Krugerrands are gold coins that were first minted and issued in 1967, and have been produced every year since. They are legal tender in South Africa but because of far sighted attitudes from their makers they have been imported into many countries without import taxes, duty or VAT. This has made them easily available at good prices over the intrinsic value of the gold they are made from, and therefore an attractive proposition for private gold investors.

Originally, only one size was issued, which contained one full troy ounce (31.1035 grams) of fine gold. These coins were the original Krugerrand, or Kruger, for short. From 1980, three other sizes were introduced, namely a half, quarter, and tenth ounce size. Because of these new additions, the original Krugerrand is sometimes referred to as a "full" or "one ounce" Kruger.

Krugers remain an attractive proposition for private investors, especially with today’s soaring gold price! The Kruger was originally made available to world bullion dealers at a 3% premium over the prevailing gold price, so that after distribution costs, the coins would be available to investors in quantity at about 4% to 5% over intrinsic gold values, and possibly 10% premium for single pieces. The fractional sizes were originally issued at higher premiums to bullion dealers of 5%, 7%, and 9% respectively. The fractional coins have never been as popular as the full one ounce coins, usually only being purchased as singles, so that in practice, it would usually cost 10% to 15% premium for the half and quarter ounce, and from 20% to 50% premium for the tenth ounce.

With today’s rapidly rising gold price and turbulent stock markets, coins such as The Krugerrand are a very safe long term investment for individuals. For example if you had bought a Krugerrand on the first of January 2008 it would have cost you around $846 – the same coin is now worth over $1000 just 6 months later, and predicted to go as high as $1100 by the end of the year – that’s a whopping 30% growth for the year.

If you are confused about anything that I said; if it seemed like I was going a million miles an hour and I was talking in Greek to you and none of that made sense, realize this; you can learn this stuff very, very fast. I don’t care if you are six, sixteen, sixty or ninety-four. I don’t care how old you are. In a very short amount of time; literally in five days, you can get all of the basics that I just went through into your mind. Then you can log onto the website which literally takes thirty-two seconds. You can get on, watch the video and then see my game plan where I distill all of that analysis down into very easy to digest four minute video and use it for yourself.

You don’t have to go through ten or fifteen years or trying to learn this stuff. I am going to part with this and I have gone over five minutes. The reason why I believe and listen; this is after coaching traders for ten years, after talking to traders for ten years; I have personal trading mentors who have been in the business for twenty-five, thirty years; the number one reason why I believe it takes people sometimes years and years and years to learn a skill like trading is because number one; they don’t have a coach or mentor. That is the reason why I insisted on being able to have one on one contact with every one of my members. You need to have a mentor. You need to have a coach.

In most cases, these guys have a mentor for a very short amount of time and virtually in all of those cases, their mentor was not trained to be a mentor. I was groomed practically for this by the United States military. We were trained how to train. We were trained how to present information, how to get it across very quickly and how to make sure that you remember it. So that’s a big thing.

The other reason why is because the information was not presented in a format that was easy to understand and that truly is a visual and auditory combination. You have got to see it and you have got to hear it. Most people don’t learn exclusively by reading but that’s how most of us are taught. We are taught by reading or hearing it aloud. You have got to see it done. You have got to see the application of it before you can learn it. Finally, we have especially in our education system, an absolute crush to learn things very quickly. Think about it.

Forex trading can be a very risky business, so I want to show you how I reduce currency trading risk by only doing a few simple things. This market is quite exciting for most people since there is a huge potential for profit. But with anything that has great rewards, you'll find that it also has very high risk. A lot of people come and go in this market, most (if not all) lose their money. Rarely does someone get rich and leave. People just throw their money into the market and hope it will come out as a huge pile of money. Probably not going to happen. The key is to learn to protect your money from loss, while you learn the process of growing it. I've been trading in this market for sometime now, so I'll share what I've learned.

The number one way to reduce risk is cutting your losses. You're going to have bad trades, just like I have bad trades and the richest banks in the market have bad trades. The difference between good trades and bad trades doesn't really come down to the amount of bad trades, it comes down to how bad trades are dealt with. The sooner you cut your losses, the sooner you get some money back that you can reinvest in another profitable trade.

Another important step on reducing currency trading risk is having automated software. They make the most profitable trading decisions on their own, but they also have risk analysis built into the system. They look to make sure that the risk is worth the reward and make a decision based on that.

Most traders lose at forex trading. While the fact is anyone can learn and win if they want to, most traders lose when they don't need to, for three main reasons which are the subject of this article...

Here are the reasons that wipe out 95% of traders and you must avoid these key mistakes or join them.

1. Following Others

It amazes me how many people follow ridiculous schemes put forward by vendors and the king of these is the forex robots. Simply, plug them in, sit back and get rich for $100.00, if only forex trading were that simple!

Of course these robots or most of the other systems sold never have real track records, just simulated track records in hindsight and you have no chance of winning with them as there unproven and made up.

If you want to be successful in life or in forex trading, you need to do it on your own and forget others telling you that you can follow them, you can't

2. Not Understanding the Basics

Most people simply don't understand the nature of forex markets and try methodologies which simpy don't work and here are a couple of the most popular.

- Believing there is a scientific theory of market movement when its obvious there is not

- Thinking that forex day trading or forex scalping will work even though volatility is random

These people also don't understand how the markets work or how they reward you and they don't reward you for the following yet a huge amount of traders believe they do! Here are some common misconceptions.

- Working hard will give you success, you of course get paid on results regardless of time spent

- Being clever - many clever people think they have a right to win but this is not the case

- Following news stories and thinking there tradable, when its obvious the market is a discounting mechanism

- Not understanding volatility and using to much leverage

There are many more but the above are some common ones.

3. Not Having Discipline

The above two errors which lead on to this one, the elusive trait of discipline.

It's often spoken about but little understood and how it is so hard to achieve. Of course you can achieve it but it comes from knowing what you are doing and having confidence.

Only then will you have the discipline to stay on course and trade through losing periods ( all traders have them), until you eventually hit a home run and profits.

Trading is not just about having a good forex trading system - it's also about having the discipline to apply it and execute your trading signals consistently.

If you have understood the above, you will see why the vast majority of forex traders lose and how you can step aside from them, work smart and get a robust, simple trading system you have confidence in and can execute with discipline, to achieve long term currency trading success.

If you can do the above and understand this forex trading fact, you can make a great second or even life changing income and your currency trading success is all in your hands.

This article is going to look at how and why prices move and how to win. Most novice traders make the mistake of thinking prices move to news stories and try and trade them or to some scientific theory - they don't. Forex prices are chaos - but that doesn't mean you can't win, you can and to do so, you must understand the key point of this article...

Here is the equation for market movement

Fundamentals (Supply and Demand) + Investor Perception of = Price

While the above sounds simple and it is most traders don't understand that the facts are NOT important it is how they are perceived by all the investors as a whole that is important.

Many people trade breaking news but it won't help you as it's discounted immediately and furthermore, investors are always looking to the future. To illustrate this think about this fact:

Market bottoms normally occur when the news is most bearish and market tops, when the news is most bullish.

The fundamentals are important long term - but in the short term prices are determined by the greed and fear of the investors, it's what they all think as group that determines price.

Many traders think because human nature is constant, there is a scientific theory of market movement - but of course there isn't. If there was, we would all know the price in advance and there would be no market at all.

Forex is an odds game and your aim is to trade high odds set ups, when the patterns of forex price movement dictate you should and the best way to do this is to use a simple robust trend following forex trading system.

Forex charts show you the supply and demand situation (they simply assume that all fundamentals show up in price action) but they do so something more - they tell you how all the investors perceive them.

Forex charting and technical analysis is not a science, it's an art. You're in fact, playing a similar role to a good poker player. You are looking to bet big on high odds sets, fold ones that don't go right and pass by low odds set ups.

Just like the poker player, you won't win every hand - but if you play the odds, you can win more than you lose and make a lot of money.

Forex charting is easy to learn and if you make it part of your forex education, you can learn it in about 2 weeks and get a robust forex trading strategy together which, you can apply in around 30 minutes a day.

If you can master it forex charting and spot high odds forex price movement patterns, the rewards are huge.

If you want to trade a forex trading strategy and win, you must have this in it and if you don't you are going to join the vast majority of losing traders - let's look at it...

The specific element which needs to be contained in your forex trading strategy is:

A "trading edge" which you understand, are confident in and can apply with discipline.

Sounds obvious it is yet most traders' mistake what an edge is and it is NONE of the following:

- Trying to follow someone else and not knowing the strategy

- Following a forex robot with simulated track record

- Day trading or scalping systems

- Systems that want to predict forex prices

- A complicated trading strategy

- Working hard and believing your effort will be rewarded

- Being clever and thinking this is a route to trading success

- Trading breaking news

The above, are all based on either getting the wrong forex education and believing myths or, trying to follow others.

Most new traders do one or the other and lose - UNDERSTAND THIS!

Forex trading is NOT easy, if it were 95% of traders wouldn't lose. It's not hard either, if you work smart, understand what you are doing and get a trading edge.

You can learn forex trading in about 2 weeks and then in 30 minutes a day, seek big profits but you must understand that you need a trading edge you have confidence in. You need to have learned it yourself, because if you don't know what it is and have confidence in it; you will never be able to trade with discipline.

Discipline is simply the ability to keep executing your trading signals through losing periods ( all forex traders who are successful face this and don't believe anyone who tells you otherwise) and these periods can last for weeks.

If you can't keep executing your signals in line with your system, during these losing periods, you may as well not have a trading system.

You must be able to trade through losing periods, until you get winners which you will, if your system is soundly and logically based.

To win and make long term profits in forex trading, you must learn to lose in the short term. You cant win inforex trading without taking your losses cheerfully.

It's a fact that anyone can learn to trade but must traders fail. As we have noted this isn't because they can't learn, they can - they just get the wrong information or don't have confidence in what there doing and this normally means they don't have a trading edge or are not confident in it.

A trading edge is unique to you, all traders have different ones - but all the successful traders, know what it is and have confidence that it will lead them to long term currency trading success.

If you understand the above then you are on the way to achieving currency trading success.

Moving averages are one of the most basic and widely used series of indicators by technical analysts of the Forex market. Moving averages are used to confirm existing trends, identify new trends that are possibly emerging, and to attempt to identify trends that are coming to an end before a market correction.

This knowledge can help a trader make smart trades in order to take advantage of the Forex market. When talking about moving averages, there are three main types of moving averages that you'll see used: Simple, Weighted, and Exponential.

Simple Moving Average

A simple moving average is one that gives equal weight to every price point over the specified period being studied. The analyst can decide whether to use the high, low, or close prices, and then all the price points are added together and averaged out. After using the averages a line is formed.

Depending on the moving average you are using, you may have a line for the "high" averages and the "low" averages. Every new price point that gets added replaces the oldest point and the line adjusts accordingly.

This should provide you a "tunnel" for the highs and lows. Whenever the price of a currency pair approaches or goes outside of these lines, this will provide you strong clues as to what the market will do next, and what actions you should go through with to take advantage.

Weighted Moving Average

A weighted moving average does the same basic thing as a simple moving average, but as its name suggests a weighted moving average gives more emphasis to the most recent data. Basically the closer to present time the data takes place, the more the value of the data point.

This total is also added together then divided by the sum of the weighted factors. The major benefit of a weighted moving average is that it allows the user to smooth out a curve while keeping the "average" more closely related to the most current information.

Exponential Moving Average

An exponential moving average is a different way of weighing more current data. An exponential moving average multiplies a percentage of the most current price by the previous period's average price.

Basically the oldest pieces of data are never removed, the way they are with other types of moving averages. Instead of replacing the oldest pieces of data with newer, the oldest pieces are given less and less value, creating an average that appears more like an exponential curve.

Trading in the Forex market is done with "lots" and "mini-lots" of currency pairs. These lots and mini-lots are leveraged money, which is what allows you the potential to make so much profit from trading currency in the Forex. The standard size for a lot is $100,000 in currency, while a mini-lot usually represents $10,000 in currency. What leverage allows, is that you don't need $100,000 to trade $100,000 worth of currency. That's where leverage comes in.

If you have leverage of 100:1 then you only need $1,000 to trade a lot, since the money is leveraged at around 100 to 1. Most leverage comes at levels of 50:1, 100:1, and rarely at 200:1, although those ratios do exist out in the world of Forex trading.

These are the most common amounts used, though sometimes you might hear about a "micro-lot" being traded. A micro-lot is 10% of a mini-lot and has a value of $1,000 of currency. Usually, though, all trading will be done with lots and mini-lots. The use of lots allows more trading because a smaller amount of money (the margin) can allow a trader to control a much larger stake of actual currency.

Margin, leverage, lots, and mini-lots are very much connected and allow the common trader to be involved in the Forex market, since you don't need a fortune to be able to trade.

Traders can trade larger amounts of money with leverage than they could otherwise afford, allowing them to make a much larger return on their trades. This occurs because money is being returned on the entire lot, not just on the initial amount in the trader's account. You don't just get the raise in pips that come from a $1,000 lot, but you get the raise in pips from all the money that was leveraged by that lot.

This is how a trader can make profit on a .0001 raise in a currency value, because the sheer amount of currency involved is likely leveraged 100 times over.

The same can happen the other way, however, so while the Forex market offers unmatched opportunities in gaining profit, leverage also magnifies losses when the trader is on the wrong side of a market swing.

You need a good proven trading system to avoid being on the wrong end of a market swing, because as with any market as open and volatile as the Forex, where there's great opportunity, there is also great risk.

Forex trading is definitely not for everybody. There are many factors to take into account and the risk of losing money is always present. Some people just aren't cut out for this. If you are thinking about become a Forex trader, you should keep reading. Successful Forex traders have different traits from other people.

If you don't possess all or at least most of the following traits, Forex trading might not be the right path for you:

You will need discipline. Successful traders don't try to trade "on the fly". Instead they put together a trading system which works and they stick with that.

You need the ability to accept risk. Forex trading is not risk-free. You can lose money when trading and you might be prepared to accept this risk.

You also need to be able to accept failure. Even the world's best traders lose money sometimes. The difference between them and other traders is that they accept their failure, learn from it and move on, rather than focusing on the failure.

Successful traders must have confidence in their ability to make successful trades and in their knowledge of the market. They don't guess or doubt their trades.

You need to accept being wrong. Nobody is perfect and everyone makes mistakes. There will be times when your analysis is inaccurate. Don't stay in trades which have turned bad just because you don't want to admit you were wrong. You should instead cut your losses and search for another opportunity to make them up.

You need to be patient. Good traders follow their system and await the best opportunities. You don't need to have positions open all the time. You might have a few days without any trades being made. Don't trade just for the sake of it because this is how you end up picking bad trades over good ones.

Know when to get out. You need to know when to get in but getting out is important too. A lot of traders have become greedy and remained in a trade too long, only to see a sudden downtrend wipe all their profits out. If your trading system suggests getting out, do it.

Be aware of your financial limitations. Never over-leverage yourself. Don't trade with money that you need for other things, such as paying your mortgage and bills. If you do that, you are risking your home. Trade only with money you can live without. This might mean you only have a couple of hundred dollars to begin with but that is fine.

Currency market trading is quite an old business for people to participate in, but has become quite popular in recent years due to the internet. This market, only a decade ago, was dominated by large banks and firms. Today, individuals from the comfort of their own home can participate and make good profits in this market with very little to start up with. This isn't a place to get rich quick. I've seen plenty of people lose a fortune worth of money because they assumed it would be easy. I'm going to share some things I've learned over the years that have really helped me out in this market.

If you're new to this market, you were probably told that it is a 24hr a day market. This is pretty exciting for a lot of people because it opens the door to trading anytime they really want. The problem is that there are times that are more profitable than others. If you look at high volume times (typical during business hours), there is a lot of trading going on, but this causes a very stable equilibrium of price. If you look at low volume times (late in the evening), there is very little trading going on, which causes a weak equilibrium of the price. Any odd trade could cause massive shifts in the price.

That is why it is important to have automated software. Sometimes trades can't trade during regular business hours. I know when I started out, I had a regular job, which was during business hours. I picked up some automation software that would make profitable trades on its own while I was at work. It was great to come home to a trading account with extra money in it.

I'm going to share with you some easy currency trading strategies that I have been using to help myself make some profit. This market can be very rewarding, but I've seen a lot of ambitious people start out and lose a lot of money. Of course these people don't trade today and the reason is simple; they really didn't have a good knowledge base starting out. They just threw their money into the market and hoped more would come out. That's just wishful thinking. It requires sound strategies and behaviors to profit in this business. I'm going to share with you a little of what I've learned in my time.

I think if you're going to start out, play with the demo platform until you at least feel comfortable. A demo allows you to have a simulated trading experience without actually having to use any of your money. It gives your experience. It allows you to learn how to properly use the trading platform. And it allows you to develop those routines that make profitable trades. A lot of people use the demo to try out some get rich quick strategies. This doesn't work. The demo will not help you with that sort of thing.

I think the best thing you can do is ease yourself into the market. Only concentrate on making $20. Don't try to go make a $1000 your first day. Just aim small, and work your way up as you achieve each goal. Soon enough you'll be making a lot of money.

I wanted to show you how to trade currency online smartly. This is a tough business and I know most people I hear from have been sold on this idea of quick riches and a 24hr trading period. If only it was that simple. This is a tough business on a global market place. You're going to be competing along side other individuals and huge banks. You have to know what you're doing or you'll lose all your money. You can't wing it. You can't know the basics and make it some profits. This is a business of little things. I'll show you a little of what I've learned over my time trading.

The news is a big part of predicting the markets and it is an essential part of my daily routine. The best time to trade is when it the market is normal. You don't want to trade during the calm before the storm. Economic news usually is scheduled to come out. It is the news stories about GDP, unemployment, interest rates, etc. Before one of these highly anticipated news stories, you'll experience the calm. After they're released, the storm. Don't ever trade during these times because the market doesn't "make sense" at that time.

A big skill to develop is reading candlestick graphs. That is the most common way of viewing currency graphs because it contains the most information and still looks organized. A lot of people just memorize different scenarios, but that isn't good enough. Being able to look at any graph and instantly know what to expect is the key to success in this business.

I wanted to take the time to share with you some of my currency trading education tips. This will help you learn the important parts of this business a lot better. Knowing the basics just isn't good enough. It's often the little things that make up the trader and make them a good trader. Too many people end up losing a fortune of money because they're just not prepared for the little things. I've been trading a long time now and I learned a lot about what it takes to be successful at this. I'm going to share a little of what I've learned during that time.

Everything you'll learn in a typical currency trading education course or book is for an ideal state. The "perfect" scenario. It doesn't exist and that makes a lot of the training completely idealistic. Most things will work on a regular calm day. I think an important skill to get down is identifying with things will get chaotic and volatile. I found the regular news was good enough for that. If you watch it, they'll talk about economic information, which is typically announced at a scheduled time. If there is an announcement coming up about the Federal Reserve interest rates at 2pm, that means the markets will be quiet up until that point and at 2pm it will go volatile. You'll want to avoid these times.

Having software is an important part of properly competing in this market. You're going to be going up against big firms and banks that have a staff to work the market 24hrs a day. You on the other hand are an individual. By having software it can automatically watch the market and make profitable trades at all hours of the day.

I'm going to share with you a little bit of a foreign exchange trading tutorial that I just made up. This is a great market to get involved in. There is a lot of profit to be made and it is actually quite easy for individuals to enter the market. It is the largest market in the world with over three trillion dollars a day in trades. That means there are a lot of people looking to make a quick buck, but that thinking leads to problems. This market can eat your up very quickly. Learning how to properly handle this market can save you a lot of lost money and time. I'm going to share a little about what I've learned during my time.

You're going to be given the chance to use a demo platform. This is just a way of having a simulated trading experience without actually having to use any of your money. This is important to use to learn. You have to learn how your platform works. You need to learn the basic tasks required just to find a profitable trades. The last thing you want to do is to jump right into the market and end up losing your money. There is no rush, so stick with your trading account.

Your emotions can be deadly, so an easy thing you can do is just walk away from the computer. Everyone experiences these types of emotions that are bad for profit. The most common are gut feelings and stressed out. Gut feelings have you making trades based on no evidence. Stress, causes us to cut corners and not do enough research and analysis necessary to know if the trade is profitable.

I'm going to show you how foreign exchange traders make money online. It's really an amazing thing. Never before have individuals been able to enter this market, right from their own hom.e There is a lot of money to make if you know what you're doing. Figuring out which currencies are expected to go up and buying before hand is how you make profits. It works very similar to stocks, though it is quite different in predicting winners. There are a lot of people that end up losing money in this business. I'm going to share a little of what you need to know to get started in this business.

The first step you need to do is finding a broker. Not just any broker, a good broker. The internet is one of those places where it takes very little to make a website. It's hard to tell if you're getting a reputable business or some persons project out of a basement. You obviously want someone that can perform and a place that keeps your money safe. I always do research on forex forums. There are discussion forums where traders talk about brokers all the time. You'll find out, just by reading, which brokers are good and bad.

Another important aspect is having software to help you trade. Since this is a global market, that means the doors are open 24hrs a day. Obviously, you're going to have to sleep at some point and you need something to watch over the market. This is what software can do for you.

I wanted to take the time to talk to you about foreign currency investment strategies. There is a huge potential in this market to make some good money if you're willing to learn. Most people hear that this market has three trillion dollars moving around each day and they jump right in without doing any real research. There is a huge problem with this because most of these people end up losing all their money. If you get down to the statistics, only a small 5% are making all the money. This means the majority of traders are just throwing their money away. You don't want to be one of those people. I'm going to share with you a little of what I've learned over my time trading.

You can get a lot of foreign currency investment information for regular news. This news isn't directed forex traders, but it still talks about the things that affect currency. The main thing to pay attention to is the economy and anything that will affect the economy. The most popular topics are scheduled and usually have to do with reports like GDP, unemployment, etc. If the news is good for the economy, than it is good for the currency. If it is bad for the economy it is bad for the currency. If you have the ability of anticipating the news, than you are ahead of the market and can make real money.

Automation is the key to success with any business, that is why I use the Forex Loophole. It works very simply. It follows the market to see if there are profitable trades and make the most profitable decision it can. This is very good for the ordinary Joe because this is a market that is open 24hrs a day. This means you can't watch over your trades all the time. This makes your trading experience much more safe.

It was a sea of red again last week as stock markets across the world finished down heavily on the week. The FTSE 100 finished down 3.26%, the CAC down 4.80% and the DAX down 2.35% on the week. US markets faired slightly better thanks to an attempted rally towards the close on Friday. The S&P 500 closed down 2.14%, the Dow down 1.67% and the Nasdaq 100 down just 1.28% on the week.

Irans testing of missiles caused a spike in crude oil prices, to make yet another record high above $147. Although the US and Israeli government have spoken about a diplomatic solution, speculators obviously are not convinced. Investors flocked to traditional safe havens such as Gold which closed near $960.

The catalyst for much of the selling last week is the unraveling doomsday scenario of a US Government bail out, of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. These government sponsored enterprises (GSEs) together own, or guarantee half the $12 Trillion of outstanding US home loans. Fed member, William Poole spooked markets by stating that the two firms are now technically insolvent. The ratings agencies are maintaining the AAA ratings on the stocks, but derivatives traders are scoffing at this; valuing their debt 5 points lower. Western banks also have a stake in this because they own some of the debt associated with the two companies. Whatever form the eventual bail out takes, it has the potential to make the UK Governments handling of Northern Rock, look a trifling affair in comparison.

The focus at the start of this bear market, was around the ability (or inability) of banks to raise capital, and maintain their capital adequacies. Unfortunately as the crisis has continued, the situation has only worsened. With large chunks of financial firms assets still tied to the housing market, we appear to have a self perpetuating negative cycle. As house prices collapse, banks such as Bradford and Bingley struggle to raise capital; as a consequence, they tighten their lending practices, which in turn puts further pressure on an already fragile housing market. This was evidenced by the collapse of US mortgage lender IndyMac Bancorp on Friday. Similar to Bradford and Bingley, IndyMac specialised in self cert type mortgages, which have a higher risk of default than traditional loans.

US pending home sales dropped 4.75% against the expected -2.8%. Year on year, US foreclosure activity is up 53 percent from June 2007. One in every 501 U.S. households lost their home to foreclosure, received a default notice, or was warned of a pending auction. California, the home of IndyMac has been one of the hardest hit US states with one foreclosure filing for every 192 households in June. The UK market is fairing little better. Last week, the latest Halifax house price index showed than houses were on average 8.6% down on last years levels. The acceleration of this decline is already well ahead of recent housing recessions.

The week ahead is full of top tier economic announcements. We start with UK PPI figures on Monday and CPI figures on Tuesday. Both these data sets will add fresh colour to the BOE inflation letter tentatively planned for the Tuesday. Tuesday also brings the UK RICS house price balance, and sees the start of a two day Bernanke testimony before congress. Thursdays US housing data will round off what is a very busy week on the economic news front.

Central bankers are currently stuck between a rock and hard place with regards to interest rates. The decline in the housing market and general economy might normally lead to rate cuts, but this is currently being resisted due to soaring inflation. Movements on the currency markets usually track interest rate decisions or expectations. The GBP/ USD exchange rate has been trading in a range between $2 and $1.94 over the last quarter (April to June), perhaps as a function of the gridlock in rates policy for the Fed and MPC. However, the potential for massive liabilities for the US government with potential bank bail outs could push the GBP/ USD outside of this range in the near future. A One Touch trade predicting that the GBP/ USD will touch $2.00 at least once during the next 16 days could return 28% in BetOnMarkets.com.

A covered call is one of my favourite strategies, but that's probably not what you wanted to hear. A Covered Call is probably the most basic of Option Strategies, but it is also one of, if not, the safest strategies around.

The definition right out of a text book would read like this. "An options strategy whereby an investor holds a long position in an asset and writes (sells) call options on that same asset in an attempt to generate increased income from the asset. This is often employed when an investor has a short-term neutral view on the asset and for this reason hold the asset long and simultaneously have a short position via the option to generate income from the option premium." This strategy is also known as a Buy Write, because you can first buy the underlying shares, then write a Covered Call right away on them.

The Covered Call is a great way to generate monthly income if you own some shares that you are not to sentimental towards. I say this because there is a chance that you will have to sell your shares at some stage if you get exercised. Say you already own 1000 XYZ shares that are currently trading at $50. If your view of the stock was neutral then you could write/sell a call contract at a strike price of $52. For selling this contract you could be paid a premium of $1.50 for each share. Now Options Contracts are in lots of 1000 (100 in the US), so you would receive $1500 for writing one contract. $1500 for one phone call is pretty good money in anyone's language.

Now the share price can do three things. If it goes up above the strike/exercise price then you will have to sell your shares at the agreed value of $52. So on top of the $1500 you made you will now receive an extra $2000. Not bad at all.

If the share price remains around the same value or below the strike price, then the option will expire worthless and you still have your $1500 (you'll always keep this), and you can write another call for the next month if you wish.

If the share price goes down, then you have what is called Downside Protection. The share price would have to fall by more than $1.50 for you to have a paper loss.

Simple stuff, but a very powerful strategy that the wealth use with their portfolios to generate massive monthly incomes for no more risk than holding shares. In the Australian market, you could expect to get a premium of 2.5-3.5% per month on certain stocks. Go to the US Market, and you are looking at between 3-7%. Remember, these figures are per month and if you have a substantial portfolio then you are looking at generating some substantial wealth here.

Stock market investment is a very difficult business to predict, and people who are able to act according to their instincts are frequently the successful ones.
Every person, including the successful stock trader, is human and consequently makes mistakes.

However the successful stock trader:

-Adopts one specific system for managing his investments in the stock market, and then sticks to it consistently.

-Knows when is a good time to invest in a particular stock and even more importantly when is the best time to sell.

-Takes calculated risks, and minimizes his potential loss by waiting for a while after money has been lost, rather than buying or selling in a panic reaction.

-Is aware of and admits his mistakes, and is not ashamed of them but able to use them to his advantage in future transactions.

-Is able to analyse stocks critically, and knows how to carry out some basic and technical forms of analysis of the stock market.

-Is disciplined and patient, going through the necessary processes with practiced ease, and knowing when to get out of a particular investment.

-Is in charge of his situation, practicing mental discipline and strategic thinking.

-Has a strong desire to succeed.

-Learns from his mistakes, and moves on from them; the next time he is in a similar situation he will know better, and will be able to turn the mistake into profit by making use of what he has learnt.

-Protects the original investment; this is in fact his main and most important aim. His secondary aims are to manage and increase his profits. Sometimes there is very little to choose between a good decision and a bad one, but the successful trader knows the difference, and also knows when and how to act.

-Does not listen to gossip, rumors or tips when it comes to shares and investments in the stock market, but instead trusts in and follows his own judgment. He does not make decisions based on sentimental attachments with certain types of stocks or businesses.

-Knows his own abilities, weaknesses and strengths, and works within them.

-Knows his investments in detail.

-Plays it safe whilst also taking calculated risks.

-Most importantly, acts within the limits of the law, and the rules of operating on the stock market, because he is aware that this is the only way he can be successful, and also of the dangers of illicit trading practices.

You can usually predict, well before the event, that a stock market crash is going to happen. There are certain events which happen prior to the crash, and which lead up to it. To begin with the market is quite weak, a situation which is known as a bear market. When this happens many people are eager to invest in shares, believing that the value of those shares is bound to rise and therefore make them a good profit. This interest in the market does indeed cause the share values to rise, and the market becomes a bull market, in other words an especially strong one.

Mutual funds are an especially popular type of investment at this point in the investment cycle. The market is quite stable at this stage, and there are good profits to be had from investment in this early part of the cycle.

More investors join in at this stable part of the investment cycle, as investors are encouraged to buy and to increase their profit in the stock market.

Companies release stocks onto the market during the bull market phase, and it is common for IPOs or Initial Public Offerings to be available in this period before a stock market crash. Companies do very well out of this situation, with the value of their stocks rising steeply, and great confidence from investors in the value of their stocks. More and more money is being invested by people who want to be the first to buy stocks in a particular company.

Those investors who bought shares in the beginning phase of the cycle are now keen to sell them, before they lose their money, knowing that the value of their shares will soon go down. Sometimes during a bull market there can also be various scandals and scams on a corporate level, because people become greedy. The market is becoming flooded with stocks, and yet people feel that the values of stocks will continue to rise.

Eventually the stock market reaches the point where people have invested so much it is 'overbought', and the only way to go is down. This is the beginning of the stock market crash. Stocks start to lose value, and when people become aware of this fact, they then want to sell, and before you know it everyone is selling rather than buying, and this brings about the stock market crash.

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Oil stocks will under perform crude oil and the oil etf for the next several years - but Energy Juniors will outperform both.

The market is now setting up for a great entry point into junior oil Stocks!

What we have here is an EXPLOSIVELY BULLISH ratio of West Texas Crude versus Major Oil stocks.
In technical parlance, this chart has recently broken out of a multi-year reverse Head and Shoulders pattern (or Cup & Saucer depending on your interpretation) painting a target of 0.14 at the least.

What is imminently clear is that when Oil Stocks have underperformed against Crude Oil, the general direction of the stock market has been lower!

This in and of itself is no secret as we have all been frustrated by the lack of progress in oil stocks versus the underlying commodities. But what is perhaps foreboding is that the relative underperformance is fated to go on for much longer – probably years. And by inference the Dow will remain in an extended Secular Bear Market. Confirming what we have been saying that returns on equities would be low if not negative for the next 5-10 years!

The highlight:

Now that we’ve painted the doom and gloom, there is some light at the end of the tunnel.

Oil stocks will outperform Crude Oil -- the Dow will also rebound. We are now approaching an excellent entry point into Oil equities.

Please note we do not think that Oil Stocks will show negative performance over the next 5-10 years but we do think they will lag Crude Oil itself. Superior returns can be captured through smaller energy explorers and producers that will benefit from market trends as well as company specific news such as promising drill results. Oil stocks are the place to get set and the time is now!

Anyone interested in learning about TIC investments should become educated on the matter of the TIC: forwarding the subscription packet. There are a few different things that any potential investor should be aware of before going through with a TIC: forwarding the subscription packet, and which will be discussed in detail here.

TICs Are Securities

One of the most important things to recognize about TIC investments is that they are securities. Since they are sold through private placement offerings as securities, only registered securities representatives can sell them.

Currently, TICs are brokered as both a securities transaction and as a real estate transaction. This means that you as an investor are offered even more flexibility and versatility.

TIC: Forwarding the Subscription Packet

The process of TIC: forwarding the subscription packet is very important because this is the process of you forwarding the necessary information on to the right people and getting the property that you are interested in.

Keep in mind that the number of parties involved in a normal TIC transaction will often confuse the real estate investor because the structure of these investment offerings means that additional parties need to be involved for securities and income tax law purposes. Therefore the more partners involved, the more complicated it gets.

The closing agent will need to be involved with the TIC: forwarding the subscription packet, and they are generally responsible for preparing any escrow or closing instructions. They will need to take care and forward any necessary documents and deeds in accordance with ordering payoff demands on existing loans, notes, reviewing the documents received in the escrow, and with the terms of sale.

There is also a qualified intermediary or accommodator who will need to be involved here if you choose to structure a tax-deferred like-kind exchange. This will be the person who will draft all of the legal documents that are necessary to properly structure your investment, and also who will assist you through your TIC exchange process.

The broker, who is also sometimes involved, is the person who is a representative of the broker dealer. This person is the one who is responsible for doing the due diligence on an offering with any prospective investor that is interested in buying into the particular property. The broker should sit down with you, the investor, and discuss with you all your options, and go through the entire PPM document to make sure that you are clear on everything before entering into any agreements.

I do not know what retirement might mean for you, but for those who have worked their entire lives, it means the relaxation they have been looking for, while for other people it may mean the fulfillment of their desires and expectations, so their retirement investment is a means for them to do their favorite activities. If you want to choose the correct retirement plan and to make a proper retirement investment, there is a great variety of companies you can turn to for guidance. In order to avoid unnecessary risks, you should do some research and find out the essentials about retirement investing, so here are some important aspects to consider.

Can Retirement Investing Really Help Me?

In order to avoid losing all of your money in case of a company problem, it is always better to invest your money in a company other than the one where you have your retirement plan. The first thing to consider when choosing a company is its stableness and reliability. . There are many scams prepared for retirees. Many of them have been robbed their entire lives' savings in the hands of these fake companies.

A little research can save you a lot of trouble

It is always very important to take all the necessary steps to find out about the company's honesty, seriousness, and reliability in order to avoid loosing all your money. Although it sounds pessimistic, it is always better to be prepared for the worst situation when it comes down to investing. Never invest more than what you can afford losing. Remember that the chance is 50-50. Avoid risk as much as possible. It is even possible that you earn millions if you are smart and careful enough, and you may end up enjoying your old age as you would have never imagined before.

A Useful Piece Of Advice.

Always remember that the earlier you start taking care about your retirement, the better off you are going to be in the future. If you begin planning early for you retirement and retirement investing, you will be the owner of your own destiny, so you will be free to do as you like, when you reach retirement age or even before, if you want to. Remember that we are talking about enjoying life t make up for all those years of pleasure and sharing with your family so it is worth the sacrifice.

We want to do things instantly. I want to learn how to do things right now. I am going to go to a two day seminar and I am going to learn everything there is to know about knitting to basket weaving and I am going to walk out of there next week. It just doesn’t happen that way. So here’s how you can cut 30 to 80% off the learning curve. Why such a big range? Some people just have an easier time with it. They can follow these few things and they can hack major chunks off of their learning curve. Other people are just a little bit less.

The first thing is, you want to take twenty minutes at a time. Go 20 minutes; watch a video; watch a portion of a video; push pause; get up; get a drink of water and do something completely different. I don’t care if it is watching TV or if it is going out in the garden or throwing the ball to your kids or petting the dog. Just do something different for 5 minutes. All it takes is 5 minutes. Let the information percolate in your brain and then go back and continue.

The first time through, don’t take any notes. Just listen to what I am saying. Let the information get into your brain. Don’t try and pass judgment on it. Don’t try to put it into boxes. Just listen to it one time through and relax. You will find that find that taking those two steps; take 20 minutes at a time and relaxing, will take so much of the pressure off of you that you are automatically learning faster.

Think about it. If you are going through a presentation and I am talking about a chart. I am talking about a pattern on the chart and I am talking about a pattern on a chart of the Great British pound U.S. dollar pair. I am talking about flag pattern that has just come out of a triangle that has lasted for 6 months. If all of that information is brand new, guess what? Your brain is going to want to know, what is a British pound U.S. dollar? By the way, what is a chart and what the heck is this flag and triangle thing? How do they relate to each other? What are the parts of the flag? Do you see where I am going with this?

You are going to try to figure out too much information in one time. Okay, so when you try to figure out all of this information at once while you are learning, hopefully you are starting to understand why it can be so difficult to actually get new information, assemble that information and then use that information.

It is very important for any potential TIC investor to gain insight into the TIC agreement and to understand all that is involved with it before entering into it. TIC: location, demographics, and the building are all very important here, and there are a few aspects in particular here that should be taken into consideration.

By completing a TIC exchange with a tenant in common interest ownership in an investment real estate, a real estate owner is able to defer their capital gains taxes, but also lets them upgrade their investment real estate into a larger, institutional-grade investment real estate.

In other words, the TIC investment is a method by which a property owner disposes of one property and then acquires another, without having to pay any capital gains tax on the transaction. This is obviously a significant benefit to the property owner, and there are others as well.

These ownerships are rapidly becoming the most popular choice among real estate exchangers, those who are seeking ideal replacement properties.

The Popularity

TIC: location, demographics, and the building are all very popular, and one of the main reasons that the TICs are so popular is because they are institutional-grade. Because of this, investors are typically stepping up in terms of quality here.

Although TICs are usually a good investment for most people, there are certain investors that are considered poorly suited to the structure of the TIC. An investor needs to be an accredited investor, and should not be living solely on the income from the specific TIC investment.

Investors who are well suited to the TIC would be those who are tired of managing their real estate but who want to continue with real estate ownership. Any investor who is interested in diversifying outside of paper investments would be ideal for the TIC and would be most likely to profit as well.

TIC: Location, Demographics, and the Building

The issue of TIC: location, demographics, and the building is a very important issue here. There are a few challenges surrounding the TIC: location, demographics, and the building, one of the biggest being the way that sponsors handle deals that go awry.

If you are considering going through with a TIC investment, just make sure that you are aware of all that is involved and are understanding of what is going to take place so you will not be missing anything, therefore saving yourself from as much financial risk as possible.

Companies which use animal testing, for example, are not included amongst SRI fund companies. However you cannot always tell from the type of company it is whether it will be SRI or not. Tobacco could be included on the SRI list, for example, but firearms may not.

There are certain criteria which must be met if a company is to be chosen as an SRI fund company in the stock market. All companies would be required to go through a screening process to assess this.

There are many SRI fund companies which are around today, and one of the biggest of these is the Pax World, which was formed in 1971 and was one of the first companies to determine its availability according to social and financial criteria. Nowadays Pax World has some 175 funds under it, and these are valued at over two trillion dollars all together.

Pax World's SRI funds do not invest in companies which are involved with tobacco or firearms, or products which are concerned with the gambling industry. They are also involved with the issue of employer-employee relationships. Socially responsible investment is not always entirely possible for companies, but we can see from the example of Pax World what companies can achieve in this regard.

Domini Social Investments are another SRI fund which are worth investors being aware of, as they track the Domini 400 Social Index, which was formed in 1991 and which lists ethical companies. Investments in the Standard and Poor 500 Index do not return as well on investment as those in this index do.

The FTSE4 good index has been in operation since 2001, and it lists companies which fit the criteria for a socially responsible organization. This index is a tradable one, which investors can use as a guideline for investment in this type of company, and it is a series which makes these funds available to people who are interested in this particular type of investment.

In fact it covers 90% of financial markets, and any groups which are listed on the series are required to meet internationally set CSR standards.

The Dow Jones group has used the Dow Jones Sustainability Group Indexes since 1999, and this provides a listing of companies in the stock market which satisfies the criteria according to environmental, economic and social standards.

This kind of fund makes a great stock market investment, which is well worth your consideration. Keep in mind there are always new opportunities for this kind of investment being added to the stock market each year.

Financial planning and management is always a very tricky thing. Choose a wrong way to manage your money and you will be in for a major shock. It is after all your hard earned money. That is why precisely there are people who know various investment options and will work with you to make sure that you make the right choices. These professionals are known as financial planners.

The financial planners will usually know a lot more various investment options than you would know. At most you would have heard about the stock market and the mutual funds. But there are various other investment options like real estate funds, trusts, private equity where you can invest but are not knowledgeable enough to invest.

Above all this investment planning lies the crux of your strategy about financial discipline and management. All this depends up on your risk taking capability and how far do you want to go in the risk versus reward situation. It is this risk taking capability which will determine which investment avenues you will want to invest in. When working with your financial planner make sure that you tell him about the amount of risk you are willing to take.

This risk taking capability also depends on the age at which you are investing. If you are young and in your 20's or 30's then you can take more risk. You have the entire life ahead of you and even if something goes wrong you have a long working career ahead to make money and invest. At that age you do not have responsibilities of home and children. Also there are merits of starting your investing cycle earlier as that gives a huge corpus of money because of the power of compounding.

At later stages your risk appetite slows down as you have more responsibilities like childrens education and a family to take care of. You would most likely try to invest in options where you can feel that at least your capital will not be at risk.

So when you are thinking of investing or are exploring various investment avenues then always think about what kind of risk you are taking and what are the potential rewards that you are going to get. This will definitely modify and mould your investment style. These investment styles will alone then determine where you put your money. Last bit of advice on planning is that never put your eggs in one basket.

Trading stocks on the Over the Counter Bulletin Board or Pink Sheet stock exchanges is probably the riskiest of all forms of trading. With the potential of astronomical gains, penny stocks have drawn many people into the world of speculation, often with disastrous results. Unfortunately, this happens more often than it should because one of the characteristics of penny stocks that draws people in, is their low share price. This fact alone is the number one factor why people that cannot afford to lose money in the stock market begin trading penny stocks; minimal cost per share.

However, trading penny stocks does not always equate to losing all funds in brokerage accounts. If a person, new to these stock exchanges, spends time acquiring knowledge and learning how micro-cap securities trade, they are on the way to potential profits. Implementing and testing a trading system designed specifically for trading penny stocks is the first piece of the puzzle. Once a sufficient amount of testing has been completed, finding potential securities to trade is the next step.

Building a list of penny stocks that have potential to increase in share price is difficult partly because companies trading on the Pink Sheet exchange are not transparent allowing investors to see financial statements and other aspects of the company. The Over the Counter Bulletin Board exchange requires companies to file Securities and Exchange Commission financial reports quarterly which allows for more transparency. This makes OTCBB stocks less risky than Pink Sheet Stocks. If at all possible, it is best to refrain from trading Pink Sheet stocks and focus on OTCBB securities until a complete understanding of penny stocks is attained.

It is best to first differentiate between varying sectors within the market itself and determine which sectors may be in favor when building a penny stock list. Once favorable sectors have been determined, it is time to begin screening potential stocks to add to the list. Investors and traders usually break down into two different groups, one being technical and the other being fundamental. Technical traders rely solely on charts, trading patterns, oscillators and various other indicators to determine which stocks to trade. Fundamental traders rely on the financial aspects of the company. Profit and loss statements, amount of debt, various ratios and ultimately the company bottom line. These two camps are uniquely different and seldom will you find a combination of both trading the larger exchanges with both being adherents to their methodology.

However, a combination of both camps is ideal for trading smaller stocks utilizing both methods when building a list of penny stocks. Fundamentally, acquiring as much information as possible about the company can give the trader an idea of the financial condition of the company and determine if they can implement their business plan. By reading chart patterns, support and resistance levels as well as other indictors can help the trader learn how the stock trades which helps determine the technical character of the stock.

Over time, the penny stock trader will learn which stocks have potential and which ones do not have potential. Eventually the trader will build a list of penny stocks that have the best possibility of gaining in value and will soon have a core of penny stocks that can be bought and sold many times over once the trader learns their fundamental and technical characteristics.