Good Morning folks,
Well this week was pretty much what most predicted on the news fronts. GDP was higher then expected and existing home sales was higher, Which really surprised me. Most of the employment indicators were not good. The financial and automotive sectors being hit the hardest, watch out in the upper Midwest and northeast. The employment numbers are going to get worse in my opinion, because the next few numbers will show the fluctuation in temp jobs being sent home after the holidays. With consumer confidence lower I don't see us having a good holiday spending season even though black Friday had good numbers.
I wouldn't suggest anybody invest into any US mutual funds or ETF's until after January. Because the numbers will only get worse. I have alot of people asking me if gold is a good investment right now. My answer is no. Because inflation has already risen alot and i don't see gold going on a big bullish run. 2004 was the last real good time to invest int gold. I would suggest investing in foreign funds to help diversify and leverage your portfolio.
Note, DO NOT sell any of your American funds. We are in a market correction this is a normal economic fluctuation. Just wait, it will correct itself.
Have a good weekend
JP
Friday, November 30, 2007
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Mutual Funds
Good Morning,
Today I'd like to talk a little bit about mutual funds. They are in my opinion the best long term wealth building tool out there today. There are 8 basic types of mutual funds.
Today I'd like to talk a little bit about mutual funds. They are in my opinion the best long term wealth building tool out there today. There are 8 basic types of mutual funds.
1, Money Market Funds
2, Bond Funds
3, Growth & Income Funds
4, Growth Funds
5, Aggressive Growth Funds
6, International & Global Stock funds
7, International Bond Funds
8, Specialty funds
In order to invest into a mutual fund you need to ask yourself why? Why are you investing? bond funds are good for long term investing you plan on keeping in the bank for awhile. Then there are your growth funds and aggressive growth funds, Both are good for college savings. They are good to keep for five or more years. International global stock funds are good vehicles to use when you want to diversify your portfolio, you can also gain on growing economies. International bond funds are good for when foreign interest rates are higher then in the USA. Please don't that international funds carry a bit more risk then traditional funds. Specialty funds are a good way to diversify between stocks. bonds and money market funds.
The key steps in gauging mutual funds are as follows.
A good record of adding value over a minimum of 5 years, i prefer 10 years.
Stable Portfolio management. <
An understandable investment strategy for managing risk.
a no load cost structure and competitive expense ratio.
Key signs of when to leave a mutual fund
Portfolio Manager leaves
The investment strategy changes significally
The fund company is sold
The lead portfolio manager starts managing the business rather than the portfolio
The funds performance deteriorates for two ore more years
Key Mutual Fund terms
NAV ( Net Asset Value) : A mutual fund's price per share or exchange-traded fund's per-share value. To get the NAV you divide the assets/shares.
No Load VS load
No load Mutual funds have no commissions, loaded funds charge commission.
Tuesday, November 27, 2007
Personal Finance
Good Morning,
Today i want to talk about personal finance. This is a tight subject to alot of people, but a very important one. It would make your brake you in any market, expecially the forex or stock market.
The number one rule i have is to never use credit cards. Alot of people tell me, but what about my credit score? Well What about it? I am building my own home and i have a paid for vehicle and im building my home with cash. Everybody can do what i do financially. It just takes a bit more work and dedication.
The reason i say not to use credit cards is because. Without monthly payments that are not required to keep food on your table and the lights on, you'll have alot more room to breath.
Make sure you always have 3-6 months of expenses in your savings account. and put 15% of your annual income into long term investments roths, mutual funds, ETF's ect ect. You don't want to leverage all of your trading portfolio with short term investments. Its the same thing as having a job with no retirement account.
Don't EVER EVER EVER EVER leverage more then 10% of your trading account. as far as taking out profit for income. Some people take out half of what they earn. Personally i don't like that, because that don't leave you alot of wiggle room. For beginners i say don't take ANY profit until you made 5 grand in your account. Then for every 500 dollars you earn you withdraw 500 dollars. So basically you take out 10%. That is an extra 24 grand a year. Remember that number will always go up as long as you keep profiting from trades.
the last and more important. Make a plan and trade your plan.....With good money management and following a plan you will succeed.
Today i want to talk about personal finance. This is a tight subject to alot of people, but a very important one. It would make your brake you in any market, expecially the forex or stock market.
The number one rule i have is to never use credit cards. Alot of people tell me, but what about my credit score? Well What about it? I am building my own home and i have a paid for vehicle and im building my home with cash. Everybody can do what i do financially. It just takes a bit more work and dedication.
The reason i say not to use credit cards is because. Without monthly payments that are not required to keep food on your table and the lights on, you'll have alot more room to breath.
Make sure you always have 3-6 months of expenses in your savings account. and put 15% of your annual income into long term investments roths, mutual funds, ETF's ect ect. You don't want to leverage all of your trading portfolio with short term investments. Its the same thing as having a job with no retirement account.
Don't EVER EVER EVER EVER leverage more then 10% of your trading account. as far as taking out profit for income. Some people take out half of what they earn. Personally i don't like that, because that don't leave you alot of wiggle room. For beginners i say don't take ANY profit until you made 5 grand in your account. Then for every 500 dollars you earn you withdraw 500 dollars. So basically you take out 10%. That is an extra 24 grand a year. Remember that number will always go up as long as you keep profiting from trades.
the last and more important. Make a plan and trade your plan.....With good money management and following a plan you will succeed.
Monday, November 26, 2007
Holiday Weekend/Week Ahead
MONDAY MONDAY MONDAY!!
Holiday Spending on Friday (Black Friday) was up 8% from 2006!! Some Economics said it was going to be down 10% from 2006.
However, I do believe that this number is misleading from the overall spending numbers. In general i think sales will be down this year due to credit and the mortgage crunch.
The Week Ahead
Consumer Confidence comes out on Tuesday at 10am EST : I believe this number will be lower for November due to credit uses and gas prices.
Durable Goods comes out on Wednesday at 8:30am EST : This number more then likely will either go up or stay the same due to the coming holiday season.
Existing Home Sales comes out on Wednesday at 10:00am EST : This number will be lower due to the winter season coming. Home sales slow down in general in the winter.
GDP (Gross Domestic Product) comes out Thursday at 8:30am : GDP will stay the same or be a bit lower due to energy prices and inflation concerns.
New Homes Sales comes out on Thursday at 10:00am EST: This number will be down or no change.
Personal Income and Outlays comes out on Friday at 8:30am EST : outlays will be up. income will be the same i believe.
Construction Spending comes out on Friday at 10:00am EST : this number will be down.
There yea go folks. Hope the information helps you.
Holiday Spending on Friday (Black Friday) was up 8% from 2006!! Some Economics said it was going to be down 10% from 2006.
However, I do believe that this number is misleading from the overall spending numbers. In general i think sales will be down this year due to credit and the mortgage crunch.
The Week Ahead
Consumer Confidence comes out on Tuesday at 10am EST : I believe this number will be lower for November due to credit uses and gas prices.
Durable Goods comes out on Wednesday at 8:30am EST : This number more then likely will either go up or stay the same due to the coming holiday season.
Existing Home Sales comes out on Wednesday at 10:00am EST : This number will be lower due to the winter season coming. Home sales slow down in general in the winter.
GDP (Gross Domestic Product) comes out Thursday at 8:30am : GDP will stay the same or be a bit lower due to energy prices and inflation concerns.
New Homes Sales comes out on Thursday at 10:00am EST: This number will be down or no change.
Personal Income and Outlays comes out on Friday at 8:30am EST : outlays will be up. income will be the same i believe.
Construction Spending comes out on Friday at 10:00am EST : this number will be down.
There yea go folks. Hope the information helps you.
Friday, November 23, 2007
4x made easy/forex products
Good Morning,
Today i am going to talk about 4x made easy and similar forex products. So many people fall victim to this product (4x made easy) its sickening. It leaves a bad taste in the mouths off all the victims and they blame the forex market.
Its plain and simple, you cannot buy some type of autopilot software and expect to make millions in the forex market. 4x made easy costs $2200 a year plus $4000 for the software. There is no shortcut in the market. 4 grand is enough money to open a 100 grand account on most broker sites. The broker sites don't charge you a monthly fee either. They make money on the spread. the software 4x made easy gives you is a crap software. In order to be successful in the forex market you NEED to know at least the basics of Macro economics, technical and fundamental analysis. You have to know why the market is moving. If you want somebody to tell you when to buy or sell, you might as well just hire a money manager.
There are hundreds and thousands of autopilot software out there that costs money and some that are free. My advice to you is go out and buy books that are not co written or sponsored by somebody who is selling a product. Because that is there only goal.
I personally use meta trader as my charting software and gain capital as my broker site. I haven't had any issues thus far. Meta trader is free and has all the signal and indicators you'll ever need.
The key point I want to make is don't buy forex products buy information about the forex market that is not written or sponsored by somebody who created a product for the forex. I've met a lot of traders who have products and those who don't. The real professional traders don't sell there strategy. They teach it or keep there mouth shut. Because if you had such an awesome trading system why would you be out selling it, when you could be trading it? One of the best teachers i've came across is a man by the name of Andrew Spanton, He is the owner of Global FX LLC. He runs a trading firm that teaches people to trade VIA his radio show www.globalfxradio.com He cares about people making money. That's his goal, and if he likes your trading style he'll even give you his money to trade and give you half the profit.
So if your interested in going into the forex market. Go buy books about the forex, open a demo account and trade. its ok if you blow up the account. That's how you learn. But please people!! Don't go out and spend 4 grand for crap software!!!!!
JP
Today i am going to talk about 4x made easy and similar forex products. So many people fall victim to this product (4x made easy) its sickening. It leaves a bad taste in the mouths off all the victims and they blame the forex market.
Its plain and simple, you cannot buy some type of autopilot software and expect to make millions in the forex market. 4x made easy costs $2200 a year plus $4000 for the software. There is no shortcut in the market. 4 grand is enough money to open a 100 grand account on most broker sites. The broker sites don't charge you a monthly fee either. They make money on the spread. the software 4x made easy gives you is a crap software. In order to be successful in the forex market you NEED to know at least the basics of Macro economics, technical and fundamental analysis. You have to know why the market is moving. If you want somebody to tell you when to buy or sell, you might as well just hire a money manager.
There are hundreds and thousands of autopilot software out there that costs money and some that are free. My advice to you is go out and buy books that are not co written or sponsored by somebody who is selling a product. Because that is there only goal.
I personally use meta trader as my charting software and gain capital as my broker site. I haven't had any issues thus far. Meta trader is free and has all the signal and indicators you'll ever need.
The key point I want to make is don't buy forex products buy information about the forex market that is not written or sponsored by somebody who created a product for the forex. I've met a lot of traders who have products and those who don't. The real professional traders don't sell there strategy. They teach it or keep there mouth shut. Because if you had such an awesome trading system why would you be out selling it, when you could be trading it? One of the best teachers i've came across is a man by the name of Andrew Spanton, He is the owner of Global FX LLC. He runs a trading firm that teaches people to trade VIA his radio show www.globalfxradio.com He cares about people making money. That's his goal, and if he likes your trading style he'll even give you his money to trade and give you half the profit.
So if your interested in going into the forex market. Go buy books about the forex, open a demo account and trade. its ok if you blow up the account. That's how you learn. But please people!! Don't go out and spend 4 grand for crap software!!!!!
JP
Thursday, November 22, 2007
Trading Plan/Reasons to Trade
Happy Thanksgiving, :)
I want to talk a little bit about a trading plan this morning. Going to try and keep it short since its a holiday.
I cannot emphasize enough how important a trading plan is. as the saying goes "if you fail to plan you plan to fail" I can almost guarantee you will fail if you don't have a trading plan. Whether you trade part time, full time or your a swing trader, position trader, or scalp trader. YOU NEED A PLAN.
The things you need in a trading plan is as follows:
I want to talk a little bit about a trading plan this morning. Going to try and keep it short since its a holiday.
I cannot emphasize enough how important a trading plan is. as the saying goes "if you fail to plan you plan to fail" I can almost guarantee you will fail if you don't have a trading plan. Whether you trade part time, full time or your a swing trader, position trader, or scalp trader. YOU NEED A PLAN.
The things you need in a trading plan is as follows:
What currency pairs you will trade.
At what times will you trade those pairs.
What sessions of the trading day will you trade.
Daily trading audit that goes over the trades you did the day before.
A daily checklist of things you will do prior to entering a trade
(You can also create a mini plan that is a plan for each trade i will talk about this later on)
You need to understand what fundamentals will move the market each day (a morning briefing)
Create a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly profit loss limit. (notice i said profit, Yes set profit limits that will create consistency. You won't have the desire to trade more then lose)
Set a risk level, how much money will you leverage on each trade. No more then 10% is typical risk level.
Create Entry rules. How will you enter a trade? always look at Technicals and Fundamentals together.
Keep records of your trades, Most platforms these days have a profit loss statement. I personally do it buy hand using an accounting book i got at staples. You will understand your daily winnings and losses more. You can go a step further and print out all your winning and loss charts using screen hunter or a similar program. it will give you a visual aid.
Last, just like the morning briefing do a nightly briefing that goes over wins and losses.
Now i want to talk about the reasons to trade. I personally don't trade just to make money. I have to admit though. When i first started trading I was just interesting in making money, and guess what? I lost my ass. This may sound weird but trading isn't all about making money. Trading is about learning the market, trends and behavors of other traders. If you don't have the desire to learn about Macroeconomics, fundamental analysis and technical analysis. You won't win in trading. You will always lose.
I hope everybody has a safe and happy thanksgiving,
Thank You
JP
Wednesday, November 21, 2007
Introduction
The purpose of this blog is to discuss financial and economic news. I will be sharing my thoughts on movements on the market, and reactions from news regarding economic and or political events.
Reading my blog is not NOT (N-O-T) to be used as a reference to trade off of. My primary goal of this blog is just to share my thoughts on the market. I am primarily a scalp trader on the forex. I do not trade individual stocks. My long term investment tools are in mutual funds.
Reading my blog is not NOT (N-O-T) to be used as a reference to trade off of. My primary goal of this blog is just to share my thoughts on the market. I am primarily a scalp trader on the forex. I do not trade individual stocks. My long term investment tools are in mutual funds.
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