Ohh the "B" word. When people think about the idea of bankruptcy they think about having their credit ruined for the next seven years.
Well I have news for you. If you have defaulted on payments to your creditors, those defaults will remain on your credit report for the same length of time as a bankruptcy would.
A bankruptcy will remain on your credit report for 6 years from the date that the bankruptcy is discharged.
Defaulted payments will remain your credit report for 6 years from the date that you settle defaulted debts or pay off defaulted debts in full.
Once discharged from bankruptcy you can qualify for a low interest mortgage to buy a home with two years of strong, positive re-established credit and a strong overall financial profile.
If you are becoming discharged from bankruptcy here is what you can do to start rebuilding your credit and finances.
1. Open a bank account with a bank that was not included in your bankruptcy. Make an appointment to discuss:
a. A savings plan
b. RRSP loan options. RRSP loans report to your Trans Union and Equifax credit bureaus and are a great way to re-establish credit, reduce income taxes and build retirement savings
2. Get A Financial Report Card. This will tell you how a bank would grade the current state of your financial profile, reveal strengths and weaknesses and give you strong direction to work towards your financial goals.
3. Obtain a secured credit card and only use what you can afford to repay in full each and every month. Never have a balance on any credit card that exceeds 50% of your credit limit.
4. Prepare a budget and follow it.
Following these steps will start you on a path to excellent credit and strong borrowing power!
Article by Courtney Jewell-McElroy
CEO, Assure Assess Corp.
http://www.assureassess.com
http://www.trueassess.com
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Courtney_Jewell-McElroy
Sabtu, 04 Desember 2010
Investors and Speculators - 5 Key Differences By Aaron Leow Platinum Quality Author
What constitutes towards an investor and what does it mean to be a speculator? In this article, I delve into 5 key differences between the investor and speculator.
1. Long term versus Short term
There are many differences in how each and every individual sees what is defined as "long term" or "short term". Some define 1 month as short, while others, long. As a general rule of thumb, investors generally invest in the long term while speculators focus on the short term.
Investors love things that provide them logical and sensible investments that bring in reliable and stable profits. Speculators on the other hand, love anything that is new and on the hype as of the moment.
2. Differences in emotions
A logical investor is not swayed by his emotions in terms of investing. He understands that emotions are what generally move the market, but it does not mean that it has any LASTING value in the long run.
Speculators on the other hand, event he logical ones, predict and through understanding of human emotions, use their emotions to trade in the market. They buy based on their gut feelings to "follow the crowd or trend". They are sure that by following the trend, there is no way they can lose as in both up, down or stable markets, they are able to make money. Either way, human emotions are the main driving force in the decision of speculators, even if the emotion does not come from them.
3. Technical versus Fundamental Analysis
Speculators are guided by charts, Japanese candle sticks, brand new news bulletins, newspapers and shocking headlines by corporations to decide when to buy and sell. They rarely if ever, delve into the history of the business itself. They do rarely, if ever, understand the underlying concept of the economic conditions and how it will affect the business as a whole. As their goals are merely usually confined towards a year, things like these do not generally rouse interest towards them.
Investors, on the other hand, browse through and understand the business that they are buying into. They understand that in order for them to go for a long term, the company itself must be able to sustain for the long term. For that to happen, the company must possess a stable and predictable future based on excellent economics in their favor. In order to do that, they are guided by the company's annual reports and they look and talk towards the company's management directly to learn and understand the business.
4. Voting machine versus Weighing Machine
The investor views the market as a weighing machine rather than a voting machine. They understand that the market, in the long run, will experience high and low cycles. However, the core value of the business itself, given the underlying economics of proper management, will in due time, revert and show its value based on the price of the business. They understand that if a company is consistently selling below its true worth, something is already generally wrong within the management or the economics of the business. The price in the long run is reflected as a weighing machine rather than a voting machine.
The speculator on the other hand, views the market as a voting machine. The more people vote against or with a certain hyped up issue, the more opportunities and emotions will sway to. They target and run towards the crowds and the most popular issues. Driven by emotions and greed, they love issues which provide the wild excitement in the price. The price is reflected on how popular the issue is at the given time, rather than how the business is actually worth.
5. The Doctor versus the Pianist
If you were to study real hard and put in dedicated effort and considerable amount of time into becoming a doctor, you would generally be able to become one through enough effort. You would be able to live of well enough to depend on your income generated from being a doctor with proper spending habits.
Pianists, on the other hand, are what you would call performing artists. In order to become and excel in one, you need more than what one would call just pure dedication and effort. You would need to have a very special set of characteristics in you that people will be able to take notice and make yourself stand out. You would only be able to succeed if you have this special quality.
It is the same for both speculators and investors. Investors are generally doctors. With enough effort, dedication and practice, you would be able to pass out generally well. You will be able to get rich quick, but with proper discipline, you would be able to get rich slowly. Unexciting, but steadily.
Being a speculator however, you are trying to win against many people who aspire to win money from you. People who have dedicated 20-30 years of their lives trying to perfect their "art". In order to stand out and win over them, you would need a special quality that stands out way beyond the over speculative market. You are a pianist.
Summary
All in all, be it a speculator or investor, in most cases, one must understand that they need both mindsets and frames to succeed in both long and short terms. Opportunities are always there in both passageways. It is only up to you to spot and use them
| To Your Success, Aaron Leow Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Aaron_Leow | |
Act Now or Forget Your Pension By Dan G Chamberlain
Forgive my skepticism, I can only talk from past experience, you see I've got a share portfolio which I'm looking to for a pension, I've had this for 7 years and rather than make me any money, it's actually fallen 3% in value.
The news is full of programmes investigating the current financial crisis; no avenue of investment seems to be safe.
Panorama recently investigated the vast fees and commissions some pension companies take from their clients, in one case a lady's net return over 21 years was just 3%...it would have been 4% if she had not been paying various charges!
Now I'm sure that there are other pensions that would return her a larger sum but as she pointed out, how do you know which are any good?
Well the answer is, you really don't...
Why Property?
For years I have tried to educate clients as to the benefits of using property investment as a pension. Not only do you benefit from any rental returns after mortgage payments but you will also over a number of years, benefit from capital growth.
It has been widely documented that property prices have taken a tumble in many locations, however if you buy smart and at a good price you massively reduce your risk.
The average pension pot in the UK is around £33,000; now for many of you it may not be too late to do something about this.
Below I will show you a simple way to make your money work for you using property investment.
Let's take a 35 year old male that wants to retire at 55.
- Purchase a 1 bed apartment for £150,000. (Multiple locations across the south coast)
- Deposit needed £30,000 (20%)
- Repayment Mortgage over 20 years = £735 pcm (4% interest rate)
- Rent PCM = £750 pcm (average for this price and location)
- Management Cost £75 pcm (10%)
- Additional payments = £60 pcm.
*Remember this is a repayment mortgage, not interest only, the long term goal is to pay this mortgage off over 20 years.
If you look at the £60 as your pension payments, in 20 years time you will have a pension pot worth £150,000, not taking into account any growth; giving you a return of £750 pcm.
Now the chances are that there will be capital growth during this period, if we take it at just 5% per year, your property will be worth £397,995 in 20 years time.
Rental also historically increases over time, if we take 5% here as well, your £750 would be worth £1,990 pcm in 20 years.
In Conclusion:
When investing in stocks and shares, it is extremely hard to get an idea of what they will be worth come retirement time. Brokers and IFA's will bombard you with figures, but for the most part it's a shot in the dark.
One thing that not is historical data on property and rental growth, this can be proved, as can the UK's desperate need for more property and the demand for rental property in certain areas.
Many of you probably own a house and have done for a number of years, cast your mind back 20 years and recall the re-sale and rental values then. See what I mean?
In short:
- £30,000 investment now
- £60 pcm top up
Should provide you with...
- An asset worth £397,995 in 20 years time
- Income of £1,990 per month
The Alternative:
Keep ploughing money into a product you're not in control of and you probably don't understand.
| Dan Chamberlain is a director of http://www.freshinvest.co.uk, Fresh Invest brings a new approach to investing. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Dan_G_Chamberlain |  |
Jumat, 26 November 2010
A Few Things to Remember to Get Good Insurance Deals By Gretchen Canedo Platinum Quality Author
Do you find it hard to get a good insurance deal in Las Vegas? If so, the first thing that you need to do is learn where to look for reliable insurance agencies who can give you a personalized quote at a very affordable rate. Expensive insurance deals and high interests are often caused by abrupt decisions and lack of preparations. If you don't want to end up paying much on your insurance then you should make preparations which include looking for alternative agents rather than focusing on a single provider.
Remember not to ever grab the first insurance plan that might come your way, always consider other options because they might be much better deals and less costly ones. By doing such, the chance of ending up with the best insurance deal is just next to you. By looking at the offers of the different agents, you will be able to evaluate and study thoroughly which among them can provide the coverage that you need with a much lower insurance premiums and interest rates.
One easy way that you can try is by searching the Internet, where you can find almost all resources that you need to know the different Las Vegas insurance policies. By going online, you can immediately get insurance quotes and avail of the discounts which you might qualify for. One advantage of getting quotes earlier than when you exactly need it, is that, you will have enough time to prepare for the expense and settle your credit history.
Many factors influence insurance quotes. The level of benefits that you are getting from your auto insurance, small business insurance or homeowners insurance in Las Vegas influences the amount you are paying. Hence, you should be keen enough to evaluate the coverage of the insurance policy that you got to make sure that you can get your claims when the unexpected occurs.
Getting a very good insurance policy is as easy as one-two-three when you know what to do and where to look for good insurance deals in Las Vegas. It will not just guarantee you with quality insurance products but also get rid of the pain of paying very high insurance premiums.
| Want to get the best insurance deals today? Visit http://www.advancenv.com and get an online quote now! Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Gretchen_Canedo |  |
Insurance - Career Satisfaction for a Lifetime By Jerry Bateman
WANTED, smart, self motivated, and enthusiastic individuals to serve the public in making wise decisions regarding their insurance needs. Very few individuals actually seek out the business of insurance as a career, it just seems to happen. It happens, because the insurance profession is such a broad field that many of the activities that individuals are looking for in their careers are part of the business of insurance. It is not uncommon to meet high school graduates, college graduates, engineers, doctors, accountants and other educational backgrounds. The profession has room for everyone. The following paragraphs will detail some of the business activities of the insurance profession.
The business of insurance is a very important part of our economic system. Many individuals are looking for careers that will have a valuable impact on our society in the years to come. The insurance profession meets this desire. The most common definition of "insurance" involves the spreading or transferring of risk to an entity that has a much greater ability to pay for the loss. When a family buys a home, chances are they will finance the home with a lender or mortgage holder. They do this because they do not have the money in the bank to pay for the house outright. Insurance is purchased to transfer the risk to the insurance company, so that if the house is destroyed by fire or some other covered peril, the home can be replaced with the insurance proceeds. The importance of insurance can be shown in all walks of life. All kinds of insurance is purchased by families and business owners. Some insurance types include auto, home, marine, liability, life insurance, health insurance, disability income, and long term care insurance, just to name a few.
The business of insurance involves working with families and/or business owners to identify their insurance needs and then develop insurance solutions that best meet the situation of the client. The insurance business can be and often-times will be complex. The insurance professional must learn to systematically assess the situation and determine the correct course of action in identifying the coverage needed. Then the solution is writing the correct policies.
The business of insurance requires smart, self motivated, and enthusiastic individuals. These individuals, whether working for a company or self-employed, will need to plan their work process and then work their plan. If they decide to be self-employed that will still require planning and doing. Also, individuals in insurance will have an unlimited income potential. Additionally, these individuals must be honest, possess integrity, and have the sincere desire to help their prospects and clients achieve their goals. The insurance business is hard work and to be successful the individual must be focused and have the ability to follow through. The person that wants to do something different virtually every day that they work, that must continue to study and learn as issues and concepts change, the insurance field might just be the right profession.
| Jerry Bateman is the owner of Financial Coaching, Inc. and co-owner of Bateman Learning, Inc. Jerry has worked in the insurance and financial services industry since 1976. His experience spans several insurance disciplines such as personal and business life insurance planning, long term care insurance, financial planning and ten years as a company representative involved in employee benefits. All of these experiences have lead him to public speaking, seminars, workshops and teaching continuing education to insurance and financial advisors for the last fourteen years. Additionally, he works with business owners and individuals in need of personal and business insurance advice. His websites include http://www.batemanlearning.com and http://www.BecomeAnInsuranceAgent.net and Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jerry_Bateman |  |
Important Things You Need to Know Before Buying Mortgage Protection Insurance By Don Tyler Platinum Quality Author
Mortgage protection insurance is required if the lender is unable to pay a certain required amount of down payment on lending a property. Having it will protect both the bank and the lender in case the lender is unable to pay the mortgage with reasons such as disability caused by illness or accident, death and involuntary unemployment. It is also a noble way to protect the family of the lender from acquiring debts in the event that he won't be able to pay his debt, especially if the borower has many dependents.
But having a mortgage insurance plan can be an additional expense especially when you have many obligations and on a tight budget. The importance of having an insurance plan greatly depends on the ability of the lender on how he can pay his mortgage in case of his disability. Does he have enough savings that will pay the debt or is there a member of the family will pay for him in case of disability? Examine closely if you really need to have an insurance plan.
There are some important things you need to know and consider before buying an insurance plan. Make sure that the plan is suited to your budget or is affordable yet cover the mortgage protection insurance you need. It is important to look for banks or insurance brokers that offer the best price and insurance cover.
Insurance agents or firms sometimes won't tell you the full details of some of their insurance policies. That is why, it is important to fully read and understand the insurance policy before deciding to sign up. Insurance policies that are low in price are often not good enough and other plans will only pay you off if your disability or death is caused by accident. They wouldn't cover insurance when the disability is caused by health issues such as diabetes or cancer.
Another thing that you need to know and is if the insurance plan is transferable. Which means you can transfer the plan from one mortgage to another. When you decide to refinance or sell your property, the insurance plan will still carry over. Unfortunately, most bank plans are non transferable but some independent insurance brokers offer a transferable plan.
There are many things you need to know and consider before buying an insurance plan. It is vital that you are able to determine if you need to have one and are able to choose a plan that suits your budget and needs. Having an insurance or financial adviser will greatly help to guide you in choosing an insurance plan that is best to protect you, your property and your family.
Don writes many articles about refinancing and maintains a website where you can get relevant information about investment property financing.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Don_Tyler
Selasa, 16 November 2010
House Insurance Quotes - Learning The Different Types Of Coverages By Bo A Miller Platinum Quality Author
You might have read somewhere about the different types of insurance policies available. You will certainly notice this when you are reviewing your house insurance quotes. Is it enough information for you to determine that you are getting the right home insurance policy for you? Have you considered reviewing the coverage of your house insurance quotes? Do you even know what is the standard coverage that you should look at? Perhaps, this article can share with you some helpful information and insights on property and additional coverage.
Basically the property and additional coverage are standard for all types of policies. For the property coverage, there are 4 kinds, namely: Dwelling, Other Structures, Personal Property, and Loss of Use or Additional Living Expenses. So when you receive your house insurance quotes, check carefully if they are included.
The first coverage that you will find is Coverage A - Dwelling. This typically covers the value of the house itself excluding the land. Normally, there is a co insurance clause
attached to this coverage. This clause indicates that any loss will be adjusted to replacement cost which is of course defined up to the policy limits and this condition is tied up for as long as the house is insured to 80% of actual value. The reason for this is to have a buffer for any inflation. Except for the Tenant form or HO4, all other forms have this coverage. Although there is an additional coverage for improvement cost of the house being rented for those owning a HO4 type of policy.
The second coverage is Coverage B - Other Structures. This covers the structure that surrounds or is within your property but it should be for residential purposes otherwise it would not be covered if it is used for business. This coverage usually has a limit of 10% to 20% of the value of the insured house but you can avail of endorsements so you can have additional amounts.
The third coverage is Coverage C - Personal Property. This covers all personal properties or contents of your house. However, losses of specific kinds of items have limits for theft. If you have a coin, medal or bullion collection, this is excluded from coverage C. Other items include banknotes or cash money. This coverage comprises 50% to 70% of coverage A. With this, some policy owners opt to insure a higher coverage so that they can also increase the coverage of their personal properties.
The fourth coverage is Coverage D - Loss of Use or Additional Living Expenses. This coverage is related to additional expenses incurred if the owner has to rent a space while the damaged house is being replaced or repaired.
Apart from the property coverage there is an Additional Coverage which should not be confused with additional living expenses. The additional coverage is for expenses that are related to repairs that are not included in the property coverage. This may include damage to trees and shrubs (for limited and specific named perils), debris removal, credit card theft charges, loss assessment, and more.
While there is coverage, you may want to also know those that are excluded, specifically those that are stated in the policy. For HO3 or the Special form which has an open perils policy, there is a stated specific exclusion which will most likely include water damage, neglect, war, earth movement or earthquake, intentional loss, concurrent causation, and nuclear hazard. These exclusions are stated in order to protect the insurance company otherwise policy owners may be neglectful or intentionally damage the insured house in exchange for money. For the other perils that are nature's wrath, these are circumstances that are unavoidable and so insurance companies exclude these kinds of perils.
| Get your House Insurance Quotes today, just visit http://www.wiseinsurancequotes.com/homequote.php and save up to 70% on your home insurance costs. Its fast, free & easy! Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bo_A_Miller |  |
3 Ways to Find a Good Home Insurance Policy By Charlotte J Wilson Platinum Quality Author
Over the years, man has cherished the place he lives in because of the kind of safety and comfort that it offers. This has been the state of people from prehistoric times through to the present space age. However, protecting the home is not an easy task owing to multiple threats in this current day and age. There are various natural threats such as floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, storms, landslides, as well as mudslides which can cause devastating damage to any home. In addition to this, man himself has not helped his own cause by creating man-made threats such as terrorism, poor construction etc. In effect, the solution has to come from other sources such as a home insurance policy.
Still, finding a quality home policy is not as easy as it seems owing to the fact that there are so many options being available in the market. Hence, the best way to find a good policy would be to collect as many options as possible before comparing them and choosing the best one. The following are some ways through which options can be found.
1. Insurance agent/broker:
The first is the most conventional means which involves dealing with an insurance agent to purchase a policy. Although there are many limitations with this method, there is the advantage of establishing a whole new relationship. Furthermore, sometimes it is also easier to deal with an insurance representative because of the human touch that they attach to it. A good local agent would go out of his way to explain the policy and its resulting benefits to you in simple terms. This can be a great advantage because insurance policies can be complicated in nature and contain complex jargon.
2. Internet search:
The second option is the more advanced option of finding policies through online websites of policy providers. The advantage here would be the fact that this method is faster and less cumbersome than the local agent. However, looking for policies online would require you to put in some effort into the research behind it. Since there is going to be no human aspect to explain the policy to you, you would need to research and build up enough of a knowledge base to be able to understand what a policy means.
3. Comparison websites:
The final method is the most beneficial and the most useful as well. A comparison website would not only be fast but would also be able to explain to you some fundamental concepts such as the fact that there are three types of products for insuring your home for example, buildings insurance, contents insurance and buildings and contents insurance. Comparison websites look to combine the benefits of an insurance representative and a fully automated website by asking you about your requirements and then categorically going about finding the best policy for you.
The more options you consider the better the chances that you will find a policy that is perfect for you. Therefore, you should try to implement a strategy that is the blend of all the above mentioned methods.
For further information regarding Contents insurance visit Swinton one of the UK's leading insurance companies.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charlotte_J_Wilson
The Benefits of Home and Contents Insurance Quotes By Charlotte J Wilson Platinum Quality Author
The majority of people in the world today still believe that insuring anything can take an especially long time. Furthermore, they also believe that the insuring of a car, health, life or house involves particularly complicated procedures. This belief is a remnant of previous years, when it was actually very difficult for a person to get anything insured. However, with the advancement of technology affecting businesses and consumers in more ways than can be counted, the purchase process of a house policy has also become easier.
In one word, this recent improvement in the whole purchase process can be attributed to the internet. The availability of the World Wide Web has resulted in people finding it much easier to gain knowledge and to communicate amongst each other, and to have a variety of things accessible to them. With respect to insuring your house, this means that it is now much easier for you to understand a policy, converse with other similar buyers to find out their views and have enough options to find the best possible one.
Apart from these basic advantages, the policy providers try to simplify the whole process for you further by providing you with multiple tools and instruments. Two of these instruments that are heavily interlinked are known as the premium calculator and the insurance quote. The connection between the two is that after you have used the premium calculator, you will receive the insurance quote which you can save for future references.
The premium calculator is an instrument that insurance carriers provide so that you as the potential buyer do not have to conduct complicated calculations to find out how much you would be paying every month. This is done on the basis of information provided by you such as your needs and requirements, your financial abilities etc.
The result of these premium calculators are known as quotes because these are like semi formal offers from the policy carrier to you, and if you decide to purchase a policy from the carrier then these are the terms on which the purchase will be made. These quotes are extremely useful because they can be saved to be used later. Since you can save these quotes, you can actually go about comparing multiple quotes from different carriers in a bid to find one that fits your needs the most.
There are numerous insurance carriers who have a variety of policies each. Furthermore, apart from differing individual policies, there are sub categories for policies as well. For example, under the category of home insurance itself, there are three different products. First is the buildings insurance which is for the structure, second is the contents insurance which is for the things inside the house, and the third is the buildings and contents insurance which is for both. Resultantly, since the internet is rife with policies which can make finding the best policy quite difficult without a plan, quotes can go a long way in helping you choose which company to opt for.
For further information regarding Contents insurance visit Swinton one of the UK's leading insurance companies.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Charlotte_J_Wilson
Jumat, 12 November 2010
Don't Sell Your Gold For Cash - Swap Your Cash For Gold! By Sally Griffin
There was a time when gold was money. The world's major economies have experienced a rapid money supply growth of 10 % plus per annum in recent years, and it is not backed up by gold, as in 'the good old days'. But the yellow metal is returning as a store of value when everything else seems risky.
Why invest in gold?
Experts agree, gold will double in value over the next 10 years and they recommend that you invest between 5 and 20 % of your assets in gold. Especially gold from KB Edelmetall is attractive; it is certified and made in small units. You can have your gold stored in Switzerland, and immediately converted it to money, if the need is there.
Gold is the most popular precious metal to be used as an investment or saving platform. Gold (as well as other precious metals) is the only real "money" of substance and as such is easily traded and treated as "ready money". Fiat currencies that most people think of as money, is nothing more than pieces of paper that people trust that it will buy them "things". It actually carries NO intrinsic value whatsoever. The Bank of England confirms this in their publication "What the bank does..." on page 11...."The Bank of England has been issuing banknotes for over 300 years. Early banknotes were receipts for gold deposited at the Bank. The holder of a banknote could bring it to the Bank of England and exchange it for gold. This is no longer possible, but banknotes still retain the words 'I promise to pay the bearer on demand'. There you have it...it used to be so, but no more!!!!...it goes on to say...."A banknote is only a piece of paper which costs a few pence to produce. But banknotes are worth something more because we trust they can be exchanged for things we want to buy - they are a widely accepted way of paying for things. This trust gives banknotes value."
Our vision is to become the largest distributor in the world of these precious metal bars by creating this new industry category combined with the explosive power of the network. http://wealth-creation.co
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Sally_Griffin
How Does the Gold Futures Market Work? By Christian Koch
There are two principle gold markets for bullion gold and silver. For the purposes of this discussion, we'll assume that the silver market functions in a similar enough manner to make an analogy from the gold market. We'll delve into the differences between the silver and gold market in a later post.
The two primary markets that determine the price of gold are the spot market and the futures market. The spot market is the market where gold for immediate delivery trades. Despite the name, not every transaction that happens in the spot market has a physical exchange of goods, but anyone who has access to the spot market must be able to make delivery of gold on demand.
The gold futures market is the market for gold at some date in the future. Gold futures trade on the COMEX (Commodities Exchange) in New York, now part of the CME Group (Chicago Mercantile Exchange). The gold futures contract is used by institutions as well as speculators. A futures contract is a standardized agreement to deliver or receive a specific amount of gold at some point in the future. The COMEX gold futures contract specifies delivery of 100 troy ounces of 995 pure gold. The notional value of the contract, based on a current gold price of $1390/Troy ounce is $139,000.00. (One Imperial, traditional, ounce = 28.35 grams; One Troy ounce = 31.10 grams)
In early November, 2010 the CME launched a new gold futures contract, the e-micro. The e-micro is identical to the traditional gold futures contract except that it trades a notional 10 troy ounces of gold. If one makes or takes delivery of this contract, 10 ounces of gold changes hands. The e-micro can be thought of as a fractional traditional gold futures contract, so 10 e-micros equal one traditional contract.
The contract allows a trader take a position that benefits from a rise in the price of gold or from a fall in price. Futures contract are designed to be uniform and can be long or short. If one is long, then they effectively buy gold, they own the commodity and benefit when the price rises. If one sells a gold contract and "gets short," then effectively, they sell gold. If the price drops, then they can buy their gold back for less than they paid. It is "buy-low, sell high," but in reverse.
Futures markets are predictive. Participants seek to anticipate where the price of gold will be near the end of the contract and invest accordingly. The futures price of any commodity is based on price expectations and the interest rate. Interest rates matter because there is an opportunity cost to investing money in a futures contact. The money is not earning interest in a bank account, so that opportunity cost is factored into the futures price of gold by the market. Because interest rates are currently low, and a small part of the price factor, for our purposes we can ignore the interest rate impact.
Despite the futures contract requiring physical delivery of 100 Troy ounce of gold, most contracts are closed before expiration requires delivery and it is not the norm that gold is physically exchanged. Even among large gold users, traders and investors, most gold is exchanged by electronic transfer while the physical good remains safely locked behind several layers of security at large, well protected banks and vault institutions. If one does take delivery of a gold contract, one actually receives a warrant for gold from a clearing depository.
Written by Christian Koch, head writer, VP of market research and development for Buy N Sell Gold.
Rabu, 10 November 2010
The Concept Of Retail Marketing By Adriana A Noton Platinum Quality Author
In the growing market, retail marketing has become one of the major emerging trends in the entire economical cycle. It is the retail market only which provides the consumer a basic platform to encounter with goods and a shop keeper for the first time. Retail market consists of a fixed location like boutique, store, departmental store etc, here in these location consumers meets the shop keeper and purchase goods in return of certain value. Maintaining a certain profit margin, these shop keepers sell goods to their consumers. The basic motive of these shopkeepers is to satisfy the consumers and fulfill their needs and demands.
Retail marketing strategy has become one of the basic elements of marketing strategy which includes a lot of planning and proper execution of this planning. Now let us first focus on the basic nature of retail. Firstly in retail, a marketer needs to focus primarily on the needs and desires of the customers.
Retail marketing even focuses on satisfying the customers, maintaining a proper profit margin for the owner of the goods. Customer needs are the basic key factors of retail. Retail marketing consists of 5 basic pillars, first is saving the precious time of the customers. Second is setting the right prices of the goods, third is creating a proper connection with the emotions of the customers, fourth pillar is paying the right respect to the customers and lastly solving the problems of the customer is another pillar of retail.
Creating customer loyalty is the basic function of retail, as once you create customer loyalty towards your brand it will be easier for you to stay in the market for a longer period of time. Creating customer loyalty is not a very easy task, as it takes years for a brand to create customer loyalty.
You can only create customer loyalty if you have a retail marketing plan, some of such marketing plans are the sales promotional activities like loyalty cards, loyalty one, gifts, coupons, special discounts and reward program.
Reward program includes special gifts on purchase of bulk goods and loyalty cards are special privileged cards which are offered to customers in order to provide them huge discounts and free gifts. These sorts of special sales promotional activities not only increase the sales target but at the same time increase customer loyalty also.
With so many new sales promotional programs promoted by the retail marketing strategies, now it is possible to create a healthy relationship with the customers. Previously creating emotional bonding with the customers was not taken into consideration, and thus customers were only treated as customers who were just supposed to pay the price of the goods. Thus, this resulted in lower customer loyalty and it gave rise to huge number of product switching.
Previously customers used to shift to other brands very easily as there did not exist any brand loyalty. But now with the extensive features of retail marketing, it has become easier for the company not only to capture a huge market but at the same time create a strong bonding with the customers. Thus, this sort of marketing strategy did not only ignite the sales target and profits but at the same time increased the brand loyalty.
| Providing custom strategies for Reward program since 1981, whether you're looking for a program update or an enterprise-wide solution, trust the experts. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adriana_A_Noton | |
Facebook Advertising Tips That Work By Jim A Zimmermann Platinum Quality Author
If you are tired of trying to advertise on Google AdWords and only losing money, it might be time to give Facebook advertising a try. In spite of its youth, Facebook is growing quickly. Advertisers are actually reporting a good number of conversions coming from their ads running on Facebook, which is a positive sign. This means that there are lots of profits available to those who want to reach out and take them. Here are three easy tips that you can use to make sure your Facebook advertising turns a profit.
So what exactly should you do with your Facebook traffic once you get some? Obviously you should send it to a landing page, but what kind of landing page should you use? The fan page you made on Facebook! That's right: you can increase your conversions by sending your site traffic to the fan page you've made on Facebook. Lots of new advertisers don't yet realize just how beneficial it can be to send traffic to a fan page. If you use your website instead of the fan page, you'll notice that the CTR and as well as the conversion rate is lower. Facebook users are more comfortable with fan pages because it is easier for them to click the "like" tab to show that they are a fan.
Your chance for conversion is better with a fan page because you have the ability to interact with them personally there. The more people you get to your fan page the better off you are. Use this strategy and you'll see for yourself how well it works out. Facebook advertising wouldn't be able to attract the advertisers they do if it were not possible to target your market audience. You can tap into these groups and actually bring a high response because these people are passionate towards that niche, which increases the likelihood of them clicking on your ad often. If you're a beginner, then you should learn something about writing PPC ads, or classified ads, and then practice writing them. The best approach is to present your benefits so that people feel them as much as possible. So the secret to longevity with your ads is to have compelling and strong copy that converts well.
Let's not forget about keywords and getting the most out of your campaigns. You'll be casting your net far too wide if you only base your campaigns on demographic criteria. There are some instances when you can safely target wide, but they are probably not the norm. You can decrease click prices by targeting smaller niche markets with keywords just like you do everywhere else. When you're advertising on Google AdWords, your ad is given a quality score to make sure it's relevant enough. Facebook's algorithm is not as sophisticated as Google's, but it still has code that looks at relevance. The more relevant ads you use for you Facebook advertising, then the better they'll perform - all things considered.
There's no reason why you should not be able to see positive returns from Facebook advertising. In many ways, this is just like writing classified or PPC ads, and it's imperative you do solid market research. If you are a beginner to IM or Facebook advertising and have little experience, then you will do fine as long as you approach this as a serious business activity.
| Facebook advertising is a great way to grow your business and can be very lucrative. For more ideas on growing your online presence see http://theinternetmarketingsolution.net. My name is Jim A. Zimmermann, and I take pride in the fact that I have taught myself how to make a living on the internet. Making a living online is not easy, but there are incredible benefits that come with it. Don't be fooled by the people who tell you that it is easy, it takes a lot of hard work. If you are interested in the freedom and control that come from working when and where you choose, check out my blog. Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Jim_A_Zimmermann |  |
Leaving a Legacy Through Writing By Lisa Shultz
Writing and publishing a book can be one of the most satisfying goals you achieve in your year. Books have the power to make a difference in this world today but also leave a legacy when you are gone. Books and their messages will continue to be available not only for purchase but for impact and influence even when you are no longer living.
My first book was published in 2005. It is a short 37 page book, which makes me laugh and wonder if it even qualifies as a book! But the simple act of writing it and completing it and publishing it was a huge step for me. I needed to start somewhere and finish it so it wasn't just another dream that faded away.
The whole purpose of that first book was to leave my daughters something tangible that their mother completed and dedicated to them. For some that might be art, a craft or collection of some sort. For me, I wanted a book. My daughters can say, if mom did it, I can too!
In fact, one of my daughters wrote a novel in her early teens with about 300 pages that is really good. When I read the draft, I thought to myself, where did a book like this come from? How did I raise a daughter that could write so well?
Then it hit me, she saw me writing as she grew up and so she wrote because she knew if I could do it, she could too. She has watched me write two more (much bigger) books since that first little one, and she now wants to co-author one with me. Wow, the ripple effect continues!
Even if you do not have children, your book can have a wonderful positive impact on readers. It is an amazing feeling when someone contacts you because of one of your books or published stories touched them. You can give others the feeling that they are not alone.
If there is a feeling inside you that you have something to say, and if you want to hold a book in your hands that you wrote and published, then seize the moment and commit to writing that book!
You probably have more to say than 37 pages! Share your experience, entertain and uplift your audience and leave a lasting legacy to your family and friends and any reader that you touch. Let your book be a gift that can keeps on giving during your lifetime and after you are gone.
And if you would like to know more about writing and self-publishing or if you have trouble visualizing your book but know you want to write one, be sure to grab your free visualization recording on http://www.selfpublishingexperts.com.
Get free instant access to resources for your writing and self-publishing needs.
Lisa Shultz, author of 3 books, strives to bring you the latest information and consulting to help you meet your writing and self-publishing goals.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Lisa_Shultz
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