Investor Crisis

By Doug West

If the meltdown on Wall Street has taught us anything about investing it is this:

"We Better Learn To Make Our Own Investment Decisions -And Not Let Brokers Make Choices For Us!"

This is a basic fact we have been preaching for years now. Many times investors either blindly throw money at the market or let a broker do it for them. With a little effort you could learn to direct your investment accounts and retirement funds on your own.

In this article we want to point you in the right direction, and give you a few crisis tips too.

ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds) are an excellent alternative to mutual funds as an investment vehicle.

There are ETFs that cover every sector of the market. ETFs offer many advantages over mutual funds. Here are a few:

* Tax Advantages - (Even in your non-qualified accounts) ETFs seldom sell any equity positions or create a taxable event. Mutual funds often do this. With mutuals, you could owe tax on part of the funds holdings (the winning stocks they sell at a profit) even though you lost money over all. A double whammy!

* Less Management Costs - Even No-Load Mutual funds have become top heavy with many "Professionals" employed and eating up GIANT parts of the profit. You might think of ETFs as Electronically Traded Funds. MUCH less management costs (in some cases no management costs) and the ease of trading them.

* Diversification - Let's face it, this is what was attractive about mutual funds to begin with. Instead of picking out stocks on your own, you had "Professionals" (with the meltdown we can see that most of them are not too professional) putting together a diversified portfolio for you. With ETFs, you can get the same if not better diversification without the hassle of dealing with a mutual fund giant eating up all the profits.

* Easy To Trade - With true mutual funds you can only get out of a position After the market closes. You can trade ETFs just like a stock in your discount brokerage account. If you were locked into a fund when the market was in crash mode, it was not a good feeling. Had that been an ETF you could have bailed at any time (before the DOW closed down 777 points!)

We could go on with the benefits of ETFs, but you should be starting to see the picture. An even better way to call your own shots with your investments is to trade the index (or indices for plural). We are referring to the mini Dow, the S&P eMini, the mini Russell and others. (there are also ETF's the mirror the indices such as "SPY" for the S&P 500 index)

While we focus on mini-Dow trading, any index will do. With Index trading, you just follow the overall market up, or ride it down with a short position.

While we are on the subject of shorts it would be good to mention that while most US mutual funds are not allowed to short a stock, you can actually buy ETFs that do good with the market is dropping. One such fund is ticker "DUG" which does well when the Oil price is dropping (a tip we gave our readers after the big run up in oil to over $140 per barrel - at the time of this writing it has been dropping since).

You can find other ETFs that do well in falling markets. So, you don't have to short the market (statistics show that 80% or more of investors never do short the market - but are always looking for a upward bull run), you just buy the right ETF and let it do the shorting for you. These are at times referred to as Inverse ETFs.

By now, many investors see the importance of having a strategy for making money when the market is dropping. Most investors have yet to develop this strategy. We prefer to do it with simple index trades. Whatever you do, find a way to make your own moves and don't depend on someone else to invest your money for you. No one will take care of your money like you will!

*********************************************************** NOTE: To learn more about ETFs visit Yahoo Finance and look under the Investing Tab at the top of the page - then select ETFs www.finance.yahoo.com *********************************************************** - 16586

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Debt-Free Report

FOREX BROKER- Select the Winning Broker

By Singapore Trader Reports

Now that you have decided to start trading before you can trade in stocks, CFDs or Forex, you must have an online or over the phone broker. This is an area you have to do a thorough research before settling for one, because it is something that has to do with your hard earned money.

All of the brokers are trying to outdo the other by offering different services to make them stand out as the best. But the truth is that many of them are fake. . This is very necessary so that you don't loose your investments to some dubious personalities or some brilliant advertising. Look for someone to refer you to a broker. Find out who people are using, who does the leading stock market reports recommend. You are able to go to www.cfdfxreport.com and go to the choosing a broker section they have reviewed the Forex Brokers and Also the CFD Providers and they can recommend one for you. This is important to look at why, as they have many years knowledge and know what to look for. Most importantly they have clients just like you. Email them ask them. Ask the questions, how long does it take, what is the customer service like, withdrawls, you see they have already researched all this information for you.

Her is little bit of a due diligence guide, what are the things you have to check? What are you supposed to consider before settling for an online stock broker? 1) Check what their brokerage rate is. Note that for every transaction you make you are charged a fee, which is deducted from your account. 2) Beside the brokerage rates, another thing you must check is the account fees. Make sure that you carefully study the contract agreement before signing so that you don't sign your own obituary. Make sure that there are no hidden charges. All fees that you will pay must be clearly written on the contract note.

3) The third thing you need to check is whether the online broker can be contacted directly through phone. What are the fees are there any extra fees? This is crucical what about if your not in front of the computer and you want to sell.

4) Finally, what are the account fees can I use credit cards, deposit immediately, bpay etc. These are all things that make your trading life so much simpler.

Remember selecting a good broker is an important as selecting a winning trade.

Happy Trading - 16586

About the Author:

No matter if you are a CFD or FX trader, you should be looking for tips day in and day out, from a quality source.. By signing up for a daily trading report you will receive all the information that you could ever need including trade ideas, stock updates, stock prices,and much more

Avoid Foreclosure By Negotiating With The Lender

By Tomasheus Privetsky

There is more than likely a few things which have led to your being in the situation you are in now. You may have been through a bitter divorce, lost your job or experienced an illness. The bills are piling up and the increased price of utilities are staining your budget, perhaps you have an adjustable rate mortgage (ARM) which has skyrocketed; it is getting difficult to cope.

Unfortunately, while you're worrying about stopping foreclosure of your home, you're bombarded with letters, postcards, phone calls and strangers driving by and knocking on your door.

These investors are in the business of buying homes from people who are in danger of losing their homes to foreclosure and then selling these properties for a profit. They know that many people who are facing foreclosure have no alternative other than to sell their home for whatever price they can get.

Should you sell to an investor to avoid being foreclosed on? Maybe, but certainly not as your first option. And only after you exhausted other foreclosure prevention means such as rearranging your loan.

You Can Stop Foreclosure Through A Workout Of Your Loan

Once you have missed a couple of payments, your credit rating will begin to be affected your credit score will likely drop considerably, which will make it extremely difficult to refinance your current loan.

Every mortgage lender in the country has a Loss Mitigation department established with the sole purpose of reducing lender's losses on loans. They work to put homeowners who fell behind on payments on a repayment plan to bring your loan out of default. The best thing about Loss Mitigation alternative is, unlike a new loan, it doesn't require a credit approval.

If You Do Get a Workout Plan, Beware of the Challenges

One of the biggest problems with these loss mitigation departments is they don't employ enough people to handle unusually high rates of foreclosure the country is experiencing right now. In fact, these plans are often difficult to arrange due to the heavy workload, which these employees are faced with. Since loss mitigation departments have so little time available to work with each file, they will tend to offer repayment plans which don't give you enough time to catch up with your payments, and monthly payments which are larger than you can realistically afford.

Since you are in such a difficult situation, you may be tempted to go with this plan anyway, if only to hold off foreclosure. Generally, this is exactly what happens; in a few months, you'll probably be facing foreclosure again.

How to Hire Foreclosure Workout Professionals

You may be much better off by hiring a professional to handle the loss mitigation process for you. These companies know the ins and outs of the loss mitigation process and often have strong relationships with mortgage lenders nationwide. They have successfully helped thousands of homeowners stop foreclosure.

They'll review your finances with you to come up with a realistic repayment plan that'll give you a lot more time and keep your payments at a comfortable level to assure your successful completion of the plan. They have insider's information about variety of programs a given lender may have. In some cases they may be able to negotiate an interest reduction to lower your loan payments.

You may think in you current circumstances hiring a company like this could be prohibitively expensive. Not so. Most charge a reasonable flat fee equal to a single monthly mortgage payment. You'll easily get your money back through a negotiated for you deferral of the next loan payment.

You May Consider Cutting Your Losses

What if loss mitigation isn't a possibility for you? Then you may have to go ahead and sell your home to prevent having a foreclosure record on your credit report. Listing your home for sale with a realtor is the best way to go if you have ample time, since you will be able to get a higher price for your home. If you are short on time, you may find that selling to an investor makes the most sense; just try to deal with an investment company, which has the resources to close the deal quickly. - 16586

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Is lender mediation alternative for you? Then stop foreclosure immediately by contacting a recommended nationwide loss mitigation company .

Best CFD provider

By Singapore Trader Report

Contracts for Difference (CFDs) are contracts between a trader and a CFD provider, who will at the close of the contract, exchange the difference between the opening price and the closing price of the underlying index, share, commodity, per the number of specified CFD contracts.

A CFD differs from the traditional trading methods as it is not a purchase of the nominated investment, but trading on its speculated price movement. The main idea of CFDs is the ability to be able to trade higher volumes than traditional trading while using less initial capital.

The buyer of the contracts is required to pay commission to enter the contract, plus fixed interest on the remaining value of the borrowed amount, until they decide to end the contract, at which time they are paid the price difference. The buyer may opt on either side - high (buy) or the low (sell), which means that if the contract was a low trade the buyer could still turn a profit it that was the initial investment.

Advantages of CFDs versus traditional share buying

The key distinction between traditional share buying and CFD buying is that buying a CFD is done on leverage (typically between 5% to 35% for actively traded stocks), both shares and CFDs participate in all corporate actions, both buyers receive dividends but only the buyer of the share is able to vote and receive the franking credits. To select a great broker if you are trading in Asia, Australia, or UK vist www.cfdfxreport.com and look at choosing a broker or simply email support@cfdfxreport.com as we have researched them all.

With CFDs one is not entitled to these rights, which enables CFD sellers to sell with ease. This makes CFDs an excellent trading product. The leverage and ability to short sell gives power and flexibility.

Unlike futures, CFDs do not have an expiry date, so one can hold on to them for as long as they desire. CFDs open up a whole new trading world, with the ability to trade shares, indices, foreign exchange, and commodities.

CFDs are the flexible new way to trade. One can trade Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) listed shares but you have access to worldwide markets, such as the United States (DOW, NASDAQ, S&P), United Kingdom (FTSE), Japan (NEIKKI), Hong Kong (Hang Seng) and many other countries.

1) Leverage

If you do not have the money needed to trade shares directly on the Singapore Stock Exchange (SGX) trading CFDs can offer you the exposure required to make a profit from small percentage moves on the underlying share price. The leverage level offered by the CFD provider magnifies the underlying movement of the stock. Most providers set differing leverage levels and you can find the best level that suits you trading style. Certain CFD providers offer, at a cost, a Guaranteed Stop Loss (GSL) that can effectively increase leverage levels further by capping the margin requirement held against you.

2) Controlled Risk

If you have ever traded, you know how important it is to use stop losses for capital preservation, especially when using a leveraged product.

CFDs allow you to cut your losses quickly and leave your profits to run. This ability to quickly exit at the prevailing market price allows for greater risk control.

CFDs reflect the price of the underlying equity. Therefore, you will always know what the market price is of your shares and know what you can sell out for, provided you choose a CFD Provider who uses "at market" prices. Some CFD providers (market makers) may only give spreads, which have the potential to force you in at higher prices and out and lower prices.

Placing automated Stop Loss orders can exit you out of suggestions that go against you while you are busy in your day-to-day activities. Example:

XYZ Ltd is currently trading at $9.95 bid and a $10.00 ask price. You want to buy 1000 shares of XYZ Ltd share CFDs at the offer price of $10.00, with your view that the stock will rise in price.

We are working on the leverage margin of 1:10. Therefore every dollar of capital you invest the CFD provider will provide you with $10 of leverage.

CFD Trading Traditional Shares

Buy Price $10.00 Buy Price $10.00

Initial Margin (10%) $1,000 Initial Outlay $10,000

Brokerage $17 Brokerage $30

GST 5% $0 GST $1.50

Total Outlay $1,017 Total Outlay $10,031.50

Traditional brokers require that you have 100% of capital required for the trade upfront.

The difference in funds required between the CFD provider and the traditional way of trading is $9,014.50.

Closing the trade

CFD Trading Traditional Shares

Sell Price $10.25 Sell Price $10.25

Gross Profit $250 Gross Profit $250

Brokerage $34 Brokerage $60

GST 5% $0 GST $3

Finance Charge $1.45 Finance Charge $0

Net profit/loss $218.55 Net profit/loss $187

In this example the trade was positive for the trader.

If the stock had of fallen by $0.25, you would have realized a gross loss of $250 with both the CFD provider and the traditional broker.

The net loss would have been $285.45 with the CFD provider and $313 with the traditional broker. - 16586

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FIND A CFD PROVIDER CFD FX REPORT will help you find a CFD so you can get started on this exciting new trading way

German 20 Mark Gold Coin: A Stunning Old Rare German Coin

By Christina Goldman

Anyone who owns, trades, or collects gold coins would not have a complete collection without a German 20 Mark Gold coin piece. These beautiful gold coins display a wonderfully detailed profile of Kaiser Wilhelm and were minted between 1871 and 1913.

Kaiser Wilhelm, the King of Prussia, was the most powerful man in all of Europe for many years. Otto von Bismarck became the King of Prussia in April of 1871 and united the Alsace-Lorraine region of French and German territories.

The German 20 Mark gold coin is one of the most famous of German gold coins in the world. Otto von Bismarck created common currencies as well as a central bank and legal system.

The German Mark is a popular and common unit of money that was found throughout much of Europe and Germany before the unification of Germany. A wide variety of German gold coins were minted in the following 60 years, using different standards and materials.

Standard gold coins have been available in 20 Mark denominations since 1871. As Prussia was the largest and wealthiest of all the provinces within the Prussian Empire at the time, these coins are especially coveted by collectors and investors from around the world. The German 20 Mark gold coin was issued between 1871 to 1913, measures 22.5 cm in diameter and contains a .2304 gold content.

The obverse side of the head displays Kaiser Wilhelm's profile facing right, surrounded by the words, Wilhelm Deutscher Kaiser Knig V. Preussen. Otto von Bismarck Kaiser Wilhelm is considered to be the father of the German Empire. He served as Germany's First Chancellor.

The other side displays the familiar Deutsches Reich German Eagle with wings spread and the 20 Mark denotations. The Kaiser Wilhelm II coin displays the profile of Wilhelm II, who was the last Kaiser of Germany. The edge is exquisitely designed with leaves and cinquefoils and lettering. - 16586

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Find great deals and selection on the historic German 20 Mark Gold Coin at Bullion Bargains. Visit us now at: http://bullionbargains.com

Why Do Some Investors Opt To Trade Penny Stock?

By Malcolm Torren

The stock market is a huge established entity that opens opportunities to anyone who is interested in stock trading. Unfortunately, not everyone can enjoy this chance. More so not everyone can afford it. But there are basically three levels of stock investments to choose from. There is the large cap investment for multi-billion firms. Then there's the medium cap shares investment. And lastly the there's the small cap trading commonly known as penny stocks. Some inventors choose to trade penny stock.

Before anything else, the penny stock is also called by many names. Some stock market people would call it microcrap stocks, some would say small caps. Others would also refer to it as nano caps. The closest term used is penny shares. Occasionally it is also referred to as emerging growth. This trade penny stock article will use three variations - small caps, penny shares, and penny stock for the purpose of easy recall.

Why do some traders prefer penny stock trading than other stock investments? Here are some of the obvious reasons:

- It's very cheap. The trade is usually pegged for a starting value not exceeding five dollars per share. In fact, the most frequent practice is priced at three dollars, one dollar, less than a dollar. The only hitch is that not many investors frequent this investment because it is less liquid. Also if these stocks are derived from pink sheets, it's normally lacks important information vital to your decision making.

- More prevalent press releases than large and small cap stocks. Yes, there are more press releases with penny stocks than the other two stock investments. Penny stock promoters do this to expose the information to the public thus attracting more investors. The downside is that, many of these press releases are abused by fraudsters and over hyping them. Fortunately, if your source is credible, media exposure increases the value of your trade penny stock thus an opportunity for profit.

- Penny stocks offer high ROI. Yes this is true. While the dangers of the small caps investments are often forewarned, there is still good money that can be made here. When you understand the trade enough to have that level of confidence, you will see the benefits. The right attitude should be to remember that every investment has risks.

- There are companies or new products offer penny stocks as a launching pad. Well some but not all. If new products are launched, there is no surety about its success yet. Your only way to determine its probable success is to check the manufacturer's background. In this trade penny stock business, you have to do your own research extensively. Many successful small cap investors spend about five hours per day working and digging information.

Try to opt for the small cap investment. Then when you learn the trade penny stock loops, you can always work you way up. Your success can be determined by how much you are willing to work for it. Just stay with accurate facts and be smart with your decisions. - 16586

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Learn how to trade penny stock wisely. Get basic facts on investing in penny stock.