Archive for July, 2007

by Ajeet Khurana
These days, most people have dreams of becoming a Donald Trump. Everybody seems to be either working at a career or working towards one. We all want to cut through the finish line even if we start off as a tiny ant in the rat race of the world. After all, it is human nature to to endeavor to find all the things that one does not have. We are all always endeavoring to make more and more money to buy that private jet or that secluded island in the Caribbean. However, most of our incomes depleted as we keep on paying off the various expenses of everyday life. Electricity bills, phone bills, grocery bills — they all add up, and by the end of the month, most of our money will have disappeared into who-knows-where. This means that the private jet and the island will have to wait for another day.

That is why we having an investment plan is so essential. What I have often noticed is that although many of us are keen to have an investment plan, we are unwilling to actually carry out the required procedures. Everybody uses delaying tactics when it comes to making investment plans. Yet, this should be one of our top priorities. Given the amounts that are drained off by the tax collectors, it makes sense to have some tax-saving investments. Invest in some tax-saving fixed deposits that will give you a decent amount of interest. Or make a life insurance plan for yourself. If you are young enough now, in another twenty years or so, you should have saved up a decent amount. Mutual funds are also a popular investment plan. However, if you are not too keen on these so-called safe investment plans, you could consult a share broker to help you buy some lucrative stocks.

One of the safest and most popular investments is that of investing in a house. Real estate prices are not not likely to start rising anytime soon. You will only benefit if you were to put your money in a piece of property in an area that is likely to see the growth of infrastructure soon. Even if you do not have the money to buy a house, that is not a smart reason for not buying property. These days, banks encourage house-buyers by giving them all kinds of loans to allow them to actually buy that dream house. Decide on the house that you want, check out the available loans, sign on the dotted line, and you will have a great security for the long term.

If you are looking for UK loans, you can get the best secured homeowner loans and home improvement loans.

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by Kathryn Lang
Money is a valuable tool in any business and invoice discounting can be one way to find that much needed capital. It is similar to factoring, in that the accounts receivable are sold to an outside company, but with invoice discounting the original owner maintains the records and customer information as well as doing the collecting of invoices in house. This means that at the end of the day the client company (or the one that is borrowing money against outstanding invoices) will be responsible for any bad debts.

The client company (again, this is the company that is selling the income of outstanding invoices) is subject to more requirements with invoice discounting than with factoring. Typically the client company will be larger (bringing in a higher yearly income than with factoring) and have to be willing to be audited. It is also important that the client company have a large number of invoices and no one customer responsible for more than 20% of the invoice balance. Diversity is important.

The client company maintains control of the consumer information with closed invoice discounting. This can be good, because the customers will never know that the invoices were sold. The bad side is that the client company will still have to put forth the man hours and effort to collect the debts. The money collected by the client company is deposited into a bank account that is controlled by the invoice buyer. This helps maintain a working honesty between the two companies. Any money that is left over is returned to the client company.

Invoice discounting is not for all companies. The expense of collection still falls on the client company, as does the hassle of making the collections. It does offer cash in advance of collection, and for that reason alone it is sometimes the best option.

Kathryn is a freelance journalist writing on business finance issues, such as invoice discounting and accounts for business.

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by Kathryn Lang
It seems you can never have enough money, and factoring is just one more way to meet that goal. The basic premise behind the business idea of factoring is that an owner sells his accounts receivable to get a quick influx of cash. The buyer gets the accounts receivable at less than their actual value. The pay off comes when the accounts are paid in full.

Factoring can be good for the business owner. The sell gives the owner some immediate working capital that would have trickled in otherwise. It also takes the hassle of collecting outstanding accounts out of the hands of the owner. The down side to factoring is that the owner will get less money for the accounts than they show on paper.

Most owners who look to factoring are trying to find a way to smooth out the cash flow and free up time. It basically comes down to a need for having the money now instead of later. The money is guaranteed at the sell of the accounts, and the business owner doesn’t have to spend time and resources trying to collect on accounts. Factoring also relieves the owner of concerns about bad debts. Collection is strictly in the hands of the buyer.

The buyer side of the factoring benefits because the accounts are purchased as much as 25% below their face value. This is a nice profit on a short term investment. It is also likely that a company interested in factoring has streamlined the collection process — making the process much more cost effective.

Factoring is not for every company, nor every investor. The best route for factoring is to find a company that specializes in this investment process and develop a relationship with it. It would also be wise to consult with an accountant to see if the process of factoring could be a money saving tool for your business.

Kathryn is a freelance journalist covering business and finance issues, specializing in subjects such as factoring and ecommerce.

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by Keith55
What is options trading?
There are two choices in options tradings, the puts and the calls.
You buy puts when you think the stock or index is about go go lower quickly in short period of time. As for calls, you buy them when you think a stock or index is about to go higher quickly in a short period of time.

Instead of buying the actual stock, you are actually speculating on the direction of ths stock. This is a significant advantage for investors with limited investment funds and yet can participate in investing based on the growth and fall of ths stocks of companies that interest them.

Call options (puts and calls) are actually contracts with a delivery date (expiry date). Call options are the right but not the obligation to purchase an agreed upon amount of stock at a particular price in the future.

1 call option = the rights to purchase 100 stocks of common stock.

How do you make money with options trading?
For example, you want to capture the rise of the next ten points for Google’s stocks over a period of eg.eight months.
If the price point of eg. Google is $50 today (Feb 07), you would tell the broker that you want to buy October 20 calls

You would say that you want to buy October 50 calls on intel.
The broker would look up his options window and find out the price of calls. For example, the ask price of each call option might be $5. If you buy 1 call option, it would be $5 and it would entity you to the rights to buy 100 shares of google stock at $50 in October.

The amount to pay for 1 call option would be
= (call or put price) x number of shares x number of call options
= $5 x 100 x 1
= $500.

If the price of Googles rise to $60 in October. The option call which you purchase at $50 for google is now worth $60.
Therefore, you would have made.

(Price of google stocks in October - Price of Google stocks in Feb - Call options price)
= ($60 - $50) - $5
= $5 profit per call option

Since 1 call option allows you to purchase 100 shares at $50, you should have made
(Profit per call option x 100 shares)
= $5 x 100 shares
= $500 profit

However, that means if you purchase a call option for Google at $5, prices of Google stock have to rise above $55 in October before you can make a profit.

Advantages of Options Trading vs Common Stock Investing
For example, if you only had $500 to invest and you want to invest in Google Stocks. If the prices of Google stock is $50 in Feb 07, with $500 you can only purchase 10 stock. If the prices rise to $60 in October as what we have illustrated in the earier example, you would have made

(Profit per stock x Number of stock)
= $10 x 10 stock
= $100 profit

With call options, you made $500 and with common stock investing you made $100. See the difference it can make?
Of cos, some of you might argued that you can hold on to the common stock until the prices rise much higher. But how much do you need the price of Google stock to rise to to make $500 profit with common stock investing?

Call options are good if you had a hunch or tipoff that something fantastic is going to happen to stock market or to a particular company’s stock. Its good for speculators. I am not trying to encourage speculation here but some of us speculate from time to time.

If you have other great idea or information that you want to share with me and the other readers, why don’t you drop me an email to keith@bewarrenbuffett.comThis e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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by Nahshon Roberts
With each click of the clock, time runs out for the “home team.” The passer heaves the oblong shape high into the air. The receiver weaves in and out between the obstacles on the grassy field and runs towards the thrown object. Then, he launches himself into the air, fully extending his arms. Just when the oblong shape seems destined to crash into the ground, the receiver cushions it with his hands, preventing a devastating loss. He then stands up, relieved that he caught…the crystal egg. In “Risky Business,” the film that made Tom Cruise a star, a high school senior’s home is robbed while his parents are away. The teen must then buy back everything from Guido, a ruthless hustler, before the former’s parents return from their out-of-town trip. “Risky Business” demonstrates the importance of using home surveillance systems to protect investments.

Investments Can Be Cheap
When we think of the word “investment,” what usually comes to mind is the spending of huge sums of money, on properties, paintings, or stocks. But an investment is actually the spending of money to increase the value of something, or to earn more money. For example, when you treat yourself to a special dinner at a sit-down restaurant; or take night classes to improve your career, you are actually making an investment in yourself! Probably the biggest investment that you will ever make is in a home. So, it is wise to use home surveillance systems to protect everything inside it. That includes your furniture, appliances, clothes, fancy silverware, computers, jewelry, and yes — crystal eggs.

Thwarting Theft
Home surveillance systems provide the most direct way to record a home burglary as it happens. However, they also serve as a useful deterrent to crime. There are many steps that can be taken to prevent burglaries.

* Never put objects of value, particularly those that can be carried off easily, near windows.

* A “beware of dog” sign can scare away thieves, even if you only have a goldfish.

* If a person comes to your front door and requests to use the phone, you should make the call.

* Buy a timer to turn lights inside the house on and off at different times. This will give the appearance that you are home even when you are not.

* Have a means to secure your garage door. And if you drive somewhere, never leave the garage door open.

* Every time you leave your home, lock the front door and bring along the key - even if you are only going to do yard work in your front or back yard.

Selecting a System
After all is said and done, however, the best tool for preventing theft at home is still a surveillance system. When choosing one, make sure to do your homework first. Some systems are more “mobile.” These include wireless cams with features such as audio and night vision. A CCTV lets you keep tabs on your home using a monitor. It is ideal for catching thieves - whether you are at home or not. Home surveillance systems can even include under-vehicle surveillance cameras placed in your car or truck. Whatever components you choose for your home surveillance systems, make sure that you pick one that meets your particular needs.

Investments can range from high-return mutual funds to Wacky Watermelon smoothies. In particular, purchases of home surveillance systems are valuable investments to protect your investment.

Protect your home with home surveillance systems. If you’re looking for a security camera guide or are simply shopping for the latest wireless security cameras, visit our site now!

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by Vagner David

$8289.68 is a reality in month without work. I made it in this month without HUGE efforts. In this article I will tell you difference between a ponzi and a HYIP.

All you know that you can made money from investing into HYIP. Online HYIPs rarely provide information to their investors of what is done with their money. This makes it easy for fraudulent programs to succeed. Dishonest organizers can set up a website to look like the other HYIPs available on the net, wait for investors to place their money in their hand and then stop the activity and walk away with the cash.

What exactly is a ponzi scheme

Ponzi schemes or pyramid schemes has nothing to do with investments, business or sales. Simply because they don’t trade your money or they don’t sell you anything. The fact is that a ponzi scheme uses the money of new investors to pay out old investors. Some ponzi schemes are surviving a few weeks and some of them even a few months. But this is for sure they all go die after some time. Why? Because mathematically it’s impossible to find new investors. Or sometimes the legal authorities find out the ponzi scheme and close it.

A true Ponzi scheme usually promotes what appears to be a real investment opportunity which investors may contribute to without actually being an affiliate, distributor etc. A pyramid scheme, on the other hand, usually requires that participants make a payment for the right to recruit other people into the scheme, at which point they will receive money.

There are a number of ways to spot a Ponzi scheme from a genuine HYIP opportunity. Firstly, be wary of schemes that offer a high daily percentage return. If a site offers you 40% a day on your investment, you should question where the funds will come from to make that level of payment. Secondly, although HYIPs often pay you for referring others to their schemes, these payments are often low. If you are offered 10% per referral it is worth considering if that may be because referrals are the only way for the system to keep going. Lastly, look closely at the site and its design and functionality. If you spot a lot of content that looks as though it has been simply copied from another website, or if the design and layout is particularly amateurish, it could well be that the organizers know that it will not be needed for long as the system is only a short term thing to make them money.

Be wary of anything that sounds too good to be true. It probably is if it sounds like it might be. Anyone that promises a guaranteed return in any amount of time is probably not legitimate. There is no such thing as a guaranteed return when it comes to investing money. And on any return there is no guaranteed amount that can be returned. So either promise is someone out to scam you. Common sense goes a long way when it comes to investing money anywhere.

David Vagner teaches people distinguish good HYIP from a ponzi. If you wish to make a lot of money now read report on HYIP investment or visit http://thehyips.net/lessons/

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by Greg Silberman
Sometimes it pays to step away from the daily gold stock price action and remind ourselves why we are in a MASSIVE Gold Bull Market.

Just how significant is the 80 level on the Dollar Index?

Take a look, you decide?

Chart 1 - US Dollar Index looking over the abyss

Gulp!

The Dollar Index (a trade weighted index of the US Dollar vs. other major currencies) is dangling off a cliff.

There is nothing but fresh air under 80. Never in the history of the currency has it been breached. Some say that the composition of the index has changed and based on the old weightings it would already be underwater. Ok, maybe so. But traders act on the charts and the above chart is saying that 80 may have been tested one time too many and may very well fall.

In intermarket parlance there is a positive correlation between Bond Prices and the US Dollar. That is, if the Dollar moves lower, Bonds move lower (interest rates higher). Simple to trade you say? Aaahh but there’s a catch. There is a significant and changing time lag to account for. The Dollar above made its recent highs around 2002. Interest rates only made their ultimate lows in mid-2003.

As time moves on, a continued deterioration in the Dollar will pull interest rates much higher (despite the shenanigans of Asian Central Banks recycling Dollars into US Bonds and keeping rates artificially low). Market forces ultimately win out and the trend is now definitively towards higher interest rates.

The counter balance for paper financial assets such as the Dollar and Bonds is real tangible assets. Preferably one’s that are not debt financed (Real Estate) and not economically sensitive (Oil and Industrial Metals) and that leaves our favourite — Gold!

Gold’s major use is as an investment vehicle with a AAA+ credit rating — Gold Bullion that is. Gold is best viewed as the anti-Dollar or a foreign currency with no sovereign home and whose supply cannot be manipulated by the dangerous whims of politicians.

Sometimes it pays to disregard today gold price and focus on the one incontrovertible truth. Gold is in its biggest Bull market in over 20 years because the US Dollar is mired in a secular bear market period.

More commentary and stock picks follow for subscribers…

To view the charts please follow the link below

keywords: today gold price, gold stock price

For a FREE trial to my newsletter on gold stocks and oil stocks please visit me at:http://blog.goldandoilstocks.com/

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by jamesbush
When you are looking for a good investment you should consider investment property abroad. There are companies like ipcltd that offer you help in finding investment property abroad. They offer services in Spain, Bulgaria, and even Cape Verde. They even have property in Turkey. Ipcltd offers unbiased services for finding investment property abroad. They will work towards finding the property for you needs, even if you are not looking for an investment property, but something to relocate to.

There are many reasons for looking abroad. You may find that the investment properties in other countries are a better place to reinvest your income from recent equity booms in the UK. You may also find that relocating to another country for a better position enables you to find a home in another country that you can’t get in Britain. There are of course the reasons for wanting a holiday home somewhere tropical as well.

Once you decide on investment property abroad you will want to choose the location for this property. Of course you may already have something in mind such as a tropical place in Spain or you may find Bulgaria to be a better investment choice. Currently Bulgaria is experiencing a wonderful growth rate for purchasing property. You can find a holiday home in Sofia or perhaps near the Red Sea.

If you are not ready to speak with a representative you may just find the website helpful for during a quick search of your own. There search options will help you determine the best place for you and your family to relocate or holiday in. Of course when you are looking for investment property abroad you will also need to know about the mortgages available to you if you do not want or cannot pay cash.

Written by James Bush. Find more information on Investment Property Abroad

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by Lisa Roberts
Surveys on mortgage loan borrowers show that most Americans are paying more than the actual costs of their homes. Additional fees or what are called “junk fees” burden most home owners on their home loans.

If you will not go out of your way and do your research, lenders will not give you any discount. Lenders are good at offering low rates at the start just to get you to sign up but once you’re in, they can impose unreasonable costs on your loan at closing time. Here are some tips to avoid unnecessary mortgage fees:

Compare all fees, not just interest. To avoid paying mortgage junk fees, don’t just compare interest rates of each lender. Instead, compare all the fees involved in the loan, including initiation fee, administrative fees, processing fees, closing fees, etc.

How much exactly? Don’t just accept an offer if you’re being told that you will not have to pay anything except for some “processing fees.” Clear up how much exactly will the “processing fees” cost you. Instead of just verbal reassurances that you will not be paying for anything way out your budget, insist that you be given a documented copy of all costs that you will be paying at the closing. However, make sure that the copy of the final billing costs will be handed to you days before the actual closing date. This will give you enough time to study the costs you will be paying.

Watch for the title insurance policy fee. Some people get charged more than a thousand dollars for a title insurance if they go to a company endorsed by their lender. It would be better if you shop around for insurance companies to make sure you’ll get the best rate. Furthermore, if you can request for a copy of a title insurance policy from your lender, you can get huge savings because it cuts down the work the title company has to do for you.

Ask for receipts. When paying for government charges, always ask your lender for the receipts. Your bill can soar from $25 to more than a hundred for such fees if you don’t demand for receipts. If your lender says that they had to get the services of another company to process these, the more you should demand to see the receipts of these payments.

If you’re planning on applying for a mortgage loan, you should be particularly aware of these tactics. Remember that lenders mean business, and the bigger the payment they can get from the customers, the better it is for their business.

It might take a little more time and effort on your part to shop around for lending companies, inquire fees from each lender, talk to your lender and ask for receipts. However, your efforts will also pay off because you can save hundreds, even thousands of dollars on your payments.

Be wise. Don’t let mortgage lenders get the better out of you. Know your rights as a borrower and be prepared to stand-up for them.

Liz Roberts is a loan consultant with NewHorizon Finance and has been providing consumers and business owners with home loans financing since 1989. For years she has helped people with home loan problems especially pertaining to home mortgage loans and bad credit home loans. Copyright 2007

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by Jim R. Wilson
The internet has changed the way we invest online. Along with that, forex trading has become the new way to get significant profits while investing with certain advantages that are superior to other types of investments.

When you are in the Forex trading market you will find it operates 24 hours a day giving you access to trades when ever you want. This differs drastically from the stock exchange, because there are no worries about the market closing when you still feel like trading. 24 hour access is provided by online forex websites so that you can keep track of the market when ever you feel like it. This speeds up the learning curve to understand this market.

Assistance is provided by the forex sites in the form of tools that guide you through the mechanics and the thought process of performing a trade. Being able to practice your trading without risking your own money is a feature of the sites that you should take advantage of.

When you think of it, the forex firms are training you to become skilled at trading for free by providing guidance, demos and news at no additonal cost. How much does it cost to get started trading forex? It only takes about $300 to open an account with a broker and to start investing.

Because of the power of the forex websites you don’t need to become an economist or market analyst to become a successful investor. Most of the time, you will gain access to forex trading by using a forex broker.

Similar to stock brokers, forex brokers are there to help. They can consult with you and provide market information and trading strategies. The type of advice provided includes research methods and technical analysis data. Naturally, because this market has apparently been providing a great return on investment, large financial institutions have been proactively monopolizing the market.

Great results are still available for the small time individual investor, because of easy access to the web. The online Forex trading firms, as mentioned earlier, have been giving out free website tools for you to familiarize and navigate the whole concept of the market.

When you choose your broker, the determining factor should be your level of experience in the forex market. Many forex internet sites provide a bevy of tools for the beginning trader including detailed research, online trading simulators, and expert technical advice. You will find that some sites offer access to experienced professional forex traders that make themselves available for questions and advice to forex traders at various skill levels. All of these tools are available to beginners to try out.

Probably the biggest challenge facing those who want to learn how to trade forex is deciding who to listen to. Most forex sites offer their own tips and ideas. As you sort through them, you will find totally different forex trading strategies. As you keep learning, always make sure that you try out new strategies in a simulated setting before investing real money.

Jim Wilson gives you more free information at At Home Forex Training Business. Search other helpful articles at- At Home Forex Training Business Articles. Click here http://www.forexminitrading.com

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