5 Steps to Cheaper Home Owners Insurance....

Knowledge is power
When you are looking to make any major purchase or take out any long term insurance the first thing you should do is arm yourself with all the facts you need and this is by no means any different with your home owners insurance. Work out the value of your home and write up a list of the personal items in your home. This list should include absolutely everything that you would need to replace in the event of it being damaged beyond repair, stolen or broken. This itinerary will not only prove useful for calculating the level of cover you require but also for making a claim should the need arise.

Calculating your cover
Home owners insurance is a little different to other insurance. Car insurance uses book value of your car, the insurance company being safe in the knowledge that you will be able to replace your car should the unthinkable happen. Going out and buying a house is a little ! different to this. There isn't a set value on a house and you can't just buy the house itself. In order to come up with a value on your home you need to find out the market value for similar houses in a similar area. In order to reduce the cost of your monthly premium you should seriously consider excluding a small amount of the money because while you need to insure the building and outbuildings you don't to insure the surrounding or housing land.

Shopping around
This is the key aspect to gaining cheaper home owners insurance and is a step that has been made much easier with the introduction of the Internet. Comparison sites are regularly available that will allow you to get quotes from a large number of home owners insurance companies. This will give you a much better picture of the type of price you should expect to be paying and will let you decide which policy has the best cover combined with the cheapest price.

Selecting your home owners insurance policy
Once you've got your list of quotes in you should be able to tell pretty quickly which of the offers appears the best. Check it over to make sure it offers exactly what you are looking for and if it does you are onto a winner. If there are a couple of quotes around the same price look them all over to see if any have outstanding extra services that may make you give them slight preference over the others.

Renewal time
You will need to renew your policy or change insurance provider on an annual basis and when this time comes you should check that the policy you are applying for still has everything you need. By doing this you will be able to stay on top of the prices you are paying and the coverage you are receiving

Daytrading The Forex Market.............

The foreign exchange market (the forex) can be a treacherous market to trade especially if you are not properly equipped for the job. You will need to give attention to the following: the equipment and type of internet connection you have; the overall amount of capital you can put at risk on this enterprise, as well as the amount of capital you are prepared to risk on any one trade;your broker and the reliability of the trading platform; charts and technical analysis; good entry and exit signals; being aware of news releases affecting this market; the need to use a stop loss on each trade to protect your position; the cutting of losses if a trade goes against you; and the compounding of profits.

You will ideally need a Pentium 4 desktop computer running Windows XP with a processor speed of 2.5GHZ and 512MB of RAM. The monitor needs to be at least 17", but 19" or bigger is better. You could get away with a 56K dial-up connection but broadband is usually far better in terms of stability.Some people have been known to trade this market successfully from a laptop which gives them mobility.

YOu will need a minimum of $20,000 risk capital to trade this market. "Risk capital" means that it doesn't include money you require for living from month to month, and therefore you can employ it in the market for speculative purposes. The reason for the entry figure being so high is that it is inadvisable to risk more than 3% of your total risk capital on any one trade. On this basis, the most you should be putting at risk on any one trade is $600 ( that is $20,000 X 3%) using full lots. You could start with a lesser amount of risk capital by using mini lots and still maintain the maximum 3% loss any one trade.

You will need to choose a broker wisely for two reasons: his financial stability; and the stability of the platform he provides. It is best to chose a broker with a proven record in the forex market operating from a well-regulated country such as the USA, UK or Switzerland.This market was only opened up to speculators in 1997, so forex brokers haven't got as long a history as stockbrokers.It is therefore best to chose on the basis of size -you are looking a broker with at least 10,000 clients operating from one of the aforementioned countries. The functionality of the platform the broker provides is important for the execution and tracking of live trades. What you don't want is a platform that always keeps going down at crucial moments in your trading day. In my experience, the platforms belonging the the major brokers are now very reliable although there might be a problem with the continuity of data displayed from time to time.

People who trade the forex market off fundamental analysis have been known to stay in the positions taken for multiple days, weeks, months or even years. If you are daytrading this market, however, you haven't got much choice but to use technical analysis as the basis of your decisions. Therefore charts become vitally important in the decision making process. candlestick charts are the easiest to follow on the screen as it simple to distinguish a bull candle from a bear one just by viewing the different colors. With charts,especially at the start of your trading day, it is best to use the top-down approach.Even though your entry and exits may be made off the 15 minute chart, you should start the day by looking at the daily chart to get the big picture. Then the 4 hour chart, the hour chart and 30 minute can each in turn be consulted prior to your regular chart (the 15 minute) in order to get the top-down perspective on the market.

Breakouts from support or resistance offer good entry points for trades. A support line can be drawn by joining the bottoms of two candles that stand lower than their immediate neighbors remembering that the support line must be tilted upwards therefore the nearest candle the line is connected to must be higher than the further away one. If this line is then extended into the future and is confirmed by a third candle touching the line you have a solid support line. When a candle breaks this support line and a 15 minute candle closes below it and subsequent candles go 5 pips (or points) beyond the bottom of the candle which broke the support line, you have a valid entry point for a short trade (thatis selling the currency pair being traded). Resistance lines are done on the same basis except that the initial line drawn must have a downward slope which when broken, and the the other criteria for entry is met, gives you a valid long entry (that is buying the currency pair being traded).

Before you start your trading day, it is imperative that the daytrader knows when economic news affecting the currency pairs being traded is scheduled to be released.There are various websites that do this but the best one that I have found is http//www.dailyfx.com. If you go to their Home Page, and click on the Calendar tab at the top, a page will open with the words "Weekly Economic Calender for ....." on the top left hand side on which you click to take you to the page where all the scheduled news for the world's major currency pairs are listed on a daily basis. The times of the news releases are given in both GMT and EST so you may have to compensate depending on which time zone you happen to be in the world.Knowing when the news is going to be released is crucial, because depending on its strength is may be sensible if you are in a trade that is making a profit. to take profits before the news hits the wire, or at least tighten up your stop.

It is also sensible never to trade without a stop. For daytrading a stop in the region of 20 - 30 pips is sensible. This is the loss you are prepared to take on the trade if it goes against you. It is also sensible to set your profit objective higher than your loss by 25% -50% dependent upon the quality of the signal generated. Only risk 3% of your risk capital on any one trade. If you start off with $20,000 risk capital and after 4 months or so you have found that it has grown to $40,000, now use 2 lots per trade and thereby employ compounding.When you capital grows to $60,000, you would employ 3 lots and so forth. If your selection criteria is good your capital can build at a surprising rate using this technique.

Car Insurance - How can you lower your premiums?

Many factors influence the premium for your Motor insurance policy. Your insurer will have asked you many questions whilst producing your quote - some of which will affect your premium and some will not. Below we discuss the key variables that are within the policyholder's control.

Consolidating policies
By insuring a number of vehicles with the same insurer, or by trying to take out home and life insurance through your car insurer, you may be able to secure a 'bulk buy' discount.

Location
A big influence on the cost of your car insurance is where you live. The chance of your car being broken into or stolen is a key concern for the insurer. More urban areas traditionally facing greater risk of theft and therefore tend to be more expensive than countryside locations.

Excess
By agreeing to pay a greater excess on each claim you can reduce your car insurance premiums. This is because you are reducing the liability of the insurer and therefore in return they are able to offer you a lower premium.

Your Vehicle
The cheaper and slower your vehicle the lower your premiums are likely to be. If you are looking to buy a new vehicle make sure you fully consider the cost of insurance - you may be able to buy the car but can you afford to run it?

Mileage
You can control your insurance premiums by restricting your annual mileage. However, be aware that if you exceed the restricted number of miles you'll then become uninsured!

Parking
Where you park your vehicle overnight is also very important to the insurers. If it is kept in a locked garage, you should be offered a lower premium than if you leave it unattended in the street.

Security
Security devices that prevent or hinder theft may also reduce your premium. Common examples include alarms and immobilisers, however, be aware that as we improve the quality of our security devices the thieves just become better at bypassing them.

No Claims Discount
Save up your no claims discount by avoiding making small claims upon your policy. After a set number of years, 4 or 5 typically, you'll often be offered the option to pay an additional small premium to protect your no claims bonus. This can prove very helpful if you subsequently end up having an accident.

Advanced driving skills
By taking an advanced driving course you may also be able to reduce your premiums. The Institute for Advanced Motorists and the Royal Society for Prevention of Accidents each offer membership which provides you with discounts for both the cost of driving courses and your car insurance premiums.

Two key variables NOT within the policyholder's control.

Your Sex
Women are statistically less likely to have an accident and, if they do, it's less likely to be serious. Because of these statistics women benefit from lower premiums. It is also worth noting that if you represent one half of a couple you should consider having the female as the primary driver with the male as the second driver.

Your Age
The older you are, the less likely you are to make a claim. As a result insurance companies charge lower premiums for more mature drivers.

One final piece of advice.
A large percentage of car insurance is now sold on the Internet. That's because it's convenient and cheap. Many insurers now give a further 10%-15% discount if you buy online.

Types Of Forex Trading And Strategies

The foreign exchange market, or forex, being the largest financial market in the World has been the domain of government central banks as well as for commercial and investment banks in a scandalous manner and it exists wherever one currency is traded for another. But recently more numbers of individuals are handling the forex market as it offers trading 24-hours a day, five days a week, and the daily dollar volume of currencies traded in the currency market that exceeds $1.9 trillion daily, making it the largest liquid market in the world.


"Foreign Exchange" is the place where the money of one nation is traded with the other nation. The most popular pair of exchange in the forex market is "Euro Dollar". You can view these pairs in all forex display screens as "EUR/USD". Forex trading strategies are the key to triumphant forex trading or online currency trading. The management team of One World Capital Group bid proficiency in both Forex trading and internet technologies and proven track records that deals with large, global trading and brokerage operations as well. Forex made easy is as simple as you would want it to be.


Forex trading is different from trading in stocks entirely and it uses Forex trading strategies that will give you lot of advantages as well as help you to comprehend greater profits in the short term. There are wide ranges of forex trading strategies that are available to investors. It is one of the most useful of these forex trading strategies called as leverage. Knowledge of these Forex trading strategies can imply the difference between profits along with a loss and so it is essential that you fully grasp the strategies that are being used in Forex trading. The world of Forex trading is highly complicated and success requires education and familiarity with terms, charts, signals and indicators.

As you can be able to access it from home or office from any parts of the country, Global Forex trading is the most profitable and attractive internet income opportunity. And you do not need to do anything or there is no need of internet promotion for getting succeeded. Forex Capital Markets are nothing but foreign exchange markets where the currencies are been bought and sold continuously for profits. These capital markets of forex are present globally and their transactions are always non-stop in this forex cash market. A managed Forex account is forex made easy. Many different companies offer these accounts to their clients. The foreign exchange market is a worldwide market and as per to some estimates is almost as big as thirty times the turnover of the US Equity markets.

How To Trade SuccessFully In The Forex Market?

This article is about money management and trading psychology. This is the lesson that you never get with 99% of other Forex systems that you have come across.

I find it interesting that most of the systems out there don't include this because if they actually were successful traders, they would know that this was the key to success and to leave it out makes an incomplete system that won't work!! This tells me that the people that wrote them or are selling them aren't traders at all. They are just in the business of selling HOPE!

Well, if you haven't noticed yet, I am a trader, and I am different than the others. Don't get me wrong, there are honest trainers out there, I learned from one and I am eternally grateful to him.

So let's get on with this. First of all, this is my own interpretation of several sources, and the practices that have worked for me. Please read EVERYTHING you can find on trading psychology, and money management. There are a lot of slightly different views but overall, they are very similar and the main important points are all pretty much the same.

There are two main issues that cause 99% of the problems. Can you guess what they are?
If you answered FEAR and GREED, you are correct. These two emotions are probably responsible for 99% of the worlds problems as well but that is beyond the scope of this course À .

So, now that we know what the big obstacles are, let's try and figure out how to overcome them. In the course of my lessons, I have listed a few but I will put them all together here in one place so that it is easier to follow, and perhaps make it easier for you to develop your own system to help you trade better.

We can't eliminate fear and greed. They will still be there in your heart and mind, but we can make some rules so that they don't interfere with your trading success. We can come up with systems and procedures to follow, since we KNOW ahead of time that fear and greed are major problems. I'm sure you have heard the statistic that 95% of all speculative leveraged traders FAIL. This is absolutely true. Here is another statistic that I believe... 100% of traders that don't know how to overcome fear and greed will FAIL. So does that mean that if I can teach you how to overcome these problems that your chance of success is 100%? Of course not. But I can tell you that you cannot be successful if you don't protect yourself from yourself.

In lessons 1-3 I have outlined a trading system. The first thing you must do, whether you follow my system, another system, or your own system is to follow the rules of the system WITHOUT FAIL. If your system calls for a certain entry point, do not enter until there is a signal to enter.

Systems are designed for a reason. That is why it is called a system. What do we learn from this? Patience. Perhaps the stupidest thing you can do is enter a trade on a hunch.
This brings us to our first FACT:

The odds are in your favor before you enter a trade. This is true for most trading systems. Void of fear and greed, if you follow each system exactly, you will profit. Some systems may offer better profits than others, but overall you should be able to profit with any system, IF you have no fear and no greed.

This brings us to THE BIG SECRET. Other than omitting trading psychology, other systems also don't tell you that you are playing a game of odds. Let's say for example that we are playing "coin toss." Theoretically, for 100 flips of the coin, 50 will come up heads, and 50 will come up tails. Of course, the first 100 may be 55/45, but the more you play, the closer to 50/50 the numbers will get. Our system for "coin toss" is as follows: We play for 20 hours, and flip the coin exactly 5 times each hour, and for every heads that comes up, we get paid $2, and for every tails that comes up we pay $1. This should be a profitable system. After our game we see that heads came up 50 times and tails came up 50 times. (Stay with me here). So at the end of 100 tosses, we have paid $50 and received $100. A profit of $50.

So let's say that during our second game of coin toss, we decide that we are going to let the flipper(hint: the market is the flipper) keep flipping the coin for an hour while we take lunch but we are not going to pay or be paid for those flips. During our lunch hour, heads comes up 5 times in a row (which is theoretically possible, and not that unlikely). And now we are back from lunch, and we are down $10 for the hour. Now, theoretically the odds of 5 tails in a row coming up after 5 heads in a row are pretty good because for every ten tosses, you should have about 5 heads and five tails. So now we get 5 tails in a row and now we are down another $5, for a total of $15. So not counting the 5 tosses during lunch, this leaves 90 tosses that we still have to account for and let's say that they were 45 heads and 45 tails. Our profit for these tosses is $45 (45x2 minus 45x1), now if we take away the $15 for the tosses we didn't take, and that string of losers, we are left with a profit if $30. So lunch and 5 lousy spins cost us 40% of our profits.

Now this is theory but it absolutely applies to this market. If you are picky about what trades you want to take and what trades you don't want to take, you are MESSING WITH THE ODDS. My point for this whole big story about "coin toss" is this: If the conditions are met, TAKE THE TRADE without hesitation. The odds are in your favor, but only if you take ALL of the trades that meet the conditions. When I say ALL trades I know the market is open 24 hours a day and you can't possibly take every trade. You need to pick a time frame and stick to that same time frame everyday and take ALL trades during that time frame.

I can tell you that in the month before I realized this (my first month of trading real money actually), my total profit was 92 pips. I had an idea of what I was doing wrong so I was keeping track of the trades that I didn't take along with the ones that I did. I included entry point, day, time, and whether the profit target was hit or if it was stopped out. Don't get me wrong, I was extremely happy to be in profit after trading for only one month with real money. But then I went back and looked at the numbers for "what could have been." Guess what? Had I taken every trade that met my conditions, my profit for the month would have been 355 pips! I was not happy. But soon I realized that I had messed with the odds. After realizing what I had done wrong (or not done right in this case) I began to have more confidence in my systems. The very next month my total profit was 515 pips, or a 560% improvement just for taking all of the trades that met the conditions. I think that is enough said about that.

Sorry to stay with the coin flip game here but it actually works very well in teaching these principles.

This brings us to:

FACT #2. You do not need to know what is going to happen to make money. If we know that we are going to make $2 fifty times and pay $1 fifty times as long as we flip the coin, are we going to play? Of course! Well, all trading systems have similar odds. From my testing, I know that this system on average will produce 9 wins of 20 pips for every 1 loss of 40 pips (that number may vary but that is the maximum loss I ever take). So we know ahead of time that 9 wins at 20 pips is 180 pips, and minus the loss of 40 pips, leaves us with 140 pips profit. Now keep in mind that you may be 8 and 2 this week and 10 and 0 next week. We never know when a loss is going to come. We may even lose every trade for a week, but not lose a trade for the next 9 weeks. Believe me it happens. You do not need to know exactly what is going to happen, you just need to take every trade that meets the conditions and then count your profits at the end of the month/week/year etc.

This section deals with money management as well as psychology. Back to coin toss for a minute. We know that each win brings us $2. And we know that for each win in this trading system we get 20 pips. We know that each tail that comes up costs us $1. And in our system we know that each loss is 40 pips. If we know what our loss is going to be ahead of time, we know what it is going to cost us to find out "what is going to happen." From this we can decide how much we want to risk based on our account size.

FACT 3: You know how much it will cost to find out. I have decided not to ever risk more than 5% of my account on any one trade. So knowing that, I can figure out how many lots to trade ahead of time based on my account size. It may cost $250 in margin for a 1 lot position but this is not what we are risking, we are actually risking ten dollars times the number of pips in our stop. If our stop is 40 pips, we are risking $400. Now we know that we better have at least $8000 in our account to take a position of this size. If this trade turns out to be a loser, and our balance falls to $7600, we know that we can't afford to take that trade again because a loss of $400 is more than 5% of our balance. We would need to adjust our number of lots down accordingly to keep our risk.

Is Forex A Part Of Your Investment Portfolio..?

FOREX is the abbreviation for the Foreign Exchange market. The main principle of Forex is converting one currency into another. As far as the freedom from any external control and free competition are concerned, FOREX is a perfect market and is also the world's biggest financial market. In many investment portfolios, you will find FOREX more and more since the currency exchange realm has opened up to the small investor. In its simplest form, Forex is transaction of monetary funds from one government to another or business associates of different countries. There are substantial earnings to be made in the foreign currency market, but trading in the Forex is for the well-informed. In addition, forecasting Forex is not easy, as Forex is a fast moving market where several changes occur in the fraction of seconds.

Trading Forex works remarkably easy and is convenient since the currency exchange market is open 24 hours a day 7 days a week, providing plenty of trading opportunities. You can get started trading the (spot) FOREX with little money and there are many brokers on the internet that will allow you to make paper practice trades for up to 30 days, free of charge, to see if Forex is for you. They have guides that show techniques for day trading as well as mid-term Forex trading (one to seven days). Trading currency with tighter spreads can improve your trading profits, and you can see for yourself how taking short-term trading positions can be exciting. Low spreads and high volatility is a very popular way of trading on Forex, and is known as day trading.

The foreign exchange (currency or Forex or FX) market exists wherever one currency is traded for another. Trading Foreign Exchange currency in the global Forex trading system market can make you money. Very often currency pairs are closely related to one another - and this is something that can be used to the Forex Traders advantage. There are Consumer Alerts, however, and you should beware of Foreign Currency Trading Frauds. You should educate yourself first in all areas relating to currency trading. It's a great way to get comfortable with a currency trading system and to develop a successful Forex trading strategy. Use the currency forecasts to set profit points and maximize your return. You can make significant earnings in the foreign currency market, but trading in the Forex is for the well-informed and you should take advantage of advice from a reputable broker.

A broker is any person or firm that charges a fee in exchange for executing trades for a trader. When it is time to find a broker, there are several factors to consider. Assuming you are dealing with a reputable broker, there are still risks to FOREX trading. But inexperience is not the only broker reason to consider using a Forex broker to trade in the high risk international currencies market. Most traders find that it is necessary to utilize a broker when making transactions on the FOREX exchange and this has created a market demand for an online Forex broker, Forex dealers and a currency exchange service. As an example, your Forex currency broker is able to purchase $100,000 with only a deposit of $1,000, as the rest of the amount is leveraged to you by your Forex broker. With this type of account, your broker/dealer basically trades your money on the Forex market for you, and will always show the highest bid and the lowest offer.

In simplest terms Forex can be as simple as you would want it to be. Managed Forex is an area of Forex trading that's continuing to grow. FOREX is a somewhat unique market for a number of reasons... Forex is maximum liquidity; FOREX is real trade, in term of business. Basically, Forex is transaction of monetary funds from one government to another or business associates of different countries. For the astute investor, Forex is better than the stock market and every other money-making opportunity. Since Forex is entirely electronic and the liquidity and size is so much larger, it tends to be easier and more efficient to do a Forex transaction.

Introduction To Trade Show Booths..

Trade show booths come in an array of styles and designs that will show off your products, your services or your company in an unforgettable manner that offers a unique appeal, which is intelligent, chic and contemporary. Most trade show booths are very easy to assemble and transport to make your experience a more enjoyable one.

Choosing the perfect trade show booth to accommodate the products that you wish to display will be very easy once you know just how much room you will have at the trade show and how much material you will be presenting.

A bit of flash and sophistication never hurt a presentation. You only have a few minutes to grab the attention of a potential customer, client, or buyer. As they walk past your trade show booth, you must have something that will draw their attention, whether it is your personality, the products themselves or a very unique design displayed to entice.

To begin with, you should choose a trade show booth that will fit properly with the allotted space you have been assigned. You can choose from 10 feet by 10 feet, 10 feet by 20 feet or 20 feet by 20 feet Truss trade show booths. Each one has a compelling appeal that with the right graphics will draw a crowd to your booth. Be sure to get a trade show booth that will hold everything you wish to present without your visitors feeling claustrophobic, clutter will definitely turn them away. They should be able to walk around and through your display without bumping into items and knocking items off counters and shelves.

Remember most people will notice items that are eye level. This is where the main attraction should be. You want the area to be well lit, colorful, and maybe even add some music. You must attract attention just before they get to your booth. If they notice a pleasant, stylish, elegant trade show booth, they will at least stop and look around.

Now, you should start to think about what trade show booth you should purchase. In the 10 feet by 10 feet style, you can choose from the Carina, the Pluto, the Mars, Mercury, Cygnus, Lyra, Castor, and Sirius. All of these styles offer durable steel construction, 2 or 3 tabletops in either lightwood or silver in color, 2 or 3 silver spotlights, and the tools for assembly.

If you believe a 10 foot by 20 foot trade show booth will present your products better then you can decide on some quality and professional looking booths such as the Andromeda which comes complete with 4 tabletops and 5 silver spotlights, the Hydrus with 2 tabletops and 5 silver spotlights, the Venus with 5 tabletops and 4 silver spotlights, the Saturn with 2 tabletops and 5 silver spotlights, the Polaris with 4 tabletops and 5 silver spotlights, and the Arcturus with 4 tabletops and 7 silver spotlights. Each one of these trade show booths will have potential customers clamoring to your display to see what you are offering.

Next, in line to consider are the 20 foot by 20-foot trade show booths. You may believe these are just too big for your company. Nevertheless, remember you do not want any clutter and you want your guests to be able to walk around and feel comfortable while they are eyeing your products. This size may be the perfect size to display everything you wish without any worries about missing something you believe is an important selling feature. You can choose from Truss trade booths in this size and style that include the Cassiopeia, the Centaurus, the Neptune, the Jupiter, the Vega and the Orion. All have wonderful features that you desire with steel construction and easy to assemble.

Prices for trade show booths may seem a bit expensive, especially if this is your first time being involved in a trade show. But, you must remember trade show booths are an investment. You can use them time and time again and with the quality steel construction, they can last for years to come. Spending the money now to make a statement for your company is a wise decision that can lead to more money and loyal customers in the years to come.

There are also many different accessories that you can add with your trade show booth that will give your company many more options when presenting your services or products to the world. Enjoy setting up your booth and bring in more customers with the perfect trade show booth with a style of elegance, innovation, and style.

Introduction To Trade Show Displays

When it comes to displaying items at a trade show, you have many options from banner stands, literature stands and pop-up displays. You may choose to use more than one type of trade show display unit since each one can be used together to give a more full effect and useful information.

Banner Stands
Banner stands come in an array of sizes and designs. the majority of banner stands are portable are designed to be set up in very quickly and have a practical existence for several trade shows as long as they are treated properly. Deciding on which type of banner stand is best for you is to decide among the varieties available. The main types are retractable, spring back and telescopic.

Rollable banner stands are great for creating a floor standing photo mural. This type has hardware that allows the graphic image to be seen from the floor to the top of the image. The main selling point for this type is that from the front of the stand all your potential customers will see is the image. All of the hardware is either hidden or a small portion is at the top or the bottom of the stand. Therefore, the hardware is not what is noticed by visitors to your display. The rollable display can also be attached side by side with other rollable banner stands to create a much longer imager that can be as long as ten feet or more.

Retractable banner stands may be better if you are seeking durability. The graphic in this unit is rolled in and out of a metal housing, which is at the bottom of the display. With retractable banner stands, the lamination is on both sides this will aid in preserving and protecting the image from any type of damage.

Literature Racks
Literature racks also come in many different styles, designs and sizes that will enable you to fit all of the literature that you would like to offer to potential customers. Most of the time trade show literature racks are silver or black and have 3 to 5 pockets. A few larger ones are similar to a magazine rack that you commonly see at the grocery store holding comic books.

The most popular literature rack is probably the Zed Up. This great literature rack has a shelf system that can be folded down and put into its own bag for transporting. The main reason this type of literature rack is popular is that you do not have to remove the literature when you are ready to pack up. There are two sizes of the Zed Up, one with 3 pockets that will hold single brochures and another that will hold larger quantities of literature in each pocket.

You may desire a more sleek and modern design which would be the Slope literature rack. It is also very easy to transport by just folding the rack flat. It has 3 pockets that will hold literature 10 inches wide by 57 inches high and 16 inches deep. The slope has its own carrying bag as well for easier transport.

Pop-up displays
There are quite a few different types of pop-up displays that you can enjoy using for your trade show needs. There are five fashionable types that most people prefer which include the Standard Pop-up Displays, the Photo Mural Pop-up Displays, the Fabric Mural Pop-up Displays, the Commercial Pop-up Displays, and the 3-D Style Pop-up Displays. Each one has their own unique qualities and style to enhance your trade show experience.

The commonest is the standard pop-up. These are normally around 10 feet wide with a curved design. They are usually made with lightweight aluminum frame, PVC or steel channel bars, individual aluminum, or Velcro fabric panels.

The photo mural pop-up displays are pretty much like the standard pop-up displays except they use photo mural panels instead of the Velcro fabric panels. The photo mural pop-ups draw more attention because of the large format graphics that they use.

With the fabric mural pop-up display, you do not have to worry about set up as much. The mural is attached to the frame, which makes setting up faster and easier than with the standard or the photo mural style. This type also weighs less than most standard pop-ups on the market today. You can choose from a curved or non-curved design and most come with their own carrying bag.

Commercial Pop up displays may be what you need, but they are a bit more expensive. This type is sturdy and can take a bit more mistreatment or mishandling than other units can.

One of the newest pop up displays on the market today is the 3-D Style Pop-up Display. These are similar to the fabric mural displays in that the fabric image is attached to the frame, but you can choose from different shapes such as square or round. Set up is easy and quick.

Introduction To Trade Show Exhibits

When you are planning for your next trade show exhibit you should look back to when you were only browsing the many different booths, exhibits, and displays. Remember what type of exhibits got your attention. Your presentation should also draw the crowd.

Before you just rush out and purchase displays for your trade show exhibition you must take into consideration many different aspects of how you desire your presentation to look and feel. You know you want it to speak to the potential customers that are passing by and hopefully bring them over so you can speak with them. Your exhibit must get their attention so will they walk over, and then you can get their undivided attention.

You must first decide which type of exhibit will be the best to present your products, services and your company image. You should also consider your budget. No matter what your budget you can find the perfect trade show exhibits that will convey your message with the image that you want others to see.

The size of your trade show exhibit can either make or break you. If you have one to large, the exhibit will be overwhelming and if you choose one to small it will look overcrowded and cluttered. The most common sizes for trade show exhibits are 10 feet by 10 feet, 20 feet by 20 feet, and 10 feet by 20 feet. Within this size limitation, you must also choose from pop-up designs, panels or complete Truss trade show display booths.

In the 10 feet by 10 feet size, you can find some great displays in various styles and designs. With the Clever 10 foot panel, you can choose from Backlit Header, lights, the color that you prefer for the lower panel and a different one for the upper panel. The benefits of using these panels are that they are sturdy and durable but very lightweight and easy to transport. The average weight of these panels is around 130 pounds. The Genius I 10 foot panel you can also choose whether you want lights, the counter base color, Counter Laminate Color, the color of the lower panel and the upper panel. The features of this type of panel is that it is a folding panel display system, has 6 upper hinged panels, 6 lower hinged panels, 1 backlit header and lights, 1 alcove counter top and 1 alcove counter base. This wonderful panel is very impressive for all types of displays and normally weighs around 200 pounds.

If you prefer a larger size like the 20 feet by 20 feet, you should like the features that are included with pop-up displays and Truss display booths. The best pop-up display of this size is the Trilogy 20' x 20' Island Pop up Trade Show Display. The features of this unique display are that it is in actuality three trade show booths in one. It has the 10-foot wide back-to-back exhibiting area that creates a triangular or star shape. If gives you the ability to present your products or different aspects of your company all the way around the display. You will also be able to choose the color and fabric that you desire along with a case to counter conversion kit and the colors and fabrics of this kit, lights, shelf package, Backlit Header Package and Reconfiguration Panels. 20 feet by 20 feet Truss booths come in a few unique styles such as the Cassiopeia, which features a steel construction; high shine silver color, 4 tabletops, and the ability to assemble with just four screwdrivers that are included. The Centaurus features the same quality steel construction, the high shine silver color, 24 silver spotlights, and the ability to add tabletops in either lightwood or silver in color. The Neptune is sure to grab attention with features like a modular system that is quick and easy to assemble. The Jupiter is another modern and innovative display which gives you great features such as high shine silver color, quality steel construction, 6 tabletops in either light wood or silver, 8 silver spot lights, and easy to assemble with screw drivers that are included. The Vega is similar to other Truss booths but is an eye catching and appealing booth with options for tabletops, colors, and design.

The 10 feet by 20 feet size of displays gives you styles and designs to choose from such as pop-display's, panels, and Truss booths. All of these also have many unique styles and designs that are sure to aid you in presenting your products, your company, or your services in a manner that is not only unique, stylish and original, but with prices within your budget

How To Market Online With Ease

You can ignite your marketing efforts and passion for the game by learning to use your personal story and expertise to get potential clients subscribing to your opt-in list.

I want to show you 10 simple steps you can implement with a low-cost investment and a little effort that you can use as a springboard for more aggressive online marketing campaigns.

By creating an interesting web site, which consist of one simple, yet, well-designed web page you can begin a relationships with qualified prospects. The "Interest Site" is designed to share content and offer a customized introductory e-product to someone who would qualify to be considered your ideal client. The focus of the site has to be a HOT TOPIC for your ideal client and it has to tie back to your product theme in some logical way.

The Interest Site will include the following components:

1. The reason why the ideal client should read the content and subscribe to your list to get the introductory product. You written communication should be compelling, not contain hype, and impress the ideal client so they know free product does not mean no-value, low-value product, but it means you are a generous person, you are a skilled business person, and you are beginning your relationship with them on good and ethical terms.

2. Weave in a soft introduction that is designed to create affinity with your ideal client so they know you are like them, understand them, and share some of the same concerns and interests as they relate to this topic. Be brief.

3. Discuss one to three key points related to the topic that the ideal client would find very interesting. Notice I said the ideal client would find them interesting, you may not, and the non-ideal client may not. You may have expertise in this area or you may have to go and do some research. Either way, make sure the information is highly relevant to your ideal client and related to your primary business offering.

4. Include a message that lets the ideal client know that this content is incomplete and they can get more advanced information by signing up for the complimentary ecourse or workbook. Don't offer just a newsletter or special report. These things are over used and are often perceived as low value until your credibility is well established.

5. Give the ideal client a teaser preview of the HOT HOT HOT TOPICS covered in the ecourse or workbook. Summarize what you have provided and remind them to subscribe.

6. Provide a Bio-box with 3 or 4 lines about you, written in third person to start imprinting the ideal client with the perception that you are a great resource, expert, etc. Be sure to include email contact. Get yourself an official domain and email address. Make sure the web address you pick for your interest site relates to the topic being discussed. Remember to represent yourself as being an established professional. Do not use an ISP email address. Bob@my-interest-site.com is much more attractive than bob1698@yahoo.com.

7. Use an autoresponder to create an online signup form for your opt-in list. Include this sign-up form directly into your web site page. I use an autoresponder which allows for attachments and can create both text and html messages. You can use the HTML software inside the autoresponder to create simple yet elegant messages without knowing HTML. I recommend you stay away form text based messages, there quick, fast and cheesy looking. Imagine getting a text-based email from Amazon, it just wouldn't look all that professional, would it?

8. Set up your autoresponder so the subscriber gets an immediate message congratulating them on their new subscription. Assure that the e-product is sent with the first message. You can either attach the product or store it on a web server and include the link. The first option is the easiest if you use the full-featured autoresponder.

9. Instead of trying to push people to your replicated site or your affiliate site, or convince them to spend money with a stranger, you want to get them to your interest site and get them into your opt-in database before sending them off to some other web site or having a serious sales conversation with them.

5 Steps To Price For Optimum Profits

As with everything, it does not take rocket science to get this right, however one slip, could seriously damage your bottom line. The three factors, equally weighted are as follows:

The value that your customers put on your product and service
Will you make a profit?
What your competitors charge for the same or equivalent
So how do we define customer value?
Value is what a purchaser gets when they make use of your product or service. It is the figure that they put on, their new capabilities. Ones that you have delivered to him through ownership of what you sell.

Value is not always quantified in monetary terms. A golfer may go to a professional, get three lessons, and knock 10 off their handicap - so what is that worth to them? If they had previously spent $5,000 on lessons and still been awful, it could be worth an awful lot.

The most important consideration is that the buyer must feel that they got "good value" from their purchase.

However this good value must not be sold at a loss!
Given, you are in business to make a profit, it is important that you do not sell everything at a loss. It is fine to have loss leaders and indeed, offer freebies, to encourage new clients, or to reward loyal customers. However you business must be profitable, or else you will not have one.

To understand whether you are making profit from a product or group of products, you should factor in all fixed and variable costs. Then look at how many you will sell, and ensure it is worth your while selling at that price.

But what if it's good for you and your customer, but your competitor is cheaper!
First and foremost, check that what they are selling is identical to what you are selling. If it is, all you will do is create a market that your competitor will clean up on.

The good news is that in 99.99% of cases, your products or services are not identical. This is where creating your unique value proposition is vital. This needs to distinguish you as being the best solution in your chosen target market or niche.

It is important also to realize that the best solution may also not be the cheapest. Let's go back to the golf pro. He charges $60 a lesson for his services; his competitor charges $30 a lesson. But if what you want is rapid improvement, and this guy has testimonials to prove what he has done, by spending $180 with him, to get 10 shots off your round of golf, could save you thousands, that you could have spent with the $30 guy.

The bottom line is that your pricing must take into account the three key considerations; providing the better value than your competitors, at a profitable price.

Positive Language For A Positive Response

The vast majority of business literature is boring. This applies to printed and web writing alike. It is sometimes tempting to inject a bit of light-heartedness into the text, but it is a dangerous game.

Some time ago, I edited the marketing materials produced by a London hotel. One of the hotel's attractions was its leisure centre, which included a well-equipped gym. The original script referred to a 'large satellite TV to give some relief from the torture.' Now, I have to admit that I agree with the sentiment. The strange machines in gyms are as painful as they are boring. Nevertheless, this was an unwise piece of ironic humour.

The gym is a selling point to people who already like hard exercise, not to couch potatoes like me. Why present a negative perception of the gym, however obviously it is intended as humour? Of course, it is unlikely to deter the hardened keep-fit fanatic and, no matter how the gym is marketed, I am a lost cause. The big risk is that it puts off someone who is wondering whether to try a gym during a leisure weekend. Reminding them that long-forgotten muscles are going to ache is perhaps not the best selling point.

We changed the brochure to say that the gym has a 'large satellite TV to keep you entertained.' The number of guests using the gym has increased. Enough said!

Reasons Behind Up And Down Of Stock Prices..

I'll give you the short answer first!

Stocks go up because more people want to buy than sell. When this happens they begin to bid higher prices than the stock has been currently trading. On the other side of the same coin, stocks go down because more people want to sell than buy. In order to quickly sell their shares, they are willing to accept a lower price.

Having said this, we'll take a look at the various reasons that cause traders to want to buy or sell a stock.

It is possible to look at the financial statements of a company and determine what the company is worth. Investors who take this approach are said to examine the company's "fundamentals". They attempt to find an undervalued stock - one that is trading below it's "book value". They feel that sooner or later other traders will realize that the company is worth more than the current price and begin bidding it up.

Another investment psychology it called the "technical approach". This is when traders closely examine charts of the stock's past performance looking for trends that they feel will be repeated in the near future. These traders also look at what is happening in the market as a whole trying to anticipate the effect it will have on an individual stock.

Sometimes companies trade at half their "book value" while at other times they may trade at double, triple, or even higher. When this happens it can create some sudden and large price swings. This volatility is what makes it possible to make large profits in the market. It is also responsible for huge losses.

The stock market is essentially a giant auction where ownership of large companies is for sale. If some investors think that a particular company will be a good investment, they are willing to bid the price up. By the same token, when many investors want to sell a stock at the same time the supply will exceed the demand and the price will drop.

Watching the stock market can be likened to watching a ball bounce. It goes up and comes down and then goes right back up. This can be extremely frustrating for many investors who want it to go up in a steady pattern. It is this volatility in the market as a whole and in the individual stocks that the experienced trader profits from. In the absence of a lot of experience, the individual investor needs a proven source of information and direction. The daily stock market recommendations from www.stock4today.com can supply this need.

Many investors (as opposed to traders) have a "buy and hold" philosophy. This would work well in a constantly rising market. Unfortunately, the stock market does not go up in a straight line. There are ups and downs that frustrate this type of investor. Today many investors have become "traders" who buy and sell on the fluctuations of the market and the individual stocks. These traders make money in any market - up or down!

10 Awesome And Essential Trading Elements..

1. You can't take more risk than you are comfortable with - emotion is the enemy of the trader. Most of us are slaves to our emotion, which is why most traders fail despite the apparent simplicity of trading. To be successful, you have to manage emotion, and the first step toward emotional mastery is to not take more risk than you are comfortable with. If you can't sleep at night over the potential of losing more than $500 on a stock trade, then you should not risk more than $500 on a stock trade. The less you care about the outcome of a trade, the smarter you will execute it.

2. Stops loss orders must be used - one big loss can wipe out the gains of five winning trades. Success requires that you don't take big losses, so utilize stop loss orders. Once you are entered in a trade, enter a stop loss order and stick to it. If your brokerage does not provide the ability to execute stop loss orders, then change brokers.

3. No one cares more about your money than you - only you really care whether you make money or not. Therefore, do not depend on others to make you money; you have to take control and know what is going on. You can use the skills of others to help you make decisions, but ultimately, your success in the market will come down to what you do.

4. Losers react, winners predict - the market does not care about what happened in the past. If you are using publicly available information to make trading decisions, then you are using old information. The stock market moves on what it expects to happen in the future, and not on what has already happened. Use what has happened in the past to provide clues to what may happen in the future, but don't make decisions on information that is widely known.

5. The stock market is not fair - Within every stock, there are a small group of investors who know more than the general public. They have an advantage, because they can better predict what a company will do in the future. To be successful, we have to figure out what the investors with better information are doing, and then do the same.

6. Information is biased - the financial industry wants you to buy stocks. The brokerages that finance the companies, the newsletters that get paid to advertise company stories, the promoters that get paid to promote stocks, the media that sell more advertising in an up market and of course, the companies themselves all benefit when stock prices go higher. The more buyers, the higher prices go. Trust no one when making investment decisions, because everyone can have a bias. Only the market can not lie (although it can seem pretty stupid sometimes), therefore, trust what the market tells you.

7. Hard work does not make money in the market - you need to work hard to learn how the stock market works. You need to work hard to learn how to manage your emotions. You need to work hard to learn discipline. However, the most money is made in a market that is trending, one where there are lots of opportunities and it seems easy to make money. When the market is not trending, it is harder to find opportunities. Working harder when the going gets tough will cause you to take marginal trades. Take the obvious trades, they are more likely to work.

8. Black boxes don't work - there are a lot of companies selling trading systems that magically spit out buy and sell recommendations. The stock market is like a flu virus; just when you think you have it figured out, it changes in to something else. Therefore, systems too must evolve with the market. A system that worked in the past may not work in the future. However, what seems to always work is understanding how humans and crowds behave. Learn that, and you can begin to pick stocks in any market condition. More importantly, learn the art of trading well, knowing that you can not always be right, that you have to limit losses and let profits run and that you have to understand what motivates people to buy and sell. Systems, indicators, and computer programs are simply tools to help you make better decisions.

9. The stock market is usually efficient - actually, stock, futures, currencies and any other market that has enough people trading them are usually efficient. That means, most of the time you can not beat the markets. To do better than the masses, you have to identify situations where market efficiency is breaking down. That occurs when the crowd is emotional or when small groups of investors are trading on private information. Usually, that is most easily found when stocks are trading abnormally in terms of price and volume. Focus your attention on abnormal behavior when looking for trading opportunities.

10. Discipline is essential - you have to manage risk effectively, you have to use stops loss orders, you have to always be looking for high probability trading opportunities, you have to avoid taking too much risk and you have to let winning positions run. The laws of trading are nothing if you don't have the discipline to follow them.

The very first sentence:

"Successful trading of the stock market requires a lot more than knowing what to buy or sell. "

In other words....

IT'S NOT WHAT YOU TRADE, IT'S HOW YOU TRADE IT!

Begin trading Commodities Futures....

Before we talk about futures commodities trading, please keep in mind that trading in these contracts has:
1) High degree of risk for financial losses
2) High leverage
3) High volatility and fluctuations
So please use only risk capital, funds that will not adversely affect your life style.

1) Get familiarized with are the contact sizes (and point value) for each commodity traded. While there are hundred of contacts around the world, maybe you should try and focus on the ones that are trading in the US, specifically in NY and Chicago.

2) Ask for the margin requirement on the different commodities. Each commodity has its requirements and that should help you determine what commodities you should have in your portfolio

3) Decide how you are going to trade: Are you going to use a mechanical trading system, technical trading system or on fundamentals. What ever you use, make sure you trade with some kind of methodology; just don't use hunches and "tips" on late night TV.

4) Determine whether you should use a full service commodities broker or a discount online broker. This depends whether you have experience in other financial instruments like stock or stock options. Typically full service brokers will charge more, but could prove to be very valuable when it comes to stopping you from making a mistake.

5) Paper Trade- Make sure that you practice either by a manual log or a simulated online trading platform. It does not cost a dime and it will give you an idea about the day to day volatility that occurs in the futures market. The period that you are trading might not give you a clear indication about a specific commodity, so you should look at past periods and see how certain commodities could fluctuate.

6) Shop around! Whether you use a full service broker or an online trading platform, you will need help. Make sure that who ever you work with is a brokerage that time, staff and patience to guide you through when you need their help.

Past performance is not indicative of future results. There is a substantial risk of loss in futures trading.

Are You An Individual Investor? Strategy To Invest In stock Market..

Over the past few years the stock market has made substantial declines. Some short term investors have lost a good bit of money. Many new stock market investors look at this and become very skeptical about getting in now.

If you are considering investing in the stock market it is very important that you understand how the markets work. All of the financial and market data that the newcomer is bombarded with can leave them confused and overwhelmed.

The stock market is an everyday term used to describe a place where stock in companies is bought and sold. Companies issues stock to finance new equipment, buy other companies, expand their business, introduce new products and services, etc. The investors who buy this stock now own a share of the company. If the company does well the price of their stock increases. If the company does not do well the stock price decreases. If the price that you sell your stock for is more than you paid for it, you have made money.

When you buy stock in a company you share in the profits and losses of the company until you sell your stock or the company goes out of business. Studies have shown that long term stock ownership has been one of the best investment strategies for most people.

People buy stocks on a tip from a friend, a phone call from a broker, or a recommendation from a TV analyst. They buy during a strong market. When the market later begins to decline they panic and sell for a loss. This is the typical horror story we hear from people who have no investment strategy.

Before committing your hard earned money to the stock market it will behoove you to consider the risks and benefits of doing so. You must have an investment strategy. This strategy will define what and when to buy and when you will sell it.
History of the Stock Market

Over two hundred years ago private banks began to sell stock to raise money to expand. This was a new way to invest and a way for the rich to get richer. In 1792 twenty four large merchants agreed to form a market known as the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE). They agreed to meet daily on Wall Street and buy and sell stocks.

By the mid-1800s the United States was experiencing rapid growth. Companies began to sell stock to raise money for the expansion necessary to meet the growing demand for their products and services. The people who bought this stock became part owners of the company and shared in the profits or loss of the company.

A new form of investing began to emerge when investors realized that they could sell their stock to others. This is where speculation began to influence an investor's decision to buy or sell and led the way to large fluctuations in stock prices.

Originally investing in the stock market was confined to the very wealthy. Now stock ownership has found it's way to all sectors of our society.
What is a Stock?

A stock certificate is a piece of paper declaring that you own a piece of the company. Companies sell stock to finance expansion, hire people, advertise, etc. In general, the sale of stock help companies grow. The people who buy the stock share in the profits or losses of the company.

Trading of stock is generally driven by short term speculation about the company operations, products, services, etc. It is this speculation that influences an investor's decision to buy or sell and what prices are attractive.

The company raises money through the primary market. This is the Initial Public Offering (IPO). Thereafter the stock is traded in the secondary market (what we call the stock market) when individual investors or traders buy and sell the shares to each other. The company is not involved in any profit or loss from this secondary market.

Technology and the Internet have made the stock market available to the mainstream public. Computers have made investing in the stock market very easy. Market and company news is available almost anywhere in the world. The Internet has brought a vast new group of investors into the stock market and this group continues to grow each year.
Bull Market - Bear Market

Anyone who has been following the stock market or watching TV news is probably familiar with the terms Bull Market and Bear Market. What do they mean?

A bull market is defined by steadily rising prices. The economy is thriving and companies are generally making a profit. Most investors feel that this trend will continue for some time. By contrast a bear market is one where prices are dropping. The economy is probably in a decline and many companies are experiencing difficulties. Now the investors are pessimistic about the future profitability of the stock market. Since investors' attitudes tend to drive their willingness to buy or sell these trends normally perpetuate themselves until significant outside events intervene to cause a reversal of opinion.

In a bull market the investor hopes to buy early and hold the stock until it has reached it's high. Obviously predicting the low and high is impossible. Since most investors are "bullish" they make more money in the rising bull market. They are willing to invest more money as the stock is rising and realize more profit.

Investing in a bear market incurs the greatest possibility of losses because the trend in downward and there is no end in sight. An investment strategy in this case might be short selling. Short selling is selling a stock that you don't own. You can make arrangements with your broker to do this. You will in effect be borrowing shares from your broker to sell in the hope of buying them back later when the price has dropped. You will profit from the difference in the two prices. Another strategy for a bear market would be buying defensive stocks. These are stocks like utility companies that are not affected by the market downturn or companies that sell their products during all economic conditions.
Brokers

Traditionally investors bought and sold stock through large brokerage houses. They made a phone call to their broker who relayed their order to the exchange floor. These brokers also offered their services as stock advisors to people who knew very little about the market. These people relied on their broker to guide them and paid a hefty price in commissions and fees as a result. The advent of the Internet has led to a new class of brokerage houses. These firms provide on-line accounts where you may log in and buy and sell stocks from anywhere you can get an Internet connection. They usually don't offer any market advice and only provide order execution. The Internet investor can find some good deals as the members of this new breed of electronic brokerage houses compete for your business!
Blue Chip Stocks

Large well established firms who have demonstrated good profitability and growth, dividend payout, and quality products and services are called blue chip stocks. They are usually the leaders of their industry, have been around for a long time, and are considered to be among the safest investments. Blue chip stocks are included in the Dow Jones Industrial Average, an index composed of thirty companies who are leaders in their industry groups. They are very popular among individual and institutional investors. Blue chip stocks attract investors who are interested in consistent dividends and growth as well as stability. They are rarely subject to the price volatility of other stocks and their share prices will normally be higher than other categories of stock. The downside of blue chips is that due to their stability they won't appreciate as rapidly as compared to smaller up-and-coming stocks.
Penny Stocks

Penny Stocks are very low priced stocks and are very risky. They are usually issued by companies without a long term record of stability or profitability.

The appeal of penny stock is their low price. Though the odds are against it, if the company can get into a growth trend the share price can jump very rapidly. They are usually favored by the speculative investor.
Income Stocks

Income Stocks are stock that normally pay higher than average dividends. They are well established companies like utilities or telephone companies. Income stocks are popular with the investor who wants to own the stock for a long time and collect the dividends and who is not so interested in a gain in share price.
Value Stocks

Sometimes a company's earnings and growth potential indicate that it's share price should be higher than it is currently trading at. These stock are said to be Value Stocks. For the most part, the market and investors have ignored them. The investor who buys a value stock hopes that the market will soon realize what a bargain it is and begin to buy. This would drive up the share price.
Defensive Stocks

Defensive Stocks are issued by companies in industries that have demonstrated good performance in bad markets. Food and utility companies are defensive stocks.
Market Timing

One of the most well known market quotes is: "Buy Low - Sell High". To be consistently successful in the stock market one needs strategy, discipline, knowledge, and tools. We need to understand our strategy and stick with it. This will prevent us from being distracted by emotion, panic, or greed.

One of the most prominent investing strategies used by "investment pros" is Market Timing. This is the attempt to predict future prices from past market performance. Forecasting stock prices has been a problem for as long as people have been trading stocks. The time to buy or sell a stock is based on a number of economic indicators derived from company analysis, stock charts, and various complex mathematical and computer based algorithms.

One example of market timing signals are those available from www.stock4today.com.
Risks

There are numerous risks involved in investing in the stock market. Knowing that these risks exist should be one of the things an investor is constantly aware of. The money you invest in the stock market is not guaranteed. For instance, you might buy a stock expecting a certain dividend or rate of share price increase. If the company experiences financial problems it may not live up to your dividend or price growth expectations. If the company goes out of business you will probably lose everything you invested in it. Due to the uncertainty of the outcome, you bear a certain amount of risk when you purchase a stock.

Stocks differ in the amount of risks they present. For instance, Internet stocks have demonstrated themselves to be much more risky than utility stocks.

One risk is the stocks reaction to news items about the company. Depending on how the investors interpret the new item, they may be influenced to buy or sell the stock. If enough of these investors begin to buy or sell at the same time it will cause the price to rise or fall.

One effective strategy to cope with risk is diversification. This means spreading out your investments over several stocks in different market sectors. Remember the saying: "Don't put all your eggs in the same basket".

As investors we need to find our "Risk Tolerance". Risk tolerance is our emotional and financial ability to ride out a decline in the market without panicking and selling at a loss. When we define that point we make sure not to extend our investments beyond it.
Benefits

The same forces that bring risk into investing in the stock market also make possible the large gains many investors enjoy. It's true that the fluctuations in the market make for losses as well as gains but if you have a proven strategy and stick with it over the long term you will be a winner!

The Internet has make investing in the stock market a possibility for almost everybody. The wealth of online information, articles, and stock quotes gives the average person the same abilities that were once available to only stock brokers. No longer does the investor need to contact a broker for this information or to place orders to buy or sell. We now have almost instant access to our accounts and the ability to place on-line orders in seconds. This new freedom has ushered in new masses of hopeful investors. Still this in not a random process of buying and selling stock. We need a strategy for selecting a suitable stock as well as timing to buy and sell in order to make a profit.
Day Trading

Day Trading is the attempt to buy and sell stock over a very short period of time. The day trader hopes to cash in on the short term fluctuations in a stock's price. It would not be unusual for the day trader to buy and sell the same stock in a matter of a few minutes or to buy and sell the same stock several times a day.

Day traders sit in front of computer monitors all day looking for short term movement in a stock. They then attempt to get in on the movement before it reverses. The real day trader does not hold a stock overnight due to the risk of some event or news item triggering the stock to reverse direction. It takes intense concentration to monitor the minute by minute movement of several stocks.

Day trading involves a great deal of risk because of the uncertainty of the market behavior over the short term. The slightest economic or political news can cause a stock to fluctuate wildly and result in unexpected losses.

There are a few people who make respectable gains day trading. The people who probably make the most are the self proclaimed "experts" who sell the books or operate the web sites that cater to the day trader. Because of the profits to be made from sales to people who want to get rich quick, they make it seem as attractive as possible. The truth is that in the long run more people lose than gain by day trading. This does not translate into a very good investment.

Trading...?

1. Buying and selling securities or commodities on a short-term basis, hoping to make quick profits.

2. More generally, any buying and selling of securities, commodities, goods, or services.

What Is Investing?

In a business context, investing is the process of committing capital to purchase assets in exchange for the anticipated return from income and/or appreciation of those assets. Thousands of books have been written on investing in stocks, commodities, even art and collectibles. There are numerous approaches to investing. In common usage, investing is the process of devoting resources of any type. For example, acquiring new skills is appropriately called investing in oneself. The common usage contains an important subtlety about investing. Resources invested may include not only capital, but also time and effort. Not surprisingly, the most sophisticated investors rarely commit funds without first also exercising good judgment about what return can be obtained by potentially devoting expertise as well as money. The venture capitalist and the art dealer are very similar; both are practitioners of such sophisticated investing. Accordingly, many top investment advisors caution against investing money without first investing time to understand the investment opportunity.