Gold Could Be The Right Investment In 2009

By Larry Pojeski

With the atrocious economy and stocks doing so poorly, one would think that the price of gold would have gone up during this time span. Usually, people buy gold as a hedge against hard times. It is seen as a sort of insurance policly as gold is the one asset that can be counted on to never go to zero. The price of gold has not gone up though which is perplexing.

What are the reasons why gold has not gone up during this time period? It might be partly because many hedge fund managers have had to cash in their gold positions to pay off all the other failing investments that are in people's portfolios. Folks have been selling stocks at record paces over the last 2 years and these hedge fund managers need to get money from somewhere. This has forced them to cash in some or all of their good investments such as gold.

It is true that the price of gold has held up pretty well in this recession and so where it will go from here? The large number of new dollars the treasury is going to be pumping into the system makes you wonder whether it might be time to start getting back into gold. Everyone seems to be in line for a bailout and one wonders what whether inflation is going to be a big problem down the line.

With all the financial chaos worldwide, gold might be a smart place to put some of your money. Stocks are going up and down wildly every day and interest rates are practically at zero. Right now it seems the smart place to be is in any conservative investment and gold might be the ticket. Gold has always maintained its value over thousands of years and today in 2009 it is probably a pretty good investment. Gold is not for everyone and you should probably not put all your money in it but a portion of your assets in gold right now is probably the right thing to do.

You can be confident that the price of gold will not go to zero and you can look through history to see that this will continue to be true. Gold can always be counted on for value and it is always good to have some of your money in an asset that can be counted on. The future is unknown and these bad economic times might continue. Gold could be the right investment choice for the remainder of 2009. - 23218

About the Author:

Are you interested in finding out the price of gold over time? If so, please visit my website Current Price Of Gold.

The Hidden Gem Of Online Commodity Trading

By Anne Durrell

When it comes to trading on the internet, then online commodity trading is a good opportunity. Larger volumes and profits potential are right at the front if you know what you are doing, since the interest in the market is currently increasing.

There are schools that start the course even only last for few days, they help people to learn about online commodity trading and teach the basics of the market.

Whether or not you decide you need to attend a class, it is important that you understand all there is to know about commodity trading before you get started. You need to learn how to place and how to control your orders in the commodity market.

It is advised to learn from professionals who make money thru selling and buying, since it will give you a good samples on how you need to conduct yourself though the market you will be joining will likely be smaller scale. This also include learning how to use stock market software.

You need to learn which online commodity trading transactions involve the most risk so that you can control your exposure to major losses.

Learn the market, and you will be able to determine which investments are likely good for you and which ones should be avoided for their risk factors. To increase your leverage, use different type of contracts at the same time.

If you want to do well in the online trading market, you must have discipline and move carefully with a solid plan and established knowledge about the market and software you are using. Everything makes the trading looks complex, but if you do it correctly, it can actually give you profits and with less risky.

If you put the time in to learning the market and make carefully scripted decisions, you may find that online commodity trading is very lucrative. For some it becomes a full time career.

The internet makes it flexible so you can start slow and increase your trading volume as you get more comfortable. Soon you may be able to quit your day job! - 23218

About the Author:

Anne Durrell comes from Stockton, California. She has written a number of articles on online trading . Please also check out her other guide on discount stock brokers tips, and stocks quotes guide!

Dividends

By Wolfgang Vanguard

Dividends are payments from shares, unit and investment trusts, which, investors hope, are not only regular (usually twice a year) but also rise over time to reflect the companys (or trusts) growing fortunes. Dividends are taxable as income.

The good news is tax on UK share dividends is deducted before you get it. If you are a basic rate taxpayer, you dont have to do anything else. Nontaxpayers and ten per cent taxpayers dont need to do anything either. But theres bad news here: You cant reclaim the deducted tax under any circumstances. Even though its called a tax credit by HMRC, we refer to it as a deduction to save confusion.

Top-rate taxpayers have to declare dividends on their self-assessment form and have the cash ready to pay the gap between the 40 per cent rate and the tax deducted.

Whether you get income from unit trusts, investment trusts, or individual shares, look at the date the dividend was declared and ignore the period for which the dividend applied. A 10p a share dividend for the year ending 31 December 2006 declared on 1 May 2007 and paid on 1 June 2007 counts as part of your 2007 " 08 return, not the 2006"07 calculation.

If you invest for long-term growth in shares that pay low or no dividends, youll pay less income tax. But dont forget these shares tend to be riskier. And you can get hit for capital gains tax on your profits.

Dont forget if you are near the top of the basic rate ladder " earning around $36,000 a year " your dividends can push you into the top tax bracket. For instance, if you earn $36,500 and have $3,500 of dividends youll be over the $39,825 (in 2007"08) basic rate tax limit for a person aged under 65.

Dividends from stocks traded in foreign markets can be tough to deal with. You may have to convert dividend payments into sterling as well as account for them separately.

You need to fill out the foreign income pages of the self assessment form. The UK has double taxation agreements with most foreign countries. The effect of these agreements is to cap the tax due on foreign-sourced income so you are no worse off as a result of possibly being taxed twice.

Many stock market companies have schemes by which shareholders can opt to receive new shares to the value of their dividends rather a dividend cheque. Even if you choose this option, you still have to declare the value of the new shares and any balance carried forward in cash because it is not large enough to buy a share. Youre liable for tax on re-invested dividends in just the same way as a cash dividend. - 23218

About the Author:

Learn How to Invest Today from the basics to advance. Find financial freedom from debit and other money worries by learn how to invest and learning to control your money.

Follow Oil in Currency Trading

By Ahmad Hassam

Part of becoming a good investor in forex is learning to understand that the markets evolve and changes with time. As it does, your trading strategies should also evolve and adjust. You will need to make a little tweak here and a little tweak there sometimes in your trading strategies.

There will be periods of low returns and even losses when the markets suddenly change and new trends are formed. Your trading strategies will need adjustment with the markets with these changes. When you have made the adjustments to your trading strategies, you will start making profits again as before. You should never make the mistake of getting stuck with only one currency pair and only one trading strategy. Always look at macroeconomic events. Try to understand how different currency pairs react to these events.

Oil drives the global economy. High oil prices put recessionary pressures on the global economy. Lets discuss a currency trading strategy that depends on following oil prices in the global markets. There are many sources of oil. Some countries export oil. Most of the countries in the world import oil. So oil prices tend to affect almost all the currencies. Some currency pairs react more strongly. Others less so when oil prices change. When oil prices rise, they continue to rise for several months. Fortunately for you, oil prices trend for extended periods.

Similarly when oil prices decline, they tend to continue declining for several months. Some of the currencies that react strongly to oil price changes are GBP and CAD. Lets focus on USD/CAD.

United States imports more oil from Canada that any other country. The value of CAD should increase with increase in oil prices in relationship to USD. With the increase in oil prices, this means that the pair USD/CAD should start trending downward. This is an example of a trend trading strategy.

Do you watch CNBC daily? You should watch for times when the oil prices are rising and the exchange rate USD/CAD is decreasing. Similarly, on CNBC look for times when oil prices decline and the exchange rate USD/CAD increases.

We will use CCI, Commodity Channel Index, to trigger the trade. Watch the 14 period CCI (Commodity Channel Index) chart. It should cross above 100 and then cross back below 100. This will tell you that the buyers made a temporary upward push on the currency pair USD/CAD but were unable to turn the trend around and it is still downward. This is time to open the trade.

Enter the trade and set a limit order of 300 pips and a stop loss order of 75 pips by going short on USD and long on CAD. This setup will give you a risk to reward ratio of 1:4. This risk to reward is very good and it allows you to be wrong a few times without ruining your chances of being profitable. 300 pips mean $3000 and usually such a trade will continue for 4-5 weeks.

You can also trade the USD/CAD currency pair in the opposite direction if the oil prices start to decline. However, prolonged downtrends in the oil prices are unlikely under rising global oil demand. This trading strategy depends on just knowing which way the oil prices are moving right now. You can take advantage of this oil price movement. Oil prices have again started to climb. It has reached above $68. Take advantage of the rising oil prices by trading USD/CAD pair as described above. - 23218

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam is a Harvard University Graduate. He is interested in day trading and swing trading stocks and currencies. Discover A Revolutionary New Forex Robot. Develop your own Forex Trading System.

Learn Stock Market Investing Techniques Through Technical Analysis

By Chris Blanchet

People who want to learn stock market investing techniques are best served by getting as much knowledge of the available technical analysis tools. As a stand-alone investment strategy, technical analysis will never be sufficient. However, it can provided enough statistical data to allow the investor to determine whether to enter or exit a position.

Although there are literally hundreds of different technical analysis measurements, the three discussed here are among the most reliable formation that investors will cross. It makes the most sense to discover them as soon as possible when one starts to learn stock market investing techniques:

Head and Shoulders. Considered one of the most reliable technical indicators, this type of formation gives investors an extremely reliable indication as to where the stock is headed -- up or down -- over a specified period -- short, medium, and long-term. A head-and-shoulders formation has three sharp points. In a bottom formation, there are three low points with the second point (the head) being lower than the first and third points. This pattern gives a strong and reliable indication to buy the stock. As well, it is easy to spot, particularly for investors who are just starting to learn stock market investing techniques. In terms of volume, the first point (the left shoulder) will come with higher volume than the last point (the right shoulder).

Gaps. Perhaps the easiest technical indicator to identify, a gap happens when a stock's low for one day is higher than the high of the previous. People who are starting to learn stock market investing techniques will be automatically drawn to these patterns, although trading on such gaps can pose substantial risk, particularly when beginning to learn stock market investing techniques. It should be noted that gaps usually provide resistance or support levels, so when a stock trend crosses through a previously formed gap, it signal a strong price movement to come.

Bollinger Bands. Used as a tool, Bollinger Bands are not stock price patterns. Instead, they are an oscillator, which tells investors about the probability of a stock trend. For people who want to learn stock market investing techniques, Bollinger Bands are a must. They give a buy or sell signal based on a stock's volatility as it moves two or three standard deviations from its mean. When the stock price closes at or above the upper band, it triggers a sell signal (vice versa for the lower band).

Investors who are eager to learn more about stock market investing techniques can find plenty of instruction on-line. For those who prefer a more hands-off approach, there is an equally abundant amount of trading software that will complete all of the analysis. Most software measures the same statistical data that full-time technical analysts measure and is therefore a worthy investment. - 23218

About the Author:

Chris Blanchet spent over 16 years as a Financial Advisor at one of the largest banks in the world. For investors who want to learn stock market investing techniques, visit Online Trader Today.com. Chris also maintains a Debt-Free Blog at How To Repay Debt.com