Understanding What A Bear Market Is
December 31, 2008
A bear market is when the stock market falls for an extended period of time. The fall is usually around 20% and is the opposite of a bull market. A bear market is caused by the decline in stock prices which are directly influenced by a decrease in company profits. Falling stock prices can also be a correction of over valued stock.
When stocks become to expensive they will eventually fall to a more reasonable price. The decline stock market is further perpetuated by scared investors who will sell their stocks at the first sign of decrease stock prices and the cycle continues. For example the bear market during thw 1970s went on for over a decade when stocks went sideways. It was experiences like that which cause people to move away from day and active trading into more low risk investments. This is when the popularity of bonds and mutual funds began.
A bear market will cause your stocks to drop in price. The decrease in their value can happen extremely quickly or gradually over time. Both lead to the same conclusion that your quote value of a stock is actually lower. However, a bear market is only bad if you plan on selling your stock immediately or you simply need the money. Investments are really meant to be long term. If stocks prices drop all you need to do is wait for them to increase again. In fact bear markets, falling stock prices, and depressive markets are important to the success of the long term investor. Bear markets offer an opportunity to buy cheap stocks.
If you have the ability, financial basis, and the patience to wait a decade or more for your profit, bear markets are extremely important to you. Financial advisors will often tell their clients to sell their stocks when market prices fall but this is clearly a bad move. Financial advisor usually offer this kind of advice to appease an investor concerns and uphold their own reputation. In other word financial experts do not know everything, use your own judgment.
Investing money in a bear market is not rocket science but it can be tricky. You need to look for companies and funds that have the future potential to make you money 20 years from now. This is hard to do, since future predictability is impossible. However, you can use common sense. Gillette razors and coke product stock may fail 40% today in the future people are still going to buy both. The important point here is to not to couple stock price with business. Just because a stock price falls does not mean that a company is going under. As mentioned above it may just be a stock market correction.
If you can take a deep breath and have confidence you will realize that a bear market and falling stock prices is a good thing. It is like clearance sale on stocks, and suddenly companies which were out of your reach can be afforded. Everything in the universe including the stock market will find and maintain balance - thus bringing those falling stocks back up to reasonable price.
More Articles & Tutorials and a Free Investing For Beginners E-Course at http://www.Global-Investment-Institute.com
Real Estate Investing Avoid Buying a Unique Home in Preforeclosure Even From a Nice Family
December 29, 2008
Early in my career as a real estate investor, I got a call from a really nice family about to lose their home to foreclosure. Located in the suburbs, the house looked pretty much like every other house in the middle-income neighborhood on the outside. On the inside, though, the house was very unusual.
You see, the husband and wife were theater majors in college and they remodeled the lower level of their home to look like the set of a movie. The home gym looked like the set of Million Dollar Baby. The playroom looked like the set of Home Alone. And the home theater (with seating for six and a big screen TV) was painted entirely black, floor, walls, and ceiling.
The parents home-schooled all four children, so the lower level also housed a study room with computers and desks. The two-car garage was fully carpeted because the youngest children liked to play there during the day.
The house was a full time home, school, gym and theater for this family. The parents thought they would live there forever - or at least until the last of their children moved away. But sadly, they missed a couple of mortgage payments and found it impossible to catch up. They called me in hopes of selling their house fast so they could save their credit.
When I did my due diligence, I learned that homes in this neighborhood did not stay on the market long. Close to the public schools, it was a quiet neighborhood with lots of green space. Add to that: the neighborhood homeowners association often held potluck dinners and street parties and were the envy of the surrounding community.
What could be better? I thought. A great one-of-a-kind house in a great neighborhood at a great price.
I bought the house with about 20% equity, no money out of my pocket, and cash back at closing. I immediately put the house on the market. At the time I thought the uniqueness of the property would be a great selling point. I thought it would stand out as “one of a kind” and families would fight to live there.
Boy, was I wrong.
Most people who looked at the house thought the unique features of the lower level were just plain weird.
I marketed the house specifically to families with children who I thought would love the spacious gym, the play room, the home theater, and the study rooms as much as the family who had put so much of their personal stamp on them. But no one else seemed to see the beauty of it.
Only the strangeness of it.
The house sat on the market five months without a decent offer. I watched my profit dwindle drastically over six months while paying holding costs, utilities, and lawn care.
Then I made a hard decision. I hired a remodeler to transform the lower level into an ordinary looking basement with smooth white walls, dropped ceilings and beige carpet. I watched even more of my profit evaporate.
But I quickly found a buyer.
Lesson to be learned: Three bedroom, two bath, bread-and-butter houses are the best investment properties for a reason. Everyone can imagine living in an ordinary house. Not everyone can see themselves living in a really unique one.
No Money Down The Benefits of Real Estate Joint Ventures
December 26, 2008
Investors are attracted to the real estate market because of the incredible potential it has to multiply their money. Appreciation rates of properties are very high and almost all property deals guarantee you certain amount of profit.
One of main reasons why many others are not able to invest in real estate is that they do not have sufficient cash to pay the down payment for the purchase. However, there are plenty of financial schemes with ‘No Money Down’ option available for small investors to enable them to sustain the costs of purchasing property.
New investors can consider joint ventures, wherein one person finances the project and the other does the actual work. As a result, the one who does all the work has to put no money down for upfront costs. If you are new to the real estate game, and do not have enough funds to bear the upfront costs, you can opt for a joint venture. It is legally binding, and both parties agree upon a certain percent of profit each would receive after the project is completed.
It is a mutually beneficial partnership, wherein profits are divided according to individual contribution in terms of labor and money. The joint agreement is drawn to provide legal protection to the concerned parties in case the project fails.
A joint venture is beneficial if you are in one of the following situations:
1. When you lack borrowing capacity
If you have some money to pay the down payment, but are not eligible for a loan, joint venture would be beneficial for you. You can enter into a partnership with someone who has the necessary funds or is eligible for a loan to support your project.
2. When you do not have liquid cash or equity
You may be eligible for a loan due to your income or credit score. However, you may not have the necessary cash required to pay for the down payment of property purchase. In such a case, you can enter into a partnership with a person who can take care of the down payment.
With literally ‘no money down’ towards down payment, you can begin your dream project. There are instances wherein the seller carried a certain amount of the loan as a second mortgage. In exchange, you are required to give him a certain percent of the profits as decided in the agreement.
3. You have the necessary skills
There are investors who have the expertise to carry out a project or who have skills required for renovation. They may lack the funds for the project or may not have the inclination to invest money in the project. If you are one of those, then you can find a partner who has the money but lacks the time and expertise to complete the project.
It is important to draw an agreement carefully including all minute details to avoid any form of dispute in future.
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Basic Investing Tips That You Have to Know
December 23, 2008
To limit the scope of this article, we will focus completely on the investing basics as they relate to you personally making investment decisions not giving money to a financial institution, which will make the investing decisions for you.
The first part of investing basics is knowing how to invest and where to invest. This can be answered quite simply: there are two ways in which to invest through an offline brokerage or through an online brokerage. Today, however, this is somewhat of a false dichotomy, as most offline brokerages also have websites. To invest, simply open up an account with either an online brokerage, such as ScottTrade or ShareBuilder, or open up an account with an offline brokerage or a financial institution; put money into the account; and then purchase shares based on an overall strategy. While you might be able to get better, more professional tips from an offline brokerage or financial institution, you will have better access to fundamental and technical information such as financial reports and graphs, respectively if you use ScottTrade or ShareBuilder.
The second part of investing basics involves knowing what it will cost. This, of course, will also depend on the brokerage you select. If you select an online brokerage, the cost of trading will probably be lower, since competition is stiffer and prices are easier to compare. Most online brokerages no longer charge commissions, but instead charge flat rate fees. This is important to take into consideration, especially if you plan on daytrading and earning small profits on multiple trades.
The third part of investing basics involves knowing what risks are involved. While there are some exceptions to this rule, here is the basic premise of a risk and investment: the more profitable a given investment could be, the higher the risk generally is. For instance, if you want attain 25% growth on your portfolio each year, you might have to risk losing 20%. But if you want to gain 10%, you might only have to risk losing 2%.
The fourth part of investing basics involves developing strategies. This part is important because it can make stock selection a predictable, mathematical process. This involves developing a list of requirements before you purchase any stock. For instance, you might determine that you want to make a diversified investment that includes two high-risk stocks, seven low-risk stocks, six medium-risk stocks. You will then want to determine what your goal is: to generate growth or to generate income via dividends. You will then want to begin sorting through stocks and choosing stocks specifically based on these goals.
The last thing you must know about investing basics is when to buy and when to sell. While this part of investing basics can get quite complicated when considering short and long positions, we wont go into that here. Instead, for beginners, it is more important to remember to trade based on specific pre-created goals, rather than basing each trade on emotion, which has lead many people into making poor financial decisions in the past.
Will King is the webmaster for 101 Investing Tips where you’ll find many resources and other articles on just about everything related to investing.
Fall Noted In Borrowing Outlook
December 21, 2008
Less people are looking to save, borrow or invest money, according to the publication of new figures.
According to GfK NOP’s latest UK Financial Activity Bulletin (FAB) carried out for JGFR, an estimated 35.5 million Britons are expecting to do at least one of the above actions over the next six months, a fall from the 39.5 million recorded this time last year. Some 2.9 million fewer consumers intend to put money into a savings or investment scheme, with those planning to borrow via personal loans and credit cards falling by 1.8 million.
Commenting on the findings, John Gilbert, author of the report, said: “The latest Financial Activity Survey data reflects the straitjacket many consumers find themselves in. More people have adopted a cautious approach to personal finances - seemingly preferring to focus on meeting monthly commitments and spending out of income.”
Mr Gilbert claimed that the study also reveals that financial services providers are set to introduce a series of “attractive offers” over the remainder of the summer months in an attempt to encourage consumer spending activity despite the impact of recent interest rate increases and “squeezed2 household budgets. “As in March the current climate remains a tough one for retail financial services providers. With higher-margin consumer credit constrained by continuing bad debt write-offs, many are having to seek new ways of generating revenue from financially restrained consumers - or cut costs,” he added.
Figures from the firm also indicated that Britons are particularly pessimistic about lending money. The FAB Borrowing Index was reported to have remained unchanged from March’s figures at 74.0 - a record low. Meanwhile, the Consumer Credit Index was shown to have slumped to 74.9 - the lowest figure ever recorded and the fifth consecutive quarter in which Britons’ outlook on credit usage fell. Down from March’s figure of 77.6, the index was also below the 101.1 witnessed in June 2006. The shortfall in demand for consumer credit was attributed to borrowers becoming more careful on how they spend their money amid concerns over future base rate rises by the Bank of England.
Despite fewer people borrowing via credit cards and personal loans in recent months, GfK NOP reported that the past two years have witnessed ‘high levels’ of consumers making repayments on various debts. In turn, the proportion of the adults expecting to complete debt repayments in the coming months has reduced from about a third to less than 25 per cent over the last 12 months. However, the decrease in debt servicing was partially attributed to more consumers taking a break from making secured loan repayments.
At the beginning of last month Alliance & Leicester’s senior personal loans manager Richard Al-Dabbagh claimed that those who borrow money should do so with careful planning and thought. His comments come after research from the company showed that almost half (42 per cent) of car buyers choose an expensive forecourt finance deal as they find it a convenient option. Mr Al-Dabbagh reported that those funding a large purchase via store or credit cards may find a cheap personal loan to be a more competitive choice.
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It is Important to Start Investing Early
December 18, 2008
When you take your first steps into the working world, a step that usually comes hand in hand with finally moving out on your own, there are a lot of places you suddenly find your money disappearing to. Not only is there an onset of bills of the like you may have never imagined but there is the desire to buy all those things you were always wanting to buy. Now that you finally have the money to get that bigger TV, the car and gadgets you have always wanted it’s hard to stop yourself.
The problem that many people have when they first get to this position is that in doing all of this spending the money vanishes faster than they would have ever thought. The value of a dollar never seems to fully show itself until you are making what you think is a lot of money and then watch it add up to nothing.
In essence there is nothing wrong with this. It is a stage of life like any other and it comes with its own lessons to be learned. Truly, the most important thing to keep track of in this period is avoiding any significant debt; this is doubly true if you are just getting out of school and already have that education debt hanging over you.
If you are one of the lucky people who learn how to handle that and manage their money properly then there are other steps, just as important, to take. Most of us are never taught just what we are supposed to do with our money and how we can make that money work for us. Many people manage to avoid debt and even find a way of saving chunks of each paycheck in a bank account but too few of them do anything more with their savings than that.
For so many reasons, just leaving money sitting in a bank is a bad idea; if only because by the end of each year the bank is likely to take more fees than it gives interest. While leaving enough liquid funds to get by each month is important, taking excess funds and investing them is just as important. For people that do not have excess funds it is even more important that they find a way to create them.
By investing the money wisely, typically starting off with investments that build slowly but steadily, you are able to better ensure you have money for your later years. And just because your later years are far away doesn’t mean you should wait to invest. The thing is that the best investments are the ones that take time to pay off. The ones that make you rich over night are few and far between and are also the ones that are risky enough to make you broke overnight as well.
When you invest those few extra dollars you are able to put aside early they are able to turn into bigger dollars in the years that follow. Twenty dollars a week going into an average paying fund will not turn into thousands after a few years; but if you start that twenty dollars a week when your young, then it will be worth something significant when you really need it.
Mika Hamilton runs a website offering free investment tips and strategies for people looking to get started in the investment world. visit http://www.Global-Investment-Institute.com for more tips and articles like this.
Short Sale Real Estate Investing
December 15, 2008
Short sale investing involves buying a piece of property from a lender for an amount less than the balance owed on the property. Basically, there are two types of short sale realty investments. The first type refers to when you purchase a property, foreclosed by a lender listed with a realtor. In this type, you simply offer the lender, who has now become the owner on record, less than what is owed on the property. In this case, you can offer less than the balance that was due on the foreclosure. Such a short sale, realty investment calls for a good relationship with the realtor. The other type involves negotiating directly with the lender of a motivated seller. It is essential to be determined in the negotiation process, mainly in reaching the right person at the lender Real Estate Owned (REO) department and then to get the price of your choice.
The key to be successful in the first kind of short sale, real estate investment lies in forging a relationship with a reliable local realtor. You can always search for one or two realty offices in your area that handle majority foreclosures and short sale, realty investments. In order to build your relationship with the realtors, you need to inform them about your ability to buy. Make sure you follow through, once you make the offer. It will help the agent know that you are the investor to turn to, whenever he has a deal regarding short sale, realty investment.
There are three fundamental steps that can be incorporated, in order to be successful with short sale, real estate investments. They are as follows:
. Search for the properties: The first step to success in a short sale real estate investment is to search for properties. This can be accomplished through regular realty advertisements and looking for distressed or overgrown property. It helps you get calls from sellers close to foreclosure.
. Get the seller on your side: The second best way to earn success in this type of investment is to get the seller on your side. In order to do so, you need to listen, communicate and empathize openly and honestly with the seller, regarding your plans. Besides, you will also be required to answer all questions and speak to the concerned parties frequently, so as to keep the channels of communication open. It helps to keep doubts out of the picture.
. Find the right person at the lender to speak with: Though it is not easy to find a reliable person, but this step is essential. More often than not, the first person you speak to will not necessarily be the right person and you may require cross certain hurdles to finally reach the person with some authority. You would certainly require patience in order to get the job done.
Short sale realty investment is considered to be lucrative for building wealth too. Owing to the increase in foreclosures across the country, the trend of learning and applying short sale realty investment skills is likely to continue.
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How to Find the Best Commercial Real Estate
December 12, 2008
For most people, jumping into the commercial real estate market is done with sights set on millionaire land owners who have made their fortune buying, renovating and selling properties over and over and over. One of the keys to this success is finding the right commercial real estate properties to turn over. Do you go with a high-priced property and just hang onto it for a few years, letting it gain in value and then sell it or do you take a more out of the way property, fix it up and make it valuable then sell it? These are all options available out there for a potential buyer, but which one is right for you?
The best deals out there will give the biggest return on your investment. It is not unrealistic to look for deals that could give you upwards of two to four times the profit of what you invested. The amount of paperwork and red tape you have to go through is essentially the same weather it is a big deal or a small one, so try to maximize each deal and make it as profitable as possible.
The methods you use to find the best deals are important. You can rely on your own two eyes and simply go scout possible real estate deals that could turn a huge profit or you could enlist the help of a professional. There are real estate brokers that specialize in commercial properties but since they are hired by the people looking to sell, you might not get a straight answer on a particular property since all they want to do is sell it. The best thing to do if you are going to seek the advice of a commercial broker is to make a firm list of qualities you are looking for and dont deviate from them. The broker may try to sell you something you are not interested in so be careful. One advantage in using a broker is getting listings that have not officially gone on the market yet. This can help you get a head start in placing a big for a unit since no one else will know about it yet. Another good tip is to utilize the Internet. There are many sites out there dealing with property values and commercial sites that are for sale and many sites have excellent search criteria that can help you find what you are looking for quickly and easily in a non-confrontational environment.
One final place that is a great source of commercial as well as residential properties is auction houses. You may have to register with these houses and pay a small fee, but it is a sound investment since the auction house will be offering properties as a significantly smaller cost to you than if you were to buy it normally. In addition, these auction houses tend to send out notifications of properties that are about to go on the trading block. This can give you the time you need to research the deal, see if it falls within your criteria and then you can decide if you are going to bid on it or not.
Overall, there are many different options out there available for those looking to find sound commercial properties to invest in. If you do the proper research, you can find the one that is right for you.
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Why Choose Oil Investing
December 10, 2008
Great risks and potential huge monetary gains. This can sum up in itself what oil investing is about. Not a market for the faint-hearted, oil investing is a highly volatile sector where changes are the norm, and risk runs the gamut from quite low to extremely high.
Still, why do so many choose to invest in this highly unpredictable market? There is much that is said on the scarcity of oil, its dwindling volume, its absence of supply growth, as well as the tightening of supply by oil-producing countries. Balanced against the increasing demand for oil in a world which is driving towards consumerism, where oil needs are vital, it results in a situation where the price of oil is not likely to go down. In fact, it might just remain on the up, or constant at its relatively high price on the market. While it is true that fossil fuels are not something that can be classified as a renewable resource, the investor will often look at the situation and not the ongoing demand for the product. Any product that has a steady demand that will only grow over the next few years is a sure bet when it comes to investing.
This makes for a safe and relatively lucrative investment. However, oil investing should not be attempted as a hobby or in a happy-go-lucky way. Professional advice is best sought for this endeavor. Expert advice can be provided by portfolio managers, and investors can go one step further and learn about geographical characteristics of drill sites as well as seismic and structural features of oil industry sectors when considering potential investment.
Oil investing also provides a rather large spectrum of risk potential, ranging from relatively low to highly explosive. The easiest and less risky investment is by buying stocks of well-known major or independent oil companies. More risk and higher returns can be found in smaller, aggressive companies and service companies which are expanding into new markets. Some of the riskiest but which may provide the highest return pertains to investing with independent operating companies on a direct participation investment, and also commodities futures trading.
Other methods of oil investing include mutual funds which focus their portfolios on the energy industry, oil and gas companies traded on stock exchanges, independent oil and gas companies, drilling funds, royalty funds, lease acquisition funds, and combination funds.
However, in all these cases, sound business acumen and diligence are advised. Investment acumen, investment objectives, and investment vehicles should all be determined prior to oil investing.
Mayoor Patel is the writer for the website http://oil.oil-universe.com. Please visit for information on all things concerned with Oil Investing
Do Not Lose Your Shirt With a Margin Account
December 8, 2008
The key to the FOREX market for the average investor is the margin. Without margin trading currency trading would be beyond most investors. I will explain what the margin is and how it works.
When you have a margin account you are able to control large amounts of currency with a relatively small cash deposit. When you have a margin account with a broker you are in effect borrowing money from the broker to control a larger lot of currency. Currency is normally sold in lots with a value of $100,000. A common term used when discussing margin accounts is leverage. Leverage is how much you can control with a certain amount of money. The leverage is usually displayed as a ration such as 1:100. That would allow you to control currency worth 100 times the amount of money you have invested.
To better explain this in a FOREX exchange with a 1% margin account you could control $100,000 worth of a currency while only investing $1000. Margin accounts can allow you to greatly increase your profit; they also allow you to increase your risk. With a margin account it is possible for a trader to lose more than their initial investment. With a little prudence though losses can be minimized. Most brokers will terminate a trade before the losses exceed the original deposit.
Benefits
As discussed before a margin account allows you to buy more with the money you have which can greatly increase your profit on successful trades. By controlling a $100,000 worth of currency for only $1000 the potential gain is greater. When dealing with large lots of currency even small changes can produce significant results.
Currency on the FOREX market is traded in far more precise units than actual cash is. As an example the American dollar is traded down to four decimal points. So when you were to quote the dollar against another currency you will see a price like $1.7834 instead of $1.78. A PIP is the smallest unit when trading currencies, when dealing with $100,000 lots then each pip is worth about $10.
If the price of the American dollar changes from $1.7834 to $1.7934, you have a net difference of 100 pips. If you have a lot of $100,000 then that 100 pips will translate to $1000 where as if you were not using the margin your original $1000 would only show a profit of $10. Hardly what most would consider a highly profitable trade?
In short the primary benefit of using a margin account is that it can greatly increase the profit margin of a trade.
Risks
Since there is such a significant increase in profit potential when using a margin account it only stands to reason that there is also an increase. In fact it is quite possible to have your entire margin account wiped out fairly quickly. When using a 1% margin account a shift in the currency of a single penny will cost you $1000.
The FOREX exchange has many safety features to help you reduce the risk of this happening. One example is a stop loss order. A stop loss order will automatically close out your position in a currency if the price crosses the point you have set. This allows you to limit your losses while still having the opportunity to realize a profit.
Another risk that many people overlook is that if the price nears the point where your losses are close to being equal to the value of your margin account your broker may close out your position. If you were trying to rid out a temporary downturn that you expect to turn around soon you could find that your broker has closed it causing you to lose your entire balance and have no option to make a profit if the price moves up again.
This is a basic introduction to margin accounts and how they work, visit the website listed below to learn more about the FOREX market.
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