Do you Have the Burning Desire to Lose Weight or Reach any Goal?

NOTE: This article is one of the component parts of the 9-step WTA3 program contained in the ebook titled "The Action Path -Your Key to Success!" due out in 2005 at http://www.your-key-to-success.com/index_actionpath.html.

- Do you have a Burning Desire? -

Do you have a burning desire to lose weight and reduce your body fat to 10%?
Do you have a burning desire to get a flat, well-toned midsection?
Do you have a burning desire to increase your net worth to $500,000?
Do you have a burning desire to improve your personal relationships?
Do you have a burning desire to start a business next year?
Do you have a burning desire to reduce your credit card debt?

The key phrase is "Do you have a burning desire to...". We all have hopes, dreams, wants and wishes. Do you have a 'Burning Desire' to make the right choices on a daily basis and take positive action steps toward your goals?

Let's start with a common goal of reducing body fat or losing weight. While losing weight is a more common goal, reducing body fat to your body's optimum level is the better route to take. For this illustration, imagine you had a personal goal of losing 10 lbs in 30 days. Because you're smart, you know that losing weight can be accomplished by taking in fewer calories than you burn. This is a law of nature and makes logical sense. Even though we are aware of this basic principle, losing weight continues to be a difficult goal for many people to accomplish. Now the question; do you really have a 'Burning Desire' to lose 10 lbs in 30 days? If you're like many, your answer is "...yes, I have a desire to lose weight..." but in reality you don't have a 'Burning Desire'.

Another source for creating your own 'Burning Desire' is a program from Tony Robbins titled, Get the Edge! You can see a product review of his program at http://www.your-key-to-success.com/product_gettheedge.html.

To further illustrate our day-to-day choices and the difference between a desire and a 'Burning Desire' let's pretend that you are two days into your diet and you're at your favorite hamburger restaurant for your usual lunch. What are you going to choose from the menu? What choice are you going to make?

Will it be the usual double cheeseburger, large fries and a soft drink?

Will it be a double cheeseburger, small fries and a small soft drink?
Will it be a single burger, no small fries and a diet soft drink?
Will it be a burger (no bun), small salad (light dressing) and water?
Will you leave your favorite hamburger restaurant and find a different place to eat?

Most will order the usual lunch or might only cut down slightly. You might even justify it by convincing yourself that later in the day you'll eat less, you'll exercise more at the gym or you need all this food because you are 'starving'. By choosing to order the usual lunch, you've made a choice to take action towards your goal of losing weight. Let me repeat in a slightly different way. By selecting the usual lunch, you have made a (wrong) choice to take (a negative) action towards your goal of losing weight. Every minute of every day you have the power, potential and intellect to make good choices that will help direct you to take positive actions towards meeting your goals. Will you succumb to a need for immediate gratification or can you delay it for a short period with your eye on the prize, of a larger, more gratifying long-term goal.

Was choosing the usual lunch the right choice for you to meet your goal of losing weight? It probably wasn't the best choice, but only you can make the decision to make the right choice. Your decision to eat a high calorie lunch was probably based on a short-term craving and the need for immediate gratification. After the meal, you've met your short-term craving but you've moved farther away from your long-term goal of losing 10 lbs. You need to be aware that your day-to-day choices are often based on a superficial need to satisfy your immediate gratification. When short-term wins over long-term, it shows that your immediate gratification cravings have registered more votes in your brain. Your objective it to move the pendulum; make your long-term goals register more votes so you will automatically start taking more consistent and positive action steps. You need to create a 'Burning Desire' to make long-term win over short-term.

Don't forget to check out the other examples, such as increasing your net worth, outlined in other chapters of this book. You can also check out a product review of Burn the Fat, Feed the Muscle at http://www.your-key-to-success.com/product_burnthefatfeedthemuscle.html.

Stop reading and take your first positive action step to create a 'Burning Desire'. You can apply this technique to any goal. To make this exercise easier, use the form in the appendix section of this book.

• List at least 6 reasons why you want to attain a weight loss goal (or any other goal). List both the positive reasons (I want to look good for the Caribbean vacation) and the negative reasons (I can't fit into my pants). Positive reasons are "What will I get if I attain this goal". Negative reasons are "What will happen if I don't attain this goal".

• Next to each reason you listed above, write a short, visual description of that reason. It's important that you visualize your reasons. If one of your reasons is "...I can't fit into these pants...", describe this visualization as a picture with your stomach hanging over the edge of your belt or waistband. Make sure you complete this visualization description for each reason. As you go through this visualization process you may start thinking of more reasons - go ahead jot them down on your list.

• Take 10-15 minutes and read your 6 (or more) reasons along with your visualization descriptions. Which one or two reasons trigger the most emotionally energized response?

• Take the top 1,2 or 3 emotionally energized reasons, write them down on a business card size piece of paper and place them in your wallet, purse, desk and/or car. For the next 3-5 days, take out this card and read the reasons and the visualization description out loud.

• By the end of the 3-5 days, if you still get emotionally energized and excited; congratulations, you now have created your own 'Burning Desire'.

What if this didn't work and you're not emotionally excited - what if you didn't create a 'Burning Desire'. Your current goal has reverted back to a wish, a want, a dream or a hope. At this stage you have a few options. First, you should go back to step #1 and try this exercise again. Often during the first attempts, you may not have put enough time or energy into the process. Right now is the time to change for the better - take a positive action step and give it another chance. Second, if you've tried this exercise or other techniques and still can't seem to create a 'Burning Desire', than you may need to pick another goal, abandon the goal or change the goal. Changing the goal is not giving up; changing the goal is often one of the best ways to get yourself re-energized, motivated and excited about moving forward.

By taking these 5 steps to create a 'Burning Desire' for each one of your goals (large or small), you will make your goals much more attainable, you will start to consistently meet more of your goals and you will have more fun along the path to success. This technique can be used in other areas of your life such as your business (career), your personal finances and your relationships. Other chapters in this book will provide the details on how to use this technique to succeed with more of your personal goals.

Author's Personal Note: I have successfully used this technique in the area of weight loss and have lost 10 lbs (in 45 days), reduced my body fat by 3% and dropped from a 35-inch waist to a 32-inch waist. What was my 'Burning Desire'? I had about seven of them, but two created the most passion and drive.

First, was when my youngest son commented about how big my stomach was getting and that I looked out of shape. This comment was my negative reason that drove me to make a change. If I didn't attain this goal, I would continue to hear these comments . Second, I had a closet full of size 32 pants and was ready to go out a buy more tight-fitting 34 size pants. Since I personally don't like (despise) spending money on clothes, I created a visualization of all the money I would save by not having to buy another 3-4 pairs of pants. If I did attain this goal, I would have another $150 to do what I love most - invest.

My personal visualization for the first reason was a flat stomach instead of the love handles and no 'fat' comments from my son. My visualization for the second reason was seeing $150 invested in 3 shares of a blue chip stock on my portfolio statement, instead of pants hanging in my closet. While my personal visualizations might not get you motivated, these visualizations created enough push, motivation and drive for me to change my dietary habits and eat right (not necessarily less) and exercise more often. Remember, each of you will have your own personal visualizations that will get you to take action.

It was the first time in my 40+ years that I've ever wanted to lose weight and while it was difficult to make these dietary and exercise changes; I sacrificed my short-term immediate gratification needs for the benefit and success of my long-term weight loss goal. Not only did I receive gratification from meeting my weight loss goal, but I received even more gratification by knowing that I could make the appropriate day-to-day choices to minimize my short-term immediate gratification needs to meet a long-term, more gratifying goal. It was worth the efforts. Other personal success stories can be found throughout this book.

It's time for You to take Action!

What are you going to do right now to take one positive action step towards meeting one of your personal goals? To get the momentum moving in your favor, you need to take immediate action. After reading this article, take the next 30 minutes to complete this 5-step process for one of your goals? You don't have 30 minutes, take 5 minutes to start the process. The key is to take Action. You owe it to yourself to be successful and one key component for making your personal goals attainable, is to create your own personal 'Burning Desire'. Start it now!

About The Author

For more information about this ebook, "The Action Path - Your Key to Success!", by Mike Matthews, please visit http://www.your-key-to-success.com/index_actionpath.html. Your-Key-to-Success.com provides a resource for articles, products and services to help you get motivated to take action and succeed with your goals in the areas of your personal finance, your business and your physical fitness. Remember - Dreams will determine what you want in life, Actions will determine what you get in life. Sign-up for our free newsletter at http://www.your-key-to-success.com/index_newsletter.html.

feedback@your-key-to-success.com

Forex Mentors, Gurus, Advisors Should You Buy Advice?

There are plenty of people on the Internet keen to sell you advice and be your forex mentor or guru but most of the advice sold is not worth the money.

There is a huge industry in selling e-books, courses and systems, yet only a few are any good.

Lets find out how to separate the good from the majority that will simply help you lose.

1. The obvious first question to ask

Yet most forex traders dont bother asking this question yet its critical!

If you want to get rid of over 90% of the Forex mentors, gurus and advisors ask this obvious question:

How much money has been made following your advice can I see the real time track record please?

Most sellers of information like to say how successful they are getting them to prove it!

Most will dodge this question or give you a few testimonials (lucky trades or from friends or a hypothetical track record.

A hypothetical track record is done in hindsight KNOWING the price history!

Well anyone can do that thats why you dont see one that loses.

Ask for the real time track record that is all what counts real dollars made in the market.

It amazes me that people buy advice without checking if it has made money.

If there is no track record dont buy the advice.

2. Look for the method to be simple and fully revealed

You should not simply follow a system or signals given to you.

You need to understand the underlying logic it is based upon.

Why?

Because if you dont understand it, you wont have confidence in it and will lack the discipline to follow it through inevitable losing periods.

3. Look for a satisfaction guarantee

If you are buying something based upon sales copy you need to be sure that the hype matches the reality when you receive your advice.

Most reputable system or advice sellers will give you one that gives you the comfort that they are prepared to refund you if you are not happy.

Never buy a system unless you get one.

Finally

There is some good advice out there and there are some good systems that are sold but theyre in the minority so take your time to seek one out that you understand has good support and above all - make sure it has made real money in the market before parting with your hard earned cash.

FREE TRADER INFO & A FOREX COURSE WITH A REAL TRACK RECORD

On all aspects of becoming a profitable trader including articles, feature, downloads and systems and an exclusive Gann Trading Course visit our website at http://www.net-planet.org/index.html

Forex Price Charts

There are two kinds of Forex traders- the traders who use fundamental analysis and the traders who use technical analysis. I prefer the technical analysis, which ignores fundamental factors. Technical analysis is applied to the price action of the market. By using technical analysis traders can make short-term forecasts, which are very difficult with fundamental analysis, more suitable to making long-term forecasts.

Technical analysts use different technical studies and interpret them to predict market direction or to generate buy and sell signals. By using charts in Forex technical analysis we can predict price movements.

You might think that reading the charts is very difficult, but you must know that FOREX charts, as opposed to charts used for day trading stocks, are easier to interpret and use. The Forex charts are reflection of a countrys economy, which is slower moving and is more stable compared to the future and daily drama of company reports, Wall Street analysts and shareholder demands.

Currency charts have also the tendency to develop strong trends, and although the Forex market is volatile, it is more predictable than other markets. The good thing is that you have only a few currencies to analyze, not tens of thousands of stocks.

The complimentary charting software provided by good brokers is sufficient for predicting currencies pairs movements, but you must learn to read the charts and you must learn how to interpret your technical studies.

As I mentioned the technical analysis in the Forex market is easier than in the other markets, but it still might seem a difficult task for new traders. There are a lot of different resources which are helpful in learning technical analysis. The easiest way is watching videos which explain it, and although the Forex video courses are usually expensive, you can find some cheaper video courses, too.

If you want to learn more about Forex and if you want to get access to high quality FREE Forex Videos go to: http://www.currencytradingmethod.com

The author is a currency trader and an internet marketer. On his website http://www.currencytradingmethod.com he promotes FREE high quality Forex Videos, previously available only to Forex elite, who could afford their high price.

Porter's Five Forces Analysis

If youve ever listened to Warren Buffett talk about investing, youve heard him mention the idea of a companys moat. The moat is a simple way of describing a company's competitive advantages. Company's with a strong competitive advantage have large moats, and therefore higher profit margins. And investors should always be concerned with profit margins.

This article looks at a methodology called the Porters Five Forces Analysis. In his book Competitive Strategy, Harvard professor Michael Porter describes five forces affecting the profitability of companies. These are the five forces he noted:

1. Intensity of rivalry amongst existing competitors

2. Threat of entry by new competitors

3. Pressure from substitute products

4. Bargaining power of buyers (customers)

5. Bargaining power of suppliers

These five forces, taken together, give us insight into a company's competitive position, and its profitability.

Rivals

Rivals are competitors within an industry. Rivalry in the industry can be weak, with few competitors that dont compete very aggressively. Or it can be intense, with many competitors fighting in a cut-throat environment.

Factors affecting the intensity of rivalry are:

• Number of firms more firms will lead to increased competition.

• Fixed costs with high fixed costs as a percentage of total cost, companies must sell more products to cover those costs, increasing market competition.

• Product differentiation Products that are relatively the same will compete based on price. Brand identification can reduce rivalry.

New Entrants

One of the defining characteristics of competitive advantage is the industrys barrier to entry. Industries with high barriers to entry are usually too expensive for new firms to enter. Industries with low barriers to entry, are relatively cheap for new firms to enter.

The threat of new entrants rises as the barrier to entry is reduced in a marketplace. As more firms enter a market, you will see rivalry increase, and profitability will fall (theoretically) to the point where there is no incentive for new firms to enter the industry.

Here are some common barriers to entry:

• Patents patented technology can be a huge barrier preventing other firms from joining the market.

• High cost of entry the more it will cost to get started in an industry, the higher the barrier to entry.

• Brand loyalty when brand loyalty is strong within an industry, it can be difficult and expensive to enter the market with a new product.

Substitute Products

This is probably the most overlooked, and therefore most damaging, element of strategic decision making. Its imperative that business owners (us) not only look at what the companys direct competitors are doing, but what other types of products people could buy instead.

When switching costs (the costs a customer incurs to switch to a new product) are low the threat of substitutes is high. As is the case when dealing with new entrants, companies may aggressively price their products to keep people from switching. When the threat of substitutes is high, profit margins will tend to be low.

Buyer Power

There are two types of buyer power. The first is related to the customers price sensitivity. If each brand of a product is similar to all the others, then the buyer will base the purchase decision mainly on price. This will increase the competitive rivalry, resulting in lower prices, and lower profitability.

The other type of buyer power relates to negotiating power. Larger buyers tend to have more leverage with the firm, and can negotiate lower prices. When there are many small buyers of a product, all other things remaining equal, the company supplying the product will have higher prices and higher margins. Conversely, if a company sells to a few large buyers, those buyers will have significant leverage to negotiate better pricing.

Some factors affecting buyer power are:

• Size of buyer larger buyers will have more power over suppliers.

• Number of buyers when there are a small number of buyers, they will tend to have more power over suppliers. The Department of Defense is an example of a single buyer with a lot of power over suppliers.

• Purchase quantity When a customer purchases a large quantity of a suppliers output, it will exercise more power over the supplier.

Supplier Power

Buyer power looks at the relative power a companys customers has over it. When multiple suppliers are producing a commoditized product, the company will make its purchase decision based mainly on price, which tends to lower costs. On the other hand, if a single supplier is producing something the company has to have, the company will have little leverage to negotiate a better price.

Size plays a factor here as well. If the company is much larger than its suppliers, and purchases in large quantities, then the supplier will have very little power to negotiate. Using Wal-Mart as an example, we find that suppliers have no power because Wal-Mart purchases in such large quantities.

A few factors that determine supplier power include:

• Supplier concentration The fewer the number of suppliers for a given product, the more power they will have over the company.

• Switching costs suppliers become more powerful as the cost to change to another supplier increases.

• Uniqueness of product suppliers that produce products specifically for a company will have more power than commodity suppliers.

Its important to analyze these five forces and their affect on companies we want to invest in. The Porter Five Forces Analysis will give you a good explanation for the profitability of an industry, and the firms within it. If you want to know why a company is able, or unable, to make a decent profit, this is the first analysis you should do.

About The Author

Chris Mallon is the editor and publisher of the Undervalued Weekly, a free personal finance and investment newsletter, published once a week. To sign up for the Undervalued Weekly, send e-mail to underval@hot-response.com, or sign-up through the website at www.dynamicinvestors.net/index7.html; chrismallon@dynamicinvestors.net

Earning Online Residual Income

Making money online is really very simple, and there are plenty of opportunities to do this, even if you have little experience and money. You can spend your time online and earn an income, and the residual check will start to roll in often.

If you already have and online business, affiliate programs may help you generate extra income with very little effort on you part. It is usually free to sign up as an affiliate and all you have to do is place you affiliate link on you website. When people visit your site and click on the affiliate link and purchase something, you make a commission.

In the beginning it will take some time before large amounts of income start rolling in. Driving traffic to your site will take some time and money to advertise and to build your site. It may take some time to make you site search engine friendly, but eventually a stream of residual income will begin.

Keeping your site easy to use and joining several different affiliate programs from reputable businesses can lead long term residual income for the long run. Perhaps the best way to improve your income is to develop several small income streams that can turn into a tidal wave and flood you with residual income from your online business.

One of the best feelings I can imagine is going to the mail box and finding a handful of checks and realizing you are now generating and income from your internet business. Re-investing a portion of this income into your business of into other income opportunities can create larger or additional income streams.

You should always do your due diligence and research the companies you decide to partner with, making sure they are reputable is very important. Your name will soon be branded with the name of that company and their customer service. If someone does not receive great customer service, it wont take long for your reputation and your business to suffer.

It may be advisable to act as and intermediary for your customers when it comes to customer service issues. This may help to keep your online business running and your income from suffering. By being an affiliate, you may have limited impact in resolving a dispute. But, too many complaints by the affiliates can have their program diminished. The companies depend on affiliate referrals to survive and cannot afford to lose the additional sources for customers.

Another way of generating business income online and create a residual income is to join an online store club. They typically provide you with your own storefront and allow you to earn residual income from the sales of their products. Many of them also provide a trading post area to sell you own new or used merchandise.

In my opinion, affiliate marketing is one of the Internet most powerful ways of generating additional income without a lot of experience and without have a lot of income to start with.

David Tupica is a network marketer of 15 years. He spends much of his free time research and testing different ideas and techniques that his partners can use to increase their business'. You can view his latest project at http://www.homebasedwealthbusiness.com

What is EDI?

Have you heard someone mention EDI (Electronic Data Interchange) or eCommerce and wondered what it was? Simply put, eCommerce is the exchange of information about trading goods, services, or money from computer to computer. For example, the purchase of a widget over the internet, paying a bill, tracking an overnight package delivery, or receiving a paycheck electronically.

Now imagine youre a company. You want to do the same transactions, but thousands of time a day. That is where EDI steps in. EDI is an agreed upon message standard that exchanges information from one computer application to another with the minimum of human intervention. And 95% of all eCommerce uses EDI to exchange that information. It can be done with special software via e-mail, across the Internet, or by customized connections. And it goes beyond just purchasing goods and submitting invoices. A company can request information about inventory levels in its suppliers' and customers' warehouses, receive an order status; and send funds electronically along with automatic notification that an invoice was paid. These are just a few of the many types of automated transactions

EDI is not something new. As a matter of fact, it is much older than you might think. Yet to some industries it is only a few years old. And the health industry of the United States had to be mandated by the Federal government before they dared venture into EDI.

Who uses EDI? And how and where did it all start? What are the benefits? What are the costs? What are the legalities? And why, with all the apparent advantages, do some industries balk at switching to EDI? Well lets start at the beginning to see how it all came about.

Who uses EDI?
About 90% of the fortune 1000 companies currently use EDI. Companies such as American Airlines, BMW, Coca-Cola, Dunkin Donuts, Eastman Kodak, Federal Express, Gordmans, Heinz, InFocus, JCPenney, Kohls, Lowes, Macys, Nike, Openheimer, Prudential Insurance, Queens City Government, Radio Shack, Staples, Texaco, United Airlines, Verizon, Wachovia, and Yokohama Tires to name but a few. EDI is widely used in manufacturing, shipping, warehousing, utilities, pharmaceuticals, construction, petroleum, metals, food processing, banking, insurance, retailing, government, health care, and textiles among other industries.

Any company that buys or sells goods or services can potentially use EDI. Because it supports the entire business cycle, EDI can streamline the relationship that any company has with its customers, distributors, suppliers, and so forth. According to a recent study, the number of companies using EDI is projected to quadruple within the next six years.

History of EDI
The first recorded EDI dates back to the 1850s when the railroads and Western Union used the telegraph to communicate business information. Starting there, Samuel Morse's patented code was the single method used to communicate across the lines.

In 1948 during the Berlin Airlift, thousands of tons of food and consumables were needed to be air freighted. The task of coordinating these consignments (which arrived with differing manifests, languages and numbers of copies) was addressed by devising a standard manifest.

In the late 1950s and early 1960s the rise of computer enabled companies to store and process data electronically, companies needed an expedient method to communicate the data. This method was realized by the widespread use of computer telecommunications. Using telecommunications, companies could transmit data electronically over telephone lines, and have the data input directly into a trading partner's business application. These electronic interchanges improved response time, reduced paperwork, and eliminated the potential for transcription errors. Computer telecommunications, however, only solved part of the problem. Early electronic interchanges were based on proprietary formats agreed between two trading partners. Due to differing document formats, it was difficult for a company to exchange data electronically with many trading partners. What was needed was a standard format for the data being exchanged. In 1968 the United States Transportation Data Coordinating Committee (TDCC) was formed, to coordinate the development of translation rules among four existing sets of industry-specific standards.

In the mid 1970s, it was clear that the TDCC standards were not enough, and work began for national EDI standards. The Electronic Data Interchange Association (EDIA), a non-profit organization set out to serve as an administrator for several different industry groups. Each industry served has a committee to determine new standards, modify existing ones, and pass the information on to the EDIA for publication and distribution. EDIA was asked to develop a set of standards applicable to the grocery industry. The first such standard is The Uniform Communication Standard (UCS) which was applied to an actual transaction by the Quaker Oats Company in 1981.

In 1979 the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Accredited Standards Committee (ASC) was formed. It included representatives from transportation, government & computer manufacturer industries, The committee's first meeting took place in Rosslyn, Virginia with the goal to create a set of standard data formats based on the TDCC structure that:
- were hardware independent;
- were unambiguous, such that they could be used by all trading partners;
- reduced the labor-intensive tasks of exchanging data (e.g., data re-entry);
- allowed the sender of the data to control the exchange, including knowing if and when the recipient received the transaction.

In 1982, Version 1 of the ANSI ASC certified release of draft X.12 standards was published.

At about the same time, the U.K. Department of Customs and Excise, with the assistance of SITPRO (the British Simplification of Trade Procedures Board), was developing its own standards for documents used in international trade, called Tradacoms. These were later extended by the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) into what became known as the GTDI (General-purpose Trade Data Interchange standards), and were gradually accepted by some 2,000 British exporting organizations.

Problems created by the trans-Atlantic use of two different (and largely incompatible) sets of standardized documents have been addressed by the formation of a United Nations Joint European and North American working party (UN-JEDI), which began the development of the Electronic Data Interchange for Administration, Commerce and Transport (EDIFACT) document translation standards.

Early on, Value Added Networks (VANs) served as an "electronic post office" for buyers and suppliers that needed to exchange data. For example, Company A could send an electronic purchase order to the VAN and Company B could go to the VAN to pick it up. If Company B claimed it did not receive the purchase order, the VAN would serve as a third-party intermediary and would validate whether the purchase order had in fact been picked up or not. That is the type of "value-add" these networks provided.

Despite the benefits, VAN EDI had limited adoption because it was cost-prohibitive for most companies to deploy. Before Internet EDI became available, approximately 80% of the suppliers in any given supply chain were communicating with their customers manually via fax, telephone and snail mail because they could not afford the investment required for VAN EDI. This resulted in inefficiencies throughout the supply chain including: lost or mis-keyed purchase orders, late invoices, out-of- stocks, etc.

With the advent of secure Internet EDI, companies of every size are now able to transact electronically with their trading partners. And VAN services such as "Message Disposition Notifications" (MDNs) are built right into the software products.

Benefits of EDI
Consider a very simple non-EDI-based purchase: A buyer decides he needs 365 widgets. He creates a purchase order, prints it out and pops it in the mail. When the supplier gets the order, she types it into her company's computer system. The inventory guy pulls the order and ships out the widgets. Next, the supplier prints out and mails an invoice. It's not hard to imagine that this process could take several days. EDI has the potential to cut massive amounts of time out of the process. Sending documents, such as purchase orders or invoices, electronically takes minutes, not days, and shipments can often go out the day the order comes in.

Moreover, the electronic format does not need to be re-keyed upon arrival. And that is the part of the biggest benefit of EDI. This saves a tremendous amount of labor time, and means that no data entry errors are introduced into your system by your staff. Cycle times are reduced, and data entry backlogs are almost completely eliminated. This allows for very quick order processing. A proper system can easily handle receiving an order and shipping that order with its invoice the same day. Studies indicate that the average reduction in turn around time is about 40% for most business functions like order fulfillment, procurement, manufacturing, logistics and finance.

This often allows a company that first implements EDI to handle far greater volumes without adding personnel and other costs. This means increased sales and increased revenues once the initial investment in EDI is recaptured. These savings come from:
No data entry errors from your operators
No mail time
Reduced labor processing costs and time
Reduced lead times
Reduced order cycle time
Reduced inventory carrying costs
No filing and other processing of paperwork

EDI improves margins by meeting customer demands and consequently strengthening relationships. It also allows time and effort to be focused on other internal priorities.

Studies have shown that processing a purchase order or invoice costs most companies about $5 in paper, postage, handling, direct labor and other such odds and ends of direct costs. With EDI this can be reduced to about 50 cents; sometimes as little as 13 cents, depending on how the EDI document is transmitted. If your direct handling costs are greater, the savings is greater.

Another benefit is the implementation of Just-In-Time (JIT) order process methodology. With Just-in-Time, a company can avoid stock-outs and/or obsolete inventories, reduce lead times on ordering from suppliers and reduce inventory carrying costs. Whether implementing a subset or the whole of JIT process methodology, EDI is what makes Just-In-Time possible and allows it to be feasible. With the proper agreements between trading partners, a manufacturer can determine the current sales of their buyers and their buyers' current inventory levels. Therefore the manufacturer can forecast probable future sales and plan production and their own purchasing accordingly. Obviously there will occasionally be wild fluctuations that will disturb this scenario, but it does help the manufacturer to accurately plan production, and the purchaser to know that their needs will more likely be met by their suppliers.

Just-In-Time helps the manufacturer communicate quickly and inexpensively with their suppliers, who may be using the same forecasting to meet the requirements of their customers.

Disadvantages of EDI
The biggest disadvantage implementing EDI is it reveals inefficient business practices. If a companys business process was inefficient before EDI, they will be multiply with the implementation of EDI. The original purpose of EDI was to save money and time. When used improperly, EDI does neither, and actually wastes both.

Costs of EDI
Prices for EDI applications vary from free (for very simple one-function products) to several thousands of dollars for full-function applications. The final price you pay depends upon several things:

• The Expected Volume of Electronic Documents. Generally speaking, low cost EDI packages handle only a few documents and trading partners. Midrange EDI packages can be a little more expensive, but handle a much larger volume of EDI. If you anticipate multiple documents or trading partners, a midrange EDI system is a much better choice.

• The Amplitude of the EDI Translation Software. Some products look like a bargain, but as your EDI needs grow, hidden costs (such as having to purchase new transaction sets) suddenly appear. You may pay more for a program with an integrated mapper, but you'll avoid purchasing overlays and maps in the future.

• Implementation Time. Some applications are easier to learn and use than others. But as above, the easier to lean the less the software package can handle. The more time you spend in training, the more time it takes to get into production mode. If your time frame is tight, and you are sure the documents you will be using are static, look for a translator that doesn't require training before implementation.

Fees vary from Software Company to Software Company. Ignoring the hidden costs mentioned above, you can expect the following ongoing charges:

• Maintenance Fees. Most companies charge an annual maintenance fee that is usually a percentage of the translator's list price. This fee should include software updates, standards updates, technical support, and customer service.

• VAN Charges. If you use a Value Added Network (VAN), you will be billed for transmitting data similar to making a long distance phone call. Some also bill you for connect time. A fast modem helps to lower transmission costs.

• Mailbox Fee. Most VANs charge a monthly fee for maintaining a mailbox on their network. Some base billing on the document (25 cents per document transmitted). Others charge based upon the number of characters in each document.

EDI can at times take much longer than expected. Remember, you are working with another company and you have no control over their priorities or business practices. Your priority may be to implement a Purchase Order (850) with Wal-mart, but their priority may be implementing the Advance Ship Notice (856). You need to implement a Remittance Advice (820) with Wachovia yet their Remittance Advice specialist is on Maternity leave and her replacement only knows Lockbox (823).

Despite its few disadvantages, EDI has proven to be a powerful backbone that supports todays Electronic Commerce. Companies all over the world utilize EDIs versatility and flexibility to communicate with each other. And with the promise of the Web, which offers much lower connectivity costs, and the lower costs of PCs and simpler software, EDI is opening its doors to smaller companies. Moreover, XML, an open standard for sharing data, is starting to appear as a method of EDI coding standards, which could provide technical clarity across industries and nations around the world.

Christopher Alexander is a lead developer at CE InterWeb Solutions and a Managing Partner at Consolidated Energies.

He has been developing advanced eCommerce applications with EDI since 1997.

How To Make Money In Forex

As you might already know, forex is an acronym for foreign exchange -- is the international currency market where money is being sold and bought. Forex certainly is a new and exciting way to make money in the huge global currency market.

Making money in forex is very similar to stocks, options, or futures. You will be provided with a list of currency pairs each is coming along with graphs which you can select and trade. You can sell (or short) if you expect the graph to go down and you can buy (long) if you expect the graph to go up.

How Can I Make Money in Forex Trading?

When you buy a currency in the forex market, you are actually doing two trades. You are selling one currency and buying the other. You have known what currency you are betting for/against, as opposed to the stock market where you only need to know one stock.

Unlike stock trading, most online forex firms don't charge commission. They make money by giving you a worse spread then they get and by charging you interest on margin. This spread is usually two or three pips (explained below).

Margins are huge in currency trading; you can easily be accepted for 200 to margin on-line. Some forex firms will give you up to 400:1 margin. To be honest, there is very little regulation in this industry, which means you can move $2,000,000 worth of currency with only $10,000 in your account. You can even open an account with as little as $300.

Profits in forex are measured in "pips" or "points." A pip is 1/1000 of dollar. For example if you buy the dollar (USD) against the euro (EUR), and it went in your direction from $1.300 to $1.299, you have made a 1 pip profit. On a $10k order at full margin (200:1), this is equivalent to $50 in profit.

How Much I Can Earn?

Virtually, the limit is the sky. As much as how long you trade and keep earning. Trading will be within 24 hours 5 days a week. How fast you can earn is depending on the volatility of the market. If it is very volatile (moving ups and down quickly), you probably can earn a lot of pips if you are lucky.

However, average earning for professional trader is 100 to 200 pips a day that is equal to 100% to 200% return on investment. George Soros, the heart of inspiration for every forex trader, made a history in September 22, 1992 when he bagged US$1 Billion and ruined the Bank of England. This called The Black Wednesday.

What Do I Need to Trade?

The first thing you need to trade is a broker. Register with any of them and they will provide you a software platform that equip with a list of currency pairs, graph, technical indicators free to use. The broker usually provides you free practices by providing virtual money for you to practice enhance your skills.

There are two schools of thought like in stocks about how to make money in forex trading. On one side you have the technical, which are basically charts and other statistical methods that used to try and guess the market. On the other side you have the fundamentals, which study things like countries domestic product, interest rates, economic output, etc. to try and forecast currency movements based on these criteria.

Of course the best answer is always in the middle, using a combination of graphs and charts along with real world knowledge of political events and economic statistics to make the market more predictable for you.

If you want to learn more about mainstream technical analysis tools, in my experience, the most honest person who teaches mainstream technical analysis in the best way is Peter Bain (Forex Mentor). Whether Peter trades himself, and whether Peter ever made money in forex is definitely questionable. But if you want to get good education and overview of many different mainstream technical analysis tools, I think Peter is good for that.

Is It a Risky Business?

Is there any risk involved? Yes. Everything has risk whether it is involve time, life, money, etc. Risk unfortunately can not be avoided. No absolutely not, that's impossible for everything. But as any other thing else you can minimize risk and increase profit, thats how to make money.

I feel so grateful and lucky to be able to trade forex full time. Not only is it fun, and I feel passionate about it, but it's also monetarily rewarding, and it gives me freedom to do it from almost anywhere in the world. I hope to be able to share some of this luck and gratefulness with you. And truly from the bottom of my heart and my being, I am wishing you tremendous success and abundance in forex or any other business you do.

Martin Chandra has over years experience in marketing. Hooked on potential of the Internet since '97. Good at seeing the big picture with an eye to detail. If you want to learn more about forex, please take a look at my site.

Futures System Trading - Reality Check

Let's analyze the results of some actual futures day trading system. In 2005 this system made 159.75 ES pts, 1 point being equal to $50. It accomplished this with exactly 497 trades, which amounts to about 41 trades per month on average. The profits I quoted are hypothetical. Hypothetical profits are for vendors (that's where the word 'hype' derives from). As traders we should be interested in actual profits. Let us estimate them then. The system uses limit orders which can cause 'non-fill' slippage which happens when a trade really does not take place because its order is not filled, but the profit from such a phantom trade is taken into account inflating the system hypothetical profits. Moreover, whenever you cannot exit with a limit order (at the session close), you experience regular slippage that happens to virtually all market orders and to a lesser extent to stop orders depending on the market liquidity and the number of contracts one trades. This kind of slippage in ES usually does not exceed 1 tick per trade for market orders and can be conservatively estimated at 0.5 tick on average for stop orders for the 1-5 lot orders.

In the past, in 2004-2005, you could have this system traded for you by a broker at Lions Futures. It is from this broker that I got the data about the actual system performance. It turns out that during the period of 5 months, from July 2004 till November 2004, the actual profit the system generated was slightly over 43 pts lower than the hypothetical one, or to put it in other words the actual monthly profit was on average about 8.71 pts lower than the profit reported by the vendor. During those 5 months the system would take about 45 trades per month on average.

Considering that in 2005 the system would call a bit fewer trades (41) per month than during the sample period (45) let us assume, probably rather optimistically, the average correction to the hypothetical monthly profits to be 8.5 pts. Multiplying the last number by 12 and subtracting the result (102) from the hypothetical annual profit for 2005 we obtain 57.75 pts or $2887.5 before any commissions. With the commissions included (assuming the round turn of $5 per contract) we get $402.5 (=$2887.5-$2485) per contract.

Suppose that you traded 5 contracts in 2005. That would have made you $2012.5. At the same time you would have paid your broker well over $12,000 and your system provider would have earned $3,000 if you were to pay him on a monthly basis (quarterly payments would have not made a big difference).

And here we come to the punch line which is this: after toiling like a stupid monkey for a whole year you would not have made enough to even cover the system subscription fees, much less your other bills!

Now, you might think that I chose a particularly lousy system to have fun knocking it. Well, actually, the really sad thing here is not my penchant for knocking others (which I might possess too but probably not to a greater extent than any other guy), but the fact that it is not necessarily such a bad system (relatively speaking), meaning that many others are even worse. If I really wanted to have a field day, I would have found a morte suitable system for that. Obviously, that would have been rather malicious of me.

Let me say it again, this time quite seriously: while I do think that this system performance in 2005 was far from stellar, I also think that I can correctly describe it as average and so rather representative of what you can expect from many systems like that. What is not reasonable and justifiable though is the subscription fee which is absolutely not commensurate with the system actual performance.

The moral of this story is quite simple: when it comes to systems, mechanical or otherwise, it's not all gold that glitters. After a careful analysis, such as the one I just performed, many systems with great looking equity curves may actually turn out to be losing money! This comment applies particularly to systems that trade rather frequently. I am not a big believer in mechanical systems that trade more often than 20 times a month, especially when they use limit orders to initiate or close their positions.

Waldemar Puszkarz, Ph.D., is a web veteran with 15 years of web surfing under his belt. By training, he is a theoretical physicist, but his interests are much broader than science and include trading financial markets, sports betting, poker, and researching online business opportunities. He is also an avid book reader and sports afficionado. Currently he is making his living mostly as a day trader. He has been in the trading trenches for almost a decade during which he has traded a variety of financial instruments. He is the owner and webmaster of Eminimethods.com (http://www.eminimethods.com) which provides free common sense trading education and simple trading systems for e-mini and stock markets as well as reviews of honest online business opportunities in Meet HOBO (http://www.eminimethods.com/HOBO.html) section of his site.

How to Work with Arbitrage Trading

Arbitrage trading to most people many seem confusing for someone a first, and look hard. Well its not as hard and confusing as most think. It is quite simple actually. Arbitrage trading is well known around the world, and has many millions of people money for years and years.

The number one reason why very few people choose to use arbitrage trading is because its time consuming, and takes a lot of work to find out the arbs, and how to calculate them to find out how much profits you will make. This is all true but in the passed two years there have been a number of programs popping up on the Internet.

These programs resolve all the problems that most people find in sports arbitrage trading. Not only does it make it automatic but it does everything that would take someone hours to do in only minutes time.

Sports arbitrage trading is betting against two different bookkeepers that disagree on a sporting event. If you tried to do this on your own you would have to find the arb that the bookkeepers create, calculate how much money you will make, and find out where to place your trade.

If you use a software program you will eliminate all of these. Arbitrage trading software programs find the arbs for you, find the bookkeepers, caudate all profits you will make. The money you make with arbitrage trading is mostly tax free, and you will gain 1 - 10% on each trade you place. You can place as many trades as you would like each day all day. Arbitrage trading can be done from any where in the world as long as you have access to the Internet. You do not need to know anything about sports or arbitrage trading. Most software programs come with a step by step guide how to use there program, and you can be up and running in a few hours.

Imagine taking $500 and using arbitrage trading to turn it into $1,500 or even more a month. Sounds to good to be true? Well its not millions of people are doing it, and why cant you? What can and extra $500 or $1000 or even more a month do for you? I know it could pay for my car payment or help pay some other bills I can think of a million things this extra money could do for me and my family.

Learn how I make over a $1,000 a month using arbitrage trading. It's easy to due, and makes money to pay the bills. Visit Sports Arbitrage Trading to find out more information.

Job Search - "Market Timer Needed"

Requirements For The Position

Have you ever wondered what the job requirements would be for the position of "Market Timer?" Assuming such a position existed, would you be qualified for it?

Such requirements would obviously be the same as those needed for anyone to successfully time the markets.

Let's see... what would the ad look like?

"MARKET TIMER NEEDED"

Candidates must be able to go against the prevailing opinion.

Candidates must be able to take a bullish position when everyone is bearish, and take a bearish position when everyone is bullish.

Candidates must be independent and self-assured. They don't worry about how they are doing compared with other investors.

Candidates must be able to accept that sometimes their investments will underperform the market, knowing that over time, they will outperform the market.

Candidates must be able to accept that their timing will require them to make frequent trades that may seem like mistakes, and a string of successive small losses won't drive them up the wall.

Candidates must be able to adopt a strategy for the long haul and stick with it, even when at times it is discouraging.

Candidates must be able to able to obey buy and sell signals, which often are issued against the prevailing sentiment.

Candidates must be able to ignore the mass media, which raise emotions and thus increase the risk of not executing a trade. It is often the trade that is hardest to take, that winds up being the most profitable.

Candidates must be decisive and willing to move at a moment's notice, without second-guessing, when a timing system calls for buying or selling.

Candidates must be willing to watch their investments every business day without fail.

What Each And Every One Of Us Face

Okay.... maybe it is not a job that we would see advertised anywhere. But the job requirements tell us a great deal about what each and every one of us face as market timers.

Market timers face a constant psychological battle. Prevailing sentiment, not to mention our next door neighbor, is constantly telling us to cave in and go with the majority. There is comfort in following the majority, at least for awhile.

But timers must walk alone. They can never give in to these pressures because just when the urge is greatest, the next profitable trend is launched. We must be on board. No trade can be missed.

Against The Herd

Yes... sometimes the majority are right, especially during a long trend. But never forget that the majority are wrong at market tops as well as market bottoms, when volume swells and everyone is moving in the same direction with herd-like mentality.

As market timers, we go against the herd. It may be tough at times, but we know that the profits realized over the years are well worth the battle.

E Currency Exchange Scam

Are you sick and tired of those HYIP programs that claim you will get rich or make millions fast? I know I just had enough of them that is why I did my homework and researched the best work at home programs on the internet.

E currency was the business that everyone referred me to. So I found a book that taught me how the e currency exchange system works. Because without any help or someone to guide you thru the steps to set it up, it is very confusing and hard to understand. I invested $400 and within one week my money shot up to $500. Now this is an investment program so you know you are not going to get scammed out of your money. E currency trading is done every day throughout the world.

Now let me tell how the e currency exchange network can put money into your pocket. First you are going to open a portfolio and the second is with a console. When opening an e currency account, you will be asked to create a portfolio and fund your portfolio. This investment can be anywhere from $25 to $100,000. I would recommend a small amount until you become familiar with e currency trading system. Your portfolio is compounded daily and receives gains anywhere from .3% to .5% each day. For example, if you funded your portfolio with a $10,000 investment, each day your portfolio would net $30 of profit. Over the course of one month a $10,000 portfolio would make $900. With these profits you can either reinvest into your portfolio to maximize your profits, or out-exchange the money to your bank account.

Learn how the e currency exchange system helped me turn a $400 investment into a $4,1000 investment in under 3 months. To find out more information visit E currency Online

Real Estate Property Investment Series: Focus Dubai 2007

Dubais is a property market of two halvesas it is still a relatively young market in terms of its accessibility for foreign buyers it still has an active off plan residential real estate marketplace, and now it also has a resale and rental market too. This article examines the prospects for both in 2007

Dubais Off Plan Real Estate Prospects in 2007

When it first became possible for foreigner buyers to own freehold real estate in certain areas of Dubai there was an immediate frenzy of interest as properties were selling for relatively low prices in a location where there was already intense demand from expatriate workers for housing.

Both investors and expats living locally in Dubai went head to head for real estate and the off plan property investment cycle was born.

Investors have been making excellent profits from buying properties off plan in Dubai and paying just a deposit for them before flipping the incomplete units back onto a market where demand has been hungry for such property stock. Those who have bought in particularly well located and attractive high rises have often profited most by buying at the point of project conception and then holding stock until all other units had been sold outby waiting until demand for properties was outstripping the supply and then re-floating off plan stock on to the waiting market, investors have taken good profits in a relatively short space of time.

However, for such a market for profitability to continue there has to be a driving demand from other investors to buy flipped on properties and evidence suggests that this will not continue to be the case throughout 2007. Its a fact that profits derived from taking such an investment approach have softened recently because prices have risen so high, and the thought that Dubais property market can continue rising unabated and unchecked forever is nave at best and dangerous at worst.

Investors who take this flipping approach never actually intend paying for their properties, instead they rely on the fact there will be a waiting market hungry to buy resales off plan and all evidence is suggesting that this demand is waning and that the off plan market for investors could show signs of weakness in 2007.

Dubais Resale and Rental Real Estate Prospects in 2007

All is not lost - Dubais resale market and the future prospects for completed property stock are very good indeed for 2007 and beyond. Basically there is such intense and growing demand for real estate in Dubai with 5,000 new families moving to the emirate every month that supply cannot keep up with demand which pushes up rental rates charged and the underlying value of completed resale properties.

As each and every individual, couple or family arriving requires decent accommodation within easy reach and short commute of the main free trade zones and business areas, completed property stock across Dubai is intensely in demand meaning rental rates are already soaring and property prices are creeping higher. Dubai is also suffering from severe construction delays, a worsening shortage of construction workers and an excessive increase in the price of building materials which is holding back new projects and meaning that the predicted number of units to be completed in 2007 has been revised downwards. Clearly supply is not about to flow into the market any time soon and so the profitability of and desire for completed stock will rise.

Real estate investors looking for good performing property assets in Dubai need to buy completed stock in a good location that is not highly adversely affected by the commute issues plaguing Dubai at the moment - and then and only then can they be assured of strong returns in 2007 and beyond.

Rhiannon Williamson writes about property investment worldwide, to read more about property investment in Dubai in 2007 and beyond visit her site http://www.amberlamb.com

What's Happening In Real Estate Right Now And Where Is It Going?

1. Analysis of Today's Market
2. Update On Gold
3. Real Estate Prices In South Florida
4. Real Estate Nationwide
5. Yield Curve Is Still Inverted
6. What this means to you

1. Analysis of today's market

As an analyst of the economy and the real estate market, one must be patient to see what unfolds and to see if one's predictions are right or wrong. One never knows if they will be right or wrong, but they must have a sense of humility about it so that they are not blind to the reality of the marketplace.

In March of 2006, my eBook How To Prosper In the Changing Real Estate Marketplace. Protect Yourself From The Bubble Now! stated that in short order the real estate market would slow down dramatically and become a real drag on the economy. We are experiencing this slowdown currently and the economy I feel is not far from slowing down as well. History has repeatedly shown that a slow down in the real estate market and construction market has almost always led to an economic recession throughout America's history.

Let's look at what is happening in the following areas to see what we can gleam from them: Gold, Real Estate in South Florida, Real Estate Nationwide, Yield Curve/Economy and see what this means to you:

2. Gold

If you have read this newsletter and/or the eBook, you know I am a big fan of investing in gold. Why? Because I believe that the US dollar is in serious financial peril. But gold has also risen against all of the world's currencies, not just the US dollar.

Why has gold risen? Gold is a neutral form of currency, it can't be printed by a government and thus it is a long term hedge against currency devaluation. James Burton, Chief Executive of the Gold Council, recently said: "Gold remains a very important reserve asset for central banks since it is the only reserve asset that is no one's liability. It is thus a defense against unknown contingencies. It is a long-term inflation hedge and also a proven dollar hedge while it has good diversification properties for a central bank's reserve asset portfolio."

I agree with Mr. Burton 100%. I believe we will even see a bubble in gold again and that is why I have invested in gold to profit from this potential bubble (Think real estate prices around the year 2002 - wouldn't you like to have bought more real estate back then?)

I had previously recommended that you buy gold when it was between $580 and $600 an ounce. Currently, gold is trading at around $670 an ounce up more than 10% from the levels I recommended. However, gold has some serious technical resistance at the $670 level and if it fails to break out through that level it might go down in the short-term. If it does go down again to the $620 - $640 level, I like it at these levels as a buy. I believe that gold will go to $800 an ounce before the end of 2007.

3. Real Estate in South Florida

Real estate in South Florida has been hit hard by this slowdown as it was one of the largest advancers during the housing boom. The combination of rising homes for sale on the market, the amazing amount of construction occurring in the area and higher interest rates have been three of the major factors of the slowdown.

For every home that sold in the South Florida area in 2006, an average of 14 did not sell according to the Multiple Listing Service (MLS) data. The number of homes available for sale on the market doubled to around 66,000, as sales slowed to their lowest level in 10 years.

Even though home prices were up for the year of 2006, the average asking price for homes in December was down about 13 percent compared to a year ago. From 2001 to 2005, the price of a single-family home in Miami-Dade increased 120 percent to $351,200. This is also similar to what happened in Broward County. The problem is that wages during that time only increased by 17.6% in Miami-Dade, and 15.9% in Broward, according to federal data. This is the other major factor that is contributing to the slowdown - real estate prices far outpaced incomes of potential buyers of these homes.

Another factor that helped drive the South Florida boom in prices was high growth in population in Florida. From 2002 to 2005, more than a million new residents moved to Florida and Florida also added more jobs than any other state. However, the three largest moving companies reported that 2006 was the first time in years that they had moved more people out of the state of Florida than into it. Also, school enrollment is declining which could be another sign that middle-class families are leaving.

By far though, the area of South Florida real estate that will be hit hardest is and will continue to be the condominium market. Due to their lower prices than homes, condos make financial sense in the South Florida area. However, the supply of available condos has tripled over the past year and it will get worse before it gets better. More than 11,500 new condos are expected this year and 15,000 next year with the majority of them being built in Miami.

As a result of the oversupply, asking prices for condos are down 12% in 2006 in Miami to $532,000. And incentives are substituting for price cuts. These incentives include paying all closing costs to free upgrades and more.

The last point to think about affecting South Florida real estate is the escalating costs of property insurance and property taxes. These increasing costs are putting more downward pressure on real estate prices.

My strong belief is that we are only starting to see the slowdown of the South Florida real estate market and that prices will continue to fall. Due to the fact that many real estate investors are pulling out, where are the next wave of buyers going to come from at these current prices? Unless a serious influx of new, high paying jobs enter the South Florida area, real estate prices, just like any asset that falls out of favor after a large runup only have one way to go... down.

4. Real Estate Nationwide

A report released last week from the National Association of Realtors showed that in the last three months of 2006 home sales fell in 40 states and median home prices dropped in nearly half of the metropolitan areas surveyed. The median price of a previously owned, single family home fell in 73 of the 149 metropolitan areas surveyed in the 4th quarter.

The National Association of Realtors report also said that the states with the biggest declines in the number of sales in October through December compared with the same period in 2005 were:

* Nevada: -36.1% in sales

* Florida: -30.8% in sales

* Arizona: -26.9% in sales

* California: -21.3% in sales

Nationally, sales declined by 10.1% in the 4th quarter compared with the same period a year ago. And the national median price fell to $219,300, down 2.7% from the 4th quarter of 2005.

Slower sales and cancellations of existing orders have caused the number of unsold homes to really increase. The supply of homes at 2006 sales rate averaged 6.4 months worth which was up from 4.4 months worth in 2005 and only 4 months worth in 2004.

Toll Brothers, Inc., the largest US luxury home builder, reported a 33% drop in orders during the quarter ending January 31.

Perhaps most importantly, falling home values will further decrease their use of mortgage equity withdrawal loans. In 2006, mortgage equity withdrawal accounted for 2% of GDP growth. Construction added 1% to last years GDP growth, so the importance of these factors are to the health of the US economy are enormous.

The other concern is sub-prime mortgages. Today, sub-prime mortgages amount to 25% of all mortgages, around $665 billion. Add to this the fact that approximately $1 trillion in adjustable-rate mortgages are eligible to be reset in the next two years and we will continue to see rising foreclosures. For example, foreclosures are up five times in Denver. These foreclosed homes come back onto the market and depress real estate values.

The Center for Responsible Lending estimates that as many as 20% of the subprime mortgages made in the last 2 years could go into foreclosure. This amounts to about 5% of the total homes sold coming back on the market at "fire-sales". Even if only 1/2 of that actually comes back on the market, it would cause overall valuations to go down and the ability to get home mortgage equity loans to decrease further.

Prepare yourself now because you can still get great advice from the eBook. Buy it with this secure link: https://shop.outstandingebooks.com/displayProductDocument.hg?productId=1

5. Yield Curve is still inverted!

The yield curve is still inverted. In a normal market, you get more interest (yield) for longer term investments. But very rarely the short-term rates become higher than long term rates such as now.

History has shown that an inverted yield curve is the best indicator of a future recession. The yield curve has been inverted since last fall, and if history is any judge we should be in a recession by the 3rd quarter of 2007. Throughout history, we have never had an inverted yield curve without a recession within the next 4 quarters.

The inverted yield curve does not cause the recession, it is simply a signal that something is out of whack in the economy.

6. What this means to you

One of two things could happen going forward in the real estate market: real estate prices will go up or they will go down. History has shown us that any asset that runs up, must come down, whether we are talking about the Dutch Tulip Market, the stock market bubble, the gold bubble of the early 1980s, or Japan's run-up in housing in the 1980's and subsequent 15 year decrease in values.

The big picture of the real estate market is that it goes up and down in cycles. It has been in an up cycle for 10 years and it is most likely time for it to face it's down cycle.

This is the natural cycle of assets:

* Markets go up

* Greed and insanity take over

* An excess forms (i.e. overbuilding)

* A downturn corrects the excesses in the market

This natural cycle is the same principle in "the big picture" as crash dieting is in "the little picture". We starve ourselves to lose 15 pounds, which shuts down our body for the short term, only for it to crank up higher when we go back to "normal" eating patterns.

And speaking of diets, I heard from an old high school buddy who has lost weight on a "cookie" diet where he eats one high protein dinner a day and only 6 low fat cookies throughout the day whenever he is hungry. While he has lost weight on this 800 calorie a day diet, I can't see how it is healthy to starve yourself like that. He told me that whenever he breaks his diet and eats any sodium, he immediately gains one and a half pounds. Talk about your body out of whack! I still recommend exercise (www.mattfurey.com) combined with a low white-carb diet (no white bread, white pastas, and limited sugars). It works for me.

Set your portfolio up correctly now by reading the eBook at www.myrealestatebubble.com.

***Disclaimer: This information and the corresponding websites do not constitute professional services, including, but not limited to investment advice. Please consult a finance and/or investment professional for services and advice.

Louis Hill, MBA received his Masters In Business Administration from the Chapman School at Florida International University, specializing in Finance. He was one of the top graduates in his class and was one of the few graduates inducted into the Beta Gamma Sigma Business Honor Society.

Mr. Hill received his undergraduate degree from the University of Florida with a double major in Finance and Risk Management.

For the past several years he has been working in a South Florida commercial real estate lender that specializes in financing real estate developers. Mr. Hill has extensive experience in commercial lending and has seen firsthand the behind the scene challenges and pitfalls that real estate developers are experiencing. He has also seen how things have been deteriorating rapidly in the real estate market. He is also a professional consultant to professional real estate developers and investors.

Mr. Hill is very active in many civic groups and charities.

Where to Invest Your Money

If you are new to investing, or even if you've been playing the market for a while, investment options can be overwhelming. Stocks, bonds, mutual funds. How do you pick the best place to invest your money? That's quite a decision!

Here are some tips that can help you get started:

If you are planning for a long-term investment, it may be wisest to go with stocks. History shows that stocks outperform other investing options over the long term. For example, from 1926 to 2004, the stock market had an average annual gain of 10.4%, compared with only 5.4% for bonds and even less for other forms of investing.

That said, stocks may not be such a good option for short-term investing. They tend to be more risky and can undergo severe losses. Unless you're planning to keep your money there for a long time, you might not want to weather the stress of the stock market's ups and downs. Overall, a company's earnings are going to be the biggest player in a stock's fluctuation.

If you're willing to take a little bit of risk with your investing-or a lot-you probably will notice a bigger payoff. Stocks, for example, are a riskier investment than bonds. But again, stocks tend to bring in a much higher return. On the other hand, there is also the chance that your stock will dip and you may suffer a great loss. That's all part of the game.

If you're looking for a low-risk, surefire investment strategy, U.S. Treasury bonds may be the way to go. The government has a lot of power over these bonds. Because of this, investing in these bonds is generally considered risk-free. Keep in mind, however, that bonds don't do so well when interest rates rise. Conversely, when interest rates go down, bond prices rise. This is particularly true with long-term bonds.

To be safe, the best advice is to diversify your portfolio. If you practice investing in a number of different areas, you are least likely to lose it all. (Remember the Enron scandal? Don't make that mistake!) Some investments will go up, others will go down. But at least you can be pretty sure you won't lose it all. Chances are, with a little research, some self-education, and careful investing, you'll build your savings substantially. Happy investing!

Jeff Lakie is the founder of Investing Information a website providing information on Investing.

Productive Ebay Income - How to Get it

Companies around the world are doing their business online: and Ebay certainly does not miss all the action. There is such a thrill in the sport of bidding, and more customers are willing to join in the game than just purchase an expensive item in another online store. So if a company wants to have a productive Ebay income, there are three things to put in mind to get it: originality, quality and quantity.

Ebay is a haven for the best and weirdest stuff even celebrity garbage can end up in auction! For this reason, a company must set its items apart from the competition. Its originality lies not only on the nature of items being sold, but the packaging and presentation as well. If all aspects are impressive and unique, no doubt more people will bid.

The second important aspect is quality: just one defective item will cost the reputation of the company, since Ebay has a reliable feedback system. So make sure that all the products sold by the business are inspected, cared for, and prepared properly for shipping. The last thing to remember is quantity make sure that the company can accommodate orders and requests.

Remember, bidders will not just be interested in one or two. If they recognize that you are a company, they may try to do bulk orders. So make sure stock is always at hand, and be considerate with the buyers. Try to limit or reduce shipping costs if they are buying multiple items.

Do you want to learn more about how I do it? I have just completed my brand new guide to article marketing success, Your Article Writing and Promotion Guide

Download it free here: Secrets of Article Promotion

Sean Mize is a full time internet marketer who has written over 1574 articles in print and 11 published ebooks.

San Francisco

San Francisco, a city in western California is coextensive with San Francisco County. Famous for its beautiful setting, San Francisco is primarily located on the northern tip of a peninsula at the entrance to San Francisco Bay. It is bordered by the Pacific Ocean on the west, the strait known as Golden Gate on the north, San Francisco Bay on the east, and San Bruno Mountain on the south. Alcatraz, Angel, Farallon, Treasure, and Yerba Buena islands are part of the city.

POPULATION

The population of San Francisco increased from 678,974 in 1980 to 723,959 in 1990; the population was 735,315 in 1996. According to the 1990 census, whites constitute 53.6 percent of San Francisco's population; Asians and Pacific Islanders, 29.1 percent; blacks, 10.9 percent; and Native Americans, 0.5 percent. Hispanics, who may be of any race, represent 13.3 percent of the population. San Francisco is part of a major metropolitan region that also includes Oakland and San Jose. The region's population increased from 5,368,000 in 1980 to 6,253,000 in 1990, reaching an estimated 6,940,000 in 2004.

ECONOMY

San Francisco is a leading financial and international trade center for the western United States. The downtown financial district contains the Pacific Coast Stock Exchange; the headquarters of the 12th Federal Reserve District; and numerous banks and corporate office buildings, including the home office of the Bank of America, one of the largest banks in the world. Tourism is also important to the city's economy. The San Francisco region is also home to many companies developing computer software and hardware. Several national apparel manufacturers also have headquarters in the city.

EDUCATIONAL AND CULTURAL INSTITUTIONS

The main institutions of higher education in San Francisco are San Francisco State University (1899), the University of San Francisco (1855), Golden Gate University (1853), the University of California-San Francisco (1864), the New College of California (1971), the University of California Hastings College of Law (1878), the San Francisco Art Institute (1871), the Academy of Art College (1929), the San Francisco Conservatory of Music (1917), and a large community college. San Francisco has many performing-arts organizations. Among the best known are the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, the San Francisco Ballet, the San Francisco Opera, and the American Conservatory Theater.

For more information, visit The San Francisco Help Center

David Chandler
For your FREE Stock Market Trading Mini Course: "What The Wall Street Hot Shots Won't Tell You!" go to: The Stock Market Genie

Well Managed Investing Risks Bring Rewards!

"Risk comes from not knowing what you're doing!" Warren Buffett (1930 - )

We often listen to people who hesitate to invest in the stock market because they fear risk. There are older people who fear that a stock crash could leave them destitute. There are young couples who pine for a new home but worry that an investment loss could kill their chances.

For any investor, risk is a fact of life!

Whenever an opportunity opens up for you to make an investment profit, you also face the fear of the possibility of suffering an investment loss. Even with "safe" kinds of investments, such as bank deposits, there is a risk that the rate you earn will not exceed the rate of inflation.

Often, these fears are rooted in a misunderstanding of what risk is. Those who understand market risks --and properly evaluate their ability to tolerate them-- can supercharge their investment portfolios by embracing a certain amount of uncertainty!

In the financial world, risk translates to uncertainty and it's measured by standard deviation from the norm.

Many individuals would say the riskier investment is the first, because their principal would be in greater jeopardy. But to professionals, the first investment is merely stupid --not risky--because it's a sure thing to lose!

Still, what worries many is that you never know when the stock market is going to dive. What if it falls right before you need to sell?

Most individuals measure risk as their chance of loss, but we measure risk by the variability of returns!

In other words, because stocks have higher average returns, you can suffer some losses and still end up vastly ahead over the long run.

There's only one situation in which adding stocks to your portfolio doesn't make sense--when you don't have time to let the market work for you.

In any given year, you have about a 1 in 4 chance of taking a loss in the stock market. If one year or less is as long as you plan to invest, stocks boil down to a gamble.

But if your time horizon is five years or more, there's a very good chance that putting at least a portion of your money in stocks will boost the performance of your investments!

One question you have to resolve is the kind of investment risk you're comfortable taking. The choice ranges from conservative to aggressive, with a broad middle ground between the extremes.

Conservative Investing: Means putting money where there's little risk to principal.

Moderate Investing: Means taking risks by putting money into growth stocks and bonds.

Aggressive or Speculative Investing: Means taking a possible risk of losing part of your investment in exchange for the possibility of making a larger profit.

The ideal risk equalizer is that you should work for balance among the various risk categories.

One of your concerns should also be that if you invest too conservatively, you won't have enough money down the road to afford your goals even if you've been diligent in following your plan.

Another concern is that by taking too many chances you risk losing too much of your capital.

Ioannis - Evangelos C. Haramis was born in Greece in 1951 and he studied in Greece, USA and in Belgium. He has been active in the stock markets since 1972. Since 2002 he is New Business Development Managing Director at an Investment Bank and the editor of http://www.greekshares.com

Copyright 2005 I.E.C. Haramis

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

Financial Investment Tips - 7 Tips For Not Losing Money On Your Mutual Fund Investments

Investing in mutual funds has inherent risks. You cannot totally eliminate all risk from any financial investment. However, you can significantly reduce your risk and lower your chances of losing your principle by following these seven tips.

1.Know the risks.

Not only should you know the risks but you should know them before you buy. Many people learn by trial and error. That way of learning means that you will get burned every time you learn a lesson. Your life will be more comfortable if you learn from the mistakes of others. Then you get the benefit of the lesson without the financial injury.

2.Discern who has your best interest at heart.

You always want to have your radar on so you can discern who is a friend or a foe. It takes practice to be able to tell who has your best interests at heart. If someone only calls you when they want you to buy something, they may have their self-interest above what is best for you.

One of the best principles to utilize when judging the merits of someone's ideas is to use third party verification. See if what someone tells you can also be verified by a third party. Who else says that this investment is a solid long term play?

3.Always understand how financial instruments work.

If you cannot explain how something works in one to three sentences then you may not fully grasp what it does or how it works. That lack of knowledge can end up harming you later. An easy way to research financial terms and investment vehicles is to use a search engine like Google or Ask.com. Type a term in a search engine and you will easily find simple explanations to almost any confusing terms.

4.Know your options.

Don't think that you must invest in the single item that is in front of you. Understand what options you have. You may discover that something that is similar but ten times better for your individual comfort level.

For example, many people have bought REIT's and mutual funds that invest in real estate over the last ten years. However many experienced investors that I know have been surprised to see people use these investment vehicles when they can easily invest in real estate directly as a private lender without the fees and expenses.

5.Stay within your risk comfort zone.

Some people fall into the trap of feeling that they must take more risk because they are close to retirement and need to grow their savings faster. This attitude can lead to chasing the highest return without fully assessing all of the risks involved. Staying within your comfort zone can bring you more sleep and less stress.

6.Get answers to all of your questions.

If you have serious reservations about an investment, do not purchase it. First, get your questions answered, and then decide if it is right for you. Too many people accept what someone presents to them without fully understanding it.

7.Ask an expert.

Talk to other people who know more than you do about the financial subject you are interested in. Discover their opinion and how they feel about the topic. They may be able to suggest an alternative that suits your needs better.

If you are wondering where you can find an investment that many experienced investors describe as being very secure and earns high returns, then go to http://www.securityandreturns.com/name-your-return-just-like-a-bank/

If you'd like to read a Special Report on getting higher returns in your IRA, then you can download it by going here http://www.securityandreturns.com and looking in the left hand column.

Written by Dan Snyder - founder of the Association of Private Lenders.

Home Business - A Simple High Profit Small Business Opportunity Part 1

Forget MLM, Affiliate deals and making money from the net, here we are going to look at a small business opportunity anyone can learn and allows investors with small stakes to build wealth quickly.

Lets look at this home business opportunity in more detail.

The opportunity is opening your own currency trading business from home dont worry if you have never traded before, you can still make big profits and you dont need much capital to get started.

Lets look at the advantages in more detail.

1. No staff stock or premises

Overheads are low all you need is some seed capital to get started, a connection to the internet and around 30 minutes a day and youre all set.

2. You will never need to seek customers

You dont need an advertising budget, as there is a market you can buy and sell in for profit 24 hours a day for profit.

3. Leveraging your gains

You dont need to borrow money, you just need a small amount to start, you can leverage it and this is the huge advantage of this opportunity and what makes it so profitable.

For example, if you want to buy $3,000 of Euro currency your broker will allow you 100:1 leverage - this means you can trade $300,000 this allows your funds to work many times over.

4. Never a recession

As one currency rises another falls meaning there are constant opportunities for profit. You will never have periods of recession where you dont have the opportunity to make money.

5. Its simple to learn to trade

Trading is an occupation that can be learned by anyone with a willingness to learn and you can become proficient in around 2 weeks of study.

In a famous experiment legendary trader Richard Dennis taught a group of people from diverse backgrounds with no trading experience to trade in just 14 days.

This group (nicknamed the turtles) went on to become some of the most famous traders of all time and made millions.

You may not become as successful as the turtles, but the fact is the opportunity to be a successful trader from home is open to anyone.

You Can Build Wealth Quickly

Currency trading represents an opportunity to start with small stakes and build wealth quickly.

You dont need to have above average intelligence to do it, as to learn to trade is simple you do however need the right mindset to apply the knowledge you have learned.

In trading your mindset is crucial to your success.

The Character Traits You Will Need

Character traits you will need are patience to wait for opportunities, confidence in your trading method and the discipline to apply your method through inevitable losing periods.

An Opportunity For All

Many people try trading and fail because they do not approach it as a business and let their emotions get involved; if you can keep your emotions in check and be disciplined in your approach, then you can achieve bigger profits than in any other home business opportunity.

In part 2 of this article we will show you where to look on the internet to acquire the knowledge you need and how to build a business plan for success.

Grab 5 FREE Trader PDF's Much More

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The Truth About Most Option Trading Seminars

Are you about to pay thousands of US Dollars to attend an option trading seminar this weekend?

Whether or not you have decided to join that weekend seminar, I hope I can help you make a more intelligent decision here.

A Grim Experience At An Option Trading Seminar

I had a friend who joined a weekend, 2 days, option trading seminar (a very well-known one by the way), promising that every participant will walk away with enough knowledge to profit at any market condition and be on their way to their first million just by option trading. He paid USD$3000 for the 2 days seminar and walked away feeling all hyped up but totally confused as to how exactly to start option trading. He was then told to sign up for an advanced course for another USD$5000 for 4 days. That 4 days seminar taught him little more than option trading basics and how to open a trading account but still completely no idea whatsoever as to how to read the market and pick stocks on which to trade options in the first place. He was then asked to buy a USD$6000 laptop containing a magical software that will tell him exactly what to trade daily. That software turned out about a hundred opportunities a day again, he is totally confused.

After paying a grand total of USD$11,000, my friend had completely no idea how to start trading options consistently and you guessed it, he ran into another USD$11,000.00 in credit card debt which he is still paying 24% per annum of interest on. (Not to mention losing another USD$5000.00 on losing trades produced by that magical software)

The Truth About Most Option Trading Seminars

The truth about option trading seminars these days are that they are conducted by people who claimed to have made millions from option trading but are really making millions by conducting seminars like that.

Heres a math from an internationally acclaimed option trading guru who charges USD$2500.00 for her 4 days seminars:

Cost Per Head : USD$2500.00
Average Number of Participants : 120
Average Number of Seminars Per Month : 2
Average Gross Takings Per Month : USD$600,000.00
Average Gross Takings Per Year : USD$7.2 MILLION!

See how these option trading gurus are really making their millions?

What Option Trading Seminars Really Teach

Sadly, most option trading seminars have nothing magical nor proprietary to teach. Most of these option trading seminars simply teach people what option trading can do and how to do some of the common option trading strategies which anyone can learn completely for FREE on option trading sites like OptionTradingpedia.com.

These fake option trading gurus then use a lot of hype and motivational techniques to make all participants think that they have indeed stumbled upon a gold mine.

What Option Trading Seminars Are Not Teaching You

Option Trading, like all kinds of trading activities requires foremost for the trader to be able to pick the right stocks that behave within the predetermined limits of the strategy in the first place. You will lose money if you do a bullish option strategy on a stock that stumbles eventually and you will lose money if you do a neutral strategy on a stock that suddenly surges. The ability to pick the right stocks is the real key to any kind of trading, including option trading and that is exactly what you will not learn in most of these option trading seminars. This means that most of these option trading seminars really have nothing proprietary to teach anyone at all!

To make up for the gap, these fake option trading gurus make participants sign up for stock picking programs or buy expensive software which eventually still led to nowhere. Being able to pick the right stock for option trading is an extremely tricky task which the best in the industry are still trying hard to do consistently!

Everyone who learnt option trading must then begin the long and arduous journey of looking for a reliable way of picking stocks for option trading consistently. That is a long and wide journey which includes learning about fundamental and technical analysis, different scopes and methods of trading options and things like that things that really do have proprietary knowledge and which is ok to pay a fair price for.

I am sad to see so many people who loves to learn about option trading fall prey to these option trading seminars and to pay thousands to learn things that can be learnt for free. That is why I started the OptionTradingpedia.com where I provide all the information and knowledge all beginners need to know what option trading is and how to trade options and I sincerely hope that the public can help me to help yourselves by spreading the good news around.

Jason Ng is the Founder and Chief Option Strategist of Masters 'O' Equity Asset Management ( www.MastersoEquity.com ). He is a fund manager specialising in options trading and his Star Trading System has helped thousands. For Free Option Trading Knowledge, please visit www.OptionTradingPedia.com .

Forex Trading: How to Setup a Solid Workstation?

Introduction

At first glance, it may not appear that important, but you will come to appreciate the wisdom of ensuring you have all of the tools necessary to make your currency trading experience a positive one.

Work Station Location

Choosing the right place for trading is your first step. Be sure not to rush into making this decision too quickly. Do you have a spare room? How about an office? The place you choose should be a place where you can concentrate and feel comfortable.

Trading Forex at times can be very stressful, so your trading area should be a place where you can relax. Avoid setting up your trading setup in your bedroom, as this could disrupt your sleep cycle. Having the right amount of rest and sleep is as important as trading forex itself. Keep this in mind.

Trading Computer and Accessories

One of the most frustrating events for a new trader is attempting with outdated computer equipment. The following list must not be ignored in acquiring adequate computer equipment:

Minimum Hardware Requirements:

Pentium 3
256 MB Ram
20 GB HD
17 Monitor
Fast Internet Connection
Windows 2000, XP
Antivirus and Firewall Protection

Whether you choose a desktop or laptop computer, be sure it meets the minimum requirements for the best operating results. Youll also want to have a comfortable chair with adequate lower-back support.

Other useful accessories include: a small calculator, a telephone to call dealing desk if needed and a notebook to be used as a trading log.

Recommended Hardware Requirements:

Pentium 4 2.6GHZ or better
512 MB Ram
100GB HD
2 17monitors or 2 19 (LCD)
FAST Internet Connection
Windows XP
Antivirus and Firewall Protection

Internet Connection

When you are a day trader, you will need a stable fast internet connection, avoid internet services where frequent disconnections are the norm, for longer term traders (such as o daily chart traders), you can use a dial up connection but still preferred is a fast stable connection to the internet such as ADSL.

Toby Smitz - Daily Operations
Forex Trading

Building a Webgame - Putting the Chrome on a Stock Simulator - Part 2

Last article we detailed the first list of functions we wanted the stock simulator to do...

• Buy and sell stocks in TV shows, TV channels, Studios, and stars
• Short sell and cover the same stocks (Short selling and covering is the opposite of a buy or sell, if you short a stock, you hope the price drops so you can gain money on the fall.)
• Rate or vote for popular TV shows
• offer easy to use registration that is seamless
• design the market system for extreme modularity so we can add in new features as we develop them without interrupting the market itself.

That list has now significantly expanded - this is the current list of functions and capabilities for the Stocks Online application...

• buy and sell stocks
• Short and cover stocks
• Rate or vote for a random list of 10 stocks
• easy registration process
• retain modular market system for additional modules without extensive recoding or rebuilding
• Display stocks not yet released so players can see upcoming stock listings or IPO's
• Allow players to pre-buy IPO stocks before they go live at the IPO price
• Flash-based stock ticker pulling information off of a cron-built data file that is updated every 15 minutes
• hot-links in the stock ticker so players can go to individual stocks as they stream across
• Generate a top 10 list of stocks so players can see what stocks are moving
• A function to make a stock featured
• Put a hotlink on the main page that shows a random pick of an IPO stock released that day, a featured stock that is being promoted, and the top moving stock in regards to share volume
• Different stock types so there can be easy separation between categories such as shows, people, and studios or channels
• cross-link stocks so if one stock goes up or down in price, all associated stocks also feel the adjustment to a smaller degree.
• An admin function for stock price adjustment that allows for all cross-linked stock to be effected by the price adjustment without the cron cycle
• a stock hold function with cash out ability so we can put a stock on hold and cash it out if it delists or go's onto a hiatus
• Allow a player to rate individual stocks for a reward
• Allow a player to write a review of a stock for a reward

We are currently finishing up the last two items on the list, at which time the application will be completed and we will begin branching out the stock sim to different niche market applications.

As the entire application is php based, we can put functions into php includes and as such modularise the system to create custom pages for Reality TV or for specific studios or shows as events occur, such as the Emmy awards.

Once the base system was completed, the real work began , putting in all the data for current television shows, the actors involved, producers, directors, creators, the studios and the channels that air the shows. Everything had to be put into the system, cross-referenced, and checked to ensure it all worked seamlessly.

That data entry took most of two months to do - but by the end, the market system had been seeded with all of the current run prime-time shows and their related actors and production studios. The market was brought out of Beta status on September 2nd and went live later that day.

We then began tracking neilson ratings so we could revalue the market as we realised the arbitrary values we had put into the stocks were far too low. Tracking neilsons back to early august, I began to compile a spreadsheet showing the neilson trends and the growth in viewership as new shows premiered and then either faded or survived.

In the last week of September, we put a hold onto the primary channel stocks, freezing and cashing out ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, and The CW - and then neilson adjusted each one up to it's corrected levels based on the neilson ratings that had been accumulated. The reaction to the linked stocks was dramatic. CBS which linked to every CBS aired show gained ground rapidly. By the time the next Cron cycle had run after all neilsons had been put in, CBS stood at over $100 a share in game currency. It had started at about $2.

We examined the transaction history that had been generated as well as the link history and found that CBS's initial adjustment up to +56 had caused a cascade within it's linked stocks - they had all adjusted by about $10-$15. This backflowed and upped CBS even higher, up to around $70 a share. Then the neilson adjustments for each show went in and those also backflowed through the link bringing CBS even higher.

Since then, all stock ratios have stabilised at corrected levels and the market is stable. We don't see the need for future adjustments on the level of the first major price readjust, but if so, the market software seems more than able to cope with it. PHP is a remarkably stable application framework, and with the mysql backend, the Stocks Online application looks to be very solid and stable.

Tim Morrison is the designer of TV Stocks Online, the world's first fully developed television stock market simulator totally functional with live data from Nielson figures and user interactions. Join the growing fantasy market, share your opinions on current TV and see if you can pick the winners and losers out of the current Primetime television lineups.