Learning to Recognize Investment Risks

By Sara Ferguson

As an investor you face many risks, the most obvious is financial risk. Companies go bankrupt, trading decisions go bad, the best laid plans go awry, and you can end up losing your money " all or some of it, whether the economy is strong or weak. What puts your finances at risk? Here are some types of risks below.

Interest rate risk: Interest rates, set by banks and influenced by the Federal Reserve, change on a regular basis. When the Fed raises or lowers interest rates, banks raise or lower interest rates accordingly. Interest rate changes affect consumers, businesses, and, of course, investors. Whether rising or falling interest rates are good or bad depends on the type of investment.

Market risk: No matter how modern our society and economic system, you cant escape the laws of supply and demand. When masses of people want to buy a particular stock, it becomes in demand, and its value rises. That value rises higher if the supply is limited. Conversely, if no ones interested in buying a stock, its value falls. This is the nature of market risk. The value of your stock can rise and fall on a whim of market demand. Your investments are impacted on that demand or mood of the market.

Inflation risk: Inflation is the growth of the money supply without a commensurate increase in the supply of goods and services. For consumers, inflation shows up in the form of higher prices for goods and services. Inflation risk frequently is also referred to as purchasing power risk because your money doesnt buy as much as it used to.

Tax risk: Taxes dont affect your investments directly, but they do affect how much of your money you get to keep. To help minimize tax risk, be aware of the tax implications and obligations associated with the different types of investments. Because the tax rules are often very complex, differ for different investment vehicles and scenarios, and change regularly, talk to your accountant, tax advisor, or tax attorney for guidance.

Political and governmental risks: If investment vehicles were fish, politics and government policies (such as taxes, laws, and regulations) would be the pond. In the same way that fish die in a toxic or polluted pond, politics and government policies greatly influence the financial stability of companies and commodities, the value of currencies and so forth.

Emotional risk: Emotions are important risk considerations because the main decision-makers are human beings. Logic and discipline are critical factors in investment success, but even the best investor can let emotions take over the reins of money management and create loss. For any kind of investing, the main emotions that can sidetrack you are fear and greed. - 23199

About the Author:

How to Invest Today is dedicated in teaching and keeping you up to date on the information you need to invest. Investing is a always changing world with constant pitfalls. How to Invest Today trys to help you around them to avoid getting trapped and keep you informed of the latest information.

Don't fear $4 gas hike, even though gas prices surge 9%

By Jonathan Summers

Gas prices have surged nearly 9% over the past two weeks, but analysts say a return to last summer's record highs of $4 a gallon is not on the horizon. Gasoline prices have jumped about 18 cents during the past 13 days, with the national average hitting $2.226 a gallon on Monday, according to a survey by motorist group AAA. While prices have been on a tear, they are still some 46% lower from the all-time high of $4.114 a gallon hit last July.

It's not surprising that prices have been moving higher as they typically increase ahead of the Memorial Day holiday, the unofficial start of the peak summer driving season. "A bump-up is to be expected this time of year but we're not on the way to another spike," said AAA spokesperson Troy Green. He said would be "surprised" to see prices reach $3.50 a gallon, barring unanticipated supply disruptions such as a hurricane, and he would be "shocked" to see $3.75 a gallon this summer.

Many analysts expect gas prices to continue climbing over the next few weeks, greatly because of rising crude oil prices, the main ingredient in gasoline. "Gas prices have trended higher in lockstep with crude prices," said Chris Lafakis, economist at Moody's Economy.com. "Crude is the biggest input in the price of gasoline." Oil prices have rallied some 73% over the past three months as signs the economy is headed for a recovery have raised bets that demand for oil and gas will rebound sooner rather than later. Oil prices edged lower Monday after closing at their highest level of the year Friday.

Despite the recent rises in oil prices, the fundamental backdrop for crude market does not support higher prices, analysts said. In addition, that may help keep gasoline prices in line. "There's some irrational optimism about the future," said Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst for the Oil Price Information Service. "People are looking at the bright side and not the actual data points for supply and demand." Demand for oil is at its weakest level since 1995 and the nation's supplies of crude are at their highest since 1990, according to the Department of Energy. While there are some likelihood that demand for gas is firming up and that drivers are gradually increasing the number of miles they drive each month, the lousy economy is expected to keep a lid on gas prices.

For drivers, income is the number one concern when it comes to how far and how often they drive, Lafakis said. With unemployment at 8.9% and rising, consumers are likely to remain frugal, keeping downward pressure on gas prices. "In an environment where income growth is very weak or has declined, you're not going to get the kind of demand that is necessary to push gas prices to $2.50 or $3.00 a gallon," he said. "That won't happen this summer because the macro economic environment is putting a ceiling on gas prices. - 23199

About the Author:

Jonathan Summers is employed with a Credit Recovery Agency that helps with Debt Collection

Be In The Right Emotional State When Forex Trading

By Bart Icles

A lot of strategies are being used in forex trading. There are strategies that work, there are some that do not. Sometimes, simple strategies work well, sometimes complicated ones do. Whatever the strategies you are employing in forex trading, you should only be aiming for one thing, that is, be able to be on the winning end and not on the losing end. It is very helpful to be able o devise your own forex trading strategy to be able to develop a winning streak during forex trading.

The most important thing to consider in developing your own forex trading strategy is to be able to keep it simple to you. This is because the more complicated a forex trading strategy is for you, the harder it is to keep up with. You would need to keep up and keep track of a lot of things that will make you lose sight of your main goal, that is, to keep on winning and making good money during forex trading.

First thing to consider in forex trading is to be able to determine what your main objective is. Your objectives may vary from time to time, of course. During one trade, your objective might be to earn twice as much. In another, your objective might be to earn a million bucks. Whichever your objective is, it is bent on one thing, that is, to win and be able to earn money. To do this, your objective should be to be able to make consistent winning trades with the same strategy.

Whatever strategy you use in forex trading, you should always have one characteristic to adhere to. And what characteristic is that? Discipline. Why? Discipline will keep your emotions in check. As in everything, when you are in control of your emotions, you will be able to make sound decisions since you are in the right mental state. You will have the ability to focus on what you are doing. It will allow you to gauge when to put the stops. It will teach you how to stick to a plan and be successful in it.

In forex trading, the most important thing is to make sure that the system or the strategy that you will be using will function well and, of course, all the ins and outs of it should be like the palm of your hand. You should make your own set of rules and criteria to be able to determine which would or would not work. Of course, you should consider the forex signals that you can freely find anywhere, may it be online, the local newspaper, or a trusted friend who is also doing forex trading. - 23199

About the Author:

A forex blogspot com is a powerful tool in your forex education. Come find out more about forex trading at our blog forexstrategysecrets.com/blog.

Property Investing Advice - Buying Property Insider Secrets

By Madison Sullivan

If you're determined to succeed in real estate investing, then hire a coach to provide expert Property investing advice. Many real estate owners try to educate themselves via trial and error, but this technique can result in a lot of time and money wasted. It would be more favorable if you take note of the advice of coaches who the industry inside and out. This document outlines 4 excellent tips to help you spot the best deals in property investing.

The first step to successful property investing is to find positively geared property to purchase. This means that the amount of rent you stand to collect will be greater than the cost of owning the property. Property investment advice should include how to find the best price on properties with the most income potential. It should also include property investment education that involves finding property management that will not drive up the cost of maintaining the property too much. The best providers of this information are professionals who have already been triumphant in unearthing positive geared property.

Positive cash flow property can be located on the outskirts of major Australian capital cities. For instance, visit communities such as Liverpool, Blacktown and Penrith. Other suburbs closer to the Sydney CBD are ok too but positive cashflow properties may be harder to come by there. These areas include Leichhardt and Annandale. By narrowing your search to only a few suburbs you'll get a better understanding of exactly what properties are worth in those suburbs. This will allow you to spot real estate deals as soon as they are made public.

Finding the right property at the right price is not easy. While lots of property investment seminars tell you do a lot of research, Property investing advice that recommends you concentrate on certain districts only is better. This is why you need a real estate coach and a buyers agent. These experts will give you the guidance you need to turn a good profit. They will do the legwork for you and you can thus rest in the knowledge that you will be investing your money wisely.

Buying an investment property generally entails financing contracts. Making wrong choices in financing can limit how much property you can actually invest in. Even if you buy positive cash flow property, it's imperative to make wise financing decisions. Keep in mind that mortgage brokers can only help you with one real estate at a time. This will limit your capability to buy other real estate later. Mortgage planners may be just the people you need to help you come up with a great investment strategy. - 23199

About the Author:

Read this site if you want property investment course information. Visit the page on buying an investment property to get more information.

How To Make Money From Passions

By Kamil Dixon

I learned the hard way about the consequences of not approaching my ventures with enough preparation. I was always so arrogant that I thought that I knew everything I needed to know, at least the base concepts. But If your making the type of money I think your looking for, if your like me, its over 6 figures, than you have to treat your venture as an investment, and put the sweat equity into the plan, so your results stand stable

If your not sure what to join, that's natural, the internets so big, there's a niche for almost whatever your into, have passion in your pursuit of the business for you, and then marketing that business will be much more in your comfort zone.

Working From home gives you much more freedom over your time and income potential, but it also requires discipline, something that can sabotage your success if you don't keep your eyes on the prize. It's much easier and beneficial to you and your customers if you pursue your interest

Everybody starts with the intentions of making good money online, but only a few make thousands monthly, most people trip and quit. Why is that?

My answer begins with the age-old chicken or egg question, "what comes first the chicken or the egg"? Personally I vote for, well never mind, each argument you or I make comes back to the same old conclusion - I have no clue and I don't think many of us do either.

But even in the face of success and failure, passion for what you sell amplifies the odds in your favor. You must believe in what your selling before it can be sold, or your basically running a marathon bare foot, you'll be exhausted before you can reap the fruits of your labor.

Passion in this sense is faith in the value of your business, Passion represents the result of careful research into your products or services, and that should reflect in your confidence of knowing the value available to your customers, to the point that it can become contagiously profitable.

I will have to say that many online entrepreneurs are so good at what they do that they ignore passion because they can sell anything. But I'm concerned about those of you who are not so knowledgeable at working an online business successfully.

Now Passion and insight into what your selling inst enough because to be successful you must also have a good website, good marketing, widespread advertising, company support, effective keywords, and etc. Those things are often learned from the company you join - but sidestep Passion and you reduce your chances for success dramatically.

The point is that there's going to be ups and downs, times when you have to step out of your comfort zones to define a new comfort, to endure these changes with minimal relapse, passion is a prerequisite.

Internet marketing work is typically not all that difficult or time consuming but it does take motivation caused by Passion to get you off and running with a sustained effort so that you won't stumble.

You have a great resource in the Internet search engines to search about the Internet Marketing industry for business opportunities, USE IT!

Search for something that you can promote with dignity, something that reflects great principles and gets you excited in its potential. Something easy to understand with great products and services that are sell-able for which you can have Passion. If you don't find it the first couple of searches move on, you can find the right opportunity with everything above. Invest the time and it will pay you interest in the future.

Don't choose a company because it sounds good, or because it works for others; And remember when you hear that an Internet "guru" does that, don't be tempted, because as I said earlier they are experienced and can sell just about anything, without being Passionate about the company products and services.

Note: With experience, eventually you will learn to understand what people want and how to present anything you believe in, when that time comes, you'll know you are no amateur anymore, now you're an Internet marketer.

There's more to learn but the point of all of this is to tell you that passion is essential. If you don't first find the right company products and services to be passionate about, all of those other steps may just cause you a lot of frustration instead of bringing you great success.

Lacking passion for what you promote is a foundational mistake you have to avoid. There's a lot of opportunities to choose from, hit the search engines and choose wisely, and flow from there - 23199

About the Author:

Meet the author: Kamil Dixon makes a killing Marketing Online and can show you the game. Go to his site to learn "The Right Way" to Make Money Online.