Investing articles

If you're like many Americans over the age of 55, you've probably had money taken out of your paychecks for years and years in order to purchase U. S. savings bonds. Those bonds are probably sitting in a safe deposit box at your local bank or in a drawer safely tucked away at home. But, while you might know where those bonds are right now, do you have any idea how much they are actually worth?It seems to be a... Read More

The Light Crude Continuous Contract hit an all-time high at $70.85 a barrel, while Unleaded Gasoline Futures spiked 50% or $1 a gallon on Tuesday. However, oil closed the week at $67.57 a barrel, while gasoline finished the week up 15%. There's still uncertainty over the extent of oil and gasoline disruptions in the Gulf, over the next few weeks or months, caused by hurricane Katrina. However, there are many forces keeping a lid on oil and gasoline prices.The summer... Read More

What really controls the economy? Forget interest rates, forget deficits, forget the Fed, forget IRAQ, forget which party is in office. In fact, forget just about everything that permeates the news. The greatest force that has controlled the long-term trend of the economy for at least the last century doesn't give a fig about any of these side-shows. And just what is this "greatest force" now telling us in 2005? The same thing that it has been telling us for... Read More

There are many steps in calculating the fair value of a company. However, before we even do that, it is imperative to know how a company earns its profit. Does it do that by selling to consumers? licensing its technology to other companies? or extracting natural resources from the ground?The sensible way to do it is by reading the company's annual report. What is an annual report? Annual report is yearly publication by public companies to better inform investor about... Read More

You have rowed a boat at some time haven't you? Yes, put the oars in the water and pull. Of course, you don't know where you are going because you are sitting backwards. Every so often you have to turn to look ahead to see if you are pulling in the right direction.Reminds you of the stock market doesn't it? You have your money invested and you are pulling hard (working) trying to get to that rainbow where the pot... Read More

The Light Crude Continuous Contract closed at $66.13 a barrel Friday, after hitting an all-time high at $67.95 a barrel earlier in the day. A week from Monday is Labor Day, which marks the end of the summer driving season. Consequently, I believe, oil hit a short-term top Friday or will top next week.Recent economic data show persistently high oil prices, along with higher interest rates, are slowing U.S. economic growth. Durable Goods Orders fell about 5% last month, and... Read More

If you've decided to stock some money away in a certificate of deposit, why not reap the highest benefit over time by laddering your CD investments? What's a CD latter? I'm glad you asked.A CD ladder is made up by purchasing several CD's at one time with different maturity dates. One example of a CD ladder is to have maturity dates of one year, two year, three year, four year, and a five year CD. These five investments make up... Read More

Investors usually don't have an aversion to buying an asset. The real gut wrenching decision is when - and if - to sell. What most don't realize (or don't want to realize) is the overwhelming importance of the sell decision. Let's explore the reasons why and the techniques that can calm a seller's nerves.Finding reasons not to sell an asset is as easy as finding a reason to avoid a root canal. Have you ever heard (or told yourself), "I... Read More

Okay, so I can tell you I have sat in front of countless numbers of people who have made mistakes when purchasing and owning annuities. And I have visited people who wish they never got involved in an annuity. And I have seen people who say that their annuity is their worst nightmare...So what is it that makes the annuity such a bad thing for some people and such a great vehicle for others??? Well I am about to tell... Read More

The Foreign Exchange Market, better known as FOREX, is a worldwide market for buying and selling currencies. It handles a huge volume of transactions 24 hours a day, 5 days a week. Daily exchanges are worth approximately $1.5 trillion (US dollars). In comparison, the United States Treasury Bond market averages $300 billion a day, and American stock markets exchange about $100 billion a day.The Foreign Exchange Market was established in 1971 when fixed currency exchanges were abolished. Currencies became valued... Read More

The first point to mastering money management is that you have to understand when you're trading on the stock market is that you are playing the odds ? but unlike many forms of gambling, you can make money. The key to making this money is to respect the risk that is part of the market, and manage it. Money management is a set of rules and guidelines that enables you to turn a profit. By being triumphant with your money... Read More

Going public in this manner is ideal for companies that may not be large enough to attract an underwriter for an IPO and those that don't need to raise capital immediately. They want to go public because of the many benefits that being a public company offers such as increased valuation, using public stock as currency to acquire other companies and assets, liquidity, prestige and to reduce the need for expensive venture capital and other financing sources. It also makes... Read More

With visions of an ATM in every neighborhood in China, foreign banks and investment firms are queuing up to join the "China Club."Moneybags CommunismThe initiation fee for the "China Club" is straightforward and pure moneybags communism: invest cold hard cash in its largely insolvent state-owned banks, put your reputation on the line, reassure nervous foreign investors about upcoming IPO's, and share your risk management, corporate banking and other expertise with eager Chinese executives. The benefits of membership in the China... Read More

Everyone's talking about China. Don't miss the opportunities in the other CHI..Yes. Chile with an "LE" not "NA"While the whole region is back in favor with investors, it seems appropriate to highlight Chile which is the economic star of Latin America.Chile is about two times the size of Montana and has an incredible coastline of 2,650 miles. While only 3% of its land is arable, it has an amazing variety of climates and rich agricultural production. It gained its independence... Read More

You'll want to opt for the no-load or institutional share class instead. If you're a no-load investor who is determined to buy a fund that's primarily broker-sold, go through a supermarket and opt for the D shares.If you are using a broker or planner, the decision about whether to opt for the A, B, or C share class boils down to your own time horizon and, to a lesser extent, how much you're investing. If you plan to invest for... Read More

Convertibles are stealing the show with their safe investment image in today's "protective" market. They seem to be overshadowing the stocks and bonds, and this holds true for the mediocre issuers.A convertible bond, as the name suggests, can be converted into a company's common stock. The bonds are a source of additional profit for the investors. Although investors are particular about short-term performance of stocks, they're upbeat about a long-term, fixed-income instrument that gives them profit on converting to common... Read More

Mutual Funds are considered to be one of the best investments one can get hands on. They're very flexible and cost-effective. An excellent investment for people with restricted knowledge, time or, money.For beginners, who might have a perplexed expression on their faces at the mention of mutual funds; let me first acquaint them with what the mutual funds are all about.A mutual fund is a financial instrument that enables a group of investors to pool their money together. There's a... Read More

Many Young people live for Today. They really don't fully understand the power of compound interest. The Difference between investing as little as $20 a week at age 20 or waiting until age 50 can be over $3,000,000 (yes 3 Million). Don't wait start today!Recently I was in a 7-11 and I watched as a young man Purchased $10 worth of Lottery Tickets. As he was walking away from the counter he started talking to me. He told me he... Read More

Many people have, at one time or another, taken some of their hard-earned funds, and decided to put them in the stock market. These well-meaning individuals either acted on a tip they saw on CNBC, or actually believed one of those crazy faxes/emails that said XBXB @ $0.17/share was the next Microsoft. These people thought they were being smart, but they probably just ended up lining the pockets of brokers and mutual funds when they lost money on their 'investment'.... Read More

The Light Crude Continuous Contract fell from $67.70 a barrel on Monday to $62.75 on Thursday, and closed at $65.79 on Friday. Consequently, oil stocks followed the sharp move in oil prices last week.The first chart is an OIH (basket of oil stocks) daily chart, which suggests a consolidation or correction over the next few weeks. The Price-by-Volume bar (on left side of chart) indicates OIH may trade between 111 and 114 short-term. There's also resistance around 115, i.e. the... Read More