StockNod Rally in Austin

Stocknod’s very own David Yang was in town from Toronto this past weekend. David was visiting Austin to help Stocknod founder Jason McGuire confirm the latest version of the Stocknod Alerts. His visit also gave us a chance to meet his lovely wife Lillian and enjoy some of the fun to be had in Austin. Unbeknownst to anyone, the Republic of Texas (ROT) rally was also being held the same weekend, so David and Lillian were surprised to see 100,000 plus motorcycles and riders downtown Congress when they arrived.

The trip was a success on many levels as it provided corroboration opportunity for the Stocknod trio as well as provided for some much needed  R&R.  We started the weekend with dinner downtown at McCormick and Schmick’s where we all ate way too much, and then ventured out to watch the ROT Rally parade that was being held downtown on Congress. Unfortunately we didn’t stay out late enough to watch Robbie Knievel make his big jump in front of the Texas state capitol.

Saturday we had an early meeting to discuss some pre-launch issues with the 2.0 Stocknod Alerts. David quickly defused the issues and stabilized  the new ranking algorithm. As many users know the old version of the Stocknod Alerts worked great for roughly 80% of stocks but there were always that pesky group that just didn’t seem to adhere to the Stocknod algorithm. David and Jason both agreed that the issue with the stock’s trading personality could be resolved by tweaking the current ranking algorithm. New modeling supported David’s theories of  incorporating returns by industry into the equation, adding a profit calculation, and adjusting weight of the Stocknod key indicators. The break through was immediately recognized from David’s historic models. The new updates have proven successful for stabilizing the trade signals for those stocks with atypical trading personalities. Both Jason and David have been working to resolve this issue over the last several months but the rally in Austin really helped to bring everything together. Like Jason likes to say “I think we finally cracked this nut”. Our member’s will no doubt see significant performance improvements in both the alerts and the Hotsheet stock picks.

From left to right Jason McGuire, David Yang, and Ryan Collins.

After our successful meeting we then headed out to Iguana Grill on Lake Travis where David and Lillian got to try fajitas for the first time. The weather was very hot but the view of Lake Travis and a couple of frozen margarita’s made bearing the heat much easier.

Thanks to David & Lillian for making the trip and we look forward to our next visit!

Analyzing the Stock Market Trends

The upward bullish nature of today’s stock market offers a small ray of hope and the stock market analysis offers improved bull market index characterized with technical bullish trends including accumulation, distribution, moving averages and so many other points of rally. However, the current consumer confidence and ISM manufacturing index are still off their bottoms. As per the stock market analysis, the ECRI weekly leading index shows a bulling trend and points out a moderation or ending of recession later in 2009. 

By deploying your funds cleverly, you can make some profit on the long side now. The most recent studies on stock market analysis offers some hope for the alleviation of the bad economic crisis that the world is experiencing now. The opinion whether the economic condition would improve or not is still to be watched. With the introduction of massive stimulus package, some countries (for example China) are in the verge of robust recovery. Amongst European countries that are under the tight hold of recession, Britain is the one that is experiencing pathetic condition in terms of economic recovery. The fiscal stimulus for United States is still on the way of stabilization. Even though, a small bit of improvement is found in the housing market of US, it is still a matter of doubt and argument on how a country that is experiencing great percentage of unemployment and cut-off payments can rise from the condition in the near-term. These uncertainties are affected severely in the US stock market also.

DIA or the exchange traded fund for the Dow indicates a technically rising bullish nature with a short term of rising up. Along with the rising of MACD, there is a rising found in terms of moving averages. In spite of the rising unemployment rate in the US, the US economy appears to be slightly improving. The forced pay cuts and layoffs are terribly affecting the state that can heavily weigh on the national economy. Bank of America demands a requirement of 34 billion dollar and the stock is jumping 20 % of what was seen recently. Even though stock are soaring high, no visible moving of bonds are found with the leverage. The government is now struggling to make efforts in pumping the money supply that could help in pushing the present economy forward with plenty of fiscal stimulus. According to the demands of the present stock market condition, you can make much money in the bond rather than with the stocks.

A complete study and understanding obtained through effective research of stock market analysis can help you in generating high returns from the stocks. Browse through the Internet to analyze the current stock market analysis to keep control on your investments and to make higher profits. With the help of proven technical tool (Stocknod Alerts and Stocknod Hotsheet), precision charts and thorough research, you can obtain trade tracking, live alerts, and the most recent news and updates regarding stock market for successful investment and consequent profit gain. You should also go through relevant article, blogs and e-magazines offered by expert stocks market analysts through online resources for your easy access.

Different Types of Investments

The present economy with a financial slowdown, pay cut and unstable market condition demands the need to stick to an intelligent investment strategy to survive. There are several opportunities that may knock your door in the form of different types of investments and loan plans with low interests and very attractive values in stock market indexes. However, it is required to follow wise decision before falling for such investment plans. Before choosing your plans for investment, you ought to carefully study or make researches on the present financial condition based on risk profile and enduring benefits. Every investment plans are associated with certain risk levels that should be carefully understood before making investments. It is advised to seek the help of consultants and experts such as distributors and agents of the investment plan chosen before handling your savings to them.

Out of a good number of investment options available today, investment through health insurance  and understanding annuities ought to be included in your must to have list without fail. With the increasing costs of medical treatments and drugs, an intelligent investment through an accredited health insurance company can help you in acquiring several hospital cash benefits (commonly known as mediclaim). Medical claim facility offers cashless treatments in hospitals where payments are executed directly by the insurance company to the hospital. Health insurance offers excellent security coverage when the entire family depends on one or two earning members or when dependances are more. It also covers income tax benefits. Moreover, medical insurance becomes an inevitable necessity in a family that has dependant with a disability. As per disability benefit programs in the US, both short and long term disability insurance are provided as a life assurance scheme to all the eligible employees.
 
Mutual fund companies are another reasonable yet smart option for ordinary men to make investment of their money to survive today’s economy. Since investments in mutual funds are shaded across a wide array of sectors and industries with parallel investment objective, this diversification reduces the risk wherein, profit and lose is shared by all the investors alike to their investments. According to the objective and types, you can choose the particular mutual fund scheme as your investment plan. Mutual funds are classified into two, depending on their maturity period as Open-ended and Close-ended Scheme. Mutual fund investments are highly preferred today due to enhanced features such as affordability, liquidity, transparency, diversification and flexibility. Similar to mutual funds, other preferable investments of today are pension funds and public provident funds. Bank term deposits such as fixed deposits in well certified banks are also good option.

Fixed deposits or FDs are the oldest types of investment plans opted by domestic investors. Today, there are plenty of different types if FD investment schemes available that offers the opportunity to withdraw money before the maturity of your investment, replacing the traditional schemes where the investors had to wait till the fixed tenure. Today, non-financial institutions are also emerging with such investment schemes that have to be carefully considered before falling for it.

Obama’s “Glimmer of Hope” – What Must Be Done?

On Friday, April 10, President Obama declared that he could see a “glimmer of hope” for the US economy. This comment came after a day of encouraging data on trade and unemployment. He cited improvements in small business financing and a rise in mortgage refinancing as one of the reasons for his optimism. He said that “whatever we do must ultimately translate into economic growth and jobs.” 

What can President Obama do to “generate economic growth and jobs?”

First, he should recognize that businesses create most of the jobs in the US.  Businesses need two things to thrive. The first is money to purchase and make goods or services that they sell. The second is customers who can purchase those goods and services.

In order to provide money to businesses, he should limit the income tax on businesses. Money that businesses pay in the form of income taxes could be used to make more products or produce more services. When this happens, jobs are created.

Many feel it would be wise to reduce the amount of regulation for businesses to an absolute minimum. Complying with some government regulations requires cash and manpower that could be used to produce goods and services.

It is also important to reduce the amount of taxes that people must pay. Taxes require consumer money that could be used to buy goods and services. If people buy goods and services, businesses must hire people to produce those goods and services. Thus, jobs are created.

These three simple steps would do much to get the economy of the United States moving again. If President Obama takes these steps, the glimmer of hope in the tunnel of this depression will hopefully soon become a bright light guiding us into the future.

Visit Stock Market News and Stock Prices for latest StockNod market updates.

What Are Mutual Funds

So, you want a Ferrari? So do I. How about a boat, a vacation house, or a paved path to financial freedom?  Well, there are several ways to achieve these goals, and investing in mutual funds is a great place to start.

What are mutual funds? A mutual fund is basically a pool of money that is professionally managed and invested in assets.  Professional management is an important feature to mutual funds. Most people don’t have the expertise or time to make strategic investment decisions. The fund managers are highly educated and trained to make these decisions with the goal of the best possible returns. Mutual funds will vary depending on its investing objectives. Some fund companies and managers may invest in blue chips, some in small companies, and others in international stock. There are three main types of mutual funds; stock funds, bond funds, and money market funds. Here, we will be discussing stock funds.

Mutual funds can be a great investing vehicle, however, they should not be the first investment that you make. I follow an investment hierarchy. This hierarchy places investment categories in the order that you should invest in and proceeds as follows; Step 1. Savings accounts/Money markets. Step 2. Bonds/Personal property. Step 3. Mutual funds. Step 4. Individual stocks. Step 5. Commercial real estate. Step 6. Commodities. Step 7. Rare collectibles – precious metals, paintings, and memorabilia such as a Barry Bonds autograph, er…uh, an Alex Rodriguez autograph, um, fine, a Roger Maris autograph. So, before investing in mutual funds, you should have money in a savings account/money market and bonds.

Stock mutual funds invest in a number of companies. For example, a tech-heavy blue chip fund might have holdings in Apple, Microsoft, IBM, Google, HP, Motorola, AMD, and Sony, to name a few. So, the overall performance of the fund will be based on the individual performances of the companies. Contrary to individual stocks, mutual funds will not flourish or sink based on the holdings of one company, but the performances of all of the companies combined.

To illustrate this concept, think of a stock mutual fund as a cruise ship and an individual stock as a ski boat. Both are two different vehicles but have the common goal of leaving the dock to have an enjoyable time in the rough seas. In order for the cruise ship to turn, either in the correct or incorrect direction, it takes time and a large number of individuals. As for the ski boat, it can head in either direction rapidly with just one person. So, mutual funds are less risky but are not immune to peaks and valleys. They can make you great wealth but it usually takes some time, which makes them a good tool for retirement planning.

There are many types of stock mutual funds. Large fund companies such as Fidelity, Vanguard, JP Morgan, American Century, Dreyfus, John Hancock, Janus, and Neuberger Berman, to name a few, offer all types funds for every investment objective. Most of these companies offer funds directed at a specific time to meet your goal, such as retirement.  Fidelity’s Freedom Funds are a great example. These funds use a mix of stocks, bonds, and short-term funds. The managers for these funds will invest your money more aggressively when you’re younger and will change your investments accordingly to become more conservative as you near your goal of retirement.

So, what are mutual funds? Well, everything we’ve just discussed and a lot more. We’ve only begun to explore the world of mutual funds. Other areas I will discuss with you in future articles will be Lump Sum vs. Automatic Investment, Fees, Focused Funds, and The Prospectus. So, once you’re a successful mutual fund investor, you can jump to the more risky and superfluous investments and maybe get that Roger Clemens jersey, um…or that Mark McGwire bat, well…fine, a Hank Aaron bat.

Investing In Gold Coins

It is an accepted fact that rate of returns are lower with low risk investments options and that is why low risk investments are considered rather disadvantageous. However gold coin investment on the other hand maybe considered as an exception to the rule. For most low risk investments, the investment results are unable to match inflation levels and as such it leads to the loss of money during the final profit/loss calculation, however in almost every case I can remember, investing in gold coins have always keep up with inflation levels.

It is an established fact that we human beings are attracted towards gold since time immemorial. Gold coins are the ultimate personification of the God of Wealth because of the value of gold combined with the shape and physical allure of gold coins. To sum up gold coins are not only good for long term investment but also carries with it that emotional appeal that reduces the risk of its devaluation under any…I said any economic crisis.

The lowest risk options are government bonds issued by the Department of Treasury. Of course, there is one set drawback with these vehicles of investment and it is that the return on investment is based on a fixed rate of interest that is set by the government. The investment interest rate is generally adjusted to stay at par with the rate of inflation that means that you barely make any profits from the investments. As compared to this, investing in gold coins is both a low risk and high rate of return investment option. This is primarily because of two reasons – First gold rarely loses value and secondly gold coin becomes a collector’s item when it becomes old enough and, obviously, in this case the value of gold coin increases. For example, in one case I read, there is a collector who has bought an American $20 double eagle gold coin that was sold for a whopping $7,590, 020 at an auction! The coin was introduced for the first time in 1933 and the auction was held in 2002.

You will probably agree that investing in gold coins is a very lucrative option amongst all other investments under the present economic turmoil. The gold coin carries the value of gold and as already mentioned the value of gold coin increases with the age. So if you are a little gun shy after the last 12 months of watching your stock investments plummet then I would strongly encourage you to look into investing in gold coins.

Read more on Pros and Cons of Investing in Gold

Pros and Cons of Investing in Gold

Investment and Gold always goes together hand in hand and always yields good results for the investors. Majority of the people in the world choose investing in the yellow metal as their first preference. The reason for this are manifold – First the highest liquidity benefit and secondly there is always a market for gold, where you can dispose it anytime. Gold is by far the safest investment as the price of gold seldom fluctuates like you typically see in stocks.  Below I try to breakdown the pros and cons of investing in gold.

Many people in the earlier days used to purchase gold ornaments in order to make investment. Now because of the price and depreciation of the value of gold and the irrecoverable price in designing the ornament, a majority of the people have lost their interest with investing in gold ornaments. So, because of those factors people have started to purchase gold biscuits as an alternative investment. The prime disadvantage in regards to this was the safety factor. Of course, it could not be guaranteed for the 100 percent safety of the yellow metal because of robbery. Now this disadvantage is overcome by gold futures.

The gold futures or bullion trade is part of commodity futures market. You can enter into a contract of specified days in order to buy or sell for the future. When the contract is signed, the actual transaction takes place at the prevailing rate and the difference of buying and selling is considered to be the profit of the transaction. In addition, it has a unique margin trading system where as you are not required to pay the whole amount at one go. It simply means that you pay only 5 to 10 percent of the value. Keep in mind that in the contract you can specify that you are not willing to take possession of the product and you can notify that you would settle the difference, if any, in cash.

As a matter of fact a lot of people believe gold investment is one solid investment that they can rely on. It is important to understand that every ounce of gold flirts with the $1,000 mark, and is more than likely going to rise as the current economic crisis stabilizes. This is an obvious reason why you should take into consideration purchasing gold now, while the price is still low, in order to try and make sizeable profits from your investment when the market peaks.

You should definitely think about making gold at least a portion of your investment portfolio.  And, if you hold on to your investment for three to five years and watch as the market stabilizes and heads for growth, the value of gold will increase and you could easily end up with a sizeable return on your investment. The truth is that in the current economic situation investment in gold is by far the safest bet in comparison to any stock in the market.

In order to increase your confidence level in gold investment, some pros of investing in gold are mentioned below:

- The average gain of gold is more than 200% over five years.
-Accepted fact that investing in gold coins historically have always outgained inflation.
- It should be also taking into consideration that the market hasn’t even reached its peak and gold prices is expected go up to more than $3,000 or even $5,000 per ounce over the next couple of years.

Please visit my blog frequently as I will further outline the pros and cons of investing in gold.

Short Selling Stocks

Does the economy have you down? Do you want to invest but don’t have the money? Are you looking for a way to successfully invest in the sinking market? Well, the investing practice of “short selling stocks” might be your answer.

Now, I preface this by stating that short selling stocks is considered somewhat of an advanced technique, so you might want to contact an advisor before jumping in headfirst. The reward can be great, but as always with investing, risk plays a huge role.

The principal idea behind short selling is contrary to mainstream investing, i.e., buy low, sell high. In almost bizarro-like fashion, you buy high and sell low. Sound strange? Good, it should. After researching a stock that you believe to be overvalued, you borrow shares you don’t own from your broker, order them sold, and take the money. Then, you enter the most critical stage of the process. Exciting to some, excruciating to others, this is the time you wait for the price of the stock to drop. If you are correct in your assumption and the price drops, say a quick prayer of thanks, buy the shares at the lower price, turn them over to your broker, and keep the profit.

To illustrate this further, lets say you could sell short 100 shares at $20 a share. Say the price drops to $15. You buy 100 shares at that price and return them to your broker, pocketing the $500 difference minus commissions. So, since you sold the shares for more than you originally paid, you came out on top and didn’t have to use any of your hard-earned cash. Yeah!

Sound simple? Well, it’s really not. Short selling stocks has some inherent problems. First, you have a limited profit potential. Since the stock price cannot drop below $0, you only have from the starting price down to gain. Also with this limitation, selecting low-priced stocks don’t offer much of a gain unless you buy a large number of shares. Second, and most importantly, the price of the shares could go up! Again, an increase of the stock’s price is the adverse of what you want to occur. In this disastrous situation, you’re obligated to replace the shares that you borrowed at a higher price than you paid for them.  Contrary to the recent stock market activity, it actually goes up more often than it goes down.

Another negative is the “squeeze”. This occurs when a heavily shorted stock starts to increase in value, as stated above. Short sellers begin to panic in an attempt to cover their positions. The price ultimately is driven up higher due to the heavy buying. In this situation, you are responsible for the difference as well. Ouch.

Don’t get discouraged, however. Short selling has been in practice for over 400 years and is a widely used investing technique. Short selling is also said to keep the market honest with the idea of balancing the market with investors who will do anything to have their stocks go up with investors who are driven to do the opposite.

There’s also version of short selling stocks called naked short selling, and no, it’s not short selling shares in the comfort of your own home at your computer.  It’s an illegal short sale that occurs before the seller has actually borrowed the stock. So it’s not only selling something you don’t own (short selling), it’s selling something that may not even exist. Don’t do this.

So, if you’re looking for a way to protect your assets and make some money in this downward spiral of an economy, try high-interest money markets. If you are an aggressive investor that has completed the appropriate research and is looking for an exciting way achieve profit in a bear market, short selling stocks might be for you. Pepcid is on aisle five.

Buy & Hold is a Losing Proposition

When it comes to investing in the stock market, especially during current times, investors should know when to hold on to stocks and know when to unload them.

Most financial experts believe that the buy-and-hold strategy of the traditional 401k methodology is a thing of the past if you want to gain the system. Buy and Hold which requires investors to buy stocks and then keep them for the long term has actually lost money over the last 10 years according to the S&P 500. The rational behind the “buy and hold” strategy is that, while the markets will likely experience ups and downs stemming from numerous factors, over time the stock markets tend to push upwards. Which means that those who use the buy-and-hold strategy stand to make money over time. This method has worked well for momentum traders that exit at the right times but leaves the rest of novice investors in the lurch.

While there are many experts who still hold to this Fortune 500 diversified strategy, others point to some of the more catastrophic stock market crashes of the past as proof that investors can literally lose everything they had gained in a bull market to the impact of the bear market. US economy of 2008 is proof positive.

Consider those who lost all their wealth during the stock market crash of 1929, which ushered in the infamous Great Depression. Many of the people who, back in the 1920s, held to the buy-and-hold strategy were the subject of riches-to-rags articles in newspapers worldwide. There is money to be made in today’s time, but timing and accuracy is more important than ever.

Experts say that bear markets materialize about every four or five years and bear markets can easily eliminate gains made in bull markets. History has proven this over and over. But for the ten year buy hold patterns we have beared witness to different results.

One researcher mentions that bear markets have hacked portfolio values an average of nearly 40 percent. This figure the buy-and-hold crowd would do well to consider and take notice.

Rather than adopt a buy-and-hold strategy, some financial professionals recommend that investors take a more sophisticated approach to buying and selling stocks. This necessitates monitoring market conditions and making changes as fluctuations in the markets warrant change. This is better known as trading the momentum and buying low and selling high. Ride the rips and sell the dips. This can be accomplished with the right data and the right market timing from Stocknod.com alerts.

Investors should also be wary of the advice they adhere to. While experts do provide a wealth of information on the markets and on individual stocks, it is up to investors to sift through the data and ultimately make the decisions.

Some investors choose to go with a broker so as to bypass the pressures of managing their own stock portfolios. Doing so requires them to look around for a good broker, one who has a proven methodology and a solid track record.

When all is said and done, however, investors are advised by a number of experts to avoid the buy-and-hold strategy still advocated by some on Wall Street. While patience is a virtue, investors should also reflect on how past stock market crashes burned those who held on too long. Team up with Stocknod stock alerts or the HotSheet for today’s bullish stocks.

Read the latest Free Investing Tips  from Stocknod expert Gregg Andreski

Securities Analysis 101

The goal of any financial analyst or stock technicians is simple: to beat the market. This victory metric is typically measured against the S&P 500.  This goal is basically boiled down to ones ability to predict the direction of the stock market and identify undervalued stocks that are poised to outperform. This may sound like a simple concept, but where it becomes murky is within the debate on which values are to be used in this determination. For example a fundamental analyst would insist that this underlying value can be determined best from the forces that affect the economy, industry groups and related companies. Essentially identifying the supply and demand forces that affect the stocks prices for the products & services offered. While a technical analyst will attempt to forecast future price movements based on examination of historic price movements.

 So which theory is best? Which strategy produces higher returns?  As a contributor of Stocknod my answer is both types of analysis should be used when analyzing securities, as the two strategies compliment each other in a full evaluation at both the micro and macro levels. To expound on this let’s look further at the question of whether markets are efficient. Just what is dictated by the current pricing of a security? Is the current pricing a fair market value? Or are there underlying forces that exist that have somehow skewed pricing? These are the questions and opportunities that we must uncover to identify the stocks that are undervalued and subsequently poised to outperform.

An “efficient market” in the academia level is defined as a market in which the price is an unbiased estimate of the true value of the investment. Simply stated, the current price of a security fully reflects all available information and is the fair market value. “All” being the sum value of all views whether bull, bear, or other held by market participants. It is a fair value based on the supply and demand value of the market. Any deviations above or below what is deemed as “fair value” is considered to be random and over the long term will reflect the true value. So it is this period of deviations where the opportunity exists in making profits trading stocks. So in short, the goal of any trader is to identify these existing anomalies or potential future anomalies and move in and out of the market accordingly. These anomalies will disappear almost as fast as they are identified and again is primary reason that Stocknod alerts have been such an effective trading tool in staying in tune with pricing strikes.

Most within the academia realm believe that security prices are deemed as “semi-strong” efficient. Remember by semi-strong we are referring to the fact that public knowledge is factored into the stock prices and it is relatively difficult to identify these deviations from the true value based on public information. And only new information should affect the price. Reviewing price reaction to breaking news, there seems to be evidence to support this theory. The flow of information and detection times have been increased due in large part to the internet, and market news are factored into the pricing almost immediately. Few will argue that a surprise, either negative or positive will drastically move the price of a security. I think we can all attest to this fact based on popular case history.

Sponsored Advertisers:  Plow Disc Cookers and Propane Gas Woks by DiscGrill.com

« Previous Page — Next Page »