tech+info+resources underground

We don’t talk about “sympathy” plays as much as we should, but that’s just an oversight, not because they aren’t important. When it comes to earnings season, nothing much is as powerful as a good sympathy play. Let us give you an example.

On 7/19/05 we were holding SYMC long. Although they didn’t have earnings until the 28th, we did see that Checkpoint had earnings due out that day. So, CHKP who is another tech company in the business of anti virus and online security came out and beat their estimates handily. Instantly, SYMC began jumping. They moved in “sympathy” with CHKP’s earnings.

We base a lot of our moves around the idea of sympathy. We utilize the concept of sympathy so much on a daily basis that it’s second nature and we often forget to suggest that it makes for a good play. When earnings are announced, the reporting company usually moves so quickly that it’s impossible to get off a good trade. But it’s very likely that if the company that reports did well, other “leaders” in that company’s sector will move higher in sympathy, and you can usually get a trade off on one of them.

This is especially true if you can find a company that hasn’t yet reported earnings. In other words, let’s say the “XYZ” company reports today. They are in the software sector and they beat the estimates in a big way. So you see that the “ABC” company is in the same sector and they don’t have earnings for 4 days. Getting into ABC on the heels of XYZ will often reward you with a gain, as they buy up ABC in hopes of similar results.

Sympathy also works in the reverse, and maybe even more so. If XYZ misses earnings, ABC will fall too. It might be worthwhile to consider adding a short position to ABC, as traders come up with the idea that if XYZ blew it, then surely ABC will too.

Market sympathy is a common phenom and one that we take for granted. But for the new members among us, it’s good to remember that a lot of what takes place in the market is purely sympathetic to what leading companies have to say. When IBM releases their earnings and beats the estimates, a thousand stocks inch higher. Did a thousand stocks just beat the estimates? No, but it raised the hopes that they will, hence the sympathetic move. Keep that in mind for all your market trading and you’ll quickly find yourself thinking around the lines of sympathy in all forms, such as earnings and even news releases.

If an insurance company warns about losses, others in the sector will fall. If a car maker announces pension troubles, others will fall too, because “surely” they have the same trouble. Sympathetic market movement is all around us, but sometimes we forget to categorize it as such. Just remember it happens and it’s real. It will help your investing career.

For a FREE report on HOW TO TRADE FAST, enter your email address at:

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Mutual fund info is one of the most sought after things on the market when it comes to investing. People are considering this fun option for many reasons. First, what is a mutual fund? It is a way of allowing many investors to pool their money together and to allow a professional investment manager to manage the money in the larger sum. Because more is invested as the group, more money can be made in this situation. But, who, what, where and when are all questions that many people are asking as well. Mutual fund info is right around the corner though.

To have the right mutual fund info, you need to do several things. First, you need a personal knowledge, at least somewhat so that you know what is happening and what could happen with your investment. Knowing what is happening will give you an edge, so to speak. Secondly, you need to find a trustworthy investment manager to use for your mutual fund needs. Many of these funds can be found through your financial advisor. To find a manager of your money, it is wise to compare several companies including their history of management, their fees, and the means in which they will communicate with you.

That said, it is still wise to keep an eye on your personal investment at all times. Nevertheless, there are excellent companies out there that will successfully manage your investments, no matter how large or small to your specific needs. It is wise to take the time to find just the right company. Mutual fund info can be found updated continuously right here on the web.

There are also many information portals now devoted to the subject and we recommend reading about it at one of these. Try googling for “mutual fund” and you will be surprised by the abundance of information on the subject. Alternatively you may try looking on Yahoo, MSN or even a decent directory site, all are good sources of this information.

for more information please see www.mutual-fund-info.co.uk

Mutual funds were created with the idea that one person can specialize and manage the investments of a large pool of money from multiple investors. Before the great depression mutual funds were called investment pools and mutual fund managers were called pool operators. The bull market of the 1920’s created a time of economic prosperity akin to the 1990s. The conceptualization of the pyramid scheme occurred at this time as well.

Ironically, the pyramid scheme had been debunked in 1920 when Charles Ponzi was arrested for offering investors unsustainable returns on postal certificates. The investors lost all of their money in Ponzi’s elaborate con job for which his name became synonymous. He was reportedly making a killing buying the postal certificates in Europe at low price and selling them at high prices in the United States. Con jobs in general like the one perpetrated in the movie “The Sting” with Robert Redford and Paul Newman were labeled “Ponzi Schemes.” The public never saw through the investment pool concept as a new form of Ponzi scheme.

Investment pools eventually became thought of as a rip-off in the mind of the public. This is because becoming a pool operator was like having a license to steal. Instead of focusing on the interests of the public who had money in the “fund” the pool operators would engage in risky investments because the money was not theirs. They would also pay themselves extremely large fees. It became very clear to the public that investment pools were a big-rip off in the aftermath of the stock market crash of 1929.

There was so much abuse by pool managers that the Security Exchange Commission (SEC) was formed in large part to stop these rip off artists. The SEC effectively shut down the more blatant con jobs. Then the securities industry came up with a fancy new name for investment pools to suck the public back in: “Mutual Funds!”

If your 401(k) provider offers an indexed mutual fund then put your money into that. An indexed mutual fund uses a stock market index such as the S&P500 to guide which stocks are bought. The biggest and oldest indexed mutual fund is the Vanguard 500 (VFINX).

A computer divvies up the cash in the fund to match the index as closely as a possible. As such, there is not fund manager to sitting on your hard earned retirement savings to rip you off in bogus fees.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Dr. Scott Brown, Ph.D., a.k.a. “The Wallet Doctor”, is a successful futures trader, real estate investor, and stock investor. Dr. Brown holds a Ph.D. in finance from the University of South Carolina. His 1998 articles in Technical Analysis of Stocks and Commodities were prophetic in predicting an impending stock market crash. He has helped many people become profitable investors by teaching them to look out over many years to spot stocks that are low and primed for rise in the new bull market. His second article met with approval by Dr. Bob Shiller of Yale University. Dr. Shiller is the economist that Alan Greenspan most highly regards who coined the term “Irrational Exuberance.” In 1998 he shouted to the world to “get out” of the stock market but now he is shouting to everyone that it is time to “get in!” The Wallet Doctor is not only sought after for investment advice and coaching in stock investing but also in futures trading and real estate investing.

Visit Dr. Brown’s site at http://www.BonanzaBase.com or sign up for his investment tips at http://www.WalletDoctor.com

Yes, you have heard it all: get free money. Well, little in life is truly free, but if you are wise about it you can save a little bit of money here and a little bit of money there and accumulate wealth. Have you shaken the money tree yet? If so, tell me where it is so that I can get my fair share. Seriously, if you want free money you’ll have to put a little effort out first. Let’s examine some sources of free money just waiting for your hand out.

Clip Coupons - All those coupons you see in your Sunday newspaper, which come in your mail, that even pop up your computer screen are meant for you to take action. Simply cut the coupons out, march down to your local supermarket, and use the “cents off” savings to get free money. Okay, you won’t be handed a wad of cash but you can pocket the savings nevertheless. Even better: shop at those supermarkets willing to double even triple your savings.

File Your Tax Return - So, you didn’t file your tax returns in 2003, 2004, and 2005 because you made a pittance, eh? Well, you may be missing out on some free money. Depending on your household set up, you could be missing out on the government’s earned income tax credit for your children. If you don’t file, you don’t get the free money which could amount to several thousand dollars per year!

Rebate It - Oh, that new color printer you bought is a real scream! Did you notice the $20 rebate that came with it? Oh sure the $99 sale price was a bargain but did you notice any additional money savings with that offer? For the price of a postage stamp you can submit a rebate and await your $20 check a few weeks later. Free money? You bet you: most people don’t bother to redeem rebates!

Property Tax Relief - So, you are over 65 and finding it hard to make ends meet. Well, in some communities help is as near as your local property tax office. Maybe you shouldn’t pay the full property tax amount every year; some locales discount property taxes for cash strapped seniors by as much as 10% each year. That could translate into hundreds of dollars in savings especially if you live in a high tax area!

Take A Survey - Most of those mall survey people will pay you to take a survey. Typically, you will get $5 or a coupon for a free meal at McDonald’s. In some cases you could be eligible for a much more comprehensive survey. If so, hundreds of dollars of free money could be awaiting you.

Yes, read the fine print with any offer as some are certainly “too good to be true.” In many other cases, however, free money can be had. Check around to see what offers are available in your area…someone has to get the free money, why not you?

Copyright 2006 - For additional information regarding Matt Keegan, The Article Writer, please visit his blog for wit, quips, and freelance writing tips.

A Guide to Using Stop Loss Orders

Stop losses are market orders designed to allow you to limit your losses.

When you place a stop loss you are instructing the spread betting company or stock broker to cut your position when it reaches a certain loss level (or in some cases, profit level - more later).

Therefore, a stop loss will automatically close your trade if the market reaches a certain point.

For example:
You have bought £1 a point of the German DAX at 4200. The most you are willing to risk is £150 on this trade so you place your stop at 4050.
If the market trades at 4050 you are taken out immediately and you lose £150.

Normal Stop Losses

These are free but with this type of stop you can sometimes lose more than you specified when you placed the order.

Sometimes your stop loss order may not be filled at the level you wanted i.e. you may be taken out at 4046 instead of 4050.

The bookmaker will attempt to get you out of the trade at the price you specify but when the market is moving very quickly it may not be possible.

This is called “slippage” and tends to happen in a fast moving market.

You can also lose more than you wished if the market you are trading “gaps”.

For example:
You have opened a long trade on the Dow Jones for £1 a point at 10000. As you were willing to risk £200, you placed a stop at 9800.
Over the next couple of days, the Dow moves down slightly to 9900 and at the end of trading on the third day it is sat at 9890.

The next day some very disappointing economic figures are released and the Dow opens well down at 9700. As this is past your stop loss, the bookmaker closes your bet at market price.

Your trade is closed at 9690, 110 points below your stop loss so your loss is now £310 rather than the £200 you were willing to lose.

Guaranteed Stop Losses

You can ensure you are closed out at the exact price you specify by using a Controlled Risk or Guaranteed stop loss order

These types of stops are designed as a type of insurance to guarantee that your stop loss order is filled at the exact price you specify.

Even if the market you are trading gaps 1000 points beyond your stop, if you are using a guaranteed stop loss you will still only lose what you have already decided is an acceptable loss.

You pay a little extra for a guaranteed stop. In the Dow example above, a guaranteed stop would cost roughly 4 times the stake (4 x £1 = £4). Usually the premium is taken from your account balance when setting the stop loss level or is added to the spread.

Although they do reduce your account balance, guaranteed stops can save you a great deal of money and are certainly recommended if you have a small capital base.

Some Pointers About Stop Losses

- Never move your stop if you think it may be hit. If you move the stop further down to try and avoid being taken out you will simply lose more money.

- You don’t have to close your entire position with a stop loss order. If you wish, you can set up 2 or more stops. For a £1 per point trade you could set a stop 100 points away which reduces you exposure by 50p a point. Another could be placed 200 points away to take you completely out of the trade.

- It is better to let the stop take you out of the market and preserve the rest of your capital than to try and stay in the trade by moving the stop.

- You can lock in profits by using a stop loss. If you were to enter a long trade on the Dow at 10000 with a stop at 9900 and the Dow moves up to 10200 you could then move your stop to 10100 to lock in 100 points profit.

- Never trade without a stop loss, even if it is just a normal stop. To stay in the trading game you must preserve your capital and huge unexpected losses will certainly not help. See the Money Management section for more details.

Ben Catt is an active financial trader and runs a free website containing hints, tips and information about tax-free financial spread trading and betting in the UK. The site can be found at http://www.FinancialSpreadTrading.co.uk.
He also runs a business opportunity information site - http://www.BizOppsUK.com

The current question that is being asked in the stock is why is the bond market selling off. While there is a number of excuses there are real reasons this is occurring. First and foremost there are more seller than buyers.

Most financial professions over look the simple and straight forward answer. They often focus on why, because they feeling knowing why will help them predict the future activity in both bond and the stock markets. Beyond why, it is more important to know what is falling and what is rising. By knowing both of those this things you can take action and avoid severe financial lost.

Bond markets also do not have safety features which help avoid large sell offs in the marker. This is because the action of the bond market is extremely sharp and far more volatile than the the stock market. There is nothing worse then being a bond holder in a decreasing market. Bond statements can make your stomach turn when you realize, in text, that you are loosing money by the second.

If your first sign of a decreasing bond market is your statement you are probably working with a financial advisor that is inexperienced. When rates rise it is the utility companies, electric and gas, that get effected first. This type of stock will offer a similar pay out to bond yields. When these yields increase the pay off yields can no compete with rising rates, and wave of selling begins. When there is even a rumor of inflation bonds prices get smashed. Due to the recent new coverage of the price of gold and oil the perfect bond market continues to grow.

Individual bonds are influenced by two main components. These components are credit risk and interest rate risk. Bonds are held by company’s and governments. When their credit rating is lowered their bond prices will significantly decrease. This is because there is more risk to the company that issued the bond will default. Usually this does not influence the whole bond market. However, when this situation is happening often and to a number of companies it would cause the current decline in bonds.

There are also other reasons that bond prices decrease. The price per share of the stock and mutual fund companies do fall. This is because a great deal of their profits from from the trading of bonds. Many insurances companies invest a good bit of their capital in bonds which is also affects as the prices for bonds decreases.

Most businesses and lending companies depend on interest rates and can be affected by the dips in bond prices. The important questions here are how will lending companies, and mortgage business continue to be successful as interest rates continue to sore? How will high rates affect the repayment of loans already made?

Most investors do not realize that bond markets are not like the stock market. Bonds in most countries are decentralized and there are absolutely no common exchanges. These is because bond issues are always different, and offer a variety of securities for a longer period of time. It is usually the bank in America which make the markets but remember they have no rules which govern if and when they buy, sell, or stop they participation in the bond market.

Stock markets are notorious for their wild swings; many investors end up losing their shirts due to lack of experience. However, credible market intelligence can compensate to some extent for inexperience, warning new market entrants of potential pitfalls and protecting them from huge losses. It is here that full-service brokerage firms come into the picture.

Although the big houses charge relatively higher commission rates than the smaller, “call center” brokerage firms, they also provide a wider range of services - including intelligence on likely market trends. Such input is crucial for those who may be just entering the markets. Players of the commodity, foreign exchange, insurance, and mortgage markets can also take advantage of similarly packaged services.

Big brokerage firms generally provide a full range of services relating to stock markets, rather than just transact deals on behalf of their clients. They are available all the time to advise their clients on possible market movements. In addition, they can also provide insight about which stock would better suit your market game plan. Further, they can also guide you on when you should exit stocks of a particular industry and move over to another set so that you can optimize your gains. These firms can guide their clients through times of market volatility when predicting market movements could be fairly risky for ordinary players. They also provide customized services for their premium clients.

These full service brokerage firms are valued for reliability and authenticity of their data. This is because their inputs are based on thorough research and analysis, rather than on “experience” and gut instinct. Further, their research aims at capturing long and medium term trends along with short term market dynamics. However, small investors may find commission rates charged by full-service brokers prohibitively high, because of comparatively low turnover value. So, anyone playing the stock markets with less than $1,000,000 should instead consult the call center advisers.

Brokerage Firms provides detailed information about brokerage firms, commodity brokerage firms, discount brokerage firms, and more. Brokerage Firms is affiliated with Fixed Asset Management.

A royal question…how do the rich get rich? Its exactly the type of question you should be asking if your investigation is for the purpose of personal wealth. YOU will get rich how the rich get rich because there is no point re-inventing the wheel. Before I describe for you clearly what the mechanism is for wealth, we should establish that personal wealth comes with persistance. But not the kind of persistance you may think. All rich people started with nothing. Having no money is not a barrier to wealth. Lacking knowledge absolutely is a barrier.

When you first decide that wealth is worth prusuing, the question becomes how. I believe we all are aware that a plan of some description would be a nice idea. Of course that is not always possible without the specific knowledge you need.

There are plans and there are templates. I firmly assert that what you need is not a plan or schedule but rather a template. Something that gives you a reproduceable result that can be duplicated aggressively.

On small scale or large scale, the principle’s remain the same. The rich get rich in an orderly expected fashion. It doesnt matter which “vehicle” you may use to gain wealth, however obviously some vehicles are better than others. For example real estate is a particularly solid path to wealth. To become rich as the rich do you will need to understand the concepts of leverage and pyramided profits. By finding an activity that produces a measureable fiscal result over a given time frame, you may then move on to leverage that result on a bigger and bigger scale. That in a nut shell is what all wealthy high net worth individuals do.

It need not be a huge result. A simple action, like buying and selling a house for a profit is an example of what Im talking about. A $10,000 profit like that can be “ramped up” and the template followed and exponentially re-applied for bigger and bigger returns.

Something to keep in mind is timing. There are certain financial climates that are better then others. They happen in cycles and certain industries or areas are more lucrative then others. It doesnt last for ever but it comes and goes over say 3 to 6 year cylces. Wealthy people “follow the sun” so to speak. They for example may like real estate on the up years, but when they sense the climate is slowing down they have another area they invest in that works well usually when the real estate star is on the fallow. Thats really the essential parts of wealth building.

Of course you have alot more to learn. Specifically how it is done. There are many fine resources. Opportunity investment is simply a systemized version of what the rich have known for centuries. There are areas you need to explore like salesmanship and negotiation. Also know the specific rules, laws and contract srtuctures of the area or business you wish to use to build wealth.

My very best to you.

copyright-This article may be cut and paste by anyone any time as long as it is not edited or changed in any way. The resource box must accompany the article and the link must remain active. No written permission is required.

Martin Thomas is a professional investor and enjoys revealing strategies and tips for wealth building. If you want to build your own money machine, please follow this link. http://www.opportunity-investor.com