Category: Investing


Creating A Job Search Pitch

Filed Under: Investing by Don Weststein — Comments Off
September 29, 2011

If you are in the world of sales, you understand the importance and value of a great sales pitch. Come to think of it, the same is true for people who are looking for jobs. Since your primary goal is to “sell” yourself as the best possible candidate for the position that you are applying for, you want to ensure that you are able to prepare in advance and make sure that you set yourself apart from the rest of the candidates. Read on to find out more about how you can build your job search “pitch” and increase your chances of getting hired. (The team of experts have outlined tips, advice and information on how you can make the most out of your career. Learn more about Jobfox scam by simply clicking on the link.)

You should remember that you are your own personal brand, and this could either make or break your success in just about any kind of industry that you are working in. Two of the most common questions that are typically asked during the screening process would be “Tell me something about yourself” and “What sets you apart from the rest of the applicants?” This is certainly something that you can already think about in advance. It should be detailed enough to highlight your achievements, work experience and competencies, but concise enough as to not bore or overwhelm your interviewer.

This Jobfox scam article recommends that you create a list of all your achievements over the past few months. It is definitely recommended that you include those that you have spearheaded and initiated yourself. Whether it may be a project that you headed, a problem that you found a solution for or something that you discovered and made improvements in the current process would certainly be of help. Good luck!

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Are Exchange-Traded Funds Actively Managed?

Filed Under: Investing by Don Weststein — Comments Off
June 19, 2011

Before going into the details, it is essential to remember again the distinction between passive and active fund management: an actively managed fund tries to outperform a benchmark, for example an index, through decisions as to the allocation of assets by the fund managers. A passive fund tries to exactly replicate its benchmark index, typically by replicating the index structure in its portfolio. In general, exchange-traded funds (ETFs) are passively managed, see for example any fund in this natural gas ETF list. However, active ETFs do exist – they are a very recent innovation and a growing niche market.

What exactly is then an active ETF? While traditional passive funds try to precisely mirror an index in their portfolio, managers of an active ETF have more freedom in selecting their investments similar to managers of mutual funds. An active ETF is still strongly oriented towards a specific index, but may hold only a selection of the securities making up the index to achieve a superior performance. This is different from the “selective optimization” employed by traditional ETFs as described for example in this copper ETF information.

A major problem for an actively managed fund which is traded on an exchange is the transparency required of ETFs. Typically, these funds need to disclose their holdings continuously, which would be a serious problem for a fund whose asset allocation is not trivially identical to an index, but rather represents the unique knowledge and strategy of its managers. To stop others from simply copying an ETF’s trades or even front-running them, active ETFs disclose their holdings usually only once a day after the close of trading.

An important benefit of classical ETFs still holds for the active version: they have a lower expense ratio than mutual funds, as they need to hold much less cash due to their exchange-traded nature. This allows them to be almost fully invested at any time without regard to possible redemption.

In summary, while there certainly are actively managed ETFs, they are very new products that are still in the early stages of development and will take some time to establish themselves among their passively managed counterparts. The coming years will be interesting to observe with regard to the direction this growing market will take.

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Avoid Financial Trouble, Get Great Deals on Foreclosed Condos

Filed Under: Investing by Don Weststein — 1 Comment
September 13, 2010

If you are planning on investing on a foreclosed condo, make sure to evaluate the whole package to make get a really good out of it. Being cheap does not always necessarily equivalent to a good deal. A cheap foreclosed condo with features that you can’t change may not be a smart option at all. However, availing affordable condos will give you a lot of room for renovation expenses.

Liens. Foreclosed condos happen when the lender takes back the collateral due to failure of compliance to due loan bills. In order for the lenders to compensate the difference of debt, they basically put these condos for sale. Liens and unresolved taxes and taxes may also be present in the property. Be aware of this so that you won’t be left responsible paying for them. Numerous Liens will complicate the ownership process.

Location. Try to evaluate the location of the condo that you are planning to purchase. The neighborhood will be important for convenient living. Does the condo have the right location that you prefer best? Also, know more about the available space and evaluate if it is the right type of condo that can accommodate large group of people of you have a family to move in with. Survey the location and its development as a whole. It is more advisable to buy a condo that has a better location in case you want to sell it some time in the future, it will draw enough attention from interested buyers.

Homeowners Association. These are associations that have the main objective of maintaining a convenient and proper neighborhood. They usually have set of rules, regulations and fees for maintenance of the neighborhood location. Be certain that you are capable of complying their regulations and due fees if you are planning on purchasing a condo involved in HOA.  You may also be interested in getting a great deal on a repo cars for sale.

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Recourse Factoring Against Non-Recourse Factoring

Filed Under: Investing by Don Weststein — Comments Off
August 23, 2010

Given a scenario where a small business is having a hard time with cash flows, one of their best options is to choose factoring services. This allows the business owners to eliminate their cash flow issues and deal with the other matters of the business that are important. However, before you decide to sell your company’s accounts receivables you’ll want to consider the difference between recourse and non-recourse factoring.

With the recourse factoring method, the factoring company isn’t liable for the bad debts. If ever the customers don’t pay back their debts, the factoring company has the right to get their money back from your company. This is agreed upon by both parties and it is indicated in the factoring agreement the deadline date for the payments. In addition to having to pay for the bad debt your company will still have to pay for the charge fee and interest even if the refund is done in advance. The advantage of recourse factoring is that the interest rate and charges are less expensive when compared to non-recourse factoring. This is because your company takes all the risk when it comes to their bad debtors and slow paying customers.

Non-recourse factoring is the exact opposite of recourse factoring where the factoring company takes and handles the bad debt risks from the invoices that your company has sold them. They take the risk of the debts if the customers won’t be able to pay their debts on time. This process is quite expensive compared to recourse factoring. In other words if your company agrees to a non-recourse agreement then the factor compensates for this by increasing the charges and interest rates.  In this process the factoring company takes all the responsibility to collect the credit from the customers including also the legal action to take if ever they won’t pay their debts.

Factoring invoices is getting popular nowadays to gather immediate funds for the business in order to improve its cash flow. However, the company has to choose first between recourse factoring or non-recourse factoring processes and consider which of the two will be most beneficial for the business owners. In recourse factoring all the bad debts risks are the responsibility of your company thus the factor will have the right to get back the money from your business if your customers don’t pay them. This is the opposite of non-recourse factoring. In these situations the factoring company will take all the risk from bad debts and takes full responsibility in collecting the debts from the customers.

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Following The Price Of Propane Gas

Filed Under: Investing by Don Weststein — 1 Comment
August 16, 2010

Since it is the summer, the only time people are thinking about the price of propane gas is when they are having people over for a barbeque and they want to make sure they have enough propane on hand. But before you know it, it will be time to put away the barbeque grill and start calling around for the best propane prices to fill your tank for your winter heating needs.

When is the best time to buy propane gas and how can you follow the price of propane to buy at the right time? When purchasing propane gas for heat, timing is important. If you go to fill your tank in the middle of a nasty cold spell, you can expect to pay through your nose for that gas. If it is a mild winter, then naturally price will be lower. But where can you find out the daily propane prices?

Propane futures use to be traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX). There use to be a flurry of brokers waving their arms and shouting trying to buy and sell propane gas for customers. The NYMEX de-listed the propane contract in September of 2009. This made it tougher for consumers to see the daily price of propane now that the propane futures are gone. So what does a user of propane gas do to track the ebb and flow of gas prices?

Since propane gas is a by product of natural gas productions and crude oil production, then the best way to follow the price trends of propane gas would be to follow the trends of Nat gas and or crude oil.

Natural gas futures are still traded on the New York Mercantile Exchange. It is done through either open outcry (those guys who jump around shouting all day trading) or traded electronically on the screen. Either way allows a propane user the ability to see what the current price is.

By following the price trends of natural gas, you will be able to see that current propane gas prices will fluctuate along with it. If you see that natural gas prices are low, then that might be the time to go out and purchase propane gas for your heating needs.

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Financing Investment Property through Debt is a Better Option

Filed Under: Investing by Don Weststein — Comments Off
July 31, 2010

If you are one of those people looking to venture into real estate without prior experience then it would be a good idea to consider securing financing of the investment property you are invested in. This is also the suggestion most experienced and creative investors (from locations like Houston investment property) will give as it is the golden rule of real estate to use the money of other people for leveraging your investments. Also it is usually a risky proposition to invest all your money into just one property as you are not sure how the final value will end up. You will also not be able to leverage well in that scenario or diversify you holdings by spreading risk over various Houston investment properties.

There are many reputable lenders that are ready to finance as much as 95% of the price of purchase of a property. The benefit of such schemes is that you can avoid the out of pocket costs that you will incur in the process of investment. Also, the lenders provide financing in the form of one loan which you can invest in other properties too.

The benefits of getting financing for your investment is obvious through an example where you are investing 150,000 dollars of your own money for a 10% expected yield. This will give you 15000 dollars as a return on your investment. On the other hand, if you go for 95% financing, you will be earning the same return for a meager investment of only 7500 dollars which is a 200% return on whatever you have invested.

Usually lenders who finance investment property provide loans in the long term which could be between 15 – 30 years. The interest rate on these loans is either adjustable or fixed. Before approving the financing of the loan, lenders usually check your credentials, your income source, savings and your credit score.

Although, it is possible to get financing even with low credit scores, higher credit scores are beneficial as you can get the loans for a lower rate of interest. Once you find a lender who is ready to finance your investment property, you should be careful while checking out the finance agreement.

It is a profitable option to go for financing but not all properties can help you get a financing. Reputed lenders do not offer financing for more than 5 investment properties and that too would take quite a bit of persuading. However, it is worth the effort as financing will help you grow leaps and bounds in your real estate career and investments.

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Central Banks Role In The Forex Market

Filed Under: Investing by Don Weststein — Comments Off
July 29, 2010

It’s amazing the power central banks have in the world economy.  They make a hint about something and the market goes crazy.  If you want to understand the power of words, just look at whenever Ben Bernanke of the US Federal Reserve makes an announcement.  The same would be true for announcements from any central banker.

It’s very important to understand central banks’ roles in the market for your forex trading strategies.  They are one institution that has the power to change it.

The main mandate of central banks is to keep their economies healthy and strong through monetary policy.  They can determine how much of their country’s currency is floating around in the market.  They can also make borrowing expensive or cheap.  In regards to the forex market, they try to keep their currency at an optimal level to grow their economy.

If their currency is too high then it will be too expensive for investors and corporations to do business in their country.  In addition, this will also cause exports to become too expensive and foreign countries won’t buy from them.  If it is too low, exports will be too cheap and the country doesn’t make any money.

They can trade on the market if they want.  They have the capital to buy or sell large enough quantities of their currency to make a difference in price.  They can artificially peg their currency like China does, but most countries don’t do that.

Much of forex investing has to do with watching what central bankers do and say.  You have to know how it affects the particular currency you are dealing with.  In addition, virtually all currencies are affected by the US Federal Reserve and the European Central Bank.  Accordingly, you need to know how these two central banks in particular affect the entire world market.

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Choosing Between An ETF For Copper And Commodities Funds

Filed Under: Investing by Don Weststein — Comments Off
July 28, 2010

If you are going nuts at the thought of which of these two you need to choose for an investment, you need not worry because the answer to this is very apparent. You should go for an ETF for copper. I am telling you this simply because the investment potential of copper is rising at a quick pace. This will be so since copper is now coming in good use in different industries like electronics. Let’s talk about the Chinese men and women. China has been recently hoarding up massive amounts of copper for their construction projects, and in fact, the amount they have in store is even way bigger than the actual quantities they are using up. This has made some men and women say that there would be a high possibility for China to shift to copper as a standard for its economy. Americans are now jumping into the scene too, and if this continues for other countries, there will be a serious decrease in the accessible supply compared to the need of this material.

This leaves commodities funds way behind the league of copper ETFs. However, the decision is still depends on you, whether you go for this selection or other trends inside the market. The choice doesn’t really matter as long as you know how to go about with the process of investing, you’ll surely come out successful whatever your expense may be.

You need to decide on your own after some careful thinking due to the fact like any other commodity out there, the worth of copper ETFs is still dependent on the particular demand of this resource. This means that if the use of copper decreases to a substantial level, the purchase values on this will also go down. Nevertheless, the occurrence of such would be hard to predict because copper has been in use in far greater amounts than the natural supply can give.

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Restrictions Under Share Transfers

Filed Under: Investing by Don Weststein — Comments Off
July 24, 2010

If it is not stated in the agreement of the shareholders or in the articles of association of the company to do otherwise, shareholders can transfer shares to anyone they want. However, this is only acceptable for companies that are listed on the stock exchange and does not suit private companies with lesser shareholders.

If shares are being sold to anyone, the shares might end on the hands of the competitors of the company or even transferred to someone that the shareholders cannot eventually work with.

To prevent this from happening, shareholders may draft on their Articles of Association restrictions regarding share transfers and these may include agreement offering the shares first to the existing shareholders or the company itself. Offering shares to the company gives it a chance to buy the shares back if it is legal and avoids the hassle of the shareholders to look for funds in order to buy the offered shares when the company can actually purchase them.

The seller is not always given the freedom for the pricing of shares. The company and shareholders may base the price under an independent valuation if that price is lesser than what is set by the seller, but the seller can withdraw the sale if he does not agree with the value. If the company or the shareholders cannot or are not willing to buy the shares, shares may be offered to outsiders, but the condition remains that the price should be the same as the price offered to the shareholders and the company.

There are also instances when the sale of shares is automatically triggered. This happens upon the death of a shareholder, when the shareholder stops working for the company, has filed bankruptcy or suffers from mental illness.

It should also be considered that outside purchasers might want to buy all of the shares offered. That is why shareholders should also take to mind the extent of the shares to be sold. Since various restrictions are essential for the transfer of shares, a properly and legally drafted shareholders agreement should be in existent.

This helps in protecting the interests of the shareholders and the company and avoid working with people they never imagined working.

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How To Find The Best Stocks For Investment

Filed Under: Investing, Stocks by Don Weststein — Comments Off
May 21, 2010

A good way to get started investing is to buy one of the stock market for dummies books. Once you learn a thing or two, then you will be interested in finding out how to buy stocks for beginners and how to pick the best stocks. But since the market is constantly fluctuating, it’s very difficult to find the most profitable stocks. Today’s great stock may not look so wonderful tomorrow. Nevertheless, some general rules of thumb can be used to make wise stock decisions.

When you set out to buy, don’t put all your eggs in one basket – or one stock. Ideally, you should buy several stocks and develop a portfolio, so that if a single one crashes most of your money will be safe. The smartest approach to buying stocks is to spread your risk among a range of stocks in a variety of industries.

Don’t make any final decisions until you have done the appropriate amount of research into the various stocks you’re considering. When you understand how the market operates, it will be easier to choose good stocks.

For instance, when a company launches a promising new product, you may want to think about buying it. It’s also worthwhile to invest when two reputable companies merge into one.

Mergers are often what happen when two great companies that each have something to offer decide to work together. In another situation, a larger company may buy a smaller one.

In a case like this, a lot of interest is usually generated and the stock price rises. Not only that, a merger may result in the manufacturing of higher quality products, which more people will want to buy. And when that occurs, the stock price will rise.

When it comes to the very best stocks, a variety of factors must go into the decision to buy. One great way to choose a stock is to keep an eye out for mergers and positive trends in a company’s business.

You also can invest in penny stocks, which involves slight risk and may bring considerable gain.

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Be a Contrarian Investor and Pick Your Own Stocks

Filed Under: Investing by Don Weststein — Comments Off
May 13, 2010

Call me a cynic but I don’t believe everything I see on TV. This is especially true when it involves money. Therefore, it is amazing how many people will base their investment decisions on what someone says on TV. That’s only marginally better than listening to a “hot investment tip” from your next door neighbor.

The fact is, when investment shows invite mutual fund managers to discuss their stock pick winners, while it’s true that they invested in these companies, they only did so when the prices were low. By them talking about these companies it hypes up the stock – just in time for these fund managers to dump these stocks for a profit. Therefore, the only people making money (at least in the short term) from these stocks are Wall Street types themselves – not the individual investors.

If you want to make money on the stock market, you need to make decisions for yourself. Sometimes this means going against the masses and buying out of favor stocks. However, as long as the company has intrinsic value, it will eventually make money as a value stock pick when the rest of the market wises up and catches onto your way of thinking.

In fact, being a contrarian investor is a good thing. After all, the way to make money on the stock market is to buy low and sell high. Therefore, you always want to be on the other side of what the masses are thinking. To paraphrase famed investor Warren Buffett, you should be greedy when others are fearful and be fearful when they are greedy.

So the next time you watch an investment program on TV, take what the experts are saying with a grain of salt. They are their to line their own pocket. If you want to fill yours, think for yourself and learn to pick your own stocks.

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Some Unique Forex Investment Facts You Need to Know

Filed Under: Investing by Don Weststein — Comments Off
May 3, 2010

Forex, short for “foreign exchange,” is a worldwide, over-the-counter financial market for the trading of currencies.  Its main purpose is to assist international trade and investment.

Some Unique Forex Investments Benefits

Forex started around late 90’s and is still making it to the top of worldwide trade and investment strategies.  Why do some people find this very profitable?  Here are some of the few facts about Forex:

  1. 24/7 Market – Trading is continuous, doesn’t stop, not until the spinning of the earth stops.  Since it is a worldwide market, business is on going from sunrise to another sunrise—except on weekends and holidays for some countries.
  2. Market Liquidity – In business and investment, Forex investments has this unique market liquidity that does not cause a significant movement or lose too much of a value when being sold at a price.  All assets will be converted into cash quickly and without any much discount of the price.
  3. Geographical Dispersion – Again, it is a worldwide market that attracts cash all over the world.  Money is always and is everywhere.
  4. Low Transaction Cost – The difference between buying and selling price is so minimal that it does not totally affect the price value of each asset or investment.
  5. The Use of Leverage – This is the ability of trade more money than that compared to the actual amount on the account of the trader’s.  With the minimal capital, a trader can work on it to something that is 500% of it or more.
  6. Profit Potential from Rising and Falling Currency Prices – A trader can actually study their Forex Investments and can buy a currency at a lower price or go along with the current price if the need falls for it.

Forex investments are associated with some scam programs recently, but there are a lot of non-scam programs which you can put your money on.  Here are a few things that you should remember in considering a Forex investment program and service:

  1. Consider the minimum investment and how your money will grow in a daily and reasonable rate of return.
  2. Security.  Some programs come with anti-hacker security programs which will definitely help to secure your assets.
  3. Look for programs that allow multiple investments.  Multiple Forex investments mean multiplying your money to the nth number of times (or losing to the nth number of times).
  4. Referral programs.  You might recommend the program you are using to your friends.  Gain something from referrals and profit from it.

Hopefully, with these reminders, you’ll never go wrong about Forex investments.

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Handling Workmans Compensation Settlements

Filed Under: Investing by Don Weststein — Comments Off
March 19, 2010

Workmans compensation settlements are frequently brought about by a worker who is hurt or injured while doing his tasks associated with his employment. Filing for a worker’s claim can take a lot of process and it requires expert worker’s compensation attorney to help deal with the case. A worker may address his claim to the company he is working for or to the owner.

After filing a workmans compensation claim, the settlement may be forwarded to legal authorities to evaluate and conclude the case. Usually the settlement involves a series of reviews and gathering of relevant evidences. Maybe the victim ought to have the doctor’s findings because the amount of his settlement will largely depends on his injuries.

In workmans compensation settlements, the victim together with the compensation attorney should obtain and secure a copy of all settlement documents. If you have the copy of all papers and documents like medical findings and bills, then it is an advantage. Aside from paper evidences, you can also conduct witness interviews, people who are present before and after the accident happened. Interview results might be recorded or written but make sure not to exaggerate every statement because instead of helping the case, you give them the reason to doubt.

Workmans compensation settlements attorney can really help you in doing finalization reviews to all necessary documents, particularly in signing them. Take note, settlement is a little bit confusing and a lawyer can help you fully understand and handle the case. There can be seasonal lawyers but there are also some who are only experts in helping clients before they buy structured settlements or in their personal injury claims. Therefore, find an expert lawyer that is capable in worker’s claim settlement.

Workmans compensation settlements can be confusing but if you are handling it together with your lawyer, you might have the chance to win. Fight for the right compensation and win your benefits.

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