Should Gold Be Part of Your Investment Stratey?

By Pat Nopper

Gold investing has always been popular among those that want to protect themselves from really hard times in the economy. Gold has indeed done better than stocks or bonds in the last couple of years and it has been a good choice to have at least part of your portfolio in it. However, with stocks doing so poorly, one might have thought gold would do even better than it has.

If you haven't had any of your money in gold now might be the time to give it a look. The stock market might have a ways yet to go on the downside and having some of your money in gold might be smart. The key word is some of your money as it is never a good idea to have too much in one thing. If you put all or most of your money in one stock or in gold, that is akin to gambling.

The one thing to note about the gold price over time is that it has never gone to zero. Gold has been considered valuable for many thousands of years going back to the ancient Egyptians and further. At no time in history was gold not valuable and for this reason many people buy gold as a safe investment. With the economy being what it is and the stock market in free fall for so long, gold seems to be one of the places one might put some of their money for safety. If the economy does not recover soon, gold will become one of the most popular places for people to have their investment cash.

It could be asked why the cost of gold has not gone even higher than it has during this period of economic uncertainty. If you have had some gold, it will have most likely done better than your other investments but not as well as you might have though it would. This could be because other investors have had to cash in gold to pay off their other debts. When people sell gold that will help to lower the price.

During normal economic times most people invest in gold by buying gold stocks or ETFs which are much easier than actually collecting the physical gold. However, due to all the scandals and uncertainty in the financial markets, more people have been choosing to buy real gold coins and gold bars. This presents a storage problem but some people are gearing up for really rough times ahead and feel safer with real gold in their hands. - 23222

About the Author:

Are you interested in learning about gold for dummies? If so, please visit my website Cost Of Gold.

Brokerage Firm Trading Commissions Explored

By Charles Benedict

The lower trading commissions have transformed how retail investors trade stocks. If you are looking solely on price, it's quite easy. But if you are looking at the different options pass the price, then the decision isn't so easy.

Unless you get free trades, there isn't an option that's cheaper than OptionsHouse. At $2.95, it's the cheapest place to get your trades executed. However, the broker is relatively newer so you may want to do more due diligence.

If you don't mind the bad publicity and the fact that they might change the rules again, Zecco isn't a bad choice. Currently, they still offer free stock trades for those that have $25,000 in assets or trade 25 times a month.

OptionsXpress must be making a lot of money off customers because their trading commissions are highest of the bunch. It's $14.95 for most people and $12.95 for high volume traders. Pretty expensive right?

Wells Trade offers 100 free trades a year for those that have a combined $25,000 assets with them. For those that already have a Wells Fargo account, this isn't a bad option. However, just bare with the less than spectacular trading platform.

One of the best discount broker is TradeKing, because of its amazing customer support. Their $4.95 a trade made headlines back in the days and continue to be one of the best options out there.

I love Etrade because of their user interface. Even though the stock commission is $9.99 and $12.99 in some cases, it is still at the top of my list of recommended stock brokers.

If you love customer service, you need to check out Scottrade. They've always give out bonuses to their employees and they have the best customer support. Their stock commission is $7 per trade.

TradeMonster is new and worth a look because of their ties to OptionsMonster. The celebrity endorsement of the Najarian Boys is reason enough to take a look.

Charles Schwab, or Schwab for short, loves customers who have more than $300,000 in household investable assets. Less than that and you don't really get the same quality attention.

I don't really like TD Ameritrade but it works fine. Their stock commissions are $9.99 a trade and they have no hidden fees to boot. This option is fine, but it's not one I recommend. - 23222

About the Author:

This stock broker is cheap enough but these OptionsHouse promotional code will make this brokerage firm's price even lower. How great is that?

Why Forex Trading?

By Bart Icles

Without a doubt, the foreign exchange market is one of the most popular trading arenas these days. However unpredictable, forex trading still poses the most attractive rewards to willing investors. And yet, there are still those who ask why engage in currency trading, If you make an online search on the forex market, you will realize that there are tons of reasons why foreign exchange trading is very attractive. But before you get overwhelmed with the plethora of information that you might encounter, it helps to know some of the most basic reasons why you might want to consider getting into this kind of trade.

It is to your advantage that the foreign exchange market is virtually open anytime, anywhere. All that you would need is a desktop or laptop and an internet connection. You do not have to step into some physical trading arena which is only open from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM. You just need to setup a forex account and then you can start clicking away.

You also do not need to worry about being not able to catch the trading times. The whole world engages in currency trading so as one trading center closes, you can be sure that another one opens. If the currency trading center in New York has closed, you can still exchange currencies with other investors through the trading center in Tokyo.

Lots of people also find it hard to resist the leverage offered by the currency market. With just a thousand dollars' worth of investment, you can already trade with a hundred thousand dollars' worth of currency lots. You can even come across brokers who offer up to 200 times leverage. This means that with an investment of a hundred dollars, you can already control up to two hundred thousand units of currency position.

Another amazing thing about forex trading is that you will be able to predict outcomes - accurately. The forex trading market is known to behave in a historical manner which means things happen in cycles. Foreign exchange rates typically vary in a predictable manner that many forex trading systems have already been developed to deliver forex signals to investors. These forex signals are then used in predicting actions that investors can choose to take. While losses and gains appear to be unpredictable in the forex world, the actions and positions that you can assume can always be foreseen. - 23222

About the Author:

A forex day trading system is powerful when coupled with a desire to learn and a drive to become a great trader. Learning forex systems takes dedication and a good teacher. But once you learn how to trade and do so successfully your life will change and you have options and financial resources you never had before.

Help Yourself Buy The Right Home Owners Insurance

By John Fagan

In this article, we present a lot of different features that affect decisions to buy better home coverage policies. You might find this information useful in your search for the perfect home insurance policy. You should spend enough time searching the internet and other publications for more information on all the insurance policies before deciding on a home insurance policy!

However, just like a home is a 'big ticket' buy for many Americans still, getting the perfect home insurance plan is just as important as securing that home loan or ideal property makes it a decision that gives you peace of mind - besides saving you money while giving adequate coverage, if you find the best home insurance combo.

Therefore, in this article, we will discuss about all the things that effect buying of the better home coverage policy for customers and how buyers can fix problem areas in their houses that affect cost of plan and good insurance likelihood. For, having necessary information about your home and its negative aspects is something that can help you take corrective measures to fix these and thereby, avail best home insurance policies at affordable rates. You can even consider calling in a home inspector to evaluate your house defects so you can improve on these flaws and rectify roofing, invest in storm shutters or secure your house further with latest safety devices to minimize risks for the insurer. These are just a few practical ways you can save a lot of money on buying the best home insurance plan in your mind!

With these details at hand, you can make informed decisions; negotiate low rates with your insurance company if one or none of these factors that typically result in more expensive home insurance premiums exist in your situation.

Apart from securing your home you will help yourself get the perfect home coverage policy by taking into account things adversely affecting the insurance policy. You could consider the distance from the nearest fire station for instance or the nearest fire hydrant. If you keep these points in mind you could be in a better position to better negotiate an insurance coverage plan for yourself.

Moreover, think about other issues that effect plan coverage and rate of the home coverage plan e.g. details like your home's distance from the nearest fire station and fire hydrant and your home's physical condition. By regular home repairing and renovating you can prove that your home is disaster-resistant and you can bargain and shop for the right home insurance plan for yourself. For example, just by investing in toughened glass windows and providing adequate outdoor lighting you can reduce chances for damage caused by storms, vandalism and burglary to your home. Thus, you stand a better chance of being offered a lower home insurance policy with wide coverage.

You can additionally invest in toughened glass for your home's windows to decrease dangers of damage from storms and use these points to negotiate a reduction in coverage premiums. Moreover, you can reinforce your home's roof structure with retrofitting for the base to make your house safer in order to get further discounts in the premium. - 23222

About the Author:

John is a top life insurance traffic producer who works with top team industry leaders. Free Quote Insurance Agents that work for you.

Slippage In Forex Trading

By Ahmad Hassam

The risk of slippage is usually very high when trading the news. Currency prices tend to move very fast during such highly volatile market conditions. Slippage occurs when the price you intend to enter or exit the market is different from your actual transacted price.

Slippage is the biggest problem when the market moves fast. Placing stop or market entry orders under such times do not guarantee anything. These orders do get filled but mostly at different prices than you had intended.

Many market makers will wait till after the big move is over. Then they will fill your entry order. Sometimes, these entry orders may even get filled past your stop loss or profit target. This means that you would be left with immediate net loss.

Many brokers will fill your stop loss or take profit before filling your entry order with wide slippage. It is a trick that many forex brokers use in order to make profit by filling your position with a negative spread.

Suppose you have set your long entry stop for EUR/USD at 1.2564 and your profit limit is 1.2594. The forex broker may first fill your take profit at 1.2594. Then fill your long entry stop at 1.2604 with a 40 pips slippage.

Even though your trade would have resulted in a profit if filled at the prices you wanted. But now you have a net realized loss. The forex broker may also fill your stop loss order first if the trade goes against you. Then fill your entry order with slippage after that so as to widen their profits.

Now imagine you had placed your stop loss at 1.2544 and your long entry stop at 1.2564. Your forex broker could first fill your stop loss at 1.2544 and then fill your long entry stop at 1.2594 with a slippage of 30 pips. You now have a net loss of 50 pips due to slippage instead of planned 20 pips loss. You could never imagine that you would end up with a loss of 50 pips.

You should know as an individual trader that your orders will be kept pending till you get stopped out or your profit limit is reached during the release of news when the market moves fast. The more you stand to lose and the more the forex broker stands to make a profit, the larger the slippage you experience. Some forex brokers add slippage to any of your orders to increase their profits during times of fast moving markets when the volatility is high.

Many traders readily accept the risk of slippage as one of the realities of trading the news. However, they should know that slippage can eat up a huge chunk of profits and in the end affect their overall profit/loss. You can overcome the problem of slippage through the use of stop-limit entry order. More on it in the next article! - 23222

About the Author:

Mr. Ahmad Hassam has done Masters from Harvard University. He is interested in day trading stocks and currencies. Know These Forex Broker Games. Learn Forex Trading!