“Gold, a Hedge Against the Perils of Interesting Times”

Author: admin  |  Category: investment

While paper-based investments and real estate are vulnerable to effects of changing times, gold soars. A precious metals investment may save a portfolio when all else fails.

The old Chinese curse, “may you live in interesting times”, has particular relevance to the current epoch of U.S. history. There’s a lot going on right now, much of it scary. Major investors around the world are responding to the events of our perilous age by sinking their dollars, deutschmarks and yen into gold, silver and palladium; Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and billionaire speculator George Soros to name but a few. Big financial institutions like the Central Banks of Russia and China are also leaping onto the metals bandwagon driving the price of these precious commodities ever higher.

This is spurring a gold rush not witnessed since the Misery Index years of the 1970s. Many financial experts now view gold in particular as an island of stability in a paper-based investment market growing stormier all the time, a development that bodes well for everyday folks who want to shore up their retirement accounts with a precious metals hedge.

“People the world over are losing faith in politicians, and currencies,” says Marc Lubaszka, President/CEO, World Financial, a highly successful investment firm specializing in precious metals based in Studio City, Calif. “This has resulted in a flight to gold and other precious metals, a storehouse of value for more than five thousand years. Investors are taking their money out of paper assets, and putting it where it is likely to earn a better return in uncertain times.”

Old Reliables Unreliable
Investments once considered as stable as granite are rapidly losing ground, Lubaszka explains. Real estate is but one example. Long praised as a slam-dunk by money gurus, home-buying is no longer viewed as a hurdle-free path to profit. Stratospheric pricing and higher interest rates are putting intolerable pressure on the current housing bubble, factors bound to bust the suds sooner or later and drive the overheated real estate market into deepfreeze.

“The housing bubble will burst rather than gradually deflate, following the rapid and violent pattern of decline of nearly every financial bubble throughout history,” Lubaszka says. “Higher interest rates negatively impact not only the health of the housing market but other economic segments as well. The stock market takes a hit because higher rates make it more costly for companies to pay for debt. Higher rates hurt corporate profit margins and reduce stock value, bad news given the deep debt situation so many companies are in today.”

Paper is Passé
According to Lubaszka, the U.S. dollar has lost more than 80% of its original value since the early 70’s when we went to a floating currency, a situation not helped very much by the debut of the Euro in the late 1990s. Unlike American dollars, a portion of the Euro is gold-backed, a stability feature that has helped it outperform the dollar over the long haul. It is for this reason that many foreign investors have been taking money out of U.S. dollars and putting it into gold and oil instead, one explanation for why the price of both has continued to rise in recent months.

“Gold prices are climbing right now because the Federal Reserve is printing dollars in flood proportions to keep the real estate market afloat,” adds Richard Russell, editor Dow Theory Letters, a stock market trends and securities report published since 1946. “This is creating inflation, which erodes purchasing power. All the world’s central banks are inflating right now, reducing confidence in paper globally and encouraging gold-buying. India and China are spurring gold prices as well. India is the world’s largest gold-consumer, and the Chinese government is actively encouraging its citizens to buy gold.”

All are extremely encouraging signs for gold investors. Over the course of the past 35 years, gold has climbed in value from a modest $35 an ounce to nearly $600. Contrast that with the battered U.S. dollar, a currency currently worth only 20% of its value in 1970.

“When gold peaked-out in the 1970s, interest rates were at an all-time high,” Lubaszka says. “Right now we’re waiting to feel the effects of the last 9 interest rate increases which generally take 6-9 months to begin impacting the economy.  Now’s the time to buy gold because when rates go up, downward pressure is exerted on real estate, stocks and bonds and commodities like gold tend to increase. The opposite occurs when rates travel from a high to a low. That’s the time to reduce gold assets and increase the paper part of a portfolio.”

Buy Without Getting Burned
Michelle Henderson, a talent agency owner in Los Angeles, Calif. understands the stakes when it comes to investing. “As an agent I work in a commission-based world, and have to invest in both people and ideas all the time,” she says. “Though I’d had bad experiences with stock investments in the past, I knew I would eventually find something that would work for me.  I invested in a diversified metals portfolio made up of palladium, silver and gold, and earned a profit of 38% with the palladium alone. Staying focused on making money, and following World Financials advice, I was able to earn an above-average return and greatly increase the overall value of my assets safely.”

Lubaszka explain, “It’s probably best for the first time investor to begin conservatively by purchasing physical metals instead of gold stocks, which can be very volatile”. According to Clearwater, Fla.-based talk show host and gold analyst, Tom O’Brien, when metals gain 20%, gold equities jump by fifty or sixty per cent. That’s great when it happens but the reverse can occur as well.

Buy gold bars or coins, and put them in a safety deposit box. If you chose to purchase coins from a coin shop, make certain you pay the lowest price possible and that they have a buy back policy. If you elect to go with a broker, fees will be inevitable because you are purchasing a tangible commodity.

There are brokers, and then there are brokers. The best of the breed will answer all questions, and make the process of first-time gold buying less nerve-wracking. Great brokers are also accessible when needed, and quick to call with any new information that affects the value of the investment.

Work with established companies, five years in business is good, ten even better. Don’t bother with firms that badger you with telemarketing offers or apply high-pressure sales tactics. Avoid paying high commissions too. Some brokers have layers of fees, through which they earn more money then they do investing on behalf of customers. There are also companies out there that will not buy metal back. Stay away from them as well.

“Check references and Better Business Bureau ratings”, Lubaszka adds. “Deal with a company that takes an active interest in doing business with you. World Financial, for example, offers a five-star customer satisfaction guarantee. If questions are not answered or we fail to respond to a prospect’s call or email within 24 hours, that person receives a one ounce silver American Eagle coin free of charge. A financial advisor’s job is to ease the investment process, and to insure that customers get the most for their money. Good advisers are merely good, but the best are worth their weight in gold.”

To contact World Financial directly call 818.264.4085.  World Financial is the premiere provider of precious metals to investors nationwide.  Aside from offering numerous incentive programs, World Financial offers clients the right type of precious metal strategy for every investor’s needs.  They are located at 12198 Ventura Blvd Ste 200, Studio City CA, 91604.

“Forex has the Advantage”

Author: admin  |  Category: investment

Greetings Fellow Forex Traders,

When it comes to trading in any market, Forex currency trading has a huge advantage over other players in trading business. Firstly, the Forex market has the advantage of time freedom. You see in the 4x market one can trade around the clock from Monday through Friday. In the stock market that is simply not possible since the market closes at 4:00. This advantage of time freedom allows those who have not yet earned enough money trading in the 4x market to maintain their day jobs while trading at night. It is also quite plausible to trade in the morning before a person goes to work. Trading the Forex can become an excellent second job for you.

Unlike the stock market, the currency trading market does not require a trader to pay a commission to place a trade. This will come as a welcome sign of relief to those who have grown accustomed to the vast amount of money they must fork over to their brokers which go towards clearing, exchange and government fees. In the 4x market you also do not have to worry about having a large sum of money in your account to sell your currency pairs. This concept of selling as you may already know is commonly called shorting in the equities world. You can buy or sell at will in the currency trading arena.

It is so amazing to be able to participate in this market right now. You can do so from the comfort of your very own home. As long as you have a computer that is connected to the Internet you are in business. You can begin trading with as little as 300 dollars. I will show you how to turn this 300 dollars into some serious money in no time at all. This should be a lot easier to do given the advantages that you know the 4x market has over its competitors.

The Forex market is traded by some of the world’s richest individuals including Bill Gates and Warren Buffett. You now have access to the same opportunities as they do. What is stopping you from getting on the road to financial freedom. You can start now. You do not have to wait. You have already begun the journey by choosing to educate yourself on the pros of the Forex market.

I personally love the fact that you can trade whenever you want to with the Forex. You see, in the stock trading world you are flagged if you are deemed to be a daytrader. In other words if a trader of stocks chooses to trade every day, he or she must have an account balance of 50,000 dollars to do so. There are no such restrictions when it comes to trading the 4x. If you work at night, you may trade in the daytime. If you work during the day, you may trade at night. You simply trade according to the schedule that works best for you.

I want you to think about money for a moment. Who uses it? The whole world does in some form or another. Another advantage that the Forex market has is that there will always be a need for money. You are simply trading one currency for another in the currency market as the 4x is commonly reffered to. The Forex market is not going anywhere. It is here to stay. The only question is then who will be a part of it. We need money to buy the things we use everyday and so do those who live in the other parts of this world.

Another advantage that 4x has over stocks is the advantage of trading focus. Instead of having to choose between over 4,000 stocks you can deal with 4 main currency pairs. Any good business person knows that focusing on too many things is a recipe for financial disaster and this can hold equally true in the stock market. A stock trader also must grapple with the time issue doing research on all those potential stocks presents. It is also much easier to become familiar with 4 things as opposed to 4,000 things. Focus is the name of the game and 4x trading makes it much easier to do so.

The ball is now in your court. Will you take it and make the decision to win with currency trading? 4x is indeed the winner’s game and those who win consistently know how to play it well.

Much continued success,

The creator of “The 4x Express”

Managing Your Risks In The Stock Market

Author: admin  |  Category: investment

Whenever you invest your money in the stock market, you take on a certain amount of risk. While there is no way to get around that risk, it is possible to manage your risk by educating yourself before you start trading.

One of the most important things to remember about any investment, is that if your capital is borrowed, you take on an even greater risk than the actual investment itself. It is never a good idea to borrow, either from a lending institution or from your credit cards, to come up with the money you need for any particular investment. This maximizes your risk in that, if the investment doesn’t pan out, you will still have to repay the amount you borrowed, and may even have to pay penalties depending on your financial position and ability to repay.

Make sure that before you start trading, you have planned ahead and set aside the capital you will need to invest. This will eliminate that third party, and ensure all of your profits will go in your pocket, and not some bank’s ledger. Keep in mind, though, not only will you need the money for your capital, but also for the most expensive part of the stock market – brokers fees.

While each broker will have different rates, most charge a flat fee per trade. These flat fees make it much easier to see a return on your investment much sooner than you would with a variable rate. This also means that, if you are starting with a fairly large investment of perhaps $10,000, and the brokers trading fee was a $100 flat rate per trade, you would only have to see a one percent return to break even. Of course the reverse is also true, in that if you are starting with a smaller investment of only $1000 or so, you would have to see at least a ten percent return to do the same.

Your rate of return will also depend on whether you are investing in a short term or long term system. In a short term system, you will have many more trading fees, since it is based on the buy low, sell high, do it now philosophy. With a long term system, however, you will incur far fewer trading fees due to the fact that with a long term investment, you are investing in the future viability of a company, rather than in an immediate merger or other change.

Managing your money wisely will help to manage your risk. But it is important to remember that even when your monetary risk has been considered, there is always the market risk. That is to say that there is always the chance that when you invest in the stock market today, there is no guarantee that the market will exist tomorrow. There are no guarantees in stock market trading, and there is no way to eliminate your risks entirely. But with good financial planning, and a little common sense, stock investments can be a wonderful way to provide money for your future.

It Pays To Be Stingy

Author: admin  |  Category: investment

We all know the importance of savings for the future. A dollar a day would have grown into $ 508,000 after 50 years. This assumes a 10.5 % annual return.

There are other ways to boost our retirement account other than cutting your expense by a few dollars a day. But first, you have to understand the importance of boosting just one percentage of your return. 1% does not seem much. After all, if you have saved a dollar a day, after the first year, your savings would have grown larger by $ 3.65. So, why bother, right? Wrong.

If you take your time to whip out your calculator and compute, the one percentage difference is a BIG deal. Instead of 10.5 % annual return, you can assume that you now achieve an annual return of 11.5%. While saving a mere $ 1 a day, how much your money would have grown after 50 years? The amount now is $ 730,000. 1% return will have given you $ 230,000 in extra money. Assuming that you will spend $ 100,000 per year on your retirement day, this extra 1 % will give you 2 more years of comfortable life.

Knowing that an extra one percent return is significant to your retirement account, here is several ways to achieve that.

Using a Limit Order. We are not day traders. But, that does not mean we should buy a company using market order. With lots of program trading out there, using market order might give you the highest price of the day. Looking at any publicly traded companies, it can fluctuate 1 – 2 %. in a given day. Furthermore, using limit order does not cost you extra. At Scottrade, both market and limit order costs you $ 7 per trade. There are several excellent broker comparisons website out there.

Learning Technical Analysis. Sure, this is the tool that are mostly used by day traders. But, in the short term, it has its use. There is no guarantee that you can buy at the absolute lowest price. But at the very least, you won’t buy at the top. In general, it always pay to buy at major support and sell at major resistance. If you are not sure about this definition, you are welcomed to discuss it at our discussion forum.

It pays to be stingy. An extra 1 % would probably buy a new car by the time you reach retirement. Now, this is just a conservative estimate. I believe you can save more than 1% with all the volatile stocks out there.

Investing in Australian Aboriginal Art

Author: admin  |  Category: investment

One of the hottest areas of the contemporary art scene in Australia today is Australian Aboriginal art, which is becoming an increasingly attractive option for many investors. The Aboriginal art market has attracted increasing international attention in recent years, and has experienced exceptional growth which appears set to maintain pace in the medium term. Aboriginal art considerably outsells non-indigenous Australian art at auction and has gained significant international standing. It is critical that investors are well informed before entering the Aboriginal art market, however, not only to ensure that investments are made in quality work by quality artists, but also to guarantee the provenance and authenticity of the work.

Australian Aboriginal art has generally proved to be a solid investment over time. Work by important Aboriginal artists has increased in value markedly over the past 30 years, with individual works fetching prices as high $350,000 at international auction. Prudent investors who have developed good relationships with specialist galleries can derive great pleasure from collecting the art of the world’s oldest living indigenous culture, and can also be assured that the artists in question have been treated fairly and ethically, and that their investment is secure.

One of the first considerations when investing in Aboriginal art is a Certificate of Authenticity. Certificates are normally issued by the community where the artist lives and paints, or by the gallery from which the artwork is purchased. Certificates vary in the details they provide, however most include information including the artist’s name, community and language group, the title, story and size of the work, and the name and code of the relevant community art centre or gallery. A photo of the artist with the work is also often included with the certificate.

Many of the factors involved in determining the value of an Aboriginal art work are similar to those involved in any other art work. A particular piece should in the first instance be attractive to the investor on the basis of its immediate aesthetic value, but its current and future financial value depend on a variety of factors requiring careful research. These factors include the renown of the artist and the period of the artist’s career in which the work was created. Other factors particular to the Australian Aboriginal art market include the artist’s age and seniority as a tribal elder, and their role or position in the historical development of Aboriginal art.

Prior to purchasing a painting, investors should research the artist in as much depth as possible. Determine whether the artist is represented in significant collections or galleries in Australia and internationally. Also determine how prolific the artist is, and whether there is strong demand for the artist in the secondary market – in other words, at auction. View as much work by the artist as possible to determine whether the work under consideration is from a well regarded period or series. Works painted during particular periods can be significantly more valuable than those from other periods. Finally, make sure you have an accurate understanding of the current market value of the artist’s work.

If all these factors seem daunting, don’t hesitate to ask for professional advice. The Australian Aboriginal art market is far more open than it once was, with increased competition facilitating a marked improvement in service. Reputable gallery owners, dealers and auction houses possess the necessary expertise and are generally happy to assist new investors. One final point to consider when investing in any art are add-on expenses including transaction costs, commissions, insurance and restoration charges. These costs can be high, so be sure to factor them into the purchase price where applicable.