Taking Profits and Setting Exits

Most investors and many more market pundits continually talk about setting stops; they range from physical stops to mental stops to trailing stops to support stops to retracement stops or even moving average stops. It is easy to set a stop before you enter a position based off of your money management rules such as position sizing and expectancy. If you have a $25,000 account and want to risk 2% of the account on a $50 stock with an 8% stop; we know that the trade will allow you to buy 125 shares with a worst case scenario sell stop of $46.00 (assuming a 1-R risk of $4). This is wonderful but what should a trader do once the position gains 20%? Where should the stop be placed at that point to eliminate the chance of losing that quick 20% gain?

Several books attempt to explain how to take profits and many traders of the past have offered advice in books but most of it is fluff and subjective to opinion. I have heard people claim that they take a third of the position down after making a 20% or 30% gain while other traders take down half the position once a gain reaches 50%; but is this the correct way to manage money and positions? I thought so several years ago but have developed a more mechanical system that gives me precise exits at any time during an up-trend. It is a combination of a trailing stop and a retracement stop based upon the actual gain at any point in time. In a bull market, I will allow the system to loosen itself so I can handle a healthy pull-back without selling before a possible large move. For now, let me focus on my method for locking in profits without giving back too much.

For the sake of this article, I will continue to use the trade suggested above as the round numbers should be easy to follow.

Account Size: $25,000

Risk: 2%

Stop Loss: 8%

Share Price: $50

Shares to Purchase: 125 or $6,250

Sell Stop: $46.00

Worst case loss: $500 or 2%

If you are unsure how I came up with the numbers in this example, please go back and read my article on position sizing.

We buy the stock and it is up over 20% after the first three weeks of trading. What should I do to protect the profit I have already made?

Scenario #1: At $60, I will set a stop based on a 30% profit retracement.

To do this, you need to multiply the profit of 20% (or $10) by a 30% stop: $10*30% = $3

At this point in time, I will look to close the position and lock in gains if the stock drops more than $3 from the $20% threshold ($60 in this case). My trailing stop is now $57 which guarantees me a total gain of 14%.

Scenario #2: At $65, I will set a stop based on a 25% profit retracement. As my profit grows, my stop tightens so I dont give back too much. Again, this can loosen in bull markets and is also subject to longer term support and/or resistance lines. For the sake of this article, we will ignore all other variables.

To do this, you need to multiply the profit of 30% (or $15) by a 25% stop: $15*25% = $3.75

At this point in time, I will look to close the position and lock in gains if the stock drops more than $3.75 from the $30% threshold ($65 in this case). My trailing stop is now $61.25 which guarantees me a total gain of 23% if the trailing stop is violated.

Lets do this one more time with a 40% gain:

Scenario #3: At $70, I will set a stop based on a 20% profit retracement. As my profit grows, my stop tightens so I dont give back too much. As you can see from the three scenarios, my profit retracement has dropped by 5% as my profit has risen by 5%.

To do this, you need to multiply the profit of 40% (or $20) by a 20% stop: $20*20% = $4.00

At this point in time, I will look to close the position and lock in gains if the stock drops more than $4 from the $40% threshold ($70 in this case). My trailing stop is now $66 which guarantees me a total gain of 32% if the trailing stop is violated.

Please understand that I use these numbers since I like the separation of advances to be at least 10% from one retracement stop level to the next. Any investor or trader can substitute the numbers with something that makes more sense based on your own system and money management rules.

Outside of these selling rules, I also employ additional selling rules that use the long term 200-day moving average and long term support levels and trend lines. In a bull market, I will loosen the tight stops and look for longer term sell signals such as the moving average, a channel breakdown or even strong volatility movements that dont agree with the overall pattern (these may be obvious reversals on the daily and/or weekly charts). Other times, I have a specific price objective when placing the trade and will close the position if the objective is reached (even if the trend is still higher). A great example of this are the options I purchased in Tenaris (TS); I sold at $45 per call contact, yet they are now trading at $80 per contract. I bought above $10 per contract and had an objective to sell when the stock reached $145 which it did, so I sold my calls and moved on. Looking back, I got out much too early but didnt violate any of my rules which is more important than the additional gains. If I violated them on this trade and it worked out; what would stop me from violating them in the future and getting slammed with a heavy loss. I hope you get the point.

Chris Perruna - http://www.marketstockwatch.com

Chris is the founder and president of MarketStockWatch.com, an internet community that teaches you how to invest your money with solid rules. We offer an extended no obligation monthly trial period starting immediately with two free weeks. We don't stop at just showing you our daily and weekly screens, we teach you how to make you own screens through education. Through our philosophy, you will be able to create your own methods and styles to become successful.

Do You Want to Learn FOREX Trading?

The Foreign Exchange Market (FOREX) has no central exchange location yet it is the largest financial market in the world. It is over 3x's the size of the stock and futures markets combined and operates via an electronic network of a banks, corporations and investors.

Foreign exchange consists of a simultaneous buying of one currency and selling of another. Currency is traded in pairs, in other words, one currency is traded for another. The major currencies are:
1. USD - United States Dollar
2. EUR - Euro members Euro
3. JPY - Japan Yen
4. GBP - Great Britian pound
5. CHF - Switzerland franc
6. CAD - Canadian dollar
7. AUD - Australia dollar

There are 2 types of investors involved in the FOREX market.The first type of investor is the hedger. The hedger is involved in International trades and utilizes FOREX trading to protect their interest in a transaction from adverse currency fluctuations. The 2nd type of investor is the speculator who invests in currency solely for profit.

Currency prices fluctuate due to a variety of economic and political factors. The major factors are:
1. Interest rates
2. International trade
3. Inflation
4. Political stability

There are many reasons investors take a great interest in FX trading Some of the major reasons are:
1. No fees
2. No middlemen
3. No fixed trade sizes
4. Low transaction cost
5. High liquidity
6. Instant transactions
7. Low margin / High leverage
8. 24 hour market
9. Online access via online trading platforms
10. Always good opportunities to trade, unlike the stock market the market is never bullish or bearish.
11. No one entity can control the market
12. No insider trading can occur

To begin trading in the FOREX market, an investor only needs a computer, a high-speed internet connection and an online trading currency account. A mini account can be opened for as little as $100.

Find out why FOREX Trading is becoming a popular form of investing for all types of investors.

How To Get Tax Sale Lists for Free

Once you know when the tax sale is coming up in your area, you need to get the list of properties that are in the sale. I use naco.org to find tax sale property lists online for tax lien and tax deed sales. This only works for counties that have this information online. For counties or states that do not have this information online, you can either call the tax collector and ask how to get the tax sale list or you can buy the tax sale list from a tax sale list provider. To find out which counties have tax sale information and tax sale lists online, you can consult my State Guide.

To go to the countys web site, first go to naco.org and click on the link to find a county. This will bring you to a page with a map of the United States. Click on the state that you are interested in and youll be taken to that states web page with a list of all of the counties in the state. Find the county that you are interested in and click on that link. You will be taken to the NACO page for that county. Click on the link to the county on the top of the page and you will go to the countys web site. Note that this will only work if the county has a web site.

Once youre on the countys web site, look for a link to the department or county office that is responsible for conducting the tax sale. For most states, this will be the county treasurer or county tax collector. If youre not sure who is responsible for the tax sale in your state, then consult my State Guide. Once you get to the web site of the person or department that conducts the tax sale, look for a link to a list of tax sale properties. For larger counties, you can usually find this online. The exception to this is the counties in the Northeastern states. A lot of the Northeastern states do not have county tax sales. Instead the tax sales are conducted by the municipality, so instead of looking for the county web site, in Vermont, New Hampshire, Maine, Rode Island, Connecticut, Massachusetts, and New Jersey, look for the municipal tax collectors web site not county web site. New York has both county and municipal sales in some counties.

If you cant find the tax sale list that you want online, you can always buy a list from a tax sale list provider. Even if you can find the tax sale list online for free, you still may want to purchase the list from a tax sale list provider. Thats because the list that you get from the tax collector does not always have the information that you need. Frequently it will only have a parcel ID number, owner name, and amount due. What you want to know is what is the address of the property, what is the assessment and value of the property, what type or class property is it, and how big is the property. All of this (and sometimes even more information) is included in the detailed list that you can get from tax sale list providers. I talked about some different tax sale list providers in the last podcast episode, How to Find Out About Tax Sales. You can listen to that episode to get the names and urls of tax list providers for different areas of the country. Purchasing a detailed tax sale list from one of these companies will save you a lot of work in doing your due diligence.

Joanne Musa is a Tax Lien Investing Coach and Consultant who works with investors who want to learn how to buy profitable tax lien certificates and tax deeds. She is the president of Tax Lien Consulting LLC, a consulting firm for tax lien investors. She is the author of the e-books: Tax Lien Investing Secrets and Tax Lien Lady's State Guide to Tax Lien and Tax Deed Investing, available at http://www.taxlienconsulting.com

For more tips on investing in tax lien certificates send an e-mail to MoreTips@taxlienconsulting.com

Forex Market Overview

The foreign exchange market exists wherever one currency is traded for another. Individuals are currently a very small part of this market and may only participate indirectly through brokers. It is by far the largest market in the world, in terms of cash value traded. It includes trading between large banks, central banks, multinational corporations, governments, and other financial institutions.

The forex market is a cash inter-bank established in 1971 when floating exchange rates began to appear. The average daily trading volume of US Treasury Bonds is $300 billion and the US stock market has an average daily volume of less than $10 billion.

The foreign exchange market is unique because of:

The extreme liquidity of the market,
Its geographical dispersion,
Its trading volume,
The large number of traders in the market,
Its long trading hours - 24 hours a day

There are several types of financial instruments commonly used:-

Forward transaction: A buyer and seller agree on an exchange rate for any date in the future, and the transaction occurs on that date, regardless of what the market rates are then.

Futures: Futures are standardized and are usually traded on an exchange created for this purpose. The average contract length is roughly 3 months. Futures contracts are usually inclusive of any interest amounts.

Swap: In a swap, two parties exchange currencies for a certain length of time and agree to reverse the transaction at a later date.

Spot: A spot transaction is a two-day delivery transaction, as opposed to the Futures contracts, which are usually three months.

One difference between Futures and Spot is how interest is credited. Each currency in a Forex transaction has an inherent interest rate attached to it. This interest is added every single day whether the market is trading or not. Interest cannot take a vacation; money and its loaning value are still important even if the financial world has stopped dealing. In Futures, the interest is built into the price of the contract. In Spot, however, interest is not taken into account in the offering price because the Spot market is a cash market, not a contract market.

The main trading centers are in London, New York, and Tokyo, but banks throughout the world participate. As the Asian trading session ends, the European session begins, then the US session, and then the Asian begin in their turns.

Unlike a stock market, where all participants have access to the same prices, the Forex market is divided into levels of access. At the top is the inter-bank market, which is made up of the largest investment banking firms. The top-tier inter-bank market accounts for 53% of all transactions.

Forex Blog provides detailed information on forex brokers, forex trading and market makers, and other forex-related topics. iMakeDollars.com is the main site which has useful tips to make big money online.

What is FOREX Foreign Exchange Trading

Foreign Exchange Market, or Forex as it is commonly called, is an international exchange market to buy and sell different currencies from around the world. An investor has the ability to buy and sell these currencies in order to create gains from small movements in the value of one currency over another. The Foreign Exchange Market or Forex is open from Monday at 0:00 GMT until Friday at 10:00 GMT. For this reason Forex traders are not limited to the general time constraints of the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ.

This versatility attracts many investors to become Forex traders. The liquidity of the Foreign Exchange Market is also very attractive for the Forex investor as trades range from 1 to 1.5 trillion dollars on a daily basis. These massive amounts of trades make it extremely difficult for any one trader to affect the market.

Foreign Exchange Trading is simply the purchase and sales of currency based on the strength of the currency and the fluctuation in the value of that currency. For example, if one were to invest $1,000 against the British pound at 1.49989 with a 1% margin and anticipate the exchange rate to climb. If that occurs and you close the exchange rate at 1.5050 you would earn roughly $400. Forex is giving you a 40% return on your investment.

Forex offers the possibility of huge profits in relatively short periods of time. The stock exchange is very different in that positions are generally maintained over a longer period of time. Although there are day traders, Forex traders have much shorter hold times on positions. Similar to the stock market marginal accounts can be obtained in the Foreign Exchange Market as well.

Forex marginal accounts are very engaging as they allow Forex traders to take large positions without having to make a large deposit. In many circumstances one can fund a marginal account with .05% the necessary funds. In other words, $500 would allow a $100,000 position. In order to trade Forex effectively and profitably, one must have some type of method to follow. There are two methods used in determining what Foreign Exchange trades one should make. There are two methods, fundamental Forex analysis, and technical Forex analysis.

Technical Forex Analysis is the most commonly used practice and uses the assumption that the changes that occur in the Foreign Exchange Market happened for a reason and are accurate. The belief is that if a currency has been trading towards a high then that currency will mostly continue towards that high with the adverse being true as well. The technical Forex view does not try to make long term predictions about the market but instead simply tries to take advantage of what has already been seen in the past.

The fundamental Forex method takes into account all aspects of the country in which the currency is traded. Things such as the economy, the countries prime interest rates, war, poverty level, and other factors are taken into account. If there is a sharp rise in the prime interest rate a Forex trader may take a position based on that information.

Online Forex trading on the Foreign Exchange Market has the potential of being extremely lucrative. One can learn to trade by creating an online Forex Account and begin by using a learning account without real funds. This will help you to understand the Forex trading process and how currencies are affected by different things that are happening on a global scale.

Copyright 2006 Jason P Bertrand

Jason Bertrand is the President of JPB Financial Services, Inc., a Connecticut Corporation and member of the Better Business Bureau. He has over a decade of experience in the financial services industry and is a Notary Public in the State of Connecticut. Please visit the following sites: http://www.emortgageloanstore.com Free Home Purchase Guide Feel free to contact Mr. Bertrand with any questions or concerns through jbertrand@emortgageloanstore.com, or mail to: JPB Financial Services, Inc Attn: Jason P Bertrand PO Box 552 Vernon, CT 06066 860-982-5334.

Handling Tricky Stock Investment Transactions in Quicken

If youre an investor using Quicken, you should find your investment record-keeping pretty straight-forward. There are, however, several tricky investment transactions you may need to record, particularly if youre an aggressive investor (one whos willing to bear increased risk in the pursuit of greater returns). These transactions involve short sales, margin loans and interest, call and put activities, employee stock options, and corporate reorganizations. The following paragraphs briefly describe how you record these other types of transactions.

Short Sales

A short sale occurs when you sell stock you dont actually hold. The logic of a short sale is that rather than buying low and later selling high, you first buy high and then sell low. (To make the transaction, you actually borrow the stock from your broker.)

To record a short sale transaction in Quicken, you just sell a stock you dont own. Select the Enter Transaction command button, choose the Short Sale option, and fill in the appropriate categories in the Short Sale dialog box.

To show that these are shares you actually owe your broker, Quicken displays the number of shares and the current market value as negative amounts in the Portfolio View window. To record the transaction in which you close out your short position by buying the stock youve previously sold, you record a stock purchase in the usual way.

Margin Loans and Margin Interest

If you purchase a security and the total purchase cost exceeds the cash balance in a brokerage account, Quicken assumes that youve borrowed the needed cash on margin from your broker. To show the margin loan, it displays the cash balance as a negative value. To record margin loan interest in cases where you have a linked cash account, you record the margin loan interest as an expense when you record the withdrawal from the linked cash account that pays the margin interest.

To record margin loan interest in cases where you dont have a linked cash account, choose the Enter Transaction command button and choose the Margin Interest Expense option. When Quicken displays the Margin Interest Expense dialog box, use it to describe the margin interest.

Calls and Puts

A call is an option to buy a share of stock. A put is an option to sell a share of stock. You may write, buy, or exercise calls and puts.

Writing Calls and Puts

When you write a call or put, what you really do is collect money from someone in return for promising the person the option, or chance, to buy or sell a share of stock at a specified, or strike, price by some future date.

When a call or put expires without being exercisedand this is the usual caserecording the transaction is simple. If youre the one writing the call or put, just record the transaction as miscellaneous income.

Buying Calls and Puts

If youre the one buying the call or put, you just record the option purchase the way you do any other stock purchase. If the call or put expires and becomes worthless, just record the sale as a stock purchase with the amount set to zero. (This is the most common case.) If, on the other hand, you sell the call or put before the expiration date because the call or put can be profitably exercised, you record the sale as a stock sale with the amount set to whatever you sell the option for.

Exercising Calls and Puts

You probably wont actually exercise a call or put. Youll probably sell it, as described above. If you do exercise a call or buy option, however, you need to record two transactions. To record the exercise of a call option, first record a transaction that sells the call option for zero. Then record a transaction that purchases the optioned number of shares at the option price. To record the exercise of a put option, first record a transaction that sells the put option for zero. Then record a transaction that sells the optioned number of shares at the option price.

TIP

For income tax purposes, what you pay for a call needs to be counted as part of the purchase price if you exercise the call option and purchase shares. What you receive for a put needs to be counted as part of the sales price if you exercise the put and sell shares. This can get complicated, so you may want to consult your tax advisor.

Employee Stock Options

You can track the value of employee stock options in the same way that you track shares of stock. (The purchase price in this case is zero if you dont pay anything for the option.) The value of the option, of course, is the difference between the exercise price and the fair market value of the vested shares. The income tax accounting for stock options can get a little tricky, depending on whether the options are part of a qualified incentive stock-option plan or a nonqualified stock-option plan. You may have a taxable gain when you are granted or when you exercise the option, or you may have a taxable gain only later when you sell the shares. If you have questions about the income tax treatment, consult your tax advisor. Youll need to show him or her the stock option plan document, so be sure to bring that with you.

About the author: CPA Stephen L. Nelson wrote bestselling books on Quicken and QuickBooks. Which have together sold more than one million copies, and the popular downloadable do-it-yourself guides Information about the Corporation, and Costs & Benefits of Incorporation , Incorporating a Business in Pennsylvania, Incorporating a Business in Illinois .

The True Value of the Small Business Consulting Community

The Small Business IT consulting community is a dynamic and exciting community to be active in at this time. Many different opportunities are gaining some serious momentum in this underserved marketplace in Canada. The Small Business marketplace will be the fastest-growing segment in the information technology market. Currently, approximately 97% of the businesses in Canada have five hundred employees or less, which equates to a fantastic market to specialize in.

Microsoft launched their Small Business Specialist program in the summer of 2005 at their annual partner conference. Since that time, a number of information technology consulting firms have taken advantage of this program to commence their consulting practice. The Small Business Specialist program is designed to promote Microsofts offerings to small business. It establishes SBSC members as leaders in the small business IT consulting marketplace that has been thrust into the spotlight for growth potential.

The Small Business Specialist program serves as a best resource for IT professionals to access information, promotions, partnership opportunities and assistance to service a small business oriented client base. Groups have emerged on international, national and regional levels that assist the small business specialist in obtaining not only technical but also important business assistance. In addition, each year SMB Nation brings together the small business consulting community to network, learn, share and play.

The small business consulting community has grown out of the leadership of corporations like Microsoft, SonicWALL, and Symantec. It has also grown because of people like Harry Brelsford of SMB Nation and several other leaders in the community. Their leadership has provided Small Business Specialists with additional resources to sharpen their craft long before the official launch of programs from corporations like Microsoft.

The SMB community is open to sharing experiences, ideas, concepts and best practices so that emerging IT companies can seek knowledge to develop and grow. I like focusing on a market segment where I can really get to know my clients and have a direct, tangible impact on their businesses, claims Jeff Anderson, General Manager of Red Deers Bulletproof Networks, the citys leading Small Business Specialist. Business development, however, is often overlooked by those text book technicians who have decided to start their own businesses. Learning from others in the SBSC community allows the small business consultants like Jeff to learn two or three markets and become the expert specialist in that field in order to have the potential to gain new business clients.

New service offerings are demanding small business consultants start planning now on how to bring them to their client base. Clients today are in search of options that are evolving and they must be presented in a manner and language that they understand. Managed services, remote monitoring, software and hardware as services are starting to gain some traction in the market and as a new offering they need to be available from their SMB consultant. Small businesses want a company that they can trust. When you and your peers are representative of 97% of the Canadian marketplace, it makes sense to be working with the very businesses that share the same concerns and deal with the same issues you do. Who better to give them the right tools to succeed? states Elisabeth Vandervelt of Conamex International, an award winning Microsoft Small Business Specialist in Montreal.

Todays small businesses need innovative solutions to keep them competitive in the fast paced, on-demand, we-needed-it-yesterday and downtime-is-not-an-option environment we call todays business world. SBSC members have the luxury and the ability to have direct interaction with decision makers therefore sales cycles are generally shorter while the demand for services has never been higher.

Another luxury in the small business community is the ability to share work with each other across regional, national and international boundaries. Many firms are partnering locally to provide a one stop shop for their clients who need a specialized service or coverage in other locations where their clients may have a remote user or branch office. Partnering in the SBSC community is critical to the success of the small business consultants business since it gives small firms the reach and abilities of a much larger IT company and can be the their advantage over their competition in todays marketplace.

The Small Business Specialist can rest assured that they have the pride and recognition of a job well done combined with a community to back them up. All of these positive aspects provide an overwhelming sense of accomplishment for participants in the SBSC program.

I reflect back to when my youngest son was in Beavers and their leaders consistently reminded them of the Beaver motto, the same motto that is the cornerstone of the SBSC community and all other small business consulting groups: Sharing, Sharing, Sharing! Share your successes with others; help others who are struggling; and share of yourself to make our community strong.

Stuart Crawford is the Director of Business Development for Calgarys IT Matters Inc. IT Matters is a leading Microsoft Small Business Specialist and Gold Certified Partner. IT Matters is also a gold partner with SonicWALL and an active member in the TechData TechSelect program.

Avoiding Forex Trading System Headaches

If you are a trader and you have tried to find a forex trading system that might work for you and have curiously looked up the words forex trading system in Google, havent you been surprised and annoyed at the amount of rubbish and useless material on this subject out there?

Your first job is to ignore the typically glowing testimonials telling you how great a certain forex trading system is...

Guess what? They all say great things!

Anyone who is serious about trading needs to have a forex trading system that is tailored to them, but there is no reason to start constructing your forex trading system from scratch. Look for your most important criteria as it relates to your trading style for the trading system you are planning to buy, and if it fulfills them; then you are quite certainly making a good decision by planning to use it going forward in your trading career.

Any good online forex trading system will gives traders discipline, as good systems will run the big profitable trades and cut losers quickly to give great profit potential over the longer term. If you are just starting, you should look at longer term forex trading systems that milk the big trends for profit, and cuts losses quickly. Whatever you decide on for your forex currency trading system, however, you almost certainly can't go wrong by subscribing to some of the forex newsletters. Even if you've gone through quality forex training, smart traders subscribe to newsletters written by professional currency traders that offer both fundamental and technical analysis on the markets. In other words, more knowledge and information is a good thing.

Once you know what sort of forex trading system will work best for you, look at the components that make it work. Both the desktop based and web based forex trading software have their own advantages, so use the version that you are most comfortable with. Don't forget to take advantage of some of the generous free offers by various online forex brokerages that allow you to trade in real time with paper money so you can get the hang of how things work. Couple that with the guarantees that most of the marketers provide for you to try out their systems for 30, 60 or 90 days.

You also want to choose a forex trading system company that will put your money first, and that will listen to what you want to do, and how you want to do it. After all, it is your career they are looking after.

Forex is a great money making opportunity for those who know their way around, most newbies fall hard after flying high for a while. That's because forex trading is not straightforward. You see, it is simple to enter a trade and let it run, but making yourself a profitable trader takes more than just willingness; it takes knowledge and experience.

And finally, we dont have space here to go through the actual systems being currently marketed, but with a bit of research and testing you will see why a forex trading system built on the above principles, will work, and will continue to work.

Sydney Johnson gives you more free information at Forex Trading Introduction. Search other helpful articles at- Forex Trading List of Articles. Click here http://www.forexminitrading.com

The Commodity Swing Method, PART 2 - Lock In Profits, Reduce Risk And Trade The Swings

Getting into a market is simple. Getting out with a maximum profit is difficult and is an art. How do we know when to take a profit and when to take a loss? Will I miss the big move if I get out now? Here's some methods that can take the mystery out of what to do at these critical times.

So what would be the ideal market scenario to profit using the Thomas Swing Method? Let's take an example. We are long two calls and the futures market rallies. We sell one future contract and the futures market declines. We cover the future contract at the lows and the market rallies to new highs. We sell another futures contract and the market declines, and so on. Essentially, we have taken all the option rally profits and strung them together into one line (like a string) by absorbing their declines, using the futures contract as a hedge.

Let's look at a less favorable situation. Once hedged with the short futures contract, if the futures market declines sharply into a new bear market, we still might do well if the options lose their value but the futures contract keeps profiting. Conversely, if the market explodes to the upside, the deltas of the options get closer to 1.0, so that at some point the two options will more than cancel out one futures contract and will show a reasonable profit. These are interesting possibilities considering how limited the profit chances are just holding eroding call options alone.

What is the most undesirable outcome? If the futures market goes sideways after the hedge, then the options will erode (as normal) and the futures contract will stay near break-even. Do not continue to hold the hedge if the options erode to a delta below 0.5 or have less than 30 days to expiration. This is approaching a naked futures contract since the commodity options have a smaller offset. Another overall negative is you will need to maintain margin for the futures contract no matter what commodity options you hold.

This strategy can be reversed for a long commodity put option position. (looking for a decline) You would buy a futures contract against two put options after a profitable decline.

The Thomas Swing Method is a technique any long-term commodity option holder should consider. Holding on for the big swing can be easier when we lock in short-term profits along the way. It takes a good feel of short term timing to execute this method properly. Spend time practicing this strategy on paper until it's clear. It's another tool to have ready in your trading arsenal when buying and holding commodity options for the big swing.

Good Trading!

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

Thomas Cathey - 27-year trading veteran heads the managed futures division of Thomas Capital Management, LLC. View his TimeLine Trading market predictions and get his complete 44+ lesson, "Thomas Commodity Trading Course" - they're all free.

http://www.thomascapitalmanagement.com/commodity/welcome.htm

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

Artificial Intelligence - Where Are We Today?

Indeed, we hear a lot about Artificial Intelligence these days, but few people really understand what artificial intelligence really is. Even more confusing to newcomers and novices is that many folks that are in the artificial intelligence field debate its definition. Still compounding the issue is when commercial ventures begin touting their technologies as artificially intelligent driven, when actually they are not.

There are a couple of different categories that those in the field of artificial intelligence fall into. One is those who believe that artificial intelligence is computer software which mimics human decision making or appears to mimic human decision making. Then there is the group that calls themselves purists who believe that neural network processing is true artificial intelligence. Of course we will be discussing both types. We will also touch upon all the different applications, technologies which are or appear to be similar enough, that their creators or marketers have labeled as artificial intelligence.

Today we most commonly find that such applications as search engines on the Internet, autonomous operation and interactive eLearning systems, as well as recognition software for speech, facial features, finger prints, spell checkers, voice, anti-spam programs or algorithms which scan databases to find anomalies. Of course the more intense the application for instance self-driving cars, self-piloted planes, corporate telephone systems, weather prediction, stock trading, military net-centric warfare, automated warehousing or computer space systems the more important artificial intelligence becomes.

It should be relatively easy to see that artificial intelligence has changed our lives as much as computers themselves and in the future even more still with artificially intelligent robotic androids in our homes and decision making computers at work. In the future we will have artificial intelligence running our government, transportation systems, money flows, environment, distribution systems, virtual reality entertainment systems and just about everything you could possibly dream up. Perhaps after reading this book you may in fact think of more applications in your industry?

Is the sky the limit to artificial intelligence? Indeed, it does appear to be and yet perhaps not, as we are already using AI underwater and underground, therefore the sky is not the limit and neither is the ground or anything else in this dimension. Artificial intelligence is not even limited to time, space, energy or matter in a single dimension. In the future humans may have add-on features where man and machine is merged using Artificially Intelligent components. So when we examine where we are today with Artificial Intelligent Systems the answer most appropriate would be; We are at the Tip of the Ice Berg.

The more pressing question is how shall we proceed? Does mankind have the discipline and integrity to continue the forward progression of this technology without sacrificing or risking all we are and all we have built; perhaps that indeed is the greatest question of all?

L. Winslow is a Technology and Economic Advisor to the Online Think Tank, a Futurist and retired entreprenuer. Currently he is planning a bicycle ride across the US to raise money for charity and is sponsored by http://www.Calling-Plans.com and all the proceeds will go to various charities who sign up.

Learn FOREX - No Experience Necessary

When we think about the FOREX, we often hear about how hard it is but would you like to know how to learn FOREX with no experience necessary? Don't get me wrong, FOREX is difficult and risky but you can learn it even if you have no prior trading experience. You don't have to be a genius or a finance specialist to learn with this system either.

What you need is an investment strategy for FOREX that really works- not a gimmick, or a scam designed to take your money and leave you with little in return. There are so many different programs and systems on the market promising you get-rich-quick schemes and multi-million dollar plots for success that never follow through with their promises and that are really just marketing schemes designed to help some other guy get rich off of your misfortune.

Using the same techniques and most of the other traders will not make you successful. You must have more. You need that extra something to push you over the top and better than the majority. You need something that makes you stand out from the rest and succeed in ways that they do not. You also need to learn the proper techniques to help you control your own portfolio instead of letting the market control you.

Many people think that it takes years of experience to learn the secrets and techniques of the top traders in the market. While this may have been true in the past, it is not necessarily true anymore. What if there was someone willing to tell you all their secrets? If someone with years of experience in the market took the time to show you and teach you all that they knew, then you would start out jumping from a total beginner to someone very experienced and all in a very short time.

What if there was also someone capable of taking that information they have acquired and creating a system that makes it easy to trade in the foreign exchange even with no past experience? You can then begin to control your trades and create a winning portfolio and find your own financial freedom. Isn't it time that you enjoy life without having to work so hard?

When I first started researching the Forex I learned that it would take months to learn and studying charts and graphs and a lot of money to get started. Something that a full time job would not allow me to do.

Then a good friend of mine introduced me to a forex investment strategy. He told me how easy it was to learn and how it required no formal training and that I could be up and running in less than 3 hours. He also told me that he was earning monthly what banks and mutual funds were earning yearly.

You can only imagine my skepticism. So I started doing some research on the company and the proprietary software they were using. I took a leap of faith and opened up a demo account, and to my surprise everything that they claimed was true. I can honestly say that I'm earning more a month than my mutual funds and my bank are earning a year. This company does truly care about people and that is rare in this industry. I opened up my Live account on April 10, 2007 and I'm doing very well.

Check it out for yourself.
http://www.forex-for-everyone.com

Hot Share Tips

It's official! Australia is the largest nation of shareholders with direct share ownership more than doubling since 1997 to 40.6 per cent. That figure rises to 54 per cent of all adult Australians when managed funds are taken into account.

We're also trading more shares. The Australian Stock Exchange reports the average number of trades has nearly trebled in the past year to 79,000 a day.

Large new floats such as Telstra has fueled the growth of private share ownership. For example, almost one million of the two million people who invested in our largest telecommunications company were first time investors. They haven't been disappointed with their return on capital and many have branched out into other well-known stock such as Coles-Myer, Qantas, AMP, Commonwealth Bank and others.

Smaller and less-well known companies are also floating on the stock exchange in record numbers. In the last half of 1999 more than 104 new companies went public.

Share ownership in Australia cuts across all age groups, socio-economic, ethnic and geographical boundaries. The motivation for most investors is to make money and create wealth.

Newer investors have been in a rising or "bull" market and seen their so-called "paper profits" soar. Internet and technology based companies have also been floated in record numbers with astonishing results. Many "Mum and Dad" investors are instant experts and looking for that next "dot com" company on which to make their fortune.

But what are the keys to successful share investing? Ron Bennetts is Principle Manager WA for stockbrokers J.B. Were and author of "The Australian Stock Market: A Guide for Players, Planners and Procrastinators".

His advice is simple, "invest some time as well as money, look for quality management in quality companies with earnings growth."

Bennetts defines these companies as ones that are strong and likely to increase their earnings per share. He believes the technology area is a growth sector and the bubble may burst but there will be growth.

"Look at the companies that have the qualities rather than a marketing plan that has little chance of bearing fruit," he says.

One of the keys too successful investing is diversification and Bennetts says you don't need more than 12 stocks to diversify your portfolio. He also believes 15 per should be overseas shares and this is often 25 per cent for more aggressive investors.

On seeking independent advice versus investing yourself, Bennetts says "the cost of buying and selling is often viewed as a false economy" and suggests first time investors seek professional advice.

Ten Tips for First Time Share Investors

1.Set your objectives and work out a budget for how much you want to invest.

2.Avoid speculating. Do some homework about the risks of investing in the stock market and spend time gaining knowledge on how the stock market works.

3.Take a long-term view of your investment.

4.Avoid reacting to short-term pressure and expect some volatility in the market.

5.Identify quality shares in a growth sector. Look for good quality management in industries likely to grow in the future.

6.Diversify your portfolio to spread your risk. This should ideally include about 10 stocks. Less than 10 are not enough diversification and more than 15 is too hard to handle.

7.Compliment your Australian share portfolio with international shares. Exposure overseas can typically be through managed funds.

8.Buy into a managed fund if you only have small amounts of money to invest. A managed fund is an investment where you have a manager that gives you diversification in pooled funds with other investors. To buy direct most advisors believe you need a minimum of $50,000 to do anything meaningful.

9.Monitor your portfolio as closely as possible on the performance of the companies you are investing in.

10.Seek professional advice from a qualified stockbroker or financial planner.

Thomas Murrell MBA CSP is an international business speaker, consultant and award-winning broadcaster. Media Motivators is his regular electronic magazine read by 7,000 professionals in 15 different countries.

You can subscribe by visiting http://www.8mmedia.com. Thomas can be contacted directly at +6189388 6888 and is available to speak to your conference, seminar or event. Visit Tom's blog at http://www.8mmedia.blogspot.com.

Investing Made Simple

Why is investing so important? Investing is the vehicle that drives your goals to reality, especially for your retirement. If you just put your money in a regular savings account, chances are it isnt going to grow to the amount you need to retire successfully. While there is a great deal of risk associated with investing, if you understand your risk and manage your investments regularly, investing can be the difference between retiring and not retiring. However, many of us are terrified of investing, therefore, we are either not investing at all or not investing properly. Follow these guidelines to make investing as simple as possible.

For amateur investors, mutual funds are the way to go. They offer diversification, professional money management and ease into the actual mutual funds with low minimums. The chief complaint against mutual fund is their fees. This can be managed by sticking to no-load mutual funds and keeping your expense ratios low (below 1.50%). Individual stocks need ongoing monitoring, which most of us dont have the time to do. Also, most stock portfolios are not properly diversified. If you do buy stocks, stick to companies that you know well and plan to hold on to for a long time. Make sure they are part of a diversified portfolio.

It is very important to pick your time frame (when you want the money) and your risk level. Make sure both of these are aligned with your goals. For example, if you want the money in less than five years to save for a down payment on a house or a vacation, you should keep it in very safe investments, like a money market account. Whereas if you want the money in twenty years or longer (i.e. retirement), you are able to take on a bit more risk. Your risk level is determined if you are conservative, moderate or aggressive. Think about recent decisions you made in your personal life and apply this to your investments.

Regardless of your risk level, you need to be diversified. This means spreading your money over different types of investments, therefore, spreading your risk around. How you spread your money among different investments is called your asset allocation plan. To keep your investments as simple as possible, limit your portfolio to no more than five mutual funds. You can also choose one Lifecycle or Target Retirement Date mutual funds. This is one mutual fund that provides a diversified portfolio based on when you want your money. Most mutual companies offer them.

Even if you have a financial advisor, you should know what is going on and understand what you own. The more you know about your investments, the better your relationship with your financial advisor will be. On an ongoing basis, take charge of your investments and learn more about them. You can do this by taking a course, opening your statements, reading a book, reading the business section of the newspaper or investing articles on websites. Magazines like Money, Smart Money, Kiplinger are geared towards people that are not in the financial industry and are fun to read. Start with the cover article; dont try and read the whole thing, just spend 10 minutes a week. It will be much more manageable and you will enjoy it!

Written by Galia Gichon
DOWN-TO-EARTH FINANCE

(Copyright Down-to-Earth Finance LLC 2006)

Galia Gichon, Founder of Down-to-Earth Finance, demystifies personal finance particularly to women through unbiased financial education. With over 14 years experience in financial services and an MBA in Finance, she does not manage money or sell investment products. You can subscribe to her weekly e-mail newsletter at DownToEarthFinance-On@zines.webvalence.com for smart tips to save more money and independent advice about mutual funds and retirement. She can be reached at 212.734.0433 and http://www.downtoearthfinance.com

How To Conduct Successful Fundamental Analysis

When an investor is scouting for potential bargain's in the markets, fundamental analysis will always take a top-down approach. Fundamental analysis will generally look at a number of different area's and these will be the national economy, at industry level, and at company level. Generally the term simply refers to the analysis of the economic well-being of a specific entity as opposed to only price movements.

By no means take this article as a be all and end all explanation of the process as it is a very broad discipline, but use it as a guideline on how to conduct the basics. Below I will briefly set out the basis for fundamental analysis for the three area's mentioned above earlier.

National Economy
Fundamental analysis in this instance is likely to focus on economic data principally produced by governments to assess the present and future growth of the economy. There are a wide variety of factors relating to fundamental's within the economy. Obvious economic indicators would include inflation, exchange rates, interest rates, debt and saving levels and consumer confidence. If you are already an investor you will know that publication's from the Fed or the Treasury with reference to any of these can have a profound affect on the stock market as a whole.

At the Industry Level
Fundamentals within this area are likely to focus on an examination of supply and demand forces for the products or services offered. Although this may seem vague in essence what the investor will be doing is trying to ascertain if it is viable to enter (invest his money) within a certain sector or industry. For example here in Britain the coal mining as well as ship building industries are both in major decline but there are still companies out there. Now if an investor was not made aware of this or did not conduct the appropriate research with reference to these sector's then they would have a higher risk of losing money.

At the Company Level
When a potential investor is conducting fundamental analysis this is the area that they will want to dedicate most of their time too. That is the individual company (the stock) they are looking to invest in. What an investor will be trying to do is determine if a stocks price is over or undervalued by focusing on underlying factors that affect a companies actual business and its future prospects. There are a variety of factors that a potential investor will be investigating. Examples of these will include business concept, management, competition and financial data. The majority of this information is readily available in the public domain through a variety of sources helping the investor to make a more informed decision.

So in this article we have gone over briefly the top down approach that an investor savvy in the process of fundamental analysis would use to pick a stock that the data would lead him too.

Oliver Gillies is a Trainee Sales Trader who has been working for a firm of stockbrokers in the City Of London for the last year. He also trades his own successful portfolio (11.5% in the last two months June-August). You can learn more by visiting his blog successful investors
http://successful-investors.blogspot.com

What Every New Trader Should Know About Trading Stocks

Do you sometimes feel that trading stocks isn't going the way you think it should?

Just when you think you're getting the hang of it, the market comes along and bodyslams you back to reality. It's enough to make you think the market's primary function is to make a fool of traders.

We've all been there. We make a buck here and give back a few bucks there. Then, all of a sudden, we give back several. The market did it again...it had its way with us. It's just not fair.

Or is it?

It's always easy to rationalize our losses. The market did something unusual...the specialist ripped us off...only the big boys make money...

But consider this...all traders take losses...it's part of trading. However, good traders make money. Sure they have losses but they don't go back to square one wondering what happened. They expect to take losses.

And, if they make money, it's because they know what they're doing. But they know something many of us never think about. They understand something so basic it often escapes attention.

No, it's not a new trading system...or indicator...or chart pattern. And it's not anything your computer can crank out. And it's not anything your broker will tell you. But it is a basic truth that has always been with us.

Let me tell you what I'm talking about...

I believe John Carter, author of MASTERING THE TRADE, said it best, "The financial markets are naturally set up to take advantage of and prey upon human nature. As a result, markets initiate major intraday and swing moves with as few traders participating as possible. A trader who does not understand how this works is destined to lose money."

Think about this for a minute...

It may go a long way to explaining why many traders don't make money. And to understand it is to realize we are often our own worst enemy where trading stocks is concerned.

Imagine...your own human nature is holding you back. Many of the things that make you what you are....your emotions...your behavioral patterns...your biases...are the very things that conspire to deplete your bank account.

They are what the market preys on to take advantage of our very nature. What's more natural than fear and greed. And what's more detrimental to trading than decisions based on these two emotions...you're own silent saboteurs.

It's easy to deceive yourself when buying a stock. It's even easier to deceive yourself when you own the stock. Human nature goes into action to override decisions that are in your best interest.

Astute traders have said for a long time that the market works diligently at creating the most pain for the most people. It means the same thing. This is not a new concept. Winning traders have understood it forever.

So, if you're interested in trading stocks, why not step back and take a good hard look at at this statement. In itself, understanding Carter's statement is not the end all to trading success. But it is a good beginning because it involves a basic concept.

When you understand this statement, trading suddenly makes more sense. It's not the haphazard affair that some people create. You don't just throw money at the market and hope good things happen.

You begin to understand that trading stocks with a plan is the way to overcome emotions and habits that work against you.

It becomes easier to see why most traders often do the wrong thing... they're fearful when they should be aggressive...and they're aggressive when they should be fearful. It's called trading on your emotions. It's also called following the crowd. And it's why the train leaves without you.

But it doesn't have to...

Good things happen when you begin to understand how the market preys on human nature.

Thomas McNatt trades full time. His website, trading-stocks-profits.com, is a valuable source of information and resources for new and struggling traders.

Can You Make Money In Penny Stocks?

Yes, you can! But the amount of money you make in penny stocks is directly proportional both to the amount of homework you do and the amount of discipline you have. Penney stocks are one of the most volatile investments into which you will ever put a dime, capable of breathtakingly fast gains and even faster collapses. So if you intend to trade penny stocks, you must be willing to monitor your investments constantly during market hours, and sell when you are in profit. You should also use stop-loss orders if your broker allows it.

Reasons For Investing In Penny Stocks
Keeping all the caveats in mind, there are still good reasons for including penny stocks in your portfolio. As their name suggests, they dont cost a lot, so you can build a significant positions in a company for a relatively small amount of money. While you may never own a thousand shares of a blue chip stock, you can own tens of thousands of shares of a penny stock.

Because you can own such large amounts of a penny stocks, you dont need to see a large gain in price to make a respectable profit. Each time the price of the penny stocks of which you own ten thousand shares goes up a single penny, your position will increase $100 in value. But if you get greedy, you can lose your profits by waiting too long to sell.

What To Learn About Penny Stock Companies
Penny stocks are not merely gambles if you spend the time to research them. You just need to educate yourself in certain aspects of the companies in which you want to invest; pay particular attention to the industry in which the company operates; the expertise and reputations of the companys management and the market acceptance of the companys product or services; past trading patterns of the companys stock; and how the sector which the company is in is influenced by economic and political factors.

You can find brokers to trade you penny stocks, but you will pay a commission much larger than that charged for stocks traded on the larger exchanges. Your broker will fill your buy and sell orders, so you wont have to monitor you penny stocks so closely, but his commissions will eat into you profits or add to your losses.

Penny stocks make up an over whelming percentage of all the stocks traded in the US each day. Over three-fifths of all NASDAQ and over three-quarters of all NYSE trades are of penny stocks, and this enormous liquidity means that you will almost never have difficulty getting your penny stocks orders filled.

Penny stocks are a worthwhile investment for those who the effort to understand them, and have the discipline to stand apart from the crowd.

You can also find more info on Hot Penny Stocks and Investing In Penny Stocks. Pick-pennystocks.com is a comprehensive resource to get information about Penny Stocks.

Make the Right Choice

The rapid growth of retirement-planning options such as 401(k)s, IRAs, and variable annuities has provided an ever-increasing variety of investment choices within each plan to save for retirement years. Yet, a number of reports show that an alarming number of todays investors are oblivious to the importance of asset allocation in their retirement portfolios performance. This is despite the fact that financial advisors and the financial press have emphasized the asset allocation decision as critical to investment selection.

Market studies published in the Financial Analysts Journal in 1986 and updated recently show that how dollars are allocated among stocks, bonds and cash equivalents is the single most important decision an investor can make. In fact, according to the studies, security selection and market timing are far less important to a portfolios performance compared to the overall asset allocation.

Although these results have been widely publicized by the financial press and investment firms, a lot of retirement plan participants arent taking the message to heart. Company stocks and guaranteed investment contracts (GICs) still compose a bulk of the assets in the countrys defined contribution plans.

Company stock and GICs roughly constitute almost two-thirds of all retirement plan assets. Equities, the next most popular investment choice, composed less than a fifth of the portfolios. Bonds and cash equivalents represent the remainder of the assets. At first glance, one might suspect that plans are limiting the investment choices available to participants. However, this is not necessarily the case. Factors such as employee loyalty and familiarity account for the popularity of company stock.

On the other hand, GICs offer a fixed rate of return with a minimum of risk, thus making them attractive to investors who are understandably cautious about their retirement savings. However, placing too much money in GICs could limit an investors ability to achieve higher returns available from other investments and necessary to achieve retirement goals.

Employees also tend to stay put and never transfer their balances to other investment choices within their plan, even when new investment options may be added. Retirement planning is a process that needs to be periodically reviewed. This means updating asset allocations and taking advantage of new investment opportunities.

Given the variety of investment choices available, there is almost no legitimate reason to have a portfolio that is not properly diversified. Buying company stock develops an ownership interest in your company that can make work financially and personally rewarding. GICs can help you balance your portfolio with a fixed-income component. However, to really minimize risk and enhance your ability to achieve superior returns, a diversified portfolio is recommended.

Take the time to periodically review your asset allocation decision, preferably with the help of your financial advisor. If necessary, adjust your portfolio as your long-term plans change; most plans allow you to transfer your assets to different investment classes at least once a quarter. Remember, asset allocation is the most significant tool you have of making a real difference in your portfolios performance.

Fearing the American worker is being left in the dark, Mr. Morris, a fee based Investment Advisor Representative with Raymond James Financial Services, Inc., helps 401k participants get the most out of their retirement plan.

Picking Stocks

Before getting into the stock market, there are decisions you need to make. First, what are your goals? Do you require to build a retirement nest egg, build a portfolio for your grandchildren's security, or do you require to make a effective measure of money fairly quickly? You need to decide if your goals are long or short term. This is important because there are another types of stocks that work better for another goals.

Second, how are you going to trade? You must decide if you are going to execute it yourself or go through a broker. You can purchase shares of stock, bonds or mutual funds direct from a broker, or you can open an account with an online brokerage. You may be required to make a minimum initial deposit. When you open an account, you will require to be aware of things like set-up fees and broker commissions.

Third, you must figure out what your budget is. You need to decide how much you require to initially invest and how much and how often you require to continue investing.

Now you are ready to play the stock market. There is something exciting about picking stocks and seeing how they perform in the future. It's even better when you pick a winner and make a tidy sum of money from your stocks.

You can purchase stocks online through many websites. Online trading is the new phenomenon which is currently sweeping the investment field worldwide. If you accept a limited budget, there are companies that allow you to purchase stocks with no minimums. Other websites accept minimums. The pros to buying stocks this way is you pull the strings and there are no commissions to pay to brokers.

As for picking stocks, there are too many to choose from to count. A mutual rule in buying stocks is diversification. Pick stocks from another companies in another fields.

Picking stocks can be complicated. You can perform lots and lots of research on companies and trends and pick a stock based on your research. Or you can get advice from a number of another people or websites and pick the stocks they recommend.

Tips for picking a effective stock are:

The company doesn't accept outstanding debt.

Consistent growth. If the company's earnings are not growing, it is hard to expect its stock to grow.

The company has plenty of cash on the books.

The company has raised its dividend consistently.

Dividends are income shareholders get from the stock. The Board of Directors of a company decides if it will declare a dividend. Quarterly dividends are mutual, every year or semi every year are less mutual. Many companies don't pay dividends at all.

Dividend-paying stocks offer security in lean times. When you earn dividends, they will either be held in your general account until you tell the broker what you require to execute with them, or they can be automatically reinvested.

Many novices believe there is some mystery to winning the stock market. Some people become millionaires from the stock market after all. The truth is, there is no "mystery." Another people accept another theories, strategies, methods, as well as goals. Some may be high risk while others low risk.

There are another types of trading for another people and another goals.

Four types are:

Scalping- attaining dozens or even hundreds of trades a day trying to scalp a small profit.

Momentum Trading - Finding stocks that are moving significantly on high volume and try to jump on board to ride the momentum train to a nice profit.

Technical Trading - Closely watching charts, graphs, lines on stock or index graphs for signs of convergence of divergence that might indicate to purchase or sell.

Fundamental Trading - Trade companies based on fundamental analysis, which examines certain things like actual or anticipated earnings, stock splits, reorganization or acquisitions.

One of the strategies of experienced investors and online traders is trading stocks with momentum. This can be a thrilling trading method. Investing in momentum stocks is a effective idea especially since certain stocks can bring the possibility to gain up to 100% on the same day. While some momentum stocks may only rise 10% in a few minutes, you would still make $1,000 on a $10,000 investment on the same trading day.

A recommended strategy by some experts is to purchase stocks then hold on to them. Purchase some diverse stocks then forget about it. Don't execute anything with them and keep them as long as possible. After so many years, hopefully you will accept a very nice measure of money from your original investment.

Everyone hopes to purchase a cheap stock which will then take off like a rocket and make tons of money. Sometimes that happens, but more often you purchase a mid-priced stock which rises moderately year after year, eventually earning you a nice sum of money.

Although it can seem complicated at first, attaining money online from the stock market is a effective choice. No commissions, flexibility, you are in charge, and anyone can execute it.

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

Discover Forex Daytrading

A day trader is any trader who makes several trades per day, buying, selling, entering and closing out a trade in the same day. Forex daytrading is the same thing, only instead of trading stocks, forex traders buy and sell currencies.

Forex day trading is usually referred to as simply forex trading, but all day traders, whether they trade in stocks or currencies, attempt to increase their return by taking advantage of small price (stock) or rate (currencies) changes. Unlike buying stock in a company and waiting over the years as the company grows and the stock value increases, maybe even waiting on retirement to sell the stock or planning to leave it to children or even grandchildren, forex daytrading is not an investment that you make and then leave it alone to let it grow over time. It will not grow, exchange rates fluctuate too quickly.

Forex day trading requires an investment of time as well as money. Time must be taken to educate oneself in forex daytrading.

Until internet forex daytrading became so popular, only large financial institutions and corporations were involved in trading foreign currencies. Some people trade forex as a hobby and some make a career out of it. Forex daytrading professionals are intelligent well-educated people. They understand the trends and charts that make forecasting possible.

Forex day trading is similar to trading in the futures market, except that the liquidity is higher and the trading costs are lower. Also, because there is no central physical market, like the NYSE, forex daytrading can be carried out at all hours of the day and night. There is always a bank open somewhere in the world. In the world of forex day trading there are no exchange fees, no commissions paid to brokers, and low transaction fees. All of the fees and commissions reduced profitability for conventional traders in the futures market.

Sign on to any computer, go to any website search engine and type in forex daytrading, forex trading or simply forex. Most of those websites that come up offer platforms for trading. Some simply offer information. Others offer forex day trading education. This is where the forex trader lives, online, not on the floor of the NYSE. Forex daytrading can be risky or profitable, exciting or frustrating, but never, never boring.

Learn about our recommended resources for forex daytrading at http://www.forex-trading-reference.com

Make Money Forex Trading by Utilizing Volatility

Traders in the forex market are now a savvy lot. Almost everyone in the forex market nowadays are self trained in reading charts, or a user of some form of high technology software to trade the forex market. Some have graduated from using simple technical analysis to the new fangled sophistication of neural network forecasting and artificial intelligence. But yet a great majority of these professed experts fail in their trading, losing money from their trading rather than making profits. Why is it so?

The answer lies in the devil within. The traders who win are those who are capable of executing their trading plans with discipline and precision, and more importantly, they can cope with the VOLATILITY of forex trading.

Theory is if you can identify volatile movements, even if they are small, and execute trades with these volatile movements, buying on the lows and selling them at the peaks, you stand to make big profits. However, in practice, many volatile movements are too fast and tiny to be identified in time to be traded profitably. Where larger volatile movements are identified, it is error in judgment and the speed of execution of the trades that reduce the amount of profits.

When I was conducting research into writing a report on how a trader can recoup his losses after a horrendous period of bad trading, I was pleasantly surprised by a veteran trader who told me he was a profitable trader from day one of his starting trading. This is by no means a false claim, because this flamboyant trader has always been known both for his tremendous skill in trading and for being anything but decent about his skills and his ability to make the correct calls in the market.

Being surprised, I asked him what was his profession before he became a professional trader and a trading coach. His answer added to my surprise, because he said, " I was a professional poker player and the runner up in the Australian poker championship!".

Therein lies his great success as a forex trader as well, because as a poker player and a champion player at that, he was accustomed to taking calculated risks.

The secret to trading his style was to take calculated risks in his forex trading.

For example, if you have identified a trade, and you have placed a trade, do not place your stops too near the entry price because the odds favor the stops being hit most of the time. Rather, you can assess the odds and probability of the stops being hit before you place them. Again, when a trade presents itself, and you can compute that the odds of winning is in place rather than losing, it is then that you can increase your trades.

If you desire to win big, learn to compute the odds of winning, and like the successful poker player, bet big when the odds are in your favor and stay away from a trade where the odds indicate you will lose. This is where forex traders will measure their risk-reward ratios for their favorite trade setups and can identify which trade setup will result in bigger profits and with lower risks. This is a skill that you ought to learn to become more profitable.

Like to see how a professional trader uses the power of computing risk and reward to 3 of his most powerful proven trading strategies to trade the forex? With the Forex Trading Machine course, you will learn 3 major trading setups which will let you quickly identify accurate trade setups where you can have the odds of winning heavily in your favor rather than losing. Discover how you can grab hold of this course and special bonuses from my blog at Make Money Forex Trading and get a free trading video or visit http://forex-trading.cashflowpc.biz/ for free articles and lessons on forex trading.

Starting An E-Commerce Business

The development and expansion of the Internet has made business opportunities, once only available to the wealthy, available to nearly everyone. In the past, opening a business was a huge commitment in terms of finances and risk. Traditional business owners had to quit the their current jobs, obtain bank financing, and sign leases before they even made a penny. Its easy to see why 95% of them failed within five years. Today, business opportunities are available to anyone willing to put in the time and effort to learn about the world of e-commerce. Best of all, you can start an e-commerce business with minimal funds and very little risk. This guide will take you though the steps necessary to start your own e-commerce business.

Find Your Niche

The first step to creating your own e-commerce business is to find you niche. Examine your hobbies and interests for potential business ideas. If you love soccer, consider selling soccer supplies or team uniforms online. You may also consider opening a business that is similar to your current job. For example, as a nurse you may know a lot about medical supplies and how hospitals obtain them. You could start a medical supply business. Your contacts and industry knowledge could give you an advantage over a competitor who does not know the inner-workings of hospitals the way you do.

Research The Demand

Now that you have a few business ideas, its time to research the demand for your products or services. If you plan to sell to the general public, youll want to find out how many people are looking for your products or services. As a small business owner, you will not have the marketing funds to create a demand for a product. The products you sell, must already be in demand. A great way to determine product demand is to see how many people are searching for a specific product. Overture has a wonderful keyword tool (http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/) that displays the number of searches for specific keywords. It will give you a good idea of which products are popular and the specific keywords you should target when building your website.

Scope Out Your Soon-To-Be Competitors

Before settling on a business idea, scope out your would-be competitors. Visit their websites and compare the following:

Professional Look & Feel

Products and Services

Search Engine Ranking

Page Rank (Available on the Google Tool Bar)

Keywords

Back Links (how many sites link to them).

Youll need to know your competitors websites inside and out. Spend some time exploring each one. This will give you an idea of what youre up against. Keep in mind, that your website will need to be equally as professional or better than theirs. Dont worry if you dont think you have the technical skills necessary to create a professional website. The use of professional website templates will be explained later.

While youre researching your competitors, check to see if the products you intend to sell are sold at large department stores such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Amazon.com. It is very difficult for a small business to compete with these large companies because the profit margins are extremely low. Youll need to sell products that are in demand, but arent sold by corporate giants.

Establish A Business Entity

In order to conduct business, you need to establish a business entity. Fortunately this can be as easy as filing a Doing Business As or Fictitious Name form with your local County Clerks office to become a sole proprietor. When you arrive at the County Clerks office, they will check their records to make sure your intended business name is not already in use. If its available, you will need to complete the appropriate forms and pay your filing fee. Each state has different requirements. Check with your state for requirements on becoming a sole proprietor.

You will also need a sales tax id. You will need to charge sales taxes in the state where your business resides. Contact your county office for details about sales tax IDs and any other requirements they may have.

Open A Business Bank Account

Now that you are a legitimate business owner, its time to open a business bank account. Take your court documents to the bank and open a business checking account. Most banks offer a variety of business accounts. Choose the one the best meets your needs. Its usually best to start with their least expensive account because it could be a while before you start earning revenue. You can always upgrade in the future.

Some banks require a business owner to wait specified amount of time, usually 90 days, after the court documents are filed before opening a business bank account. These rules are in place to help prevent fraud. Check with your bank to obtain waiting period information.

Choose A Domain Name

While you wait to open a bank account, you can start building your website. First, register a domain name. Names that end in .com are best. If possible your, domain name should include one or more of your target keywords. For example, if you are creating a yoga supply business, youll want to choose a name with the word yoga, such as yogacenter.com, yoga-supply.com, or yogastuff.com.

Create Your Website

One of the keys to successful e-commerce businesses is a professional website. Your website is the first and often the only impression your visitors will have of your business. A professional website can be the difference between your visitors viewing you as a home-based business operating out of your garage and a multi-million dollar business with hundreds of employees. Fortunately, you dont need to be a web programmer to create a professional website. There are companies that sell professional website templates. You can get website templates for free, but its much better to pay for a highly professional template. To find these templates, simply search for website templates. You should expect to pay $50 $150 for a good template with multiple pages and professional images.

Most website templates can be customized with common HTML editors and a simple graphics program. Templates can be edited without having to invest a lot of time and energy into learning how to code web pages.

Youll want your website content to target specific keywords. This can be achieved by creating articles, product reviews, product comparisons and detailed description of your products. Avoid repeating the keywords so often that the text becomes difficult to read. There is a fine line between good copy text and spam text. Spam text is designed to increase your sites listing in the search engines, but often backfires when penalties are issued and your website is dropped from the listing.

Host Your Website

Now that your website has been created, its time to find a company to host your website on their servers. You should be able to find a good hosting company for around $10 per month. This fee should include technical support and email accounts with your domain name. Domain name-specific email accounts are important for a professional image.

Your website files can be uploaded with a simple FTP program. The hosting companys technical support personnel can walk you through the steps to upload your files and launch your website.

Implement A Shopping Cart

No e-commerce website is complete without a secure shopping cart. There are many shopping cart options. Many e-commerce business owners make the mistake of using Pay Pal to accept payments, which immediately tells visitors that their company is very small and not professional.

A good alternative to Pay Pal is a remotely hosted shopping cart. Remote shopping carts take the burden of maintaining security and credit card numbers off your shoulder and places the responsibility on another company. Remote shopping carts can usually be configured to look similar to your website. In fact, your customers may not realize that they have left your website to place an order. The remote shopping cart provider will give you the HTML to add to your website. When your potential customer clicks on the Buy Now button, he or she is taken to the remote shopping cart to enter the personal information and payment details.

Depending on your choice of a shopping cart, you may or may not need a merchant account to process transactions. Some shopping cart services allow you to use their merchant accounts for a slightly higher fee.

Stock Your Inventory

Now that your website has been created, its time to stock your inventory. The first step is to find the manufacturers of the products you wish to sell. You can find this information by reviewing your competitors websites. Some of them may list the manufacturer with the product name or description. Once you have the name, you can search for the manufacturer online.

Contact the manufacturer and tell them that you are interested in becoming a distributor. Ask for a wholesale price list and an application. The price list will help you determine if the profit margins are high enough to justify selling their product.

Youll want to ask the manufacturer the following questions:

What is the MSRP (Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price) for the item?

Am I required to sell the item at MSRP?

What is your minimum order quantity/amount?

Some manufacturers will not sell to e-commerce businesses that do not have a brick and mortar retail location. If this is the case, youll simply have to find a company that manufactures a similar product and is willing to sell to an e-commerce business.

Promote Your Business

Now that your website is live and youre open for business, its time to promote your website. If no one knows that it exists, you will not receive any sales. Most website visitors originate from search engines. Before search engines can list your website, they have to know that it exists. Youll need to submit your website to search engines and directories such as Yahoo!, DMOZ, Excite, and others. Search engine submission programs and services are available, but they not effective. Most good search engines require websites to be manually submitted. They enforce this by displaying an image with a series of letters or numbers that automated programs cannot read. The code embedded in the image is required to submit your website.

Search engine algorithms are extremely complex. The ranking of a website in their search results depends on a number of factors, including keywords, density, back links, page rank, and other factors. After submitting your website to the major directories and search engines, the next step is to establish back links. When search engines crawl the web and find a link to your site, they count the link as a vote for your site. The more votes you have, the higher your site will rank (assuming other criteria has also been met). You can acquire back links by sending emails to other website owners and offering to exchange links. Its very difficult for new websites to acquire back links. Most people prefer to exchange links with established websites. In a way, its a catch-22, but it can be done and the results are worth it.

Starting your own e-commerce business is a lot of work. Making it successful is even more work, but the pay-offs can be rewarding. Thanks to the explosion of the Internet age, e-commerce business opportunities are now available to anyone with a computer, a few hundred dollars for start-up costs, some spare time and the desire to create a business.

Copyright 2004 ZIP Baby. All Rights Reserved.

About The Author

Danna Henderson started ZIP Baby in order to provide parents with comprehensive potty training information as well as a large selection of potty training products. For more information about potty training, or to browse the potty training store, visit the Toilet Time Targets for Potty Training.

Education In Real Estate Investing-What You Need To Know To Start Profiting Now

So you want a good education in real estate investing? Certainly, this is one of the most lucrative investing fields you can embark in, today or ever.

The great thing about real estate is that there will always be a great demand for it. Everybody will always need a home to live in, and thats what you can provide as a investor.

Many people have a big misconception about real estate investing. You see, most people mistakenly believe that most real estate investors make their money by buying for a low price, and then turning around and selling for a higher price. This is not what most successful real estate investing gurus do.

In reality, the vast majority of the successful real estate investors will buy a house only if they can be sure of making some long term income from it. Just like stock investing, the vast majority of investors are only looking for a quick buck.

The same thing applies to real estate investing. Like stock investing, the vast majority of real estate investors dont succeed because they are too focused on making a short term gain, and not worried enough about long term income. The ultra successful investors, on the other hand, will generally only buy a stock or real estate investment property if they can be assured of making a long term income from it.

In real estate investing, this would involved renting the property to someone else, and then using that as a passive long term income stream. of course, in order to know this, you will need a good education in finances and real estate investing. This means being able to read a financial statement, and determine an investments overall profitability before investing.

Unfortunately, most investors never do this simple little step. Remember, when it comes to investing, its all about the numbers. If the numbers arent there now, they likely never will be. Therefore, get a good educating in real estate investing, an then only invest if the numbers are right.

To learn to invest money and for other investing advice, try checking out http://www.online-investing-tips.com. This is a popular investment site that gives money investment advice to help you achieve financial freedom.

Mini Accounts: A Great Way to Get Your Start in Currency Trading

Currency trading is a risky but potentially profitable means of earning more money in addition to your regular income. There are many ways of going about it, but if you are a beginner to currency trading, I strongly suggest starting with what is called a mini Forex account. You can open a mini account with a minimum investment as small as $250, and some brokers will even allow you to open an account with a $100 minimum investment. With a mini account, you will still enjoy many of the same privileges as a regular account holder.

Let's look at the difference between a mini account and a standard Forex account. In a standard account, the lot or trading contract size amounts to 10,000 units of the base currency--in the case of USD, that would amount to $10,000. A mini Forex account will handle only a percentage of a single lot, which means that mini account contract is one-tenth the size of a standard Forex account contract. The pip values in mini Forex trading are also one-tenth the normal value.

Mini account trading does involve engaging in marginal trading. That means that you are making use of leverage, or in other words, borrowing money to be able to perform a trade without having to invest the full amount required for a single lot. The investment that you pay for out of your own pocket is called a marginal lot. For a mini account, the marginal lot for every $10,000 lot is $50, which is a 200 to 1 leverage. On starting a mini account with a minimum of $250, you are trading five mini lots with your investment.

Should you be concerned that the mini account requires a high degree of leverage as compared to other forms of trading? For example, stock market day trading has a leverage ratio of 4 to 1 in a trading day, which is far lower than the leverage ratio of mini account trading is 200 to 1. But this is the standard practice in mini Forex trading and traders and brokers do not see it as over-leveraging.

When you look at what happens in mini Forex trading, you will find that the traders risk on a mini account can be compensated by the smaller amounts of potential losses in mini trading. An average loss in mini account trading is one-tenth the amount that would be lost in an equivalent trade on a standard Forex account. That makes it easier for mini Forex traders to follow a disciplined trading strategy, since a trader normally finds it simpler to let go of a small loss, whereas a greater loss may prompt an investor to hold on longer than one should to a declining currency. The high leverage in mini Forex trading also gives an investor more options and trading strategies in currency trading.

A mini Forex account is the recommended investment choice for traders who want to invest $10,000 or less in currency trading.

Learn more about getting into Forex trading. View our latest articles about the Forex market at http://www.faso06.com

Commodity Trading Blunders IV, PART 1 - My Early Days As A Novice Trader

Be wary of the man behind the curtain. He may represent the biggest company with the most powerful software, but still, you need to verify. And remember, if whatever worthwhile you are trying to accomplish was easy, everyone would be doing it and already rich. Commodity trading takes lots of practice and skill. There are no shortcuts.

I keep coming back to Max, my first broker. Let me tell you another story that taught me two lessons. About the time I made the big British Pound futures contract trade, I started to notice that my commodity account statements did not agree with what I thought the balance should be. It was off something like $3,500. I sent my paperwork showing profits and losses to Max. He said the trades seemed correct, but still, my account balance was $3500 lower than it should have been.

Max finally told me to come in and sit down with a Merrill auditor. I showed up and met a thin, balding man of about 45, with glasses and a very conservative look. I just knew he was thinking I was the typical commodity futures gambler who would be blown out in no time. He had not studied my trading records to this point.

I showed him the futures trades and he looked them over one by one. What I remember about the session is his shocked look when he realized that I was actually making money in the account! He looked at the cotton ”limit up” trade and said, “ you made $5,000 on this trade?” I tried to act like it was nothing - like it was an everyday thing and said, “yep.” I could see his eyes widen as he looked at some of the “lucky” big ones. After about 45 minutes he said he could not find an error in my paperwork and said he would credit the futures account for the full $3,500 the next day.

I learned two valuable lessons that day. The first is not to trust any commodity account statement. As good as our computerized world is today, there are still mistakes being made. It can mean having wrong trades put into your account or not receiving them at all. Errors can be more numerous when day trading since many trades come and go quickly.

The second and most important thing I learned is that most new and inexperienced commodity futures traders lose and blow out their accounts. It’s just a matter of time before the commissions, bad analysis, ego generated mistakes, order mistakes, over-trading and everything else reduces the account to nothing. I realized this when the auditor was stunned that I was actually making money with Max. Later I found this to be the case in the real world. The statistics in stock trading are no different. Futures trading is not unique in this regard.

Hey, I’m not the greatest commodity trader either. I still struggle with the trading triangle every day. But you and I don’t have to be the best trader in the world to make money - only better than most. Perfection is not required.

Most commodity futures traders are reckless with their trading. Many just guess or look for tips. They come, play for a few months, get blown out and never come back. Then a new group comes in and the cycle repeats. Only a small percentage hang around long enough to learn how to break even. Even that is a big accomplishment. Later with persistence, learning and good fortune, they pull it off by making some money each year.

It’s all about the bell curve. At one end of the curve there will be some that are gone in a few days. In the middle, the majority will make a little, break even or lose a little. Then there are the superstars at the opposite end who consistently make multi-millions each year.

Probability allows for everything. Every scenario will play out eventually. If you stay focused and are willing to drop things that do not work and keep trying new ideas, you may be able to find the right combination that fits you to a ‘T.’ That’s the whole commodity futures and options game. You need to figure out your strengths and weakness. Then match up a commodity trading program where you feel comfortable and confident enough to take consistent action.

Part Two of Four - Next!

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

Thomas Cathey directs the managed futures division of Thomas Capital Management, LLC. Get FREE, the complete 44+ lesson, "Thomas Commodity Trading Course" by visiting: http://www.thomascapitalmanagement.com/commodity/welcome.htm It's brand new and fun reading... a "street-wise" trading e-course. Visit the main Thomas Capital Management trading website at: http://www.ThomasCapitalManagement.com