So, you want to invest in gold?
Here’s what you need to do. First, you need to strike a claim. Actually, before that you should probably buy a mule and change your name to a more authentic-sounding “Jasper” or “Festus.”
Then you take a pick and begin cutting away…
No. No. No.
Investing in gold does not require you to prospect or dig a mine.
Here are four ways you can get your gold bug on without getting dirty. Or changing your name to Festus.
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Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy
etf, financial, gold, gold coin, gold investing, golden, invest, mutual funds, trading
pic from jacreative @ Flickr
Another day, another Dow drop.
It’s obvious that all the maneuvering and stimulating have done little to stave off rapidly deteriorating global economic conditions. Like injecting a heart with adrenaline, the programs designed to re-start the economy gave it a boost, but only treated a symptom temporarily and never addressed the disease.
Why? Government money is too diluted. It probably takes almost as much money administering stimulus funds than the actual amount that will seep into the economy.
Austerity programs will only stunt or retract an economy. It’s a great gesture, but growth is the key.
To promote growth, governments should drastically cut, if not totally suspend capital gains tax.
The move would:
Instantly boost the market.
You could reasonably expect a 10 to 20 percent rise in the stock market. You could also expect new companies striving for initial public offerings to come out in full force.
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Accelerating Technology, Investing, Money, Online Investing AI
angel investing, depression, economy, invest, Investing, investors, recession
When I write, I often think that the world of finance is divided into two camps. (Maybe three.)
There are investors and traders. (I also think the latter category can be divided into another camp of “speculators.”)
Are these actually different and distinct groups?
I’ll list some of the key differences between investors and traders. But then I’d like to see if, just like Donnie and Marie were a little bit country and a little bit rock and roll, that we might be a little bit of each group.
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Internet, Investing, Money, Online Investing AI
day trading, invest, Investing, swing trading, trade, traders, trading
pic by visualpanic @ Flickr
Everyone has rituals.
Wake up. Brush teeth. Take a shower. Read a blog.
Rituals help us frame our day and frame our mind for more uncertain tasks.
What about trading, or investing rituals?
Some traders admit that they have very specific trading rituals. They may check the Dow futures for instance. For others, it’s a half hour watching CNBC or Fox Business. Others read financial sites and newspapers, or check out overseas markets. Investors may read a prospectus from cover to boring cover.
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Online Investing AI
habits, invest, rituals, trade, trading
Pic by SanFranAnnie @ Flickr
Artists are determined to be the next someone.
The next Bob Dylan. The next Beatles. The Next American Idol.
Companies struggle with the desire to be the next big thing, too.
They want to be the next Google. The next Microsoft. Maybe even the next Enron.
Investors and traders aren’t immune to this desire to follow the leader. They want to be the next Warren Buffett, or George Soros.
But as tempting as it is to follow success, it actually doesn’t make sense to be the next big anything. The streets are littered with the next Bob Dylans. Bankruptcy courts are full of the next Microsofts.
There are a few reasons for that.
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Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, Success
dumb money, invest, Investing, Money, smart money, the next, wealth
We all tend to think of the boss as the man or woman in the corner office, or cube, who controls our lives for at least eight hours a day. Usually more.
After work, you carry the boss home and spend the remaining hours of the day discussing, kvetching, and bitching about him or her.
For most, this is when the idea of financial freedom becomes so appealing. The line of thinking is: if you have money to escape the job, you’ll have money to escape the boss.
It’s good thinking. But look closely. Who really is your boss?
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Investing, Money, Online Investing AI
boss, bosses, financial freedom, invest, job, money management, personal finance, personal financial freedom, save, spend, work
Pic by RC Designer @ Flickr
Spring is finally settling in.
The sun’s out a few more minutes each day–even though we lost an hour’s sleep.
The temps are a little warmer.
And, is it just me, or do you have a little more energy?
When Spring hits we want to take that excess time and energy and do something productive. Spring cleaning is perhaps the best example.
But why just tidy up the garage? Or clean out the basement?
There’s some financial work to do and spring is a great time to do it.
Here’s some advice by my favorite bloggers on how to take management into your hands.
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Accelerating Technology, Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, Success, US Economy
advice, invest, investments, Money, roundup, savings, spring, wealth, wealth management
Home of Grace Groner, secret millionaire
It’s hard to be a buy and hold investor in this economic condition. We’ve seen major companies get bailed out, or evaporate like a pool of water on a hot summer day.
But think what it was like to be a buy-and-holder in 1935, the depths of the Great Depression. That’s when Grace Groner spent $180 on three shares of her employer’s stock. Over the next seven decades, those shares in Abbot Laboratories split many times and she reinvested the dividends, too.
And guess how much she ended up with when she passed away in January?
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Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, Success, US Economy
buy-and-hold, invest, Investing, lessons, millionaire, millionaire next door, rich, Success, wealth
pic by dizznbonn via Flickr Creative Commons
The trader’s Catch 22 is that high risk can lead to high returns. Oh, and high risk can also lead to devastating losses.
But the great trading dilemma is to figure out how much return you’ll receive for the risks you take. One way to estimate this risk-reward ratio is by using the Sharpe ratio.
The Sharpe ratio is named after Nobel-prize winning economist William Sharpe.
The ratio is calculated by subtracting the risk-free rate – such as that of the 10-year U.S. Treasury bond - from the rate of return for a portfolio and dividing the result by the standard deviation of the returns.
This may sound a little complicated, but compared to other ways of determining risk, the Sharpe Ratio is a snap.
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Automated Trading, Investing, Money, Online Investing AI
Automated Trading, invest, money management, risk, sharpe ratio, smart investing, strategy, trading, wealth
It’s a new world.
Trust in financial companies… down.
Interest in saving money and frugal living… up.
Desire to break free of the shackles and chains of indebtedness? That’s at an all time high!
When it comes to personal finance, brothers and sisters are doing it for themselves. Here are some posts and articles that will help you do it for yourself.
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Accelerating Technology, Business Strategy, Internet, Investing, Money, Online Investing AI, US Economy
diy, do it yourself, invest, Money, saving, spending, wealth, weekly wisdom, wrapup
is one of my favorite financial books of all time. It's an allegory about a guy who has a terrible job, and how he overcomes challenges to achieve his dreams.
