Friday, October 12, 2007

The One Predictable Thing About Technology

... Is that it's unpredictable.

Making predictions about anything is a tricky business. It's often fraught with problems and compounded by two factors: too many variables and too many people.

Making predictions in the world of technology is about as rough as it gets. You see a trend, a fad, or a new craze, jump on it, extrapolate, and then go and get it all totally wrong.

As an example, at the turn of the 20th century, it was predicted that passenger air balloon travel pioneered by the likes of Count Ferdinand von Zeppelin would be commoditized and become the pre-eminent means of mass transit. In fact, it would be so popular, by the 1980s, people would have their own personal air balloon as their primary method of conveyance.

Obviously, this gaze into the future didn't take into account the airplane, which put an end to that pearl of foresight.

The main problem with looking forward is that people do it in such painfully straight lines, as the previous example demonstrates. The telephone is another useful example; who could have predicted mobile phones at the time Alexander Graham Bell was fussing around with the technological equivalent of paper cups and wet string?

No one could have. Furthermore, how could anyone have predicted that these mobile telephones would one day have cameras built in? Or that you could send written messages on them? You only have to go back 10 years, and such ideas would be derided as foolish drivel.

The future is a curly thing, and in the wonderful world of information technology, the driving force behind much of the confusion is convergence.

Now there's a buzzword if I ever heard one. And this becomes the next big problem with predicting future trends in technology: let's get two really cool gizmos and merge them; people will love it!

Err, no! What drives desire is anyone's guess. What drives need is utility: two very different parts of the brain are being exercised, here, one more than the other!

If something doesn't fulfill a practical purpose, then it's neither use nor ornament.

This future-predicting thing is even harder these days, but in a way, even the most outlandish theory could have its day. Things are changing so quickly that new technologies are emerging literally overnight. And given that people's needs are also changing, evolving, and emerging, who knows?

Going back even further, desire, need call it what you will has a common source. The very engine of change is people, society, lifestyle, and a requirement to manage, re-route and/or if need be, delegate all of this data and information.

The Apple Newton was way ahead of its time. A bunch of clever guys 'n' gals sat in a room and made a remarkable prediction about how people would "consume" data and information, and they were right on the money the only problem being that they were over 10 years early!

Now, people are on the move. People work on the move, hold down long-distance relationships, work with colleagues across time zones, and manage bank accounts in a cafe while drinking a cup of chai.

The only certainty is the same one that has been pontificated upon since time immemorial: things change. Things often come together in intriguing, mysterious, and eminently useful ways.

So here's my prediction: things will never be small enough, big enough, fast enough, cool enough, or cheap enough! Am I wrong?

Wayne Smallman is the man behind Octane Interactive, a web design, web applications development and internet marketing agency based in Yorkshire, England that's been around since 1999.

8 Stunningly Beautiful Exotic Woods

The sheer beauty and versatility of exotic woods adds enormous value to the wood-crafting industry. Exotic woods come from all corners of the globe and each one has its own unique and prized quality.

African Blackwood

The African Blackwood tree has a lustrous wood that comes in a range of dense red to black shades. This wood is very versatile and can be used for making Egyptian furniture as well as a range of woodwind instruments including clarinets.

East Indian Rosewood

The wonderfully exotic East Indian Rosewood has a magnificent striped appearance and contains a few resin properties. This wood is easy to work with and is popularly used for crafts that involve a lot of wood turning.

Lacewood

Getting its name from its distinctive lace-like appearance, Lacewood is softer than many of the exotic woods and is widely used in veneers and in projects that require turning.

African Mahogany

There are several splendid African Mahogany species available including the Khaya Mahogany, which could range in color from light pink to reddish brown. Its rich tonal qualities make it great for use in making guitars.

Leopardwood

A rare, exotic Brazilian hardwood, the grain pattern of the Leopardwood is distinctive and resembles a leopards skin. This wood is popularly used for smaller sized decorative items including jewelry boxes.

Ebony

Ebony is easy to recognize by its distinctive black color. This dense wood is a mainstay in several musical instruments, exquisite chess sets, pistol grips and ornamental art.

Desert Ironwood

One of the densest of all exotic woods, Desert Ironwood is grown exclusively in the Sonoran desert area of the US and Mexico. This wood is not very easy to work with but its beautiful sheen when finished is much sought after in the construction of knife handles, jewelry and art pieces.

Bocote

Though the Bocote wood is very hard and heavy, it is quite easily worked on. This exotic wood is highly resistant to decay and marring and is often used in custom knife handles, smoking pipes, pool cues as well as hi-end cabinetry and flooring.

Find exotic woods and wood blank stock at our site.

12 Basic Stock Investing Rules Every Successful Investor Should Follow

There are many important things you need to know to trade and invest successfully in the stock market or any other market. 12 of the most important things that I can share with you based on many years of trading experience are enumerated below.

1. Buy low-sell high. As simple as this concept appears to be, the vast majority of investors do the exact opposite. Your ability to consistently buy low and sell high, will determine the success, or failure, of your investments. Your rate of return is determined 100% by when you enter the stock market.

2. The stock market is always right and price is the only reality in trading. If you want to make money in any market, you need to mirror what the market is doing. If the market is going down and you are long, the market is right and you are wrong. If the stock market is going up and you are short, the market is right and you are wrong.

Other things being equal, the longer you stay right with the stock market, the more money you will make. The longer you stay wrong with the stock market, the more money you will lose.

3. Every market or stock that goes up will go down and most markets or stocks that have gone down, will go up. The more extreme the move up or down, the more extreme the movement in the opposite direction once the trend changes. This is also known as "the trend always changes rule."

4. If you are looking for "reasons" that stocks or markets make large directional moves, you will probably never know for certain. Since we are dealing with perception of markets-not necessarily reality, you are wasting your time looking for the many reasons markets move.

A huge mistake most investors make is assuming that stock markets are rational or that they are capable of ascertaining why markets do anything. To make a profit trading, it is only necessary to know that markets are moving - not why they are moving. Stock market winners only care about direction and duration, while market losers are obsessed with the whys.

5. Stock markets generally move in advance of news or supportive fundamentals - sometimes months in advance. If you wait to invest until it is totally clear to you why a stock or a market is moving, you have to assume that others have done the same thing and you may be too late.

You need to get positioned before the largest directional trend move takes place. The market reaction to good or bad news in a bull market will be positive more often than not. The market reaction to good or bad news in a bear market will be negative more often than not.

6. The trend is your friend. Since the trend is the basis of all profit, we need long term trends to make sizeable money. The key is to know when to get aboard a trend and stick with it for a long period of time to maximize profits. Contrary to the short term perspective of most investors today, all the big money is made by catching large market moves - not by day trading or short term stock investing.

7. You must let your profits run and cut your losses quickly if you are to have any chance of being successful. Trading discipline is not a sufficient condition to make money in the markets, but it is a necessary condition. If you do not practice highly disciplined trading, you will not make money over the long term. This is a stock trading system in itself.

8. The Efficient Market Hypothesis is fallacious and is actually a derivative of the perfect competition model of capitalism. The Efficient Market Hypothesis at root shares many of the same false premises as the perfect competition paradigm as described by a well known economist.

The perfect competition model is not based on anything that exists on this earth. Consistently profitable professional traders simply have better information - and they act on it. Most non-professionals trade strictly on emotion, and lose much more money than they earn.

The combination of superior information for some investors and the usual panic as losses mount caused by buying high and selling low for others, creates inefficient markets.

9. Traditional technical and fundamental analysis alone may not enable you to consistently make money in the markets. Successful market timing is possible but not with the tools of analysis that most people employ.

If you eliminate optimization, data mining, subjectivism, and other such statistical tricks and data manipulation, most trading ideas are losers.

10. Never trust the advice and/or ideas of trading software vendors, stock trading system sellers, market commentators, financial analysts, brokers, newsletter publishers, trading authors, etc., unless they trade their own money and have traded successfully for years.

Note those that have traded successfully over very long periods of time are very few in number. Keep in mind that Wall Street and other financial firms make money by selling you something - not instilling wisdom in you. You should make your own trading decisions based on a rational analysis of all the facts.

11. The worst thing an investor can do is take a large loss on their position or portfolio. Market timing can help avert this much too common experience.

You can avoid making that huge mistake by avoiding buying things when they are high. It should be obvious that you should only buy when stocks are low and only sell when stocks are high.

Since your starting point is critical in determining your total return, if you buy low, your long term investment results are irrefutably better than someone that bought high.

12. The most successful investing methods should take most individuals no more than four or five hours per week and, for the majority of us, only one or two hours per week with little to no stress involved.

C.C. Collins is a Financial Planning Advisor and Author of Scientific Wealth Strategies at http://www.wealthscientist.com Find more information at http://www.stockinfo4u.com

A Sneaky Way to Steal Someone Else's Forex Trading System

Anyone who is serious about trading needs to have a Forex Trading System that is tailored to them, but there is no reason to start constructing your Forex trading system from scratch.

Why try and reinvent the wheel when you can benefit from other traders years of experience and borrow your trading systems ideas and concepts?

Its easy to do, and there are some pretty good Forex trading systems out there for you to work with. Some of them are free and some are very expensive, but the price tags dont always reflect the actual value of the Forex trading systems. But, many of these systems wont work for you, and I am not talking about out-right dishonesty here, which can be a big problem when trading. What I am talking about is your ability to effectively trade with the system that you may be considering using or buying.

You need to use a system that matches your life style and personality. If you have a day job (not trading), a Forex Trading System that requires you to stare at a screen all day wouldnt be appropriate. You would be distracted at work and miss the opportunities to make money, or even worse, you will not close a trade effectively and could lose money.

Some Forex trading systems have a potential to lose 20, 30 or 40% of your money before they are profitable. Can you handle a system that can drop your trading capital to half before making money? Or, are you prepared to have a string of 8 to 10 loses in a row before you have a winning trade? Some of the best traders in the world lose money on more than 50% of their trades. These are all important points to consider when you are creating your Forex Trading System. Choose aspects of the different systems that are out there that fit your trading style best, and then build your Forex trading system.

An excellent trading method, which was made famous by Richard Dennis and William Eckhardt and is sometimes referred to as Turtle Trading, is one of the best Forex trading systems that I know of. They get returns in excess of 20 to 100% per year using this system. But, could most traders trade their system? Not a chance! Dennis and Eckhardt also loose on over 60% of their trades.

Once you know what sort of Forex Trading System will work best for you, look at the components that make it work. Face it; if you are a new, or even a fairly serious, trader how likely are you to come up with a totally new concept? There are some very smart and wealthy traders out there. Why not use their ideas. Consider Dennis and Eckhardts turtle trading, their system is based on a breakout method. I know most traders could not trade using their exact method, but they could take parts of it, such as the breakouts, to confirm a trend.

You can also use other Forex trading systems to give you an outline of what parts a system has to have for it to make money. All great Forex trading systems have these three basics:

1. Entry Rules,
2. Money Management Rules and
3. Exit Rules.

Study and learn from the Forex trading systems out there, borrow their concepts, and steal their ideas. It will put you on the track to the system that will make you a successful trader.


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Kuala Lumpur Stock Market Outlook - Forecast for the Day - 27 June 2007!

Profit-taking depressed local market. But Dow should stage rebound on Tuesday night.

Technically speaking:

1. As at Tuesdays close at 1366.99 the KLCI was lower by 10.14 points or 0.74%. Losers led gainers 648 to 286.

2. The lower close is a dampener especially after a breakout into new highs last Friday.

3. But as chartists one should expect the unexpected. In other words, if the KLCI should fall further to and violate its lower Bollinger band, one should consider exiting the market at 1348 or lower.

4. But until then, it is possible for the KLCI to stage a rebound.

5. Until the present circumstance, we would be cautious and not buy further.

6. We would wait-and-see and wait for a rebound before adding more positions.

7. Stocks-to-watch for today will, understandably be low. They are: LMCEMT and YTLCMT.

8. We were right about TRANMILE going down to hit the floor. We hope you have exited this stock as based on technical analysis it can make lower lows.

9. We observed that the local stock market moves in tandem with the strength of the ringgit. For the market to rally we would want to see a stronger ringgit. Right now the ringgit is weak.

CONCLUSION: Although it is too early to call a trend reversal, the local market has taken a beating from sellers as funds sell out for fear of further weakness from the U.S. markets. But the technical of the Dow do not seem to suggest that a market plunge is near. Instead we are seeing a Dow rebound. If so, we expect the KLCI to rebound in tandem.

Long-term Upside Targets:1492 (Target amended on 15/6/07).

Immediate downside targets: 1334/1291/1222

Fred Tam is the owner of http://www.fredtam.com and http://www.picapital.com.my F1 Trader Online - Know when to enter & exit the markets.

Are Your Stops Being Hunted In Forex? Don't Let This Happen To You!

A stop in trading is one of the most important things you will ever use, not only does it protect your account if a trade goes against you it also defines the risk you are willing to take on a given trade.

Many traders will not give the placement of a stop any thought at all, they see it merely as a last resort, "if all else fails my stop will be hit" attitude. Stop hunting is what you will fall victim to time and time again if you do not think about where you are placing your stops. Try not to place them too tight, think outside the box and place them where you are sure if price goes the trade will no longer be valid at all. False breakouts are one of the most common trades that take out stops, in this case I always try to trade the retrace of the breakout as appose to the first breakout which reduces you stop dramatically and you can be sure that if price falls back inside the support/resistance line that was broken the trade is no longer valid.

To give you an idea of the stop size I use, I trade 3 main systems which use's 5 minute, 4hour and daily charts stops on the 5 min charts are for scalping so they are very small at 5 pips + spread. Stops on the 4 hour charts are generally around 50 pips and on the daily charts stops are around 100 pips. My stops give me room to make a mistake which is very important in the forex market, if I misjudge my entry by 20 pips I am fine because my stop is still way back behind the closest support/resistance.

It is always a good idea to try to keep your stops a good distance away from price and give the trade breathing room this ensures that the swings will not take you out, there is nothing more irritating than being taken out of a position only to have it move hundreds of pips into your favour afterwards.

If you are ever unsure where you stop should be use this little trick that has helped me in the past, choose a place you would normally put your stop. Now move it further back to the next best support/resistance, you see the first place you choose is most likely where 90% of traders have placed there stops, large institutions will be targeting these areas to trigger positions in the market. Stops are not just a last resort for your trade, they are the trade. You should be thinking about the placement of your stop as much as where you take profit.

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Forex Trading Software

If you are looking to get started trading the Forex, you will find that there are numerous software programs available (both web based and desktop based) for you to use in your trading. In fact, most brokers offer clients a software package for free or as part of their trading account. Usually the software that comes with your trading account is a very basic "bare bones" model. Sometimes, more features are available for a price. The software packages your broker provides can be an important consideration in choosing a broker. You may want to download and try some different packages using a demo account. This will give you a better idea of which software package you find most suitable to your unique style of trading.

Forex trading software comes in two basic flavors - desktop software, and web based software. Which one you choose to work with depends on your preference and other more technical factors. Obviously, the Forex market is very dynamic and you need to have the most reliable up to date connection to the data as possible. Your internet connection speed is a factor here, and if you can afford it, you really should be connecting via broadband.

Your internet connection speed is just one of the factors you should consider when selecting forex trading software. The biggest consideration should be one of security.

Generally speaking, web based forex software is more secure than a desktop based software package. Why is that? Well, with a desktop software, your information and data is stored on your hard drive thus making it vulnerable to numerous security issues. If your computer became infected by a virus, your personal data and the integrity of your trading system can become compromised. Likewise, in the event of hard drive failure, your important data can be lost. Then there is the threat of prying eyes accessing your trading systems.

Luckily, if you choose to go with a desktop based software for your forex trading, you can do some things to limit the risks. For starters, a dedicated computer just for trading the forex would be a wise investment. Due to the popularity of forex trading, there are computers made specifically with a forex traders needs in mind. Even if you cant afford a dedicated machine, you should still apply the following tips to your trading computer:

* Password protect your trading software and personal data
* Make regular backups of your trading data
* Use a anti virus program and keep it up to date
* Update your trading software regularly

If you choose to go with a web based trading software, allot of the security and maintenance issues are handled by the provider. Online based forex systems are hosted on secure servers, the same type of servers credit card processing is handled on. This gives you a great deal of protection, as your data is encrypted. Also, backups and mirrors of your account data are made by your software provider to protect you from data loss.

Aside from the security considerations, you may find that an online based trading software is simply more convenient. There is no software to download as the software runs in your regular web browser. This means that you always will have access to the latest versions and features. Also, if you travel you will certainly appreciate the ability to log in and trade from any computer with an internet connection.

As you can see, there are many options in forex trading software. You ultimately should choose to work with the software that you personally find easiest and most intuitive to use.

For more information on Forex Trading Software and Forex trading systems, visit our sites, Forex Investing, and Forex Today

Market Cap Classification

Market capitalization, or market cap, refers to the value of a company and is a measure of company size. Market capitalization is the value you get when you multiply all the outstanding shares of a stock by the price of a single share. For example, if a company has 10 million shares outstanding and its share price is $5, the market cap is $50 million. The market cap is generally listed on stock quotes you find on the internet.

Companies are grouped into market cap categories which are references to how large a company is measured by its market value. Here are the five basic market cap categories:

1) Micro cap (under $250 million): The smallest companies and riskiest stocks available. Penny stocks fall in this category.

2) Small cap ($250 million to $1 billion): Stocks with higher growth potential, but with higher risk. Typically includes new or young companies.

3) Mid cap ($1 billion to $5 billion): Some of the safety of large caps with some of the growth potential of small caps. These companies have operated in the marketplace longer than smaller companies and their stocks generally have less price volatility.

4) Large cap ($5 billion to $250 billion): Stocks for the conservative investor who wants steady appreciation with greater safety. These stocks are referred to as blue chips and include companies such as IBM.

5) Mega cap (over $250 billion): The largest companies that are typically leaders in their industry. Examples include Wal-Mart and Exxon.

There isn't universal agreement on the exact category cutoffs. Many investors prefer the three cap system of small, mid, and large, while others prefer to break it into more than the five categories listed above.

Market cap classification allows you to gauge the growth versus risk potential of a stock. Large caps experience slower growth with lower risk while small caps provide higher growth potential, but with higher risk. Market capitalization is important to consider, but dont invest just because of it. You can determine the value of a company in many ways, and market cap is just one measure of value.

You may freely reprint this article provided the following author's biography (including the live URL link) remains intact:

About The Author

Craig Tesch is the founder of X-investing, a free resource guide to investing and personal finance at http://www.xinvesting.com.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

Approaches to Investing

Here is a small summary of the three major approaches to investing:

1. Fundamental Analysis

Truly superior companies exist, are sometimes undervalued by markets, and can be identified by mostly financial research. Earnings and dividends, stock prices and markets can be adequately forecasted. All these can be identified by analysis of their financial statements. Buy where forecasted price is greater than current price by a satisfactory margin.

2. Technical Analysis

Patterns in past price behavior of a security in question and the overall market can be used to direct profitable trading strategies. Some technical analysts also refer to a company's fundamentals in combination with its technical indicators.

3. Efficient Market Theory

No possible market-beating investment strategy exists. All information relevant to a stock's long-term price performance, including information not publicly available, is already present in the stock price for any given period of observation.

And here are two more "truly real" ways to approach investing:

1. The Proud Way and

2. The Humble Way.

The proud way is for those who believe that they're smarter than everyone else and can use their insights and abilities to make superior investment choices.

The humble way is for those who believe that they don't know everything. This humble approach leads them to study what has worked over the long term and then use it.

The path to achieving investment success is in studying long-term results and finding a strategy or group of strategies that make sense. This strategy is the humble way ... And it does work!

Copyright 2005 I.E.C. Haramis

haramis@greekshares.com
http://www.greekshares.com

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.

E-Currency Explained and How I Consistently Beat These Average Returns!

I saw an interesting article the other day that was written by Ken Materson It basically described how a person or a stay at home mom could capitalize on the E-currency business. This was a well written article and it basically opened my eyes and made me realize just how good the returns are on the system that Im currently involved in. Here is a brief description of the E market and how it works.

So what is e-currency exchanging all about? Due to global commerce consumers find themselves conducting business with companies and people from different parts of the world. This has resulted in a heavy reliance on third party currency exchange services such as pay pall, e-gold, e-bullion, and plenty of others to complete cross-continental transactions more efficiently.

This influx of e-currencies has created a window of profitable opportunity for those in this business. With so many different forms of e-currencies available there is now a need to exchange between them. In this marketplace you will be operating as a lender of e-currencies that you have purchased.

You will do this by investing in digots, a term used in this business, which represents a digital value determined by a region of activity within the DXInOne system. When you purchase a digot, it simply means that you are investing in the activity of some region of the world.

The higher the activity in that region is, the higher the digot will increase in value. With a small investment in the system you will be making .2% - 2% on each exchange that you are involved in. The profit percents are a range because they will depend on how well you're digot picks perform in each trading session.

The best part about this business is that you can not loose money; since your profit comes from the fluctuation of your digot values the only thing that changes is how much you make. So, on some highly profitable days you will be operating at the full 2% earning huge returns while on slower days your return rate will be less. People with large investments have netted profits over $5,000 per month.

This is just a brief explanation of what this home business is all about and it really does entail more than what has been stated. Since this business is relatively new there is not yet that much information about it readily available.

There are however several e-currency exchange experts out there who offer training on how to be very successful in this home business opportunity. But I suggest looking at a program that Im involved in first. It consistently brings me daily earnings of $1K to $3K daily. You would have to have Hundreds of Thousands on Hand to get the returns that I do on one simple program. This simple system took off like wild fire and It never slows down. See for yourself. It literally allows you to quit your Job in 6 months or less.

www.jgmarketing.info

John Gibbs is an online Mentor and Marketer who specializes in Traffic Generation and Mentoring people to Success. He consistently earns $1K to $3K a day. http://www.jgmarketing.info

5 Keys To Stock Option Trading

Stock option trading offers the skilled trader more potential for making a fortune option trading than almost any other form of online trading in todays market. The degree of controlled risk along with superior leverage allows a knowledgeable option trader the chance to make huge profits but an aspiring option trader must have a solid foundation of education about what makes up a sound option trading method in order to have a long term success at option trading. There are five essential keys that any option trader must understand when developing a winning stock option system.

First, you must understand the degree which time affects the premium of the option you are considering trading. There are two parts you must consider when factoring time into the stock option trading decisions. The first thing that you must take into account is the intrinsic time left on an option. Since options have a limited time period of anywhere from 30 days to several year depending on the particular option that you bought 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.

The second skill of trading options profitably is factoring time into your trading system in relation to trading a particular stock option and knowing the statistics of your option trading methodology or option trading setup by knowing the average holding period of a trade signal. If your average holding time for an option trade is seven days then you dont want to buy an option with three 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 that 30 days till expiration as time decay would erode the value of option so quickly that even if the options underlying stock movement moved favorably to you the time decay would prevent you from realizing a gain in the option itself.

The third thing to profitable stock option trading is understanding the relation of volatility between the market, the underlying stock that underlies the stock option, and the effect is has on the value of the option itself. When the general stock market as an index goes thru periods of volatility or low trading ranges the stocks that make up the market tend to follow overall trend and also begin to experience periods of low overall volatility which in turn can cause derivative like stock options to become cheap or low premiums. But if the markets volatility rises it is likely that individual stocks will follow the trend causing stock option premiums to increase in value given that the market moves in the traders favor. The next key in how to trade stock options successfully is having a stock option trading method that takes these key factors into consideration while 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. Knowing the ins and outs of various trade setups is useless if you dont have a trading methodology that guides you in every step of the trade process. A solid trading method holds you by the hand and defines each step while leading you to being a consistent winner in the markets and a profitable trader when all is said and done.

Finally, the fifth and final key to successfully trading stock options is yourself, particularly your trading psychology. Human beings and there mental makeup are extremely complex so it is extremely important that stock option traders not only have a sound stock option trading methodology but the discipline to follow their trading methods. You can give two people the same exact winning trading system but it is very common for them to have different results. Invariably, 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 trading result will emerge the greatest winner in the end.

Using these five keys as a basis to develop your stock option trading methodology can help you avoid the mistakes and pitfalls of many beginning option traders. By understanding time decay, factoring an options time into your trading method, how volatility impacts a stock options value, what defines a reliable stock option trading methodology, and your own trading psychology you now have a foundation to develop into a winning stock option trader.

Would you like to learn cutting edge trading methods for trading stocks and options? Sign up for a free newsletter and ebook at StockOptionSystem.Com and read more articles like this one at StockOpSys Article Directory!

Magic Bullet To Retirement

Everyone is looking for that magic bullet that will allow them to retire rich or at least comfortable. They want to be able to do what the TV ads show - vacationing in Fiji, fly fishing in Vermont, etc, etc. It seems so easy on TV.

A pretty financial analyst from some big company shows the prospect how it is done. The next part of the trick is getting it done and that aint easy. It usually means a change because the potential retiree must take part of the cash now being spent on present life style and put it away not to be spent until retirement becomes a reality. If the couple shown in the ad do it they will be glad they did. Sacrificing some current pleasantries will have been worth it. The $2,000, $3,000, $5,000 trip today could be worth twice that amount or more at age 65 if the worker now is lucky enough to have a good broker or planner one who will not allow loss of principal during subsequent bear markets.

Annuities sound good, but 99% are rip offs. If an annuity is appealing insist on a sample policy. Take it to an attorney and pay $250 or so to have it translated into English. The most important paragraph is the cancellation clause. Get a letter from him stating the major features. When the policy is delivered compare it line for line with the sample to be sure they are the same. Accept no substitutions or changes. The persons saving will want to have a financial planner who has an excellent exit strategy. There are very few of them. Ask to see their model portfolio results for the years 2000 to 2003.

If they lost 30, 40% or more find another advisor. Advisors like to show how they did in relation to the S&P500 Index which lost 40%. They show they did better. Better still means they would have lost the clients money. This is the road to disaster as there will be another serious bear market and customers money will go down the rat hole again. A smart investor will continue due diligence until such an advisor is found. Rarely will it be a stock broker. Occasionally a financial planner can be found. Search on the Internet. Make them prove (and be sure it can be verified) the results. Dont accept 10-year projections.

These are nonsense. Even during the bad 3 years there should be profits. When people come to the end of the road and may no longer be able to work for an income the money put away will be their blessing. The great Social Security farce may have blown up by then. People must take personal responsibility for their retirement. Few have done so and think the government will take care of them. Think again or enjoy those canned cat food sandwiches. Act now. Unless you are the Lone Ranger there will be no magic bullet.

Al Thomas' best selling 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 and receive his market letter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com and discover why he's the man that Wall Street does not want you to know. Copyright 2007 All rights reserved

This System Will Help Those Forex Traders With Just A Few Trading Hours Available

There are diverse systems and methods for Forex trading that will teach you pretty successful approaches to a profitable trading career. But many of them will ask you for a good chunk of your working day. And that may become a problem if you still have a full time job and besides you still have a family you must consider and take care of.

If this is your case then you should look for a forex trading system that will improve your trading with new strategies that will allow you to keep your fulltime job and mainly, keep your family happy.

In order to save time used on chart analysis and indicators reading you must use a trading strategy like the ones used in what is known as swing trading. This is a forex trading approach that relies on identifying winning trades on short time intervals (15 min, 30 min, 1 hrs charts). As you can see from the trading intervals this kind of system will naturally free you from spending the whole day watching how the markets evolve with time. You just need short bursts of profits from time localized trades.

With the correct swing trading system you will have good, solid and consistent profits resulting from clear entry orders, calculated exits and this without spending too much time watching the markets. A forex trading method with a high winning percentage will be rewarding psychologically, will keep your morale high (very important in this hard trading world) and will be enjoyable to trade. After all, a string of profits will build the confidence of anyone.

=>> http://forexpage1.googlepages.com

Forex Education Bollinger Bands Can Give You a Huge Trading Edge Here's Why

One of the critical pieces of forex education for any Forex trader is to understand the concept of standard deviation of price and how to use volatility to their advantage.

If you understand the concept you can easily apply it with Bollinger bands which are an essential tool for all forex traders.

Lets look at why Bollinger Bands are so useful and profitable, when incorporated in your Forex Strategy.

If you dont know what standard deviation is simply check our article on the concept right, lets take a look at Bollinger bands.

Bollinger Bands Defined

Bollinger bands are simply volatility bands drawn either side of a moving average.

You calculate Bollinger bands using the standard deviation of price over the same period as moving averages the mean price, then the volatility bands are plotted above and below the moving average.

Moving averages are used to identify the underlying trend of currencies and Bollinger bands take this one step further by:

Combining the moving average of the currency with the volatility of the individual market (or the standard deviation) this then creates a trading envelope with a middle mean price (moving average and 2 x bands (expanding or contracting) either side that reflect volatility or standard deviation.

As prices move away from the longer-term average, the standard deviation rises - and thus the bands will fluctuate in varying amounts, away from the average.

Why they work

In any market, the value of a currency traded tends to rise slowly over the longer term.

Prices can and do spike quickly in the short term, but will normally return to the longer term moving average - which represents fair value.

The standard deviation of the outer bands (how far they are from the mean) shows how far prices are from longer-term value.

Most price spikes are caused by trader psychology with greed and fear to the fore and this can be graphically seen with Bollinger bands.

So how should you use Bollinger bands?

There are 3 main ways to use them.

1. Spotting price spikes

When the bands are a long way from the mean you can use Bollinger bands as profit taking signal on existing trades or use them to spot contrary trades.

2. Enter exisiting trends

If you have a good trend in the forex markets then you can use dips to the middle band to buy at fair value.

3. Entering new trends

When prices are trading in tight range and start to breakout with a change in volatility a great new trend could be emerging.

Bollinger bands can certainly give you a new dimension to your forex trading strategy and any currency trading system can benefit from the extra insight that they can give you.

A word of warning

Like all technical indicators you should not use Bollinger bands in isolation to enter trades, however combined with timing indicators such as, the stochastic or RSI, then you have a powerful combination for greater FX profits.

With regard to forex education, knowing what standard deviation is and how to apply the concept through Bollinger Bands, will give you a huge trading edge, so make sure you use them.

NEW! FREE MONTHLY " PRO TRADER NEWSLETTER + 3 X FREE TRADER PDF'S!

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

The Bubble-Rooter

A gentleman from South Carolina has sent an e-mail last week. He has been reading my Articles on Real Estate Economics, and wants to know how I can possibly take the position that there is no real estate bubble bursting out there. This gentleman believes not only that there is a burst in full progress but that, in fact, it looks more and more like a market crash at least in the area where he is located. He corroborates the e-mail with an impressive set of figures taken from local sources.

While I am grateful to this individual for taking the time to send his otherwise lengthy message privately, I thought Id present my response also to the public at large, in hopes to shed some light on this subject matter. Following, therefore, is a FAQ on bubbles formulated in accordance with the points and concerns raised in the e-mail. I have, furthermore, notified this person that this Article represents my response and have invited him to come and read it in this forum.

So here we go.

Q.What is a real estate bubble?

An economic bubble is a particular market condition, wherein prices of commodities or assets increase to levels so high as to no longer reflect the utility of usage of the commodities or assets being exchanged. The main cause of an economic bubble is speculation. Speculation is one of the many forces that act on capital at any given time. In theoretical Economics, speculation is defined as the acquisition of financial or capital assets made solely to quickly profit from fluctuations in their prices, or of goods or commodities with no real intent to consume or otherwise use them for production.

Contrast this with investment, which is defined as the acquisition and use of financial or capital assets with a view to generate income, or of goods and commodities for the purposes of consumption or production.

Clearly, pursuant to the foregoing definitions, the real domains of speculators are the stocks, bonds, treasuries, futures and debentures markets, cumulatively referred to as the Stock Exchange. Many investors in the Stock Exchange actually speculate, since they bet on a quick gain dependent upon the volatility shifts of the market they operate into, and since they do not intend to consume the products they buy. A purchaser of one-hundred shares of IBM does not intend to actually go work for IBM, nor does he necessarily intend to start consuming outputs produced by IBM. He merely intends to buy IBM shares at a lower price and resell them with a mark-up.

Speculators do operate in the real estate markets, but to a far lesser extent, mainly because real estate typically moves in slow, very slow motion even when real estate markets are fast. The fluctuations in prices that occur in the Stock Exchange in a few hours typically take days, or even weeks, to happen in real estate. Additionally, fluctuations expressed as a percentage change of their nominal market value are far greater and substantial in the Stock Exchange than in real estate. For instance, it is not unusual for stocks to gain or lose 30-, 40- or 50-percent of their value in the round of a week, sometimes even in a single day, but no such dramatic variations exist in real estate. One never hears of a rancher abutting a golf course that on Monday morning is offered for sale for $500,000, and which by Friday afternoon has been reduced down to $250,000. Because of this, speculators tend to shy away from real estate markets.

The few speculators that do operate in real estate are those who engage in the flipping of real property assets. Many investors think of themselves as masters of flipping, but truth of the matter is that they do not flip at all. They resell for profit. True flipping, in real estate, consists in the purchase and selling of an interest in land without paying for it with ones own money. Thus, a speculator flips real estate buy putting in an offer to purchase an asset, and then flips the same asset (which the speculator does not own as of yet) to a second purchaser for a higher price, who will complete the transaction on the same day as the speculators original transaction. The speculator will then take the money from the second purchaser, retain his profit margin, and transfer the balance to the Seller. The speculator, in other words, will pay the Seller with the money of the second purchaser, not with his own money. This is a practice known in the United States and some Canadian Provinces as double escrow.

Needless to say, all those who purchase fixer-ups, refurbish, remodel and then resell them, and think of themselves as great speculators, are not speculators at all. They are also no masters of flipping. They are just merely ordinary investors, with a super ego.

Here is the classic comparative economic breakdown, by category, of market participants operating in both the Stock Exchange and Real Estate:

Stock Exchange ... Real Estate

Speculators

65% ................ 5%

Investors (short term)

25% ................ 35%

Investors (long term)

10% ................ 60%

I have seen some sources last year pegging the percentage of real estate speculators to double the one of the forgoing table, and am further aware of some economists and market analysts who cite a 15 percent figure. But even if, by hypothesis, speculators represented a 20 percent of real estate market participants, 4/5 of all participants would still be made up of regular short and long-term investors. Therefore, as the primary cause of economic bubbles (speculation) is almost entirely absent from real estate, or has otherwise minimal or reduced impact, it is ludicrous to speak of real estate bubbles.

Thus my position.

Q.Still, prices are tumbling down. If its not a bubble, what is it?

Price deflation. Plain, ordinary, old-fashioned, lemon-flavoured price deflation.

Deflation is a decrease in the general pricing levels of assets or goods, which occurs when the equilibrium between supply and demand is altered, resulting in a higher or lower purchasing power of money within the market (in the present case, the purchasing power is higher since prices are coming down).

There are two, and only two variables capable of altering the equilibrium of supply and demand: 1) a tightening or expansion of the money stock which, in turn, alters the cost of borrowing, i.e. a shift in interest rates, or 2) an increase in inventory supplies. Alfred Marshall (1842 1924) was the first to attempt to explain price behaviour within the context of the equilibrium between supply and demand in competitive markets. Marshall discovered that consumers attempt to equate prices to their marginal utility, defined as the measure of happiness or satisfaction gained by consuming goods and services. Given this measure, one may speak meaningfully of increasing or decreasing utility, and thereby explain consumer behaviour in function of shifts in pricing.

The propensity to invest in real estate is partly dictated by the expectations of future profitability and by the present perception of market risk. The table above shows that a good 40 percent of real estate market participants is composed of speculators and short-term investors. These folks are in the market solely to increase their level of wealth, in the short and very short run. When the perception of market risk on the part of 40 percent of market participants increases sharply - which is exactly what has been happening these past few months - capital will exit more and more from the sphere of real estate and will find its way elsewhere (typically the stock market). There occurs, in other words, a shift in volatility risk.

The turnover in real estate markets drops when the pool of buyers ready, willing and able to consume real estate products abates. This, in turn, discourages consumer spending on real estate products, demand lowers and markets cool off.

Q. Bubble, deflation ... call it any which way you want, the result is all the same for me.

But not for me.

The difference consists in the repercussions and effects that bubble bursts and deflation have on market wealth, defined as the combination of materials, labour, land, services and technology in such a way as to capture a profit (Adam Smith). The aftershocks of a bubble that bursts are usually terminal and irreversible: market wealth disappears, it vanishes entirely. And it takes forever to re-build it, right from scratch. The greatest example in recent times is the infamous Black Monday October 19, 1987 when the Dow Jones collapsed 22.6 percent in value in a single day! It took nine years for Wall Street to lure investors back.

The burst was so powerful that even today, nineteen years after the fact, there are people out there still hurting. Lives were changed forever, companies were wiped out, families were ripped and broken apart and a few people committed suicide. And not only in the United States, but all over the world. Markets fell 41.8 percent in Australia, 22.5 percent in Canada, 45.8 percent in Hong Kong, and the 26.4 percent in the United Kingdom.

Now, thats a bubble burst!

With deflation, on the other hand, wealth can be recovered. It is still there, though it cannot be tapped.

Finally, a few words about the soundness of real estate as a wealth-generating vehicle, even during times of deflation. Homes have appreciated consistently to the tune of 7.5 percent per year over the past thirty years, notwithstanding the numerous ups and downs the industry has been going through. Unfortunately, 40 percent of Americans and 35 percent of Canadians are renters and that is too bad, since the fastest way to riches is buying real estate, as opposed to buying just about anything else, including stocks and bonds. The average Canadian renter has a net worth (assets minus liabilities) of CAD $6,000. The average Canadian homeowner has a net worth of CAD $225,000 (source: Canadian Real Estate Association). Figures in the States are comparatively similar.

One of the best wealth-generating source is mortgages. Even the so-deprecated ARMs are good, since they are used to buy homes and build up value. We do everything with our homes in addition, of course, to live and sleep inside them: we use them as collateral for personal lines of credit, we use them to increase our net worth, we use them to establish our hierarchy within society, we use them to improve our own self-esteem and, last but not least, we also use them as the parachute of last resort to save us from dire financial straits. Ownership of our homes is everything to us.

My concluding remark is that a slow-down in real estate has actually a positive influence on the economy by allowing salaries and wages to catch up and thus to regenerate the pool of buyers, especially first-time Buyers, entitled to take their first steps into the world of real estate. The ratio between wages and real estate market values is too skewed to values. Whereas market values in metropolitan areas have appreciated an average of fifteen percent per year for the past five years - or a total of seventy-five percent, salaries have increased an average four percent per annum or twenty percent total. There is, therefore, a fifty-five percent gap, which accounts for the problem buyers are facing today when it comes to go to the bank and qualifying for a loan.

Thank you for the e-mail.

Luigi Frascati

Luigi Frascati is a Real Estate Agent based in Vancouver, British Columbia. He holds a Bachelor Degree in Economics and maintains a weblog entitled the Real Estate Chronicle at http://wwwrealestatechronicle.blogspot.com where you can find the full collection of his articles. Luigi is associated with the Sutton Group, the largest real estate organization in Canada, and is based with Sutton-Centre Realty in Burnaby, BC.

Luigi is very proud to be an EzineArticles Platinum Expert Author. Your rating at the footer of this Article is very much appreciated. Thank you.

Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Financial Planning Strategy for Early Retirement

When it comes to early retirement there are some financial strategies individuals may employ to help them retire sooner. Financial planning is important for individuals who want to retire sooner and enjoy their retirement while they are still young enough to get around on their own. Too many people work until they no longer have enough health to enjoy their golden days. Well, with a few financial tips people can plan for their senior years and be financially prepared.

Quite a few individuals choose to move to an active adult retirement community as they reach their 50s, 60s, and 70s, or beyond. More individuals want to retire to an active adult community as early as possible but they simply cant afford to stop working. Fortunately, once individuals realize how much money they will need to save for retirement they can begin saving and have a plan in place to help them realize their retirement dreams. Luckily for these folks the Internet can help them find the different methods to saving and preparing for retirement that will allow them to sit back and enjoy their golden years.

The most important thing when it comes to retirement is to start saving as early as possible. You will also want to begin investing and also ensuring that your retirement portfolio is as diversified as possible. Once you make certain savings goals you should then use the tools at your disposal to help you. These include IRAs, 401K plans, money market accounts, mutual funds, the stock market, annuities, and more. If your company offers a 401K employee contribution match program then you should definitely take advantage of this. This doubles the power of your money and is worthwhile.

You dont want to sit back and count on social security to take care of you in your golden years because that just might not happen. The social security administration is going to have some serious problems if major changes arent made soon meaning lots of retirement benefits you are owed may not get paid. Take your retirement savings into your own hands and start early and save as much as possible. By doing this you will know that no matter what happens to social security you will be taken care of and will have the lifestyle you have grown accustomed to. Dont put off saving for retirement for another day. Go and make your first deposit!

Caitlina Fuller is a freelance writer. Quite a few individuals choose to move to an active adult retirement community as they reach their 50s, 60s, and 70s, or beyond. More individuals want to retire to an active adult community as early as possible but they simply cant afford to stop working. Fortunately, once individuals realize how much money they will need to save for retirement they can begin saving and have a plan in place to help them realize their retirement dreams.

Learn Forex Trading In An Innovative And Easy Way

Why Learn Forex trading?

The forex market is by far the largest market in the world. It is estimated that around $1.5 TRILLION is traded every single day. By far more then all the stock, bond and futures markets of the entire world combined! Forex or currency exchange is the term used to describe the trading of world currencies. A trade occurs when a trader simultaneously buy of one currency and sell of another one. E.g., to buy British pounds with US dollars. The currency combination used in a trade is called a pair.

What does a forex trader do?

Simple, buy a currency at a low value and sell it at a higher value, and in the process profit from it! For example, buy Great British Pounds with US Dollars, wait for the Pound rate to go up and make money! This can be done several times a day if the forex trader is a day trader or several times a week or month if the trader is a forex swing trader.

What are the main benefits of trading in the forex market?

Many currency pairs are very volatile. Volatility means that they move a lot during the day, from side to side, allowing traders to capture sometimes 5-6 price swings per day, each one potentially allowing the trader to make impressive profits.

5-7 currency pairs to monitor (instead of over 10,000 stocks!), no commission trading, guaranteed fills for stop losses and limit orders, impressive leverage.

The forex market is a 24 hour market. Never stops. This means that as a forex trader you can chose exactly when to trade. Some traders have day jobs and do not have the necessary time to trade during the day so they can trade at night. People who make their living as forex traders can chose to trade any time of the day or night. The point being, a 24 hour market allows the trader a lot of flexibility.

What are the Exclusive benefits offered by forex trading?

An incredible benefit of the forex industry is that today all forex brokers allow traders to open free demo accounts. This demo account has the full capabilities of a "real" account including live market rates, access to real-time market analysis, and the ability to execute trades off streaming prices. This means that the trader can test his or her strategies without risking a single dollar! No other business opportunity allows you to see if it works before you spend money!

Making a living as a forex trader allows you to be truly free! No office, no workers, no inventory, no marketing worries, no advertising, no selling.

Learning the right forex trading system allows the forex trader to trade by just following simple rules. If A happens and B happens then do C. This is called mechanical trading. It requires absolutely no discretion, interpretation or thinking from the trader.

In conclusion, Learning forex trading provides all level of investors with a lot of opportunities that many markets and industries do not provide. The reason many people have not heard of this opportunity until recently is that until not long ago trading currencies was reserved to the big dogs (banks, institutions, companies etc). Today with the help of the internet anyone can take advantage of on-line currency trading that was once reserved to an exclusive group.

Lisssa Jannini has been involved in home based businesses for the past 5 years. She offers sound advice from her experience. And at http://www.breaktruesolutions.com she offers a way to do what she writes about.

Tuesday, October 9, 2007

Dividend Reinvestment Plans: Investing on Automatic Pilot

If you're like many investors who squander those small dividend checks from your stock portfolio, a Dividend Reinvestment Plan (DRP) might be just what you need. Just as its name implies, a Dividend Reinvestment Plan allows you to reinvest some or all of those dividends into more stock of the issuing company. Unlike purchases made through traditional means, partial or fractional shares, as well as whole shares, are available.

Technically, there are two types of DRPs. The first type involves buying shares at the market through an outside trustee. Although the company may subsidize the transaction costs, buying shares at a discount is not allowed.

The second type allows you to purchase directly from the issuing company, which may provide a discount from the market price. This is a distinct advantage over buying from an outside trustee.

Besides giving dividends a better purpose than sitting in your pocket or in a brokerage cash account, a DRP may offer other advantages as well. By buying on a regular basis, you are dollar cost averaging your purchases, an investment strategy designed to reduce volatility. Dollar cost averaging involves continuous investment in securities regardless of fluctuation in the price. Of course you should consider your ability to continue purchasing through periods of low price levels. This type of plan does not ensure a profit or protect against loss.

Secondly, many companies offer added options with their DRPs, including purchasing stock at low minimums and sometimes even offering shares at a discount (often 3-5%) off current market prices.

From a tax standpoint, you are subject to income taxes on the value of the dividends whether you reinvest them or not. Your tax basis for all your shares including the reinvested dividends is the amount paid for the original shares plus the dividends, minus any costs deducted from your dividends as a service charge as part of the DRP.

Keeping good records is a necessity, especially if you plan to continue participating in a DRP over a number of years. Without the records, it may become very difficult to track all your purchases. A little bit of effort now can save you big headaches later on.

Usually, you will receive a quarterly statement outlining your DRP account. Among other things, these quarterly statements will detail your on-going investments, how many shares are held by the program, how many shares are held be you, and the value of all your shares.

Not all companies offer DRP's but, for a list of one's that do, there are many web sites dedicated to these plans. These internet sites not only have a full list of companies with DRPs, they also offers online enrollment services. For securities held in a brokerage or wrap account, check with your brokerage firm to determine if they have the means to enroll you. If all else fails, try either the company itself or its transfer agent.

Although it is easy to see the advantages of DRP programs to the investor, we should not overlook the benefits to the issuing company. Besides helping to stabilize market prices, a DRP is a relatively efficient way to raise capital and, because companies only promise to continue these programs in the future, the issuing company controls when and how much capital will be raised.

Over 1,000 companies currently offer some type of Dividend Reinvestment Plan and, with a little research, you should be able to get on the path of automatic pilot investing for the future.

Glenn (Chip) Dahlke, a senior contributor to the Living Trust Network, has 28 years in the investment business. He is a Registered Representative of Linsco/Private Ledger and a principal with Dahlke Financial Group. He is licensed to transact securities with persons who are residents of the following states: CA. CT, FL, GA, IL. MA, MD. ME, MI. NC, NH, NJ, NY.OR, PA, RI, VA, VT, WY.

If you have any questions or comments, Chip would love to hear from you. You may contact him at dahlkefinancial@sbcglobal.net. You may also contact him by going directly to the Living Trust Network web site located at http://www.livingtrustnetwork.com

Copyright 2005. LivingTrustNetwork, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed without the written consent of the Living Trust Network, LLC.

Why Get Involved in FOREX Trading

PREMISE: Trading Foreign Exchange carries a high level of risk and may not be suitable for all investors. There is a possibility that you could sustain a loss of all of your investment and therefore you should not invest money that you cannot afford to lose. You should be aware of all the risks associated with Foreign Exchange trading.

The cash/spot FOREX markets possess certain unique attributes that offer an unmatched potential for profitable trading in any market condition or any stage of the business cycle. It leaves one to wonder why bother?

The answer to that is very simple. It boasts:

A 24-hour market: A trader has the chance to take advantage of all of the profitable market conditions at any time which means that there is no waiting for the 'opening bell' like the exchange.

Highest liquidity: The FOREX market is the most liquid market in the world. That means that a trader can enter or exit the market whenever they want during almost any market condition minimal execution barriers or risk and no daily trading limit.

High leverage: A leverage ratio of up to 400 is normal when compared to a leverage ratio of 2 (50% margin requirement) in the equity markets. Of course, this makes trading in the cash/spot forex market awkward as well because it makes the risk of the down side loss much higher in the same way that it makes the profit potential on the upside much prettier.

Low transaction cost: The retail transaction cost (the bid/ask spread) is actually less than 0.1% (10 pips) under the normal market conditions. At larger dealers, the spread could be less than 5 pips, and may expand a great deal in fast moving markets.

Always a bull market: A trade in the FOREX market means selling or buying one currency against another. In essence, a bull market or a bear market for a currency is defined in terms of the outlook for value against other currencies. If the outlook is positive, you get a bull market where a trader profits by buying the currency against other currencies. However, if the outlook is negative, we have a bull market for other currencies and a trader profits being forced to selling the currency against other currencies.

In either case, there is always a bull market trading opportunity for a trader.

Inter-bank market: The foundation of the FOREX market consists of a global network of dealers that communicate and trade with their clients through electronic networks and telephones. There are no organized exchanges like in futures that are there to serve as a central location to facilitate transactions the way the New York Stock Exchange serves the equity markets.

The FOREX market actually works a lot like the NASDAQ market in the United States operates, and because of this, it is also referred to as an over the counter or OTC market.

No one can corner the market: The FOREX market is so large and has so many participants that no single trader, even a central bank, can control the market price for an extended period of time. Even the interventions conducted by mighty central banks are getting to be increasingly ineffectual and short-lived. This means that central banks are becoming less and less inclined to intervene to manipulate market prices.

It is Unregulated: The FOREX market is seen as an unregulated market although the operations of major dealers like commercial banks in money centers are regulated under the banking laws.

The daily operations of retail FOREX brokerages are not regulated under any laws or regulations that are specific to the FOREX market, and in fact, many of these types of establishments in the United States do not even report to the Internal Revenue Service.

Bryan Thorby is the publisher of "Your Guide to Successful Forex Trading" available at http://www.oneworldbiz.net/finance/forex-trading.html and provider of Forex Trading resources at http://www.managing-your-finances.com/forex/ where you can Learn about Forex Trading - Training Programs, Forex Software, free demo Forex Accounts, and learn how to trade like the professionals.

The Foreign Exchange Market (FOREX) Uncovered

The foreign exchange market, or forex, has been very well known as the domain of government central banks and commercial and investment banks. The term Forex is taken from the words 'Foreign' and 'Exchange' and basically means to take part in trades involving the exchange of one countries money with another country. Even if you have not heard of forex trading before the chances are you have already done it in one form or another without actually realizing it. If you have ever traveled to a foreign country before and had to exchange monies at your local bank then you have already taken part in Forex. Granted this is far less exciting and profitable, however, the point is you were participating in the Forex.

The Foreign Exchange Market is a great trading market for new investors. The details of the currency trade are pretty straight forward and easily accessible to the average individual. Typically you will find that it requires a low initial investment to get started. New investors can start out small and work their way up to larger trades as they feel more comfortable. Now, more than ever, individuals are seizing the forex market as you can trade 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Today it is the largest and most liquid market in the entire world! Daily dollar volumes of monies traded in the currency market exceeds $1.9 trillion.

Since profit can be made from both increases and decreases in a currency it means the Forex market is highly appealing and can be very lucrative for anyone willing to give it a try. Forex is traded with a leverage, in other words, if you trade with $100 you do not get $100 of currency, in fact, you will get many times more than this perhaps as much as $40,000! This means that you can earn a percentage of that $40,000 if the currency shifts in your preferred direction, either up or down. This is quite valuable because in Forex currency trading fluctuations are oftentimes just fractions of a cent.

You can select your pair of currencies and your amount whether the market is moving up or moving down - and still make a profit. You can decide to buy Euro and sell dollar or buy dollar and sell Euro. Additionally, it is not necessary that physically have the currency in hand that you choose to buy and sell. The quickest and by far easiest way to get started is to find a Forex market site, open an account, deposit your money, and then just start trading. Most reputable companies will provide you with training, support, and advice to help you get started.

Forex trading has been around for a long time but is still misunderstood by a lot of people. Those that do know what Forex trading is have come to love the excitement that trading can bring. Many of these individuals go on to devote their whole lives to the art of trading. In order to make a profit on the Forex market investors only need to know one rule - buy cheap and sell high. The profit part comes in as you experience the fluctuations within the exchange market for currency you are trading.

Forex trading is all about exchanging currencies and taking advantage of the fluctuations in exchange rates. Contrary to popular belief, it is very easy to learn and begin making profits. Most importantly, please understand that before you go rushing to deposit money and start trading make sure you fully understand the market.

For more information about FOREX and currency trading visit our comprehensive website at "Ultimate Currency Trading Guide"

Day Trading Systems - How to Make Big Consistent Profits

How do you pick a day treading system that makes big consistent profits and look at day trading systems that can help you win.

So, how can you pick the best day trading system to help you make big consistent profits?

Lets find out.

The hype

On the Internet there are a huge number of systems sold in day trading and they sound great earn 70% profits, scalp 10 -20 pips everyday etc and all for a few hundred dollars or less!

So what makes a great day trading system?

Well the answer is:

Nothing Because the logic of day trading does not work PERIOD

Dont believe me?

Then consider the following:

1.Have you ever seen a day trading system publish a track record of real profits thats made in the market NOT a hypothetical simulation?

No neither have I.

Ask any vendor selling a system for a real time track record over the longer term and you wont get one.

How day trading system vendors make their money then?

These vendors are not stupid enough to trade the system themselves! They sell them, despite the fact the logic does not work and can never work.

They will take you money for the system so they win, then you trade it and lose, thats simply the way it is.

So why cant you win at day trading?

Its common sense really:

Volatility in daily and hourly frames is random.

Using daily ranges, support, resistance pivot points, or any other technical tool is a complete waste of time, as prices can go anywhere in a day and do.

The only people who look at daily ranges and consider them significant are day traders and their a very small losing minority of the millions of traders in the market.

Dont fall for the hype of day trading.

Its a fact that day trading system vendors dont produce real time track records as they are sensible enough not to trade their systems.

They know they lose money.

So why not write some great copy and make up a simulated hypothetical track record and make some money selling the system instead?

People who believe day trading works are either:

Stupid, naive or both.

Dont fall into the trap of thinking day trading will make you money it wont and if you dont believe me ask for the proof of a real time track record of long term gains before you buy,

FREE ESSENTIAL TRADER PDF'S AND MUCH MORE

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

E-Currency Exchange: 4 Great Income Streams and Counting

This article provides a brief overview of the 4 sources of income we can take advantage of as a participant in the e-currency exchange trading system.

Specifically, I am refering to the e-currency exchange program through DXinOne. DXinOne is by far the leader in facilitating e-currency conversions. The fees charged to account for these transactions is how DXinOne makes money. They are in essence a clearing house.

So how do I make money in this? The first and most important income source is the Portfolio. The first thing you will want to do is open an account and start building a portfolio. It does not cost anything to open an account. Fund the account with as little as $25 and start building your portfolio. As you progress you will be able to use leverage to increase the overall value of the portfolio. It is not uncommon to see portfolio growth of 20 to 40% per month. This is accomplished by combining the daily profits and the leverage to add to your portfolio. The average daily profits on your portfolio will range from about .15% to .35% depending on the supply and demand in the system.

The second source of income in the e-currency exchange program is to become qualified as a Merchant. Don't get excited, you aren't selling anything. Merchant is just a term given to signify those that have qualified to participate in the actual e-currency exchange process. Thousands of times each day there exists the need to convert from one e-currency to another or e-currency to hard cash etc. This is where the Merchants come in. The Merchants receive a fee of 4 to 14% for making funds available to make these conversion transactions possible. To qualify as a Merchant you must have a portfolio value of at least $5,000 and you have had a DXinOne account for at least 90 days.

The third source of income is the P4 Program (Pre-Paid Profits Program). This program provides non merchants the ability to earn a per transaction fee for exchanging with active merchants. Merchants need liquidity to perform their functions and are willing to pay a fee for this liquidity. The fee paid to the non merchant ranges from 5 to 7% of the transaction. Caution: I have seen a lot of advertising boasting the P4 Program as "Huge instant profits" and "You get paid first" etc. Unfortunately, you do not have the whole picture. The rest of the picture is 2 part. The first is, when you have completed a transaction you will have to exchange those funds in order to do anything with them. This exchange will cost you upwards of 3%, so the real returns are cut in half or so. The second part of the picture is the reality of the time required to perform the e-currency exchange process. As of the writing of this article the process is extraordinarily long. Expect the process to take 2 weeks or longer depending on how the system is flowing and how much you are trying to exchange. So maybe the truth is 2 to 4% return every 3 weeks. Still not too bad for passive income.

The fourth source of income is for webmasters. This is called the AdsExposed Program where advertising is placed on your website. You will receive pay per click revenue from those ads.

So now you have the 4 sources of income currently being offered by DXinOne. The great thing is DXinOne is a progressive organization. They have many other programs and services in the works that will be launched as time goes by.

Merv Thompson Author and operator of http://www.futures- brokers-review.com a website providing tools, resources and reviews for todays trader.

Get detailed information on e-currency trading at e-Currency Exchange

Money Market Investing - Learn The Secrets To Making A Fortune With Money Markets

Is money market investing a good option for your money? Fits of all, here is a brief explanation of what a money market fund is. A money market investment fund is essentially a mutual fund.

However, instead of taking your money and investing it in stocks, the fund manager will invest it in safer options such as government t-bills, savings bonds, certificates of deposit, etc. So, is money market investing a wise option for your money?

Again, as Ive said before, it all depends on your level of financial expertise. If, for instance, you are very financially savvy, can read a financial statement of a company and determine its profitability and future outlook, then there really is no reason for investing in a money market account, or any mutual fund, for than matter.

The basic premise behind a mutual fund is that the investor is not money savvy enough to make their own investment decisions for themselves, and thats why they are depositing their money to be handled by an expert.

For most people, this is a wise option, as most people generally arent interested in learning about reading the financial statement of a company and determining sounds investments. However, if you are one of the few who is capable of this, than there is no need for you to invest in a mutual fund.

Therefore, whether or not you should be investing in a money market fund really depends on your investment savvy. Keep in mind that a money market fund offers less of a growth potential than a traditional mutual fund.

Often times, you can actually end up losing money with money market investing if the growth rate doesnt keep up with the inflation rate. Therefore, you definitely want to be sure that his is the best option for you before investing.

As always, it is highly recommended that you do your own research, become financially savvy, and be able to make your own investment decisions. If, however, this isnt possible, then a money market account may be the way to go for you.

For more info on how to buy stocks, and tips for investing in the stock market, visit http://www.stock-investing-tips.com, a popular site that teaches how to make a fortune from your investments.

Overseas Property Investors Beirut Could Be The Answer To Your Dreams

Once known as the party and culture city of the Middle East Lebanon's capital Beirut is now the place overseas property investors are looking toward. The image etched in the minds of Europeans for example is that of a war torn Beirut. Its now time to think again as the region now offers great prospects for property investors. Beirut's low property prices combined with new inward investment make it to set to be a good place to invest.

Beirut the capital.

Beirut is benefiting from investment from abroad and is undergoing a major face lift. The new construction boom is taking place and will help Beirut return to its former glory. This property boom is being fuelled by expats and overseas buyers who have already seen the great potential in this region.

Developers are heading Beiruts way.

Damac Properties is investing in the region with a $150m real estate venture called La Residence a 27 storey luxury tower designed by Ivana Trump. Other developers have also seen the potential and Beirut will be offering off plan investments to investors world wide.

Tourism is set to increase.

The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) are upbeat about the future of tourism in Lebanon. Lebanon's travel and tourism industry is expected to generate $4.4 billion in revenues in 2006, rising to some $8.7 billion in 2016. The report expects the Lebanese travel and tourism industry's activities to grow by 6.2 percent in 2006 and 4.4 percent per annum, in real terms, between 2007 and 2016. It added that tourism is expected to rise from 10.9 percent of Lebanon's GDP, or $2.4 billion, in 2006 to 14.4 percent, or $5.5 billion, in 2016

Beirut's education system is impressive.

Beirut has important universities targeted from major Arab countries seeking for certain level of education. The most notable is the American University of Beirut (AUB); others are the American Lebanese University (ALU), Beirut-Arab University, and the Lebanese Maronite University. Lebanon today is facing an unprecedented property boom with property prices soaring.

Beirut's nightlife is electric.

Beirut is a party town with bars and nightclubs open to the early hours. It has a social feel of Ibiza and New York City its people exhibit an overwhelming thirst for life. Visitors are spoilt for choice and wealth is in the air with some exclusive places to dine and dance.

Beirut's stock exchange.

After eleven years of absence, the Beirut Stock Exchange returns with vigour. The stock exchange is set to play an important role in attracting investment to Lebanon. The Beirut exchange has optimism in the future. Foreign interest in Lebanon was shown at meetings with the International Monetary Fund in Madrid.

Overseas investors.

All property investors know that part of your profits is made on the purchase price. Beirut's low prices and apparent sound financial future make it a place that overseas investors need to examine.

Copyright 2006 Nicholas Marr

Written by Nicholas Marr CEO of Marr International Ltd a UK based property marketing company that run one of Europe's fastest growing overseas property web sites at http://www.homesgofast.com

Forex Trading Strategy - 6 Simple Steps To Success

If you want to win at forex trading you need a forex trading strategy that can help you enter the elite 5% that make money and avoid joining the vast majority of losers. This article is all about devising a forex trading strategy for success in 5 simple steps.

1. Accept Responsibility

The first point to keep in mind is that you are responsible for your own success if you think you can buy success from a vendor for a few hundred dollars - you are going to lose.

Only you can make yourself successful and this means you have to develop your forex strategy on your own. The good news is, everything about forex trading can be specifically learned and is free on the net.

2. Learn the RIGHT knowledge

Forex trading is all about learning the right knowledge This is an important point, many traders simply think the more the better in terms of knowledge, but this is simply NOT true.

You get rewarded for results in currency trading and the accuracy of your trading signals, not the effort you make.

Your forex trading system that you use in your trading strategy should be kept simple and easy to understand. This way, ensures it will be robust in the face of ever changing market conditions.

Simple systems work far better than complicated ones and have the added benefit of being easy to understand by you This means that you will have the confidence to follow it with discipline.

3. Deciding Your Methodology

You will need to decide if you want to a technical or fundamental trader.

By far the easiest is to be a technical one and use forex charts to spot trading opportunities. You need to get the odds on your side and this means NO forex day trading! It doesnt work, as all short term volatility is random. Instead, base your forex trading strategy on swing trading, or long term trend following.

Both these methods will work and the one you choose is personal preference.

You then need to have a clear understanding of support and resistance and some momentum indicators to help you get into trades ( this is covered in our other articles )essentially you need to confirm price momentum is on your side when you trade. Finally, learn the concept of breakouts its a timeless very profitable methodology.

4. RISK and Money Management

If you dont like risk dont trade forex markets. Most traders dont understand risk and are so frightened of it, they end up being to cautious and lose. If you want to make money you need to take calculated risks, at the right time. You need to have the courage of your conviction. If you come into forex trading thinking you can risk 2% of your equity and make money do something else, as you will lose.

5. Trading is in the head

Most traders fail because they cannot obtain mental discipline, to follow their forex trading system through bad periods i.e. they lack discipline due to lack of confidence.

If you develop your forex trading strategy yourself, you will understand exactly how and why your system works - this will instill confidence and from confidence flows discipline. Keep in mind if you dont have discipline to follow your system you have no system!

6. Realism

Sure people get rich quickly but thats the norm for most currency traders. You need to have a realistic forex trading strategy and that means aiming for 50 100% per annum. If you can achieve this you will be up there with the best and this will compound to a lot of money over time.

REMEMBER!

You dont need to buy any material to construct your forex trading strategy, its all free online. You just need to research it and avoid people telling you that you can buy success from them, for a few hundred dollars you cant, there are no shortcuts. The good news is, everything about forex trading can be specifically learned and you can do it all on your own, if you are prepared to put in a little time and effort.

GRAB 3 X FREE TRADER & FREE TRADER PROFITS NEWSLETTER

More on becoming a profitable trader some critical FREE Trader PDF's and more FREE Forex Education visit our website at http://www.net-planet.org/index.html

Does Value Investing Still Work?

The essence of technical analysis involves studying of past financial market data to forecast price trends and make an investment decision based on this. Technical analysis only takes into consideration price behavior of the market. Unlike in value investing, technical analysis doesnt care about the value of a company.

What's the use of analyzing past market data when the market is random. There can be a 50% chance of going up and another 50% of going down, why do we still need to study Technical Analysis.

As I explained in the earlier article about how psychology affects investment, investors move in a crowd approach (causing a trend) and this cause support (lowest price point of this trend) and resistance (highest price point of this trend) levels to be formed until something drives the stock higher or even lower.

Technical analysis is useful only if you want to 'predict' short term stock performance. Technical analysis is not so useful in predicting long term stock performance.

In a short run, stock prices are the effects of the actions of investors and , the prices are governed by intrinsic value of underlying business and past price movements and current or future news and rumours affects the decision of investors.

Even though technical analysis is not beneficial in a way to long term investors, i still believe its important to keep an open mind when it comes to investing and to read and learn as much as possible.

To summarise, value investors basically follows the below criterias when identifying potential stocks
1. Undervalued stocks
2. Low Price/Earnings ratio
3. Low Price/Cash flow ratio
4. Low Price/Book value ratio
5. Sound financial statements, low long term debt. The company must have enough cash flow to pay its long term debt with 3 financial years
6. Positive earnings in an upward trend
7. Strong management team and strategy
8. Competitive advantage of a company

How is technical analysis useful to value investors? Value investors can use technical analysis to identity investments who are over speculated. Over speculated stocks are hardly undervalued. They are usually overvalued due to the overcrowded speculation. Now, lets look back at rule number 1 of value investing, to identify stocks that are overvalued and have strong potential.

Now value investing is becoming too popular as its backed by Warren Buffett's success and everyone is learning and using the system of value investing. Do you still think value investing techniques will stick work since there are more people using value investing? I believe it will still work in some extend as we are dealing with long term investment as compared to short term investment. The criterias that we have identified for valued stocks for ways of identifying good companies. Good companies = strong financial potential and growth.

If you have any comments about the future of value investing, do drop me an email at keith@bewarrenbuffett.com More articles available at http://bewarrenbuffett.com

Success Trading: Yet More Basic Terminology for New Traders

In this day and age of online brokers for virtually every market out there, there are some very useful tools that will help protect your account and lock in profits when you have them. It is our recommendation that you use a good online broker and take advantage of not only the low commissions they offer, but also the automated tools that are available. These tools are virtually idiot proof if you use them. The number one reason that peoples accounts go belly up in the markets is because they lack the discipline to stick with their trading plans and let emotions drive their trading decisions. This approach is a guaranteed way to lose in the markets. Oh, you might get lucky on occasion, but eventually the market will take your money. Let discuss some of the trading tools were talking about.

Stop Loss Also called a stop, this is the price at which your position will be automatically closed. If you buy IBM at $50 per share, and then enter $45 as your stop level, then your position will be sold when the price hits $45. So this enables you to protect your account from a large loss. Bear in mind, however, that this stop level only triggers the closing of the position and doesnt guarantee youll get out at that price. A quick price drop might mean your order was executed at $42 instead of $45 because of market volatility but this would be an extreme case. Also, if you carry the position overnight and IBM opened at $40, then thats the price it would be sold. Keep in mind that if you had shorted IBM at $50, then your stop would be placed above $50 to protect your account. When the stop is triggered on a short position, you would be buying to cover the position.

Buy Stop The description above pertains to a sell stop, but there are also buy stops that can be very useful. These are used to enter a position at a certain point. Suppose youre using a trading system requires that you buy when a stock breaks above a certain price level. Lets say that you are waiting for IBM to break out of a channel and to do so, it would need to reach $51. In this case, you simply place a buy stop at $51 for the number of shares you desire and your online brokers system will buy that for you automatically whenever IBM hits $51. The only thing you would have to do and check back occasionally to see if the order has been filled.

These two tools, the sell stop and buy stop are invaluable to traders especially those who are just starting out. Make this a habit from day one in your trading ALWAYS place a stop loss immediately after getting an order filled. Obey this rule and the market will never hurt you very badly youll take a hard sting every now and then, but youll stay alive to come back another day!

Chuck Cox is a Technical Writer and Industrial Scientist by professional with a background in statistics. He has used mathematical and statistical methods to invest and trade in the stock, futures, and options markets. Chuck has owned various businesses and presently operates several websites. To learn more about trading the markets, visit his website, http://www.earncashathometoday.com/trading-stocks.htm