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SIX STEPS and the IRREFUTABLE LAWS of the MARKET Every Investor and Trader MUST KNOW to Succeed

Step 1:

A move begins with the sponsors (smart traders) who have insider knowledge as it relates to a particular stock or market. This information will move a market up or down depending on the insiders’ information. These buyers are smart, very smart, and recognize tradinginvestment opportunities very early in the markup cycle.

Step 2:

Days, weeks, or sometimes months after a move has started, there is a brief mention in the electronic media (radio, cable, TV) or on one of the internet chat boards that a market has moved. The public hears for the first time and begins to get interested, but does not buy.

Step 3:

A blurb of information appears in print media. The move also begins getting more exposure on blogs and internet message boards. The public starts paying a little more attention, and will buy a little bit.

Step 4:

Wall Street and LaSalle Street brokers go into full hype mode and hawk the market to their customers. The public begins buying in greater volume.

Step 5:

A full-blown front-page article appears about the particular stock or market in one of the major financial newspapers, magazines, or financial websites. This is often six months after the fact and after a market has shown its greatest appreciation. There is often heavy public buying, even a possible frenzy, as all media, brokers, and so-called “gurus” start to tout the market.

Step 6:

As step 5 gets underway, the sponsors or smart traders begin to move out of the market and take their profits off the table.

The finale: The move ends, the market falls, and investors lose money.

As small investors look for ways to ensure a good return on their money, land sales are increasing in popularity. Profits, whilst not guaranteed, are often better than those from the stock market, for several reasons:

Less risk, more profit

Whilst some investors have a significant investment in the stock market, often with a comprehensive, well-managed portfolio, for most smaller investors, their experience of the market is limited to one or two companies and they are therefore more open to stock market fluctuations and risks. Company share prices can be affected by many external factors, often beyond the companys control and, unless you are watching the market carefully day by day, you usually have to hold onto your shares for many years in order to turn a good profit.

By contrast, if you select the right land, or take the advice of a reliable land agent, you can realise potentially fantastic profits in a much shorter space of time. This is because the land thats normally made available to smaller investors has been carefully chosen. Big land investors buy and then bank land that they think will be ear-marked for development in the future, and then either hold onto it, or parcel it up and sell it to private investors, who reap the benefits if planning permission is granted at a later date.

No maintenance required

Once youve bought your piece of land, you own it outright and can sell it whenever you choose. You dont need to maintain it as you would a property and you dont need to follow its fortunes day in, day out, to find out whether youre making any money. If you need to raise money, you can sell your land quickly, whereas if your shares are at a low price, you wont be able to make enough cash.

The best of both worlds

If you have thought of investing in land, but dont want to get out of the stock market completely, then just broaden your portfolio by reducing your shareholdings and investing in land as well. You get the best of both worlds, and the chance to make a very health profit if you choose the land wisely.

Buying on margin means that you are buying your stocks with borrowed money.

If you are buying stocks outright, you pay 5,000 for 100 shares of a stock that costs 50 a share. They are yours. You’ve paid for them free and clear.

But when you buy on margin, you are borrowing the money to purchase the stock. For example, you don’t have 5,000 for those 100 shares. A brokerage firm could lend you up to 50% of that in order to purchase the stock. All you need is 2,500 to buy the 100 shares of stock.

Most brokerage firms set a minimum amount of equity at 2,000. This means that you have to put in at least 2,000 for the purchase of stocks.

In return for the loan, you pay interest. The brokerage is making money on your loan. They will also hold your stock as the collateral against the loan. If you default, they will take the stock. They have very little risk in the deal.

One way to think of buying on margin is that it is often comparable to buying a home with a mortgage. You are taking out the loan in the hopes that the value will go up and you will make money. You are in control of twice the amount of shares. All you have to see is the additional profit exceed the interest you have paid the brokerage.

However, there are risks to buying stock on margin. The price of your stock could always go down. By law, the brokerage will not be allowed to let the value of the collateral (the price of your stock) go down below a certain percentage of the loan value. If the stock drops below that set amount, the brokerage will issue a margin call on your stock.

The margin call means that you will have to pay the brokerage the amount of money necessary to bring the brokerage firms risk down to the allowed level. If you don’t have the money, your stock will be sold to pay off the loan. If there is any money left, you will be sent it. In most cases, there is little of your original investment remaining after the stock is sold.

Buying on margin could mean a huge return. But there is the risk that you could lose your original investment. As with any stock purchase there are risks, but when you are using borrowed money, the risk is increased.

Buying on margin is usually not a good idea for the beginner or normal, every day investor. It is something that sophisticated investors even have issues with. The risk can be high. Make sure that you understand all of the possible scenarios that could happen, good and bad.

Penny Stocks can be a very effective way to provide you with a secondary income. They can be used to create passive income because they do not require you to be constantly watching over them. The problem that most people have when it comes to stocks is – not knowing the right time to sell.

Penny Stocks can rise very quickly but they can also fall quickly too. The reason that most investors hold onto a stock is because the fail to separate their emotions from their actions.

All of your penny stocks buying and selling should, of course, be based on sound research both of the market and the companies recent history. How the company is doing in terms of profitability, whether they are just about to, or have just announced profits, losses or new patents, discoveries and products, can all affect your decision on whether, or not, to buy.

Knowing the right time to sell your penny stocks however can sometimes seem, as much an art as a science, although getting it wrong can be fatal. Many people seem to put all their research efforts into knowing what penny stocks to buy and when to buy them.

Investors seem to forget about researching to sell stocks. Instead, they let their emotions take control and sell at the wrong time. Investors selling at the wrong time fall into two categories. These categories are, The Runners and The Sitters.

The Runners like to take profit way too early. They see their Penny Stocks rise a little and sell because they dont want to risk too much. Ive seen it time and time again; these people set out to earn a 25% Return on Investment and end up taking profit at 1%. Someone who takes profit twice at 25% earns a lot more than someone who takes profit twice at 1%. Usually, as soon as they sell a penny stock, it will rise even further and theyll be wondering why they sold so early.

The Sitters are the heavily emotionally involved in their penny stocks. They are gamblers at heart and just do not want to let go of a losing position because it could bounce back any day now. When they do let go of their Penny Stocks – there is virtually nothing left. The sitters like to sit on a losing position. They like buying but dislike selling.

Do you want to be a Runner or a Sitter? Well, I hope you are neither. You want to be a winner. A winner will separate their emotions from their investment thinking and will also research when buying and also when selling. They will buy and they are not afraid of selling.

There is great deal of profit to be made from trading in Penny Stocks. But you have to know not only what to buy but also how long to keep it and when the best time to sell. The answer, as with most things in the world of finance, is good information and research. But that doesnt end when you buy. Find out why your penny stocks are rising and this will put you in a much better position to know when to sell.

One of the fast growing trends in the stock trading arena these days is day trading. Today, more and more people are getting into this drift due to the many promises of making fast and easy money on their minds. However, what a lot of people fail to realize is that the buy fast and sell fast strategy of day trading may not always turn out as a very wise tactic to adopt in the stocks game.

Day trading can be a bit of a gamble and traders remain divided on the issue on whether or not this serves much purpose to the stock exchange industry.

Still, what most people could agree on is the fact that day trading is certainly not for everyone, and that it can involve huge risks. And so, before you immerse yourself in day trading, be sure that you get your facts straightened out.

What Is Day Trading?

Day trading is the buying and selling of securities for a certain stock within a single day. The main goal of those who practice this type of trade is basically to be able to profit from the difference between prices for buying and selling.

This type of trading serves two very critical functions in the industry. First, it keeps the markets efficiently running because of arbitrage as stock exchange basically thrives on buy and sell activities. Another function for this is that it usually provides so much liquidity in the stock market.

What Makes Day Trading Risky?

Although day trading may sound quite appealing at first, be warned that up to this day, the profit potential of this type of trading is still under debate among investors and brokers. And if you are new to the trading game, it is not advisable for you to gamble your investment as you may end up losing substantial amounts of money.

Although day trading is not necessarily illegal nor is it unethical, most would agree that it is risky because principles of this trade are based on the fast and easy money mentality, and therefore, day traders rely on making profit by rapidly buying and selling stocks in a single day as their stocks continue to rise and fall in value.

Of course, the chances relied upon are not quite dependable and choosing to do business this way seems more of a gamble than a sure way to gain money. Most financial advisors may discourage people from entering this type of trading, with the argument that most of the time, rewards do not justify the risks involved.

Apart from this, many parties capitalize on much of the confusion behind the controversies on day trading and create multiple Internet scams. And since most investors in these type of trades do not actually have a lot of money and may use borrowed money to buy stocks, this can be very dangerous.

The bottom line is, most financial experts would argue that most successful companies have grown not because of day trading, but through more traditional means.

If you were currently not very familiar with the stock market game, then it would be wise for you to stay away from day trading. Take in mind that the best way to earn profit may be through the long process and hard work, and taking shortcuts may certainly involve much more risks than you may want to bargain with.

The acronym for a real estate investment trust is a REIT. According to the National Institute of Real Estate Investment Trusts 190 Re Its are currently registered with the SEC and trade on one or more of the New York Stock Exchanges. There are over 900 REITS that are privately held companies.

The advantage to the investor in the REIT is the source of income it provides. Specifically, due to the structure of the REIT it does not accrue corporate tax, instead it returns all of the taxable income to investors. The investor receives a 1099 form for tax purposes and it is therefore taxed like additional income.

The REIT can be designed to fit almost any scenario available in the real property world. It can play the upside and the downside and provide hybrid type coverage. Primarily the REIT is composed of commercial property including shopping malls, apartment complexes and income producing property. It also is packaged with residential real estate of a particular type.

The influence of the REIT has seen increased interests to investors for providing income and a compliment to their portfolio of stocks and bonds. Because of the intricacies of the real estate market and commercial property in particular the investor should consult with a qualified REIT broker or investment advisor. Lists of REITs are available through Morningstar or may be reviewed on-line at the National Institute of Real Estate Investment Trusts.

Troubled waters can be avoided:

The current Summer and Fall 2007 concerns about real estate mortgages and a slow down in some United States real estate markets does not mean the REIT investment is in jeopardy.

There are certain REITS in the United States that are hybrids that afford the investor with security in good times and troubling areas of the market.

It should also be remembered that REITs are available for nearly all of the world real estate markets. In many parts of the world, China, Asia, Europe and Dubai the real estate market in both commercial and residential income property is sizzling. There is stability in these parts of the world for some hefty returns for investors.

Purpose:

The overall purpose of the REIT envisioned by the U.S. Congress was to provide a means for investors and in turn the developers of real estate to mutually benefit from growth. It places the average investor in a position of being a big player with the benefit of a share of the profits. A small investment in a REIT can enhance a portfolio of stocks and bonds. Each investment dollar goes into enhancing or creating the availability of funds for building realty.

Due to the nature of the REIT, it must be organized and structured according to strict guidelines. The SEC guidelines apply to those REITS public traded on the New York Stock Exchange and governs those REITS listed with the exchange. Privately held REITS must comply with IRS standards and other state and federal laws pertaining to trusts.

The REIT is an investment that any investor should consider and review the merits with a trusted financial planner with the expertise in the REIT market world wide.

Earning Season is always volatile to stock prices. Traders jerk in and out depending on the outcome of the report. For example, Texas Instrument (TXN) reported that its third quarter earning of 2005 rising 12% year over year. And yet, TXN fell after hour due to weak forecast. The game now is the expectation game. If the company beats, share price normally rise. If it doesn’t, share price plunge.

There are ways to beat the expectation game and reduce volatility to your portfolio. You do not have to wait for the press release and wait nervously whether your company beat or miss expectation. One way is to buy company with a modest expectation. The definition of modest varies among individuals but to me, modest expectation has a forward PE ratio of less than 10. What happens when a company with modest expectation miss expectation? While, share price may get clobbered, I don’t think it will move much. Why? Because PE of 10 already incorporates a 0% EPS growth. Even if EPS stays constant for the next ten years, company with PE of 10 will return its shareholder roughly 10% a year.

Another way is to pick company that has predictable cash flow and dividend payment. Investors hate uncertainty. Companies that pay dividends eliminate some of that uncertainty. For example, a stock has a 4% dividend yield and it misses expectation for the quarter. The stock might tumble, pushing the dividend yield up to 4.2 or 4.5 %. By then, a lot of value investors will be interested in owning the stock and the drop in stock price will be less severe.

Finally, the last way to reduce volatility is to pick up companies with cash rich balance sheet. Some companies may have cash up to half of their market capitalization. For example, OmniVision Technologies Inc. (OVTI) has a market capitalization of 720 M. It has 300M in net cash, about 41.6% of market cap. With 300 M in cash cushion, it is hard to imagine the company to have market capitalization below 300 M. It is possible, but it is uncommon.

Chances are packing properly won’t make or break your next vacation-unless you forget something major-but it can still be more important to a pleasant voyage than you think. With constantly changing security regulations, here are some tips from Travel Channel’s Samantha Brown on getting your vacation off to a good start:

• Don’t overpack. It’s better to rewear clothing than to carry around items you don’t need, and as a last resort you can always shop at your destination. Try to pack so that each piece of clothing can be paired with everything else, every top with every bottom.

• Start with a base of one basic color. Black, brown and navy are versatile. Even in Europe, dress codes are relaxing at many restaurants, so you may only need to pack jeans (but if you have a specific restaurant in mind, check with it or your guidebook before going).

• Colorful accessories brighten up both day and night outfits. A scarf or pashmina can double as a sash or wrap for your shoulders.

• Buy small plastic bottles for your toiletries so you are not lugging around your six-month supply of shampoo.

• Clear plastic bags let security inspectors go through your luggage more easily without having to unpack it. It has to be done, so you may as well make it easier for everyone-including yourself.

• Try to pack clothes that don’t have to be ironed. Vacation should be an escape from housework, and not all hotels have ironing boards available.

If you need inspiration to use these tips, Brown’s show, “Passport to Europe,” airs Thursdays at 8 PM (ETPT) on the Travel Channel. From stomping grapes with the locals on the Greek island of Mykonos to indulging in a traditional meal of fondue and Swiss yodeling in Geneva, Switzerland, Brown’s travels allow her to meet the locals, explore the cities and immerse herself within the cultures. In addition to practical information and tips on getting there and getting around, Brown connects with a variety of local experts who provide unparalleled access to the must-see sites, the unknown treasures that aren’t in the travel guides and the places to eat that only the insiders know.

For most people, the stock market is a scary thought because they have seen the devastating effects it can have when things go wrong. Stock plummeted after Enron, and even when mergers are announced as with the case of Chase and Bank One, the stock market feels the effects. Even DuPont has seen its stock prices drop when negative information is publicized, so the stock market, for the most part, is a fickle entity.

How does a new investor avoid the pitfalls of the stock market? Research is the only way, and its no ironclad guarantee. That means before you invest, you adopt the habit or reading the NYSE and DOW reports in the daily newspapers as well as reading the business section of the newspaper for any reports that may affect the stock prices of a company you may be considering. Of course, sadly, utility companies are always making money, but they are doing it at the expense of consumers like you and me. For some people, investing in the electric or water company is the only place they feel safe, but with all of the mergers of electric companies, that isnt even a very safe investment in the 21st Century.

A new investor needs to do some heavy reading and studying before investing in the stock market. This is not something that should be decided impulsively, but rather needs fully researched over time. In addition to following the current trends in the stock market, the potential investor needs to also research past trends, and be sure to research far enough in the previous years to ascertain that the company stock is stable for the most part. This requires, as an educated guess, at least five years worth of research, maybe more if time allows. For those who have been in the working force for a few years, the trend has been one of difficulties, and sometimes the most stable company has seen their stock plunge during times of recession or bad publicity.

In addition to checking the history of a company, and the stock market overall, a potential investor should check the trends of companies who have been involved in mergers to see how their stock fared before the merger was announced, afterwards, during acquisition, and after acquisition. After all, the potential for a company after a merger may be a negative one, so its important to know how the stockholders and potential investors saw the strength of the company. The price of a companys stock is a measure of its strength in the economy, and without that, strength, the stockholders can force an unfriendly merger, whereby the stockholders take over the company.

Once you have decided the safest investment for you to make, you need to decide on a financial advisor or broker. It isnt wise to try to make a direct buy because although it may be cheaper, the services of a broker will prevent or lessen the financial loss in the event of a drop in price. A broker can see the trend and advise you to sell your stock in a given corporation based on trends that are showing. Unless you have learned a great deal about the stock market, there is no way you, as a new investor, can predict these things. The price you pay a broker for managing your account is well worth the peace of mind you will have in knowing your financial interests are uppermost in the mind of your broker. Even with mutual funds, if you have any stocks in your portfolio, which most mutual funds investors do, its important to have a broker who can move those stocks around in the event of a downhill trend.

While quite a bit of time and research goes into selecting stocks, it is often hard to know when to pull out especially for first time investors. The good news is that if you have chosen your stocks carefully, you wont need to pull out for a very long time, such as when you are ready to retire. But there are specific instances when you will need to sell your stocks before you have reached your financial goals.

You may think that the time to sell is when the stock value is about to drop and you may even be advised by your broker to do this. But this isnt necessarily the right course of action.

Stocks go up and down all the time, depending on the economyand of course the economy depends on the stock market as well. This is why it is so hard to determine whether you should sell your stock or not. Stocks go down, but they also tend to go back up.

You have to do more research, and you have to keep up with the stability of the companies that you invest in. Changes in corporations have a profound impact on the value of the stock. For instance, a new CEO can affect the value of stock. A plummet in the industry can affect a stock. Many things all combined affect the value of stock. But there are really only three good reasons to sell a stock.

The first reason is having reached your financial goals. Once youve reached retirement, you may wish to sell your stocks and put your money in safer financial vehicles, such as a savings account.

This is a common practice for those who have invested for the purpose of financing their retirement. The second reason to sell a stock is if there are major changes in the business you are investing in that cause, or will cause, the value of the stock to drop, with little or no possibility of the value rising again. Ideally, you would sell your stock in this situation before the value starts to drop.

If the value of the stock spikes, this is the third reason you may want to sell. If your stock is valued at 100 per share today, but drastically rises to 200 per share next week, it is a great time to sell especially if the outlook is that the value will drop back down to 100 per share soon. You would sell when the stock was worth 200 per share.

As a beginner, you definitely want to consult with a broker or a financial advisor before buying or selling stocks. They will work with you to help you make the right decisions to reach your financial goals.