online stock trading comparison

E-commerce - Advanced Tips for E-commerce

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

Internet has made it relatively easy for everybody to do transactions online. No need to leave your house and drive at least an hour to get to the mall to shop just to find out that what you came for is out of stock. With more and more people turning to the Internet to buy their needs, E-commerce becomes the new it business that offers huge profits and convenience. I am sure you are now eager to learn more about E-commerce, read on!

1.To make it to E-commerce, you must have an interesting, attractive web site. You must present all the products and services in a way that will entice online users to click the buy now button. In addition, you must stand out by offering products and services not commonly found in the Internet.

2.Your web site must be equipped to accept several kinds of payment method especially credit cards.

3.Market research also plays an important role in E-commerce. You must study the buying patterns of online users and what exactly they are looking for. Offer products that have high demands but has low supply.

4.Come up with killer product descriptions. Include the benefits of the products and its value. Convince your customers that what you are offering is the best in the business today.

5.Throw in some freebies. This is especially effective for start-up business. Free items will surely attract attention that can lead to business relations in the long run.

Keep in mind, you may need to think outside the box to excel in ecommerce.

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Stock Research - Hedge Funds - If Bear Stearns Doesn't Know - Who Knows?

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

As the hedge fund world becomes bigger and bigger as more and more hot money seeks the elusive alpha of maximum performance, it is becoming apparent that more and more newspaper space will be devoted to hedge funds, and private equity. Recent news has taken us into the inner sanctum of Bear Stearns, truly a dominant investment firm in the world today. It might be argued that Bear Stearns is the best managed Wall Street firm in existence. Some might say Goldman Sachs. In any event Bear Stearns would have to be on the short list.

Investment firms for almost a decade sat by and watched hedge funds form, and amass vast investment capital pools while successfully charging 2% management fees, and 20% of the profits. Some of these hedge funds in a few years, have grown to possess capital bases equal to that of investment banking firms that have been around for generations. Taking some of the risks that were involved to achieve this performance is now coming home to roost.

Bear Stearns is the latest firm to stub its toe in the hedge fund industry. The firm is FAMOUS for quantifying and judging RISK before making its bets. This time however it seems that Bear Stearns threw its usual caution to the wind in embracing the formation of two hedge funds over the last year or so.

The second hedge fund was considered a more highly-leveraged version of Bears High Grade structured Credit Strategies fund which was formed last year. Both funds were managed by Ralph Cioffi, who up until recent events took hold, had the reputation of being a MASTER at this game, and the game is the subprime mortgage bond business.

Most people are not aware of it but Bear Stearns is the finest fixed income trading firm on the planet bar none, and this has been true for several generations. This makes recent events even more perplexing to understand.

Jimmy Cayne who is Bears CEO is embarrassed at the very least, and certainly upset enough that there will be major changes in the leadership of the units responsible for the pain being inflected on the firms reputation. This should not have happened at Bear Stearns, thats the point.

Actions Taken and Implications

Mr. Cayne has made the decision to inject $3.2 billion of Bear Stearns capital into a bail-out of the older fund. Bear is also negotiating with the banks that put up the credit facility for the other fund, the highly leveraged High-Grade Enhanced Leveraged fund. What Bear is trying to prevent is the forced sale of the debt obligations underlying the funds investments. These issues trade by appointment as they say, which means they rarely trade at all. Bear knows the Street smells blood, and will take advantage of any weakness that Bear shows.

So what are the implications of this latest hedge fund debacle? It clearly shows that the most sophisticated investors on the planet who put their money into hedge funds may in fact have NO IDEA what they are investing in. Instead, they are betting on the institutional reputation of the firms standing in back of the hedge funds. In this case nobody knew more about this market segment than Bear Stearns, yet they caught in a terrible position.

This is not Caynes fault, but as CEO, it is always his responsibility. I believe him to be the finest Wall Street executive of his generation. Nevertheless, his underlings certainly let him down, and they are among the highest paid people in the world today. Some of these industry veterans are drawing $10 million dollar annual incomes. Let the investor beware is the rule of the day, especially when it comes to hedge funds.

Richard Stoyecks background includes being a limited partner at Bear Stearns, Senior VP at Lehman Brothers, Kuhn Loeb, Arthur Andersen, and KPMG. Educated at Pace University, NYU, and Harvard University, today he runs Rockefeller Capital Partners and StocksAtBottom.com/. for a fuller version of this article please visit our website. http://www.stocksatbottom.com/bear_stearns_hedge_funds.html

Power Lift Your Trading

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

Successful trading requires having a firm understanding of the risk and reward picture before taking a trade. It requires having a good idea as to the trend direction of the market within a time frame that is higher than the one used to trade from.

For instance, if a trader usually takes trades that do not last more than one day, then it is likely that intraday charts are used in making trading decisions. These may be charts ranging in time-frames of 1 minute up to a few hours. For this type of trader, it is beneficial to know the daily trend, which is the next higher time-frame from intra day charting.

The trader who places trades based on a daily chart would be wise to determine what the weekly trend happens to be, the next time frame above daily. And for those who trade long-term and base trades from weekly charts, knowing the monthly trend would be expected.

As simple as this happens to be, it is quite common for traders to excuse this important step in the analysis. However, for the trader who seeks to have the power of the markets behind the move, the higher time frame should be consulted to determine whether to be a seller or buyer.

Take for example the trader who prefers to place trades based off a daily chart. Such a trader is likely interested in staying in the trade for at least a day or two, even longer. In such a case, the trader should consult the weekly chart, which is the next higher time frame, and note the likely trend.

So with the weekly chart, suppose the pattern is one of higher weekly swing bottoms and higher weekly swing tops. This is a typical pattern for a bull trend.

Acknowledging that the weekly trend is bullish, the daily time frame trader would then only consider taking trades that are designed for bullish markets. This may be long positions in the futures, buying Calls or selling Puts in options, or perhaps a spread strategy that favors the bull move.

Once the direction of the trade has been decided based on the higher time frame trend, it is important to know 'when' such trades are best taken.

For example, just because the weekly trend is bullish does not necessary mean a long position off the daily time frame will meet with favorable results. For even when a trend is bullish, it will have bearish corrections along the way. Therefore, to get the power lift from the higher time frame, it is best to get on board when those trend corrections at the higher time frame had ended.

In the case of our weekly bull trend example, the best time to buy off the daily chart is when the weekly chart is putting in a higher weekly swing bottom. These higher weekly swing bottoms occur usually at the end of a bull trend correction. Just like the best place to enter a daily chart is off a daily trend correction that is ending, the best time to do this is when the higher time frame is also ending a trend correction.

Once the trader becomes wise to this simple but important fact, all that is left is to learn the simple techniques that help determine what the trend happens to be on any given time frame. Simple methods include looking for the obvious higher swing tops/bottoms for a bull or lower swing tops/bottoms for a bear trend, noting correction ratios such as 50% pullbacks or the commonly used Fibonacci and Gann ratios, and whether a correction appears oversold or overbought based on indicators designed for this purpose (Stochastic, MACD, COT, etc.).

As a market cycle analyst, my preference to determining when trend corrections are likely ending is by calculating whether a market turn is highly probable due to dynamic cycles, such as is forecasted using my FDate algorithm amazingaccuracy.com. Along with this, I will also employ a powerful technique for figuring out trend overbought/oversold parameters to further support my findings.

However you decide to calculate the likely end of a trend correction, remember to use the trend of the higher time frame, and wait for the end of a correction to that trend, to assist your timing and trade direction on the lower time frame. By doing this, you will allow the market to 'power lift' many of your trades.

Learn more on how to increase your profit potential with other free articles found at our Precision Timing of the Futures, Commodity and Forex Markets website.

Surviving The Commodity Markets, PART 4 - Trading Guidelines For Different Account Sizes

2007-11-01T19:44:00.001-07:00

Of all the important skills in trading, survival is number one. For unless we make it through the inevitable bad times, we won't be around to capitalize on the good. I've laid out some trading account guidelines that specify the account size required to conduct various commodity futures and option trading activities. Stick within these guidelines and you will have an edge on most of the commodity trading public.

$10,000 ACCOUNT:

Risk no more than 7.5% maximum a trade ($750)

A $10,000 account is probably the minimum commodity amount to begin trading with. Remember that a bigger account is NOT for buying more futures contracts or commodity options, but being able to easily split it into fifteen to twenty different parts. We want to have enough money to support each new position, for many tries, until we hit the great trades that make up for all the losses, expenses and turn a profit.

Probability allows us to have times when we do everything right and have a good run of winners. But the outcome of INDIVIDUAL trades is impossible to predict. Only by doing things right over the long run will probability favor us over the commodity trader who is reckless and random.

The reckless trader will have times when he does very well. But in the end the odds will take him out and give his money to the ones who maintain control. We dont have to trade perfectly - just better than most.

OPTIONS:

With a $10,000 account you can now buy a better quality commodity option that has lots of time and is closer to the money. This may not be possible if the cat is out of the bag. This is a market that is already running strong and the option premium is inflated.

You want to purchase commodity options before the crowd starts chasing the futures market. We use our Timeline program for timing as well as commercial option analysis software to signal high probability trades that have undervalued options and room for the premiums to expand. The bottom line is you can risk $500 (5%) or perhaps even $750 (7.5%). But for a $10,000 account, a $1,000 option is high risk and done only if the trade looks exceptional and it permits you to purchase a great option value. In this case you would look to salvage some premium if wrong, rather than let it expire worthless.

FUTURES:

A $10,000 commodity account gives you more margin money, thus the ability to hold two to three different positions at one time. Remember that we dont know which "high probability" trade will work out, if any, so this is one place where diversification may help.

Ive seen many times in the past where an account was too small to safely take advantage of four good trade opportunities at once. As sometimes happens, the trades that were picked did not work out, while the ones let go were stellar performers. Remember to risk no more than $750 per trade to stay within the risk parameters of 7.5%.

OPTION WRITING:

With a $10,000 commodity account, we are just beginning to get a small amount of flexibility. Very often when the TimeLine or Option Writing program signals an option CALL write, it may later signal a PUT write before the initial call is covered. We will then have two positions. This requires two margins instead of one.

We may even get the opportunity to average in a second lot if the options are far out-of-the-money. And we also have the money to do an adjustment. This is taking a small loss and then immediately selling a new option farther away to possibly recoup the loss and make a profit.

As you can see, the advantage of a larger account is survivability - that is, being able to risk a smaller percentage of the total account. In addition, it permits more flexible strategies that involve multiple option writes and more complex positions. A larger account ($10,000) is NOT for taking on larger quantities of the same position. In other words, don't treat it like two $5,000 accounts.

Part Five of Six Parts- Next!

There is substantial risk of loss trading futures and options and may not be suitable for all types of investors. Only risk capital should be used.

Thomas Cathey - 27-year trading veteran heads the managed futures division of Thomas Capital Management, LLC. View his TimeLine Trading market predictions and get his complete, free 44+ lesson, "Thomas Commodity Trading Course".
http://www.thomascapitalmanagement.com/commodity/welcome.htm

Main site: http://www.ThomasCapitalManagement.com

Do You Know the IRA Eligibility Rules?

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

An additional income tax deduction may be available by contributing to an IRA. However, many people may not realize they qualify to have an IRA. So lets take a look at the contribution rules.

One of the things that makes IRAs so complicated is trying to understand the eligibility, maximum contribution limits, contribution phaseouts, etc. of all the types of IRAs at one time. Technically, there are five types of IRAs: Traditional, Roth, SEPs, SAR-SEPs and SIMPLE. So we are going to limit the discussion here to the traditional IRA.

In this article, all of the rules pertain to 2007. Some of the numbers used in the calculation of how much you can contribute to an IRA are subject to indexing. So you need to obtain the proper figures for any year in question.

The determination of your eligibility for a traditional IRA, and the ability to calculate how much you could contribute, are dependent on several things:

1. Your age

If you are under 50, you can contribute a maximum of $4,000 to a traditional IRA. If you turn 50 during the year or are over 50, you can add another $1,000 which is called a catch-up contribution. If you turn 70 during the year, you can't make any contribution.

2. Were you an active participant in an employer sponsored plan during the year?

If so, you still may be able to contribute to an IRA. The amount depends on how much money you made and your tax filing status (single, joint or separate).

Having modified adjusted gross income (MAGI) of certain levels requires applying a formula which calculates a gradually decreasing permissible deductible contribution. If your MAGI exceeds certain thresholds, you can't contribute anything. These thresholds depend on how you file your taxes. Here they are:

Married filing jointly: Up to $83,000 of MAGI allows for a full contribution. Then a phrase out begins as income increases. For MAGI of $103,000 or above, no deductible contribution is allowed.

Single or Head of Household: If your MAGI is $62,000 or above, no deductible contribution is possible. The phase out starts at $52,000, so anything lower allows for a full contribution.

Married filing separately: For a MAGI of $10,000 or more, no contribution is permitted and the phase out starts at $0.

3. Do you live with your spouse or file a joint return and your spouse is a participant in a qualified plan, but you are not?

In this instance, your ability to make a contribution is reduced to zero if you have a MAGI over $166,000. Up to a MAGI of $156,000, you can take a full deductible contribution.

4. Did you receive compensation during the year?

Contributions must be made from compensation received. Sorry, if you were unemployed all year, sheltering that big day at the track is not permitted.

5. Do you have cash?

Contributions must be made in cash. You can't contribute stock or any other type of asset.

6. Do you file a joint tax return and make less than your spouse?

If so, you may be eligible to make a contribution. This rule was originally intended for a spouse who did not work; however, it may apply to a spouse who works as well.

You will need to apply the rules and work through the math. You may find a spouse has no compensation for the year can make the maximum (i.e. under age 50: $4,000) contribution.

7. Did your employer go bankrupt?

The rules here are pretty narrow, but if you qualify you could be in for a nice surprise. You would have to have been a participant in a 401(k) plan with specific attributes and your employer filed Chapter 11.

If you qualify, you would be eligible for catch-up contributions of $3,000 for years 2007-2009. And these catch-up provisions apply to all ages-you don't have to be 50 or older.

Armed with this information, you should be in a position to determine if an additional deduction is available to you by contributing to an IRA.

Robert D. Cavanaugh, CLU is a 36-year financial and estate planning veteran and author of the free newsletter, The Estate Preservation Advisor. To subscribe and get the free video, How to Sell Your Life Insurance Policy for More Than the Cash Value, go to http://theestatepreservationadvisor.com/rd/subscribe.htm

Moving Averages - The Forex Trading Power Indicator

2007-11-01T16:52:00.001-07:00

Every forex currency trader must know how to accurately interpret technical indicators in order to be a successful trader. Being able to consistently interpret currency trading technical indicators is the difference between forex trading success and failure. Moving averages are one of the technical indicators frequently used by forex trading pros. Let's discover what moving averages are and how they are useful for forex traders.

Moving averages are one of the most popular and easy to use tools available to the forex trader. While technical analysis is largely subjective, moving averages are mathematically precise and objective. One of the reasons moving averages are so popular is that they embody some of the most common stipulations of successful forex trading. Moving averages are extremely important for not only isolating trends, momentum, and support/resistance, but more importantly, for highlighting the underlying bias of the dominant trading cycles. Because the forex market is a spot market, moving averages are used to calculate the current average of prices, and can help traders make investment decisions on the spot.

Moving averages are a useful technical tool in a trending market. The reason for this is simple; they are considered by most analysts the most basic and core trend identifying indicators. It is designed to smooth out temporary price fluctuations and reveal the true path of the underlying trend. Moving averages may also act as support and resistance levels in a trending market. Some investors prefer simple moving averages over long time periods to identify long-term trend changes. When two moving averages are used together, the longer term moving average is used to help identify the trend, and the shorter one for timing purposes. When there is no trend, the moving averages are flat and are not of much use. Fortunately for forex traders the forex market is a trending market - a perfect market for utilizing moving averages.

There are five popular types of moving averages: simple, exponential, triangular, variable, and weighted. The two major types of moving averages are "simple" and "exponential". Simple moving averages are widely used, predominately because of its ease of computation. Simple moving averages apply equal weight to the prices. A simple moving average (SMA) is formed by finding the average price of a currency or commodity over a set number of periods of time.

Exponential moving averages (EMA) are by and large preferred when charting prices on the currency markets. Exponential moving averages reduce the lag by applying more weight to recent prices relative to older prices. The method for calculating the exponential moving average is fairly complicated. The important thing to remember is that the exponential moving average puts more weight on recent prices.

History has shown that when prices begin trading above the moving average line the market is becoming bullish and traders should be looking for buy entry points. When prices begin trading below the moving average line the market is becoming bearish and traders should look for an opportunity to sell. Investors typically buy when the price of currency pair rises above its moving average and sell when the it falls below its moving average.

Before ending this article let's review. Moving Averages are one of the most popular technical indicators used by traders charting the forex market. Moving averages are extremely important for not only isolating trends, support & resistance and momentum but more importantly, for highlighting the underlying bias of the dominant trading cycles. Master interpreting moving averages and other popular forex trading technical indicators and you will become a successful and wealthy forex trader.

Have you ever desired the income and freedom of being a home based forex trader? Visit the author's (Kenneth Aikens) website for more powerful forex trading information: forex training - forex article directory.

Factors Influencing a Currency Pair Exchange Rate

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

Introduction

The exchange rate refers to the value of the US dollar against the values of currencies of other countries. Such a rate helps determine how much we pay for imported goods and services and how much we receive for what we export, among other things. When the value of the US dollar drops, imports become more expensive, and we tend to reduce the volume of our imports. Simultaneously, other countries will pay LESS for some of our products and that will tend to boost export sales. If imports and exports are a substantial part of a country's economy, as is the case with Canada, the exchange rate plays a particularly important role in our economy. The exchange rate between two countries' currencies is particularly important if the two countries are heavily involved in trade.

What factors affect an exchange rate?

A country's exchange rate is typically affected by the supply and demand for that country's currency in international exchange markets. This is typically known as a floating exchange rate. If demand, for say dollars, exceeds supply, then the value of the dollar will go up. If however, the supply of dollars exceeds demand, then its value will go down. A huge amount of money is bought and sold on international exchange markets for many different currencies.

Several factors influence the supply of, and demand for, a given country's currency.

If INTEREST rates are HIGHER in, say, the US than in other countries, then investors WILL choose to invest in the US, increasing demand for the dollar, provided that the expected rate of inflation is not higher in the US than among our trading partners. If INTEREST rates are LOWER in the US than in other countries, investors will choose NOT to invest in the US, decreasing demand for the dollar.

If the US INFLATION rate is HIGHER, investors are LESS likely to prefer the US -even with higher interest rates- because of the expectation that the value of the dollar will be ERODED by inflation. If our INFLATION rate is LOWER, investors are MORE likely to prefer the US, because there will be NO expectation that the value of the dollar will erode.

Trade balance also has an effect on a country's currency. If world prices for what a country exports rise in comparison with the cost of that country's imports, that country will be earning more for its exports than it pays for its imports. The more demand there will be for that country's currency, the better the deal becomes. If investors are confident that the US economy will be strong, they will be MORE likely to buy American assets, pushing UP the dollar's value. If investors are not so confident that the economy will be strong, they will be LESS likely to buy the country's assets, pushing the dollar's value DOWN.

Joshua Kunken is Chief Currency Analyst for ForeignMarketWatch.com

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

Unlocking the Riddle of Kilgore Minerals: Gold Exploration Inside a Uranium Company?

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

Unless you are a subscriber to Robert Bishops Gold Mining Stock Report, you may not have heard about this budding uranium development company. The companys share price had a healthy rally after the San Francisco Gold Show, last November, when Kilgore Minerals (TSX: KAU) was discussed as a potential takeover candidate. Shares in this little-known minerals company catapulted from the C$0.50 0.60 range to as high as C$1.13/share by February 6th. Pinetree Capital (TSE: PNP), itself a red-hot stock whose shares have quadrupled since early November, announced it had purchased approximately 10.5 percent of Kilgore Minerals (and if the convertible securities were exercised, its ownership could reach 12.9 percent).

What is the excitement over Kilgore Minerals? Norman Burmeister is hardly the promotional type. Even his good friend, letter writer Robert Bishop, describes the company as non-promotional. During our interview, it occurred one might think of Kilgore Minerals as a uranium company inside a gold exploration company. That should become apparent as you continue reading this. And the question was posed to Mr. Burmeister, At the end of this year, will Kilgore be better known as a gold or uranium company. After a long pause, he responded, The objective here is to build a mining company.

Far from the very promotional Howe Street area, where the majority of the TSX Venture exchange companies have offices, Burmeister is nearly reclusive in a small town in Wyoming. Its about ten miles to the nearest stop light, he told StockInterview. Actually, Dubois, Wyoming where youll find Mr. Burmeister is less than 80 miles away from Yellowstone National Park. (Keep driving west on US 287, and youll be in Montana.) When we hear a company CEO talking up that hes going to build a mining company, the phrase grain of salt comes to mind. But a careful review of Mr. Burmeisters resume will snap even the most cynical out of that frame of mind, starting with his graduation from the Colorado School of Mines as a geological engineer. (See bio snapshot at the end of the article.) Hes found and developed a gold mine, found deposits, sold them to a major company. Been there, done it, and now hes ready for something even bigger.

Kilgore Minerals Uranium Projects

Now, Burmeister has got three gold and 12 uranium properties. The uranium properties are convincing, and the company plans a drill program on one, in Nevada. We are in the process of permitting one property for a summer drill program. Its a Nevada property that was drilled out by Utah Mining and Construction, which became a division of General Electric. It subsequently became Pathfinder Mines, when GE was ordered to divest their uranium mining and producing facilities. Hes referring to the companys 46-claim Mountain West property in Elko, Nevada. One might suspect the hand of Dr. Dieter Krewedl in this property selection. Dr. Krewedl was vice president of exploration for Pathfinder in 1990 1995 (and also serves on the board of directors of Strathmore Minerals).

Its not the largest property in our portfolio, but its handy, Burmeister said humbly. Its in a good jurisdiction in ELKO County, Nevada. Its something that we can get permitted and move forward. Its a relatively low cost type of operation. Its something we think our company with our resources can advance significantly within a budget that isnt going to commit the companys entire resources. Burmeister believes the Nevada uranium asset may have a good grade. Its near surface with essentially a low stripping ratio, so it could be mined with a slot type of mining operation, he explained. When a deposit is relatively shallow, the slot type mining method can be used, similar to how a quarry is mined.

His two Wyoming properties in Crook County, comprising 122 claims, were previously drilled by different major companies in each of the three claim blocks. Homestake Mining drilled over 3,000 holes as late as the mid 1980s on the 48-claim New Group block. In one area alone, within a 40-acre tract, over 250 holes were drilled (about six holes per acre). Bethlehem Steels 2 claims in the Oshoto Group consist of an admittedly a small property. But it is right in the center of what was developed in the late 1970s, Burmeister insisted. The joint venture, between Bethlehem Steel and a California-based oil company, did a successful test ISL operation on the property in 1979. As they were winding down the test, and evaluating the results, they had to contend, as did many other uranium exploration companies, with the public outcry after Three Mile Island.

Another uranium property block, the 72-claim Wood Group, was also extensively drilled, by Homestake and Pioneer Nuclear. It is estimated several hundred holes explored the property, and 115 holes were drilled on one 160-acre tract. Burmeister hinted his uranium package was still being assembled. The companys website notes, The Company will continue its efforts on the location and acquisition of historic data associated with its portfolio of uranium properties.

What tickles Norman Burmeisters fancy about this area? It is the Inyan Kara group, he said. His leases are part of a much larger package. There is roll front Cretaceous sediment that surrounds the Black Hills. We have properties on northern part of the system in Montana, we have properties on the western flank, and this is in addition to lands on the roll front on the eastern flank of the Black Hills. And what makes this important? Its the equivalent to the stratigraphic unit that has been highly productive in the Powder River Basin, explained Burmeister. Its also been productive at its southern extremity in South Dakota in the Edgemont District.

Others have been announcing uranium leases in Wyoming, and the state has become a hotbed of claims announcements in recent months. How did Kilgore Minerals come across these? We came by some information in a package of data we purchased that included the definitive location of the roll front, explained Burmeister. I dont think that information was widely known. Thats why these leases were not picked up in the past. I think folks didnt know where that roll front was. That roll front was defined by a major uranium company with over 15 years of exploration in the area, having drilled I dont know how many thousands of reconnaissance drill holes of these things, like one per square mile, over several counties: northeastern Wyoming, southeast Montana, and western South Dakota. That information led to the definition of the roll front where these uranium deposits occur. With that said, Mr. Burmeister is quietly confident.

The Kilgore Gold Project

But which project gets Norman Burmeister talking breathlessly? Ask him about the companys Kilgore gold property in southeastern Idaho. Im very excited about this project, said Burmeister. It was a property that was very high on Echo Bays list. At the time they were active, Echo Bay was one of the major gold explorers of the world. They had a very large budget. This was one of their top projects, possibly even their top project. Indeed, Echo Bay had drilled 122 holes (82,987 feet of drilling) in 1994-96, and bought out Placer Dome for 100 percent ownership of the property. The collapse of junior gold exploration in 1997 led to the project (and all Echo Bay projects) being shelved. Kennecott, Placer and Pegasus each drilled the gold property between 1983 and 1994. Kilgore Gold (wholly owned subsidiary of Kilgore Minerals) acquired 100-percent ownership of the property, after the exploration industry had contracted. The smart buy at the bottom of the cycle, which is what Norman Burmeister did.

During 2006, the main show for Kilgore Minerals will likely be the summer drilling program on the Kilgore gold property, comprising 150 unpatented claims over an area of approximately 4.7 square miles. The technical report (National Instrument 43-101) was filed on the property by G.H. Rayner and Associates, which estimated 218,000 ounces of gold indicated and 269,000 ounces of gold inferred. To ascertain that estimate, nearly 200 diamond and reverse circulation drill holes for more than 126, 000 feet were completed. Major gold companies spent more than $8 million to bring this property to this level of understanding.

As a resource, less than 500,000 ounces is a small deposit. However, a drill intersection, during the summer 2004 drill program, struck a 10-foot section averaging 0.465 ounces/tonne or 14.5 grams per tonne gold. Designated the Elsa Zone discovery hole, the intersection found that gold sample more than 4,600 feet from the 487,000-ounce gold resource.

A preliminary structural investigation by Stanton W. Caddey, a highly respected geological consultant, concluded in an October (2003) report:

The Kilgore prospect area represents a high quality gold project, much of which remains to be drill tested. Most the previous drilling was focused along a peripheral or satellite segment of the main hydrothermal system. The primary exploration potential is for a bonanza, epithermal, gold-rich vein system localized along the major N60W-trending McGarry Canyon NW fault zone and subordinate faults in the area referred to as Dog Bone Ridge Exploration potential at the Kilgore property for more than doubling the present gold resource with further exploration drilling is regarded as excellent.

In May 2004, Mine Development Associates of Reno, Nevada completed a scoping level update of Echo Bays 1996 initial engineering assessment of the Kilgore project. Neil B Prenn, P.E., agreed this is a large epithermal gold deposit, hosted in volcanic and sedimentary rocks, and the resource is hosted within quartz stockwork and in silicified sedimentary rocks. In reviewing Echo Bays work, he observed that instead of calculating a reserve for the property, they described an estimate with high confidence, the potential mineable part of the resources, at 10.087 million tonnes, averaging 1.28 grams/tonne, containing 417,000 ounces of gold. The engineer concluded, The project appears to have reasonably attractive economics if the potentially mineable material can be doubled at $375/ounce gold price.

Burmeister believes the best is yet to come. His summary of Echo Bays previous drilling was simple and to the point, They were focused on a low-grade open pit occurrence, which is very nice. It has a significant resource. In their enthusiasm to move that particular aspect of the project forward, I think they did not have the chance to step back and look at the overall hydrothermal system, which we have done. Burmeister added, We think the best may be yet to come by exploring for a high grade underground type of operation which is very much in favor these days.

The successful drill hole was a blind discovery at 410 feet of depth. Burmeister clarified, saying The first hole that we drilled, we were successful in discovering a blind high grade occurrence of gold beneath the barren sinter. He realized the mistake made during the 2004 drill program, In our enthusiasm to get our arms around this target area, which we call the Dog Bone Ridge area, we took enormous step-outs, and never offset that high grade hole. Subsequent holes were all interesting, museum quality realgar mineralization and stibnite mineralization, which are diagnostic of the epithermal model were testing. We got anomalous gold, but we didnt get any ore grade material.

The Dog Bone Ridge area, as determined by geochemistry, geophysics, geology and structure, is at least 6,000 feet long and 1,800 feet wide. Burmeister explained his better understanding of the target area, We think this is a very recent geological occurrence, and has not been eroded. Typically, there is no gold on the surface on these systems. It comes as the result of boiling. The gold is precipitated out at that level and does not reach the surface. Were actually dealing with a paleo-surface. Our discovery hole was deeper in the system, below the zone of boiling. So I dont think the other drilling we did, the other core holes, they did nothing but reinforce our interpretation of the system.

In July, Kilgore Minerals will proceed where drilling left off in 2004. A recent news release announced, The summer 2006 drill program is expected to commence in July with the first holes designed to offset the Elsa Zone discovery. There are a number of Elsa look-alike definitive targets within the overall Dog Bone Ridge target area that will also be tested. How does Norman Burmeister explain this in laymans terms? Were going to offset that discovery hole and find out what thats all about, he told StockInterview. Well go about the business of evaluating that project because its all prospective. We were targeting a projected structural intersection of which there are many. The success we had with that first hole, its not unique in terms of what we know in the geophysics, the geology, the structure and the geochemistry. Thats not to say that all of those targets are going to be successful, but the size of this system indicates it can host a very significant resource.

It was an exciting discovery hole, and the summer 2006 drilling program could spell success if drilling results match Burmeisters enthusiasm. In closing, he said, That hole could well be right smack in the middle of an ore body. We dont know what the orientation of the zone is, because with one hole, it is impossible to know what the dip and the strike is. We dont know if its close to true width or we hit it at the high angle. But, its very exciting.

Stay Tuned.

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

12 Basic Stock Investing Rules Every Successful Investor Should Follow

2007-10-12T18:20:00.000-07:00

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

Forex Signals 2

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

In the previous article we discussed the importance of choosing the time frame to trade and touched some basic ways to generate the indicators for Forex signals. In this article we will discuss the value in assessing the markets with market generated information itself. This will require you to analyze what is going on in the market in the current time.

Ask a simple question- where is the market going right now and how well is it succeeding in its course. If it is succeeding then the current move is intact and there is initiative buying or selling in the current direction. It there is a change in the acceleration of the market, this will tell you that 'something has changed'. Now the next question is if something is changed how are the current market speculators going to respond to this change.

Is there going to be more initiative by the speculators to continue the current direction of is there going to be a responsive buying or selling in the opposite direction. This whole concept comes from the Market Profile studies done by some of the pioneers in the market theories earlier and are very powerful when analyzing the markets. At this point I am not going in the details of studying the markets using these theories rather I am discussing the basic concepts of market technical analysis. So there are two parts of the story that when joined together will make sense.

One is initiative buying or selling and continuation of that with more initiative buying or selling and the other is initiative buying or selling with responsive buying or selling in the opposite direction. This is how the financial markets work and it is similar to any other markets also. It is a two way auction process of bidding and asking, supply and demand. The whole idea of the market speculation is to maximize trade and to form an agreement on price between buyers and sellers. The market is a two way auction searching for buyers and sellers as it goes up and down and when it finds them, it reverses and again starts finding buyers and sellers. Please re read the article again to grasp this important concept. This will be the basis of our future articles on Forex signals.

Adnan Kaleemi is a Registered Commodity Trading Advisor and has been advising Forex traders all over the world in more than 60 countries for the last five years. He is currently registered with the commodity and futures trading commission in the US. He reaches global Forex traders where he provides daily forex signals and forecasts in the major currency pairs EURUSD, GBPUSD, USDJPY and USDCHF along with money management strategies At http://www.forexforecasting.com you will find informative articles, newsletters and other tools which will help transform your Forex Trading.

Business Investing Retirement Planning-Achieve Your Retirement Goals With The Right Investing Plan

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

So you want some business investing for retirement planning tips? Unfortunately, in todays day and age, many get to the end of their working years completely broke, and are forced to continue working long into what was supposed to be retirement.

You dont want this to happen to you. Retirement should be a time to experience the things you never had a chance to while you were working; dont let a lack of finances rob you of these experiences, especially when they are so easy to obtain.

First of all, in order to achieve your retirement objectives (and therefore know which business investing avenues are best) you need to know what you want to do after you retire. Do you want to own a beach house in California? Travel 10-15 times per year? Just stay around the home and relax?

Knowing this info is critical. Without this, how will you ever know if you are closing in on achieving your goals?

Once you have your goals planned out, now its time to figure out how much they will cost. This is where a retirement planning calculator comes in. often times, you can find a free one online.

Many companies give these tools out hoping that you will decide to go with them to receive retirement planning advice. Whether you do or not, at least use the tools to figure out the money you will need to retire on.

Now that you know this, figure out how much money you make now, and how much you will need to earn between now and retirement to accomplish your objectives. Only now should you begin looking for an investment vehicle that will get this for you.

For instance, if you have loftier ambitions, and want to travel 15 times a year, then you will obviously need more money than if you were just planning to relax around the home. If this is the case, and depending on when you are beginning investing for retirement, you will want to invest in a more aggressive investment vehicle (of course, this varies depending on whether you are starting at a young or older age).

Once youve found one that provides a sufficient rate of return and will continue to do so until retirement, stick your money in there, and then keep close tabs on it. Remember, nobody else is responsible for your financial state; its only you.

If you dont know enough about business investing for retirement planning to spot a good opportunity, then either learn yourself or hire a financial planner to figure this part out for you. The most important thing is that you have a plan, and stick to it. This way, you will achieve your retirement goals faster and more easily than you ever imagined possible.

For more great retirement planning investment advice, check out http://www.online-retirement-planning.com, and get some great retirement planning help

My Forex Discovery

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

My day-trading journey began after I purchased a stock trading course. I followed the course outline and traded stocks in hopes of cashing in on the roaring 90s. When the stock market corrected in 2000, I couldn't pay the continuous marginals and consequently lost all my money, approx $200K!

About 5 years later, I was ready to jump back in the game. This time trading Foreign currencies, the biggest trading market in the world. I purchased the 4XMade Easy software (with the green and red arrows) for a heft three grand. In addition I paid a monthly live feed and demo traded for over 2 years but could never predict with any degree of accuracy the direction of the market. As a result, I ended up on the wrong side of the trade at a loss.

However, I did learn that if I could only stay in a trade long enough by going with the long-term trends, I would make money. But the big problem with following the long-term trend is: you have to have a lot of money in your account to stay in the market during the often occurring reversals.

When I found out about The Freedomrocks system I finally found what I was looking for. During my 15-day free trial period I was really surprised at the simple elegance of the system. I found that it did for me everything that I could never do before. Amazingly, the system allows me to trade without a lot of money to invest, no expensive software to buy, no live-feeds, no charts to predict, no staying up all night when the foreign markets are volatile.

Hans Savitch is an Entreprenuer who teaches investors how to trade the Forex.
You can visit his website at http://www.freedomrocks.com/71139

Gambia Property the Next Big Thing

2007-10-12T13:31:00.000-07:00

The Gambia Africa is set to be a great place to invest in real estate and has been staring investors in the face for some years.The Gambian government is totally committed to business development and free enterprise. It has a reputation as a tranquil, secure destination with property conveyanceing and laws based on the British system., low inflation, fiscal stability and one of the lowest crime rates in the world. It seems that Gambia is ripe for investors he Gambia

The Gambia was for many years a British colony and is one of the smallest and safest countries in Africa. Gambia has been a holiday hotspot for Europeans one of the reasons for this is the fact that Gambia is on average only 6 hours away and has the addded benfit of no jet lag.

Tourism is now one of the dynamic sectors of the economy, contributing 16% of the country's GDP with a 19.2% jump in visitor figures from the previous year.

Construction is already underway and TAF Holdings one of the best known develoers in Gambia are buiding along the coast and in villages nearby. Investors searching for overseas property investments should consider off plan devbelopments in Gambia . This form of investment combined with emerging market prices could make Gambian property very profitabale. There are also a number of inhabitable existing properties that can be had for a very small investment. Construction on a few developments along the coast are almost finished with international investors snapping them up. If you are looking for a good international investment, it's hard to go wrong in Gambia.

Real estate investors know that good communications are te key to success for any region. After all those who may want to rent or buy your property need to ba able to get there easily. UK overseas property buyers are only a six-hour flight from the UK with no jet-lag,

The Gambia coast offers miles of superb golden beaches and the vibrancy of Bakau, Serrekunda and the capital, Banjul, is as colourfully African as you might imagine.

Language barriers have nver been a problem in Gambia its a fact that the average Gambian can speak up 3 languages some see this as as sign of ethinic harmony.

Construction aimed at investors is underway at the ocean-side village of Brufut in Gambia this investment real estate comes in the form of a modern housing development.

So the secrets out about Gambia an investment property market with huge potential. Investors know where their is demand their is price rises so the time to get in on the action is now .

Nicholas Marr is an observer of the overseas property markets and is also the CEO of http://www.Homesgofast.Com a leading overseas property portal. His views are based upon his experiences in international real estate and the fact that he is in regular contcat with hudreds of real estate agents from locations worldwide

Getting Started with Options Trading

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

If you are just getting started with options trading, you may feel a bit overwhelmed, since there is a wealth of available options and a multitude of ways to trade these same options. However, if you are determined, you can implement options trading as a successful investment strategy. You only need to realize what your ultimate goal is and what you hope to accomplish.

Since options trading can take on multiple roles in an investment portfolio, it is imperative that you have clear aim and focus before employing this particular method of investing. For example, your goal may be to protect your investment portfolio if the market takes a turn for the worst, or perhaps you have decided that you would like more income from your stocks. Whatever your goal or strategy is, it is essential to have one.

The next step, after deciding what you hope to achieve with options trading, is to begin learning about different options trading strategies so that you can implement a strategy or combination of strategies that will prove effective for your investment goals. There are a many strategies available for trading options, but the ones you implement will depend on what you hope to achieve.

After you have done your research, you are almost ready to begin trading options. Now you will need to choose a brokerage firm. The brokerage firm you choose will depend on the level of personalized service that you will require. If you are not yet quite comfortable with investing, you will do best to choose a firm that will guide you along as you master options trading. If you are pretty comfortable with your knowledge level, then you may choose to go with a discounted firm that does not offer the same level of personalization as the more expensive firms.

Before you begin trading options, you will be required by your brokerage firm to fill out and submit an options trading agreement. This form is used by the firm to ascertain your knowledge of options trading as well as your overall investment knowledge.

Your firm will approve you for a certain level of options trading based on the information you provide on the options trading agreement form. So if you are just getting started, it is probably safe to say that you will not be approved for certain strategies at first. This is because some of the strategies associated with options trading are pretty risky for an unknowledgeable person, and the firm uses this as sort of a built in protection feature, for both the client and itself.

Trading stock options can be a rewarding experience, both mentally and financially. However, in order to gain the most from your options trading experience, you must be diligent about your research and willing to continually expand your trading knowledge.

Daniel Beatty, DVM is an option trader that specializes in trading conservative strategies. He runs an informational website and blog providing details on how to trade these strategies along with reviews of the best option courses and books. To take advantage of this great information and more make sure you check out Dr. Dan's site at http://www.conservative-options.com

Don't Catch a Falling Knife

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

One of the most common mistakes made by inexperienced investors is trying to catch a falling knife. This is the phrase used to describe the habit of buying stocks that are in freefall, and is a poor strategy, albeit common among new investors. Sadly, it is a common practice even among old and experienced investors. Ive even fallen prey to it myself.

Remember, there are two primary approaches to investing: fundamental analysis and technical analysis. We generally fall into the fundamental camp, since we evaluate stocks based upon their valuations, rather than looking primarily at their short-term price movements. We take this direction because we believe this provides the greatest potential for long-term success.

A single-minded view of only the fundamentals of an investment, however, can limit an investors profits and lead to some unpleasant positions. This is because there are real limitations to buying a stock as it falls. One may purchase a stock that appears to be a great value at $10, only to see it fall to $5. Surely, if the stock rises again to $20, you may have been right to buy at $10, but one might argue that you werent right enough. Buying at 5 would have yielded a 300% return, while you settled for only 100%. Furthermore, if you were convinced that $10 is a reasonable price, you might have saved time by buying it on the way back up instead of on the way down.

It is quite simple buying a stock that is in mid-fall is not a pleasant experience, and it isnt difficult to come up with a variety of other strategies that would bring happier outcomes.

Still, we mustnt avoid all stocks which have dropped. In fact, studies have shown that investors who buy stocks which have fallen hard tend to outperform the market on a regular basis. In fact, such a bottom-fishing strategy can provide one of the best performance levels of all strategy sets. Missing out on these opportunities can be costly.

The decision then is not whether to buy fallen angels, but WHEN. This is where a tad of technical analysis skill comes in handy. While technical tools cant really tell you which stocks to buy (unless youre willing to buy any piece of junk that happens to have good price momentum), it can lead us to a better understanding of timing. Once we have selected a good investment based on fundamentals, it is time to decide when to put the money down.

A good first step is to watch for a positive movement on good volume before committing. As long as the stock is dropping, there is a good chance you may get it at a better price. Better to wait a few days (or weeks) to assure your purchase is timed appropriately. Theres no advantage to buying before the time is right, even if the choice of stock is ideal. It is here that patience is a virtue. Dont try to catch falling knives, but be sure to pick them up after they hit the floor.

By: Scott Pearson

For more information, quesitons or comments please visit our website at www.valueview.net. You can also email us at article@valueview.net or Scott directly at scott@valueview.net

President Scott Pearson is the Chief Investment Advisor for Value View Financial as well as a writer, editor, instructor, and business leader. As editor and publisher of Investor's Value View, a nationally distributed investment newsletter, he provides general money tips and investment advice to readers, and demonstrates a special knack for locating and providing analysis for undervalued stocks. To reach Scott for questions or comments please send an email to scott@valueview.net. You can also visit his website at http://www.valueview.net

Trend Trading or Counter Trend Trading - Which is Best?

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

When I first starting designing and testing trading systems, back in the early days of personal computers and trading software, I immediately gravitated toward counter trend trading. I would put up a stochastic, before I even knew what it was measuring, and my eye went right to all the divergences. A divergence is a basic counter trend pattern, where the price makes a new high, for example, and the indicator makes a corresponding lower high, thus forming a divergence with the price. The idea is that the new price high was not confirmed by momentum, which in this case was losing strength. When this pattern is seen, it is thought the market might have put in a high for the move, and it might turn around and go in the other direction.

I liked the idea of picking tops and bottoms. I was getting really good at it, at least on paper. I thought I had found the Holy Grail of trading. It all looked so easy. Almost every new high or new low on the chart was accompanied by a very clear divergence pattern. These patterns just jumped off the charts, screaming at me. I thought I had found the key to my trading plan, and it was going to be to be able to pick the point of a trend change. In other words, I was going to become an expert at picking tops and bottoms.

Then I started trying to trade all these easy patterns with real money. For some reason, whenever I would take a trade on one of these patterns the market didn't know it was supposed to reverse. It would just keep going in the direction it had been going. I would get several divergences and the results would be the same. That is, of course, until I got so burned out trying to catch the reversal and I would give up. Then, like magic, the perfect divergence pattern would appear, but I would not be in the trade.

I would caution anyone who thinks that they can pick the spot, with any accuracy, of a top or bottom in the market. I know many gurus and market timers claim to be able to do it. It can be quite gratifying to pick the top of a market, especially when all the media and analyst are on one side of the market, and you go the other direction and win. It gives you a very brief sense of superiority. You could see something that nobody else could, and you made a profit with this knowledge. However, after engaging in this activity for any length of time, one should review the account statements to really see if this has been a profitable way to trade.

It is remarkable how the eye can pick out major highs and lows on a chart, and to see many reasons why the top or bottom was so obvious. Maybe there was a classic three drives to a high pattern, or a head and shoulders pattern, along with diverging momentum or volume. It makes picking tops and bottoms look so easy. But if you analyze the chart more carefully, youll probably find two or three times as many set-ups that fail. The mind somehow glosses over the failed set-ups and goes right to the successful patterns.

After many frustrating attempts unsuccessfully using the stochastic indicator, I decided to study with the person who developed the indicator. I flew to Chicago to study with George Lane. Here was the guy who developed the indicator that almost everyone at that time was using to spot divergence patterns, and he talked me out of trading divergences, except in rare case. He only used the stochastic as a confirmation if many other conditions of trend change were present. I still like that indicator, but I use it in an entirely different way now. The time spent studying with him probably saved me years of frustration and a lot of money avoiding losses.

When thinking about trend change there are some things to keep in mind. First, trends tend to persist; often longer than you think is logical. When trends are up they often climb that wall of worry. Worry that the market will collapse without warning and take away your profit. Worry that the fundamentals don't justify the prices being traded. Logic might dictate taking profits, but there is worry of leaving money on the table. Uptrends tend to end more leisurely, at least in the stock market. For the public, it is easier to decide to enter a market or take profits in the calm of rising prices, where only greed is the factor. In down markets, traders often panic, and margin calls with fears of losing your home are often a motivator that results in more urgency. Therefore, bottoms can form quickly and sharply. Futures markets seem to be a bit more even regarding uptrends and downtrends, due to the nature of the mix of traders involved. A sideways trending market, or a market with a perceived lack of trend, will often lull traders into complacency, and with attention elsewhere, breakouts into a trend can be missed.

To summarize, I find the best strategy is to find the main, confirmed trend, whatever indicator or method used to determine that trend. Then trade only in the direction of that confirmed trend. Trading pullbacks, such as flag patterns, will usually offer the safest entry points. Trends have smaller cycles within the larger cycle. There are usually pullbacks within the longer term trend. One can still trade turning points of these smaller cycles, as long as they are in the direction of the longer-term trend. I will accept kicking myself for the few times I see major tops or bottoms that I will most certainly miss. This is a small price to pay for missing many losing trades resulting from trying to buck the trend. There are always trends somewhere, and in some timeframe. Going against the trend is like jumping into a river flowing rapidly in one direction, and trying to swim in the opposite direction. It is difficult and exhausting to do. It's much easier to float down the river in the direction that the current wants to go. The ego is more gratified in going the opposite way. The ego is also one of the most difficult aspects of trading to overcome.

Doug Tucker has a blog with daily commentary on stock indexes, precious metals, and other markets. There are many articles on technical analysis and indicator design and interpretation. To visit go to: http://tuckerreport.com/

Forex Trading - Mindset of The Millionaire Forex Pro's

2007-10-11T20:09:00.001-07:00

Forex trading can be learned by anyone yet few succeed so what separates winners from losers? While a method is important, so to is the right mindset and here we will look at 3 character traits all the top traders have.

1. Success Comes From Within

Top traders do their homework and devise a trading logic and forex trading strategy they know backwards in terms of how and why it works and why it will be successful.

Contrast this with the amount of losing traders who buy an e-book from a vendor and then blame them, when the few hundred bucks they spent, didnt make them rich! what did they expect?

Other traders blame anyone they can - from the market, to their broker and squeal like babies when they lose They are forgetting that they are responsible for their destiny, no one else.

Winners accept this and rely on themselves and so must you.

2. Confidence

If you have done your homework you will have confidence in your forex trading strategy and confidence is essential, as you have to follow your method through losing periods and know in your own mind, that you can emerge from periods of losses and emerge a winner longer term.

All successful forex pros have this trait and you need it to, as it leads onto a trait that is absolutely vital to forex trading success:

3. Discipline

This trait is needed to execute a method rigidly and not deviate from it.

Keep in mind if you cant follow your method with discipline, you dont have one in the first place.

If you think it is easy, think again its tough even for seasoned pros.

Many traders have great methods but fail due to lack of discipline.

Confronting the Beast

Trading forex is hard as only you can be wrong (its always right) it will make you look stupid (it does this to all traders) and it moves where and when it wants and there is nothing you can do about it!

However you can win you just need to obey its rules.

You are like a ships captain on the ocean. You need to obey its law and understand everything about it to travel on it safely.

For this you need to have knowledge, confidence in your ability and the discipline, to plot the right course If you can do this - just like the ocean has unlimited riches so does the forex market.

If you respect it and confront it with the right mindset you can win if you dont you will drown its as simple as that.

GRAB 3 X FREE TRADER PDF'S NEWSLETTERS AND MUCH MORE!

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

Shock Secrets of Successful HYIP Investment - Do You Use It?

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

What is your goal? To earn money quickly, get additional income without work. HYIP market can realizes your dreams or makes you bankrupt. Where is limit? Listen to me and you will know how to be rich.

As successful HYIP investor you should know golden rules of sure investing. These rules are very significant and I want you to know them at your finger tips before you actually start your investing way.

Think Long-Term: Never ever think or plan to get rich within a short period of time. It is not reality. Usually good HYIP will never pay quite your principal and interest in less than 6 months.

Do not Quit: Winners do not quit and quitters do not win. It is a law of our life. The next step you take could be the winning step but if you quit, you'll never know how much you are loosing. Just keep investing and learning better ways to better your situation in life.

Be Prepared to Loose: In everything you do in life there are always times when losses occur. Life is all about ups and downs. Use losses or failures as a stepping stone towards greater success and also as an experience to make better investment plans, ameliorate on your strategies.

Diversify: Never put all your eggs into one basket. This is very important rule in HYIP investing. Invest in more than 5-7 programs to create multiple streams of investment income for yourself.

Research and research again: Always conduct your own research too. Always keep your ears on the ground, join HYIP forums, read the FAQs and Terms, read emails sent by the programs you join, check monitoring sites as theHYIPs.net and write their support if there are issues you are not clear on in their terms or FAQs. Ping their domain to define their IP addresses and use an IP search tool or software to determine their location. Do not forget to do a whois search to define if what the programs say in their About Us is the same as it is in the search. When you get this information, compare it with what they say about themselves. Also, NEVER sign up a program that is hosted on a free hosting service or sites that use the same scripts. Never reply to any email asking for a confirmation of your username and password.

Protect yourself, your e-currency account(s) and your investments: This is another very important point to note. Avoid using your real names when dealing with programs you are not sure of except when it has to do with receiving your money via wire-transfer where you have to give your full details to the program to enable transfer of funds to your account. Also use different passwords for your e-currency accounts, your email address(es) and your investment programs. This will prevent fraudulent programs from trying to use the same password you used to join them to open your e-currency account(s). NOTE: If you are using e-gold, make sure you apply the security features as explained by e-gold to protect your account.

Avoid Greed: Do not let the human factor of greed take over your investment decisions. The scammers use the human factor of greed to lure you into investing your money with them. From my personal experience, I lost a lot of money due to the fact that I allowed the emotion of greed to do my investing for me. Scammers offer very high and unrealistic interest rates within a very short time. When this happens, you will know immediately that this will not last but the emotion of greed will always tell you to give it a try and this is where your downfall and failures will begin. These scammers might pay you the first time just to encourage you to invest more and when you do, they disappear.

Please take note of these important rules above and you will enjoy investing in HYIP investment programs.

David Vagner knows shocking secrets how to make money with HYIPs. He will show you magnificent strategies which increase your profit. To know them read his FREE HYIP report here HYIP lessons or visit http://thehyips.net/lessons

Knowing When to Sell Your Stock

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

Knowing when to sell your stock is not as easy as deciding when to buy stock. One of the first questions that you should ask yourself when considering selling your stock is, can the money that I have invested in the stock be more valuable somewhere else? To evaluate whether the answer to this question is yes or no you will need to decide where else the money may be used. For example, you may have credit card debt that is draining your monthly budget. To evaluate if your invested money would serve you better by paying off your credit card debt you will first need to determine how likely it is that your stock will increase in value. If your stock is projected to increase dramatically in the next year then you may want to keep your money in the stock market. However, if the stock is not moving, or if it has been slowly losing ground, then selling the stock to pay off your high interest credit cards is probably a good option.

While most investors will base their decisions to sell their stocks on its performance or on a need to liquefy their assets, others base their decisions to sell on factors that are unique to the type of investors that they are. Day traders, for example, are more willing to sell their stock with small moves in the value of the stock then short term or long term investors are. If you dont know when you should sell your stock you should consult with your investment professional.

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The Top Currency Trading (Forex) Tips and Advice

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

Currency trading as a simple definition is the buying and selling of foreign currencies, exchanging one for another at a profit (or loss). The purpose of the sale and purchase is to make profits. But to benefit from profits you need to be informed and fully aware of when, where, and how a market movement will occur. The most successful traders are aware of all things that may effect one currencies price against another.

If you are serious about making money from Forex trading then you need to take on board many of the currency trading tips the experts can offer. You can learn to understand about market trends and its movement. You can learn about the meaning of trends moving up or down or sideways.

Furthermore, you can, and in fact should, learn what the trends within trends are, such as short term or long term or intermediate term trends. If you take on board the many hints and tips of Forex trading then you will be on the path to be a profitable foreign exchange trader.

Currency trading never sleeps and expects you to be on your toes all the time. The market is open for trading 24 hours a day, 7 days a week thanks to overlapping world timezones. Most brokers offer trading without taking any commission since they earn money from the spread they offer, however, you must ensure that there are no delays in execution of your orders.

Perhaps the biggest currency trading tip for the new trader is to start off small. Big money can both be won and lost in Forex so if you are a newbie then start with one of the free demo accounts that most brokers now offer. A Forex demo account allows you to practice in a real market scenario without the fear of losing any money. This helps you to get an idea about charts and quotes and streaming news. It is a good learning ground.

A free demo account is also a great way to learn how to use a brokers software and to get an idea of whether that broker is right for you. If you are not comfortable with it, tell the company, perhaps they can do something about it, perhaps they cant but if you dont ask you dont get! Afterall, if it doesn't suit you, find another broker.

Another tip for you to consider when choosing a Forex broker is whether to go for one that offers a client based or a web based software. Web based software is installed on the computer of the broker and you recieve a unique id and password with which you can operate your account from any computer with an internet connection. The advantage lies in the fact you can use any PC to access the software but the downside is that you are relying on a good connection to the brokers software.

On the other hand, client based software has to be downloaded and then installed on your own system and as such couldnt be used from any other system. The advantage here is that providing your own PC works you have everything set up ready to go at the click of a button, the disadvantage is that you cannot trade from any PCs that do not have the software installed.

There is one more currency trading tip about brokers. Check out their customer service, sometimes you might need a quick reply to a problem or question and the speed of their response could make or break a trade. If you find that the broker is not very prompt in replying to your queries then you should think very carefully before starting to trade with their software.

Another currency trading tip would be to have a fast internet connection. A slow dial-up modem could make trading almost impossible, in this day and age broadband is available pretty cheap so if possible ensure you have broadband installed before starting your trading career.

Give time to research online brokers. Taking advice from friends, acquaintances, and respectable websites that are in the same field would also be a good idea. After all it is your money and you should be careful about it.

For independent advice on choosing the right Forex broker please visit Forex Broker Reviews. If you are still undecided about trading Forex online then you can visit Forex Trading Resources for more information and advice.

The Psychology Of Market Timing

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

The biggest enemy, when market timing the stock market via mutual funds, ETF's, even individual stocks (or in any trading for that matter), is within ourselves. Success is possible only when we learn to control our emotions.

Edwin Lefevre's "Reminiscences of a Stock Operator" (1923) offers advice that still applies today:

Caution Excitement (and fear of missing an opportunity) often persuades us to enter the market before it is safe to do so. After a down trend a number of rallies may fail before one eventually carries through. Likewise, the emotional high of a profitable trade may blind us to signs that the trend is reversing.

It is important to follow a tried and true timing strategy that puts you in the right position for established trends, and also gets you out of failed trends quickly to protect capital. Excitement results in losses more often than not.

Patience Wait for the right market conditions. There are times when it is wise to stay out of the market and observe from the sidelines.

Depending on your emotional ability to handle extreme volatility, that patience may result in a cash position or in bearish positions, which will trade that volatility. Do not underestimate the value of being in cash!

Conviction Have the courage of your convictions: Take steps to protect your profits when you see that a trend is weakening, but sit tight and don't let fear of losing part of your profit cloud your judgment.

When trading a timing strategy, do NOT abandon the strategy. Emotions are the most common reason for abandoning a strategy and when emotions rule your decisions, they WILL result in losses.

Detachment Concentrate on the (trading plan) rather than on the money. If your trades are technically correct, the profits will follow.

Many traders have had the experience of being profitable on paper, but losing money when they execute the trades real time. If the trading strategy is not followed absolutely, it will fail. Again, emotions dictate losses.

Stay emotionally detached from the market. Avoid getting caught up in the short-term excitement. Screen watching is a tell-tale sign: if you continually check prices or stare at charts for hours it is a sign that you are unsure of your strategy and are likely to suffer losses.

Focus on the longer time frames and do not try to catch every short-term fluctuation. The most profitable trades are in catching the large trends.

Subscribers to Fibtimer know our position on this. We are trend traders pure and simple and our strategies identify and trade trends. If a trend fails our strategies quickly exit.

Expect the unexpected Investing involves dealing with probabilities not certainties. No one can predict the market correctly every time. Avoid gamblers logic.

Many consider market timing as a fool's attempt to forecast the market. We agree with the their logic when the word "forecast" is used. NO ONE can accurately forecast (predict) the future direction of the stock market over and over. At Fibtimer we are trend traders. We do NOT forecast. We identify trends and when they are confirmed we trade them. Trend trading is ALWAYS a winner over time.

Limit your losses Use stop losses to protect your funds. When the stop loss is triggered, act immediately - don't hesitate.

The use of strict money management is the key to limiting losses. Fibtimer's strategies never allow losses to accumulate. When the strategy says sell, we do so without emotion.

The biggest mistake you can make is to hold on to losing positions, hoping for a recovery. Falling stocks have a habit of declining way below what you expected them to. Eventually you are forced to sell, decimating your capital. Human nature being what it is, most traders and investors ignore these rules when they first start out.

It can be an expensive lesson.

Control your emotions and avoid being swept along with the crowd. Make consistent decisions based on sound timing strategy and you will be profitable. Do not expect overnight profits. The stock market is where the profits are, but it is not a grocery store. You do not pick the profits off the shelves.

Profits will come if you follow the plan without deviation and do not make emotional decisions to jump ship based on news events, short term losing trades, or especially because the market is rallying today and you are in cash or bearish.

The strategy will win out over time. It will get you out of losing trades and keep you in the long-term profitable trends. Stay the course and win.

How Psychology Can Influence Your Investment Judgment

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

Studies have shown that human have shown patterns of irrationality, inconsistency and incompetence when arriving at decisions and choices when they are faced with uncertainty.

This field is better known as behavioral finance. This field explains how emotions influence investors and the markets. This explains why prices can go much lower or higher than the actual value when the companies faced with temporary setbacks or business opportunities. This also explains why there are market bubbles and crashes.

This is when value investing comes into picture. Warren Buffett believes in finding out the intrinsic value of a stock and buys large amount of it when the price falls below the actual value of the stock.

When a stock falls, most investors would not cut loses and withdraw his/her stocks. Instead, to avoid the pain and regret of making a bad investment, they might hold on to the stock until the stocks fall even lower until it worths nothing. An investor tends to follow the market crowd. When he sees that a lot of investors are dumping their stock in the market, they will start to fear and ignore their own judgment and start following the crowd. This could cause the stock to fall rock bottom. However, it is the value investors who profit from this who knows whether this is a permanent or temporary setback to the company stocks and whether prices will increase again.

Warren Buffett once said this Investing is not a game where the guy with the 160 IQ beats the guy with the 130 IQOnce you have ordinary intelligence, what you need is the temperament to control the urges that get other people into trouble in investing.

Some common mental mistakes made by others 1.Believing in the majority's judgment than their own 2.Tendency to follow the crowd, believing that majority of the people cant be wrong

Some killer tips on how you can use behavioral finance to your advantage
1.Prepare a checklist and set up a system on the criteria that a company should meet before you decide to buy or sell.(e.g. How is the management? Any changes in the management? Is it a good business ?
2.Do not buy a company stock which you do not know about
3.Seek out your opinion with someone (not too many). Make sure that you are able to support your judgement on why you should buy or sell a particular stock. If you are not able to answer, then maybe this is not a good stock to invest in.
4.Keep an open mind about stock prices
5.Learn from your mistakes and do not be obsess. Always have an entry and exit strategy. When your stock shows signs that you should exit, exit immediately and cut your losses. Learn from your mistakes and move on.

Stock Market Trader

Check out more articles at http://bewarrenbuffett.com

Financing A Must For Growth

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

Financing means getting financial support from financial institutions. A start up company or a company, which has been in existence, requires on going finance. Some companies to run the day-to-day operations require financial support. Some companies also require financing to expand their services and create more branches and develop.

The rate of interest for financing is pretty high and financing institutions like banks provide loans to the business owners. The borrowed money and interest amount are repaid in installments. While financing you should be very careful as the amount borrowed and the amount you will repay will not be the same, as you need to pay along with the interest rate, which could be 15% 20%. Suppose, you go for a loan for 100,000 dollars, then the amount repayable would be 125,000, but the best part is you can repay in installments over a period of time.

While financing you need to check the interest rates, monthly repayable amount, finance terms and the repayment term. You should first evaluate the amount of money required for financing and also look at returns that would be generated from the investment. You should also calculate and find in how many years the investment would generate profits for the company. The loan amount should be adequate and it should help in growth.

The banks or financial institutions, which provide financing facilities, get the financed amount back in installments including the interest rates. The banks or financial institutions make profits and they normally finance with some fixed assets as collateral. A collateral is a guarantee that the person would repay the borrowed amount and in case if the person does not repay the borrowed amount on time, then the lenders have the right to sell the collateral.

For small business owners, the government provides financing schemes, which helps in promoting, small and medium sized businesses. The small and medium sized businesses also get loans from U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) and the financing schemes are easy and flexible. In fact it is easier to get a loan from U.S. Small Business Administration schemes than getting a loan from banks and other financial institutions. If you apply for Small Business Loan program then the SBA would stand as security for the borrower.

One other financing option is equity financing from family, employees etc who will be provided with shares of the company in exchange for money. A company can also consider financing in the form of venture capital. The venture capitalist invests in the company and takes a risk if they feel the company would grow and provide adequate returns. Financing through venture capitalists is a difficult task and there are many strict guidelines to be followed by the management and proper accounting procedures have to be followed. Venture capitalists would also be part of the management and while taking decisions their role has to be kept in mind.

Getting a venture capitalist for financing your projects would be a very difficult task as they only finance where they can see tremendous growth opportunities and returns. There are many financing options through which you can develop your company. It is left up to the businessperson to choose the right finance option.

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Shop for a Living! Earn Your Degree in Fashion and Retail Management Online

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

The American fashion trades represent an industry with more than $200 billion in annual sales, and the trend is expected to continue as men's and women's apparel and accessories continue to sell as fast as new innovations are promoted. The NPD Group, a market research firm, reports that jeans sales for both men and women are off the hook. If you want to join the ranks of fashion and retail management professionals who keep the trends moving, this is a great time to advance your career.

From Researching Trends to Organizing Fashion Campaigns

Fashion and retail management pros work all along the chain of apparel sales, from measuring sales and documenting trends, to assisting in fashion line development, creating fashion campaigns, and organizing sales teams in large department store chains as well as small but profitable boutiques.

Merchandising and Marketing

Promotions managers typically have studied merchandising or marketing at accredited colleges and universities, or have taken online courses to learn the latest digital and print promotion retail avenues. A fashion retail management degree program can teach you how to create internet sales campaigns, direct mail, print promotions, television or radio ads, and how to negotiate retailing strategies with manufacturers, dealers, and distributors.

Team Management

You can learn how to manage a team of fashion sales reps, assigning quotas, territories, and customer relationships. No matter where you currently are in your fashion career, online certificate, associate, bachelor and master's degree programs can enhance your education and help advance your career. You'll learn how to forecast trends, take stock of your inventory, and create business plans that turn fabrics into profits.

Online Degree Opportunities

If youre ready to pursue an opportunity in the field of fashion and retail management, you can begin today with a convenient online program from an accredited college or university to help you get on your way.

Whether youre ready to earn your first degree or advance your education, accredited online colleges and universities offer programs online to help you reach your design career goals. Intended for those ready to improve their opportunities or change careers completely, the convenience of online learning can help you succeed.

Nancy Lambert is an executive for Accredited-Online-Colleges.com. From online certificates to Associates, Bachelors, Masters and PhD degrees, Accredited-Online-Colleges.com provides information on hundreds of degrees offered online through accredited colleges and universities and helps students and adults discover the advantages of earning their degree online. Earn or advance your Fashion and Retail Management degree online today!

Building Wealth Gann Made $50 Million Here's How

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

W D Gann was one of the most famous investors of all time and a portrait hangs of him in the New York Stock Exchange in recognition of his achievements.

This article is all about how to build wealth and how to do it quickly.

Lets look at Ganns methods and how you can use his tools to make yourself some big profits to.

Ganns Methods

Ganns methods were all based upon the theory that market action repeats itself.

As humans our psychology is constant and as we are ones who create market prices this psychology repeats itself again and again in price action.

Gann used technical analysis to make his trades and when he traded at the turn of the century he employed a team of draughtsman to construct the charts.

Today, traders can simply use computer programs to do the work and there are many good ones about and plenty of Ganns courses, so you can learn the basics and apply them easily.

There are also money managers who use Ganns methods to trade and many have outstanding track records of success with 30% annualised gains and more. If you dont want to trade yourself then this option is open to you.

Trade to build wealth

In fact, you can do all your trades in under an hour a day, from the comfort of your own home. All you need is a computer and an internet connection and you are all set to build some serious wealth.

To trade Ganns methods you need to confidence in them. As with all trading methods you will have losses and it is essential to have the discipline to stick with the system even during periods of losses.

Trading success is based around the following equation:

Trading method + Applied with discipline = Financial success

This may sound obvious, but 90% of investors cant get the second part of the equation right. They cant trade with discipline. They let their emotions dictate their trading moves and end up losing.

Gann removed this emotional component by only doing what his charts told him.

When the majority thought share prices would go on forever in 1929, Gann got ready for the crash! And you guessed it he made a killing in the markets.

Stand Alone from the crowd

Gann was an individual he didnt care what people thought of his methods and he didnt care what people thought of his trades. He simply concentrated on building wealth $50 million dollars of wealth.

Gann can give you the methods and the tools, but only its up to you to use them to build wealth. Gann traded in isolation and you must to.

If you can apply the methods he created with discipline the path is open to you to.

You Have An Advantage Gann Didnt

You have computers where even computers with low specs contain more power than the computers that put man on the moon! We also have the greatest technological innovation ever: The Internet.

These tools can help you build wealth in under an hour a day. Take a look at Ganns methods and you will see a route that could lead you to financial success to.

FREE Gann information on how to build wealth with Gann's trading methods from a company applying Gann's tehcncial trading tools for over 25 years with outstanding success visit:

http://www.gann.co.uk

The Right Forex System Can Make You Rich

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

Whatever you think you should be doing in forex, the first thing you must consider when thinking about starting a profitable forex trading career is to find a forex system that will give you consistent gains. This means a system that will have a high percentage of successful trades over losing ones. No system is perfect, thats true, but you will make money even with losing trades, as professionals do, if you do things right with your system. Lots of people earn a living trading the forex and you can do it too.

A key ingredient in your forex trading system must be to have the proper money management rule sin place before you start trading. Bad money management can sink your trading career at the very beginning. So be wise and plan ahead in your system.

Also you should have clear chart setups in order to have a wide and detailed view of the market at the moment you are trading. With your charts in place you should load your trading system with the correct logic of when to enter a trade and when to exit. In forex trading these two critical times often means lots of money inside or out of your pocket. Never use a system that doesnt give you a clear logic for your trades.

It is always a plus if your system ha information of the best times of the day when to enter the markets and when you should better leave and take a brake. Forex trading session is all day but there are hours when the volume increases and trends show themselves more clearly. Taken note of this and considering when looking for a good forex trading system for you.

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Downloaders versus the Music Industry

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

Is it too late to find a peaceful compromise in the digital music revolution between record labels and consumers? It is not just record labels that are refusing to find a middle ground between ease of sharing digital music and ensuring listeners pay for it. Consumer attitudes and actions are not helping matters any. Has the gap between the two sides widened past the point of identifying a resolution?

The issue is enormously complex because it doesnt fit squarely into any one category. It is a business concern because record companies are rapidly losing revenue in sales of compact discs. And in 2006 at least, the industry is claiming that online music purchases did not make up the difference.

It is a technology concern because the industry leaders are still insisting that digital rights management, DRM, be incorporated into any digital music sales essentially protecting digital content from being copied and shared. So far, no one solution has successfully satisfied the consumer and the music industry. There is a minute push among the big labels to partner with major online distributors like Yahoo and Amazon.com to release digital downloads free of DRM. But the biggest push is a model much closer to that of Zune or iTunes a closed system that allows only for sharing of tracks among its own products.

It is a legal issue too, one of ownership and copyright violation, that has resulted in legal action against downloaders and file trading networks. Under the Audio Home Recording Act of 1992, consumers could make analog and digital recordings for personal use. That was back when music sharing was making a mix tape off of the radio, and didnt threaten record label revenue.

It is a political issue because the government has once again introduced a bill that aims to regulate digital music commerce. On January 11, the U.S. Senate introduced the Platform Equality and Remedies for Rights Holders in Music Act. This is the second iteration of the same bill that was originally introduced in April 2006, and it is plainly a major score for the recording industry. The act basically requires that music providers, including satellite radio and cable providers, take whatever means available to prevent music theft. For consumers, that means no more burning tracks to CD.

What is at stake is the relationship between the music industry and the consumer. Any faade of goodwill is rapidly crumbling. Even in the face of undeniable backlash from consumers, music execs are not any closer to offering a viable solution. The record labels are loath to describe it as a war on consumers. But consumers have taken the war to the record companies by freely and without qualm passing around digital tracks by e-mail and cell phones and portable music players.

Its probably useful to note that independent record labels and the artists themselves have freely distributed tracks to consumers without DRM. But the big record labels argue, rightly, that giving music away is not much of a business plan. And to drive the point home, a global pool of independent record labels announced a deal to negotiate terms en masse with download sites through an agency called Merlin. The move ensures that the indies will have a market share in fee-based digital music sales. Because at the heart of the argument is a very simple notion; listeners should pay for the music they hear.

This week at MIDEM, a music industry trade fair, the music industry will continue to debate endlessly its stance on digital music distribution. Whether it is fair or not, it is up to the music industry executives to find a solution to the problem. Consumers have drawn a line in the sand, and the record labels would be wise to find a way to make it work. There needs to be a system that is profitable for them and convenient for the purchasers.

The alternative is a move towards an entirely free and fluid music sharing system. As it is, we are already one foot in the door to that outcome. A generation of listeners has grown up in the age of free digital music sharing. Who will be able to convince them to go back to paying for the privilege? Its not too far-fetched to suggest that is it already too late to compromise.

Andrew Marx uses his legal education to provide practical information on how the everyday person can access legal resources. His weekly column can be read at http://features.smartremarx.com/

Stock Market Timing - Which Months Are Best to Invest?

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

The U.S. stock market at the time of writing, (August 16, 2007), has spent a large part of the summer so far in a seemingly unstoppable swoon that has spooked all but the hardiest of investors and traders. Many may wish that some kind of simple guidelines were in existence that could provide pointers as to which time of the year may be the most suited for bullish bets in the market and which constitutes the best time to take money off the table. How much easier it would be to make money in the market if buy and sell decisions could be made simply by referring to the calendar!

Techniques designed to time markets in order to maximize profits come in many shapes and forms and naturally there are many opinions as to when might be the most propitious times during the year to buy and sell stocks. Statistically, September is the month that shows the biggest tendency for stock market declines. October scares some people because some major market crashes have occurred in that month including those of 1929 and 1987. We hear about "summer rallies" but find that concept is contradicted by the old adage "Sell in May and go away." There is a Santa Claus rally, closely followed by a January Effect. But in our view Mark Twain probably summed up the best way to view the timing of stock purchases by month of the year when he wrote: "October. This is one of the particularly dangerous months to invest in stocks. Other dangerous months are July, January, September, April, November, May, March, June, December, August and February."

This article was written jointly by Aidan J. McNamara and Martha A. Brozyna

Aidan McNamara is associate publisher at The Deal LLC in New York, publisher of the weekly financial magazine The Deal as well as The Daily Deal and TheDeal.com. He holds an MA (with distinction) in Area Studies (Eastern Europe and Russia) from the University of London, 1981 and a BA in German from the University of Manchester.

Martha A. Brozyna received a Ph.D. in history from the University of Southern California in 2005 and a BA in history and political science from Rutgers University where she graduated Phi Beta Kappa in 1995.

McNamara and Brozyna are the authors of Contrarian Ripple Trading: A Low-Risk Strategy to Profiting from Short-Term Stock Trades, scheduled for publication by John Wiley & Sons in October 2007. Martha Brozyna published Gender and Sexuality in the Middle Ages: A Medieval Source Documents Reader in 2005 (McFarland & Co.)

The authors have additional information on themselves and their forthcoming book at their website http://www.ridetheripples.com

FOREX Trading Systems - Learn the Secrets That Made $50 Million Dollars

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

W D Gann amassed a fortune of $50 million dollars in the first half of the last century, although he died in 1955, his trading techniques are still used today.

If you have a FOREX trading system then Ganns trading methods are an ideal vehicle to seek big profits with low risk.

Ganns Method

Ganns method takes the emotion out of trading and like any successful FOREX trading system will liquidate losses quickly and try and hold the longer-term trends and milk them for profits.

Gann's method was tried and tested and many of his trades were publicly recorded and worked in ANY financial market.

1. He predicted improvements in the economy in 1921 and the huge Bull Run in stocks.

2. In 1928 he predicted the end of the Bull Market, a full year in advance of the 1929 crash. Not only this but he then bought stock in the Dow at the all time low that occurred in 1932.

3. In 1935, a newspaper verified 98 of his trades, in cotton, grain, and rubber.

The result?

83 were profits.

Why Was Gann's Unique?

Gann was a technical trader but introduced a unique slant to his method by calculating the interaction between price and time and its influence.

Gann believed that crucial price trend changes happened when price and time converged.

If price and time were not in synch, then time would always by the main determining factor over price. Time, was therefore the ultimate indicator for him as Gann once said:

All of nature was governed by time".

In the "Wall Street Stock Selector" Gann gave an insight into repetitive price patterns that would always occur and said:

"Just remember one thing, whatever has happened in the past in the stock market and Wall Street will happen again. Advances in bull markets will come in the future, and panics will come in the future, just as they have in the past. This is the working out of a natural law

Gann also had other unique concepts that he incorporated in his methods

He utilized such concepts as Gann angles as well as The Fibonacci Number Sequence which were revolutionary and are still used today.

Gann wrote extensively and produced vast volumes of work over his lifetime and all traders can learn from him.

Why Is Gann influential today?

Quite simply, as his methods are based on recurring price patterns they will never go out of date and savvy traders worldwide still use them to gain a trading edge.

FOREX markets are some of the best markets to trade and if you have a FOREX Trading system Ganns methods could help you in your quest for profits and give you the trading edge you desire.

MORE FREE GANN & EXCLUSIVE GANN TRADING COURSE

On all aspects of Gann trading including an exclusive Gann Trading Course visit our website for a huge resource of articles, features and downloads and at http://www.net-planet.org/index.html

Why Online Forex Trading is Attractive

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

One major guide for successful forex currency trading is the identification of trend. That is what many forex trading software use in their analysis.

In FX trading there are always identifiable trends in the movement of forex exchange rate. These last longer and are more clearly defined than is the case in any other type of trading, be it stock trading or commodity trading.

A forex chart often displays a consistent trend which remains there for a considerable amount of time. If one can spot this trend early on, one can make big profits. That is how many successful forex traders have succeeded in forex market.

One can follow this trend till a new pattern or trend emerges.

Nobody can control foreign exchange trading for a long time. There may be short periods when the central bank of a country or any other major bank is able to influence the foreign exchange rate, but it cannot hold it for any longer time.

There is no insider information or market manipulation. Therefore, one can trade fearlessly. On the other hand one is always subject to foul play in stock and other types of trading.

In forex trading one needs to concentrate just on a few major currency pairs - and pure technical analysis. A Forex trader doesn't have to worry about 8,000 stocks or 72 commodities, and all the underlying trading rules that accompany those markets.

Forex Market is marked by simplicity. There are less issues relating to the execution and scrutiny in this marekt. Because of this simplicity, companies are able to devise most sophisticated technologies. The forex trading software so designed is small and simple.

One important attraction of online forex trading is the leverage factor. With this, one can hold fairly large positions with very small amounts. Thus with a leverage ratio of 100:1 and $1,000, one can have control over as much as $100, 000. If one happens to lose, one cannot lose more than $1,000.

A forex trader can cut the losses early on while leaving the profits to build. With this strategy, it is possible to be profitable in forex market.

Another beauty of forex trading is that one does not need a lot of learning. One can learn forex trading in relatively a short period of time and start trading.

One can start with mini forex trading. With this one can start with as little as $50 and in as little as 5 minutes.

There are no fees to be paid in currency trading. A forex broker makes up his fees from ask / bid spreads.

Forex currency trading can be done virtually 24 hours a day and 6 days a week. No other market provides this sort of facility. One can pick up ones own hours and work accordingly. One is not subject to opening and closing bells.

All the above factors make it extremely easy and attractive for online forex trading.

For a Free Forex Guide and For Learning More About This fantastic Internet Business, Please follow this link.

How The DOW Is Often Misused As An Indicator Of Likely Returns On An Individual Stock Investment

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

Every asset class at some time or other has its day in terms of being the investment that offers returns superior to all other types of assets. Real estate, gold, fine art, fixed income instruments such as bonds, even in recent times the so-called alternative assets of private equity and hedge fund investments can be kings of the hill. However, over any very long period of time measured in decades, all the evidence suggests that investing in stocks - equity stakes in publicly traded companies - is the best way to achieve real inflation-beating returns.

It is typical of writers in the investing genre to use the statistical history of the Dow Jones Industrial Average (the Dow) to indicate the wisdom of investing in stocks. At first blush, the choice of this index may appear to be strange, given that it contains just thirty stocks (out of many thousands of publicly traded companies) whereas broader indices such as the Standard & Poors (S&P) 500 and the Wilshire 5000 Total Market Index cover much more broadly-based groupings of stocks. However, the general usage of the Dow in this way reflects both its longevity, (it has been around for one hundred and eleven years now and has been a thirty-stock index since 1928), as well as its general acceptance by investors, the media and the general public.

When someone remarks that the market is up 35 points today, they do not mean that the S&P 500 is up by that amount, nor the NASDAQ 100, nor certainly the Wilshire 5000. If the market is up 35 points then you can be sure this refers to an increase that day in the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It is precisely for this reason that the use of the Dow, whatever weaknesses it may have in other ways, makes perfect sense as a day-to-day gauge of what the market is doing. In effect, precisely owing to this level of acceptance, the Dow is the most logical index to use to act as an indicator on movements within the market overall because, to all intents and purposes, the Dow is the market.

This general acceptance and longevity have the additional effect that the Dow is consistently used as a market proxy by investment writers wishing to demonstrate how over very long periods of decades and more investing in stocks has been the smartest investing practice. This is especially well illustrated by showing the upward advance of the Dow in graph form. The message is clear there is an obvious ever onward and upward progression of the index. This can be used to bolster the argument, very typically used by writers on investing, that if you had bought stocks say in November, 1972, when the Dow closed above 1,000 for the first time, then your investment would have been worth over thirteen times that initial investment in 2007 with the Dow today at well above the 13,000 level.

Leaving aside the fact that during the 35 years from 1972 to 2007 inflation would have eaten up a large portion of the nominal gain, (but also on the flip side the fact that over the same period dividend payouts would have made up a good part of any losses from inflation), our argument that the use of the Dow by investment writers in this way is misleading hinges on the fact that the Dow is itself in no way an immutable index. It is subjected to a kind of regular housecleaning by the editors of the Wall Street Journal who every few years bring into the Dow Jones Industrial Average companies that are dominant in the economy of the day, and throw out those that are not considered dominant enough, either generally or in their own industry sector. Therefore, they ease out the old-economy, smokestack, buggy-whip making has-beens of yesteryear, and replace them with the zippy bright new-economy stars in growth mode. This process over time can clearly be demonstrated by comparing the make-up of the Dow at the time that it first closed above 1,000 in 1972 and the make-up of the index today.

Then: Allied Chemical; Aluminum Company of America; American Can; American Telephone & Telegraphic; American Tobacco; Anaconda; Bethlehem Steel; Chrysler; DuPont; Eastman Kodak; Exxon; General Electric; General Foods; General Motors; Goodyear; International Harvester; International Nickel; International Paper; Johns-Manville; Owens-Illinois Glass; Procter & Gamble; Sears, Roebuck & Co.; Standard Oil of California; Swift & Co.; Texas Corporation; Union Carbide; United Aircraft; U.S. Steel; Westinghouse Electric; Woolworth.

Now: 3M Company; ALCOA; Altria Group; American International Group; American Express; AT&T; Boeing; Caterpillar; Citigroup; Coca-Cola; DuPont; Exxon Mobil; General Electric; General Motors; Hewlett-Packard; Home Depot; Honeywell International; Intel; IBM; Johnson & Johnson; JP Morgan Chase; McDonalds; Merck; Microsoft; Pfizer; Procter & Gamble; United Technologies; Verizon; Wal-Mart Stores; Walt Disney Co.

These different renderings of the Dow Jones Industrial Average demonstrate that the use of the index as if it is unchanging and somehow carved in stone can be misleading. The use of the index as a statistical proof of the history of the market is in truth compromised by the regular changes in its component parts. Yet it is convenient for those writing on long-term investing strategies to use the progress of the Dow over many years to demonstrate not just the general upward trend in the market over time, which is a fact, but much more tenuously that of individual stocks comprising the market.

Should a writer voice the opinion that an investment in the market in 1972 would be worth thirteen times that investment today, he or she would be ignoring the fact that any return would depend on which stocks had been selected for investment back in 1972. Buying into the market at that time could involve purchase of Dow component stocks that later did well, Dow component stocks that later did badly and are no longer part of the Dow and of course for the most part it would probably realistically mean investment in stocks that were not part of the Dow index then or now. Indeed, exactly the same issue would arise for a broader index such as the S&P 500 which is also constantly refreshed by additions of fast-growing companies and demotions of slower-growing ones. Moreover, companies that are acquired by larger, more successful companies are deleted and always replaced in the index by promising up-and-comers.

A straight comparison of an index at one point in time with the same index decades later masks the significant rotations of sectors within the overall market that are always taking place. Developments in technology, lifestyle choices and general business and consumer trends are subject to changes that can be cyclical in nature, as certain industries or companies and their products come in or out of prominence. Management miscues, competitive developments or even legal liabilities, (did we hear someone say Asbestos?) can also lay low a stock that looked promising at the time of investment and can make its performance over time very different from that of what is being referred to as the market.

The only way that comparisons of indices over many years as a measure of investment performance can truly be considered accurate is for the investor who puts his/her money into a market index fund which is managed to replicate the movements of the index on which it is based. Otherwise you really cannot directly extrapolate from the historical trend lines of any index, including the key Dow Jones Industrial Average, the likely success of any individual stock in which you may choose to invest over the very long-term. Put bluntly, individual stocks potentially have a shelf life and are perishable, even though the overall market over time may go marching on.

This article was written jointly by Aidan J. McNamara and Martha A. Brozyna

The authors have additional information on themselves and their forthcoming book at their website http://www.ridetheripples.com

Day Trading Chat Rooms - What to Realistically Expect

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

About two years ago I entered a slump in my day trading. I decided to hunt the internet, and there I found many day trading chat rooms. One by one I signed up for trials to see what they were about. I had never been in a chat room before.

After being in a few rooms, my impression was that the members of the room were looking for a leader, a guru, someone with the answers. I guess I was too, although I already had about thirty years of trading behind me. Id like to think is was just more curious than actually looking for answers. Most of the room members seemed very naive. Im sure they thought theyd be given an indicator or method that would allow them to start making money right away. The other thing I noticed right away was the ego of the moderators. They spoke with great authority, and suggested that their way of trading was the one and only way. Only they had the answer. And the room attendees, in each of the rooms, seemed to agree.

I did not see much new in any of these rooms. Each one had some kind of gimmick or special oscillator. Some had a black box approach, where you were supposed to just sit there waiting for the moderator to call out the trades. I did not see many winning trades from the little time I spent in any of these rooms. From what I saw, I doubted if any of these people ever made a dime trading. I kept moving on.

Eventually I came upon a chat room that was free. Free was interesting. How could it be free? They must be selling something. I logged on.

I heard the voice of a very calm, relaxed man that had just taken a huge win out of one of the stock index futures. Dozens of traders posted congratulations to the moderator for the winning trade, but more so for such a wonderful, magic indicator, and all the wonderful trading patterns from this magic indicator.

The magic indicator being used was actually introduced around 1980, but this moderator had some interesting improvements on the way it was displayed and the patterns it produced. And the room was not only free; there was a charity involved. He asked everyone to donate a little out of his or her winnings. How could anyone criticize anything that was done for charity?

The moderator made the claim that he invented the use of applying patterns to an indicator. He did rename all the patterns, but I recognized many of the patterns that were well documented in many old books. He just put strange names on existing patterns. The mostly new traders did not know these were old patterns. Nobody questioned anything in this room.

Despite nothing new here, it seemed he did an excellent job of categorizing many different patterns and putting them all together into a package that would be more readily accessible to new traders. So that was good. And there were many good concepts offered on trading in general, and money management. Also, the chat room was upbeat and positive. Most of the previous chat rooms I attended were negative and angry. I thought I should continue on.

I spent the next few months learning as much as I could. As much as I wanted to believe he had wisdom worth listening to and a viable approach, many things started really bothering me. One was his insistence that his indicator could lead price An indicator, which is a derivative of price, cannot lead the price. Thats just mathematically impossible. Another was his insistence that you cannot be watching prices while you are trading. What?! You cannot see what you are trading? If you were driving a car would you cover up the windshield? The people in this room would if he told them to.

I had a hard time believing that nearly a thousand people would accept everything that was being said. Accepting it so readily. Were they all drinking Kool-Aid? It was an interesting study on the need to believe in a leader, a guru. Someone that can help make dreams come true.

But I persevered. His trading results certainly looked more encouraging than mine did. I would get the recaps after market close on days that they were available. Nearly every trade in the recap was profitable. I tried to write down the trades as they were being called, and then tried to reconcile them in the recap after the market closed. But I began to notice in the recap that the winning trades were selected very carefully out of the real time comments. Again, nobody questioned any of this. Was I the only one who noticed the discrepancies?

At this point I decided to do my own testing. I had been in the room long enough to know every pattern and every nuance. I was good at programming and had the data to test. I took each pattern individually so I could find which patterns had profitable or encouraging tendencies. For my tests I decided I needed thousands of samples. I decided to test each of the patterns on five years of data, and broke them up into one year segments. I was just looking for profitable tendencies and robustness.

After programming everything, I tested the signals by hand; just to make sure my programming caught all the signals based on the rules, and did not create signals that should not have been there.

After spending weeks and reams of paper for my printouts, I found that none of the patterns resulted in a profit in any of the previous five years when tested mechanically. A pattern that was touted as winning 90% of the time, actually lost money, and in most years had less than 30% winning trades. Results on the rest of the patterns were less reliable than the flip of a coin, far less in most cases.

To summarize my testing: nothing worked. Nothing came close to a favorable tendency. I tried to tell other people in the room about my research and the dismal results. Most of them would not hear it. They did not want to hear the truth. They were too invested in the method, and they had to believe they would eventually become successful if only they would hang on a bit longer, learn that secret that is just around the corner. But most of these people stayed in the room, some had been in for years, and kept showering congratulations onto the moderator for the great trades, and great magic, leading indicator. Did they ever look at their account statements?

You might assume my time spend in this room a waste of time. That maybe I thought that this guru did have the answer to trading success. I knew better than to expect this. The sad part is that so many other people dont know better. They are told something that they want desperately to believe, and they believe it. They don not test it. They do not question it. They believe blindly. They invest much time and money, and then they get past the point where they simply want to believe. Now they are too invested and they have to believe. They will disregard all common sense and all facts and proof in an effort to keep the dream alive. I certainly learned about psychology and the mind of chat room traders that I compete with every day.

Trading is hard work, and every trader has to find what fits his or her own personality and temperament. Nobody is going to easily give it away, whether in a free chat room, or a paid room or seminar, or a so-called trading school. Theres a whole industry out there that supply traders with tools and education. Very little of it is good. Most of it is a waste, taught and promoted by people who are not successful using the approach themselves.

Currency Traders Secret Weapon - Support & Resistance

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

Do you know why only five percent of all currency traders are successful? Do they know something that we don't? The truth is that successful forex traders use the same technical indicators that you and I use. The difference lies in accurately interpreting these indicators. A common indicator used by forex traders is support and resistance. Let us see how support and resistance are used in forex trading.

Support and Resistance is the foundation of most of the top trading systems. Support and resistance levels represent pauses in the trend when investors reconsider all information. The idea of support and resistance is vital to understanding and interpreting the forex market. Support and resistance are basically price bands where the price will probably stop falling or rising respectively. Support and resistance are created because price has memory. Support and resistance are by far the most important forex trading technical indicator you will ever find, and the best forex trading option if you want to be on the right side of the market.

Support and resistance are like a floor and ceiling, with prices contained between them. Support like resistance is rarely a precise price; it is more often a relatively contained price range, frequently in the vicinity of past technical patterns. Support and resistance levels on bar and candlestick charts are a major component in the study of technical analysis. Support and resistance come in all varieties and strengths. The length of time that a support or resistance level exists helps to determine the strength or weakness of that level. When a level of support or resistance is penetrated, price tends to thrust forward sharply as the crowd notices the breakout and jumps in to buy or sell. When a level is penetrated but does not attract a crowd of buyers or sellers, it often falls back below the previous support or resistance.

Support

Support is defined as a price level below which it is supposedly difficult for a currency pair or market to fall. Additionally it is a price level at which a currency pair or other security stops falling at least temporarily, hence the name. Support represents the level at which buying pressure is strong enough to absorb and overcome selling pressure. Support defines that level where buyers are strong enough to keep price from falling further. Support lines turn into resistance and resistance lines turn into support.

Resistance

Resistance is the opposite of support and represents a price level or area over the market where selling pressure overcomes buying pressure and a price advance is turned back. Resistance defines that level where sellers are too strong to allow prices to raise further. By the time the price reaches the resistance level, it is believed that supply will overcome demand and prevent the price from rising above resistance.

So we have learned that: Understanding the concept and significance of support and resistance is important for profitable forex trading. One aspect of its unique quality is that support and resistance is defined as an area or a zone not a single price level. One of the basic precepts of support and resistance is that once a support level is violated it becomes a likely new resistance level and when a resistance level is penetrated it becomes a new support level.

Start practice trading using support and resistance on a demo account right away. Go out there and continue to research this indicator as well as other technical indicators. Once you master interpreting forex technical indicators profits will surely follow.

How Can I Find The Best Performing Mutual Funds?

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

As the old saying goes, "You judge a horse by its track record," and that is probably true in most instances. However, it is not necessarily true when assessing the performance of mutual funds. Using past performance to determine a fund's future performance is much like looking behind you to see ahead. It is not exactly an effective measure.

There are several companies that assess mutual funds and assign them ratings based on specific criteria. Quite often, those criteria consist of viewing the fund's past performance over a five year or ten year period. However, this method has not proven to be effective in determining how a fund will perform in the future. So, short of polishing up the ole crystal ball and calling in to the psychic hotline, what is the conscientious investor to do?

Morningstar is one of the first companies that springs up when folks start talking about mutual fund ratings. As the most popular fund rating company, Morningstar uses a star system to rate funds, with five stars being top performers and one star being poor performers. However, the crux of Morningstar's ratings system is on past performance and that system may prove to be somewhat flawed.

Another source of fund rating is Lipper Leader Fund Ratings. Lipper uses five criteria in ranking mutual funds: total return, consistent return, preservation, tax efficiency and expense. They do factor in past performance, but the system seems to be more focused on analytical formulas than on past performance. Interestingly, investors must register with Lipper in order to access the fund rankings while Reuters uses Lipper rankings, yet allows immediate access to the information.

Business periodicals such as Business Week often publish their rankings of mutual funds, often on an annual basis. Business Week, for example, does publish the "Mutual Fund Scorecard" annually in their magazine, but it can be accessed online at their website. On the website, the Scorecard is updated monthly.

There are many magazines for business and investing that publish stock picks and mutual fund ratings. Some publish the information on an annual basis while others do so monthly. A discerning investor will be able to decipher the information and make an educated decision based upon the information from these publications as well as other sources.

Schwab's One Source Select List uses "rigorous criteria" to establish a list that is published quarterly and outlines their version of top ranking mutual funds. While the Schwab name is well known and trusted in the business and investing community, the disclaimer that precedes the ratings seems to be longer than the explanation for how the experts established the ratings. However, they do have an easy to understand table that lays out all the information on each fund. They even draw you pictures to show your risk level on each fund.

The bottom line here is that if you want to use ratings as a method of selecting the mutual funds in which you want to invest, it would be wise to assess several different sources with different ranking methods and see which mutual funds consistently rise to the top. Using just one rating source may not be an entirely effective method if you wish to invest wisely.

Move beyond paper trading penny stocks

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Commodities Trading Online

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

With the advancement of the internet, commodities trading online is now made possible. Commodities trading online primarily deals with agricultural products such as sugar, corn, malt as well as metals such as gold and silver. It deals in relatively different products compared to the stock market which deals with financial instruments such as stock, bonds, securities, interest rates etc.

Before commodities trading online was available, certain places were designated as commodities exchanges. It is a place where buyers and sellers can negotiate upon a fixed price for the commodities.

However today, these services are available 24 by 7 on the internet and easily accessible. In online commodities trading, the orders by the customers to either buy and sell is transmitted to an electronic marketplace by the commodity exchange. No brokers are needed to act on behalf of customers as the brokerage approval process are automatically electronically generated.

One of the biggest advantages for commodities trading online is the price transparency. Since the top 5 current bids and offers are displayed electronically, it allows for fair trading and competition.

Online commodities trading as with any investment carries a certain amount of risk and should only be attempted when you have grasped an understanding of commodities trading.

Currently, there are many websites offering commodities trading online. Usually, there is a fee incurred when creating a new account. Some set a minimum amount in your account before you can start trading. Most online commodities trading websites provides extensive tools and knowledgebase such as helpdesk support, email support, trading research and technical analysis software to enable the user to make the best judgement on which commodities to buy and sell.

Though commodities trading online is very lucrative, it is also very volatile like the stock market and you should exercise caution when investing in commodities.

Ricky Lim is the online editor of a commodities trading site. Visit his website today for more info on commodities option trading and day trading commodities.

Options Offer Incredible Potential That Stocks Can Never Give Us - This Successful Trader Proves it

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

Dale Whaeatley was a contractor who traveled around the country helping the telephone companies with their excess needs that they could not handle in-house. As with any type of contract work, it was inconsistent. It was difficult for him to budget his money not knowing what his income or expenses would be. Dale went looking for an alternative source of income. He attended the usual Real Estate seminars, but realised he had no real interest in becoming a landlord or managing property. Instead he turned to stocks.

Dale had played in the stock market in his 20s, but didnt understand it. He decided to educate himself on stock trading. During this process Dale read how options offered limited risk and unlimited potential for gains, a strategy that appealed to him. To learn about when to trade, he read many technical analysis books and spent over $500 a month just for quotes and charts. he also plotted many charts by hand. Years later, he discovered a company called AIQ Systems and bought two of their programs, TradingExpert and OptionExpert. Still, all Dale was doing was spending money with no return to show for it. It was not until he sat down and examined his winning and losing trades, comparing them to the charts and indicators, that he finally began to discover the value in one particular indicator, the MACD, known as the Moving Average Convergence Divergence. He knew that when one line crossed the other it meant to buy or sell, but that did not work well or consistently, both requirements for trading options, since they are wasting assets. By examining divergences in the MACD indicator, however, one could tell when a stock was ready to change direction with a great degree of reliability. He concentrated on perfecting his entry and exit strategy using this indicator, but incorporated various indicator time frames, a process Dale had never seen done before. Soon Dale's returns were improving dramatically.

Why did Dale choose options rather trade the stock itself? Options offer incredible potential that stocks can never give us. Plus chart patterns develop clearly enough to see definite direction changes that will produce returns in excess of 1,000% in hours, days, or weeks depending on the strength of the pattern relative to the price. Dale's philosophy is simple, he doesn't want to ownanything! He just want to make money to do the things he wants, when he wants. Sometimes the chart patterns looks so strong that Dale is sometimes limited by the number of contracts he can buy at one time.

The pattern of the underlying security is of primary importance in Dale's trading system. He does not use any pricing models such as the Black-Scholes pricing formula or any other valuation method. These formulas are not designed to help make a profit on options, but rather to show what happens if the underlying stock performs in a certain fashion. There is nothing that can Dale can do about the options prices. Whatever the bid and ask prices are that is what he has to pay. It's the surety in the trading startegy that is paramount.

The pattern that Dale looks for is always the same, but it could be on different time frames (hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, etc) depending on the time left until the options expiration and distance from next strike price. Whathe looks for is a divergence in the MACD indicator compared to the price of the underlying security. he then looks to buy call options when a stock tests its prior low but has a positive divergence in its MACD indicator. The opposite is true for identifying tops. He uses this pattern because after much experimenting he found it to be the most consistent and accurate.

Here are some great examples of Dale's trades. LAM Research (LRCX). Lam Research hit an initial low on February 12 and then rallied. That low was retested on March 1-5. In effect, a double-bottom pattern was forming. The key to the entry, however, was the positive divergence in the MACD indicator A similar example can be seen in Nicor Inc. (GAS), the initial low came in mid-January, the stock rallied, and then retested on March 5. Once again there was a strong positive divergence in the MACD indicator. March 45 calls were purchased on 03/07/07. Finally the topping formation of Freeport-McMoran Copper & Gold (FCX) hit level highs in April/May at the same time that its MACD indicator was falling. That was a time to buy put options. On a daily chart, this pattern does not always signify major reversals, but in the Freeport-McMoran case, the weekly chart also had a huge negative divergence. Huge downside divergences under multiple time frames is the perfect setup.The options went from $0.20 to $12. Dale made sixty times his money in just one week! More recently, in May he entered Advanced Micro Devices (AMD) and General Motors (GM) call options, and both turned into 1000% gainers in only a few days! Dale beliieves that you can avoid losing trades with his technique. A losing trade is not the fault of the charts, but rather the trader. It is really just a question of discipline and knowledge coupled with action when the correct pattern appears. If you learn the correct technique and act only when everything is in place, you will always make a profit.

Determining which option Dale purchases depends on several factors, such as the stocks price, how far that is from the strike price, how many days are left until expiration, the cost of the option, and the options liquidity. dale almost always buy out-of-the-money options that expire in the near term month if the pattern appears on the daily chart. If it appears on a weekly or monthly time frame, he buys out-of-the-money options that could expire several months away.Dale's selling technique is simple when the momentum turns back against the move using the MACD divergence line, he exits the position.

Dale educates others on the technique in his Options Hunter weekly webinar service, information can be found at http://www.aiqsystems.com/optionshunter.htm He began teaching others when some investors asked him to explain his trading style and ever since then he has been talking about his discovery to everyone he meets. Dale has taught people around the world, some that he met on airplanes in the seat next to him and in other casual situations. He enjoys showing people extraordinary possibilities. Dale wishes he had someone to teach him in the beginning how to avoid the pain of investing but, as the saying goes, The harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph. What we achieve too easily, we esteem too lightly. Dale learned that the separation between rich and poor is because rich people continue to do the things that produced their wealth and poor people continue to do the things that created their poverty. Dale believes it is a choice each of us makes and he wants to help others to make the same choices and to feel empowered in their own lives. There was a time when he worried about everyone catching on if he told them what he did, but after teaching so many people over the years exactly what he does, he is still amazed that only a small number of people actually apply the strategy. Dale has found it has more to do with individuals and their preconceived ideas about returns and investing, along with the fear within themselves that actually prevents them from being successful. People all need to look hard at their beliefs before expecting to become successful options traders, or succeeding with anything in life.

Dale'sOptions Hunter service began rather slowly because people came from different backgrounds and experience levels. Some were beginners and others experienced. As time went by, however, those who stayed have found many charts without Dale having to hold their hands. One week, as the market was beginning to change its momentum, many subscribers chimed in with about 15 stocks that all had the correct look and the next week some of the options were jumping over 1,000%. There have been traders in the group buy calls on QLGC, HD, CAL, AIG, MM, VLO and the homebuilders and mortgage related companies (even with all of the bad news out about subprime lending, etc).

Information on The Options Hunter Service can be found at http://www.aiqsystems.com/optionshunter.htm

Steve Hill is President of AIQ Systems. http://www.aiq.com For the past 14 years he has been involved in all aspects of AIQ Systems, from support and sales to programming and education. Steve is a frequent speaker at events in the U.S. and Europe, talking on subjects as diverse as Portfolio Simulation Techniques, Advanced Chart Pattern Analysis and Trading System Design. Steve is an avid martial artist and cross-country skier. currently holding the rank of Shodan (first degree black belt) in Shito-Ryu Okinawan Karate. He also serves on the board of the Ralph Parks Portfolio Trust.

AIQ Systems is a world leader in intelligent trading software. Their web site can be found at http://www.aiqsystems.com

Press Release Optimization - Increase the Pace of your Online Success

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

For years, businesses are using various techniques to establish a better relation with their consumers. Press release is also a vital part of every publicity campaign as it speaks volume about your business thought through the strongest mode of communication i.e. media. With ever-increasing use of internet it becomes essential for businesses to be present on web with same alacrity and aptness. Various news search engines are availing businesses the platform for perfect online business approach. Whether it is a place in editorial listing or a sponsored link, a good rank in search engine listing can bring heavy traffic to your link. Many press releases fail to attract readers just because their content does not support the keyword that makes their online presence noticeable. To avoid such problems press release optimization can be used so that your press release may solve its purpose.

Press release optimization is the greatest way to optimize the content of press release. It includes keyword research and page optimization with enhanced online press release distribution techniques. Its proper implementation can radically increase online market shares, press coverage and business revenues. For successful online business it is must to have press releases with content that hit the psychology of consumers. One must understand and provide what consumers want to read not what you want them to read. Simply, the purpose of press release is to let them know about what you have in your stock of their interest. It is futile if your press release is not able to make consumers aware of your new product, launch or achievement. Press release optimization is the best way to assure that your message has been successfully conveyed to authentic consumers and readers as it makes your press release available whenever someone searches for it.

There are many firms that offer the service of press release optimization. A wise decision of press release optimization can leverage the existing PR of your company. It is quite possible that you are having a tremendous public relation and marketing communication but it is not proving beneficial for your online business, in such a situation you can better utilize your offline goodwill with the help of press release optimization. With a little modification, this goodwill can be turned in to your online success. Your available documents can be used to solve the purpose of press release through optimization to match the high value terms and phrases that your target audience uses every day. From the business point of view this is able to add great value to your business so that it my flourish on web also.

It is proven fact that search engines are playing a vital role in developing a new concept of public relation improvement. In the present era of technology, it is no more difficult to establish a better communication channel with consumers. Press release optimization is the finest way to bridge up the gap between a business and its consumers as it makes every announcement readily available on web. Therefore, move ahead and make your promotion concept available worldwide.

Steve Waganer has specialization in Web Marketing. He is expert in Search engine optimization,Search engine marketing, Press release optimization To get the Search engine marketing tips for your website to get high rank and top position in major search engines visit www.cometsearchenginemarketing.com

Forex Trading - 10 Common Errors That Cause Equity Wipe Out

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

Here are ten common errors in forex trading tat cause equity wipe out. 95% of traders lose and they make some or all of these errors. If you do then you will wipe yourself out so learn them and avoid them.

1. Trying to Predict

Most traders try and predict where prices will go but this is simply relying on hope and you will see your equity disappear quickly!

You need to trade on the reality and that means waiting for price momentum to confirm the trend is going your way.

If you dont know how to use price momentum indicators learn or lose.

2. Following a Scientific Theory

Follows on from the above markets are not scientific so avoid theories such as Elliot Wave or Fibonacci numbers.

Its pretty obvious markets are not scientific, because if they were we would all know the price in advance and there would be no market PERIOD.

When you learn forex trading the most important part of your forex education is seeing forex trading as an odds game.

If you trade the odds you will make a lot of money.

3. Trading To Much

Most traders like to trade all the time in case they miss a move and end up trading signals that have poor odds.

Keep this fact in mind you get your reward for being RIGHT not for effort or how often you trade so trade only high odds trades and they dont dome around often

4. Buying From a Vendor

There are numerous sharks out there who say they will make you rich for a few hundred dollars!

Really?

If the forex trading systems were as good as they claim they would be to busy making money to bother you.

Avoid them and dont fall for the hype, they never have a track record to back up their claims

5. Poor Money Management

If you dont know how to place stops then you will lose also over leveraging will kill you. Play great defence first and the profits will take care of themselves

6. Not having The courage to Hold Profits

Most traders get so excited they have a profit they take it early! If you do this you will lose have the courage of your conviction to run trends for weeks or months if there going your way.

7. Chasing your Tail

Be patient with any forex trading strategy or system.

At some point you can expect to lose for weeks or months (thats not the systems fault its the markets) judge your gains over years not months.

8. Trading The News

Trading news stories is dumb you have huge volatility and as the news is discounted in a split second, its a lottery and you wont win - you will simply get murdered by volatility.

9. Mixing Fundamentals and Technical's

There two separate disciplines you cant mix them choose one and stick with it. In our view the best way to trade is with forex technical analysis.

10. Day Trading

You can make money day trading!

Why are some trades so stupid?

Its 100% guaranteed way to wipe out your equity as the data is to short and you cant use it to get the odds in your favour. If you cant get the odds in your favour, you will lose PERIOD.

This lead on from our point about vendors selling junk systems that have no chance of making money and day trading ones are the most popular try and find a real time track record and you will look for a long time!

Finally!

There you have it 10 errors to avoid and if you do you will have a great chance of making big gains - fall for any of them and you will lose your equity and join the 95% of losers.

NEW! 5 X Critical Trader PDF's & Much More

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Wall Street to Main Street: News, Views and Commentary: April 13, 2006

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

Its Thursday April 13, 2006, and the NAMC Newswire is making a few changes, beginning next week the Wall Street to Main Street daily segment and the Investors Corner segment in their entirety will only be available to subscribers. Keep in mind that all subscriptions are free and will remain that way. All that you need to do is go to www.namcnewswire.com and add your email address to receive the full segments.

Remember that you can always listen to the NAMC Radio on Streetiq.com, the leader in financial podcast. www.streetiq.com

We also want to announce that beginning on April 17, 2006 Wall Street to Main Street will be adding a new weekly segment called Wall Street Corner. This will feature the views from the Elder Statesman of Emerging Growth Investment Writers Larry Oakley. He will grace Wall Street to Main Street every Monday with his views on various companies that he sees value in and long term growth. So you are going to want to tune in to that.

Political Front

In Washington, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said it was time for the Security Council to take "strong steps" to bring Iran into compliance with United Nations demands that the Islamic Republic rein in its nuclear program. While Russia and China are reluctant to back economic sanctions, they have asked for all parties to exercise restraint to avoid increasing the level of tension that is currently at a peak.

In Italy when you lose an election you dont have to leave peacefully, case in point the defeat of Minister Silvio Berlusconi, he clearly lost Italy's general election to Romano Prodi, but he refuses to admit defeat. He is clinging onto his position and working hard to de-legitimize Romano Prodi in hopes of a miracle. If this should happen it would be a major blow to Italys center-right's legitimacy.

On the topic of Italy, Italys SANPAOLO IMI Group has gained control of the operations of the Central Bank of Albania by acquiring 80 percent of the shares of the Italian-Albanian Bank.

Movers and Shakers

Some major movers in yesterdays trading session include Mills Corp (NYSE: MLS) they traded up $3.98 to close at $30.33, Sybron Dental Specialties (NYSE: SYD) traded up $5.07 to close at $46.81, John Harland Co. (NYSE: JH) traded up $4.74 to close at $44.00, Datalink (NASDAQ: DTLK) traded up $1.19 to close at $5.46, BTU International (NASDAQ: BTUI) traded up $2.53 to close at $20.02, Pokertek Inc (NASDAQ: PTEK) traded up $1.70 to close at $13.49, Circuit City Stores (NYSE: CC) traded up $2.04 to close at $26.65 and Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) traded up $2.88 to close at $62.76.

Advanced Micro Devices

Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) reported great growth for their first quarter on Wednesday after the close. The company posted net income of $185 million, or 38 cents a share for the quarter ended March 26, 2006, they beat the analyst estimate by 8 cents. This is compared to a net loss of $17.4 million, or 4 cents a share a year earlier.

AMD has been making their mark on the chip-making world over the past year as they have been taking chunks of market share away from Intel (NASDAQ: INTC). This was evident during the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas as they aligned themselves with various companies. But even though the company showed great profits and growth, they gave guidance that their current quarter would be "flat to slightly down" compared to the first quarter. So based on that the stock fell in after hours trading, going from the closing price of $35.42 to $34.69, a 2% drop after trading up 2%.

This sounds like the other company that we mentioned in yesterdays segment by the name of Genentech (NYSE: DNA), they posted great numbers and still were punished by traders.

Over the past year AMDs stock has risen from a price of $17.06, which it was trading at on April 13, 2005 to $35.42 where it closed during regular trading hours on Wednesday, April 12, 2006. That is over a 100% gain in a 12-month time frame. Now the company still has some room to grow as technology continues to advance, we see Advanced Micro Devices trading in the $40 to $45 range in 2006. So this may present a buying opportunity for investors that were looking to invest in AMD.

General Motors

General Motors (NYSE: GM) has been seeing the dark side of the moon as of late, with rumors of bankruptcy, strikes, lawsuits and the instability of the company, this is all on the minds of the investment community. But according to Bob Lutz, Vice Chairman of Global Product Development and acting Chief of GM Europe, the powers that be at General Motors do not see a strike happening, as a strike does not benefit any of the three parties.

So whats next for General Motors, the company has been trying to trim the fat, tighten their belts and bring the company back from the abyss. One area of growth is China, as weve been speaking about all week China has been making major deals here in the United States prior to Chinese President Hu Jintaos U.S. visit. They recently signed a deal with Boeing (NYSE: BA) that essentially doubled what Boeing projected in sales for the year.

At this point General Motors has been increasingly popular in China as they accounted for over 18% of the 3.9 million plus cars sold in China last year. The company plans on investing over $3 billion to expand in the region. Here in New York at the New York Auto Show they unveiled the new 2007 Saturn models, which included the Aura midsize sedan, Sky Red Line performance roadster and Outlook crossover vehicle. They recently ditched the Isuzu stake, which eliminated their gateway in Japan but the fat had to be trimmed.

Now taking into account that a few months ago President Bush had adamantly stated that the General Motors should not expect a government bail out. This put GM in a position that forced them to stand on their own two feet, they have no choice in the matter. But looking at their recent changes from adding Jerry York to the board and eliminating divisions, shutting down plants and trying to expand overseas, the company has a long road but long-term investors may want to take a closer look at General Motors. If things settle down with strike talks, then you just may witness the rebirth of an American Icon, just keep in mind that this is a long-term turnaround situation but the rewards may just be worth the wait.

Stocks to Watch

The following are companies that you should know about, we are just making mention of them on Wall Street to Main Street and will have a more in depth profile on these companies, along with our outlook. Remember that only subscribers to the NAMC Newswire will be able to read the Investors Corner segment in its entirety, so go to www.namcnewswire.com to subscribe, its fast and free.

Bausch & Lomb (NYSE: BOL) the stock was punished in regards to the Renu product line. We mentioned that they may base out in the mid to high $40 range, I think that we are at that point. The stock closed yesterday at $45.61 and it may build a base there, so its worth taking a look at. Remember its always a good idea to buy on weakness and sell into strength.

Genesee & Wyoming Inc (NYSE: GWR) the stock closed at $32.61 on Wednesday.

Informatica, Corp (NASDAQ: INFA) the stock closed at $15,67 on Wednesday.

Stocks to Watch Featured on Wednesday April 12, 2006:

Abercrombie & Fitch Co (NYSE: ANF) mentioned at $56.55 on Tuesday.

American Eagle Outfitters (NASDAQ: AEOS) mentioned at $29.38 on Tuesday.

Las Vegas Sands Corp (NYSE: LVS) mentioned at $59.88 on Tuesday.

China Medical Technologies (NASDAQ: CMED) mentioned at $25.66 on Tuesday.

Investors Bancorp (NASDAQ: ISBC) mentioned at $13.03 on Tuesday.

Readers Speak

We received an email from one of our readers/listeners John from Los Angeles, he wanted to know what we thought about Shuffle Master (NASDAQ: SHFL).

John: Shuffle Master is in a great position for growth, with companies like the Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) looking to expand in Singapore and other regions, there will be no shortage of growth for the company. Actually we see Shuffle Master making new highs in 2006, possibly moving into the $40 to $45 range.

We cannot stress enough that investors need to do their due diligence, call the companies, get the information, consult with your investment advisor and if you do not have one consider getting one. Put the same time into investigating these companies as you do when you go to purchase a new television, its only for your protection. When it comes to thinly traded securities stagger your orders or put a limit order in to avoid a run up.

NAMC Newswire Note

Go to the NAMC Newswire for updates at www.namcnewswire.com and you can listen to the NAMC Radio for the audio version of Wall Street to Main Street at www.namcnewswire.com/namcradio

To register to receive the Wall Street to Main Street Free Daily Newsletter Click Here or go to our site and click on the Newsletter section. www.namcnewswire.com/newsletter CEOs that want to contact us can do so by going to www.namcnewswire.com or call us at 888-463-9237.

Louis Victor
NAMC Newswire
888-463-9237

Disclaimer:
None of the information contained on the NAMC Newswire constitutes a recommendation by the NAMC Newswire, its journalist, nor its parent company that any particular security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy is suitable for any specific investors or person. Each individual investor must make their own independent decisions regarding any security, portfolio of securities, transaction, or investment strategy featured on the NAMC Newswire or NAMC Radio Any past results are not necessarily indicative of future performance. The NAMC Newswire, its journalist nor its parent company does not guarantee any specific outcome or profit, and all investors should be aware of the real risk of loss in following any strategy or investments featured on the NAMC Newswire or the NAMC Radio. The strategy or investments discussed may fluctuate in price or value and investors may get back less than you invested. Before acting on any information featured on the NAMC Newswire website or the NAMC Radio segment, investors should consider whether it is suitable for their particular circumstances and strongly consider seeking advice from their own financial or investment adviser. Investors are also urged to do their own due diligence before investing in any security.

All opinions featured on the NAMC Newswire or NAMC Radio are based upon information that is considered to be reliable, but neither the NAMC Newswire, its journalist, its parent company, affiliates nor assigns warrant its completeness or accuracy, and it should not be relied upon as such. The statements and opinions featured on the NAMC Newswire by its journalist are based on their outlook at the time of the statement or opinion, and are subject to change without notice. NAMC may at times hold a position in the companies that it features, in these cases appropriate disclosure is made.

Louis Victor is the host of the syndicated podcast show and financial newsletter "Wall Street to Main Street" which is featured on the NAMC Newswire Radio. He has been involved in the financial industry for over two decades, on the retail and investment banking ends. He is also well versed in the advertising and marketing industries, which has given him insight into market trends and unqiue companies that may be under the radar.

Home Based Businesses - Getting Out Of The Rat-Race Forever

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

In early 2006 my wife Kath was looking for free finance ebooks on the web. We were both disgruntled about the pay and long dangerous hours in my contracting job, so she decided to do something about it. She came across an ebook from Jamie McIntyre at 21st Century Academy called "What I Didn't Learn at School But Wish I Had". After reading the ebook Kath was so impressed that she ordered the free DVD with the same title.

When we both watched the DVD we were convinced that this was the right system for us, so we ordered the 21st Century Homestudy Program. This was tough going, because we were down to our last $500 after a renovation on the trashed former drug baron's house across the road. We thought that the renovation road was the route to wealth and thats why we were doing it. Previously, we had been in Network Marketing for many years, but could not seem to breakthrough to the levels we needed to have a decent lifestyle. When we ordered the program, our one thought was, if this doesnt work, its getting returned!

After watching the Homestudy Program and putting it to work the results were immediate. We used the profit from the renovation as trading capital and in the first month we made more trading options on the Australian Stock Market than I made in my contracting business. This got my attention straight away, so we became information sponges for anything to do with wealth creation.

Excited by our immediate success, we attended a 21st Century Academy Internet Mastery Seminar in Perth and met a whole new group of very successful entrepreneurs including Jamie McIntyre, Tom Hua, Sean Rasmussen and Jean-Paul & Deborah Micek. Jamie was the keynote speaker and presented a complete education system for making money on the net. Tom presented his eBusinessBox system, Sean presented the Fishbowl system and Paul & Deborah got us up to speed on the new Web 2.0 systems.

We were so inspired after this seminar that we set a date for my retirement for 22nd December 2006. We decided that Kath would trade options and I would setup the internet businesses that we bought from Tom and Sean. We were very keen to set up Multiple Streams of Income, so we did not have to rely on a job. Job security is now an oxymoron. Even my old contracting job disappeared shortly after I left. It was good thing we dug the well before we needed the water.

It was a great feeling to retire from the conventional workplace 22 years ahead of schedule. Through options trading Kath had bought me the time to setup Tom & Sean's internet business systems. I thought that it was going to be easy since I had been working with computers since the first PCs hit the market in the early 80s. I discovered that I wasnt as smart as I thought I was. I'm now glad that 21st Century Academy put us in touch with Tom and Sean, so that I could start with proven systems to guide me through a minefield of internet marketing opportunities.

After setting up the Golden West Wealth web site using Seans Fishbowl system, we got a number of affiliate sales from 21st Century which paid for the setup cost, and then some. All the products that we are using to create freedom for ourselves are on the website. We wanted to have the integrity as well as the enthusiasm to share the information with a lot of new people.

Not long after setting up Great Wealth Ideas selling ebooks from eBookwholesaler.com, I sold my first ebook and got my first income from Google Adsense. The eBusinessBox system is great because of all the support you get from Tom's team. It's a wonderful feeling to wake up in the morning to find out that I have been paid while I slept. To top that off, the income is continuing to grow without spending more and more time working. The ebooks are the best quality I have seen and I love to work from home whenever and however I want to.

But it all didnt go completely smoothly, and life would be pretty boring if it did. After some accelerated learning experiences on the stock market, bought about by excessive ego, it was time to get some more advanced positive accelerated learning. Kath bought the Master of Stock Market Intelligence system from Nik Halik at The Financial Freedom Institute, watched it and learned from it. This was one of the best investments in ourselves that we have ever made.

The principles of advanced technical analysis are taught in a structured, easy to absorb method that makes sense. Not only is the program packed full of comprehensive knowledge, its also practical and fun. The knowledge from this is applicable across whatever market we are going to trade Australia, US, UK, Japan etc and across whatever we want to trade Shares, options, contracts for difference, Foreign exchange and other products.

At the moment we are just getting started. We have finally made the transition to a successful home based business with minimal risk and had a lot of fun. We have a whole new group of positive friends and have started a Social Support Group for 21st Century Academy graduates in Perth. No more boring traffic jams on the freeway or waiting in the cold for public transport. I like working with my best friend and having a lot more time with my family.

Our next step will be to tap into the knowledge base about property and to begin to grow our property portfolio. Well do it the smart way, and leverage off other peoples knowledge and time rather than sinking our sweat equity and health into it. We will have gone a full circle since the day Kath sat at home, unwell, looking for free ebooks. Thank God we found the one that changed our lives.

Our motto is DREAM IT, DO IT, LIVE IT. I love to walk on the local beach at 10 am Tuesday morning with my lover and best friend, and you know what? Theres no one else there. We have the beach to ourselves. We are now encouraging other like minded people to come and join us.

Bill Taylor has a background in The Royal Australian Air Force. He served for 24 years in many locations around Australia and overseas. In 2002 he resigned from The Air Force and after a sabbatical became a Technology Consultant with a helicopter company in Perth. He retired from the conventional workforce in December 2006 and is now a successful Web 2.0 Developer. He has established a wealth support site http://www.GoldenWestWealth.com and an eBook site http://www.GreatWealthIdeas.com as well as a lens http://www.squidoo.com/WealthinPerth Kath has a background as a Domestic Engineer, accounting and retail. She has recently established a successful derivatives trading business. Bill and Kath have established Havenesky Ventures Pty Ltd. They have raised three boys and live in Perth Western Australia.

How to Make $100-$200 a Day Trading

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

Does making $100-200 a day within a two hour time window sound appealing to you? Of course it does, who wouldnt?

The real question is are you willing to put in the time, effort and money to learn to do this? We might lose a few people with that question.

The final question is do you have $30,000 of risk capital to make this money and are you willing to lose that? Ok, that eliminates most of you, so you can hit the BACK button here. Sorry, but better you know now, than later. Bye.

Still here?
If so, you probably did the math and figured even at $100 profit a day times 20 trading days is $2000 a month which equates to $24,000 a year in profits which is an 80% return on investment. Thats an amazing return. Good thinking. The only problem is if you are just starting out, cut that figure by 80% if you are lucky. Thats the time, money and effort part. But that doesnt mean you wont get there, it just means you have to work your way there, slowly. You can hit the BACK button now

Still here?
If you are still reading, then there is hope, but its a long journey. Let us not fool anyone here. Trading is a skill that has to be taught but only to those who truly desire to learn. We call this hunger. The most costly way to gain hunger is to blow out your account and lose a ton of money in the process. We call this the learning curve. You get so deprived of effective trading methods that the process of elimination and contrast draws you to what eventually works and doesnt work. From here, the trader seeks out to fill in the void in his understanding of the markets and methods (if he lasts that long), unfortunately, he has no more access to capital. That is the tragedy of trading.

For all intents and purposes, we want to trim the learning curve as much as possible. Yes, it is POSSIBLE. Just like the markets, we like to let others test the support and resistance levels and then step in on confirmed breakouts. This way we avoid the risk ourselves. When learning how to trade profitably, you can also avoid the pitfalls by learning from the experience of others.

First, let me start off by saying, making money trading the market is not hard (if you know what you are doing). The hard part is keeping it. These are two separate statements. In order to even relate, you must have already earned your way in the form of experience and effort with learning the methods. Lets also get something straight. There are no shortcuts in this game. This isnt a cheeseball infomercial and there are no twelve part video/dvd series to buy.

How these statements pertain to you as a trader depends on which side of line you are standing. Are you on the inside or the outside? The inside simply means you have already built a solid foundation in regards to knowing and executing the methods effectively. The outside is everything else.

Heres a quick test to see where you stand:

Answer yes or no:
1)Can you identify a pup and mini pup pattern?
2)Can you identify a prime setup and perfect storm?
3)Can you identify the four parts of trend?
4)Can you explain a channel widening and tightening?
5)Can you spot a consolidation?
6)Can you identify a tradeable market environment as opposed to a flat and choppy untradeable market environment?
7)Can you walk away from the computer screens at any given moment?
8)Can you take a stop loss and reenter the same trade minutes later and explain why?
9)Can you determine when your premises are fading and keep stops?
10)Can you enter a trade long and reverse it short based on premise changes?
11)Do you believe a stock can be uptrending and downtrending at the same time?
12)Can you accept losses on a trading day?
13)Do you have to make money every trading day?

If you answered YES to all the above and NO to the last question, then you are already at the stage where you should be making $100-200 a day, so good trading!

If you didnt get all the answers right, then keep reading.
The first part is being able to make the money. In order to do that, you need to learn an effective trading method or system. This can take years to develop or you can learn a system someone else spent years to develop (namely me). I make my methods public so anyone who truly desires to learn it can. Naturally, being able to learn it and apply it can be separate things all together. The connecting of the two can be resolved by spending time in our interactive trading chatroom. We offer a free 10 day trial. Full membership allows the trader access to over 3,000 pages of materials and interactive privileges.

Changing your oil is not hard, if you know what you are doing. You can either figure it out yourself through trial and error or pay to have a mechanic teach you. With that thinking, the goal of UndergroundTrader.com is to put our experience to your use so that you can fend for yourself in the markets. Learning trading should be a dynamic real time experience just like the markets. This is what we do every day. Here is a sample log of a day in the trading pit http://www.undergroundtrader.com/samplelog.html and a sample trade alert http://www.undergroundtrader.com/graphics/jay/

Apply for a free trial and you will have access to the trial trader training slide slow which has all the answers to the above questions and much more. This will serve as a good starting point to building up your foundation. In addition, you will also be able to view the analysis and alerts in real time so that you can gauge the results for yourself to see if it is actually worth pursuing the effort. Hey if the results are sucking, then why even bother? Seeing is believing and first hand experience is the only true way to form an opinion.

Before this sounds too much like a pitch, let me show you a trade we played on a stock called HOKU on 7/9/2007. If this goes over your head, dont sweat it. The goal is to be able to eventually understand it.

At 12:19pm est, we alerted our members to consider buying shares of HOKU up to $11.85 based on the multi lane perfect storm setup which comprised of a 8/13 minute dual pup and mini pups along with a daily and 60 minute pup breakout. The 3 minute chart formed a nice consolidation breakout. The beauty of the perfect storm setup was the layered support levels at 12.70. Members were alerted to trim the heavier size shares up to 12.10 coil resistance at 12:24 pm est. At 12:57pm, members were alerts to trim out more shares in the 12.40 x 12.50 levels (stinky 2.50s call option strikes). We finally LOCKED the rest of the profits out in the 12.60 to 12.70s range at 1:20 pm est as it was forming a gap fill of prior daily highs, where we anticipated heavier selling. The trade played out beautifully and our members made money.

Is every trade this good? Hell no. Does my method work all the time? NO. Does it have to work all the time? NO. It only needs to work when we use it under the RIGHT circumstances--- thats all that matters. The key is to know when the method is most effective and use it ONLY in those situations. This is what the real time trading pit is for. Learn and move on to sustain yourself.

Making the money is not hard, once you learn how to do it. Keeping it is the tough part. This is addressed in the pacing article. Remember, this is a long road, but if you choose to take it, the end game can be lucrative and fun. Good trading.

Heres the free trial application:
http://www.undergroundtrader.com/disclaimer.html

Jea Yu is a co-founder of Undergroundtrader, an interactive active trader chatroom and training site that has served over 8,000 traders, fund managers and investors worldwide since 1998. His brainchild was voted Forbes Best of the Web for four consecutive years under the active trader category. Mr. Yu has published two best sellers through McGraw Hill "Undergroundtrader Guide to Electronic Trading" ,2001 and "Secrets of the Undergroundtrader",2003 as well as two popular trading videos titled "Level 2 Warfare" and "Beating the Bear" published through Traders Library. He has been a featured speaker all over the country at various expos and seminars who enjoys a standing-room-only reception in the largest convention halls. Jays energetic presentation style, along with his obvious mastery of the materials being covered makes him an audience favorite. He has been quoted in USA Today, WallStreet Journal, and the Financial Times. Mr. Yu is an active contributing writer for TradingMarkets

The Psychology Of Market Timing

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