.Go for a broker with low commission structures, but not always the lowest because you might not get a good service.
7.Do a quick background search on your broker; the Internet has made this very easy. Just do a search with their name, address and or phone number.
8.Never go with a broker that does not give you all of the fee information up front and straight away. If they hide anything, dont give them your hard earned money!

Get your Momentum Stock Trading System and sign up for my free weekly online trading system newsletter here at: http://www.stressfreetrading.com

Day Trading Courses

2007-10-07T23:14:00.000-07:00

Day trading is the practice of buying and selling currencies before the close of the Foreign Exchange each day hopefully for the most profit. Anyone with a little money to invest can now trade over the internet. But its best to know a little bit about what youre doing first and theres no shortage of day trading courses to teach you about that.

Courses can be studied online or in face-to-face classes and duration differs between one day to five days - or indefinitely if you teach yourself in an internet correspondence course.

You dont need any specific paper qualifications in order to trade but you do need a few skills and a bit of knowledge that you could gain through a day trading course.

You will need to shop around, because courses can cost anything between $2,000 and $12,000 and they vary massively in quality for these prices its not always true to say that the most expensive option is the best one; it all depends on what you are looking for.

Here are a few of your options so you can see which one might be right for you.

Online

Since Day Trading University came online, there have sprung up literally hundreds of websites offering day trading courses supposedly to university standard but be wary of these claims. These courses are unregulated, especially on the internet. You want to make doubly sure that they offer you the tuition you need.

Makes sure that the website you give your hard-earned cash to, to teach you day trading, is not simply an article directory. Thats not a substitute for a proper course in day trading and is probably not something that you want to be paying too much for. To maximize the benefit of an online course, it should offer you multimedia audio or video clips as well as downloadable activities and charts to continue and consolidate your learning.

Books
Home study courses in day trading are also available in book form. They are easy t peruse at your leisure and you can browse before you buy, so you know exactly what youre getting. But books dont have the multi-sensory approach that a good website will have, with audio and visual streaming. It works for some people though. Many are written by experts in the field.

Face-to-face courses
This is where you might be spending big bucks to learn about day trading: make sure its worth it.

Tuition can be large group, small group or even one-to-one, although you may have to pay through the nose for one-to-one tuition. Be sure you really need it before you lay out your course fee, bearing in mind that if you are assertive and confident enough, *any* face-to-face tuition offers you the chance to ask the tutor(s) any specific questions which you might have.

Here are a few things you should be looking for in a good day trading course, whether that be face to face, online or in a book:
What to trade in
OK so that one was obvious, but how do you spot an opportunity for bigger trading profits? A good course should tell you this. On the flip side, they should inform you of what sort of trading to avoid and why, so you dont make big, costly mistakes.

Trading psychology
What is the best mindset for a successful trader? What opportunities should you look for? Who makes the most money?

Long-term and short-term trading
Now, as were talking day trading here, there is no real long-term, but a good trading course will differentiate between deals you strike every few minutes and ones you should sit on for a few hours. You need to recognize these in order to maximize your profits. Find out how to pick momentum stocks every day to squeeze the most out of your money. Tools of the trade

A good course will not be trying to sell you anything, so watch out for courses and books linked to a particular product or automated trading software. Of course theyll tell you that is the best one but you know your own mind. Make it up yourself without the sales pitch.

However, day trading need not be about constantly sitting at your computer, glued to currency reports. Automated trading is a great boost to day trading, and a good course should give you some ideas of what automation software is out there and how to discriminate between the packages available.

Now you know some of the options as far as day trading courses go and what to look for, you should be able to find the right training option for you.

Frank J Vanderlugt owns and operates http://www.lazytrader.com

Day Trading

FOREX Brokers - Tips for Choosing the Best Forex Broker

2007-10-07T22:31:00.000-07:00

There are many Forex brokers to choose from when trading currencies online - and choosing the right one is essential, if youre going to maximize your FX trading profits.

This article is all about choosing the best broker to help you trade online - and help you achieve currency-trading success.

Firstly, you need to understand the following:

A Forex broker is there to help you place orders and give you a good service when doing so.

Many novice traders however choose a broker assisted account - and then expect their broker to help them make money!

You shouldnt use a broker-assisted account.

To succeed in FX trading you need to understand that you alone are responsible for your trading success, and no one else.

Now you have your FOREX trading system / trading plan, its time to choose a broker. Here are some tips to help you:

Spreads Offered

Spreads can be very competitive and you need them to be. Transaction costs mount up - especially if you are trading frequently.

The tighter the spread, the more profits you will make.

Today, many brokers offer spreads as tight as 3 - 5 pips - and this is what you should look for.

Deposit Online

Look for a broker who will take online payments to your Forex account - and make sure the payment method is secure.

This is a great facility for funding your account quickly - and getting your trading profits back into your bank account!

Guaranteed Stop Loss Protection

The leverage is one of the main reasons that people are attracted to currency trading, as it increases the profit potential dramatically.

Of course, leverage is a double-edged sword - and where there are high rewards, there is high risk.

Many traders are nervous of trading with the potential to lose more than their initial deposit. With this in mind many Forex brokers now offer guaranteed stops and negative balance protection.

This is a sensible service to utilize when you first venture into trading, as it gives peace of mind for a small fee.

Leverage Offered

The leverage brokers will give you varies dramatically from broker to broker.

You should look at a broker who will grant you at least 200:1, as it will maximize your potential profits.

In fact, many brokers will give you leverage of up to 400:1.

Other Charges

Your only transaction cost should be the currency spread - you should not pay other commissions.

Always make sure that the currency spread is the only fee youre charged, and that you dont pay any extra brokerage commissions.

Investment Amounts

Today, currency trading is not just the preserve of wealthy individuals and banks - anyone can get involved, as deposits are affordable to all investors.

You can open a trading account online with as little as $100.00 this means that novice traders who want to start out with a small amount can do so.

Trading Platform

If you are trading online, you will go through a Forex trading platform - and you should look at this closely when looking to trade with a broker.

You want ease of use and reliability but also check that the broker provides assistance and support.

FOREX Trading Education

While you should always make your own investment decisions, its nice to get free trading tools such as:

FREE trading guides
Forex training seminars
Trading news
Trading recommendations
Forex trading systems
Trading books

These can be useful when you first start to learn Forex trading, and you are developing your own Forex trading strategy.

Choose Your Broker Wisely

When choosing a Forex broker you have a lot of choice, and the above tips will help you choose a broker that will be a valuable partner in your quest for profits from online Forex trading.

Terrorist Nightmare on Wall Street

2007-10-07T14:13:00.000-07:00

"Past history and recent intelligence have shown that New York City, a critical node of the U.S. economy, is clearly in the terrorist's crosshairs." - John Sudnik, Dirty Bomb Attack: Accessing New York City's Level of Prepardness From A First Responders Perspective. Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA.

Here is a short story describing a possible dirty bomb attack on Wall Street and how such an event might impact the U.S. economy and financial markets. Let us hope this third Islamic terrorist attack on Wall Street will never happen, but remember 9/11 was the second terrorist attack against the World Trade Center Towers. Could both incidents have been an attempt to topple the World Trade Centers twin towers into the NYSE building? As an investment professional and a close follower of the news and current events, I would not recommend that you bet your entire investment portfolio that this nightmare on Wall Street never happens.

To set the stage we have three different types of investors in this scenario: First, there is Paul, a dentist in St. Paul, Minnesota. Paul has his entire qualified retirement plan managed by a major investment firm in New York City. Second, there is John, an entrepreneur in New Jersey. His business is located about thirty miles west of Manhattan. John has half of his investments in U.S. global mutual funds and a U.S. variable annuity. The rest of John's investments are in a global portfolio managed by a private bank in Geneva, Switzerland. Third, is a wealthy, pro-western Saudi businessman. His investment portfolio is managed by a large international bank headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The event:

An Islamic terrorist group managed to obtain enough radioactive materials and conventional explosives to construct a dirty bomb. The explosives were strategically positioned in vacant warehouses in New Jersey just north of the Newark Airport and the detonation was timed to take place during a winter day when the winds were blowing east south east, carrying the radiation across the Hudson River area of New Jersey, on across lower Manhattan Island, and then on to Long Island.

Another advantage of this particular wind direction was that the Wall Street emergency back up facilities, back office operations, and data storage centers were located in eastern New Jersey and western Long Island. Terrorist cells, along with the American people had been told of these emergency locations and back up facilities following the 9/11 attack three years earlier in an attempt to ease investor concern and stop a possible market panic during the market closure. Of course, it did not take a rocket scientist to figure out that the hundreds of thousands of Wall Street workers would need the back up emergency facilities within easy commuting distance of Manhattan to make the system work.

While the physical damage to the Newark warehouse district was quite extensive, the number of lives lost there was minimal. The problem began with the radiation, debris, and dust cloud which swept across a narrow but widening area beginning on the Hudson River, taking in the southern part of Manhattan including Wall Street and covering much of western Long Island.

The resulting rioting and panic as the radiation cloud moved over Manhattan killed over 100,000 people, as millions of residents and commuters tried to flee. This, however, was just the beginning of the problem. After the panic had subsided came the radiation sickness and poisoning. The markets were immediately closed and the U.S. army cordoned off the entire area as millions of sick refugees were slowly decontaminated and allowed through the lines to be transported to emergency medical treatment facilities all across the United States. The tragedy and Wall Street holocaust, as it became known, resulted in the largest number of Jewish deaths since the Nazi holocaust - something that the terrorists had been calculating.

The terrorists hated America, Israel, and Saudi Arabia with almost equal intensity. Another component of their terrorist plan had been for selected supporters in Saudi Arabia within the banking and financial industry to spend hundreds of millions of dollars buying put options on the U.S. stock market in the days leading up to the attack. Their plan was not just to destroy the U.S. financial markets, but to also take down Saudi Arabia in the process. Even though they knew the tremendous profits from these market puts would be disallowed, their actions within the Saudi financial establishment had a more important goal: Making these investments also served to implicate the Saudi financial establishment and government which, when discovered, brought the full wrath of U.S. public opinion and the government down on Saudi Arabia. Every dollar of Saudi funds by individuals, banks, financial managers, and even the government invested in the U.S. markets were frozen and seized.

Immediately following the attack, all existing Presidential Emergency Orders were activated and all banks and investment markets were shut down. The press was forbidden to publicize or even discuss the amount of contamination to Wall Street and, more importantly, to the back up emergency centers. All they could say was that the investment markets are sound and closed on a temporary basis until we can get the employees back into New York City. The media downplayed the damage to the facilities and all evidence of the rioting and massive panic that caused most of the initial causalities. All freedom of speech, civil liberties, the Bill of Rights, Habeas corpus, and constitutional protections were suspended for the duration of the emergency.

The problem the media did not tell investors was that the contamination of the area meant it had to be quarantined for a minimum of six months before clean up crews could make it safe for the financial service employees who survived to return to work.

While the human toll from the terrorist attack was incalculable due to the delayed effects of the radiation poisoning, the financial toll was not. The American dollar lost 70% of its value during the six-month period compared to the Euro, the Yen and the Swiss Franc. There was a brief one week solidarity closure of all world markets but eventually one at a time they started trading again. The U.S. markets remained closed as the 'temporary' one week delay stretched to 3 weeks, then 2 months, then finally 6 months.

The foreign market panic finally subsided as investors outside the U.S. and American investors with funds outside the closed American markets picked up investments at very low prices. It became apparent that Americas misfortune would throw all liquidity-starved U.S. companies and citizens into a depression far worse than the Great Depression of the 1930s. Although the banks opened back up after a month, there were severe limits on the amount of funds which could be withdrawn from checking or savings accounts. No U.S. stocks or bonds could be traded, as was the case for mutual funds, investment management accounts, and variable annuity portfolios.

After six months, the U.S. markets opened again on a limited basis for a few hours each day but there was little interest with the Dow trading at around 1,000 and the NASDAQ was down to 120. The minimal liquidity available in the U.S. and the Presidential Executive Orders allowing only 5% of a bank account, security or portfolio to be liquidated per month turned corporate America into a buying basement opportunity. Foreign investors and the few Americans with liquidity from investment accounts outside the closed U.S. markets purchased U.S. securities at a mere fraction of their values before the attack.

Did the American economy recover? Yes, but at a high price for investors. Many of our corporations became foreign owned and controlled when they were picked up at stock prices for pennies on the dollar at the market reopening. The real estate market crashed like everything else and we went through a period similar to what Russia went through after the fall of the former Soviet Union. Eventually, the extreme Presidential Executive Orders were moderated and America slowly returned to normalcy but investor confidence and portfolios were devastated.

What happened to Paul, John, and the Saudi businessman?

Paul, the dentist in St. Paul, Minnesota, had his entire qualified retirement plan managed by a major investment firm in New York City. It took Paul and his accountant years to prove what was in his retirement plan investments, since most of the records were destroyed in the panic, and the investment firm employees perished in the disaster. When the market finally reopened and the statements were again available, Paul ended up with about 5 cents on the dollar because many of his equity holdings had declared bankruptcy during the year following the attack.

John, the entrepreneur with half of his investments in global mutual funds and a variable annuity and the rest in a managed global portfolio handled by a private bank in Geneva, Switzerland, was better off. John heard the explosion and saw the cloud heading toward the Hudson River and Manhattan but the wind direction spared his area of the destruction and panic. All of his global mutual funds were headquartered in the Wall Street financial district so they, along with his variable annuity, were frozen during the six-month market closure.

However, John did not know at the time that even though the funds were frozen, the underlying foreign securities kept trading and his portfolio actually increased about 30% when the U.S. markets started trading again. The 70% fall in the dollar that continued after the six months period actually helped restart the American economy. This translated into a 100% purchasing power gain in John's foreign funds. Although it took him 20 months to liquidate his U.S. investments at the 5% allowed each month, he eventually sold all at a profit. The money managed by the private bank in Geneva, of course, continued being managed in non-U.S. investments and he was able to use the proceeds to purchase several quality properties in the distressed U.S. real estate market after the collapse.

The Saudi businessman with his investments managed by an international bank in Charlotte, North Carolina, was horrified at the attack but he and other Arab investors, regardless of their political persuasion, suffered the greatest financial losses from the terrorist attack. The American government froze most Arab government and individual private investments during the market closure and these assets were temporarily transferred to the American treasury until the real culprits behind the attack were apprehended and tried. It has been five years now and the U.S. government has yet to release any of his U.S. investments even though his name has never appeared on a suspect list. In the end, it really did not matter because Saudi Arabia and the other remaining moderate or pro-American nations all overthrew their existing governments and became militant Islamic republics, due to the Moslem worlds outrage at the American asset freeze and confiscation.

This is a long case study but is important to think about if you share my concerns of a future attack. I do not have inside information or a crystal ball but this is what I think could possibly happen if Islamic terrorists are able to build and detonate a dirty bomb or weapon of mass destruction.

Currently, I do not have a single dime invested in the American stock market because I believe the risk of another terrorist attack is too great. Islamic terrorists have already twice targeted the Wall Street area of New York City. If in the future they have the capacity to use a WMD, every investor in the U.S. markets could be left holding the bag and little else, since the American markets could be closed for six months or more depending on the technology damage, death toll in the financial industry, and degree of contamination.

Have you considered the likely consequences for another terrorist attack against New York City and Wall Street? Have you found yourself wondering why media reports constantly warn about the likelihood of an Islamic terrorist attack on a U.S. target with a weapon of mass destruction or dirty bomb, but there is never any speculation as to the possible target? There are simple reasons. First, we have no way to prevent such an attack. It is just that simple. Second, the government warning of a threat to the U.S. financial markets would generate a financial and market panic that could equal the effects of the actual terror attack.

Obviously Washington and the financial establishment have decided it is best to treat the terrorist attack risk to Wall Street like every stock market collapse--as something that will never happen but always does. There will be no warning, no suggestion to diversify outside of New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ securities, or out of mutual funds and variable annuity products in these investments.

Will this horrible nightmare take place? I surely hope not, but I urge investors to take this scenario risk into consideration when reviewing how much of their portfolio is invested only in the U.S. dollar and Wall Street investment markets.

Ron Holland is the author this article and it is from the online book, The Swiss Preserve Solution at http://www.swissconfederationinstitute.org/swisspreserve1.htm This is a politically incorrect guide to defending your wealth & liberty from internal and external 21st Century threats.

Currency Trading: Understanding the Basics of Currency Trading

2007-10-07T00:09:00.000-07:00

Investors and traders around the world are looking to the Forex market as a new speculation opportunity. But, how are transactions conducted in the Forex market? Or, what are the basics of Forex Trading? Before adventuring in the Forex market we need to make sure we understand the basics, otherwise we will find ourselves lost where we less expected. This is what this article is aimed to, to understand the basics of currency trading.

What is traded in the Forex market?

The instrument traded by Forex traders and investors are currency pairs. A currency pair is the exchange rate of one currency over another. The most traded currency pairs are:

EUR/USD: Euro
GBP/USD: Pound
USD/CAD: Canadian dollar
USD/JPY: Yen
USD/CHF: Swiss franc
AUD/USD: Aussie

These currency pairs generate up to 85% of the overall volume generated in the Forex market.

So, for instance, if a trader goes long or buys the Euro, she or he is simultaneously buying the EUR and selling the USD. If the same trader goes short or sells the Aussie, she or he is simultaneously selling the AUD and buying the USD.

The first currency of each currency pair is referred as the base currency, while second currency is referred as the counter or quote currency. Each currency pair is expressed in units of the counter currency needed to get one unit of the base currency. If the price or quote of the EUR/USD is 1.2545, it means that 1.2545 US dollars are needed to get one EUR.

Bid/Ask Spread

All currency pairs are commonly quoted with a bid and ask price. The bid (always lower than the ask) is the price your broker is willing to buy at, thus the trader should sell at this price. The ask is the price your broker is willing to sell at, thus the trader should buy at this price.

EUR/USD 1.2545/48 or 1.2545/8
The bid price is 1.2545
The ask price is 1.2548

A Pip

A pip is the minimum incremental move a currency pair can make. A pip stands for price interest point. A move in the EUR/USD from 1.2545 to 1.2560 equals 15 pips. And a move in the USD/JPY from 112.05 to 113.10 equals 105 pips.

Margin Trading (leverage)

In contrast with other financial markets where you require the full deposit of the amount traded, in the Forex market you require only a margin deposit. The rest will be granted by your broker.

The leverage provided by some brokers goes up to 400:1. This means that you require only 1/400 or .25% in balance to open a position (plus the floating gains/losses.) Most brokers offer 100:1, where every trader requires 1% in balance to open a position.

The standard lot size in the Forex market is $100,000 USD.

For instance, a trader wants to get long one lot in EUR/USD and he or she is using 100:1 leverage.

To open such position, he or she requires 1% in balance or $1,000 USD.

Of course it is not advisable to open a position with such limited funds in our trading balance. If the trade goes against our trader, the position is to be closed by the broker. This takes us to our next important term.

Margin Call

A margin call occurs when the balance of the trading account falls below the maintenance margin (capital required to open one position, 1% when the leverage used is 100:1, 2% when leverage used is 50:1, and so on.) At this moment, the broker sells off (or buys back in the case of short positions) all your trades, leaving the trader theoretically with the maintenance margin.

Most of the time margin calls occur when money management is not properly applied.

How are the mechanics of a Forex trade?

The trader, after an extensive analysis, decides there is a higher probability of the British pound to go up. He or she decides to go long risking 30 pips and having a target (reward) of 60 pips. If the market goes against our trader he/she will lose 30 pips, on the other hand, if the market goes in the intended way, he or she will gain 60 pips. The actual quote for the pound is 1.8524/27, 4 pips spread. Our trader gets long at 1.8530 (ask). By the time the market gets to either our target (called take profit order) or our risk point (called stop loss level) we will have to sell it at the bid price (the price our broker is willing to buy our position back.) In order to make 40 pips, our take profit level should be placed at 1.8590 (bid price.) If our target gets hit, the market ran 64 pips (60 pips plus the 4 pip spread.) If our stop loss level is hit, the market ran 30 pips against us.

Its very important to understand every aspect of trading. Start first from the very basic concepts, then move on to more complex issues such as Forex trading systems, trading psychology, trade and risk management, and so on. And make sure you master every single aspect before adventuring in a live trading account.

Raul Lopez is a full time Forex trader and founder of http://www.straightforex.com a high quality Forex training and Forex trading course provider.

Learn Forex Trading - 4 Key Points for Success Part 1

2007-10-06T19:21:00.001-07:00

If you want to learn Forex trading, and join the elite 5% of traders who make money, then you need to consider the following 4 key points. If you ignore these 4 key points, then youll lose money - and never achieve currency trading success.

Anyone can learn Forex trading - but most traders simply get the wrong Forex education and then lose their money.

Here are the 4 key points:

1. Youre On Your Own

There are many e-books and currency trading systems sold online, each of which promise you success in return for spending a few hundred dollars. However, these books and systems wont help you win in Forex trading.

If you think about it, if these vendors were so good at currency trading, they wouldnt need your money theyd be too busy making money trading. They wouldnt have the time, or inclination to sell you their winning strategies!

If you want to learn Forex trading, youre on your own - and you need to devise your own Forex trading strategy, in order to achieve success. This is a lot easier than many traders think and is covered in part 2 of this article series.

Theres another advantage to building your own Forex trading strategy which is:

Youll understand the strategy, and it will suit your trading personality. This will lead to confidence in your method - which is essential, if you are to follow it through the inevitable losing periods.

Its a fact that if you dont understand and have confidence in your system, then you wont have the discipline to follow it. Without the discipline to follow a trading system, then you dont have a system in the first place.

2. Use Technical Analysis

When you start to learn Forex trading you need a methodology - and the best place to start is with Forex charts - and a system based on technical analysis.

Technical analysis works because human nature is constant - and chart patterns repeat themselves. This means we can trade the patterns for profit.

Many traders like to trade using news - but this is a critical error! Why? Quite simply, news is stories - and you cant trade news for profit. The stories are interesting and convincing - and in most cases dead wrong.

The main thing to remember is that the Forex markets are a discounting mechanism - and news is instantly discounted in the price. This means that you are trading old information. The market moves on future perception - not what has just happened!

By simply looking at your Forex charts, and following price, you see the reality of prices now, and act on them - thats what makes technical analysis so powerful.

3. Keep it Simple

Any currency trading system based on technical analysis should be kept simple. Simple systems work much better than complicated methods. Why? Because theyre more robust they have fewer elements to break, in the brutal world of trading.

You should use trend lines, and just a few confirming indicators, to give you an indication of price momentum - and thats it.

In currency trading, you get your reward for being right, and the success of your trading signals - not the effort you put in.

4. Patience and Discipline

Youve probably heard that discipline is a key factor in successful currency trading - and it is, but dont forget that you also need patience. You need patience to wait for the right opportunities to present themselves. You also need patience to trade through the losing periods. Finally, you need patience to make the huge gains.

Many Forex traders lack patience and discipline, and trade too often. They cant follow a big trend they get excited when they make a decent profit. In their excitement, they cant resist taking their profit too soon - or move their stop to quickly. This leads to marginal profits - when they could have made a much bigger profit.

If you want to make money in Forex trading, then you need patience and discipline. Without patience and discipline, youre certain to lose your money.

Finally

The 4 points above are critical to your currency trading success especially when youre starting to learn Forex trading.

So far, youve learned that you need to devise your own system - to gain confidence and discipline. Then, by basing your system on simple technical analysis, you have the basis of your Forex trading strategy.

Part 2 of this article continues your Forex education with the need for money management, the best trading methods, and how to trade the odds in order to achieve success in Forex trading.

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Key Timing Builds Trader Confidence

2007-10-06T17:16:00.001-07:00

Without a doubt, trading is 90% psychological and 10% technique. Without the proper mindset and attitude, the best trading technique does not stand a chance against a mind that is uncertain, afraid or greedy. The wrong attitude, the lack of real confidence, will assert its influence on any given trade and distort reality, resulting in making bad decisions and costly mistakes.

There can be several reasons that affect how a trader sees each trade or the market overall, or how the trader sees oneself. Without a careful self-examination along with professional direction, all the reasons may never be clear.

This article will address only one aspect of trading psychology, and that is 'trader confidence' as it relates to trading techniques.

Looking at this issue from the other direction, a trader can have very little in the way of psychological baggage and is best suited to trading, only to be hampered by trading techniques that do not instill confidence in trading decisions. Traders that lack confidence in their trading decisions are just as likely to make poor trading decisions that can result in poor results.

For nearly 20 years, my work has been mostly about market TIMING. Early in my trading career, I found myself putting on trades and then immediately starting to feel that perhaps I waited too long, or maybe I was in too early. Needless to say, this did not help in trying to manage the trade. The "not knowing" had detrimentally affected my decision making process and resulted in many painful outcomes.

With a deep study in market trend patterns, market cycles, and the development of mathematical/cyclic algorithms in forecasting future market tops and bottoms across several time frames, the issue of trading confidence became a thing in the past. There is a lot to be said about being 75-80% plus certain that the market is going to do what you expect it to do. It is good to know that you don't have to be 100% dead-on to build your confidence about your trading decisions.

The better the timing method, the lower the risk and higher the profit potential. An excellent timing method should allow the trader to determine before making the trade what the initial risk is likely to be. It should help determine when and where a trade should be initiated. And for many, it should provide ample trading opportunities.

Each trader, as part of their quest to reign in the psychological barriers that inhibit trading success, should learn to trade the markets with greater precision and come to be confident in the timing approach.

Key timing will undoubtedly include adjusting how a trader sees market trends, such as looking for opportunities to trade 'with the trend' as opposed to trying to sell the very top of a bull or buy the very bottom of a bear trend.

So in order to build trader confidence, learn effective market timing techniques that encourage trading 'with-the-trend' in order to keep risk low (helps control fear) and increase profit potential (no need to be greedy), along with good money-managing.

Of course if I left this article at this point without providing some information about Key Timing, it would leave many dissatisfied. So I will include my biased opinion about precision timing. Our trading membership (http://www.amazingaccuracy.com) specializes in precision market timing. Our trade setups are based on FDates, a proprietary mathematical/cyclical approach to calculate when to expect the market to make swing tops and bottoms in advance, coupled with a simple procedure to determine when and where to place our trades as well as know what our initial risk will be prior to putting on the trade. As mentioned earlier in this article, these are the things we need to build our confidence in the trading decisions we make.

Rick J. Ratchford has been trading since 1989 and since 1996 is an Analyst for ProfitMax Trading Inc., a membership for traders specializing in the advance forecasting of market tops and bottoms for Precision Timing the Futures, Commodity and Forex markets.

http://www.amazingaccuracy.com

"Know Today the Market Turns of Tomorrow!"

Tab Cards Took A Bum Rap In Florida Election And Still Are The Best Method For Voting

2007-10-06T17:13:00.001-07:00

We had the following published in the Cleveland Plain Dealer, during the recount of the tab cards votes in Florida:

.....Having a background in tab cards, I find it befuddling as to how this vote-counting mess can keep going on in Florida.

Tab cards are made of paper that is ever-changing depending on its surroundings. Tab cards - particularly perforated ones- were designed and made for machine processing. Their life span of accuracy is limited, especially considering how they've been handled so far in Florida. I guarantee that every manual recount will have a different result. ( If you took a deck of tab cards and slapped them on the side of a desk, you would have a different result, almost every time you did it. )

I can't believe, based on what I see on TV, that anyone can trust any outcome after the way these cards have been counted, stacked and rearranged. After all this manipulation, the cards are damaged goods. Even paper and stock card manufacturers would have a difficult time determining voter intent. Even if those who have handled the recount so far were replaced by impartial laymen in the court system, not much more objectitve reality will be reached as to who voted for whom.

Someone should call in experts if these legal maneuvers continue. In any other court situations, we always have the evidence tested for its validity. In Florida, it somehow was automatically assumed that the holes and chads will tell the story no matter where, when and how the tab cards were manipulated. Only God now knows the real count after the way the cards were manually handled.

( Written during the Florida recount in Dec. 2000.)

( It a sad commentary that this process was used to verify the election and even more sad that a data processing tool that was used for many years by major corporations by the millions during the most prosperous time in our history was foolishly rejected. Tab cards remain the best inexpensive method for voting but simple procedures must be followed. )

The tab punched card still remains the best way for voting. The card itself is a unit record. It is a physical hard record based on a manual punching of a card. For many years, companies ran their businesses with tab cards. However, all data was considered to be "raw data" until the data was verified in a separate pass. The tab card was called a unit record because the data on it was physically limited to the individual card. In any other electronic processing this is not case. Bits and bytes are only electronic pulses in a flow of a records. They can be a very long one based on arbitrary choices. Data or pulses can be changed at any time at will or by accident.

With the old tab card system, most of all data was verified. This should have been the case with the tab card voting machines. Tab cards were designed to be a machine run processes and not handled manually. Perforated cards that were hand punched were manually handled but after the fact, the rest of the operations were run by machines. In storage of any length of time, the cards were compressed because card stock is subject to the environment in many ways.

The only thing missing from the manual card voting systems was a verification pass. This could be a simple efficient inexpenvise step. The voter would punch out the holes beside their selection as they always have and then view a simple display - it could be video screen or even something simpler. The voter would then view their selections on the display and then press a verification button that everthing is OK. There would then be two records of the event - the card itself and the verified information in a simple computer fashion. The votes could then be tallied in batch mode with each batch having its own record. It could then go to a larger computer to process all the data but still have the original voting records in tact from the separate procedure, if there are any questions.

In the Florida voting problems, nothing was for sure once the cards were manually counted. Stock cards are paper products and paper is a dynamic element subject to its surrounding. For example, the cards only in boxes, that were transported in hot trucks in the Florida sun, were subject to many things. The cards could warp and popped the chads in an automatic response to the heat. Moisture also affects stock cards and could cause a horizontal or vertical bending of the card automatically. That is why it was nonsensical to watch all those people on TV checking the cards by hand. The data was still raw without any verfication process to back up the original voting selection. With all the manual handling only God really knew what was the original situation. With a simple second verification process, none of this would have been needed and the hard copy only had to compare with the verification after the fact with the clicking of the verification button on a simple display being the result of the individual voter action.

Compare this with a touch screen sophisticated computer devices. Bits and bytes of data are dynamic subject to changes at any time. The simple dynamics of card stock is easy to control. Electronic pulses are not.

For more real world information see Tapart News and Art that Talks at http://tapsearch.com/tapartnews and view the editorial art featured at Tapart News in one place at http://arklineart.fotopages.com

The author was a National Accounts Manager for several major corporations which used millions of tab cards for all kinds of processing for many years. He worked out of a tab card manufacturing plant. Similar tab perforated cards as used with voting machines were used for many applications including inventory control and for re-ordering from end user locations. "KISS" prinicple was followed - meaning Keep It Simple Stupid...... Some of the same information was published in a top newspaper story in about 2000. Email contact at tapin@safe-mail.net or go to http://tapsearch.com/tapartnews

Mens Skin Care Products

2007-10-06T16:36:00.001-07:00

A while ago, men had to steal a bit of our wives, girlfriends or even sisters face cleanser or moisturizer. Of course we know it wasn't because we like to put on make up or play dress up. It's because we want to look good, clean and attractive for women. However, now a days companies are finally starting to respond to men's interest in skin care and today we have a variety of men skin care products on the market. Statistics show that just in the United States, men spend more than 4 billion dollars per year on grooming products.

I know some of you guys may still me tempted to just use whatevers in the bathroom mirror cabinet, but you have to realize that a man's skin and woman's skin is very different. The mens skin care products made today are designed specifically for men and our skin.

A man's skin is about 20 percent thicker than woman's, and its a lot more firm than hers because we have more collagen and elastin. Unfortunately, men have more active sebaceous glands; this means our skin tends to be oilier. Also, due to regular shaving, men's facial skin tends to get dehydrated.

While taking care of your skin sounds girlish, it'll actually get you more attention from the ladies because youre taking care of your appearance and more specifically your facial skin. Trust me, good skin doesn't go unnoticed. So it's time to stock up on some quality men skin care products and you can get these babies either online or at most local stores. Below I picked out some moisturizers for men that I would recommend. Remember, all of these products where mad for men and theres nothing girly going on here.

-Zirh Protect: Face Moisturizer
This is the ultimate environmental defense lotion for your face. It contains an effective moisturizer that leaves no oily film, improves your skins texture and slows your skins aging. Unlike many face lotions that contain mineral oil which may cause acne, this moisturizer will give you no problems.

-Brave Soldier: Brave Face
Brave Face immediately soothes, cools, and reduces irritation and redness after shaving. Healing botanicals such as soy amino acids and marine extracts helps enrich and stimulate your skins own natural balance. Personally, I use this moisturizer all the time after shaving and it really does what it says.

-Sharps Barber & Shop Daily: Prep Skin Tuning Lotion
This super hi-tech lotion has a controlled release system that delivers all day moisture without the greases. The company strives to a modern approach to the traditional barbershop, getting guys all cleaned up and ready for action.

-Jack Black: Line Smoother Face Moisturizer
This ultra-lightweight moisturizer helps fight the signs of aging. Natural fruit acids and vitamins help minimize fine lines, wrinkles and skin discoloration by gently sloughing off the top layer of skin, revealing younger, smoother skin beneath. The formula soaks in fast, with no greasy after feel. My favorite feature is that it's fragrance free and colorant free.

-Men Science: Advanced Face Lotion
This high-performance moisturizer, formulated with advanced water binding agents and skin refining ingredients, helps renew and restore your complexion while nurturing and protecting it. The ultra light, oil-free formula absorbs immediately and is by far one of my favorite light lotions.

There are tons of quality mens skin care products on the market today. I would suggest that you try various products, so you can see which is best for your type of skin. Of course this doesn't mean skin care has to be your lifes priority, remember that this only takes up a couple of minutes after your shower and the benefits, such as getting more attention for girls, are definitely worth it.

Joqtan A. is an expert writer for Mens Skin Care Products. A site concentrating on men skin care tips, advice and product reviews for men of all skin colors.

Why A High Quality Auto Sound System Is A Great Investment In Your Automobile

2007-10-06T15:58:00.001-07:00

For those people who love music and like to take it with them, there are many systems that you can plug your music right in to. It doesn't matter what kind of mp3 player you may have all of the newer stereos have the plug in for the mp3 connect.

Many of us know that bringing an mp3 player around with you everywhere you go is a lot better then bringing a book full of CDs with you. It is also a good tool because a lot of people only like one or two songs from a CD so now you can just download the certain ones you want directly to your mp3. Having a sound system that you can just plug your mp3 up to is better then having a ton of CDs.

I don't know about you but I am totally fascinated by audio books. You will learn that these books can teach you about your audio that you may have and teach you how to fix them if they may become broken. So if youre going on a trip and somehow your stereo stops working you might be able to fix it using the book you had brought with you. You might also be able to fix something you had wanted to fix for a while.

I typically try to find books that kids like so they are not bored the whole trip. This gets them to start reading and so they are not really worried about the, are we there yet part. Great sound systems dont only sound good but they make the music that you are listening to sound a lot better and cleaner. This is not only true when it comes to news or just talk shows but it is also good for everything you might think of when it comes to music.

When you start looking for the perfect sound system for you be sure to look for the one with all the things you want including all the features you may be looking for. You can find systems today that have a built in GPS or DVD player or radios, mp3s anything you can think of can most likely be in a sound system too. Pick the sound system you really want and try and make it last as long as possible and enjoy it for as long as it lasts because you may never find one like it again A premium sound system is something that will stay with your car until it dies or you trade it in but try to make your choice long before you are looking to trade it in. At the same time a system is a good reason to keep the vehicle longer instead of trading it in. I wouldnt even bother installing a premium sound system in a car if I was just going to trade it in so if you are going to be trading your car in and think you may get a better deal because of it having a good sound system think again. The idea is to install a sound system so you will have it to listen to for a long time.

Gregg Hall is an author living in Navarre Beach, Florida. Find more about audio systems as well as car care products at http://www.autopartsandaccessoriesplus.com

Commodities - An Overview

2007-10-06T15:21:00.001-07:00

Commodities are products traded solely on the basis of price. The products are undifferentiated products, goods or services that are not traded based on quality and features, only on price. Historically, commodities were items of value, of uniform quality that were produced in large quantities by many different producers. The items from each different producer were considered equivalent. Commodities are defined by an underlying contract and standard, rather than the quality of the product.

History

Chicago was the birth place of the first commodities market, way back in the 1840s. Farmers would bring their wheat to the market and exchange it for good, hard cash. Futures contracts developed from there. A farmer would contract with a dealer to sell a set amount of produce to him at a set date for a set price. It was comforting for both parties the farmer knew how much he was going to get paid and the dealer knew exactly how much he was going to pay for these commodities.

This practice of commodities trading evolved over the years that ensued. The farmer would decide not to sell and cede the contract to another farmer to fulfil, or the dealer might decide that he did not want the produce anymore and then on-sell the contract to another dealer.

Naturally supply and demand entered the equation. If the harvests were poor, the produce would fetch a much higher price and if the crops were abundant, a leaner price prevailed. Before long, speculators were in on the act. They started trading the futures contracts in the hope of buying the commodities at a low price and selling these for a handsome profit.

What defines a successfully tradeable commodity?

To successfully trade, commodities must:
Be standardized. If the commodities industrial or agricultural, it must be unprocessed. Have an adequate shelf-life, if these are agricultural.

There should be sufficient fluctuation in supply and concomitantly price. The reason for this is that without the risk factor, profits are meagre and unappetising. Examples of commodities are: electricity, wheat, chemicals, metals, pork bellies, RAM chips, labour and currency.

Difference between commodities and stocks The main difference between stocks and futures contracts from a trading perspective is that, unlike stocks, which you could keep for a very long time, commodities are held for a very short time only. Futures contracts are used to hedge commodity price-fluctuation risks or to take advantage of price movements, instead of trading the actual cash commodities.

How are commodities traded? Commodity Future and option trading take place at exchanges such as the Chicago Board of Trade, Euronext.liffe, London Metal Exchange and the New York Mercantile Exchange, and other online trading systems. At the exchanges, areas are provided, each designated for a different futures contract. Those trading on the floor must be members of the exchange and registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Those traders, who are not members, work through brokerage firms who are.

To conclude Commodity future option trading is both complex and risky, so the shoe may not necessarily fit just anybodys foot. If you are considering commodity future option trading, you should evaluate how much you are prepared to lose should push come to shove. Choose a trading method that you are comfortable with and that is best suited to achieving your objectives. The bottom line in commodity future option trading is that, if you exercise good judgment and manage your risks effectively, commodities trading are likely to richly reward your efforts!

Discover awesome, proven techniques for trading online; stocks, shares, currencies, FOREX etc. for both the novice and experienced trader at http://www.TradingOnline4u.com

Investers Cautious As Release Nears

2007-10-06T14:43:00.001-07:00

Since Apple's initial announcement of the iPhone in early January, Apple Inc. shares have gone up in price by roughly 40 percent, peaking recently at an all-time high of $127. But with all the buzz surrounding the iPhone, surprisingly, many investors are leaning away from Apple stock.

You may wonder how the ubiquitous buzz surrounding the device can be a deterrent for investors. One would tend to think that any form of media and consumer attention for a product would do nothing but good for a product. However, in this case, the buzz may be TOO good. With expectations for the device higher than any consumer electronics device in recent memory (save perhaps the Playstation 3, and we all know how that went over), some major investors are left to speculate that Apple cannot possibly live up to them.

Hedge fund manager Jay Somaney is just one of a bevy of such investors. Its time to take some money off the table, said Somaney, who plans to sell as much as half of his shares prior to the June 29 release date. Somaneys reasoning also echoed concerns from stock traders nationwide, "There's just no way reality is going match the hype."

Past incidents of super-hyped disappointment include Microsofts Xbox System which continues to lose money for the company despite its widespread popularity, leaving Microsoft to garner much of the revenue from the system through licensing agreements and software titles. Last years Christmas season release of the PS3 left purchasers upset as the system was plagued with bugs and lacked significant software titles.

While the iPhone will certainly have its kinks to work out, initial sales forecasts for the device are strong. However, it is the long-term feasibility of the product that has investors concerned for Apples overall stock growth. If Apple is able to provide superior service when addressing potential issues and continue to develop improvements on subsequent generations, stock analysts see Apples stock with a potential of reaching as much as $160 before June of next year.

Perhaps, the key to Apples long-term iPhone success is the integration of business enterprising software; specifically, the need for Microsoft Exchange Server capability. While Steve Jobs maintains that the iPhone is the all-in-one super device, it will necessitate the advantages of a Windows Mobile device before it can truly eliminate the working business persons Pocket PC or Blackberry.

Apple may need to take a page out of its own book. When users were first allowed to run windows simultaneously with OS X on the companys consumer computers, Apple was praised for opening its doors to an endless amount of software titles and usability. If the iPhone is able to run a virtual version of the new and improved Windows Mobile 6, it will have a fighting chance at achieving long-term stability in the smartphone market. Until then, many sentiments will be aligned with Jay Somaney: sell , sell, sell!

Jordan Corning is a mobile enterprise solutions enthusiast. An analyst with Minneapolis based consulting firm ITR Group, Jordan enjoys exploring new ways in which mobile technology can offer significant contributions to the business, educational, and consumer worlds. For more info, visit the ITR Group website @ http://www.itrgroupinc.com or visit his blog @ http://www.iphailure.com

10 Sure-Fire Phrases That Will Increase Your Website Traffic

2007-10-06T14:07:00.001-07:00

1. "Bookmark This Web Site Now" Tell your visitors to bookmark your web site. They may see your web site listed in their bookmarks and visit again. You should also give then a good reason to bookmark your site. For example tell them you add new content everyday.

2. "Subscribe To Our Free E-zine" Tell your visitors to subscribe to your e-zine. When they subscribe you'll capture their e-mail address. Every time they read your e-zine, it will remind them to return to your site.

3. "Participate On Our Discussion Board" Ask your visitors to participate on your online discussion board. By participating they will meet other people. By meeting other people, they will revisit your web site on a regular basis to stay in contact with them.

4. "Sign Our Guestbook" Ask your visitors to sign your guest book. When people sign your guestbook you may get valuable feedback or constructive criticism on how to improve your web site. This may help you increase traffic to your web site.

5. "Use Our Free Content On Your Site Or In Your E-zine" Allow your visitors to use your articles on their own web site or in their e-zine. Just ask them to include your resource box. This will spread your advertising all over the internet.

6. "Refer This Web Site To A Friend" Ask your visitors to refer your web site to a friend(s). They may know someone that would benefit from visiting your web site.

7. "Fill Out Our Online Survey" Ask visitors to fill out your online survey or questionnaire. You could use it to get valuable feedback on ways to improve your web site to increase traffic.

8. "Enter Our Contests" Ask your visitors to enter your online contest or sweepstakes. People love to win stuff, and they will visit your web site to try.

9. "Give Away Our Freebie To Your Visitors" Allow your visitors to give away your online freebies to people that visit your web site. Include your ad on the freebie and those freebies will multiply your traffic.

10. "Join Our Affiliate Program" Allow your visitors to make money selling your products or services. This will increase your traffic because they will link to your web site.

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BONUS: Here are 5 High Powered Ways To Increase Your Traffic

1. Trade links with other web sites. They should be related to the subject of your web site. Instead of trading links, you could also trade banner ads, half page ads, classified ads, etc.

2. Start an e-zine for your web site. When people read each issue they'll be reminded to revisit your web site. They'll see your product ad more than just once which will increase your orders.

3. Form an online community. It could be an online message board, e-mail discussion list or chat room. When people get involved in your community they will regularly return to communicate with others.

4. Write articles and submit them to e-zines, web sites and magazines that accept article submissions. Include your business information and web address at the end of the article.

5. Give away an electronic freebie with your ad on it. Allow your visitors to also give the freebie away. This'll increase your ad exposure and attract people to your web site at the same time.

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Well Managed Investing Risks Bring Rewards!

2007-10-06T14:04:00.001-07:00

"Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing!" Warren Buffett (1930 - )

We often listen to people who hesitate to invest in the stock market because they fear risk. There are older people who fear that a stock crash could leave them destitute. There are young couples who pine for a new home but worry that an investment loss could kill their chances.

For any investor, risk is a fact of life!

Whenever an opportunity opens up for you to make an investment profit, you also face the fear of the possibility of suffering an investment loss. Even with "safe" kinds of investments, such as bank deposits, there is a risk that the rate you earn will not exceed the rate of inflation.

Often, these fears are rooted in a misunderstanding of what risk is. Those who understand market risks --and properly evaluate their ability to tolerate them-- can supercharge their investment portfolios by embracing a certain amount of uncertainty!

In the financial world, risk translates to uncertainty and it's measured by standard deviation from the norm.

Many individuals would say the riskier investment is the first, because their principal would be in greater jeopardy. But to professionals, the first investment is merely stupid --not risky--because it's a sure thing to lose!

Still, what worries many is that you never know when the stock market is going to dive. What if it falls right before you need to sell?

Most individuals measure risk as their chance of loss, but we measure risk by the variability of returns!

In other words, because stocks have higher average returns, you can suffer some losses and still end up vastly ahead over the long run.

There's only one situation in which adding stocks to your portfolio doesn't make sense--when you don't have time to let the market work for you.

In any given year, you have about a 1 in 4 chance of taking a loss in the stock market. If one year or less is as long as you plan to invest, stocks boil down to a gamble.

But if your time horizon is five years or more, there's a very good chance that putting at least a portion of your money in stocks will boost the performance of your investments!

One question you have to resolve is the kind of investment risk you're comfortable taking. The choice ranges from conservative to aggressive, with a broad middle ground between the extremes.

Conservative Investing: Means putting money where there's little risk to principal.

Moderate Investing: Means taking risks by putting money into growth stocks and bonds.

Aggressive or Speculative Investing: Means taking a possible risk of losing part of your investment in exchange for the possibility of making a larger profit.

The ideal risk equalizer is that you should work for balance among the various risk categories.

One of your concerns should also be that if you invest too conservatively, you won't have enough money down the road to afford your goals even if you've been diligent in following your plan.

Another concern is that by taking too many chances you risk losing too much of your capital.

Ioannis - Evangelos C. Haramis was born in Greece in 1951 and he studied in Greece, USA and in Belgium. He has been active in the stock markets since 1972. Since 2002 he is New Business Development Managing Director at an Investment Bank and the editor of http://www.greekshares.com

haramis@greekshares.com
http://www.greekshares.com

Are You Getting Scared?

2007-10-05T23:06:00.000-07:00

Are you getting scared by another potential Chinese stock meltdown? On Tuesday 27th February 2007, Shanghai stock market plunged by 8.8% and it brings the world market with it. Back home, the Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 400 points while the Nasdaq Composite index weakened by 99 points. It is long overdue. Chinese Exchange Traded Funds such as Xinhua China 25 index (FXI) and Greater China Fund Inc. (GCH) plunged 9.9% and 13.7% respectively. The Chinese market has leaped 130% in 2006 and trading at all time high before the precipitous fall. As an investor, what adjustment should you make in case similar drop occur in the future?

Well, the answer is nothing. If you have been investing in stocks below fair value, the recent drop should make your stock is a more compelling opportunity. Let me revisit what fair value of a common stock is quickly. When interest rate in your local bank is 4% and the 10 year treasury bond yields 5%, your common stock should yield more than that. Some wants 6%, others may want 7% from their common stock yield. In the case of 7% yield from a common stock, the fair value of a common stock under this circumstance is when it reaches a Price Earning ratio of (1/ 7%) = 14.28. This means that for a stock trading at $ 14.28, its profit per share should be at least $ 1.00.

That is fair value in brief. Our job as investors however is to buy stocks that is trading below fair value, not at fair value. Fair value is the point when we sell our investment. Thus, even when other markets are doing bad, your stock is already trading below fair value anyway and other investors may in fact flee to undervalued common stocks when things turn sour.

Therefore, during the market correction, you should watch out for potential investments that you have always want to buy but at a lower price. For example, some potential common stocks for investment that fell include: Novell Inc. (NOVL), Dell Inc. (DELL), Advance Micro Devices Inc. (AMD) or perhaps OmniVision Technologies Inc. (OVTI). You can be sure that stocks with highest Price Earning ratio tends to fall the hardest in a brute sell off.

The moral of the story is don't get scared. You also need to know the fair value of your common stock before pressing that buy button. Once you have done the proper research, you will be less likely to be panic and sell at an unfortunate time. Oh yes, it does take time. There is no free lunch.

Novice Investing is the online investing guide for beginners. You can also submit investing articles here

Daytrading And How To Get Started

2007-10-05T20:54:00.000-07:00

One working definition of a Day Trader is, A person whose goal is to make his or her profits from a security in the shortest amount of time [preferably during a single day.] Though this definition is simplified, the day-to-day job of a Day Trader is a far more complex series of events and strategies that must be learned and implemented.

My description of daytrading has largely been based on past experiences with the markets, as well as the changes in the markets and the global economies themselves. Keep in mind; the stock market is not your friend. Much like war, in day trading and/or short-term investing, you are pitting your wits against every other person in the market. Every dollar you make is on the back of someone else's losses. Your goal is to win with your investments and your trading, and that requires someone else to lose. Try to make sure it's not you. Never forget that, and you'll be off to a much better start in the markets.

How risky is daytrading? Well, before you read on any further, imagine taking about $10,000 in crisp, brand new one hundred dollars bills out into the backyard. Put them on the ground and douse them in lighter fluid. Then strike a match. Don't burn your money just yet, but just stand there. That's about how risky daytrading is.

Always remember: at any given time, when you are daytrading for a living, you are risking probably that much money (if not quite a bit more), and your money is in perhaps just as much risk. While we are not suggesting that you actually set fire to your money in the backyard, our analogy is fairly accurate. If that bothers you, then perhaps you might consider another line of work, or a good mutual fund, because I don't know any good day traders that haven't seen at least $10,000 go up in a puff of smoke during market hours. It's simply unrealistic to expect to be able to trade professionally and profitably from day one. Mistakes will be made; lessons will be learned; money will be lost as you learn. It's a never-ending process to a large degree. In fact, the day you feel you have mastered the markets, that's the day you get your head handed to you.

In the years I have traded, I have seen many people come and go. I've seen people make and lose large sums of money very quickly. I have made and lost large sums of money very quickly! I've seen stocks go from pennies to hundreds of dollars and back again, taking traders and investors for a ride in both directions. And yet, still, in all the years I have been in this business, I am sure of only one thing about the stock market--that I have not seen it all yet. If anyone claims to have all the answers about the stock market, or claims to be the only person you should listen to - run, don't walk away from them and/or their services.

One of the most frequently asked questions is, How much capital do I need? It is a somewhat difficult question to answer. How much do you really need in order to start day trading? How big a "stake" (a term used to refer to your starting capital) is required to get going? The only answer is that it's different for each person, and it's something you must consider for yourself before you start. However, I personally feel, in general, you should have enough trading capital to purchase between 500 to 1000 shares of any given stock. Ideally, this would be without having to use margin.

If you are in the habit of trading $40 to $80 stocks, this could mean you need as much as $40,000 to start. At the same time, one can trade with as little as $10,000 and get their feet wet. It also doesn't hurt to have enough capital to diversify into several different positions (two to five generally) at one time - each with say 300 to 500 shares. Just remember, if you are starting small, keep your expectations realistic. Certainly, someone trading with $10,000 to $20,000 is going to have a much more difficult time generating $1,000 per day than someone using $100,000 or more. As long as you keep this in perspective, it will help keep you grounded as you begin learning.

When you get into the bigger leagues of day trading, then it's nice to be able to "step on" (i.e. purchase or short) a "block" or two of stock. This would be generally defined as 10,000 shares of stock. This typically is going to require $500,000 or more of trading capital, plus some use of margin in limited situations and for a limited time. When you reach this level, it's easy to see how daytrading can become quite profitable (and quite risky!). A few points (or even a few fractions) across 10,000 shares can return quite a bit of money quite rapidly. Just remember it goes both ways; you can quickly lose quite a bit as well.

As you can see there's no right or wrong answer with regard to how much you need to start. Simply keep your objectives in perspective and reasonable. This will go a long way to giving you a good start in the markets. Also understand that if you are starting small, factoring in things such as equipment fees and transaction costs may become much more important.

Good luck in the markets!

No permission is needed to reproduce an unedited copy of this article as long the About The Author tag is left in tact and hot links included.

Ray Johns is the founder and Senior Market Editor of Daytraders.com, Proudly serving day traders & short-term investors since 1996, at http://www.daytraders.com

Daytraders.com is the publishers of the award winning Morning Stock Market Report and the home of the Internets finest real time trading desk. Ray has been on the forefront of trading and investing in the markets and has appeared as a guest on a number of radio and television shows including CNBCs Market Talk. If you would like a free trail of the newsletter and the live trading desk log on to Daytraders.com. Comments and questions can be sent to articles@daytraders.com

Ways To Invest Money-How To Make A Fortune No Matter Which Investment You Choose

2007-10-05T20:18:00.001-07:00

Many people today want to know the best ways to invest money today to help them get rich overnight. Unfortunately, rarely is there such a thing. You can certainly can make a lot of money with your investments, but they will often take some time.

Unfortunately, most investors arent willing to wait to make their money. They want it all now. Thats why we see so many investors losing a fortune on the stock market today.

When they invest, they arent doing so for the long term. They just want a quick buck and then get out.

In contrast, the worlds top investors view all their investments (whether it be in real estate the stock market) as a long term cash flow stream. Instead of looking for ways to invest money where they can get in and make a $100,000 overnight, they are only interested if it will provide long term residual income.

The vast majority of investors dont think this way. For instance, in the market, a typical investor might look at a stock and see that its been going up for the past week.

They wont check out the companies financial records or what kind of future potential it has. All they will look at is the stock price. If this is going up, they invest.

The worlds top investors do not do this. They will generally only invest in a company if it has exhibited a long profitable history and its future outlook looks promising. Only then will they put down their money.

This same mentality applies with real estate. Most people think that real estate investors make their money buy buying for a certain price and turning around and immediately selling it for $100,000 more.

While some do partake in this activity, the vast majority will only invest if the long term profits look good. They will usually invest in order to rent it to a tenant and obtain a long term passive income stream.

Therefore, no matter what field you are looking to start investing in, whether it be real estate or the stock market, always remember this: dont get lured in by fast profits. Yes, such events do occur, but more often than not it is simply catching lighting in a bottle. Very often, the investors who you hear about who make a killing overnight just about always lose it all in another investment shortly after.

The real wealthy investors are always looking for long term income in their investments. If it isnt there, they will simply wait and go on to the next. The best ways to invest money is always looking for long term profits, not a quick buck.

To learn to invest money and for other investing advice, try checking out http://www.online-investing-tips.com. This is a popular investment site that gives money investment advice to help you achieve financial freedom.

A Butterfly Flaps Its Wings, Chaos Theory And The Financial Markets

2007-10-05T19:46:00.000-07:00

According to Chaos Theory, a seemingly irrelevant action can precipitate, and contribute to, a major event. The right set of factors comes together and a major event takes place.

It's easy to imagine a fanciful chain of events that would initiate a market move.

A housewife attends to her crying child who has tripped over the newspaper, and in doing so, leaves the refrigerator open during an unseasonably warm day. It breaks down, and the family needs a new one.

To get funds for a new refrigerator and some added home repairs, she sells off a large chunk of IBM stock that her parents gave her as a wedding present.

By pure chance, at the moment that she sells the stock, a specialist monitoring the action gets it in his head that the sale of a large chunk of stock means something, so he sells off his positions in the tech sector.

Next, a financial reporter sees the sale and tries to interpret it. He reports that it reflects a shortage of silicon and suggests investors unload their tech stocks immediately.

Many people follow his advice and a massive sell off takes place.
Perhaps it seems a little unlikely that all of this can happen, but you get the idea.

Just like how scientists claim, according to Chaos Theory, that a butterfly can start a hurricane, you can imagine that a few key seemingly minor events can start a major market move

Is It Economic Factors? Or Fear And Greed?
Many investors view the markets from a traditional long-term buy-and-hold strategy. They look at the markets in terms of fundamental variables, such as consumer confidence, demand, and general economic factors that impact a stock price.

If a company makes profits that are in high demand, the price goes up.

Market timers though, realize that many market moves are the result of psychological factors, such as opinions or emotions of fear and greed. In the short-term, anything can happen, and it is vital to keep this in mind.

Nothing is certain in the markets, but is this something to worry about?

Not if you take precautions. By precautions, we mean "following a strategy that uses the ups and downs (trends) of the market itself to generate buy and sell signals."

This way you are always in the current trend, never miss a trend, and are never trading against the market's trend.

Worry Can Be The Doom Of Market Timers
Indeed, a potential chaotic event can be a good thing.

The initial event that set off a market move isn't important. Who cares why the masses buy or sell, for example, as long as you take advantage of the move?

Market timers must learn to view such moves as opportunities to profit.
If you have a timing signal that is ruined by an unexpected adverse event...the chaotic nature of the markets coming to the forefront... there is no reason to worry.

In fact, it is absolutely "going to happen." Signals will go against you. Accept this and you will profit. Worry so much that you jump out of a tried and true strategy because of a losing trade or two, and you will eventually fail at timing the markets.

If you are following a trend, and it unexpectantly reverses, the (trend following) strategy will quickly reverse and place you right back on the right path.

It is necessary to accept that trading can be chaotic. Anything can happen, but it doesn't need to be a source of worry. As long as losses are kept small, and profits are allowed to run, you will beat the markets.

Worry can be the doom of market timers and traders, but if you accept the fact that uncertainty and chaos are part of the inherent nature of the markets, you will accept it when it occurs and recognize that this same chaos is what will make you profitable in the end.

A losing trade here. A losing trade there. All meaningless in the big picture. By following trends, which is FibTimer's market timing specialty, you are always profitable over time.

You profit in "all" of the big trends. By following trends with FibTimer's timing strategies, you are always with the big market moves when they occur...and there is always a big move (trend) just around the corner.

Surety Bonds Roles and Responsibility

2007-10-05T19:13:00.001-07:00

Surety bond plays a major role in the development of the economy. In every business environment surety bonds are the most needed requirement to fulfill their aspects in a correct form. Nowadays, trends have been changed and people want to compile their requirements legally. So, every obligee requires their business to be done legally. Surety bond explains the essential factors and their requirements in the economy. The main purpose of issuing surety bonds is to give a guaranteed performance of contract. Generally, most of contractors enters in to a contract and do not complete the contract as per the terms and conditions of contract. Each party involved in the process has a defined responsibility and role with one another.

In case of breach of contract by the obligator, this surety bonds will be more helpful for the obligee to sue both principal and surety in the court of law. Surety bonds are issued in different types and at different premiums as per the requirements of the obligee. Nowadays, surety bonds are needed in all business environments. A surety bond determines the responsibility and roles of different people who are engaged in the contract. When the person engaged in the business, he is obliged to obtain a license from the department. To obtain this license, the applicant is required to procure surety bonds of many kinds as per their business. Without license, no person can engage in the business, also without surety bonds no person can obtain license from the prescribed department.

Therefore surety bonds describe the responsibility and role played in the economy. Surety bond classifies the main aspects needed for the business and provides a better solution to solve the problem. It offers responsibility to the people engaged as per their functionality and requirements. The roles and responsibility of surety bonds offers a better solution and benefit for the persons engaged. The roles and responsibility of surety bond determines the functionality and consideration of various activities involved in the process. The process will be made essential when it is organized by the contractor properly. It is the responsibility of the obligator to complete the contract within the time and contract price mentioned in the terms and condition of the contract.

The surety bond explains the roles and responsibility of the person involved in the contract, namely the principal, the owner, the surety. The obligator is a person who performs the contract as per the terms and conditions of the contract and gives a guaranteed performance to the owner. The obligee is an owner who has to make payment appropriately to the contractor within the contract time. Surety is a third party involved in the roles of surety bonds. A surety is a person who guarantees the obligee that the principal will perform the contract as per the terms and conditions of the contract. The surety explains the responsibility of the contractor to the obligee with a guaranteed compliance. When the principal fails to perform his obligation, the surety can be asked to complete the contract or pay any compensation for the loss incurred. Therefore surety bond will perform the roles and responsibility for the economy in the prescribed form.

Ron victor is an expert SEO Copywriter for Surety Bonds and Mortgage Broker Bond. Ron has written many articles for Surety Bond and to procure any information, contact him at ron.seocopywriter@gmail.com. Visit our site MVD Surety Bonds for further information.

Forex Is The Best and More Lucrative Home Based Business?

2007-10-05T18:36:00.000-07:00

The first reason why you should trade the forex market is because it is the most lucrative home based business. Although It is not a new market, it is still unknown by non traders. It is more amazing when you know that most of the traders are not aware of the huge opportunity of the forex. The Forex or Foreign Exchange Currency Market is open to the public since 1998. With the economic situation today and the fear of most of the people worldwide to wake up a morning and be jobless, without resources to feed their family, there is an increasing need in lucrative home based business.

On another hand, it is really difficult to find a real opportunity which will allow you to make a living from your home computer. You got to put hours of recherches and invest some hard earned money, with the fear of being involved in a scam company. Let' s say you found a good opportunity, and honestly, there is a lot of legitimate business you can make a lot of money if you are serious. But, is that what you really want? Most of the opportunities on the web today, even if you make big profits, are held by someone else. That mean that when you participate in those turnkey businesses, you do not have any control.

It is really amazing to see all these people who want freedom, more time with their family and friends, more time for their favorite hobbies... and the most important, fire their boss, going the same way. To understand, they want to be free, they found that on the web you can make money and be free, all that they need, but if you look at the situation, 80% of these people fired their boss, to meet another boss on the Internet! A virtual boss, who is making them work, but they don't feel it, because they have the impression to be free, they work wherever and whenever they want, and better than all that, they have never seen their boss. People make money in these programs, they may win $5000 a month or more but actually, the owner of the program is making tons of money.

There is a way to make much more money on the web that you think now, and Internet seekers and people in general should discover trading, specially the forex market. While the word market could intimidate some people, believe it, no one must be afraid about that, and think about the difficult stock market, or commodities, futures... The forex market which is also called FX is not really as difficult as it seems. There is not that much technical vocabulary to learn, and the risk is considerably low, if you compare to the other markets like the stock for instance.

The fact that home businesses seekers should really consider is that you can choose at which time to trade, and where you want to trade; you need only an Internet connection, and that's it, you are ready to tape in the biggest market of the world with $1,5 trillion activity everyday in the same way banks and large corporation do it and it is not difficult at all. Rather it is simple, and the methods already tested by serious traders will help you in your adventure.

To trade forex, you don' t need to have a lot of money to start( just $300 will be a good start), you can trade at any time, from anywhere, with a Internet connection, you will not have an order pending because of lack of liquidity, you will not have to work all during the day.

The forex market has many advantages over the other traditional investments, and for sure, it will give you more freedom, and more money.

Get Forex Freedom. Discover a simple and powerful technique which turn $300 into $30,000 in as little as 6 Months. Master The Forex Market With The Forex Mentor

Franck Silvestre.

Economic Data and Its Influence on the Financial Markets

2007-10-05T17:28:00.000-07:00

The things which contribute to price levels and action in the financial markets are numerous and diverse, and their influences can vary through time, and across different markets. This article identifies the different types of Economic Data influences and the role they play.

There are two ways economic information can influence prices. The first is in the macro sense. Macroeconomic inputs include:

Interest Rates

Economic Growth (GDP)

Government Budget Surpluses/Deficits

Trade Balances

Commodity Prices

Relative Currency Exchanges Rates

Inflation

Corporate Earnings (both for individual companies and the broad collection)

These elements will generally all have long-term inputs in to the pricing of any given market. They do not tend to move in sharp, dramatic fashion, so their influences also tend to be seen over longer periods of time.

That said, the release of economic data related to the above can be seen to have serious impact in the short-term activity in the markets. This comes primarily in the form of data releases. Some of the most important are:

Employment Data

Trade Data

GDP growth figures

Consumer & Producer Inflation rates

Retail and Wholesale Sales

Confidence & Sentiment Readings (U. Michigan survey, etc.)

Income & Spending

Production

Interest Rate policy decisions

Earnings releases

The markets can react in very, very dramatic fashion to these releases when they are out of line with expectations. The foreign exchange market, namely the EUR/USD exchange rate, provides a striking example.

On one Friday morning at 8:30 Eastern the monthly Non-Farm Payrolls report hit the wires. This report (released on the first Friday of each month) probably provides the most short-term volatility across all market sectors of any regular economic release. When the data comes in well off of market expectations, fireworks can ensue, as was the case in the example. Over the course of about 2-3 minutes EUR/USD fell more than 20 pips, turned around and rose about 60 pips, then fell back down to near where it had been before the data was announced (a pip being 1/10,000 of a Dollar). It then proceeded to run nearly 100 pips higher in fairly steady fashion over the course of the next hour.

Here is another example, this time of T-Bond futures.

When those payroll figures were released at 8:30 the market dropped more than two full points. One point on the T-Bond futures contract is worth $1000, so each contract fell more than $2000 in about two minutes. Consider that the margin on a contract at the time was probably around $2500. That means a trader could have lost more than 80% on the trade in the blink of an eye.

It is also important to understand that in the futures pits such data events often result in fast market conditions. This means that the action is so hectic that there may literally be trading going on at several different prices in different parts of the pit. This is a risk of having open positions at the time of a major news release. The market may snap back fairly quickly, as in the chart above, but in the meantime the traders positions may have been liquidated on a stop order at a substantial loss.

Fortunately, all major economic releases are well documented. They are done on a pre-announced calendar which is readily available on any number of web sites, and of course in the business news media. In the vast majority of cases, one can also find out ahead of time from any number of sources what the expectations are for the release.

Foreknowledge of pending data events may not prevent losses which may result from unexpected figures. It will, however, allow the trader to recognize and understand when risks are increased. Make sure, especially if you are a short-term trader, to know what data is coming out. It can make a difference in your performance.

John Forman is author of The Essentials of Trading (Wiley - April 2006), and a near 20 year veteran of trading and analyzing the markets. Visit Anduril Analytics to learn more about his trading, market analysis, and research activities and to find out how you can get a copy of Anduril's free report on what every trader and investor needs to succeed.

Taking Penny Stock Risks

2007-10-05T16:48:00.001-07:00

The term penny stocks generally refers to any stocks that trade outside the major stock exchanges and is taken as 'deprecatory'. The major stock exchanges would include: NASDAQ, AMEX, or NYSE. The term Penny stock is also often used interchangeably with small caps and nano caps. The title of penny stock however should be determined by the share price rather than the listing service or market capitalization.

Penny stocks often have market caps lower than $500 million. This makes it highly speculative for those who trade low volumes 'over the counter'. Some believe that penny stocks are difficult to sell once purchased because of the difficulty in locating quotes on particular penny stocks. Investors in these stocks are expected to understand that the loss of their entire investment is a viable risk.

Despite the risks involved, penny stocks are attractive to new investors because of the low initial price and the possibility of quick payouts of up to 100 percent in some circumstances. Just as there is the potential of high profits, that potential comes with the risk of substantial losses.

Penny stocks are considered high-risk investments. As a result investors should be aware that these stocks have a limited amount of liquidity and fraud in addition to a lack of financial reporting.

Penny stocks have fewer shareholders. This makes them less liquid than stocks of larger companies. It also means that it will buy and sell less shares. The fact that less shares are traded generally results in unpredictable stock prices. This can either make the prices rise sharply or suddenly decline. The lack of liquidity within this market leaves it wide open to exploitations by market makers, management, and other parties.

These stocks can also be difficult to sell quickly as some days there simply are no buyers.

Another reason for this lack of liquidity is the minimal listing requirements for smaller market listings as compared to NASDAQ or NYSE. Companies that have fallen below requirements for the larger exchanges have the opportunity to get listed on the OTCBB or Pink Sheets.

If you are comparing Pink Sheets to the major exchanges you might want to take note of the fact that Pink Sheets have very few regulatory requirements for those being listed. In other words, there is little protection in place for shareholders by way of accounting standards, notifications of ownerships of shares, etc.

These things combined make penny stocks very attractive tools for fraud. This does not at all mean that all stocks listed on the OTCBB are untrustworthy, it simply means that you should keep your eyes open when making deals on this market

Become a better investor with info on penny stocks funds, tips on stock market basics and help with penny stocks listing nasdaq at 1source4stocks.

Learn This Before You Trade Futures

2007-10-05T14:25:00.000-07:00

This is REQUIRED knowledge for anyone who is thinking about or actively involved in trading futures. Not another trade should ever be placed unless you have a complete understanding of how to use options to create synthetic futures.

What is a Synthetic Future position?

It is the strategy of buying and selling options that allow you to emulate outright futures contracts.

Why would I want to emulate a futures contract using options?

For some serious account protection in the event that you caught in a market that is making limit moves against your position, and there is no trading allowing you to get out.

If you have been trading futures for any real length of time, it is likely that you have at one time or another been in a trade at the time the market goes limit up or down. Perhaps you were fortunate to be on the correct side of the move, or perhaps you had the unfortunate experience of being on the wrong side.

Being on the wrong side of a limit move can really do some serious damage to your mental well-being. The feeling of being 'trapped' comes to mind. However, this feeling need not ever happen to you as long as you understand how options can help you turn off the mounting of additional losses.

Back in 1993, the lumber market found itself trading limit up for several days. Traders that were short lumber futures at that time were unable to buy back their contracts in order to exit the market. Those that were not familiar with using options to create synthetic futures positions suffered devastating losses. Each contract accumulated losses totaling nearly $9000 until some very limited trading occurred. If the short trader was unable to offset his position at that time, the trader was then stuck for more limit up moves that eventually totaled about $25,000 per contract!

However, those traders that understood how to use options as synthetic futures positions were able to stop the bleeding the very first limit up day. By using options to create a synthetic long futures position, this offset the short position effectively removing the trader from any additional losses.

How do you create a Synthetic futures position?

If you want to create a synthetic long position, you would Buy an ATM (at-the-money) CALL and Sell an ATM PUT at the same strike price. If you want to create a synthetic short position, you would Buy an ATM PUT and Sell an ATM CALL at the same strike.

Why not just purchase the option rather than selling one also?

This question has been asked of me in the past. If the market was limit up and you were short, why not just buy a CALL option in the event prices continued limit up the next day or so? The answer is simple: A larger than necessary loss.

With the example just outlined, while buying the CALL would protect you against additional losses if the market were to continue limit up, it would be very expensive and the cost would be added to what you have already lost due to the limit move. By selling a PUT at the same strike, the premium you collect will offset the premium you paid for the CALL. There may be a slight difference in price between the two options due to the increased volatility, but if you create the synthetic at the time of the first limit move, it will be much more manageable than if you wait and suffer additional limit moves against you. The spread in premium between the two options will of course be added to your overall losses, but you will then have effectively offset your position from any further losses.

How does it work?

So say you are short futures and the market goes limit up. The price is currently 350 in Soybeans. You Buy a 350 CALL @ $900 and Sell a 350 PUT @ $825. The cost of the synthetic to you is $75 in this case. Your short futures is now offset by the synthetic long option position. If price continued higher, the CALL would cover it. If prices stopped moving limit up and actually moved down, the short futures would cover the short PUT option. Therefore, you have effectively offset your position at 351.50 (the additional 1.50 covers the $75 cost of the option spread).

Before you trade futures, or continue to do so, be sure you understand how synthetic future positions are created using options. Also, if you find yourself on the wrong side of a limit move, do not hesitate to put on the position. The longer you wait, you more you may end up paying for the premium spread.

Learn more on how to lower your risk and increase your profit potential with other free articles found at our Precision Timing of the Futures Commodity and Forex Markets site.

Forex - Trading With The Stop Loss And Trailing Stop

2007-10-05T14:20:00.001-07:00

There are various risk management tools available to the trader in the foreign exchange (FOREX) market. Two of the most common ones are the stop loss and the trailing stop. What are they and what are they used for? Are they necessary for successful trading? This article will help you to understand these concepts and provide answers to these questions.

Stop Loss
The platforms provided by many online FOREX brokers contain built-in features such as the stop loss and the trailing stop to help manage certain risks inherent in trading. A stop loss is a feature which allows the trader to pre-determine the price level at which the position will be automatically closed should the market move unfavorably against the open position. The primary benefit of the stop loss is to put a cap on the amount of loss a trader is willing to suffer. A well-placed stop loss is an essential component of an effective trading strategy. There are, however, traders who trade without a stop loss or trade with the stop loss set improperly. Both of these approaches are courting disaster.

Day traders will typically have a different approach to setting a stop loss than those who take long-term positions. Because they are more interested in making quick profits resulting from small market movements, the day traders will typically utilize a smaller stop loss. In contrast, the wider stop is favored by long-term traders who are less concerned with the smaller moves of currency prices, including the temporary reversals present in the trend. Such price reversals would normally trigger the smaller stop loss of the short-term or day trader. Positions taken by long-term traders may be open for several days or longer, experiencing a fair number of reversals on the way to the take-profit target. Consequently, the wider stops would be preferable to this breed.

Trailing Stop
A trailing stop is often utilized in connection with the stop loss. Indeed, it would be futile to attempt the trailing stop without first setting the stop loss. That is because the main purpose of the trailing stop is to move the stop loss incrementally in the direction of the profit target as the currency price moves way. Such has the effect of incrementally bagging profits while the position remains open. The original stop loss level cannot be reached by the price reversal without the traders position having first been closed automatically at the new stop loss level made possible by the trailing stop.

In a news trading situationgenerally characterized by rapid price movementa trader would ideally utilize the smallest incremental trailing stop allowed. The smaller the trailing stop, the more possibility there is for making and keeping pips without being subjected to the vagaries of whipsaws or other rapid reversals in currency price. As in the case of the stop loss itself, a smaller trailing stop would be favored by the short-term trader. For example, instead of waiting for the price to move 20 pips before the stop loss is moved and the 20-pip profit realized, the trader can realize profits earlier by setting the trailing stop at 10 pips, with the expectation of bagging 10 pips with each 10-pip move in the currency price. Although it would be a traders dream to have a trailing stop as low as 1 or 5, the lowest to be found on any brokers platform is probably 10. Still, by utilizing a well-place stop loss with the appropriate trailing stop, a trader can invest profitably and minimize the inevitable risks while preserving precious trading capital.

If you are ready to change your future by stepping into the exciting world of trading FOREX, go to http://www.winningtradersassociation.com for more information. Author Sandy Robinson, J.D. is part of the Winning Traders Association, an educational organization founded by John Beiler, President. The organization consists of a network of committed trainers and motivated traders willing to provide support to those interested in trading foreign exchange. Many of the members work from home.

Exchange Traded Funds

2007-10-05T13:10:00.000-07:00

As the name put forward, Exchange Traded Funds are a blend of a stock and a mutual fund, in the logic that:

Similar to 'mutual funds' they contain a set of particular stocks - e.g. an index like Nifty, or a commodity - e.g. gold; and

Similar to equity shares they are 'traded' on the stock exchange on real-time basis. How it works?

In usual mutual funds, one buy/sell units directly from/to the primary market. First the money is collected from the investors to form the corpus. The fund managers then use this corpus to put together and manage the appropriate portfolio/ asset allocation based on the risk profile chosen.

Whenever you would like to redeem your units, a part of the portfolio is sold and you get paid for your units. The units in conventional mutual funds are, consequently, called 'in-cash' units. But in Exchange Traded Funds, we have somewhat called the 'authorized participants' .They will first deposit all the shares that comprise the index with the AMC and receive what is called the 'creation units' from the AMC. While these units are formed by depositing underlying shares, they are called 'in-kind' units.

Payback of investing in Exchange Traded Funds
Handy to trade as it can be bought/sold on the stock exchange at any time of the day when the market is open.
You can short-sell and ETFs or buy on margin or even purchase one unit, which is not possible with mutual funds.
Exchange Traded Funds are without interest managed, have low sharing costs and negligible managerial charges. For this reason most Exchange Traded Funds have lesser expense ratios than usual mutual funds.
Exchange traded funds are not something which is directly managed by the fund managers. Therefore, does not depend on the fund managers.

For more information related topics please visit our website http://www.mudratimes.com

Portfolio Diversification - Are All Your Eggs in One Basket?

2007-10-05T00:18:00.000-07:00

Diversification is a way of looking at your investments and not putting all your eggs into one basket. This is generally done to balance your portfolio, so that when one section is not doing particularly well, your overall balance is maintained by other sections bolstering it. This can further be broken down into the sections of your portfolio, meaning that your stocks are not all in one sector, and bonds are not all a certain grade or from the same industry.

Two points of view on diversification of your portfolio. One is that you should diversify to minimize losses at any given time. This is the better safe than sorry or dont put all your eggs in one basket strategy. Many people are totally sold on this perspective, and I dont think that there is anything wrong with it. A rule of thumb is that the younger you are the higher percentage of your portfolio should be in stocks with a minimum 30% in bonds. This should gradually shift until by retirement you have 30% in stocks.This is to give you peace of mind in retirement, shifting to less risky investments with stable returns in a period of your life when you dont have time to recover from a swing in the market.

The other point of view is to put all your eggs in one basket and keep a very close eye on that basket. This means that if you have extreme confidence in a limited number of investments put most or all of your money in them and keep close track of how they are doing. Fortunes have been made and lost using this method.

I think there are merits to each point of view, and how you invest is a reflection of your personal outlook and where you are at in your life. Are you a risk taker? Are you close to retirement? Are you looking to make great gains, and can afford to take great losses? Risk and return. For the investor, new to the market, diversification makes sense, especially if you are handling your own finances and making your own decisions.

To get to basics diversity means having a variety in your portfolio, not only a mix of stocks and bonds, but also where the companies are located and what they do services, products, commodities, etc.

The question was raised whether having stocks in various companies was enough to protect you from a downturn in the economy, and truthfully there arent a lot of stocks that are going to do that, if you have all your money tied to US companies. So, to start out, you should have some diversification in location. Im not saying buy stock in Arctic and Antarctic companies. However, having some investments in Europe and Asia that compliment your US or North American holdings is a good idea.

A second factor to diversification is to make sure that your investments are also in different industries. For instance, if you invest in a hotel chain, you are putting money into the travel and tourism industry, but the stock price also reflects real estate holdings of the company. That means prices in the real estate market can affect the price of the stock. Also if tourism is down (maybe due to airline issues) the bottom line gets impacted. Those factors aside, you might also want to invest in a manufacturing stock and a mining company. This way your portfolio is multi-dimensional.

So, to take that one step further, if the hotel stock is strictly a US based company, perhaps you might want to look at a steel mill in Europe, and a mining company in Asia. (This is all just for illustration purposes.) These would all be complimented by a few selections of bonds to make up a percentage of your portfolio.

The point being made is having a bunch of different stocks, all in the electronic industry in the United States, is not diversification. Those are all tied together. (in a sense) If you have good timing having a group of stocks in one industry might serve you well. One example would be the dot com craze a few years back. That same example a short while later shows how diversity would have saved you some terrific losses.

I hope this information helped to educate, at least a bit, on the benefits of a mixed portfolio.

Robert Britt is married and a father of four. He is a published author and has a degree in Psychology from Albright College. Robert is a recognized expert in the field of personal finance, self-esteem and confidence building. He is a full time professional writer and speaker. Robert spent 13 years in the military and 14 years in manufacturing prior to self-employment. Please contact Rob at rob@wealthtrainingsource.com or visit http://www.robertbritt.com

Property In Bulgaria What Is All That About?

2007-10-04T22:53:00.000-07:00

Property in Bulgaria has caused so much activity amongst all involved in the overseas property industry that you can easily get dizzy from the amount of information and property available in the region. One thing is for sure Bulgaria as an emerging market that is set to change the former member of the Soviet Union forever

Bulgarian facts

Bulgaria officially the Republic of Bulgaria is a country in Southeastern Europe, It borders the Black Sea to the east, Greece and Turkey to the south, Serbia and the Republic of Macedonia to the west, and Romania to the north, mostly along the Danube.

Modern Bulgaria

Bulgaria opened its doors to tourism and foreign investment the early 1990s. Bulgaria's 8 million inhabitants live in an area as large as England and enjoy an attractive mix of landscapes which have made Bulgaria such a popular holiday destination. Its sunny Black sea coast attracts holiday makers in the summer. Its Ski resorts in Bansko, Barovets and mount Vitosha make it an affordable place to ski in the winter. The quiet Bulgarian villages, historic buildings and cosmopolitan cities make it ideal place to visit all year round. Investors tip the Capital Sofia as a sound place to invcest in property abroad.

Property in Sofia Bulgaria

Sofia is getting richer and is definitely on its way up both business and tourism help make the city an attractive place to invest. Businesses are setting up in Sofia and evidence around the city is clear with impressive modern buildings, multi national company offices, BMW and Porsche dealerships to name but a few. Tourists visit the city all year round, helped by low cost airlines flying into Sofia Airport. The impressive architecture makes Sofia a good place to wander around; churches such as the Aleksander Nevski Memorial Church will always attract those looking for a relaxing city break. Property investors buying property in Sofia do not need to rely on seasonal tenants to fill their investment properties. The combination of local and foreign employees and visitors to Sofia make the city an attractive place to invest.

Buying property in Bulgaria the process

Buying property in Bulgaria means in most cases that overseas property buyers will need to set up a limited company. The exception to this is when a buyer purchases a leasehold property such as an apartment. In this case you do not own the land and therefore foreign buyers can buy Bulgarian property without the need to set up a Bulgarian registered company. Entry to the EU in 2007 will hopefully see these rules change

Nicholas Marr is a lifetime property investor and CEO of Marr International Ltd a UK based property marketing company that is responsible for one of the worlds leading overseas property web sites at http://www.homesgofast.com. More information re Property in Bulgaria is at http://www.bulgarianhomes4sale.com

Pivot Point Trading Strategy - Two Specific Setups To Watch For

2007-10-04T09:08:00.001-07:00

Pivot point trading can greatly simplify Forex day trading. Pivot points provide good reference points at which to enter or exit trades as well as give an indication of the market bias.

You can either go online and download a pivot point calculator or use the free one referenced in the resource box below.

Simply get the High, Low, Close, Open figures from the daily chart by checking the previous day's candle values and enter them into the calculator.

You can then draw horizontal lines on your chart marking the Central Pivot Point and then the other reference levels such as S1, S2, R1, R2 (S for support, R for resistance).

When pivot point trading it is also a good idea to put the mid reference points in also, M1, M2, M3, and M4 as price often will respect these levels.

The Indicators You Need For The Setup

It is good to have the 15 minute, 60 minute, and 4 hour charts displayed.

After marking the pivot point levels on your 15 minute chart, also show the following on the three time frames:

The 200 EMA (Exponential Moving Average)

Do Fibonacci calculations on the most significant highs and lows on the three time frames

Mark significant previous support and resistance on the 60 minute and 4 hour charts with a horizontal line

Time Of Day

Look for this setup around two time periods:

London Open (700 GMT)

London Close (1500 GMT)

The Asian session does not generally cause price to make new highs or lows. Trading orders and flows build up after the open of the European session in Frankfurt and take on new momentum once London opens an hour later.

Similarly, price action often slows considerably around the time of London closing.

Look For This Setup At London Open

Check to see if price is anywhere near M4 or M3 on the upside or M1 or M2 on the downside on your 15 minute chart.

Next consult your higher time frames, the 60 minute and 4 hour to see if any of those M levels coincide with a Fibonacci retracement or extension level, or the 200 EMA, or a previous support resistance line.

If you get a combination of those factors, there is a high probability price will test the M levels and then reverse and go in the opposite direction for the day.

Of course, nothing is guaranteed but the more factors you have coinciding at a specific level around a pivot point, the more likely price will react at that point.

Check to see where a 20-30 stop will put you and whether there are other levels of support and resistance nearby to offer protection and start taking profit as price approaches the other pivot levels either on the way up or on the way down.

Remember, pivot point trading suggests that when price is around M4 or M3 you are in a sell area and when price is around M1 or M2 you are in a buy area.

Look For This Setup At London Close

Now we come to the other end of the trading day which also lends itself to pivot point trading.

Often price will have done its run for the day by the time of London close and a retracement can be expected. However, you need to consider other factors.

Again check to see if price has reached a key level by the end of London close. This level could be around a pivot point which also coincides with your other indicators:

200 EMA

Fibonacci retracement extension levels

Previous strong support or resistance

Next check your Average True Range indicator for the last 5 or 10 days and see what kind of range price has been moving in. This will vary according to the currency pair. The EUR/USD cross for example often puts in between 76 and 100 pips per day.

Now check the range of the current day's trading. Has it equaled or exceeded the average range for the last few days?

If so, and if price is at a strategic pivot point which also matches with other indicators, you can enter a high probability trade and catch between 20 and 30 pips on the retracement.

These two pivot point trading strategies occur with surprising frequency a number of times a month.

Practice these methods, get your eyes used to looking for the combination factors surrounding pivot points, and trade with confidence.

Most definitely add pivot point trading to your list of trading strategies!

For a free pivot point calculator, Fibonacci calculator and the best free economic calendars click here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/tools.html

The powerful 200 EMA strategy - easy for newer traders:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Advisor/200EMA-forex-strategy.htm

Do you know the important lesson Mohammed Ali teaches us about Forex trading? Read it here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Advisor/forex-online-trading-mohammed-ali.htm

How to Locate and Assess Homes for Sale

2007-10-03T15:19:00.001-07:00

When youre looking for a new home, its almost like youve picked up a second job. And thats the way it should be. The time it takes to really evaluate the homes for sale in your desired area is a good precursor for the financial investment you are about to make. There are two main steps in your process of finding appropriate homes for sale. The obvious first one is to locate them- not as simple as it sounds. The second step is to evaluate those homes for sale with a good set of criteria.

Locating Ideal Homes for Sale

The biggest problem isnt locating homes for sale, its locating the right homes for sale. You know the methods- drive through neighborhoods, online MLS listings, work with a realtor, scan the classifieds, and stock up on real estate homes for sale magazines. The issue can be one of there being too many homes for sale to even know where to start. Hiring a realtor can give you another set of legs to eliminate stale and out of date listings and other inappropriate properties. But dont think that hiring a realtor lets you off the hook completely. Even if you do choose to work with an agent, it will be in your best interest to always be on the look out for homes for sale on your own. Heres why.

Its in your realtor's best interest to sell you the pricier home. Now honestly, a difference of a few thousands dollars may not make that big a difference in commission. But even the most honest realtor may not consider looking for deals below your stated price range of homes for sale. The other factor is that only you really know what you want in the homes for sale you see. You may have told your realtor that you really need 4 bedrooms. But once you see that sprawling lawn of an otherwise perfect 3/2, your priorities could change. So take advantage of a realtor to help you sort through the numerous homes for sale, but keep looking anyway.

Assessing the Homes for Sale

Maybe you know exactly what you want in the homes for sale that you tour. Or maybe youre still trying to decide what your highest priorities are. Older house, lower cost- newer house, less maintenance? Since everyones priorities are different, one of the best tools for assessing homes for sale is to create your own evaluation form. Make it out by hand, or design a simple spreadsheet. But make a few copies of the form and take it with to assess the homes for sale you are interested in.

Items to include on your Homes for Sale Assessment Form:

Structural and Maintenance concerns- Has the home been well maintained? Any signs of wood or water damage? Mold?
Amenities- Number of bedrooms and bathrooms, kitchen and storage requirements, yard care and size, extras like sunrooms, garages, sheds or pool
Locale- Proximity to schools, stores, busy streets, your job, your family, type of neighborhood
Red flags- How does the property handle drainage? Are there dumps or industrial areas nearby? Dangerous traffic areas, crash zones, on-going construction?

Primarily knowing what you want and having a way to compare the homes for sale you visit will put you in a better position to make your final buying decision. In the process of buying a home, it is the most informed buyers who end up happy homeowners.

John Harris is a researcher and writer on applicable real estate topics such as economics, credit improvement tips, home selling advice and home buying preparations. For more information please visit homes for sale in Oceanside

Coca-Cola - A Value Stock?

2007-10-03T11:06:00.001-07:00

There has been much talk lately about Coca-Cola and its potential as a value stock as it now spots a dividend yield of 2.6% (which is the highest dividend yield since the late 1980s) and a P/E or less than 21 right at the bottom of its five-year low. Moreover, the current price of approximately $43 a share is also near the bottom of its nine-year range (nine years ago, the last former great CEO of Coke, Roberto Goizueta, was still at the helm of the company). Sure, Coke has had its own set of problems, but it is a great company, they would argue and heck, Warren Buffett is also an owner of Coke shares.

Dont get me wrong. I really like Coke as a company. Its brand is as American as can be, and yet over 70% of all its sales are derived from outside of North America. The country with the highest consumption per capita of Coca-Cola is Mexico. According to Interbrand.com, the brand name of Coca-Cola is worth approximately $67 billion and is the worlds number one brand name. Who could forget the famous declaration of Cokes patriarch, Robert Woodruff? When the United States made the decision to enter World War II, he placed his hand on his heart and famously declared that he would see that every man in uniform gets a bottle of Coca-Cola for five cents wherever he is and whatever it costs. Of course, it didnt hurt that Woodruffs friend, General Dwight Eisenhower, was a great promoter of Coke as well. By the time the war ended, hundreds of thousands of fighting men and women became a fan of Coca-Cola for the rest of their lives.

Under the leadership of Goizueta, Don Keough, and Doug Ivester, Coca-Cola emerged as a growth and must-own stock during the late 1980s and up to the mid to late 1990s. Keough was the great motivational speaker, while Goizueta was unmatched in his ability to manage the stock price and the Wall Street analysts who covered the non-alcoholic beverage industry and Coca-Cola. Goizueta had a habit of watching the stock price of Coca-Cola on an intraday basis on a computer in Cokes headquarters. When Warren Buffett was buying shares of Coca-Cola back in 1988, he and Keough figured it out by watching the action of the trading and tracing those purchases to a broker based in Omaha. Ivester, a former accountant, could have been regarded as a great financial alchemist. Under the financial leadership of Ivester, Coca-Cola bought out many of its bottlers and named the entity as Coca-Cola Enterprises. The bottler went public in November 1986.

When Coca-Cola Enterprises (CCE) went public, Coca-Cola (the company) owned 49% of its outstanding shares. Because of this, Coca-Cola had the ability to raise syrup prices at will (the former agreement mandated that Coca-Cola only adjusted its price to match inflation for its syrup in the North American market) thus squeezing the profit margins of the bottler but increasing its own revenues and profits. The stroke of genius was this: Because of the fact that Coca-Cola only owned 49% of CCE, it did not have to consolidate any of its financial statements with CCE. At the time, not one single analyst totally understood this relationship. Year-after-year, the company delivered. Goizueta carefully (personally) managed all the information that came out of Coca-Cola. He would personally call Wall Street analysts. Any analyst that dared to question him openly or disagree with Coca-Colas earnings projections would be rebuffed. One such analyst was Allan Kaplan from Merrill Lynch, who at one point wrote a note to his clients observing that Coca-Cola may be depending on Japan for too much of its profits. When Goizueta found out about the note, he responded angrily with letters to both Kaplan and his bosses at Merrill Lynch. Kaplan was banned from attending analyst meetings at Coca-Cola for more than a year. From that point on, analysts knew not to mess with Goizueta and Coca-Cola.

Keough officially retired in 1993 while Goizueta passed away in October 1997 succumbing to lung cancer. Ivester succeeded as CEO but behind the scenes, the company was in disarrays. People loyal to Keough and to Ivester clashed with the former group bearing the brunt of the hardship. The current CEO, Neville Isdell (who was loyal to Keough and the only true competitor for the top job back then) was sent into exile to Great Britain to head up a bottler. According to a recent Fortune article, The biggest problem [with Ivester], though, was his tin ear. Ivester was high in IQ but terribly short on EQ. A self-made, stubborn, very shy son of North Georgia millworkers, he had gotten where he was through brains and hard work. He resented Keough's grandstanding, say people who knew him well, and never fully appreciated the importance of Goizueta's almost daily chats with directors. (Ivester declined to comment.) Before long, head-down and full tilt in a turbulent market, Ivester had alienated European regulators, executives at big customers like Wal-Mart and Disney, and some big bottlers, including Coca-Cola Enterprises (on whose board sat Warren Buffett's son Howard). As he raced to put out fires, he became increasingly isolated from his own board of directors. One person was keeping in touch with them, though, even in his retirementDon Keough.

By December 1999, Ivester was out as CEO, after board members Warren Buffett and Herbert Allen told him that they have lost confidence in his leadership. If anything, the next CEO Doug Daft fared even worse than Ivester. Daft, an Australian and who ran Cokes Japanese operations, did not have a clue about the culture in Atlanta. In a sort of retaliation for Ivesters handling of Keoughs loyalists, he also made many of Ivesters favorite executives leave the company. He also looked for quick fixes for example, by trying to boost Coca-Colas profitability by simply reducing headcount. By May of last year, Daft was out as CEO, and Neville Isdell a former darling of Keough came out of retirement to run Coca-Cola.

Described as charismatic, Isdell may be the best man for the job, but it is still too early to see what he can do at this stage to revitalize the brand. Under the leadership of the trio of Goizueta, Keough, and Ivester in the 1980s and much of the 1990s, the shares of Coca-Cola were a must-have and Coca-Cola was regarded as a growth stock. Please also keep in mind, however, that the run of KO during that time also occurred in the midst of the greatest bull market in U.S. stock market history.

Again, readers should recall that I have always contended that we are still in a secular bear market a bear market not unsimilar to the 1966 to 1974 secular bear market. While indices such as the Dow Industrials, Transports, the S&P 400 and S&P 600 have recovered nicely since the cyclical bear market bottom in October 2002, large caps such as Coca-Cola, Microsoft, or even GE have never really covered, and it is my belief that large caps will continue to underperform once the bear reasserts itself sometime this year. The dividend yield of 2.6% may or may not help, but who would want to hold a value stock once the Fed Funds rate is greater than its dividend yield (as of right now, the Fed Funds rate is 2.5%)? I really do not see deep value here. While a P/E of 20 is at the low end of its five-year range, it is interesting to note that Warren Buffett started buying his shares of Coca-Cola in 1988 when the P/E was only 13 (with a market cap of less than $15 billion) and analysts at the time were proclaiming the stock to be expensive! S&P currently projects a fair value of Coca-Cola at $46, so there is really not a great margin of safety here.

While I believe Coca-Cola is a very strong brand and should be a part of every investors long-term core holdings, I do not believe it is a good time to buy at this point. The growth in the stock price of KO was neither due to luck nor coincidence it was due to Goizuetas shrewd management of the stock price, Keoughs salesmanship of the company, and Ivesters financial genius along with a roaring bull market more than anything else. Despite the lack of leadership in Coca-Cola during the last seven years, part of the old dream of KO being a growth stock has still hung on for far too long. For KO to be an attractive stock once again, this author will need to see a more compelling valuation, such as a stock price of $25 to $30 a share. At some point, however, I believe KO may be a glamour stock once again (as it still has a lot of potential in China and India where only a total of about 850 million cases of Coke finished products were shipped in 2004, compared to 20 billion cases for the entire world), but not until some of the weak hands have been shaken out from the stock.

Please let us know your thoughts and opinions. Is KO a buy, hold or sell?

Henry To, CFA, is co-founder and partner of the economic advisory firm, MarketThoughts LLC, an advisor to the hedge fund Independence Partners, LP. Marketthoughts.com is a service provided by MarkertThoughts LLC, and provides a twice-a-week commentary designed to educate subscribers about the stock market and the economy beyond the headlines. This commentary usually involves focusing on the fundamentals and technicals of the current stock market, but may also include individual sector and stock analyses - as well as more general investing topics such as the Dow Theory, investing psychology, and financial history.

High Yield Investments 7 Things To Consider Before You Invest

2007-10-03T09:56:00.001-07:00

There has probably never been a better time to enter the world of investment with countless opportunities today for those seeking those lucrative high yield investments.

However, the world of investment is complex and, while many millions of people benefit from playing the investment game every day, it is certainly not suitable for everybody. So, if you are tempted to get in on the act, here are a few things to think about before you take the plunge.

The availability of capital. Although it is not necessary to have large sums available for investment you are clearly not going to receive any substantial income or grow your capital to any great degree unless you have reasonable funds available for investment. You should also be prepared to tie your capital up for some time. If you are likely to need to get you hands on your money reasonably soon after investing it then you will be better off simply putting it into the bank.

Your level of knowledge. Just how much do you know about the world of investment? If you are going to invest in stocks and shares for example then you need to understand the stock markets in some detail. The fact that you know more than the average man in the street is a starting point but you will need both a breadth and depth of knowledge of your chosen area if you are going to keep your loses to a minimum and maximize your gains.

Risk taking. Although not always the case, in general, the greater the risk the greater the reward. But what is your attitude towards risk? If you are happy to take a risk in order to gain greater reward then you must also be prepared to accept that you could very well loose a substantial part of your investment.

The time you have available. As with many things in life, the secret to success lies in having both knowledge and accurate and up-to-date information. This, in turn, means having time to research your chosen area in depth and to keep abreast of the latest news and developments.

Your current financial position. You should think about investing surplus monies only when those monies are truly surplus to your requirements. Do you, for example, have sufficient money in the bank to cover emergencies? Have you made provision for your family in the event of your death? Are you and your family adequately covered for health care? Have you paid off the mortgage on your house? Before you start to take risks with your money in the world of investment make sure that the financial foundations of your life are in place.

The stage that youve reached in your life. For many people it is only when they reach their more mature years that they have the capital available for investment, but is this a good time to enter the world of investment? If you loose your shirt when you are young then it is not the end of the world as you still have plenty of time to get another one. If you loose your shirt in retirement however it may not be quite so easy to replace it.

The outlook for the future. It is one thing to make decision based upon your situation today but what is going to happen in your life in the months and years ahead? Many people find that their needs are considerably reduced as they grow older and they simply do not need a great deal of money to satisfy their needs. But what happens when your children run into difficulty and you want to help them out? Perhaps more to the point, what will happen if you or your partner fall ill and need extensive medical treatment, or even long-term care? Medical bills can very quickly run into thousands every month when you start looking at full-time care.

Investing your money wisely allows you the opportunity to both grow your capital over time as well as providing you an additional source of regular income and there are many excellent high yield investments available today. However, before you enter this particular world, think carefully about whether or not you really want to, and can afford to, play the investment game.

For more information on high yield investments please visit Priceless Investments today.

Learning Forex Trading - The Eight Steps To Get You On Your Way

2007-10-02T20:36:00.000-07:00

3. Assess the odds The odds of success and failure are part and parcel of learning forex trading because you need to be able to recognise trends, analyse profit margins and recognise potential.

8. You are ready to begin for real Your learning forex trading crash course is complete so as soon as you feel confident, go for it!

Demystifying Private Equity

2007-10-02T19:37:00.000-07:00

For all of the attention that the financial press has bestowed upon the private equity industry, it seems that none of these media outlets have explained what this private equity phenomenon is and how it may relate to everyday leaders of small or midsize businesses. Moreover, these reports often fail to describe what makes private equity a dynamic and growing part of today's economy for businesses large and small.

In spite of what the headlines may lead us to believe, there is far more private equity capital invested in small and midsize enterprises than the handful of massive transactions that are chronicled in the pages of business publications. The private equity market has become an increasingly important source of funds for start-up enterprises, private businesses, firms in financial distress and, more recently, public firms seeking privatization.

This is the first of a series of articles in Winning Workplaces' e-newsletter designed to demystify private equity along with other alternative capital markets, and to provide a roadmap to navigate the financial paths that can be foreign to many of us. Through future articles we will also illustrate how better-informed financial decision making can result in improved work environments and stronger organizational cultures.

Before delving further into the subtleties of capital markets, it is best to start by asking the most basic question: What is private equity? "Private equity" is a term most commonly used to describe the entire universe of venture capital investing, buyout transactions and mezzanine/subordinated debt placements. One may also add that private equity is broad nomenclature for any type of equity or debt investment in which the securities are not freely tradable on a public market.

While this type of capital is not a new concept, the categorization and institutionalization of it are new. Entrepreneurs have turned to friends and family members to secure funds to buy a company or start a new business for as long as there have been corporations. This informal source of capital, the original "private equity," is still believed to be the largest source of private equity to corporate America.

Only in the last 30 years has capital been widely organized into private funds where general partners find, structure and oversee investments on behalf of institutional limited partners. Pension funds, endowments, foundations, insurance companies, wealthy families and other private equity fund investors have recognized that the long-term nature of business growth is not always compatible with the short-term horizons of stock analysts and public investors. Additionally, investors have realized that many of the most exciting and rapidly growing businesses are outside of the public equity markets.

As a result of strong returns to early private equity investors, pools of capital have continued to be organized at a rapid pace with the goal of seeking out long-term investments in companies of all sizes that are in need of capital. There are now hundreds, perhaps thousands, of private investment vehicles that have been formed for this purpose, and some have further specialized to focus exclusively on specific industries, certain stages of companies (ie, start-ups or distressed businesses), particular strips of a company's capital structure (ie, mezzanine debt) or even ownership structure (ie, non-controlling positions or women-owned businesses).

Now that you are armed with a brief background on private equity, you may be asking, "When is institutional private equity the right capital for my company?" Of course, there are numerous factors that one should consider before taking on a private equity partner beyond the financial ones, but putting those issues aside which we will address in future articles let's first focus on the cost of capital. Most forms of private equity and debt will be more expensive than what your local bank can provide. Thus, firms that raise private equity tend to be those that may have difficulty seeking funding from conventional financing sources.

For example, firms may be unable to get bank credit to fund rapid growth; or a bank won't fund the buyout of an existing shareholder; or a business is experiencing an industry down cycle or the establishment of a new initiative; or perhaps a company needs a bridge loan through financial distress. These are all situations where private equity capital may on the surface seem expensive. Yet, it is likely a lot cheaper than the alternatives, such as not growing, staying wedded to an unhappy shareholder, not paying bills or even going out of business.

Private equity comes in all shapes and sizes. In future articles, we will address how to position your company to access capital from these types of outside sources, including private equity, and how capital and the sources of capital can play a significant role in workplace culture.

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Winning Workplaces' goal is to provide small and midsize employers with proven, practical, and affordable people practices. Too often, the information and resources needed to create a high-performance workplace are out of reach for all but the largest organizations. Winning Workplaces is changing that by offering employers affordable consulting, training and information. We help employers assess needs and develop strategies to improve their workplace practices.

For more information, please contact us at: http://www.winningworkplaces.org