Investment markets got you down, Bunkie? Been blown away by derivative stun guns? When will portfolio market values move back to 2007 levels— and then what will you do about it?
It’s time to overthrow the evil Masters of the Universe and deactivate their weapons of financial destruction. Let’s outlaw the brainwashing that has changed […]
The first step.You must have property and a mortgage.
People are so busy paying off the mortgage and complaining about the mortgage they do not see it for what it is. The mortgage can be the spring that many properties flow from!!!!!!!
People look for opportunities all around and plan and make more plans. Nothing ever happens. What they cannot see is that the mortgage on their home is the opportunity they are seeking.
Take one action today and you are on the path to creating your property empire out of your home mortgage. What is that action?
Pay more into your mortgage account than the current minimal repayment on a consistent basis.
How will this simple step create a property empire?
It is the power of compound interest. Depending on how much you consistently put in, in a short time 18 months - 2 years you should have enough for a deposit to buy a second property. Use a mortgage to make up the price of the property.
The key is to buy a positively geared property. Keep the first investment interest only. Aim to have 20% of the rental available to reinvest in the mortgage of your original mortgage.
The key is to have your rental surplus and your initial surplus focused into one mortgage to ensure the maximum gain.
Now something wonderful happens.
It will take a few months less to buy the second positively geared property. Keep the new property interest only and only pay the interest. Again invest 20% of the rental back into the mortgage of your original mortgage.
It will take a few months less to buy the third property as it did the second. Now you have three dividends working against the mortgage of your home. You will be buying properties faster and faster.
Your only contribution is the surplus that you continue to pay into the mortgage.
To test this, you need to contact a mortgage broker and run the numbers through their software and mortgage calculator that see how fast a mortgage is paid down with the increased payments. This will be critical in the plan you will build in the building of wealth through investments.
Creating wealth and building a property empire is a function of understanding compound interest.
To create a property empire that is conservatively based, is cash flow positive and allows you to sleep at night is almost too good to be true. Check out the Mortgage Brokers software and mortgage calculator and discover for yourself.
John E Edwards explains how a mortgage is a wealth creation tool, and how to use the mortgage effectively to start creating wealth in your life now. Contact a specialist to get you on the right path now.
Mortgage Solutions or Mortgage Answers
Understanding stock market trends can make your job of earning money in the market much simpler. In contrast, if you know little or nothing about these trends can cause serious loss.
As you dig deeper into the market and learn more about the way it functions, you will begin to hear certain terms about marketing trends that seem to be repeated over and over again. Market trends are variable and volatile, both on a daily basis and over extended periods of time. In the past, for example, the United States has had devastating stock market crashes, but due to the freedom of a capitalist society, the American economy has always eventually rebound.
What does it mean for the market or a particular stock to rebound? Assuming that the value of a company or its stock has plummeted to a level that seem unrecoverable, leaving it practically worthless, it may feel as though that company is in danger of bankruptcy and falling off the scope of the free trade markets altogether. All of a sudden, however, the founder of that company may introduce a new product over which consumers go wild. Everyone wants one, and this product may be in short supply upon its introduction, causing a race to the department store shelves.
When such a move occurs, the law of supply and demand will take over, making the company valuable once again. The stock price for that company’s shares will recover, and the resulting gain in value would be considered a rebound a return to the original status (or better) prior to the devastating loss.
The market trends either up or down, and there are specific references to strong changes in the market values that you may frequently hear. If several different areas of the market are in a steep downward slide, with values dropping rapidly (perhaps even ten or twenty percent in a few days), it is referred to as a bear market. You can remember this reference as though you are in the extremely dangerous position of being chased by a bear if you are in possession of several stocks or other commodities worth a goodly sum, you have a serious chance of losing a great deal of value that could translate to a loss of net worth should you choose to sell, and it can be a similar, very dangerous situation.
Your best bet in these cases is to either sell before prices drop below your original purchase price or to hold onto the shares until the market rebounds. However, when the bear market reaches a low point, it can be an ideal time to get into the game, as it is rare for prices to drop below this point. Then, if you patiently await the recovery or rebound of the market, you can make a great deal of money from a bear market. These options will be discussed in more depth in later chapters.
At the same time, a bull market is a strong general upward trend for many stocks. You might compare this to the running of the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, every year. You are safer if you are indoors when the running occurs, and by the same token, if you own stock during a bull market, you are in a prime position to increase your net worth and sell your shares, making a great deal of money. This is another idea will be further explored in greater detail further in the next article to be published.
Alex Morgan offers expert advice regarding free forex trading tips and reviews of various online courses, software and forums.
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With all of the home foreclosures taking place across the country, many people may feel that it is not a good time to refinance. This is actually not true. Lenders want to keep people in their homes because of the expenses they incur when they try to sell a foreclosed home. Most times, they will actually take a bit of a loss. If you are considering refinancing for a better rate or to clean up any outstanding debts, there are many reasons why this is a good time to refinance your mortgage.
Mortgage refinancing is when you take a second mortgage to pay off the first mortgage and possibly consolidate debt under one loan. Like the first mortgage, it is secured against your home. Today, because of the current market conditions, lenders are offering interest rates at record lows. A record low rate could reduce your monthly mortgage payments by hundreds of dollars. As well, a fixed interest rate will not be affected by any down turns in the economy.
Another benefit of refinancing your mortgage is President Obama’s mortgage refinance stimulus plan. His plan has allowed millions of mortgage owners the opportunity to refinance their mortgage at a low fixed rate in order to get out of financial hardship caused by the housing crisis and a decline in the economy. If you are having trouble paying your current mortgage or you are seeking to refinance for a better rate, President Obama’s plan may be the solution for you.
Highlights of the Homeowner eligibility requirements as outlined in the President’s “Home Affordability Plan” include:
- The house that will be refinanced must be the principal residence.
- The amount remaining on the mortgage must be for less than $729,500
- Income must be verified through tax returns or pay stubs.
- Homeowners must provide a handwritten and signed letter of “Financial Hardship”
- The mortgage loan must be through Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac
- If monthly debts exceed 55% of the homeowner’s gross monthly income, the homeowner must get credit counseling
There have been special incentives that President Obama’s government has provided all lenders for performing loan modifications on existing home loans. Banks and mortgage lenders can now offer the following highlighted benefits as outlined in President Obama’s “Home Affordability Plan:”
- The bank or mortgage lender can lower monthly mortgage payment to 31% of one’s gross monthly income.
- Home interest rates can go as low as 2% in order to meet the Obama plan guidelines. The 2% and 4.5% mortgage interest rates are adjustable after a 5 year period
- Home loan modification fees will be paid by the Government as part of the Home Affordability Plan.
- Incentive plans are available to reduce the homeowner’s principal over 5 years, up to a maximum of $5,000.
Mortgage refinancing has always been a popular method of getting better rates and consolidating debt. According to the Mortgage Bankers Association, “the average interest rate on a 30-year mortgage in April was 4.76 per cent.” Because of President Obama’s new mortgage refinance stimulus plan, as well as lenders offering record low interest rates, this is a great time for you to refinance. It could save you hundreds of dollars a month.
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When you are looking to get a better selling price for stock you own or you want to generate income, you write covered calls. On the flip side, when you are looking for a better buying price for stock you want to own or you want to generate some income, you write put options. The major difference between the two options trading strategies is that you don’t need to own the underlying stock before writing puts.
The trade command is ’sell to open’. You get paid the option premium after placing the trade. After that, you wait and watch till the expiration date. If the price of the stock drops, you get to buy your stock at the strike price (and keep the premium). What if it doesn’t drop? You get to keep the premium anyways and can write more puts if you want.
Wondering when to write puts? There are two main scenarios when you write puts:
1 - You believe that the stock will increase in price or hold steady. In this case you will get to pocket the premium and you have the chance to write more puts.
2 - You want to own the stock even if the price declines and you arent expecting it to take off anytime soon.
There are a few risks you should bear in mind before writing puts:
1- Your stock could increase significantly while you are waiting to exercise your puts.
An example: Lets say you wanted Apple stock (AAPL) at around $105. Its trading at $120 currently. You think its an ok buy at $120 but you think its a much better buy at $105. In your estimates, its fairly valued at $140. So, you write some put options for the $105 strike price. In between Apples quarterly earnings come out.
They just blew past the analyst estimates and the stock is now at $150. In this scenario, you chose to buy a volatile stock like Apple at a lower price but it zoomed past your fair value estimate and you could do nothing but watch. In situations where you think that the stock could large move upwards at any point and you are not willing to miss out any gains you should buy the stock outright rather than writing puts.
2- Your stock drops to your strike price and you get to exercise your option. But, it continues to decline after you buy it.
An example: You think that Microsoft (MSFT) is a buy at $30. Its currently at $35 and you write puts for $30. Around the expiration MSFT makes a downward move and you get to buy the stock at the price you wanted. But in the few months you hold it MSFT continues its downward move to $24.
In this case, you got a better buy price than you would’ve if you had just bought the stock outright but you are still holding shares of stock that are depreciating. At this point, you have decide whether you think MSFT is worth holding longer term if the decline continues.
Since you are familiar with call and put options examples, are you ready for more advanced options trading strategies? Visit http://www.e-options.org/ to take your options trading knowledge to the next level.
Most trading strategies aim at protecting in your profits while minimizing losses and managing risk. Hedging your trades using a ’spread’ is one such strategy.
Before we get into spreads lets do a quick recap of trading terms. Commodity trades are of two types - a purchase or a sale of a futures contract. This is also called opening up a ‘long’ or ’short’ position. If you were expecting the contract price to go up before its expiration then you would buy it at todays price and this would be considered as going long. On the other hand, if you expected the contract price to decline before expiration you would want to sell this contract today and buy it back at a future price to profit from the difference. This is slightly counterintuitive in the beginning. How can you sell something you dont own in the first place? You sell a futures contract by borrowing it from your broker and selling it back later. Its a pretty simple trade, just sounds complicated.
Going short example:
Lets assume that you sold a futures contract in June for October wheat for $8.00 /bushel. There is a minimum amount on a contract and lets keep it at 10000 bushels in this example. Suppose the price falls in September in $7.00 /bushel. That amounts to a $1.00 profit on each bushel for a total of $10000 (not including commissions).
Lets understand the concept of a ’spread’ using another example:
The present month is March and the price of an August wheat contract is $7.00 /bushel and for a October contract is $7.15 /bushel. Lets assume that you believe that the difference in price (’the spread’) between the August and October is going to be more than 15 cents. So, what would the trade be? You would short the August contract and go long the September contract i.e. sell the August contract and buy the October contract.
Now, we’re in May and the August contract is at $7.10 /bushel and the October contract is at $7.35 per bushel. You decide to liquidate your positions and settle. For the August contract you lost $0.10 /bushel and you gain $0.20 /bushel for the October one. How much did you make? You made 0.20 - 0.10 = 0.10 /bushel. Since the contract was for 10000 bushels, your profit is $1000 (minus commissions).
In the above example you would’ve made more money if you only held the October contract but since there are no guarantees you are better off hedging your bets by taking a long and short position and taking a net profit in the end. The spread like other hedging strategies protects your profits while minimizing losses.
Want to make more profits by using a commodity hedge strategy? Visit http://www.commodities-trading.org/ for more tips on maximizing your profits and limiting your losses.
Economic indicators are statistics about the economy which give us a perspective on how the economy is doing right now and a glimpse of where it could be heading into the near future. Depending on the health of the economy, as given by the indicators, investors choose the timing of their investments. If these statistics indicate tough times ahead for the economy, some investors might shy away from investing in the short-term till the economy starts showing signs of improvement.
The most popular economic indicators are as follows:
The Jobs/Employment Report -
On the basis of the results of two surveys - the Household Survey and the Establishment Survey - the employment report gives the unemployment rate figures for the previous month. These statistics are released at 8:30AM EST of the first Friday every month.
Consumer Price Index (CPI) -
This statistic is a interpreted as a measure of the price levels of goods and services purchased by consumers. It is regarded as the best measure of the rate of inflation in the U.S. The CPI figures for the previous month are released at 8:30AM EST around the thirteenth of every month.
Gross Domestic Product (GDP) -
This statistic comprises of several components such as the consumption, investment, net exports, government acquisitions, and inventories. These figures for the previous quarter are released at 8:30AM EST on the third or fourth week of the first month of the new quarter. These figures are revised in the second and third months of the quarter.
Housing Starts And Building Permits -
These are two separate measures. Housing starts is a measure of the number of residential units on which construction started the previous previous month. The word ’start’ in this context is defined as the excavation of the foundation for the building (which is used primarily for residential purposes). Since building permits are not required in all states before beginning construction its important to pay more attention to the Housing start measure. The figures for the previous month are released at 8:30AM EST around the sixteenth of each month.
National Association of Purchasing Managers (NAPM) -
The NAPM report is a weighted average of the items including new orders, employment, production, inventories, prices, and import and export orders. This statistic primarily covers the manufacturing sector but is considered a leading indicator for other economic statistics. The figures for the previous month’s data are released every month at 10AM EST on the first business day of the month.
Producer Price Index (PPI) -
The PPI, another measure of inflation, measures the price of goods at the wholesale level. The figures of the previous month are released at 8:30AM EST around the eleventh of the month.
Retail Sales -
The retail sales number is a measure of the total receipts from retail stores. This is usually less than half of the total personal consumption figures because it excludes money spent on services. The figures for the previous month are published at 8:30AM EST around the thirteenth of every month.
Still have more questions than answers? Visit http://www.stock-trading-made-ez.com/ for information on more details on stock fundamental analysis and calculating a business’s financial ratios.
Since 2003 commodities have enjoyed a massive bull market till 2008 when the entire stock market at large suffered. In the first quarter of 2009, the commodities and the stock market is roaring back. Are you ready to take advantage and maximize your profits this time? I’m sure you are. In this article, we will recap the different types of orders you can enter for commodities. You think this information is too basic? You would be surprised how many investors and traders are not familiar with the nuances of some order types. Lets get started.
The most popular and commonly used order types are-
1) Market: these are the easiest to use and understand and most of you will be familiar with it. When this order type is placed with a broker, the order is filled with the going price. Whats important to realize is that you have no guarantee of getting the best price with this type of order. One of the main times it makes sense to use this kind of order is to speed up the execution of the order. Sometimes after positive or negative news comes out about a company the stock surges and its possible that if you place other order types your
Market orders itself come in a variety of flavors - MOO (Market On Opening), MOC (Market On Close), MIT (Market If Touched) and a few others. The first two order types are intuitive because they simply are orders that are set to execute at the opening and the close of the trading day respectively. The MIC orders are basically market orders that get triggered when a certain price is reached. While they sound similar to limit orders, the difference here is that these orders are filled even if the price moves away from the chosen price point.
2) Limit: these are also simple to use and an effective way of buying or selling a commodity at a certain price. When you place a buy limit order your order is only filled at a price at or below than the limit price you selected. Similarly a sell limit order is only filled at a price at or above the limit price.
Like market orders, these limit orders come in a variety of flavors - stop close, stop limit and a few others. Stop limit orders have two prices on them. One price is the the regular stop order price, and the second one is the limit price. When the stop price is achieved, the limit requirement is canceled. The stop close orders come into play only near the close of a trading day. The order is ready for execution only if the market price reaches the stop price around the close. This is avoid the fluctuations due to the huge volatility during the the trading day.
3) OCO (Once Cancels The Other): this is not a commonly used order type. It is actually a combination of two different orders. It is a request to fill the order till one side is executed or the other is.
4) Fill or Kill: this is one of the rarer types of orders that is placed when an order needs to filled up in its entirety (usually when a large number of shares are part of the order) or canceled.
Different orders are used depending on the strategy involved. The main aim is the same - increase your profits and limit your profits. Think about your order before placing it.
Want to make more profits with comodities trading? Visit http://www.commodities-trading.org for more articles on maximizing your profits and limiting your losses.
If you have been watching investing TV commercials lately, you have probably seen the the popular ETF commercial. It starts with a guy daydreaming and suddenly finding himself taking a tour of his own mind. In here, he comes across several little mini-me versions of himself running around. When he asks someone who these people are, the tour guide tells him that these are his investment ideas. The guy then asks ‘Why are they so small?’. At this point, the guide points to a corner of the room to a giant version of himself - ‘Not all of them are. This one has been here for a while and we think you should let him out’. At this point the company name flashes across the screen.
This was definitely one of the more engaging ads related to investing. When I saw this advertisement, I thought this clearly showed the profit potential of the 2X leveraged Exchange Traded Funds that made Proshares famous. These funds return 2 times (also called 2X) the return of the underlying index. Its easier to understand through an example. Lets assume that you think the financials sector were going to suffer in the short-term you want to be shorting one of the indexes.
If you were very confident and wanted to take on more risk for a greater reward you would by the 2X inverse of the financials sector. So, if the index fell down 5% as you had anticipated and you had invested in the 2X leveraged short ETF your returns would be 10% (twice the return of the index). Before you start seeing dollar signs in front your face, you should also consider the reverse. If the sector were up 5%, your loss would be 10%. Thats what the leverage does for you, accelerates your profits and losses. There are 100+ funds available across a variety of sectors a few of the 2X leveraged type.
So, how do investors/traders profit from these ETFs? Two ways - Speculation and Hedging. Traders or speculators pick a long or short position depending on the direction the market sector is heading. If they are right they cash in their profits. Very rarely do traders hold leveraged positions for long periods of time due to risk of high losses and small window of opportunity. As far as the hedging strategy is concerned investors or money managers hold a smaller 2X leveraged position in the opposite direction of their main trade e.g. if the financials index were expected to move upwards, they would buy stocks of a few financial firms and buy a smaller position in the 2X ETF. The aim would be to offset any potential losses in case the market moves drastically against the financials.
Are 2X leveraged funds right for the novice investor? Most definitely not. These funds are best used by sophisticated investors with significant experience. Do your due diligence, only use these with tight trading stops so that your profits are locked in and potential losses are limited.
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In today’s economy, many news sources are filled with reports of the increasing levels of telecommunication industry capital investments. As a telecom industry executive, where can you turn for a business financing resource you can trust? Here are a few tips on finding the right capital investment source for your telecom business.
First of all, look for a full service capital investment specialist. An industry leader is a much more stable financing source than a smaller single service financier. Look for a major corporation that offers asset based solutions, lines of credit and capital investment programs as well as ordinary loans. Once you have found such a company, you can rest assured that they are a full service organization suited to all your capital investment needs.
Next, investigate the capital investment company’s track record of success. Have they been able to deliver results for other telecommunications professionals in the recent past? What are some of the companies for which they have obtained results? How much financial asset did they obtain for these companies? Are any testimonials available from satisfied customers? Find out what companies have walked the path you are about to embark on before you commit to a business financing resource.
In addition, be sure to carefully examine their policy on customer service. As a business financing resource, they should be willing and able to answer all your questions fully and offer you the support that meets or exceeds your expectations. Make sure they have a full staff to offer you quality client support services.
A business financing resource needs to be specially adapted to handling the new lending and credit challenges in today’s marketplace. Today’s credit crisis, created in part by bad lending practices, makes it increasingly difficult for some business owners to find venture capital.
However, a company with strong experience and deep resources for telecommunication industry capital investment is able to better weather the credit storm and find business owners the resources they need to expand and thrive. Internationally and domestically, lines of credit resources are harder to find. Therefore, you need an industry leader with creative financial solutions to serve as your advocate.
Selecting a business finance resource is more important today than ever before. In order to establish your credit worthiness to lenders, it is important to present yourself and your company in the best possible financial light and ensure that your business needs are represented well to investors.
There are special risks attached to loans in the telecom industry. Technology depreciates as the loan matures, and dependability is a non-negotiable. Any lapse in uptime will damage your image in the marketplace. The news has reported many high-profile companies merging or outright failing in recent years. Even though many potential lenders were financially unaffected by the mortgage crisis, it has left an indelible mark on their psyche and their lending confidence.
Because of all the special considerations when it comes to telecommunications industry capital investment, it is important to have a strong business financing resource by your side during the borrowing process. They are an invaluable partner when you need to secure wealth resource in the telecom industry.
Established, well-run companies need to have a strong business financing resource to not only expand or improve their operations but also to get a clear insight beyond their immediate business. Learn more about various funding solutions here http://www.thermocredit.com
A money market fund is a professionally managed mutual fund which invests in highly liquid securities usually called money market instruments such as U.S. Treasuries, CDs or Certificates of Deposit or repurchase agreements. On average the maturity of money market securities is around 90 days. These funds share similarities to mutual funds with a notable exception on NAV (net asset value).
Sometimes these funds are confused with money market accounts. The biggest difference is that with money market funds you don’t have any guarantees on your principal. You can lose money. Since your money is in relatively safer investments you are not likely to lose much if any. On the other hand, money market accounts are insured by FDIC or Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation to the amount of $250,000 or more depending on the account type. An important point to note is that this limit of $250,000 has been increased from $100,000 during the later half of the year when the financial crisis of 2008 was at its peak. These limits hold till December 31, 2009 but there is a chance that this time frame will be extended. If you are opening such an account please confirm whether the specific account is insured by the FDIC and to what limit.
Lets get back to money market funds. You must be wondering - what are their advantages? There are three big ones:
a) Smaller investment requirements - the really neat thing about these funds is that they invest in securities or other financial instruments that require large investments. So, if you were to go out on your own, it might be harder for you to own the underlying financial instrument. Its much easier to own shares of the money market fund. Don’t forget, you also don’t have to worry about managing the investment allocation. You just have to do your due diligence while picking the money market fund. After that, you just put you just buy the shares and forget about it.
b) Stability and Safety - these funds invest in the safest investments out there. Due to low risks involved your returns might not going to be as high as they would be in other growth-oriented mutual funds. But, since this is your safety bucket i.e. you are not willing to risk losing this money stability takes a higher priority over rate of return.
c) Easy Access - the shares of these funds can be bought and sold relatively quickly without the need of timing the markets. Usually most funds provide same-day settlement so your money is available to you the same day similar to a checking or savings account.
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These days, the stock market is as shaky as ever. But, for the smart investor with dispensable cash on hand, there has never been a better time to buy equities. You must be wondering - why would anyone in the right mind buy stocks when prices are going down?
This is because historically the stock market has provided the best returns on investment over the long run. If you have ever heard the investment chatter at the water cooler, you would’ve heard the phrase ‘Buy low, sell high’. In times of bear markets such as 2001-2003 and 2008-2009 i.e. when stock prices have been going down for a while (without getting too technical) the prices of stocks are its lowest due to panic in the markets.
So, going by the ‘Buy low, sell high’ theory, it is in fact the best time to buy stocks. A caveat - you should only invest money in the stock market that you don’t need for the next 3-5 years. This is because stock investing can be risky and it could take 3-5 years for you to see a significant return on your investment. If you don’t have money to spare but want a piece of the action. I have only one suggestion - Don’t invest!
Since you are still reading, I haven’t scared you away (yet). So, lets move on. The way the stock market works you will never know whether the price you bought a stock at is the lowest price possible. Also, you will never know whether a price is the highest a stock will ever go. So, when do you buy and sell? Ideally, you have a range in which you are willing to buy a small piece of the company (1 stock) and a similar range of prices for which you are willing to sell. Before I get into the specifics of how to determine stock prices through the two forms of analysis - fundamental analysis and technical analysis - I want to mention the role of brokers in the transaction of buying and selling.
Brokers are the intermediaries or middle-men who take your orders and execute them. Some individual brokers offer you advice on which stocks to buy/sell given the overall market conditions. The brokers who offer advice in addition to executing the order are called ‘full-service’ brokers. Understandably so, their advice comes with a higher price tag. A lot of folks use discount brokers.
Some use online brokerages like scottrade, ameritrade,etrade etc. Which broker should you choose? I would recommend the one that offers the maximum stock research for the lowest cost of executing a trade.
If you are looking for massive penny stock profits visit
http://www.stock-trading-made-ez.com/ for more information.