day trading

Global Forex Trading The Easy Way to Make Money

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

Global forex trading was founded in 1997 and is today one of the worlds leading providers when it comes to forex real time trading. Global forex trading offer you the chance to deal in real time online currency trading that is making millions of forex brokers rich each day.

Global forex trading serves over 100 countries, using its DealBrook FX2 software and 24 hour market access with one of the highest levels of customer service available in the forex trading industry. With Global forex trading forex brokers have access to pricing for more than 60 currency pair and excellent analytical services from renowned experts. There are up to the minute currency news bulletins and advanced forex charts available. Global forex trading boasts that they provide the only forex trading platform that is suitable for both beginners and professionals.

Forex Trading Advantages

The forex trading market is open 24 hours a day and is today the most liquid market in the world. With forex and the available leverage strategy you can use 100 to 1 leverage which in turn reduces the need for large amounts of capital to be placed in your account. Forex trading is also commission free and trading is available on more than 60 currencies worldwide. Another advantage of forex trading is of course the fact that it is global and there are not restrictions placed on shorting which means that you can enjoy your profit opportunities no matter what the market condition.

Prior to reading this information you may have assumed that forex trading was only available for large investors but thanks to Global forex trading smaller transactions are now available which allows all traders to take part giving everyone the opportunity to profit from forex trading. Dont you think its time you started profiting?

Our mission is to gather all Forex info on one place. Find it only on the Forex trading strategies and info website. All about forex trading on LeanderNet - http://www.leandernet.com

The Forex Trader Failsafe Checklist

2007-11-02T13:42:00.000-07:00

The Forex market can lure the novice Forex trader into trading scenarios that appear very attractive at first glance but turn very quickly into a losing trade.

Many a Forex trader will relate to this experience:

Price has been in a consolidation channel for one or two hours.

You place an entry order to get taken in at the top or bottom of the channel.

Within a few minutes your trade is in and within a few minutes more you are looking at a loss of -10 pips, then -15 pips, and then your stop gets taken out.

Price hardly moved for hours but as soon as you got into a trade you were taken out within minutes for a loss leaving you bewildered and muttering, "What happened?"

In the early stages of gaining trading experience, it is good for the novice Forex trader to go by a checklist every time before entering a trade until certain habits become ingrained.

Just having a procedure in place that has to be executed before pulling the trigger on a trade can prevent the Forex trader from quickly entering a trade just because there are some sudden movements on the screen and the trader is worried about missing an opportunity.

Yes, disciplining oneself to take time and go through a checklist first may mean missing some good opportunities occasionally. On the other hand, it will prevent having losing trades frequently.

For a very cautious approach to trading the newer Forex trader can use this Failsafe Checklist to determine whether the potential trade setup is likely to be high probability or low probability.

FailSafe Checklist

Avoid Going Long If:

There is negative divergence on MACD on the 4 hour, 1 hour, or 15 minute chart.

MACD on the 4 hour or 1 hour chart is pointing down.

Price is well above the Central Pivot Point for the day in a Sell Area. (For a free pivot point calculator go here: www.vitalstop.com/Forex/pivot-point-calculator-download.html)

Price is below the 200 EMA (Exponential Moving Average) on the 4 hour and 1 hour chart but above the 200 EMA on the 15 minute chart. (With this setup on the 3 times frames price is bucking the overall trend and can turn against you at any time.)

Price is above a Fibonacci 50, 62, or 79 retracement (calculated from the last high and low)

Your stop is not below multiple layers of support such as a significant previous high or low, pivot point, or Fibonacci level.

Avoid Going Short If:

There is positive divergence on MACD on the 4 hour, 1 hour, or 15 minute chart.

MACD on the 4 hour or 1 hour chart is pointing up.

Price is well below the Central Pivot Point for the day in a Buy Area.

Price is above the 200 EMA on the 4 hour and 1 hour chart but below the 200 EMA on the 15 minute chart.

Price is below a Fibonacci 50, 62, or 79 retracement (calculated from the last high and low)

Your stop is not above multiple layers of resistance such as a significant previous high or low, pivot point, or Fibonacci level.

The Most Important Lesson Of All

Implementing this Failsafe Checklist strategy may reduce the number of trades the Forex trader participates in. However, here an important lesson is learned - patience! Waiting for a high probability setup can make many demands on a Forex trader's mental resources and emotional strength.

This is probably the most important lesson the new Forex trader will have to learn. Using a Failsafe Checklist like the one above can make the Forex trader slow down, engage in thorough analysis using the technical indicators available, and really start to make progress as a trader.

Why not print off the Failsafe Checklist and keep it beside the computer for consultation before pulling the trigger on any trade?

For additional tips on using the MACD indicator for safe trading click here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Advisor/forex-strategy-MACD-save-anxiety.htm

The powerful 200 EMA strategy - easy for developing traders:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Advisor/200EMA-forex-strategy.htm

For a free pivot point calculator, Fibonacci calculator and the best free economic calendars click here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/tools.html

How Genuine Are Online Savings?

2007-11-02T00:15:00.000-07:00

When buying goods online are we buying genuine bargains or being suckered in by a marketers ploy?

Buying online is a big saver over traditional shops as retailers save on overheads of stores and staff and can bring to the consumer brand goods at dramatic savings.

Larger online suppliers with massive buying power can often beat the small firm on price as well as delivery and service making the end buyer well pleased.

Buying brand name products for sure offers massive discounts but buyers need to be sure they deal with established and reputable suppliers - a 75% saving means nothing if the goods never arrive.

Presenting discounts can be offered in several ways and not all are as genuine as they may seem

20% off today only (tomorrow it may be 30% off!!)

50% off (for all orders over 100 USD - in very small print)

Buy 1 get 1 free ( is 50% off but sounds a better deal )

Buy 2 get 1 free (33% discount but FREE is a strong attraction)

Offer closes xxxxx (only to be replaced by another deal, or a later date)

Massive clearout sale ( prices are not reduced much, or are end of line, damaged, returns etc)

Buying by auction has many attractions too where second hand goods are resold on a bidding system when the highest bid wins. Since goods are often being sold by private advertisers quality and delivery must be suspect unless the seller has a high feedback rating which takes time to build.

Many online retailers use a DROP SHIP method of supply, in that they carry no stock themselves but pass on orders to the actual supplier and stock holder who ships the goods direct to the buyer. Any complaint may be hard to pin down and the buck may be passed from seller to supplier - read the terms of business for all suppliers whom you have never dealt with before.

In recent times the ultimate in online savings are to offer goods using a swap or trade system especially for used items. Under this system you swap YOUR surplus item with another of the sites members who wants what you have and they in turn have what you WANT. Until the site has a large stock of offers matching needs with wants may be a problem.

An alternative proving popular is trading for points - you set your item for a number of points and earn a credit for a trade with another of the sites members. Then later you can SPEND your points on "buying" something you want - bonus points can also be earned by referring members to the system or you can "buy" points. All it costs buyers is postage so the buyer gets goods as such for free. "Sellers" need to take the plunge with offering goods as such for free until they build up a credit points balance they can then spend.

In the end saving is no saving at all you are usually SPENDING MONEY in one way or another - even a 85% costs you 15% - so make sure you buy only what you need, rather than just because it was cheap, and on an "unrepeatable deal".

Maurice S Clarke is founder of the wearable goods trading web site http://www.whatweusedtowear.com and lives in Rugby, UK. This article may be freely republished provided it remains intact.

Forex Trading Systems - 95% Lose As Their Curve Fitted Here's How To Spot Them

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

Forex trading systems are hot, you will see them everywhere - all promising you big gains. The vast majority fail to deliver and the reason is curve fitting. If you dont know what it is read on.

Definition

Curve fitting is using past data and bends the rules of the system, to fit the data and make it profitable.

Because the rules of the system have been bent on a snapshot of past data (keep in mind markets never repeat themselves exactly) it is curve fitted and chances are it will lose in real time trading.

This is really like shooting at a barn door with a gun and then drawing a bulls-eye around the shots AFTERWARDS, making them all bulls-eyes!

Hypothetical Illusions

The fact is most forex trading systems dont have a real time track record, they only have one done in hindsight.

Now making money in hindsight is easy, especially if you curve fit it, but of course trading without knowing the closing prices is much more difficult!

Most forex system vendors know there systems dont work and rely on curve fitting and hyped advertising copy to sell their systems then the forex trader wipes himself out and wonders why!

You take a loss and the vendor makes a guaranteed return selling you a junk system they dont even trade themselves!

So How Do You Spot Curve Fitting?

Well when you see a hypothetical track record, be on your guard straight away and look for the following:

1. Lots of indicators and lots of different rules (often with different rules and parameters per currency)

2. Look for a track record with extraordinary growth and absence of drawdown.

A system that exhibits the above will be curve fitted.

Dont Fall For The Hype

Really you shouldnt bother trading forex trading systems which use hypothetical track records but if you want to examine the logic, rules and parameters closely.

Many vendors also keep their rules and parameters secret and dont even tell you what they are - dont even consider these black box systems. most of the time they just make the track records up.

For some reason forex traders take hypothetical records seriously, but there not really worth anything unless you can study them and see their not curve fitted and believe me most of them are!

Play Safe

Vendors who have to use hyped advertising copy and a hypothetical track record generally dont have a product worth considering ONLY deal with vendors of forex trading systems who can back their claims up with a real audited track record over 2 years or more.

After all If they dont have the guts to trade their own system and prove it's worth why should you?

Would you take driving lessons from someone who couldn't prove they could drive? Exactly.

Next time you think of buying a forex trading system, check it out and the chances are its curve fitted and this makes you odds on to lose if you use it.

Play safe only use a system that has a real time track record.

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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

Stock Dividend Record - What is a "Dividend Record" Where Can I Find It?

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

For those stock investors who may not know this, the Standard Poor or popularly known as (S&P), is a leading provider of independent investment research, market ratings as well as stock market indicators.

Standard & Poors (S&P) Dividend Record provides comprehensive information on dividend payments and corporate actions of over 22,000 equity securities.

It is available through S&Ps Data Services for a fee. S&P is widely accepted as the world leader in independent investment research. The information focuses on cash and stock distributions and consequences these will have on taxes. Mergers and acquisitions affecting dividend payments, redemptions, outcomes of stockholder meetings are also detailed.

Dividend Record focuses on companies listed on American and major Canadian exchanges, as well as selected foreign stock issues.

The information is accessible through the Internet direct from S&P. Information from Dividend Record can be used to research individual companies, market sectors, market indices, or the market as a whole. Emerging trends can be studied from the data. Even though the information isnt free, reports about the latest Dividend Record are widely reported every time the quarterly versions are published.

Mergent also publishes its version called, appropriately, Mergents Dividend Record.

Another use of the term dividend record has to do the date a company actually makes announced dividend payments. This record date is important because shareholders on record on that date will be paid. For example, a company would announce that it will pay a dividend on April 1 to shareholders on record as of March 15.

Don't miss the exciting tips on stock market trading and insiders information of finding divided record when you visit http://www.tradingsphere.com, the premier online stock trading portal and resources.

Learn Forex Trading - Learn This Essential Fact First To Succeed

2007-11-01T16:51:00.001-07:00

In this article we are going to look at one essential fact you need to succeed when trading currencies. If you understand it, you can will be taking your first step to learning forex trading correctly and achieving forex trading success the fact you must understand is:

The ratio of winners to losers hasnt changed in 50 years - 95% lose and 5% win So what you may say?

Well think about it:

The ratio of winners to losers has stayed the same and this is despite the increased power of computers in terms of data analysis and forex analysis programs, data analysis, better and more timely news sources and a huge amount of experts wanting to help you.

Doesnt this fact strike you as odd?

All these advantages! Yet the bulk of traders still find their currency trading strategies lose.

Well there is a simple reason why and its an essential part of your forex education:

Forex trading is relatively simple and is as much mindset, as it is a good currency trading system, so learn the points below and you will be able learn forex trading correctly and succeed:

1. Simple systems work best

There is a temptation to devise complicated forex trading systems - after all computers can help you do it easily, but the fact is this will help you lose.

A complicated system has more elements to break a simple system is best as it is more robust.

2. News is the enemy

Today there is a lot of news and its presented well - all those convincing arguments!

All great to hear or read but it will simply help you lose - news is discounted in seconds so it wont help you as the market looks to the future.

3. Volatility Has Increased

The volatility of currency trading has increased with faster communications.

This means you have sharper counter trend moves to deal with and the big challenge today is dealing with it this has actually made currency trading success harder!

4. The myth of the expert

In todays society we consult experts on everything, yet currency trading is one area an expert wont help you.

The fact is success comes from within no one is going to give it you.

Many traders buy worthless e-books for hundred dollars or so and believe the hype and these guys can help dream on.

They present great marketing copy and normally claim great success with no substantiation whatsoever and never have a real track record to back up their claims, just a worthless simulated profit in hindsight.

If you want to win, ignore them and find your own way.

Trading the truth

The market price is always right, only you can be wrong and it moves as and when it wants to.

To win you have to create a set of rules to lead you to currency trading success, have confidence in them and the discipline to execute your trading signals.

Most people cant take responsibility for their actions, lose and blame the markets or others for their losses but in reality its their fault.

Most people simply dont have the mindset to win and thats as true today as 50 years ago.

You just need to learn forex trading the right way and this article has given you something to think about and a valuable bit of forex education.

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Point and Figure Charts- Part One

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

You may have seen something on some stock sites that looks like what a football coach would have on his chalkboard; a mix of X's and O's. Maybe it's hugs and kisses for Valentine's Day. Or, perhaps, it's a new form of multi-level tic-tac-toe. The correct answer is "none of the above". It's a form of tracking stocks called a Point and Figure Chart.

Point & Figure (P and F) charts are made up of columns of X's and O's that display filtered price movements over time. Some of the benefits of using P&F charts instead of the more traditional bar or candlestick charts are:

Getting rid of the tiny, insignificant price variations that often make bar charts appear 'cluttered'

Removing the tricky distortions of time from the analysis process, to give a clearer picture of what's really going on with the stock

Make locating support/resistance levels much easier,and make trend line recognition a 'cake-walk'

Enable the user to concentrate on the important long-term price developments

The Point & Figure method of chart analysis has been utilized for many years. Before the wide-spread, almost universal use of computers, P & F charts were invaluable to stock trackers. In just a few minutes, using only graph paper, a pen or pencil, and the stock quotes from the newspaper, P&F chartists were able to update and analyze 25, 50, even 100 charts each day! In the late 1980's, computers came into universal use by stock trackers. Using computers made it much easier to create bar charts. As a result, P&F charts began to disappear. Recently, however, P & F charting is undergoing a "Renaissance", and is once again growing in popularity, as investors look for simpler and better ways to select stocks. Even in the world of the stock market, "less is more".

For more information, please visit: http://www.alphatrader.com

Dottye is a Realtor, an Internet Marketer, and a published Author of three books, and several short stories and songs. For more information, please visit: http://www.alphatrader.com

The One Predictable Thing About Technology

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

... 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

2007-10-12T19:47:00.000-07:00

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

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

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

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

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!

2007-10-12T15:27:00.000-07:00

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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.

Approaches to Investing

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

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!

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!

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

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

2007-10-11T19:59:00.000-07:00

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

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

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

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

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

2007-10-11T15:51:00.001-07:00

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!

The Bubble-Rooter

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

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.

Financial Planning Strategy for Early Retirement

2007-10-10T13:21:00.000-07:00

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

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

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.

Dividend Reinvestment Plans: Investing on Automatic Pilot

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

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

Why Get Involved in FOREX Trading

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

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

2007-10-09T20:47:00.000-07:00

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.

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

2007-10-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

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?

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

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

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

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

Trendline Forex Entry Signal - Two High Probability Setups

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

A reliable Forex entry signal usually involves a combination of factors which all come together at the same time.

No single indicator can provide the ideal entry level and the new Forex trader has to grapple with this stark reality. Many find this hard to accept and spend countless weeks and months and hard earned cash in search of what could be termed the 'holy grail.'

Learning to trade the Forex is hard work and needs to be treated like a business, the same as any other business. It requires a large investment of time, energy, mental discipline, and a cautious investment of cash until the necessary skills are acquired.

Trendlines are just one of the tools seasoned traders use along with other indicators to provide a reliable Forex entry signal.

Here we spell out two distinct ways in which trendlines can be used safely. Using a higher time frame candlestick chart such as a 60 minute, 4 hour, or even daily chart, a trendline is drawn along the most significant lows in an uptrend or across the most significant highs in a downtrend.

1. Momentum Combo

As price moves upward in an uptrend or downward in a downtrend, it will retrace and bounce off the trendline at certain times. However, using a trendline bounce by itself as a Forex entry signal is too risky. There have to be other factors.

Once you have drawn the trendline you now have a graphical representation of price movement and you will be able to see where price has to retrace to test the trendline once again.

Now use other indicators to see if that level where price would need to retrace to test the trendline combines with other factors.

Calculate your daily pivot points and draw horizontal lines on your chart to mark them.

Run your eyes left on the chart and note if there were any significant highs or lows that formed support or resistance within the last few days. Support and resistance on higher time frames usually provide more substantial reference points.

Use the Fibonacci tool on your charting software and mark retracement and/or extension levels on a variety of swing highs and lows and see if any intersect the trendline.

Also make sure you have the 200 EMA (Exponential Moving Average) line shown on your charts and note whether this also intersects near or at the trendline.

Now if you have a combination of two or three of the above indicators meeting at the same place you have now identified a Forex entry signal that can be regarded as high probability.

Put in your entry order to be take in long at this point where the trendline intersects with the other indicators and set a reasonable target limit for what probably will be a profitable trade.

For a downtrend, simply use the above indicators going the other way.

2. Break Combo

The second way to identify a reliable Forex entry signal using trendlines is to watch for a break of a trendline on a higher time frame such as the 60 minute, 4 hour, or daily chart.

Some traders sent an entry order to go long or short once price has broken the trendline by a few pips. That works for some.

There is however a safer way to trade a trendline break.

It will be observed that often (not always, nothing is absolutely certain when trading the Forex) once price has broken a trendline and moved 15-30 pips, it will come back, retrace, and test the backside of that trendline.

This is where again you use the combination of factors mentioned in the previous strategy.

Look to see if the point at which price may come back to test the backside of the trendline coincides or combines with factors such as:

Pivot points

Previous swing highs or lows marking support and resistance

Fibonacci retracement or extension levels

200 EMA

Now when you place an entry order to be taken in at that level you are doing so on the basis of a clearly defined Forex entry signal.

For a graphical example of the above, see the resource box below.

Be aware that trading trendline signals on lower time frames such as 30 minute, 15 minute, or even 5 minute charts are very high risk trades. Price will break these short term time frames frequently during the course of a day and catch a new trader frequently by luring them into a trade they later regret.

Be patient and wait for things to setup as described in the two methods above for high probability trades triggered by a combination Forex entry signal.

For an actual trading example using the trendline strategy above click here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/trendline.html

Click here to learn how to use another indicator, the 200 EMA, in a simple yet powerful way:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Advisor/200EMA-forex-strategy.htm

For the best free economic calendars plus a free pivot point calculator and Fibonacci calculator click here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/tools.html

Venture Lending: Babson MBAs Get the Low-Down on Venture Debt Financing

2007-10-09T16:40:00.000-07:00

Recently, several students from the Babson College MBA program called requesting an interview. They were researching the venture debt market and wanted an insiders view of how this segment compares with venture capital. Their questions were thoughtful and I thought the discussion was worth sharing. An excerpt from the interview appears below:

Q. How does venture lending (VL) differ from venture capital (VC) as it relates to fund- raising expenses?

A. Fund-raising expenses in connection with venture loans are generally lower than for venture capital transactions. Legal fees are one of the largest expenses in many transactions. Lenders typically negotiate venture loan arrangements using their standard documents. Venture capitalists, however, usually use newly created stock purchase agreements. These agreements add considerable expense to these transactions since outside legal counsel is used. Other VC expenses include a more expensive and comprehensive due-diligence process.

Q. What about the flexibility of agreement terms?

A. It is difficult to compare the flexibility of terms between the two forms of financing. Flexibility can vary from lender to lender and from VC to VC. Generally, venture capital is a more flexible form of financing than venture debt since the proceeds are allowed to be used for many purposes. Usually, no collateral is required and there are fewer agreement covenants than lenders require. Venture loans often limit the use of proceeds to the acquired capital assets or for specific working capital purposes. Venture lenders usually require collateral and they may incorporate several covenants and conditions into their loan agreements.

Q. Are there VL companies that focus on segments other than technology or life sciences (e.g., retail, restaurants)?

A. There are not many venture lenders that specialize outside of those areas at present. The universe of venture lenders is relatively small, particularly in comparison to the VC industry. There are probably fewer than thirty U.S. firms that specialize primarily in venture lending or leasing. Most are involved in the segments that you mentioned.

Q. How much time does it normally take to get money from a venture lender? How many visits does an entrepreneur have to make to a venture lender before a final decision is made?

A. Most venture loans take at least thirty days to complete from the point of meeting the prospect to actual funding. Completion time can range up to sixty days or more, depending on the complexity of the credit. Most lenders will meet with the prospect a few times before committing.

Q. Can an entrepreneur continue window-shopping if a venture lender has started due-diligence?

A. Yes, but lenders frown upon shopping because of the time they commit to processing the transaction. The norm in the business is to bind a transaction with a commitment letter and fee. If the borrower/lessee continues shopping and chooses another provider, the fee is usually forfeited.

Q. Ideally, at what stage would an entrepreneurial company be considered safe for venture lending (e.g., a startup seeking the first round of financing or a company that already has a first equity round and is seeking a second round)?

A. Most venture lenders get involved after the company has successfully raised at least $5 million or more from a reputable venture capital sponsor - that is, after the A round.

Q. What are collateral requirements for a growth capital loan?

A. Collateral requirements vary. Some venture loans/leases are collateral specific. The lender requires collateral in the form of the equipment being financed. Other transactions are more flexible, allowing the proceeds to be used for general growth purposes and working capital. In the latter arrangements, the lenders may require an all-asset (blanket) lien on the borrowers assets.

Q. Would venture lenders invest in a company not sponsored by VCs? Are there any exceptions?

A. Generally, venture lenders invest only in companies backed by VCs or reputable investors with future capital to commit. The reason these sponsors are needed is that the enterprise usually is not approaching the point of profitability and will require additional funding rounds. There are exceptions and it depends on the other strengths of the credit. For example, a particularly strong cash position and strong collateral can entice a lender to relax the requirement of ongoing VC support as long as the lender has confidence in the management team. Other factors may also influence the decision.

Q. What are the top four or five characteristics that you consider before deciding whether to finance a startup?

A. We look for talented and experienced senior managers, strong VC sponsorship from reputable VCs, a compelling business plan and enterprise track-record since inception, an acceptable cash position and burn-rate, and acceptable collateral quality.

Babson MBAs: Mr. Parker, thanks so much for taking time to speak to us about venture lending. Your talk has given us an opportunity to gain valuable insight into this exciting industry.

George Parker: It has been my pleasure. I hope you find this information helpful and that you will consider venture lending as you form your career plans. Good luck in your research and give me a call if you need more information.

George Parker is a co-founder, Director and Executive Vice President of Leasing Technologies International, Inc. (LTI). A twenty-five year industry leader, George is a frequent panelist and author of several articles and e-books, including "Using Venture Leasing As A Competitive Weapon" and "101 Equipment Leasing Tips".

Headquartered in Wilton, CT, LTI is a leasing firm specializing nationally in direct equipment financing and vendor leasing programs for emerging growth and later-stage, venture capital-backed companies. More information about LTI is available at: http://www.ltileasing.com

Forex-Trading Foreign Exchange Using Risk Management Tools

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

Trading in the foreign exchange (FOREX) market offers both tremendous profits and substantial risks, as does many business opportunities. Have you ever wondered how you could trade the FOREX while controlling and/or reducing the risks involved? Has the fear of losing in a big way kept you from entering this fast-growing market? This article explains several steps you as a trader can take to better protect your investment in this dynamic marketplace.

For starters, understand that your long-term survival and ultimate success necessarily depend on a cautious approach to the market from the start. Among other things, this means that the percentage of margin put at risk in each trade must be reasonable. Within reason, limit the amount of money put at risk. Naturally, what is reasonable to one person may have a different meaning to the next person.

Regardless of the amount of available margin in the account of the investor, the percentage traded must not be so great as to significantly deplete the trading resources if a trade turns unfavorable. Many successful traders refuse to exceed one percent of the tradable margin when executing their orders, while others may go high as ten percent. Putting an amount higher than ten percent at risk would probably qualify as aggressive trading.

Because the amount of leverage applied to the trade can have a profound impact on the outcome, it is better to trade at a level of leverage that matches your trading experience, proficiency and style. Beginning traders may not fully understand that leverage is a double-edged sword, capable of enhancing profits as well as losses. A conservative application of leverage should certainly be the practice of every new trader.

As the proficiency and confidence levels grow, a higher level of leverage may be utilized. Many brokers offer online platforms which allow the trader to pre-select the amount of leverage sought. Depending on the broker, the leverage allowed may go as high 400:1. The average maximum leverage allowed by most online brokers is closer to 100:1.

Consider utilizing the built-in safety features such as the stop loss, trailing stop and limit to help control the risks. A stop loss is a feature offered by virtually all online trading platforms. It allows you to predetermine at which price level your trade will automatically closed if the market moves unfavorably against you. News traders and day traders will typically utilize a smaller stop loss as opposed to the wider stop favored by long-term traders whose positions may be open for several days or longer. A trailing stop will allow the stop loss to be moved in the direction of your profit and has the net effect of incrementally bagging your profits as the price movement continues to move favorably.

The limit provides a capping of the profits much in the same way that the stop loss minimizes the losses. Similarly, it automatically shuts the trade down once the predetermine threshold is reached by the moving price. It is quite advantageous in circumstances where the market experiences a major whipsaw or in the event of a disconnection from the brokers server or the traders internet service provider while the trade order is open.

The occasional loss aside, trading does not have to be a traumatic experience. As the saying goes, nothing ventured, nothing gained. Still, your trades must be properly planned, executed and managed. Utilizing the safety tools designed for the protection of your trading positions is a smart way to ensure your longevity in a business where so many fall by the wayside as a result of failing to understand and properly manage the risks.

Sandy Robinson, J.D.
Copyright 2007

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

SAS Update - Caporicci & Larson - San Diego, Orange County, Oakland, and Sacramento

2007-10-09T15:48:00.001-07:00

In May of 2006 the Office of Management and Budget issued a new revised supplement for OMB A-133. This revised supplement had several changes made to grant program narratives on the program requirements, which resulted in other parts of the compliance supplement also being changed. The changes range from minor verbiage changes to specific changes in program requirements as a result of Hurricane Katrina. A brief over view of the changes can be seen in Appendix V of the 2006 Compliance Supplement.

The major Program requirement changes were in the following parts of the supplement:

Part 3 - Compliance Requirements
Part 4 - Agency Program Requirements
Part 5 Clusters of Programs

PART 3
The significant change made in Part 3 was in Section D, which was the creation of a disaster waiver for Davis Bacon requirements as a result of Hurricane Katrina. On September 8, 2005, the President of the United States issued a proclamation suspending the Davis-Bacon Act for the payment of Davis-Bacon wages in areas affected by Hurricane Katrina. The waiver was rescinded as of November 8, 2005.

For further information and guidance on the disaster waiver refer to Appendix VI of the 2006 Compliance Supplement.

Another notable change made in Part 3 was in Section I (Procurement, Suspension and Disbarment). This section has been changed to clearly state the compliance requirements pertaining to procurements as it applies to the implementation of OMB Circular A-102 Common Rule and OMB Circular A-110, which was effective November 26, 2003.

Local governments and Indian tribal governments which are not sub-recipients of States will use their own procurement procedures provided that these procedures conform to applicable Federal law and regulations as well as the standards identified in A-102 Common Rule.

Institutions of higher education, hospitals, and other non-profit organizations shall use the procurement procedures that conform to applicable Federal law and regulations and the standards identified in OMB Circular A-110.

This section has also added procedures and references for identifying contractors who have been suspended and/or disbarred from participating in Federal award programs. This verification may be accomplished by checking the Excluded Parties List System (EPLS), which is maintained by the General Services Administration (GSA). For further information on EPLS refer to Part 3 Section I of the 2006 Compliance Supplement.

PART 4 This part of the 2006 Compliance Supplement mainly summarizes program requirements for various grants. These requirements are summarized and then organized and presented in the order of Federal agency and then CFDA number. The changes made to these programs range from basic verbiage changes to significant compliance requirement changes. The Following is a list of the Federal Agencies that have made changes to their grant programs:

Department of Agriculture (CFDA# 10.XXX)
Department of Commerce (CFDA# 11.XXX)
Department of Defense (CFDA# 12.XXX)
Department of Housing and Urban Development (CFDA# 14.XXX)
Department of Labor (CFDA# 17.XXX)
Department of Transportation (CFDA# 20.XXX)
Department of the Treasury (CFDA# 21.XXX)
National Foundation of the Arts and Humanities (CFDA# 45.XXX)
Department of Energy (CFDA# 81.XXX)
Department of Education (CFDA# 84.XXX)
Department of Health and Human Services (CFDA# 93.XXX)
Department of Homeland Security (CFDA# 97.XXX)
United States Agency for International Development (CFDA# 98.XXX)

If you have any grant award from any of these agencies you should review the list of grant programs listed in Appendix V of the 2006 Compliance Supplement to determine if any of the changes will affect the grants which have been awarded to you.

PART 5
As a result of the changes made in Part 3 and 4 of the Compliance Supplement the list of grant clusters were changed.

Appendices
As a result of the changes made in Part 3 and 4 of the Compliance Supplement the various exhibits, reference sources and explanatory information contained in the Appendices were changed.

Traditionally the Office of Management and Budget has reviewed OMB A-133 Compliance Supplement on an annual basis to assure that the information contained is as current as possible to assist in evaluating program compliance on federal award programs. These revisions are normally made available on their web site in May of each year. Therefore it is advisable to become familiar with the web site and monitor it for updates and other pertinent information pertaining to the Single Audit Act.

Brian Kelly is a Senior Auditor with Caporicci & Larson, a California-based CPA firm specializing in government compliance auditing. Their website can be found at http://www.c-lcpa.com/

Top 5 Technical Terms the Media Misuses

2007-10-09T14:59:00.000-07:00

It's time for people to start using proper technical terminology, especially people in the media. It's bad enough when a complete moron is trying to describe technology they know nothing about. It's even worse when the simple terms aren't used properly. Most journalists are guilty of these offenses and it's time we started getting it right.

1. The Internet and World Wide Web are not the same thing.
Recently, a TV news reporter reported "peer-to-peer programs allow users to download video and music over the World Wide Web". Kazaa, Limewire, EDonkey and most peer-to-peer applications don't use web technology at all. They go over an Internet connection and that is all. Need a definition to tell the two apart?

http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=world%20wide%20web
http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=internet

2. Palm Devices are not PalmPilots.
Palm devices haven't been titled PalmPilot in over 8 years now. It's time to stop calling them PalmPilot's. You can thank a lawsuit by the makers of the Pilot pen for this. They are to now be called Palm devices or Palm Treo, Palm V, Palm VII, Palm PDA, etc.

3. Cell phone's aren't cellular anymore.
Most phone companies don't use cellular technology anymore. Yet nobody uses the term "wireless phone". Calling today's wireless phones "cellular" is like calling a CD a cassette tape. Yes there are still some cellular networks, but why call a phone that doesn't use cellular technology a cell phone?

4. iTunes are not MP3's.
Although you can play MP3 music in the iTunes application, you cannot download MP3 files from the iTunes network. You'll also find that it's almost impossible to locate an MP3 player that you can use with downloaded iTunes music. Music from iTunes are in a completely different format than MP3. This is how Apple gets you to buy the iPod.

5. 56K modem dialup is not high speed.
Thanks to advertisers of dialup internet providers, the term "high speed" is used for 56k dialup modem connections. This was fine about 7 years ago. With today's DSL and cable connections available, these should now be called "high speed" now. If you're using a modem, just call it "dialup". Simply calling it "high speed" won't make it so.

This article is featured at Technipages where you can find articles and downloads related to anything technical.

Submit your own technical article or post a message at the Computer Help Forum to obtain free computer help.

Hedge Fund Advertising

2007-10-09T14:42:00.001-07:00

Have you seen all those big full page ads for hedge funds in the Wall Street Journal, the Financial Times, Investors Business Daily? You havent. Maybe they are being drowned out by the regular mutual funds who continually tell you how great they are.

Shucks! I forgot. Hedge funds are not allowed to advertise. I wonder why. Maybe they think that their potential customers are too dumb to know that hedge funds are a poor investment. Could be. The Securities and Exchange Commission is trying to protect investors I think?

To be able to buy into a hedge fund the smallest investor must have a net worth of $1,000,000 and an income of more than $200,000 per year. Maybe the SEC doesnt think these folks are bright enough to know a good thing when they see it.

There are other groups that are major investors with the hedge funds. Literally billions of dollars are invested by university endowments, charitable trusts, state and corporate pension plans. Could it be that they have a better return than regular mutual funds? Naw! The media would tell you wouldnt they?

The media is there to report the facts. It is hard to believe that just because a large portion of their income is from advertising revenues of mutual funds that they would be lax about this.

If you were a fund manager and your fund was under performing and it was reported in the local paper, TV, or radio would you pay them to carry your advertising? You sure would not want to be compared with performance of a hedge fund.

What is it that makes the difference of a standard mutual fund with a hedge fund? Why does the smart money gravitate to them? One word. Performance. A regular hedge fund manager is paid on HOW MUCH money he has in his fund and not on how much he makes for the investor. The hedge fund manager is paid a percentage of the PROFITS he makes for the investors. No profit means no bonus so he better do the job or he will be out of a job. Smart money moves. It moves to where the profit is being made.

The SEC will not allow standard mutual fund managers to be compensated in this manner. Their claim is that it will be too dangerous for the small investor. Hog wash! If a fund is losing money the little guy should be selling his current funds like the smart money and finding a better performing fund. None of the media recommend this to the little guy.

My guess is there are enough intelligent fund managers who would like to be paid for performance and would set up no-load funds to attract investors. The SEC seems to think more of the funds than they do of the smaller investors.

It is a shame you cant check the advertising claims of standard mutual funds against the returns of hedge funds.

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

Jim Rogers Forecasts Higher Oil - Gas and Uranium Prices

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

We talked, in a taped telephone interview at his home in Singapore, with Billionaire Jim Rogers, legendary commodities trader, who picked the bottom of the commodities bull market in 1999. With George Soros, Jim Rogers co-founded the Quantum Fund in 1970.

Over the next decade, Quantum Fund grew by more than 3,300 percent. Rogers retired, later a guest professor of finance at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, and still later circumnavigating the globe to firsthand discover new investment opportunities. He is widely and often quoted in the media about his views on the commodities market. Bestselling author, investment biker, adventure capitalist and widely followed, Jim Rogers talks about what he's now investing in.

StockInterview: In an interview with Reuters, about a month ago, you told the reporter that cleaner burning fuels, such as natural gas would out-perform oil. Do you still believe natural gas will perform well, comparative to the rest of the commodities in this bull market?

Jim Rogers: Oh, yes. As I said, the bull market is not over yet. The bull market has years to go, as far as I can see. Speaking specifically of natural gas, on a historic basis its much cheaper than crude oil, or even coal, at this stage. Its gotten whacked down because there has been a glut of natural gas in the U.S. anyway which is one of the main markets for natural gas. But longer term, natural gas production is declining in North America.

StockInterview: How does coalbed methane gas fit into this picture?

Jim Rogers: As long as its economic, it is a viable source of energy. You will see people using methane. Youll see people using lots of viable alternatives as the price of energy stays up and goes higher and higher.

StockInterview: Speaking of cleaner burning fuels, how do you feel about uranium and nuclear power? Both uranium and nuclear energy appear to be undergoing a renaissance.

Jim Rogers: Well, there is a revival of nuclear power. Nuclear power is cheaper than many other sources of energy, and so it is having a comeback, if you will. In many parts of the world, it never went away. The French never stopped using nuclear power. The Koreans never stopped using nuclear power. Other people are now coming to nuclear power. The Chinese are going to build at least 25 nuclear power plants in the next fifteen years or so. Even in the U.S., some of the environmentalists are starting re-examine nuclear power because it is cleaner than coal, or some of the other carbon based energy sources. If its controlled properly, then nuclear power can be extremely attractive, both cost-wise and environmental-wise. The huge stockpiles of uranium, which were built up during the cold war are being used, are being depleted. So, I see a great future for uranium and nuclear power.

StockInterview: Spot uranium prices have steadily risen for nearly six years without a correction. How do you look at uranium as a commodities trader?

Jim Rogers: Well, whenever something goes straight up for six years, without even a correction, one has to be worried. Obviously, corrections are normal in financial markets. Whether theres going to be a correction in the next year or two, I dont have a clue. More or less, it is following the oil market, as you probably know. If and when oil has a big correction, I suspect uranium will too. They dont necessarily move together, but to some extent they have and probably will. Until somebody brings a lot of new uranium on stream, though, the surprise will be how high the price of uranium stays, and how high it eventually goes. There arent any big uranium mines being opened anywhere in the world. Uranium is still worrisome to some people, so I would suspect it will take more than a decade to bring a new big uranium mine on stream, anywhere in the world.

StockInterview: Its been about twenty years since a new uranium deposit was discovered.

Jim Rogers: Thats what Im saying. It takes a long time. Expanding a mine is different from opening a new mine. There has been one lead mine opened in the world in 25 years. Some people are starting to expand production from lead mines and copper mines. But this idea of bringing huge new mines on the scene is just not happening anywhere in the world in most commodities. One reason is because in the last 25 years, unfortunately, nobody got an engineering degree. Everybody was getting MBAs in stocks and bonds. So, there is a huge shortage of engineers in the world right now; not just engineers, even workers to work in mines. All the people got old or retired or died out. And not only engineers and workers, you cant get tires for your tractors. You cant get tractors. Theres a shortage of everything because nobody has been investing in productive capacity. Youve got to have tractors. Youve got to have tires. Youve got to have engineers. Youve got to have everything to bring new capacity on stream. While there are shortages of all these things, thats why the bull markets last so long. Bull markets historically have lasted 15 to 23 years. This one probably will too.

James Finch contributes to StockInterview.com and other publications. StockInterviews Investing in the Great Uranium Bull Market has become the most popular book ever published for uranium mining stock investors. Visit http://www.stockinterview.com

Tyranosaurus Rex

2007-10-09T13:36:00.001-07:00

Everyone knows T Rex was the most fearsome of all dinosaurs. He could and did kill everything in his path for food or maybe stupid meanness. His brain was very small and he did not survive.

There is a T-Rex among us today and it is disguised, but it is killing us in another way. This T-Rex is killing and eating our retirement portfolios. You may have noticed your stock account has lost some of its value during the past 3 years. Something or someone is nibbling away at it. It has gotten so bad that many people dont even want to look at their statements every month. Is there a way to keep the beast, whatever its name, from completely eating everything? Yes, there is.

Currently there is an advance in the stock market and you have been told by the talking heads on CNBC-TV that the bull market has resumed and it is best to "put whatever cash you might have into the market. Dont lose this opportunity to make back what you have lost".

This is a very sneaky T-Rex. It is out in the bushes and it may not have seen you yet. If you still currently own any equities you want to protect them from the beast. If this is a new bull market you may want to participate. OK, buy something, but you must know where to run to hide should the T-Rex come out again. How?

Now, I said now, you must decide how much you are willing to risk from here, not where you were 3 years ago. Dont try to get even. You cant. As this market rises you should be following every stock you own with an open stop-loss order. It could be 8%, 10%, 15%. Whatever you feel comfortable with. Do not try to outsmart the beast. Listen for his return and have your protection in place so it will automatically be triggered when T-Rex returns.

None of us knows how long you will be able to graze in the green pastures. It may only be days, but could be months or longer. If you are cautious the monster will not get you. The market itself will tell you when to run for shelter. No guessing. That is the wisdom of a stop-loss protection.

Take a few moments to review your stock and mutual fund holdings of 2000. Look up the price at that time for each issue. If you had placed loss protection on each one how much would you have saved?

In a bear market the best offense is a good defense. Dont let T-Rex get you.

Setting Your Sites on Netpreneurship

2007-10-09T13:20:00.000-07:00

Building a home business takes several key factors in order to make it work. One crucial factor is Internet marketing that works to drive traffic to your site and customers to your virtual or brick and mortar door. There are several types of Internet marketing that can help grow your home business. These include affiliate marketing, advertising on other sites and newsletters, search engine optimization and writing articles for the Web. Your home business Internet marketing has to start with a great Web site, however. Your home business Web site is the focal point of all other Internet marketing you do. Without a Web site that promotes your home business and perhaps is even e-commerce enabled to take payments for and arrange delivery of your home business products all the other Internet marketing you do is just about worthless.

The first thing you should focus on, then, as you start your home business, is building a dynamic Web site. Lets look at the basic ingredients of a business Web site that works.

First you must have a business plan and that home business plan will be the guide youll use for your Web site. The site must have a purpose and that purpose should be to promote your home business. Without a home business mission and business plan, therefore, you wont have a Web site that succeeds. You also must know if your Web site is driving your business. More often than not new netpreneurs will set out with all the right equipment and ingredients such as bookkeeper, business plan and staff, but wont take the time or install the software that lets them track the progress their home business is making on the Web.

Thats always puzzling. Why go to the trouble of setting your home business up, making all the right moves to get started including Internet marketing and not put in place the programs and products that will let you know what worked? Sure, you might look at the bottom line and see that its gone from red to black and think you have no need to track further. But think about all the time and money youre spending. Would you and should you not want to know if the affiliate marketing is paying its way, or if the search engine optimization is the best place to put your money?

Yes, tracking the results of your Internet marketing is crucial to your marketing strategies and your expenses.

Your Web site design is crucial. You dont have to have the snazziest site on the Web unless of course, your business is selling snazzy site building services. But you do need a site thats attractive to look at, easy to navigate and offers a clear look at your products and service. You must identify yourself and provide easy to find contact information that includes physical address. Folks who come to your Web site from a distance cant come to your brick and mortar location to meet you. You might not even have a brick and mortar location. You must ease their trepidation about giving their money and personal information to strangers by personalizing yourself as much as you can.

Once you have your clear, attractive and easy to use Web site in place you can begin to promote through Internet marketing.

Peter Ris has a back ground in Economics. After working for 20 years in foreign exchange trading at major investment banks in a few of the main financial centers of the world, he retired to Spain back in 2001. Since then he worked as an investment consultant, web entrepreneur, and hotel manager http://retirewithpeterblog.com

United States Savings Bonds How Do I Calculate US Savings Bond Values?

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

A savings bond is a treasury security for investors. In essence, investors are loaning the government money. They are issued both as paper bonds and electronic savings bonds. They cannot be traded but can be redeemed after only one year. There are no dividends, per se, with a savings bond, as the interest payments are simply added on to the value of the bond, but as tax-deferred items, the interest doesn't have to be reported to the government until the bonds are cashed.

The value of a savings bond varies with the kind of bond purchased - series A, B, C, D, E, EE, F, G, H, HH, I, J and K. It also depends on when it is cashed and what kind of interest it has been assigned. Since 1935, the treasury has issued savings bonds in alphabetical progression. For example, series A bonds were offered the first year, Series B bonds followed in 1936, Series C ran from 1937-1938, and Series D were issued from 1939-1941. Series E bonds, longest running of the treasury savings bonds, ran from May 1941 until they were discontinued in 1980.

Series EE bonds were brought out in 1980 to replace the series E. They can be purchased at half or full face value. They come in amounts between $50-$10,000, and carry a maturity date of between eight to thirty years. Those cashed in before the fifth year are penalized three months' worth of interest. If EE bonds are purchased through a bank or other financial institution, it is also known as a Patriot Bond. There were more kinds of savings bonds, including the series F and G (which were offered to all investors except banks), series H, HH, Series I, J and K.

How do we calculate the value?

The value of a savings bond can be calculated by taking note of the face value of the bond, the interest rate from the time the bond was issued until the present time, and whether there are any penalties that have to be deducted. In addition, it is important to note that a bond that is issued at half the face value will be worth the face value at maturity, while a bond that is issued at face value is worth twice this amount at the time of maturity. Savings Bonds can also increase in value if they are redeemed past their maturity date, in which case the interest must be calculated on a year-to-year basis.

On http://www.bond-trading.org/ you will find articles on municipal bond investments and how do savings bonds work.

Finding a Credit Card That Fits Your Lifestyle

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

There are hundreds of credit card offers to choose from and chances are you already have one or more them. All of the credit cards offer some form of incentive whether it is a free flight or just a low annual percentage rate. Doing some comparison shopping up front will go a long way in finalizing you decision.

First there are a few key questions you need to ask yourself

Do you plan on carrying a balance? - Generally cards that offer reward incentives carry a higher APR, if you dont plan on carrying a balance then this does not affect you. Also many of the rewards programs have restrictions on them when you miss a payment or when your account is not in good standing.

Where are you going to make the majority of your purchases? - What do you use your credit card for? Is it general retail spending? Do you travel a lot? Depending on your spending habits it may be beneficial to hold multiple cards, one for travel and one for general spending.

Are you adding a card to your portfolio or replacing one? If you are looking to replace a card you currently have, you want to ensure that the new card allows balance transfers; you will also want to investigate the fees associated. Many cards offer a zero interest introductory rate on balance transfers. Some offer zero interest until the balance is paid off a very attractive incentive if you are transferring a large sum.

There are an array of reward programs to choose from however there are three main categories, miles, points and rebates.

Miles You earn Miles for airline ticket purchases or other predetermined purchases

These cards are designed for the frequent flyer. If you do not fly often and are hoping to earn a trip with one of these cards think again. Miles cards almost always have a $75 - $100 annual fee. By the time you earn a flight through retail spending you will have paid this fee a few times. Generally the airline associated with the card with offer double points when you fly with them.

People who use airline travel frequently can definitely benefit for this type of rewards program despite the annual fee.

Points You earn a predetermined ratio of points to dollars spent on purchases

Without a doubt this is the most popular of the rewards systems. With many variations, all of the points systems have one thing in common. In the end you are trading your points for a product or service the issuer makes available in their rewards program. Gift cards have become a popular points reward among the major issuers.

These cards are designed for people who do a lot of retail spending. If you have a favorite store find out if there is a credit card that will reward you for shopping there.

Rebates You are reimbursed a predetermined percent of your purchase

These cards offer the most straight forward rewards Cash back in your pocket. The general cash rebate cards offer around 1% - 2% on all of your purchases. Yours saving a percent on everything you buy with the card. Some offer introductory cash rebate percentages as high as 5%.

There are also more specific rebate cards for gas, hotel, auto, etcThis is and excellent way to track and control spending while receiving a rebate on frequently purchased products or services

If you want someone else to benefit from your spending there are also cards that offer charitable rewards for health related and environmental causes. When you make a purchase with the card a predetermined percent or amount is donated.

Keep this in mind. All of the rewards, points, miles and introductory rates are only as good as your credit habits. Missed payments often void your introductory rates and many times will negate the rewards you have earned. Always read the issuers detailed terms and conditions before applying for a card so there will not be any surprises

The best way to find a card that is right for you is through an online directory. You can browse and compare credit card applications from all of the major issuers

Bryan Dufresne - Freelance writer based in Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada

Your Retirement

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

You have completed the fixed years in your service and its time to retire or you have a business or a profession other than a job and you have decided its time to bid good bye. T he process starts a little bit earlier than you think. The preparation begins before. Preparation is done by two entities you and the government department responsible for handling retirements.

You prepare mentally to agree that you are old enough to rest and play with your grandchildren. Sometimes government does it for you. Prepare for the retirement before. It may be mentally, physically, emotionally, and socially. Plan for retirement and plan for afterwards. Your retirement planning includes how much money you want to have when you retire, what to do to get that much of money, where to invest when you get the money etc. In United States there is Social Security system to take care of the workers after their retirement. In India, there is no such organization or trust to look after you. You get your pensions from the respective departments. In some jobs you do not get pensions. After your retirement you get a good sum of money. Then what you do. Deposit it in the bank and occasionally take the needed money out.

Or fix a part of the money to get a double on that. You decide how much money you will need to live a good life after retirement. The total money needed can be calculated with the help of different retirement calculators available with the different companies. The amount will depend on many internal and external factors. Internal factors may include what is your earning and investment capability right now, how many years are there to your retirement etc. External factors are like inflation, rising living costs, any other adjustment etc. Pension plans are offered from various companies. Invest in such schemes after choosing carefully. You can invest in different schemes that are available with different companies. You can invest in shares and stocks, mutual fund, bonds or any other such investment options.

While investing you should see the return and the risk associated. For the money you get after retirement be very cautious. Investing in stocks is a quiet risky business. If you are totally familiar with the stock market then invest directly in stocks. But if are not familiar, but want to grow the money quickly then go for mutual funds. Bonds are less riskier. You income Interest Interest from the money you deposit in bank, bondsDividend from mutual funds investments, from investment in stocks. Retirement means you leave your job or your business to other after doing it for a fixed time. Retirement is the point where you stop employment. You generally retire upon reaching a determined age, when physical conditions don't allow you to work any more, or even for personal choice like having adequate pension or personal savings.

Retirement age

In most countries, the idea of a fixed retirement age is of recent origin, being introduced during the 19th and 20th centuries. Prior to that workers continued to work until death, or relied on personal savings or the support of family or friends. Nowadays there are systems to provide pensions on retirement, which may be sponsored by employers or the state. The retirement age varies from country to country but it is generally between 55 and 70. In some countries this age is different for male and females. The most dangerous or fatiguing jobs generally have an earlier retirement age In the India, while most view 60 as normal retirement age. But you may retire before then, because of certain causes such as job-loss, disability or wealth.

Support

When you retire, you may support yourself either through superannuation, pensions, or savings or take help from your family. In most cases the money is provided by the government by a scheme like social security. Sometimes you get pension from your private employer also. Early Retirement You can take early retirement at any age, but is generally before the age needed for eligibility for support and funds from government or employer-provided sources. Thus, if you retire early, you will have to rely on your own savings and investments to be initially self-supporting, until you start receiving external support from the schemes by state or your employer.You need savings for early retirement. Life after retirement Retirement changes your life. Your economical, social, physical, emotional state changes. You have a new life. Retirement might coincide with important life changes. You might move to a new location, for example a specialised retirement facility like assisted living, retirement home, nursing home, independent living etc. While selecting the living option, be extra cautious because you will be living there and you my not be able to change as and when you want to. Many people in the later years of their lives, due to failing health, require assistance, the highest degree of assistance is being provided in a nursing home. Those who need care, but are not in need of constant assistance, may choose to live in a retirement home. This gives the retired person some degree of freedom, yet with close-by medical assistance to handle emergencies.

How should you prepare for retirement?

The three major elements of your retirement portfolio are benefits from pensions, savings and investments, and Social Security benefits

Planning for your retirement

You should plan for your retirement. This planning will include when to retire, how much money you should have for future, what will be you retirement living source, in which options to invest money etc.Source of future finance is important. You may get money form your social security system or from your employer through the scheme like 401 (k) plans. In private schemes like 401 (K) plans you set aside money for future and you employer also may contribute or may not. So find out whether they contribute it or not. Then find out how much money you will receive from these two sources from the state and from private sources. Put aside maximum money possible in these schemes.Get all the information needed about Social Security eligibility and apply for it.

Social Security may be great help for you. Social Security planner provides detailed information about your Social Security retirement benefits under current law and points out things you may want to consider as you prepare for the future.

Information

When you still have time for retirement, find out about your retirement ages, the benefits, learn about Social Security programs. You may use benefit calculators to test out different retirement ages or future earning amounts.If you are already near retirement age, you can discover your retirement options, get information about how members of your family may qualify for benefits, find instructions on how to apply for benefits and what supporting documents you'll need to furnish, and then apply for retirement benefits. A comfortable and secure retirement is every worker's dream. And now you are living longer, healthier lives and so you can expect to spend more time in retirement than your parents and grandparents did. Planning retirement makes this dream possible for you.

Bikash is an MBA who works as an freelance writer. He worked for one of the best private banks in India. He has been writing for the last 5 years. He has worked with many US,UK and Indian clients.
Visit him at http://bikiassam.tripod.com

8 Stunningly Beautiful Exotic Woods

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

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

East Indian Rosewood

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

Leopardwood

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

Bocote

Find exotic woods and wood blank stock at our site.

Seven Deadly Trading Mistakes - Part Five

2007-10-09T10:18:00.001-07:00

By now you might be thinking that this trading business requires somewhat more effort than you first thought. And you would be right! In fact, that's the subject of todays lesson.

Mistake Number Five - Not Putting In The Required Effort

It's a strange phenomenon that seems almost unique to the field of internet trading; people believe that they can read a book, open an brokerage account, and start making huge amounts of cash just like that.

I used the analogy of an airline pilot in the last article, so lets continue with that theme here. Not many people would expect to decide on Monday that they wanted to fly long-haul airliners, buy and read a book on the principals of flight on Tuesday, and start work as a Captain on Wednesday. But with trading, such a short learning curve appears to many to be perfectly expected.

Whilst I certainly agree that, proportionally in relation to other activites day trading can provide much greater returns for much less effort, it nonetheless does require some effort to get going.

Trading, like any other skill, takes time and commitment to learn and become proficient. However, unlike many other skills, that time to become sufficiently adept need not be costly, or at the expense of existing obligations. In other words, a novice trader can learn the markets and practise their trading whilst continuing in their day-job, and without significant outlay.

Indeed I would advise any would-be trader to have a steady source of income when they start out. The absolute need to generate a profit can have a hugely detrimental effect on trading decisions.

A problem a lot of student traders I work with have is that they start out with a healthy dose of motivation, but when the going gets tough they start to lose interest. Suddenly it becomes too much like hard work. The first losing trades make for a powerful reality check. Motivation goes out the window, and plans to quit the day job are quietly forgotton about. Part of this problem is down to unrealistic expectations at the outset, and part is due to a lack of accountability. In a regular job, we're normally answerable to someone. If something doesn't get done, there's usually someone higher up the food chain ready to kick our butts.

When we're trading our own account, that concept no longer exists. We're only accoubtable to ourselves. For many people that's a first. The solution is to get back to that written trading plan. If the plan has been well thought out, it will include the all important mission statement, and perhaps a set of attainable goals. Re-reading these every day will help reinforce self-accountabilty and motivation.

Trading isn't difficult (something I'll talk more about in the next article), but neither is it an instant source of riches there for the taking. Like anything worthwhile, you get back what you put in. The difference between trading and other activities is that once you have mastered the skill, relative to the amount of time you spend "working" you will get back much more more than you ever put in!

About The Author
Harvey Walsh is both a trader and trading coach. He can be contacted via his website, where you can also read more about his day trading book - http://www.day-trading-freedom.com day-trading-freedom.com

Online Trading: Where Should I Start?

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

New to the trading scene? Overwhelmed by all the trading jargon out there and dont know where to start? Dont worry, you are not alone! Virtually all traders go through this experience! Allow me to share my opinion with you.

Where you should start depends firstly on your preference to risk. The tradable financial markets basically get split up into two main categories. The first category is Stocks or Shares and everything else I would classify as Derivatives, which include CFDs (Contracts for Difference), Options, Warrants and Futures (Indexes, Forex, Commodities, Currencies etc).

For those of you who have never traded before, I suggest you start off with trading plain and basic shares or the underlying stock. An example of this would be buying and selling shares in Microsoft. When you buy shares in Microsoft, you own a part of Microsoft. When Microsoft shares go up by $1, then you make $1 for every share that you have purchased in Microsoft. This flip side is also true. When Microsoft shares drop by $1, you lose $1 for every share you hold in Microsoft. Very Simple.

When you get into trading derivatives, the underlying method of trading is essentially the same. You will pick trades in the same way, exit trades in a very similar way, however, there is one major point that you must understand, and that is of leverage. Essentially, with a derivative product, you can control a much larger position size with the same amount of money. That being said, when a position goes in your favor, you make more money, however, when a position goes against you, you also lose more money. This is where money management rules become paramount. I will post an article giving examples of leverage at a later date.

Now that you understand a little about the types of products out there, how do you choose which one to trade. I cant offer you specific advice on that, but I can give you a little guidance.

I started off trading stocks in my home country, Australia. I feel that when you trade local stocks, you have a better connection with them. So if you are from the United States, go with the local markets. Likewise with anybody from any other country.

Initially, I believe you just have to get a feel for how the stock markets work. With a little experience in placing trades, you will get a feel for how volatile your local markets are, what the potential returns are, how frequent do trading opportunities come along and so on. Over time, you will better understand your preference for risk and your style of trading.

I would describe my style of trading as momentum trading. I dont try to pick highs and pick lows, as I believe that that is a very difficult thing to do. My trades range from a few days to a few months long. Trading is my full time job and I trade from home.

I have met many people who get started in trading but have unrealistic expectations to begin with, and lack the discipline to execute their particular trading plan.

My honest belief is that ALL trading systems work, provided they have been proven and tested. The only thing in the way is the human element. More on this topic in future articles.

Still confused? Still dont know where to start? Well, post a comment and I will do my best to steer you in the right direction!

By Peter Yin, http://www.TradingNewbies.com

Stock Market Trading Tip - Personal Balanced Stock Portfolios Guard Against Recession

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

Creating an evenly balanced investment portfolio by dividing assets among such diverse classes as stocks both foreign and domestic, bonds, mutual funds, real estate, cash equivalents, and private equity can help guard against recessions. Determining how much to invest in each asset group depends upon the investors individual situation and future needs.

Throughout most of American history it has been more profitable to invest in stocks rather than bonds. However, there have been times when stocks are unattractive compared to other assets. For example, right before the tech bubble burst in late 1999 these stocks had prices so high earnings yields were non-existent. The wary investor could have weathered this situation by diversifying stock investments into real estate investments or other types proven to be less risky.

Making major changes in ones portfolio should be done at various stages in the investors life. A young investor is less risk-averse, that is, he is less susceptible to market corrections for the simple fact that he has a lot of years left to make up for the losses. This investor is looking more to the long-term and wealth accumulation in the distant future. This investors portfolio would be mostly invested in the riskier assets such as carefully researched foreign and domestic stocks. Still, the young investor needs to have some balance to guard against market setbacks.

As retirement approaches, perhaps 10 years before, the investor should start diversifying holdings into income-oriented assets. These include government and corporate bonds that pay a fixed return rate on the investment. Certain blue chip stocks with long, proven track records of dividend payments can also be included as an income-oriented asset. Yearly, as retirement approaches, a larger percentage of the investors portfolio should be income-oriented until that total is 100% at retirement. After all, as an investor, the ultimate goal should be a comfortable retirement. Once at retirement the time to take risks is over and income must be guaranteed.

Discover stock market trading tips on approach balanced investing value when you visit http://www.tradingsphere.com - online stock portal for stock market valuation and performance reviews

Discount Stock Brokers

2007-10-09T09:12:00.001-07:00

Discount stock brokers are individuals offering services for a variety of trades at discounted prices. Their position permits them straight access to the share market. Discount stock brokers are ideal for those who know the trade industry well and do not need extensive information about the market. Since an investor can obtain high discounts, these brokering services are very significant.

Discount stock brokers do not provide any investment advice. They only arrange the stocks demanded at a discounted rate. The brokers take an order and do not make commission. In other words, discount stockbrokers earn money by selling massive amounts of stock. Their services also permit the shareholder to invest some savings back into the market for a return.

Technological advancement and the popularity of computers facilitate almost any business deal from home, via the Internet. Stock brokering is also pretty simple to do online. Several companies on the Internet allow users to sign up, complete the application process and start trading within a few days. The online stockbrokers are mainly discount online stockbrokers and full-service online stockbrokers.

Discount online stock brokers - licensed to trade in shares - are popular with today's online investors. They offer an execution service for a variety of trades with lower fees than the full service agencies. Before making a decision about investments, it is wise to contact several agencies requesting information on fees, because all online stock brokers are highly competitive.

Full-service online stockbrokers can provide far more stocks and products compared to discount brokers. They also help in all share related activities, such as buying shares, creating a safe investment portfolio, and investment advice. These service providers are mostly paid by commission, hence they will work harder to satisfy the investor.

An investor opting for a discount broker has to know the market industry well, since the agent does not provide advice on what or when to buy sell, or trade. The person should ideally possess knowledge in the market. A stockholder can work with multiple discount brokers at the same time.

Discount Brokers provides detailed information on Discount Brokers, Discount Commodity Brokers, Discount Stock Brokers, Discount Real Estate Brokers and more. Discount Brokers is affiliated with Mortgage Brokers.

Ten Tips For Buying Rental Properties

2007-10-08T23:40:00.000-07:00

Buying rental properties is a good way to increase your assets. However, choosing the right rental property will be challenging. Here are a few things to check for prior to buying rental property.

1. Location - Most people don't want to live in the boon docks. The location of your rental property will determine how easy it will be to rent. If you have a lot of vehicle traffic, you may receive a greater response from a sign at the location than you will from a newspaper add.

Tenants want to live in nice neighborhoods close to all the amenities. They want to be close to the schools, stores, recreational locations, hospitals, and work.

I haven't met anyone who wants to live in an undesirable neighborhood or drive 15 minutes for a gallon of milk.

2. Numbers - When buying rental property you want to check the numbers. Make sure you have all the expenses associated with that property and make sure it still has a positive cash flow.

Take into consideration the maintenance issues, any utilities not covered by tenant and amortize the cost of the big projects like furnace replacement, new roofing, siding or landscaping.

These projects only happen once every 15-20 years but you may be coming in to this in the 10th year of that cycle. Remember to calculate your expenses high and your income low. This can save you some surprises down the road.

Expect the unit to be empty at least one month per year due to turn over. You will have to repaint and clean the carpets the first 2 weeks, then advertise and show the next 2 weeks. You should only count on 11 months of rent per year.

3. Lower Maintenance Buildings - You want to avoid homes that will require expensive routine maintenance. Some examples would be homes that have cedar-shake shingles or siding, wood sided buildings, wood frame windows, brick driveways, cedar decks, etc.

Try to look down the road and determine the future maintenance needs. Remember the lower the maintenance the less headaches and larger profits.

4. Higher Home Prices - Check in towns with higher home prices, because this increases the demand for rental property. Look for the ugly house on the block that has a lower price, enabling you to purchase within the margins.

After some interior and exterior paint, a little light landscaping and new curtains, viola', a house that will get premium rent because of the class of neighborhood.

If people can not afford to buy a home in this class they will have to rent. This will create a demand for rental property.

5. Below Market Rent prices - When buying rental property, look for rental property which has rent prices that are below current market rents. This will allow you to raise the rent and increase the value of the property. As per above, this may just need a little fluff to enable raising the rental price.

Rental property market value is determined by the amount of income received by the rental property. However keep in mind, if the rental property has renters when you purchase it, they may not like it when you raise the rent. Also check to see what type of lease is in place. The lease goes with the sale.

If the current renter is paying a substandard price and has 1 1/2 years left on the lease it could turn out to be a losing proposition.

There is only one way to cut a lease short as a new owner. You must remodel the place. Check with the local housing commission to see what the minimum cost requirements of remodeling are for immediate eviction of current lease holders. It is usually as little as $10,000.00 in remodeling cost to get a remodeling eviction. By the way, you didn't hear this from me!

6. Good Rental History - Whenever buying rental properties, you must check the rental history. Check to see on average how long tenants are staying and do they pay their rent on time. Some areas of town are naturally quick turnover times. Near airports, loud bars or nightclubs, near military bases, etc.

7. Complies with Zoning and Fire Codes - Make sure you check to see if there are inspections required by local officials for rental properties and does this property pass those inspections. You never know the real reason the current owner is selling the property.

It may need extensive repairs to pass the inspections. A quick red flag would be if the electricity has been turned off for over 90 days. They will usually require an inspection before restoring power, especially if it is a known rental.

8. Less Than Twenty Years Old - This is self explanatory, if you restrict your selection to buildings that are less than twenty years old, you will limit the chances that the building will have any building code or maintenance problems.

The building could be near the maintenance cycle for roof, paint and possibly furnace but the structure will be sound and not needing upgraded windows, siding or cement repair.

9. Out of State Owners or Managers - When buying rental property, look for properties that are owned by out of state owners. It is hard to manage rental property from out of state and when these come up for sale, the owners are usually more concerned with selling quickly than getting top dollar.

In order to rent a place quickly you must live near by so you can show it at the caller's request. Often times they will ask to see it in the next 20 minutes or so. Cater to their requests and show it quick. Most renters need a place within the next week or so and will not wait to see your place until next week because you are busy.

Most times they will make a decision before tomarrow when it would be more convenient for you to show it. This has happen to us to many times.

Never give out the address for drive bys. Prospective renters will ask for the address to do a drive by and just look at the place. Don't waste your time with these folks. Insist on showing it in the next 30 minutes or you will not give out the address as a courtesy to the neighbors.

10. Neighborhood is stable or improving - obviously avoid neighborhoods that are declining, look at the writing on the walls and stay out. Although these may look good due to the low purchase price, they are very difficult to collect the rents.

By finding neighborhoods that are stable or improving, it will be easier to rent the property and you will be able to increase the rent. The general consensus is, the better the neighborhood the higher the purchase price and the higher the rent prices, therefore the margin for profit is greater. The poorer the neighborhood the lower the purchase price and lower the rent prices reducing the profit margins.

Do not be afraid to buy nicer places for rental properties. The people that can afford $1000.00 a month are more likely to be able to come up with the rent on time versus someone that can only afford $350.00 a month. One little upset in the latter case and you will not get your rent on time, if at all. There is far greater stability in renting high end places versus being a slumlord!

Click the link below and sign up for a FREE 11 part Ecourse jam-packed with information on buying rental properties, getting home equity loans, mortgages and the tricks lenders use against you! The info you need to succeed! Click Here ==> Buying Rental Properties E-course

Trading Stock Options

2007-10-08T22:50:00.000-07:00

What you need to know about online investment - investing made easy?

Trading stock options are an easy and quick way to make money. Stock markets are an indicator of the health of the economy of a nation. A rising value of the stock market is determinant of a prospering economy. Initially trading was done by stock brokers on the behalf of people on the floor of the stock exchange. However, with the advent of the Internet, now stock market trading can be done online.

Online stock market trading allows a person to be in touch with the latest stock market developments while sitting at his place. All the necessary details about day trading are provided on the Internet. All a person needs for online stock trading is a computer and an Internet connection, and an online account to register themselves.

The best part of online stock trading is that online brokers charge a nominal amount in trading. However, certain things should be kept in mind while trading online. One should be careful in selecting the company for investing purposes. The selected company should be reputed, decorous and trustworthy. An investor should check the quality of expertise and services offered by a company. Also, examine the payment mode that it has made use of in the past. In addition to the payment mode, find out about the services provided by them, commission rates and the way they handle accounts. Enquire about the financial status of the company before investing in it. These trading companies keep their investor updated with all the developments of day trading.

Also, an investor can invest as per his comfort and desire without any limitation. An investor can invest in the stock market of any part of the world while sitting at his place. All the brokerage expenses and minute trading information is mentioned in the site. The information present is enough even for an inexperienced person to invest in the stock market. The services of an expert brokerage are important as an investor can not directly invest in the stocks. The investment is made through brokers who are members of the stock market.

Some of the other benefits of online stock market trading are :

An investor can save a lot of time and money. He can invest as per his convenience.

The charges of brokers range from $3 to $1 per trade.

A trader can contact expert brokers in case of any guidance.

Trading accounts can be accessed easily, and are provided with latest information on stocks.

However, an investor should be sure about the stocks in which he wants to invest. This is because, only if a person is sure, will he link himself to a particular site. For instance, if a person inclined to invest in the domestic market opens a site of the foreign market, it can be confusing.

It is important that the site on which an investor opens an account be secure, as personal and financial information has to be mentioned on the site. In case the site is insecure, it can cause information to be misused. Also, compare the fee charged by various investment sites before choosing one.

Why Choose Sogoinvest: cheap trading stock options
Contact sogoinvest: Contact Online stock trading company

Day Trading Courses

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

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

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

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

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

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

Online

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Day Trading

Uranium to Head North of $500/Pound?

2007-10-08T17:34:00.000-07:00

Legendary stock picker James Dines recently compared uranium stocks to the high-flying net stocks of the halcyon days of the Internet expansion era. While the much-hyped and fleeting Y2K crisis never materialized, the U.S. energy crisis for highly sought uranium has been developing for more than twenty years. Still early in the current bullish uranium cycle, investors are scoring triple-digit returns on what some are calling a renaissance in nuclear energy.

Just as investors caught the curve of a new paradigm in communications and commerce with Internet stocks, many early birds have already begun investing in the nuclear energy story. The nuclear story pitch is simple: How do you accommodate a massive rush for electrical power demand while faced with the dire threat of carbon dioxide emissions and its direct impact on global warming? The growing consensus is that fission-based nuclear power may become the significant stop-gap energy alternative for this century and possibly until reliable technologies can effectively provide the means for renewable-sourced energy.

Nearly 2 billion people across the planet have no electricity. The World Nuclear Association (WNA) believes nuclear energy could reduce the fossil fuel burden of generating the new demand for electricity. The WNA forecasts a 40-percent jump in worldwide electricity demand over the next five years. The worlds most populated countries, China and India, are in the process of creating the largest energy-consuming class in the history of earth. Both plan aggressive nuclear energy expansion programs. Dozens of lesser developed countries, from Turkey and Indonesia to Vietnam and Venezuela, have announced their eagerness to pursue a civilian nuclear policy to benefit power needs for their burgeoning middle classes.

In a nutshell, global utilities are going to need uranium to help feed the increasing number of nuclear power plants proposed over the next twenty years. Herein lays the crisis: the world has been living off rapidly dwindling inventories since the last uranium up cycle. Uranium is now in shorter available supply for civilian energy use than ever before. Over the next decade, as demand continues to outstrip supply, analysts are predicting utilities will snap up known uranium inventories sending spot uranium prices to record highs. During this launch phase, investors have taken notice, chasing up the stock prices of many uranium producers and exploration companies.

Uranium Prices May Reach Unbelievable Highs

Toronto-based Sprott Asset Management research analyst, Kevin Bambrough, told STOCKINTERVIEW.COM, There is a good possibility of a supply crunch that could drive uranium prices to unbelievable highs. Various analysts predict price targets for spot uranium, in the near-term, above $40. Canadian Augen Capital Corps managing director David Mason speculated, $100 (US) a pound is within reason within the next year or two. Sydney-based Resource Capital Research is half as generous, forecasting $50/pound by 2007, explaining another 40 percent jump in spot uranium prices will be driven by end users in the power generation market which is urgently trying to secure supply into the future.

How high could spot uranium prices run? Kevin Bambrough made a hypothetical case for uranium trading north of $500. Its a ridiculous price, Bambrough confided. Its hard to speculate if this is even going to happen. While he admits that price would not be sustainable, Bambrough makes an interesting point about the concerns facing utility companies, charged with providing us with our electricity. In his futuristic scenario, Bambrough speculated, Theres a chance that some facilities will have to choose shutting down their nuclear plants (if they can not obtain uranium to fuel the facility). On that basis, Bambrough calculated the operating costs of a nuclear facility versus the operating cost of a competing fuel. In his conjectural model, Bambrough used natural gas priced at $5.

Bambrough explained, Assuming that the coal-fired plants operating capacity, before you would basically shut down a nuclear facility, you would be comparing it to what you would have to bring on, which would be natural gas. If there is a shortage there (with natural gas), what price would it take before I am willing to shut down my nuclear facility? If you were to shut off the nuclear capacity, and fire up more gas to replace it, it would send gas prices through the stratosphere. And that doesnt factor in the cost of shutting down a nuclear facility, itself an exorbitant process. The analyst said he reached his calculation of north of $500/pound for spot uranium, under an extraordinary emergency supply crunch, by answering this question: How much would people pay before they shut it (a nuclear plant) down if there is a shortage of uranium?

Bambroughs point illustrates that, unlike coal or natural gas, the cost of uranium in the nuclear fuel cycle is minimal. Thus, uranium is subject to an ever greater price rise without the blowback of consumer panic found in rising fossil fuel prices. Uranium prices might have to approach the level of Bambroughs hypothetical forecast before even registering concern on an ordinary consumers radar.

Despite the recent parabolic rise in spot uranium prices, Bambrough doesnt foresee the uranium frenzy peaking until the years 2013-2015. What will happen then? Theres a good chance that the HEU agreement wont be renewed, said Bambrough. Russia may not be selling their uranium. The Russians may want to hold onto what they have. And if they do sell, they may not sell to the U.S. In 2004, U.S. utilities imported more than 80 percent of their uranium supplies from foreign sources. It could be that the Russians are interested in trying to build nuclear plants for other countries and be in that business, he suggested. That may go hand in hand with were going to build you the facility and we can guarantee you supply. And Russia would be using the balance of that uranium for their domestic needs. Bambrough also cited the problem of mines expiring in the face of a potential new demand.

He concluded, There are time lags to bring new production on versus what needs to be replaced in that 2013 period. The International Atomic Energy Agency forecast nuclear electrical generating capacity to soar by more than 40 percent by the year 2030, which may further drive demand for tight uranium resources, especially during the period of Bambroughs forecasted period.

Historical cycles support spot prices higher than $40/pound, a level above where uranium may hover for several years. The current cycle of rising uranium prices closely parallels the leap which occurred between February 1975 and April 1976. Spot uranium prices soared from $16 to $40/pound during that 15-month period. During the 1970s cycle, uranium steadily rose from $6.75/pound in November 1973, peaking in July 1978 at $43.40/pound. Uranium held above $40/pound for nearly four years from April 1976 through February 1980. In this cycle, uranium prices bottomed at $6.40 in January 2001, creeping higher into 2004. Since late last year, spot uranium prices soared with the same momentum seen thirty years ago. If history repeats itself, spot uranium prices should trade above $40/pound this year, and stay above that level until the end of this decade or perhaps for a longer stretch.

The key yardstick in determining how much higher uranium prices will climb is by keeping track of the number of new nuclear facilities being constructed or proposed. Estimates vary wildly, from as few as thirty by 2020 to more than 150 before 2050. A few years ago, when we first started investing in uranium, Bambrough explained. There were very few plants being proposed. The numbers have doubled for proposed facilities. And for every one you hear about, theres a lot more being planned. That puts uranium miners into an enviable position. Bambrough added that utilities have to secure their fuel supply for up to six years out, once they decide to build a nuclear facility. The fact is the supply is just not there, warned Bambrough.

According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, Cumulative unfilled uranium requirements for U.S. civilian nuclear reactors for 2005 through 2014 were reported to be 365 million pounds U3O8e. The quantity of maximum deliveries of uranium for the same period under existing purchase contracts totaled 181 million pounds. Nearly 67 percent of the maximum anticipated market requirements for uranium lack a contract. Over the next decade, U.S. utilities will need to newly purchase more than 36 million pounds of uranium oxide each year, on average, in order to keep their nuclear power plants running. According to the Department of Energy website, contracted purchases from all suppliers precipitously falls in 2007 below 40 million pounds. By 2008, the amount of contracted uranium sinks below 20 million pounds.

In short, U.S. utilities may soon be scrambling for uranium inventory to fuel their nuclear reactors, or face the ridiculous price(s) research analyst Kevin Bambrough warned about. An excerpt from The International Atomic Energy Agencys booklet, Analysis of Uranium Supply to 2050, bears out Bambroughs thesis, As we look to the future, presently known resources fall short of demand. The deficit between newly mined uranium and reactor demand has averaged about 40 million pounds annually over the past decade, cannibalizing existing inventories. As we begin 2006, the supply/demand imbalance has reached a critical phase.

Where Will the Uranium Come From?

In his September 2004 presentation to the World Nuclear Association, Thomas L. Neff of MITs Center for International Studies, stated, The net result of nearly twenty years of inventory liquidation is that existing higher-cost suppliers were driven out of business, new mines were discovered from starting, and exploration was neglected. Neff warned in his conclusion, The problem is the one to two decades that will be needed to expand (production) capacity and build the flow of nuclear fuel that meet the expanding requirements horizon.

The 1970s price spike in uranium was limited because existing uranium mines were quickly ramped up to supply utilities with fuel. Neff noted, This is not the case today and a longer period of high prices could prevail. In Neffs analysis, uranium prices would have risen well above $100/pound in the mid 1970s, using constant 2004 US$. On that basis, Bambroughs hypothetical forecast above $500/pound may be not too far out of reach. Neff summarized why the problem has reached a critical stage, We are currently facing the consequences of what may be the largest sustained divergence between expectations and reality in the 60 year history of uranium.

Kevin Bambrough offered some slight relief for the uranium inventory problem, There are a number of mines coming on, and there are talks of expansion. He gave Australias Olympic Dam as one example, and added, Theres lots of talk about big production coming on in Kazakhstan, but Ive also heard reports saying thats very optimistic. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is less sanguine, Lead times to bring major projects into operation are typically between eight and ten years from discovery to start of production. To this total, five or more years must be added for exploration and discovery. The IAEA doesnt foresee relief until 2015 to 2020.

For the time being, U.S. utilities are forced to bide their time while they continue to rely mainly upon newly mined uranium imported from Canada or Australia. Once the worlds largest uranium producer, the estimated recoverable reserves in the United States now ranks but eighth in the world with four percent of known global reserves. Those 125,000 tonnes of uranium would supply 250 million pounds of uranium, far less than the unfilled maximum requirement for U.S. utilities over the next decade. The majority of domestically mined uranium now comes mainly from Wyoming, Texas and Nebraska. Permitting operations are progressing in New Mexico, once the countrys largest producer of uranium, which may become a significant uranium supplier later this decade.

For people who want to bring on new (nuclear) facilities and contract for it, its very difficult to do that, said Bambrough. You have to go to mines that are not even there yet in order to try and contract supply. In this light, it appears the greatest opportunity will appear with the junior uranium companies, which obtained known uranium resources during the last down cycle, and whose operators abandoned such properties because of low prices. As Neff warned in his presentation, Uranium prices have recently reversed a twenty year decline, apparently surprising many buyers and sellers. Buyers will be combing the same company lists investors scan. Just as investors will be racing to find the best uranium juniors for investment purposes, utility buyers and uranium traders will be scrambling to identify which company could provide them with a long-term uranium supply.

How Can Investors Profit?

Bambrough recalled compiling a worldwide list, in 2003, of a mere 25 companies involving in uranium mining and exploration. I cut the list down to around ten that looked to be promising, said Bambrough. Id say that today there are still less than 30 uranium companies that present a good reward-to-risk ratio considering the massive move the sector has made. Depending upon whose list you believe, the number of companies now mining or exploring for uranium stretches to about 200. The majority trade on either the Canadian or Australian stock exchanges.

So how do you separate the potential winners from the also-rans? People in the industry sort of know whos real and whos not, said Bambrough. I think a lot of the pure exploration companies are more likely to fall on tough times. Bambrough cautioned, I think there will be a real separation between the haves and the have-nots, those who actually have uranium and economic deposits. A lot of exploration companies are more likely to fall on tough times. Those are the ones that will get hurt because they dont have anything to fall back upon. They have to go to market to keep raising money to do the expensive drilling that needs to be done. It costs so much. Miller added, It will take exploration funds, good geology, and some luck to find new uranium deposits in these frontier areas. The success rate of each individual prospect will be far less than 1 in 100.

What sort of companies has Sprott Asset Management invested in? Bambrough responded, We have preferred to invest in companies that have acquired properties that were once owned and were actively being worked by majors at the end of the 70s bull market. He added, The cost of uranium exploration is so large there is great value built into many of these properties. Specifically, millions of dollars worth of drilling work and data have been collected on some properties. In some cases, mining shafts have been built that only require rehabilitation at a fraction of the cost of starting fresh with a green fields project. Another example of what he does and doesnt like, The guys that picked up stuff in the last year, when they saw the uranium boom, they just said, Im going to go grab some land. I have greater confidence in the guys that have been there for a longer period of time, bought things when they were being thrown away at the lows, and waiting for the uranium price to rise.

Bambrough shared a few of his favorite uranium stocks. Of the companies that we own, we own a larger percentage of Strathmore Minerals (TSX: STM; Other OTC: STHJF) than almost any other company, said Bambrough. We think theyve got some great properties. They were guys who got into the game very early, and who have skills as they do with David Miller (president and chief operating officer of Strathmore Minerals) in understanding the uranium business. And they have a very large amount of databases, as does Energy Metals Corporation, which is extremely valuable in understanding the properties. Both Strathmore Minerals and Energy Metals have properties in New Mexico and Wyoming. I think the future for New Mexico is quite good, Bambrough noted, as well as ISLs in Texas and Wyoming. Said Strathmores president, David Miller, Strathmore is the only company to open an office up in New Mexico dedicated to bringing properties into production. The office is staffed by two veteran uranium men, John Dejoia, VP of Technical Services and Juan Velazquez, VP of Environmental and Government Affairs. They have a number of subcontractors doing various required work to bring projects forward to obtain permits to mine.

Another Sprott Asset Management favorite is Tournigan Gold Corp (TSX: TVC). You look at a past producing region, Bambrough pointed out. They went and got old mines. Tournigan recently drilled the historic Jahodna uranium resource in Slovakia, once drilled by the Russians. The company also holds uranium properties in Wyoming and recently acquired uranium properties in South Dakota. He also likes Western Prospector (TSX: WNP), saying, Western Prospector has gone through areas where in some cases, there are shafts there that were dug by the Russians. A lot of work was previously done. Others rounding out Bambroughs preferred list of juniors include Paladin Resources (TSE: PDN) and Aflease, now trading as SXR Uranium One (TSE: SXR). We also have a bit of investment in the Labrador area, and very small, mainly in Altius (TSX: ALS), added Bambrough. Its something were watching. We think its a promising area.

Where the Action Is

The more adventurous price action may be found in the ongoing consolidation within the uranium sector. Bambrough observed, There appear to be a few aggressive junior uranium companies that seem to be moving forward and working to build a major company. In November, one uranium exploration company, Energy Metals Corporation (TSX: EMC) began takeover procedures to acquire two other uranium juniors, Quincy (TSX: QUI) and Standard Uranium (TSX: URN). Standard Uranium has since traded nearly 70 percent higher. There are people who have neighboring properties, and it makes sense for them to come together, advised Bambrough.

In late December, another of Bambroughs favorite uranium companies, Strathmore Minerals (TSX: STM; Other OTC: STHJF), announced it had engaged National Bank Financial as its exclusive financial adviser to review transaction alternatives to maximize shareholder value from its uranium assets. Questioned about this news release, CEO Dev Randhawa told StockInterview.com, National Bank has the best technical team and will help us reach the right decision to maximize the benefit to our shareholders. In a December 7th note to his subscribers, Canaccords David Pescod wrote, We talked to Dev Randhawa of Strathmore Minerals because Strathmore seemed to be the one company on most peoples list as an obvious take-out target. When we talked to Dev, obviously he wouldnt be adverse to a take-out as long as the price is right, and he even gives us a 50/50 bet that they wont be around in the next six to twelve months. In a 2005 research report, the Cohen Independent Research Group set a price target of C$4.29/share for Strathmore Minerals, based upon the current spot uranium price.

How does Bambrough envision the uranium bull market unfolding for investors? I think the market could really use more large cap uranium companies, since large fund managers currently can really only look to Cameco (NYSE: CCJ) and Energy Resources of Australia (ASX: ERA) to get exposure to the uranium market, said Bambrough. There are several junior companies that should come together to form large uranium companies to leverage their extremely valuable skilled personnel, lower the exorbitant costs of permitting and exploration, and achieving other economies of scale. How soon would it be before a larger company, combining some of these promising juniors, reaches listed status on the New York exchange? I would guess that a NYSE listing may not come until 2007 or 2008, responded Bambrough. I think that when the tap comes for a lot of these companies, it will come to those that are in production. Youll be able to see a nice production profile, several projects, diversification, cash flows, and a nice pipeline of projects.

As for the approximately 200 uranium exploration companies that have sprouted up in less than two years, Bambrough advised, I dont understand why people would put so much money into grassroots properties when there are properties that were (already) worked on, and you can continue on their work. The idea is we are continuing on those projects rather than going grassroots. Its the logical place to go for me. Bambrough is still enthusiastic about the uranium sector and closed his remarks, saying, I expect that we will see a great out performance by quality uranium companies as they move their projects forward. We still see some incredible values and are still actively investing in the space. We are still in the early days of the uranium bull market.

To Make Big Money You Must Focus in on Stocks

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

Money creation in the stock market is made from CONCENTRATION. That's right. Trading the very best stocks at the right time with enough capital to make a big difference.

You must go from wealth CREATION to wealth maintenance in this game. Unless you plan on "investing" for the next 25+ years and building wealth slowly.. this is my plan of how you can make millions in the stock market:

In Darvas's book "How I Made $2 Million..."

How many looked at his position sizing? In his early trades Darvas only trade 1 or 2 stocks at any one time on MARGIN! Only when he got up to over $500,000 did he start diversifying a little. Most people overlook these facts.

MY Momentum Stock PLAN:

CONCENTRATION BUILDS WEALTH
DIVERSIFICATION MAINTAINS WEALTH

END GOAL:

$2 MILLION+ ACCOUNT MAKING 20-30% P.A

Start with:
$50,000
Trade 2 stocks with half capital in each.

RISK Per TRADE = 5%

When at $100,000 Trade 3 stocks with 1/3
capital in each.

Risk Per Trade = 3%

When at:

$500,000 Trade 5 stocks with 1/5 capital:

Risk Per Trade = 2%

When at $2 Million Trade 8 stocks with 1/8 capital:

Risk Per Trade = 1.25%

You first have to create wealth in order to maintain it. Whilst trading only two stocks at a time may be deemed to risky by the professionals you must be very selective on the stocks you trade. Quality beats quantity. Especially when you concentrate so much.

This is the only way a small account can break into the big time. You must not only focus your efforts in the early stages but you must also only trade the top 0.1% of stocks in the market and get your timing SPOT ON.

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

Commodities - An Overview

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

Commodities are products traded solely on the basis of price. The products are undifferentiated products, goods or services that are not traded based on quality and features, only on price. Historically, commodities were items of value, of uniform quality that were produced in large quantities by many different producers. The items from each different producer were considered equivalent. Commodities are defined by an underlying contract and standard, rather than the quality of the product.

History

Chicago was the birth place of the first commodities market, way back in the 1840s. Farmers would bring their wheat to the market and exchange it for good, hard cash. Futures contracts developed from there. A farmer would contract with a dealer to sell a set amount of produce to him at a set date for a set price. It was comforting for both parties the farmer knew how much he was going to get paid and the dealer knew exactly how much he was going to pay for these commodities.

This practice of commodities trading evolved over the years that ensued. The farmer would decide not to sell and cede the contract to another farmer to fulfil, or the dealer might decide that he did not want the produce anymore and then on-sell the contract to another dealer.

Naturally supply and demand entered the equation. If the harvests were poor, the produce would fetch a much higher price and if the crops were abundant, a leaner price prevailed. Before long, speculators were in on the act. They started trading the futures contracts in the hope of buying the commodities at a low price and selling these for a handsome profit.

What defines a successfully tradeable commodity?

To successfully trade, commodities must:
Be standardized. If the commodities industrial or agricultural, it must be unprocessed. Have an adequate shelf-life, if these are agricultural.

There should be sufficient fluctuation in supply and concomitantly price. The reason for this is that without the risk factor, profits are meagre and unappetising. Examples of commodities are: electricity, wheat, chemicals, metals, pork bellies, RAM chips, labour and currency.

Difference between commodities and stocks The main difference between stocks and futures contracts from a trading perspective is that, unlike stocks, which you could keep for a very long time, commodities are held for a very short time only. Futures contracts are used to hedge commodity price-fluctuation risks or to take advantage of price movements, instead of trading the actual cash commodities.

How are commodities traded? Commodity Future and option trading take place at exchanges such as the Chicago Board of Trade, Euronext.liffe, London Metal Exchange and the New York Mercantile Exchange, and other online trading systems. At the exchanges, areas are provided, each designated for a different futures contract. Those trading on the floor must be members of the exchange and registered with the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Those traders, who are not members, work through brokerage firms who are.

To conclude Commodity future option trading is both complex and risky, so the shoe may not necessarily fit just anybodys foot. If you are considering commodity future option trading, you should evaluate how much you are prepared to lose should push come to shove. Choose a trading method that you are comfortable with and that is best suited to achieving your objectives. The bottom line in commodity future option trading is that, if you exercise good judgment and manage your risks effectively, commodities trading are likely to richly reward your efforts!

Discover awesome, proven techniques for trading online; stocks, shares, currencies, FOREX etc. for both the novice and experienced trader at http://www.TradingOnline4u.com

Forex Currency Trading Systems

2007-10-08T13:21:00.000-07:00

While the market is swamped with websites and books offering advice on the best' and newest' forex currency trading systems, it is important to do a thorough check of the system to ensure that it really works. There are a large number of such forex trading systems that are completely fraudulent or simply do not work, and have been created with the sole intention of making a quick buck. But despite this, there are plenty of forex currency trading systems out there that do work and can be quite reliable if used in a disciplined and consistent manner.

Everyone is looking for a forex trading system that works and gives them high and continuous profitability over a period of time. One must be realistic in searching for a good system, and keep in mind some essential factors when selecting a forex trading system. Firstly, it is critical to fully understand the logic on which the trading system is based. Only a complete understanding will enable you to use the system effectively over a long period of time. Not only grasping the logic, but also agreeing with it is important. The forex trading system of your choice must seem logical and intuitive to you or else you will find it impossible to stick with it.

Secondly, you should embrace a good forex currency trading system for the long term, and put in the appropriate amount of research and trial based on this idea. A solid system will tap in to long term patterns and the potential for sustained success of any system in the short term is negligible. Thirdly, be ready for a hit. Be financially prepared for a downturn and based on the assumption that at some point you will face this event, plan for your staying-afloat strategy. Emotionally and money-wise, be ready for the big one when it comes.

When you commit to a forex currency trading system, ensure that you give the system adequate time to start showing profitability. This may be not be months, but possibly years, since every system experiences a time when it produces losses or lowered returns. Give your selected system a fair trial and try to trade consistently and logically. In addition, some forex trading systems will not offer real trading data, but will be simulations that are based on a particular logic and work using historical data. As long as the logic is solid, there is no reason to reject these systems outright.

The simplest forex trading systems tend to work most effectively in a rapidly shifting market place. Just because a system seems complicated, doesn't mean it will perform better. Pick a forex trading strategy that's easy to learn and easy to use and you feel comfortable with. Identify the major trends that affect a currency and select a forex trading system that works in tandem with it. Finally, a cardinal rule of the trade: Always rely on a system that is disciplined and rational. Do not be swayed by emotions. This has spelled the downfall of some of the most influential and successful forex traders, including the pros, and must be avoided at all costs. While it may seem unlikely to you now, once you are in the midst of your forex trading experience, you will find it easy to be moved by your emotions.

The biggest advantage of a forex currency trading system is that it works completely without emotions and if you can follow it mechanically, it will be the key towards a long term career in forex trading.

Andrew Daigle is the owner, creator and author of many successful websites including a free forex currency exchange training site called ForexBoost and Forex Training blog for the Novice and Advanced Forex trader.

Using Arbitrage Trading to Make Money From Home

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

In todays world anymore you need to work two jobs. You need a part time job, and a full time job. The problem with this though is that it doesnt allow you to have much time to do the things we should really be doing in life. Spending time with our kids, taking family vacations, buying a new home or car, and so much more. If you are anything like me you know that a year can fly by in no time at all. Before you know it your kids are grown up, and you havent had much time to watch them grow.

So why not work from home online? Did you know that millions of dollars are being made from people working online every day? Its actually a lot easier to work part time or full time on the Internet then most people think.

Let me show you how easily you can earn a second income using sports arbitrage trading. Numerous arbitrage situations, also referred to as sure bets, scalps and risk free bets, are created every day in sports-betting markets amongst the increasing number of bookmakers operating worldwide. These are terms attributed to a minor flaw in the betting system and YOU can take advantage of them! These arbitrage situations range anywhere from 1% to 15%. So you will make 1 to 15% on the amount of money you put on each trade. Earning from this flaw is perfectly legal and is tax free in most countries. The difference in the odds determines the amount of risk-free profit to be made by the Sports Arbitrage Trader.

Arbitrage is not to be confused with gambling, which carries a risk! It is a system where you trade with TWO different bookmakers who have opposing views on the outcome of an upcoming event on the same event. The result is a profit to you, no matter who wins the event. There is more to arbitrage than this but all the considerations have been built into our state-of-the-art software, so you don't need to worry!

If you are new to sport's arbitrage trading, just take a moment to imagine yourself placing a trade that ALWAYS wins, regardless of the outcome of the event. Because you don't lose when you place an arbitrage trade, you're not betting at all - you are trading.

With arbitrage trading the amount of money you can make is endless. It really is. You could trade just once a day and make a small profit of $30 or $50 or you could trade as many times per day as you would like. See with arbitrage trading there is no limit to just how many trades you can place per day. There is also no limit to how much you can place on each trade. If you dont have much money to start off with that is ok start small place like a $50 trade or even less whatever fits your budget. Or you can trade big and trade like $500.

Arbitrage trading is simply the easiest and fastest way to make money working online. I have yet to find anything else that is better then arbitrage trading.

If you would like to learn more about arbitrage trading and how it can help you make money visit Arbitrage Trading for more information.

Trading Oil and Gas Contracts Using CFDs

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

Many traders do not realise that Contracts for Difference can be used not just for stockmarket trading, but also in the forex and commodities markets, and one of the most liquid and exciting markets is crude oil and natural gas. CFDs are usually modelled in the same way as futures contracts, and consequently there are several contracts from which to choose in each category.

It is well known that the crude oil market is normally priced either as either Brent crude or US crude. The current spread between the two is about $3.5, Brent being higher, but this varies according to supply and demand, liquidity and other geopolitical issues.

Different contracts

Within each market, several expiration months are quoted and at the time of writing (June 2007) July, August and September CFDs are available. The difference in prices between the various contracts reflects the cost of carry and other seasonal factors as it would for all commodities.

What this means is that you do not pay financing interest on these CFDs, because all positions are rolled over into expiry and the contract values already price in the cost of carry.

What can you trade?

It is possible to trade various many different CFDs related to oil prices. These include:

Heating oil, for which there is a liquid US-based quote with several expirations

UK Oil and Gas sector CFDs

US Oil and Gas sector CFDs

Individual oil share CFDs including such varied names as Royal Dutch Shell, Statoil, Total-Fina, Exxon Mobil and many smaller oil company stocks around the world

US Natural Gas CFDs with various expirations

Calculating the margin on a US crude contract

As we analyse the US crude oil market every day in our US report, it is worth looking at this contract to calculate what margin is required on a trade.

The current most liquid contract is the July 2007 CFD, priced at $65.86 to $65.92

The margin requirement on most commodities is 3% of the total contract value.

The tick size is 0.01.

The contract value is calculated by this formula:

((Quantity) x (Price))/ Point= initial margin

Therefore if you were to buy 10 US Crude Oil CFDs at $65.92

(10 x 49.50)/ 0.01 x 0.03 = $1,978 initial margin.

The exposure per tick is worth $10.

For online traders, CFDs are an excellent way to gain exposure to the oil market as a speculative play, for hedging purposes, or when searching for good arbitrage possibilities. The markets are liquid and spreads are very attractive.

Mike Estrey is the Head of Research for Blue Index, specialists in Online CFD Trading, Contracts for Difference and Online Forex Trading.

Tips For Better Options Trading

2007-10-07T23:15:00.000-07:00

If you trade, you may have heard of options. Trading options carries high risk and has many disadvantages for beginners and even seasoned traders. Therefore, it is wise to be cautious if you are considering options trading.

An option is a contract between two parties giving the taker or buyer the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell shares at a specific price on or before a specific date. To have this right, the taker pays a premium to the writer or seller of the contract.

There are two types of options available: call options and put options.

Call options give the taker the right but not the obligation to buy the shares at a specific price on or before a specific date.

The put options give the taker the right but not the obligation to sell the shares at a specific price on or before a specific date. The taker of a put is only required to deliver the underlying shares if they exercise option.

There are a few advantages in option trading:

Put options allow you to hedge against a possible fall in the price of the shares you hold. You can consider taking it out as insurance against a loss in the share price.

By taking a call option, the purchase price for the shares is locked in. This gives the call option holder until the expiry date to decide whether he or she will or will not buy the shares. This is also applicable to the taker; he or she has to decide whether or not to sell the shares before the deadline.

The ease of trading in and out of an option position makes it possible to trade options with no intention of ever exercising them. If you expect the market to rise, you may want to buy call options, and if you are expecting a fall in the market, you may decide to buy put options. This means that you can sell the option prior to the expiry date to take a profit or limit a loss.

Options also allow you to build a diversified portfolio for a lower initial outlay than purchasing shares directly.

The income generation for options can get you profits over dividends by writing call options against your shares. By writing an option, you receive the option premium up front. While you get to keep the option premium, it is possible that you could be exercised against and have to deliver your shares to the taker at the exercise price. This strategy uses stock bought on margin.

By combining different options, or stocks with options, you can create a wide range of strategies.

You can earn extra income by writing options against shares you already own or are purchasing. This is one of the simplest and most rewarding strategies.

Using options gives you time to decide. Taking a call option can give you time to decide if you want to buy shares. You pay the premium, which is only a fraction of the price of the underlying shares.

The option then locks in a buying price for the shares if you decide to exercise. You then have until the expiry date of the option to decide if you want to buy the shares. This is the same as to the put option.

Keep in mind that, same as any other trades do not trade what you cannot afford to lose.

For more on Option Trading visit option-trading-expert.info. Susan also writes at Health and Fitness.

Two Uranium Exploration Companies Slug It Out in Utah's Lisbon Valley, Part One

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

After interviewing SXR Uranium One Chief Executive Neal Froneman, we realized it was important to cover developments in Utah, particularly in the Lisbon Valley. Each time Mr. Froneman talked about Wyoming, he nearly always included Utah in the same breath. Most of our focus for the first half of 2006 had been on the In Situ Recovery (ISR) method of uranium mining. Now, as the uranium spot price knocks on the $50/pound level, it appears conventional mining in the United States may return with a vengeance.

Utah is strictly high grade uranium underground mining, possibly offering some the consistently highest grades available in the United States. International Uranium Corporations announcement to reopen the White Mesa uranium mill, some 50 miles away from the Lisbon Valley, was the first step geared to renew interest in southeastern Utahs Paradox Basin. SXRs interest in the area was a significant second step. There may be several more reasons if the early drilling results of two junior exploration companies show promise deep below this semi-arid ground covered with juniper, sage brush, and sprinklings of Ponderosa and Pinyon pines trees.

Utah is a state where underground uranium mining was successful and continued until the spot price completely collapsed. Specifically, it was the Paradox Basin of the Colorado Plateau, which became world famous, partly because of a Hollywood movie about its most colorful pioneer, Charlie Steen. His home in Moab, Utah became the city of millionaires, a consequence of the uranium rush he launched with his discovery.

Lisbon Valley became the most heavily promoted uranium districts in the world, thanks to a then-penniless Charlie Steen, the unemployed petroleum geologist who discovered the Mi Vida uranium deposit on the southwest side of the Lisbon Valley anticline. On July 6, 1952, Charlie Steen cored through 14 feet of grayish-black pitchblende specimens of which he had only seen in museums. No one had ever before discovered pitchblende on the Plateau. With uranium grades up to 0.4 percent, this became one of the richest ore bodies mined in the United States.

Our recent investigation and interviews with two geologists revealed there could be an area play again developing in the Lisbon Valley uranium district. It is also known as the Big Indian Uranium District, named after the ore belt, and is located 30 miles south of Moab, Utah about halfway between Salt Lake City and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Excluding U.S. Energy, which holds prospective uranium properties on the west side of the Lisbon Valley Fault, there are three junior uranium exploration companies exploring or hoping to explore for uranium on the northeast side of the Lisbon Valley Fault. They hope to continue where Rio Algom left off, during the nadir of the twenty-year uranium depression.

Why are the Uranium Companies Exploring the Northeast Flank of the Fault?

While the west side of the fault has been the most productive uranium mining ground, Rio Algom discovered a mineralized zone in 1972 on the nose of the northeast side of the fault. For the next sixteen years, the companys Lisbon Mine produced about 24 million pounds of uranium from more than 5.6 million tons of ore at an average grade of 0.22 percent. True, the grades were higher on the western side of the fault an average grade of 0.35 percent U3O8.

Rio Algoms discovery and outstanding uranium production confirmed a little publicized notation in an obscure chapter, of a geological textbook, entitled, Geology and Exploitation of Uranium Deposits in the Lisbon Valley Area, Utah. Hiram B. Wood of the American Institute of Mining, and on behalf of the U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, wrote in 1968, An Extension of the Big Indian Ore Belt, similar in size and grade to the known ore belt, probably occurs in the downthrown block north east of the Lisbon Valley Fault at depths of 2400-2700 feet beneath the Dakota-capped surfaceleaving this area as the most favorable unexplored area remaining on the Lisbon Valley Anticline.

It should be noted that none of the major uranium ore bodies had outcrops. All of the discoveries were made by exploration drilling. Because of the stratigraphy, the mineable deposits were found at depths of more than 2000 feet. All of the anticlines in the Paradox Basin, of which Lisbon valley is one, are salt structures, said Richard Dorman, vice president of exploration for Universal Uranium, which is now drilling on the northeast side of the anticline. Dorman explained an anticline for the layman, Its where the earth gets bent up into a rounded dome.

It may be quite possible there is more uranium, according to the two uranium exploration geologists we interviewed for this feature. Both Universal Uranium and Mesa Uranium are drilling to identify and evaluate the Moss Bach sandstones in the Chinle formation. It was Charlie Steens uranium discovery overlying the Moss Bach member which started the massive prospecting rush into the district in the 1950s. The majority of the uranium production occurred along the northwest flank of the anticline. For forty years, more than 80 million pounds of uranium were mined from the 16 mile long by one-half mile wide trend of the western flank.

Exploration drilling is underway on the northeastern side of the anticline near the formerly producing Lisbon Mine. There are geological advantages in the exploration programs of both companies, Universal Uranium and Mesa Uranium. Universals smaller property position is six miles long and two miles wide, but closer to the fault. Mesas larger position is closer to the former Lisbon Mine, but is an arc shaped land position further from the fault. Global Uranium, which has not announced a drill program, is reportedly sandwiched in the area between the two.

The Forex Trader Failsafe Checklist

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

The Forex market can lure the novice Forex trader into trading scenarios that appear very attractive at first glance but turn very quickly into a losing trade.

Many a Forex trader will relate to this experience:

Price has been in a consolidation channel for one or two hours.

You place an entry order to get taken in at the top or bottom of the channel.

Within a few minutes your trade is in and within a few minutes more you are looking at a loss of -10 pips, then -15 pips, and then your stop gets taken out.

Price hardly moved for hours but as soon as you got into a trade you were taken out within minutes for a loss leaving you bewildered and muttering, "What happened?"

In the early stages of gaining trading experience, it is good for the novice Forex trader to go by a checklist every time before entering a trade until certain habits become ingrained.

Yes, disciplining oneself to take time and go through a checklist first may mean missing some good opportunities occasionally. On the other hand, it will prevent having losing trades frequently.

For a very cautious approach to trading the newer Forex trader can use this Failsafe Checklist to determine whether the potential trade setup is likely to be high probability or low probability.

FailSafe Checklist

Avoid Going Long If:

There is negative divergence on MACD on the 4 hour, 1 hour, or 15 minute chart.

MACD on the 4 hour or 1 hour chart is pointing down.

Price is well above the Central Pivot Point for the day in a Sell Area. (For a free pivot point calculator go here: www.vitalstop.com/Forex/pivot-point-calculator-download.html)

Price is below the 200 EMA (Exponential Moving Average) on the 4 hour and 1 hour chart but above the 200 EMA on the 15 minute chart. (With this setup on the 3 times frames price is bucking the overall trend and can turn against you at any time.)

Price is above a Fibonacci 50, 62, or 79 retracement (calculated from the last high and low)

Your stop is not below multiple layers of support such as a significant previous high or low, pivot point, or Fibonacci level.

Avoid Going Short If:

There is positive divergence on MACD on the 4 hour, 1 hour, or 15 minute chart.

MACD on the 4 hour or 1 hour chart is pointing up.

Price is well below the Central Pivot Point for the day in a Buy Area.

Price is above the 200 EMA on the 4 hour and 1 hour chart but below the 200 EMA on the 15 minute chart.

Price is below a Fibonacci 50, 62, or 79 retracement (calculated from the last high and low)

Your stop is not above multiple layers of resistance such as a significant previous high or low, pivot point, or Fibonacci level.

The Most Important Lesson Of All

Why not print off the Failsafe Checklist and keep it beside the computer for consultation before pulling the trigger on any trade?

For additional tips on using the MACD indicator for safe trading click here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Advisor/forex-strategy-MACD-save-anxiety.htm

The powerful 200 EMA strategy - easy for developing traders:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Advisor/200EMA-forex-strategy.htm

For a free pivot point calculator, Fibonacci calculator and the best free economic calendars click here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/tools.html

Why Brokers Can't Tell You The Truth

2007-10-07T00:09:00.000-07:00

Your broker is not a crook. He works for a company that will not allow him to do a good and honest job for you. Furthermore, if he tries to learn how to do it he is discouraged and if he actually does it he will probably be fired.

Pretty harsh words, but Ill prove it. Of course, your broker must deny it. Wall Street wants your money. They want to keep it. They want you to buy something, anything, and never sell. That is the Buy and Hold doctrine that is preached as the right way to invest.

This is the biggest lie of all. Go back in history of the stock market as far as you want and during any 10-year period there will be a bear market loss of from 20% to 40% or more. Any half-way intelligent broker can learn how to sell near (I did not say at) the top of the market and buy back in near (same caveat) the bottom.

Brokerage companies prefer you stay fully invested while your account shrinks rather than sell to be in cash to preserve your capital. Even if you dont make any trades they make about 1% each year. That may not sound like much, but multiply it by several hundred billion (thats a B). Mutual funds skim your account 2% each year. That is why ETFs (exchange traded funds) with their minuscule management fee are slowly strangling the mutual fund industry. The branch manager of most brokerage companies is paid his bonus based on the amount of invested funds. Money markets dont count so..you can figure that out.

Brokers are not taught an exit strategy. The very simple method of stop loss protection for a customers account is discouraged. During the 2000-2003 bear market when the NASDAQ dropped 78% and the S&P was down 40% brokers did not know what to do and were told to HOLD. They really didnt know. Few of their company analysts also did not know and let clients lose half their money or more.

Brokers and customers were continually told, Never try to time the market. It is easy to do, but not told to brokers or financial planners.

Occasionally there will be an independent broker who will leave the shelter of his big brother brokerage company that is Wall Street dominated and go out on his own. They work from a small office or their home. They usually manage customers accounts on a fee basis and hardly ever lose a customer because they know how to protect client money.

Ask a broker or financial planner if they have an exit strategy. Then get them to put it in writing on company letterhead. (Bet he wont.) During the next bear market, and there will be one, remind him not to lose your money and to follow the plan he previously wrote. It is the investors money. He must be sure he is being protected and not lied to.

Marketing On The Cheap: Join The What?

2007-10-06T19:21:00.001-07:00

Your local Chamber of Commerce.

Now before you stop reading, I assure you this really works, and no, this is not an advertisement for the Chamber of Commerce although it may read like one.

What seems now like a hundred years ago I owned and operated a company that was made up of three components: a monthly magazine that we converted over to the Internet (http://www.sbmag.org); a graphic art studio; and an advertising agency. While we were in our infant stages, one of the tools I used to build a client base was a one hour consultation for new business start-ups on how to get business with little or no advertising budget.

This program was very successful, and we ended up with a number of excellent clients that stayed with us for years. Most, if not everything that I suggested in that one hour session many years back, is still valid today.

The first thing I would recommend for a new business owner was to become a joiner. If your business is a mama-papa business, you should both join an organization or two, but not the same ones. Spread it out.

The first organization I always recommended joining was the local Chamber of Commerce. Your Chamber of Commerce should be the number one advocate for business of all sizes in your community. Most are structured about the same way with a variety of committees that deal with specific issues related to different aspects that make up your community. Make sure you become active in the committee that has the closest relationship to your business. If you are a retailer, join the retail merchants committee; if you are a contractor, you may want to join the government affairs committee or the transportation and traffic committee, etc., etc. If the opportunity presents itself, you may also want to consider chairing one of these committees or gaining a seat on the board of directors. This will add instant credibility and more exposure to you and your business. But be selective and dont take on more responsibilities then you want to do or, worse yet, than you can do. Failing here can create negative public relations, the direct opposite of why you are there to begin with.

Most Chambers also sponsor any number of different networking opportunities ranging form mixers to field trips. Attend as many of these functions as you can, and always make sure you wear a nametag and have plenty of businesses cards with you. My favorites were the mixers. However, dont be obnoxious about it. I have seen people attending chamber events and simply walking around and sticking their business cards in peoples faces and launching into some sort of sales pitch. This wont get it done. In fact, all it will do is tick people off. Remember, you are only there to meet and greet people and make friends and contacts, not sell them something right then and there.

Also remember that most, if not all, people in attendance are probably there for the same reason you are. Quite often I found it more beneficial to listen more then talk. People that have something to say are appreciative of those that are willing to listen. I can remember incidences where someone would say to me later that I really made a great impression on so-and-so, and that they thought what a great guy I was. In reality, I hardly said more then 20 words to so-and-so, but I did spend a half hour listening to him.

Some Chambers will arrange a ribbon cutting ceremony for you when you first join, assuming yours is a new business. If your business is not all that new, they may be willing to do something similar in the way of announcing you as a new member to the Chamber.

Most Chambers have a monthly newsletter and accept press releases. Some also sell advertising at very reasonable price. Also keep in mind that if you are an active member and maybe even a committee chairperson or board member, you may have your own column in the newsletter or at least a listing as a committee chair or member of the board. This listing usually will include the name of your business.

If your committee is dealing with important issues and or events, there may also be additional benefits in the way of local media coverage. I always made sure I chaired at least one or two events a year, and I picked the ones that were most likely to effect a large segment of the community "in a positive way". This becomes important. For instance, you may want to think twice about chairing a committee to recall the local mayor and opt instead to take over the Christmas Parade.

A lot of Chambers sponsor trade shows. If promoted right, these events will offer an excellent opportunity for you to showcase your business. The trade shows are sometimes limited to a specific type of business. An example may be an electronics show or a fashion show. Obviously, if you sell running shoes, setting up a booth among nothing but big screen TVs and laptop computers may not be the place for you. On the other hand if you sell insurance, this may be the place for you to pitch homeowners insurance to people with a lot of high priced electronic gadgets. You have to pick and choose the right place at the right time.

Another function some, if not most, Chambers sponsor are seminars. Dont miss the opportunity to present yourself as an expert in your field. Explore the possibility of becoming a presenter at a seminar being offered.

Dont over look the possibility of selling your goods or services directly to the Chamber itself. Its a fairly good bet that, with little exception, they are not going outside their own membership to purchase anything unless they absolutely have to. If you do get a chance to do business with them, make sure you give them the best service and the best prices you can. The last thing you want to do is over charge or under serve what is probably the largest and most influential business organization in your area.

The list of possible exposure via your chamber is endless -- web site listings, yearly directories both on line and hard copy, referral services, business card racks, local maps and on and on. I cant possibly cover all the advantages of membership. There will be many other opportunities that your involvement will create for you. Yet, not all of the benefits can be, nor should they be, measured in dollars and cents. One of the greatest benefits of being a member will be in the overall pride and satisfaction that you will get, knowing you are a leader working to make your community a better place to live. You cant put a price on that.

Check out http://www.sbmag.org for a number of other ideas on promoting your business on a budget.

No permission is needed to reproduce an unedited copy of this article as long the About The Author tag is left in tact and hot links included. Reciprocal links will be considered. Email floyd@sbmag.org.

Floyd Snyder has been trading and investing in the stock market for three decades. He was on the forefront of the day trading craze that swept the nation back in the late 1990's both as a trader and as the moderator of one of the Internet's largest real time trading rooms. He is the owner of http://www.TraderAide.com , Strictly Business Magazine at http://www.sbmag.org, http://www.FrameHouseGallery.com, and http://www.EducationResourcesNetwork.com.

Trade Stocks

2007-10-06T17:16:00.001-07:00

Day Trading

Lets assume you are a new entrant to the day trading. Till now you havent traded stocks or futures except your baseball cards as a kid and that was years ago. As an employee you have slogged really hard and now you are successful in your respective field. However, recently you decided to venture out in trade securities with some of your accumulated savings. The first word of caution to you will be, stay on your toes and play intelligently.

The world of day trading sounds easy and simple. Thanks to the ads on TV. In reality, it isnt an easy task and you have to play safe with open eyes. Being a novice to this field, it will be advisable to go for an online day trading broker. Day trading world is fast paced where stocks, futures, and currencies are speedily bought and sold on the same day. You have to match up this swift speed and also try to have updated information. Many people are still in qualm whether day trading is a positive aspect of trading in the stock market.

Traders have successfully ventured in day trading, will call it a science, which is difficult to master for the average person. Many investors are fascinated to the idea of brisk returns but it involves a high amount of risk that traders may or may not be ready for. For a successful stint in day trading you ought to have knowledge of the fundamentals involved in online day trading. These fundamentals will keep you away from losing money in any part of the stock market. If we talk in a layman terms, day trading is the practice of buying and selling financial instruments, such as stocks, stock options, currencies, equity index futures, interest rate futures, and commodity futures within the same trading day.

In contemporary day trading, majority day traders are bank or investment firms employees working as consultants in equity investment and fund management. Off lately, day trading has become very popular among casual traders too. This is due to rapid advances in technology, changes in legislation, and the popularity of the Internet. Online is the best place for day trading these days, as you dont have to go anywhere and everything can be easily done with a click of your mouse. If you hire the best company in online stock trading you are at a beneficial end. They are the ones who will do all strategy making on your behalf. Majority day traders employ various trends, such as range trading, scalping, and playing news.

Range trading: This range trading is the buying of stocks that are falling. These falling stocks are brought at the lowest price and later they are sold at a higher price.

Scalping: Scalping or also known as spread trading and quick trading, mainly consists of settling a trade within a matter of seconds or minutes.

Playing news: The last one to follow is playing news and it is one of the most popular strategies for day traders. It usually consists of purchasing stocks that offers the investor good returns and selling the ones that wont.

The proven way of emerging winner in day trading is to have extremely up-to-date information. Information can be gathered from various sources such as from an online broker, day trading companies, day trading websites, and many more mention. Day trading involves requisite skills and strategies that can be gained through either by online day trading broker or by contacting www.sogoinvest.com.

SogoInvest is a discount online brokerage stock day trading firm. This product-oriented day trading firm is more towards investor, along with a beginner or an advanced professional. If you are seeking to build a long term and varied portfolio, without using expensive and complicated methods SogoInvest should be your certain destination.

online stock market trading can be an enriching experience when you know how to trade stocks.

The Fat Lady

2007-10-06T17:13:00.001-07:00

The operatic fat lady is singing and she has many choruses to go. As you know an opera is a musical drama. Unfortunately the one we are watching has terrible screeching with discordant sounds. This opera is called The Market and the scene we are watching is called The Bear.

She started singing 3 years ago and is becoming worse and worse. Will she ever stop?

This act has followed a very long and pleasant act called The Bull. Everyone was beautifully dressed, lived in wonderful houses complete with giant TVs and 2 cars in every garage. The singer was on key and had a wonderful voice. From my experience with operas each Bull act is followed by a Bear act of equal length. I hope the fat lady will quit singing much sooner than that. Is there any way to escape that raucous sound?

Does the stock market follow the opera? Lets look at the facts. From 1920 to 2000 there were 3 major bull markets that lasted about 16 years with each followed by a bear market that lasted about an equal length of time. Does it mean we have about 13 more years before the next bull move will occur? If you are a student of history and historic cycles the answer must be Yes. When you look within the economic and political machinations there doesnt seem to be much hope for any kind of quick recovery.

Is the fat lady singing in other countries too? It seems she is. Of 34 countries only 6 had positive results for their market indexes that are similar to the New York Stock Exchange and none of these 6 were large countries. Many of the other 27 had losses greater than the U.S. In the chorus most of them were off key. In the stock market 96% of all stock mutual funds lost money during 2002. The opera is bad enough, but the stock market is worse because I am continuing to lose money. Is there anything I can do?

During the opera I can stuff cotton in my ears to stop the noise. Can I stop the losses in the market? Yes. And it is pretty easily done. On all stock you own whether it has a profit or a loss place an open stop loss order at the price you will sell it if it drops that low. Are you willing to lose as much again as you have lost so far?

Brokers will discourage you from doing this, but it isnt their money. Ask them if they will guarantee it (in writing , of course). If they wont, you will know what to do.

You may not be able to stop the fat lady from singing, but you can stop the noise (market losses) with a stop-loss order so you can sleep soundly once again.

Stock-Bond and Option

2007-10-06T16:36:00.001-07:00

We may not familiar with option but we are sure that most of us know what is stock and bond. Stock is an equity that representing a company value. By purchasing stock, you are actually buying the ownership of a public listed company, which means that you are one of the owners of the company. There are many purposes to purchase stocks. It can for long term investment, short term investment, really intending to own a company or speculation for very short term investment. No matter what is their purpose, usually, they will buy large amount of stock. Especially, for them who want to control the administration of a public listed company. This kind of investor will buy as many stocks as possible in order that they have a majority stock in their hand. In this kind of situation, he or she has the control power to the company administration and can do some modification to the processing and also the management of the company. By owning an amount of stock, you will be paid dividend if the company has declared it. Some company may not pay you any dividend depending to the company highest management decision. Some company may let you vote in their company election such electing a suitable CEO or MD. When you own a stock, you have the total control of this stock. You can sell it anytime if you think that you no longer intended to own it or you think that it is not worth to own it. You can also keep it for your whole life and use it as collateral to borrow money from bank or financial institution.

Bond is a debt that the bond issuer own you if you have bought the bond. When there is a project to carry out regardless it is a big or small project, if the people who intend to start the project do not have money, one of the sources for them to generate fund is by printing bond and selling it to public. By doing this, they can generate fund to carried out the project. This seem like the owner of the project borrows money from you and they give you the bond as evidence that they have borrowed money from you. By owning this bond, you will be paid interest and repaid all the money that you have lent to them at a specific date. Not anybody can print bond and sell it to public. People who want to do so have to apply to the government as a bond issuer. Usually, these people are from corporate agency, states, cities and federal government agency. As a bond holder, you have priority to have your money back compared to shareholder if the bond issuer goes broke. They will pay back the money for you as a bond holder before they pay to their shareholder.

Stock and bond have a tangible value that you can grasp and visualize. The ownership of a stock that you have purchased can last for a long time as long as you continue hold this stock and dont sell it. The ownership of a stock can not be canceled unless the company goes broke (means that the company have declared bankruptcy). Bond usually has contract type repayment schedule and once they have paid back all the money that you have lent to them, the bond will end. The third type of investment does not give a whole life ownership and does not provide any tangible value. The validity of this investment has expiration date. Once the expiration date has over, the whole investment will become worthless. Apart from that, the value of this investment will decline when the time passes by. These are part of the features that options have. Due the lack of tangible value, worthlessness after expiration date and value declines due to the time has passed by; all these make options seem too risky to be invested for most of the people. However, there are still a lot of investors interested in option investment. Do you know why?

This is because not all methods that had been used in trading option are risky. What had been mentioned just now such as lack of tangible value, worthless after expiration date and option value declines after the time had passed by can work to our advantage. For an example, we can sell option that has a very short period of time to expiration date, which has a low possibility to become in the money option. Like this, when the time has passed by, option value that has declined will be our gain. There are limited strategies to trade stock but for option, there are a lot of strategies can be utilized. For stock, we either buy or sell stock. Thats all what we can do. But for option, we can combine a few positions together to form a synthetic position to earn money from the stock that move either up, down or side way. You will realize that options are very flexible after you have study more about it. You can use options in numerous situations and create numerous opportunities.

An option is a contract of agreement that allows you have a privilege in executing transaction involving 100 units of stock. This agreement only involves the option buyer and seller. This privilege includes a specific stock with a specific fixed price per share and also a specific date in the future for its validity. When we have bought a contract of option, we do not have any equity in the stock and any debt position. What we have is a contractual right to buy and sell 100 units of share at a fixed price within a fixed period of time. You will feel wondering why we need to purchase an option to gain the right since we can always buy or sell 100 units of share at the current market price. The answer is that option has fixed the stock price that you can buy or sell and this is the key to an options value. Stock price is unpredictable and this feature makes stock market investment interesting and also very risky. When we own an option, the stock price that we can sell and buy 100 units share is already frozen for as long as the option remains valid. Finally, the options value is determined by the comparison of the fixed price and the stock market current price.

Alexander Chong

Author of Workable Option Trading Strategies

http://www.makemoneystocks.com/

The Powershares ETF Edge

2007-10-06T15:58:00.001-07:00

While I tend to favor iShares an investment tool because of the wide menu and country specific options they provide investors, I have to say that I am increasingly impressed with the new and fast-growing Powershares family of ETFs and will be adding two of them to portfolios this month. Powershares also address one weakness of iShares which is that they track indexes that market cap weighted.

In other words, the weighting of a company in a particular ETF is dependent on the value of its outstanding shares. This means that the bigger companies tend to affect the ETFs performance much more than the smaller companies. Of course, big doesnt always mean better. Powershares essentially creates its own indexes based on rules-based quantative analysis that they refer to as intelligent indexes.

This seems to me to be more useful than blindly following market cap weighted indexes. There are two Powershares that I particularly like at this point. The first is a biotech Powershare (PBE) that contains 30 biotech companies. If its holdings were weighted by market cap, two companies, Amgen and Genentech would account for more than 60% of its holdings.

Instead your exposure is spread among 30 different companies with no company accounting for more than 5% of the total. 30% of your exposure is to large cap companies, 26% is to mid-cap companies and 43% is to small cap companies. The biotech Powershare is an aggressive position so dont get carried away. I think it is a smart play on the tremendous opportunities for capital appreciation in the biotech industry which is showing some momentum after trading sideways since early 2004. The annual fee is only 0.60%.

The other Powershare that I like is the International Dividend Achievers Powershare which contains 42 ADRs traded on U.S. exchanges. I am usually not a big fan of ADRs since they usually trade at a premium to the underlying security but they do offer some comfort to investors since they meet U.S. reporting requirements and can be easily purchased on U.S. exchanges.

The ADRs in this Powershare have to pass a stiff test: five fiscal years in a row of increased dividends. Again the top holdings are no more than 5% of the total index and so you get great diversification. One problem with the most widely used international index, the MSCI Europe Asia & Far East Index (EAFE) is its concentration in Japan and the United Kingdom which account for almost 50% of the total index.

Meanwhile exposure to promising countries such as Ireland and Hong Kong are less than 2%. Last year, the Powershares index beat the MSCI EAFE index by 7% and companies in the index averaged a 29% return on equity. The index is re-balanced quarterly and has an annual fee of 0.50%. Right now 67% of the companies in the index are large cap, 20% are mid-cap and 13% are small cap companies.

For an unconventional approach that challeges market cap indexing, tap into the Powershares edge.

Carl T. Delfeld President& Publisher Chartwell Partners http://www.chartwelladvisor.com/

Carl Delfeld has over twenty years of experience in the global investment business with a strong background in Asia.

 Author of global investor primer The New Global Investor   President of the global investment advisory firm Chartwell Partners  Publisher of the Chartwell Advisor ETF Report and Asia-Pacific Growth   Columnist on global investing with Forbes Asia: Global Gambits  Former U.S. Representative to the Executive Board of Asian Development Bank  Chairman of the global economic strategy think tank ChartwellAmerica   Asian specialist with the U.S. Joint Economic Committee and the U.S. Treasury  Former member of the U.S. Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Committee  Former investment executive with Robert Baird & Company and UBS  Graduate of the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy with economics scholarship from U.S.-Japan Friendship Commission  Exchange student at Sophia University, Japanese Ministry of Education Fellow at Keio University

Downbeat Stocks

2007-10-06T15:21:00.001-07:00

In fact, trading this way can cause financial loss very fast. It is true; by using this method you can make a lot of money fast. As mentioned above, if you get this method wrong, you can lose all of your money just as fast. There are options available to investors who wish to make a steady profit and not have to rely on the fast moving stocks. If you wish to create a passive income from investing, you still need to be careful. You need to ensure that you have everything set up correctly. You must also take care to check in on those investments. You really shouldnt treat it as a set it and forget it method of income. There is a possibility the investments wont do as well as you had hoped. The income you had hoped to rely on may not be there passively. Take our advice and make sure to monitor investments, even if they are considered to be passive.

One of the best ways to create a passive income from investing is to choose under priced stocks from the start. Its almost pointless to buy stocks which are good performers but are priced high. If you invest in these types of stocks you wont make as much of an income as you would on stocks that are good performers but are under valued. You need to make sure you take time for planning and to do a lot of research. By putting in a solid effort in time and research you will be able to buy the right stocks at the right prices and make high returns on your investments. The types of stocks you want to buy are stocks of companies who are strong, yet, the price of their stock is lower than what the stocks real worth is. The logical question you need to ask, is why the stock is priced low in the first place? While it may be tempting to place a buy order on an under valued stock, its not advisable to do so until you find out why. If you fail to heed this one word of caution, you may find it will wind up costing you a lot of money. What looked like a good deal, could turn into a miserable failure. If you do the proper research, including why the stock is priced low, you will be able to uncover some excellent downbeat stocks which will give you a great profit. These stocks will also produce for you without you having to do a lot of trading and profit taking.

When you are doing your research you should first use the industries tab. This will allow you to sort through them to find out which are going to do well for you. If you sort them by using the "RT" then you should be able to get a better view of what is going to work well. You need to find the ones that have the lowest "RT" rating as these are likely to be the most downbeat stocks that will give you the best opportunity for a good profit.

There are two separate criteria that you need to look for to make sure that they have potential. But you need to make sure that they have both of these elements and not just one or the other to know that it is a good stock. You need to make sure that the industry has a cumulative PE of 8 or less. You also need to make sure that the industry has a price to sales ratio of less than 1. When you find a stock with these two characteristics then you need to also make sure the industry also has the lowest "RT" on that day. Do not ignore these conditions as they are very important to making sure that the stock you are buying is going to make you a good profit. You will not find these conditions very often so when you do, you will need to buy a considerable amount of stock to make it worth your while, very often from 100,000 to 500,000 is a good idea. As you will find stocks like this only 10 or 25 times a year it is important to buy them when you do. Then you will find that there are good longer profits over a year or more. This may give you a win percentage of over 94% and massive returns.

Very simply put, when you find them make sure that you buy the stock that has the highest relative value with lowest PE. This will give you the right information on which to base your buying. You also need to do some research on the stock to make sure that it is a good buy. www.form4oracle.com is a very good place to look at the recent activity on the stock and this will help you to get a better view of what is going on with the trading. It is only after you have done all of the research and made sure that all of the conditions are right that you should buy. If you do this then you will make sure that you have the best chance of making a good profit. This may give you 1 to 3 years returns in the triple digits consistently and this can give you a very nice income indeed.

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

Flipping Properties Works In Any Market

2007-10-06T14:44:00.001-07:00

For years, hot-shot speculators made huge profits flipping condos in Florida and Vegas before they were even constructed. All the while, the naysayers in the ivory towers of Wall Street and academia warned of a "housing bubble" that was sure to burst as all bubbles do.

When Fed chairman Alan Greenspan said that national real estate market was "frothy," the writing was really on the wall, and anyone with half a brain could see that we were in for a cooling of the housing market, at best. And yet still, speculators continued to profit, and the real estate bull market marched on.

But the bulls aren't marching now. Greenspan handed his matador's cape to the new Fed chairman, Ben Bernanke, who continued the policy of interest rate hikes designed to deflate housing. No longer accelerating at a break-neck pace, home prices have flattened like a pancake in many markets, and new the condo speculators who got in late are in for a world of hurt. Clearly, the housing boom is over in many parts of the Country. But contrary to the media hype, this is great news for flippers!

It should be made clear that there is a difference between flipping and speculating. While speculators may be a sub-set of flippers, they are, at best, the amateurs of the real estate investing family. Flippers who have consistent success are more conservative and have a fundamental approach to real estate investing. While it may not be as exciting as speculating, the rewards of more conservative flipping are nearly as generous, and they are paired with far less risk.

The biggest difference between flipping and speculating is that flipping works in any market, whereas speculating only works in certain places at certain times. Las Vegas from 2002 to 2004 was a great time and place to be a speculator, but if you were still in the market in 2006, chances are you got burned by more than the hot desert sun.

Basically, speculating often works on the greater fool thesis - that you can always find a greater fool than yourself to take a property off your hands in the expectation that he will be able to find yet a greater fool. Eventually, someone is left holding the bag and that's when the party is over.

Flipping, by contrast, relies on fundamentals. The idea is not to catch a shooting star in a rapidly appreciating market. Rather, the plan is to find undervalued properties, rehab them, present them in an attractive manner, and sell them for a reasonable profit.

Not only is a rising market not a requirement of flipping success, it may even be a mild detriment! After all, it is a bit harder to find bargain properties in booming areas. Sure, it can still be done, but the point is that even falling markets are prime for flipping since the holding period is often too short for the value of the property to decline beyond the deep discount at which it is purchased. Assuming that you add value through rehabbing, you almost can't lose!

While speculators often rely on the "greater fool" strategy, flippers tend to have one of two exit plans:

1) Quickly flip the title to another investor, or
2) Rehab and sell the property at the retail level. While the lion's share of the profits go to the retailer, a quick wholesale deal can free up your cash (and energy) for the next deal. But what if neither strategy works? What if the market really crashes and the buyers disappear? Is all lost? Of course not!

For complex economic reasons, the rental property market does not always correlate with the housing market. In fact, they are often countercyclical. Although most flippers aren't terribly interested in being landlords, generating rental income from a botched deal is a solid backup plan. Better yet, you can usually refinance the property after rehabbing it to get all of your money out.

From that point forward, the bulk of your rental income will be pure profit, and when the market improves, you can make the sale. Even better, you can offer your tenants a lease with an option to buy, which is attractive to many young families looking for their first home.

The media portrays real estate flippers as the investment world's answer to Wild West gunslingers, but in reality, nothing could be further from the truth. Compare the worst case rental income scenario of real estate flipping with the worst case Enron scenario of stock market investing. There really is no comparison!

If you take a fundamental approach to real estate rehabbing and flipping, your risk is limited and your profits are virtually limitless. It really is the best of all worlds.

Richard Reichmann is internationally known as a millionaire maker. He's a leading consultant in real estate and internet marketing strategies that are profit proven.

Subscribe to our FREE newsletter Value $147.00 http://www.InstantRealEstateWealth.com

The Great Impact Of Engraved Business Cards

2007-10-06T14:04:00.001-07:00

"Talk does not cook rice" is an Old Chinese Proverb the significance of which is almost lost in our modern business world.

Even though English has become the preferred language of international business and scientific discussions, you may at some point do business in countries that are non-English speaking countries.

These countries insist on politeness and respect in business above all else. They prefer formal addressing of names and anything that seems too familiar is defined as lacking in respect. Social politeness is expected in dress and behavior. Proper etiquette is a traditional value that has for centuries permeated the cultures of many Eastern and some Western societies and properly engraved business cards that give business title and academic credentials, symbolizes elegance as well as compliance to required and preferred etiquettes. Engraved business cards are considered the most prestigious indicator of success and class in these countries.

Because of the expansion of the global marketplace, engraved business cards are demanding more and more attention.

Earlier these cards were simply for informational purposes and left behind as a calling card. Contemporary business cards include a contact email address and site's URL. An email and website address on a business card, shows that you are keeping up with the times and technology. Listing landline and cell phone numbers show that you are an accessible person who is available 24/7 to meet your clients needs. Business cards should not be stained or damaged. This attention to quality and appearance speaks volumes about you and your business. Beautiful, engraved business cards help to generate the allure and impact a clients perception of you as being capable of helping them with needs, purchases or lifestyle.

If you are in a start-up stage, you are going to make many decisions about your products and services that will not turn out as well as you hoped. For that reason do not invest in large quantities of expensive, embossed or engraved business cards and matching stationery when you don't even know whether you will soon change your address, telephone number, email address, business name, or even the products or services offered. You certainly won't lose any customers by ordering some nicely done plain, white cards that are professionally printed on adequate, not costly, card stock.

Please see below for more information on Engraved Business Cards.

For more information on Engraved Business Cards please visit http://www.popularbusinesscards.com/Articles/Elegant_Engraved_Business_Cards.php, a popular website that offers information on Business Cards. Please leave the links intact if you wish to reprint this article. Thank you

The Benefits Of A Mechanical Forex Trading System

2007-10-05T23:08:00.000-07:00

Most everyone knows that a lot of money can be made in a short amount of time and with a relatively small amount of money (a few hundred to a few thousand dollars). Some people make a tremendous amount of money regularly in the forex market. But you need to have a proven system or systems. And, especially for new traders, the system or systems used should be easy to understand and easy to use. They should also be mechanical.

Why is it good to use one or more mechanical trading systems when trading forex? Because a lot of emotions can come into play, especially greed and fear, that can destroy even an experienced discretionary trader. To make money consistently you need mechanical systems that keep emotions out of the equation. Like Mr. Spock on Star Trek.

It is that emotionless, logical trading with mechanical systems that have been proven to work over months of testing that will make even the new forex trader a winner almost immediately. Emotion free trading is the way to go. You can be one of the best forex traders anywhere when using proven mechanical forex trading systems. You want systems that are easy to understand and use, and require only an hour or two of work a day to give you the freedom and time you need to enjoy the other activities of your life. Emotion free mechanical trading is essential for success!

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By Roger Bovee, Editor And Publisher of Forex Trading Machine Blog. Grab Your Copy of GBP/USD Mechanical System No Cost Ebook That Averages 70 Pips Profit A Trade There Right Now! $39 Value http://forex-trading-machine-blog.blogspot.com

Crude Oil & Unleaded Gas As Predicted Big Gains & More To Come!

2007-10-05T22:03:00.000-07:00

These markets have exploded to the upside today as we thought ( see previous articles) and traders who took the stochastic crossover have fantastic gains on the day.

Can this market continue its upward momentum? Lets look at the trade in more detail.

Low risk and high reward trade

This market was trading near support, so it was a great place to enter if you were bullish, as the contracts were trading right at key nearby support.

While we said traders could enter at the support level, we waited for the stochastic crossover to confirm the move.

One of the most important points in trading an upward move is to look for some upward momentum (Even if you think support is going to hold) get confirmation of strength and the stochastic crossover got us the signal and in the market.

Can this market go to new highs?

We dont know and neither does anyone else.

This market is driven by trader psychology more than anything else at present, but if we step back and look at the charts, we can see things with a clearer none emotional perspective.

A break above resistance points to test of the highs

The huge move up is seeing prices right at the middle of the Bollinger band (resistance), if prices can close above this level tonight or near the highs we would stay with the trade.

If prices get past the mid bollinger band odds favour a run to new highs.

Its important here to keep an eye on how the trade finishes on the day and opens tomorrow. Watch for resistance at the mid Bollinger band and stochastic momentum to stay positive.

Note: Stochastics are great timing tool, to get into trades and the bollinger band represents a great way to define resistance, support and objectives. These two tools are a powerful combination when used in conjunction with charts - learn to use them and enhance your trading.

FOR more FREE info

On low risk / high reward trades and a FREE Energies newsletter which will help you spot trends such as they above as well as a number of valuable free trading tools visit http://www.wellingtoncr.com

How To Make Money With Commodity Trading

2007-10-05T20:55:00.000-07:00

Since the advent of the internet commodity trading has grown by leaps and bounds and just about anybody with a computer and a few spare dollars can get into the market. Heres how to make money with commodity trading. 1. Buy low-sell high. Sounds really simple but the number of investors that manage to do exactly the opposite is high. The success or failure of your investment will depend on this concept and that;s how to make money with commodity trading.

2. The only real thing on the stock market is the price of the stock and if you are planning to make money then you have to invest by mirroring the stock market itself. The market corrections are always right so follow the lead. Thats how to make money with commodity trading.

3. What goes up must come down and stocks are exactly the same. The trend will change the rule and the more it moves up or down the more extreme the move will be and that is how to make money with commodity trading

4. You can spend your days trying to figure out what the cause of the large directional moves are but youll be wasting your time and seldom will you find the answer. Its all about market perception if you want to know how to make money with commodity trading if you follow this path.

5. One of the biggest mistakes the majority of investors make is thinking that stock markets are rational. If you want to make money all you need to know is whether the market is moving up or down and how long its been doing it for.

6. Usually some type of news or world event affects the movement of a stock or stock. The news can be months in advance and not totally clear but you should not wait to invest or it will be too late and the how to make money with commodity trading skills you have will go down the drain.

7. The trends are like lovers you need to keep them close and understand their move. Its where all the profit or loss stems from. You will need long term trends if you want to make bigger profits and learn how to make money with commodity trading.

8. Discipline is key and without it you will not be able to make money over the long term. Sometimes you do have to cut your losses and get out. Know when to stay and know when to run.

Now that you know how to make money with commodity trading your ready to get started. One last thought. Much of your success depends on your individuality.

Joel Teo is the owner/webmaster of http://www.GlobalProsperity.info/ the free financial article directory. When you submit articles for free, your articles may be picked up by ezine publishers who might reprint your articles and give you links and send traffic to your website.

How to Learn Stock Investing Without Risk!

2007-10-05T20:20:00.001-07:00

Airline pilots practice fly in simulators before taking off in an expensive new jet. They do this so that they dont kill themselves or their passengers. They also do this so that a very expensive airplane does not get destroyed!

In the futures markets people who trade commodities have been practicing for years by paper trading the markets. Paper trading consists of using long term price charts to get a feel for the markets. This was done before we had computers by learning to recognize and analyze simple trend lines using a pen and ruler in a catalog of price charts supplied by a technical analysis chart subscription service.

Once the computer was invented an observant, entrepreneurial, futures trader named Lan Turner recognized that the entire futures trading process could be simulated with software. He noticed that this could be done just like the Xbox games kids play today that are a lot of fun (but dont teach you how to get wealthier).

Mr. Turner created a simple software application with a programmer friend and began showing it around. Futures traders immediately recognized the enormous benefit of practicing in these highly leveraged markets before actually trading; just like pilots learning to fly a new aircraft use a simulator. With this first application Lan began hiring more and more programmers and today his company Gecko Software (www.geckosoftware.com) has the best futures trading simulator in the world because it really puts you in the trading seat without exposing your hard earned savings.

Now they have finally created an equity version that is being beta tested called TNT High Finance that allows me to actually practice in any past time in any stock. The software allows me to place positions and then roll time forward like a video player. This virtual environment allows me to see each day unfolding in any stock I want to practice an investment technique in the market without risking my assets.

The reason I am writing about paper trading in the stock markets is that you must understand how vitally important it is for you to find a stock investing technique that is just right for you. Each of us has different ways of thinking (psychology). A stock investing method that is just right for me may be horrible for you and vice versa. Paper trading in the stock market allows you to hone in on a stock investment strategy that works for you. Learn to paper trade in the stock market and you can get years of trading experience in a few short months of practice that is absolutely critical to your financial health!

Dr. Scott Brown, Ph.D. a.k.a. The Wallet Doctor can teach you how saving the daily price of a cup of coffee at Starbucks can make you a millionaire in the stock market through long term stock investing. Dr. Brown's website is: http://www.walletdoctor.com/

Will Fibonacci Help Me Forex Trading? Successful Traders Say Yes

2007-10-05T19:47:00.000-07:00

When you first start trading the forex and begin to have some understanding of what the currency markets are all about you will have the ambivalent impression that the behavior of the most traded currency pairs are quite predictable but without any certainty. Yes, you can contemplate the oscillation of the prices as they evolve during the trading day and easily say I knew it would drop there or something similar. But the reality is that although you contemplate pretty regular intervals of oscillation, they are not as easily predictable as it may seem to you when you are a rookie, and as the best traders know, your best guesses wont be enough to make you consistent money when trading forex.

Thats why every trader known has been given as his first homework the task of looking for a reliable forex trading system that will help him in his frequent encounters with the currency markets. There are many good systems out there that you can use depending on your trading psychology and capital you wish to risk (the least the best is one of the forex trader golden rules). But one of the most widely used by its reliability is the Fibonacci Levels system.

This is a forecasting system based on the legendary Fibonacci numbers that are known to be widely present in nature as hidden constants ruling the behavior of many phenomena. And the Forex markets are not exempt of this influence; thankfully for the traders, the way each of the oscillations you can see when you contemplate a forex chart behaves is directly related to the Fibonacci levels, having these constants imbedded inside their behavior. So by understanding how these Fibonacci levels work you will be able to have pretty accurate forecasts of the markets. Its not a perfect system but you can get very close once you have been trained.

For an extensive Fibonacci Forex Trading training you can go to this site:

=>> http://www.1-forex.com/Fibonacci/2/

Tyranosaurus Rex

2007-10-05T19:14:00.001-07:00

Everyone knows T Rex was the most fearsome of all dinosaurs. He could and did kill everything in his path for food or maybe stupid meanness. His brain was very small and he did not survive.

Take a few moments to review your stock and mutual fund holdings of 2000. Look up the price at that time for each issue. If you had placed loss protection on each one how much would you have saved?

In a bear market the best offense is a good defense. Dont let T-Rex get you.

Investing the Right Way

2007-10-05T18:02:00.001-07:00

The world of investments offers a dangerous draw: huge rewards with the chance of terrible losses. Investors love the idea of accumulating wealth, but no one likes losing money. The trick is to know how to invest with minimal risk. Nobody can predict the fluctuations of the market completely accurately, but as you start investing, youll learn to take the losses and look forward to the next market high.

The market is uncontrollable, but it helps to know what youre investing in. Become familiar with the products and businesses you invest in before you make the jump. Too many new investors invest in a hot stock from the previous year, excited by the market high. Remember: market highs never last. Its smart to invest in a strong stock with a record than a trend thats in one year and out the next.

Just as important as the product is the reasoning behind your choosing it. If you know why youre investing in a stock, youll always know what your next move is. For example, if you invest for the sake of profits only, when prices fall youll know to drop out, instead of fretting over whether to wait and cross your fingers for the next market high, or cut your losses.

Investments are all about timing - not the timing of the market highs and lows, but the timing of your moves in relation to them. You have to know when to take profits and when to cut losses. Some say when the market is up, run a profit in case the market keeps climbing. However, others worry the market will fall, so its best to back out while youre up. When the market is low, everyone knows to cut your losses - back out before it gets worse.

Dont invest in what you cant afford, and dont invest without a good reason. While the market highs are satisfyingly rewarding, the market lows are part of the ride. Although much of investing is gut instinct, you cant afford to make reckless decisions. Invest to your advantage, rather than let the market rip at your bank account.

The best thing to do is study the market. Dont jump to invest before you study the products record and think over your reasoning. Some good books about investing include The Real Life Investing Guide by Kenan Pollack and Eric Heighberger, The Only Investment Guide Youll Ever Need by Andrew Tobias, and The Wall Street Journal Guide to Understanding Money and Investing (3rd Edition) by Kenneth M. Morris and Alan M. Siegel. Know what youre doing and why before you start investing.

When you make informed choices, you can gain many benefits from the market. The business world is unpredictable, but when the markets up, the rewards are well worth the gamble.

Alan Jason Smith is the owner of http://www.stinvestments.com which is a great place to find investment links, resources and articles.

For more information go to: http://www.stinvestments.com.

Mutual Fund Honor Roll - Buy High, Sell Low by Chasing Performance

2007-10-05T17:30:00.000-07:00

Buy high and sell low -- It's not a typo.

Millions of investors guarantee their failure by selecting mutual funds and stocks based on quarterly or annual performance records. Do you chase performance? You might be buying high and selling low!

As the year draws to a close, millions of mutual fund investors begin an annual event to divine next years winners. Yet most of these individuals rely heavily on a time-honored but terribly wrong method of evaluating strength. Whether analyzing screening tools from websites, reviewing fund honor rolls in magazines, or using star ratings from fund analysts, normally savvy business people foolishly chase the returns of last years hottest investments.

This begs the question: Can top performing mutual funds lead two years in a row? Consider a study commissioned by Vanguard Investments Australia and released by Morningstar. The five best performing funds were analyzed from 1994 to 2003. Here are the results:

-- Only 16% of top five funds make it to the following years list.

-- Top five funds average 15% lower returns the following year.

-- Top five funds barely beat (by 0.3%) the market the following year.

-- 21% of all top five funds ceased to exist within the following 10 years.

Academic studies and market statistics confirm the typical investor acts in direct opposition to the sage advice buy low, sell high. Its only after high returns are realized and reported that investors pour money into both stock and bond mutual funds. In fact, Financial Research Corporation compared investor cash flows into mutual funds. Purchases immediately following best-performing quarters exceed 14 times those immediately following their worst-performing quarters. In other words, you are 14 times more likely to buy funds at their highest price than at its lowest. Buy high and sell low.

Just what kind of damage are they inflicting to their investment returns? DALBAR, Inc., conducted a well-known study called Quantitative Analysis of Investor Behavior. The study confirms investors poor timing and the resulting financial carnage. Investors buy funds immediately after a rapid price appreciation. This just happens to be right before investment performance wanes. Prices fall soon after and the investors quickly dump their holdings to search for the next hot fund. The resulting returns fail to even beat inflation! When measured over the last nineteen years, the average equity investor earned a meager 2.6% annual return. Compare that to a 3.1% inflation rate and a 12.2% return from the S&P 500 over the exact same time period. Not only did investors fail to keep up with the market, they also lost money to inflation.

Weve all seen the warnings on packages of cigarettes. Even smokers understand their relevance; smoking is not a healthy activity. So why do investors not heed warnings about mutual fund returns? Youve all seen those statements too. But can you remember what is said? Past performance is not a guarantee or indicator of future results. Research and studies have proven this fact, yet the majority of investors choose to ignore this warning. Yes, its an easy means of comparing funds. It also happens to be completely irrelevant. Let me evangelize these words for you. Past performance does not predict future results!

Heres how you can stop chasing short term performance and stay focused on your financial goals. Identify appropriate long-term investments by evaluating the following:
(1) Leadership: How does the fund perform relative to similar size and similar style funds?
(2) Tenure: How long have the managers and advisors been at the fund?
(3) Management: Managers well-known, highly-regarded (e.g. remember Peter Lynch)?
(4) Consistency: Are the 3, 5, and 10 year returns all above average?

Finally, measure returns based on your entire portfolio. History shows that no single investment success repeats. Accept the fact every year is different and brings new leaders and laggards. Use an asset allocation strategy to guarantee balance and increase long term returns among all your investments. Invest in a diversified portfolio to meet your financial goals and stick with it.

Not yet learned your lesson? Consider this: Fourteen mutual funds topped the 2003 charts with returns over 100%. In 2004, these fourteen funds lost over 4% while the S&P 500 gained 3%. Congratulations, chasing performance lost 7% of your money this year.

Tim Olson

TheAssetAdvisor.com
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Mr. Olson is the editor of The Asset Advisor, a financial investment service providing proven strategies for no-load mutual fund investors. He brings 26 years of education and experience from Stanford University, Ernst & Young financial consulting, personal wealth management, and venture capital investing.

Dubai Lifestyle - The History of the City and Day to Day Life in Dubai

2007-10-05T16:50:00.001-07:00

Background Information to the United Arab Emirates and Dubai: -

Dubai is one of the seven states that make up the United Arab Emirates (UAE); it is located in the Middle East. The UAE borders the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf and is situated between Oman and Saudi Arabia. The United Arab Emirates was formed in 1971 by the then Trucial States after their independence from Britain.

The UAE is governed by a Supreme Council of Rulers, the council is made up of the seven emirs and they appoint the prime minister and the cabinet for the country. Despite being ultimately ruled by the Supreme Council, as with the other six states, Dubai maintains a large degree of autonomy from the UAE when it comes to general decision making for the citys development.

Oil was first discovered in the United Arab Emirates in the 1950s, before that the countrys economy was built on fishing and pearling, since 1962, when Abu Dhabi became the first of the emirates to begin exporting the oil, the country's economy has been completely transformed.

Sheikh Zayed, who has been the president of the UAE since its inception, quickly understood the economic potential for the country from the oil industry. He has continued to ensure that each of the emirates benefits from the oil generated wealth, he has insisted on the reinvestment of oil revenues into the healthcare system, the education system and the general national infrastructure.

The development of the oil industry has led to a large influx of foreign workers to the UAE, in fact Dubais population is the fastest growing in the world and the foreign population makes up about three quarters of the entire UAE population! As a direct result of this fact the UAE is one of the most liberal countries in the Gulf, with other cultures and beliefs tolerated. Dubai has also been quick to understand the need for diversification. Oil in the region is only projected to last for about 30 years and so Dubai has successfully embarked upon a major diversification program aimed to at developing industries and commercial enterprises to take the place of oil as the predominate commodity of the state's economy.

The climate in Dubai is sub-tropical and arid or desert like. The city enjoys almost year round sunny blue skies. Rain is infrequent and if it does fall, it falls in the winter.

Temperatures range from lows of 10C to extreme summer highs of 48C. The average maximum daily temperature in January is 24C and the average maximum daily temperature in July is 41C when humidity is very high.

About the city of Dubai

Dubai is recognised as the commercial and tourism capital of the UAE and is globally regarded as one of the most sophisticated, futuristic and cosmopolitan cities in the world, in fact Dubai is something of a phenomenon! It is an Arab Muslim society with the fastest growing foreign population in the world, and it has successfully developed harmony through ethnic diversity. It is a city with unrivalled levels of economic energy and architectural ambition, a unique city of contrasts where the most modern and architecturally stunning skyscrapers stand alongside traditional beautiful Arabic structures.

The experiences and attractions available in Dubai are many and varied. From the miles of immaculate beautiful white sandy beaches to the richly exotic Arabian heritage, from the awe inspiring majesty of the desert to the lively international bars, restaurants and nightclubs a visitor to Dubai is guaranteed an incredible, never to be forgotten experience. In 2003 Dubai was voted safest holiday destination in the world by Conde Nast Traveller magazine, and in fact Dubai is recognised globally as one of the safest cities in the world. Living in Dubai you will find that it is virtually crime-free with the Dubai police ensuring personal safety and security. Anyone found guilty of committing a serious crime will be severely punished. Alcohol and drug related offences are considered serious.

The economy of the city of Dubai is a mainly service-driven economy, with every business amenity from banking to telecommunications offered. International trading and industrialisation are actively encouraged through the provision of favourable taxation advantages, offshore status, specialist free trade zones etc. Recent innovative projects in the city include the foundation of Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City, bringing 21st century technology to Dubai in the world's very first Free Zone wholly dedicated to e-business.

Day to Day Life in Dubai

Accommodation

If you are considering moving to Dubai one of your first thoughts will no doubt be finding somewhere to live. This is not something youll find too tricky, there are many companies advertising rental accommodation in the classified sections of local newspapers and they offer everything from private villas to luxury apartments or even shared accommodation. Whatever your budgetary and lifestyle requirements are, the specialist relocation and housing companies will be sure to have something to assist you. If you prefer to find your accommodation privately and avoid any agency costs, many people use supermarkets notice boards to advertise or request accommodation.

In terms of which areas of the city offer the type of accommodation you are after, Jumeirah, Umm Sequiem and the Safa Park area are upmarket and offer villa-type accommodation. Satwa and Garhoud also offer villas but are slightly cheaper. Rashidiya, Mirdif and Al Quoz are mainly Arabic areas and they actually attract a lot of expats.

If you are after an apartment the most popular areas are around Bur Dubai, the Sheikh Zayed Road with cheaper flats are available in Deira, Satwa and Karama. Some of the more exclusive apartment developments offer shared gym and pool facilities together with garaged car parking and the like.

Education

If you are considering moving to Dubai with family and are interested in finding out about the education system and the availability and quality of schools, one of the best ways is to ask around! Because of the numbers of expats in Dubai there is actually a large number of primary and secondary schools from which you can to choose. Most schools are private fee paying schools and really the best way to get an idea of the reputation of a school is to ask friends, colleagues and other expats who live in Dubai. Many of the schools also have their own websites where you can learn about the curriculum they follow, after school programs etc.

When it comes to enrolling your child in the UAE there are a few restrictions you should be aware of. For example you are not allowed to change your childs school during the academic yearunless approval is given by the Ministry of Education and the circumstances are special. This means that you have to make sure the school you choose for your child will definitely suit them. Another restriction you should be aware of is that is you move to Dubai on or after the 1st May each year you cant enrol your child into the schooling system for that year. Instead youll have to enrol for the beginning of the new school year which is usually the beginning of September.

Health

Another consideration you may have if thinking about relocation to Dubai may be the state of the health care system available there. It is fair to say that Dubai has many very well equipped hospitals and surgeries. Dubais Department of Health and Medical Services runs Dubai, Rashid, Maktoum and Al Wasl hospitals, with Dubai Hospital one of the best medical centres in the entire Middle East. Al Wasl is a maternity and gynaecology hospital.

The Department of Health also run out patient clinics or surgeries and in addition there are a number of quality private hospitals in Dubai offering in and out patient facilities e.g., The American and Welcare Hospitals. Overall both the private and publicly offered health care services in Dubai are first class.

Working

Working in Dubai you will enjoy a tax free salary and all shop goods can be bought at tax free prices, making it an incredibly attractive city to international workers and international companies. Job opportunities in Dubai and diverse and plentiful, particularly since the additions of the Media and Internet citiesDubai is a city expanding its horizons at an unrivalled rate.

It is important to mention that some countries worldwide have tax laws enabling them to tax their nationals on their worldwide income. It is important to check your status with an international accountant before taking up employment in the city.

Lifestyle

Dubai has a thriving expat population who make the most of their tax free lifestyle in this amazing city of opportunity. The nightlife in the city is excellent, with cocktail bars, wine bars, themed bars and typical British or Irish pubs available, many of which offer food and entertainment as well.

High standard international cuisine is available in the citys many restaurants and if you are looking for lively evening entertainment there are numerous night clubs around the city. Some of the clubs attract international DJs; there are also Middle Eastern, Indian and Asian nightclubs offering entertainment with singers and dancers. Dubai also welcomes international touring singing and entertainment acts which cater to all tastes and agesfrom traditional theatre groups to ballet, from opera to international rock and pop bands - all are regular visitors to the United Arab Emirates.

You can be assured of an exciting pace of life in Dubai and a high standard of living.

Rhiannon Williamson is an experienced publisher who has produced articles for leading travel and tourism guides and financial magazines. Her specialist knowledge about both travel and finance gives her site Shelter Offshore the unique ability to literally cover every single aspect of moving & living abroad - including the often less discussed offshore tax advantages that can be available when leaving our homeland.

Forex Trading Understand the Risks for a Money Making Second Income

2007-10-05T15:31:00.001-07:00

What is The Foreign Exchange trades market (also known by the acronym FOREX) is sometimes called the Spot market. Every day the value of trades made on Forex is anything up to $2 trillion. There are no physical goods or stocks traded in Forex: the currency is, quite simply, hard cash money.

Traders in the Forex market buying one currency at the same time as they selling another, using a Forex broker to make the trade. This paired form of trading means you might be selling US Dollars (USD) at the same time as you are buying GB Pounds (GBP). The trading of currencies is a barometer of current confidence in a country and its economic prospects. The strength of one currency is a demonstration of its position against other competing nations economies.

Newcomers to Forex might want to know where the hub of the market is situated: the answer is it has no physical location. The Trading in the Forex market operates electronically through the Interbank network. Unlike other markets, there are no opening or closing prices on Forex, as the market runs 24 hours a day, from Sundays to Fridays.

It is now easy for any individual to start trading in Forex as the high entry thresholds, which served to restrict Forex trading to financial institutions, no longer apply. No longer do you need to have millions of dollars to enter this market, so individuals can start trading online from their homes.

Unlike traditional stock markets, there are no commissions payable to brokers: they receive a bid-ask payment instead. The bid-ask spread value varies: usually 0.1 per cent of much lower depending on the dealer and the lot or contract size.

Why is Forex trading becoming more popular with private investors?

Here are some of the attractions of getting involved in Forex trading:

You pay no commissions, clearing fees, exchange fees, government fees, or brokerage commission.
You deal direct in your chosen currency market, you cut out the middle man.
The minimum trade is low, so it is easy to start trading in Forex.
Transaction costs are not excessive.
The market is open 24 hours a day between Sunday evening and Friday afternoon so you can star Forex investing even if you have a full time job.
Traders compete on equal terms because nobody can corner this vast market.
Huge capital reserves are not necessary, and investor can start with less than $1000.
Your investment is instantly available so your money is not tied up if you need it.

How you can get started in Forex trading from home

All you actually need to get started is a computer with a high-speed Internet connection. Most of the reputable Forex trading sites have helpful step by step instructions to help you, and you can even start out with dummy trades where you do not even risk any of your own money.

The cost of trading in Forex

You can open an account with a deposit of around $250 in your account - this is called your margin. To get a true feel of the market, it would be better to allocate around $1000 if you can afford it remember you should only deposit this money if you are ready to risk losing it!!

How you can make money in Forex trading The key is to buy low and sell high, of course but easier said than done. Any currency that is fluctuating is a potential candidate for a trade, and you can profit well from a change as low as one per cent in the value of a currency.

How you can get started Have a look at any of the major Forex websites on a Business Opportunity Review website where you can check how they are rated, deposit your initial margin and you are ready to become an international Forex Trader. Think of me when you make your first million...

Adrienne Davis runs Forex Trading Help with advice on the risks and rewards of Forex Trading. She has extensive experience in marketing and business start up and publishes a FREE Internet Business Tips Ezine.

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

2007-10-05T14:27:00.000-07:00