I am sure you have heard this axiom: If you don’t know where you are going, you will get there. Many folks investing today are on that path: they are investing without proper knowledge of the stock market, of investment basics, and lacking simple, concise, written goals. Later, these folks will experience great challenges.Among other things, the Federal Reserve’s Quantitative Easing program, a euphemism for pumping money into the economy, is fueling rising stock markets. This could entice even more folks to invest in stocks because they might see opportunities to ‘make money.’ Beware; before investing, at least, ensure you dispel three popular investment myths, and understand the potential investment’s opportunity cost.
Investing in the stock market is gambling
Low priced stocks, especially those at 52-week lows are worth buying
Investment analysts and advisors know how investments will perform
Investing In The Stock Market Is GamblingSimplistically, investing is just another spending form. You buy a book, a car, a house, and you buy stocks, bonds, or other investment instruments. The key is to develop a solid process to follow instinctively before spending: a spending decision process. Your attitude will decide how you behave, and so, you could choose to spend on stocks and bonds – invest – with a gambling motive. That’s why I advise folks never to invest unless they fulfill specific prerequisites, such as being debt free with an established process to replace major assets for cash, and having clear, concise, written investment goals.Then again, even with clear goals, individuals need to know that consistent, solid earnings is the key sustainer of a business’ value, and ultimately, its stock market price.Low Priced Stocks, Especially Those At 52-week Lows, Are Worth BuyingHere is a trap to avoid. A stock is trading at its 52-week low, falling over 50%, and you think it presents a buying opportunity. Maybe; on the other hand, maybe not! Likely, that business’ products and services no longer have the capability to produce previously perceived earnings. Alternatively, investment analysts and others may have promoted this business because of some fad or other irrelevant reason. Yahoo! and Nortel are examples of companies whose stock prices traded at unsustainable levels; after the expected collapse, their stock prices did not recover. Many other examples exist, particularly on the Japanese stock exchange.As I mentioned above, as with all spending, we need to follow a spending decision process before investing. This will allow us to use a fall in stock price as a trigger to identify business’ fundamentals and potential investment opportunities.Investment Analysts And Advisors Know How Investments Will Perform When you listen to these folks, you might forget that they, like you and I, have no clue about the future. Some are in conflicts of interest, blinded, and pushing particular products. Others might be sincere but are relying on the past. And we know, the past might not be a good predictor of the future.Can these folks help? Certainly, but each client must try to understand whom his or her advisor represents, and accept that advisors do not know the future. Accordingly, folks receiving investment advice must be fully aware that they, not their advisors, need to decide when and how to act from advice they get.Before you start investing, dispel the above three myths, learn key investment basics, and learn and make sure you fulfill specific investing preconditions.This final point is obvious but often folks overlook it. Investing in the stock market has an opportunity cost; it reduces, by amounts invested, funds available for other purposes. Ten thousand dollars invested in the market could buy a car, pay a portion of a college semester’s fees, or be donated to charity. Therefore, as part of your spending decision process, ask these three questions before deciding to invest:
What other alternatives exists to use funds you are about to invest?
Given your present and expected situation, is this the best use of funds today?
Will you need to replenish these funds to carry out other specific goals in the next three to five years?
© Copyright 2013, Michel A. Bell
Three Investing Myths To Unlearn Before Investing
Online Business Inspiration – Are You Still Searching For It?
The tactics and strategies used in running a business have always been passing through different kinds of changes at different times. Every business person needs to change his methodologies according to these varied demands. And the current need of time for doing business is nothing but to go online. No matter whether you are into an offline business or online business, internet is undoubtedly the most productive tool to be used in the current scenario.In the present time, if your business is not backed up by an online support, then it is nowhere in the global competition. No matter whether you are running your own business or about to start a new one, a productive online business strategy should be an essential part of your business.It is very much essential to find out an innovative and promising business idea to give your business career a decent start. And if your exposure is not that vast and you don’t want to put a high initial investment, then the most promising business idea is nothing but to start an online business.Here are some of the fundamental reasons:
The total number of Internet users all across the globe is around 30% of the total population. This is surely an influencing business inspiration for any person, isn’t it? Once started, your business is sure to gain a platform among this huge population.
Earlier one had to invest a huge sum of capital to start a new business. It required an office room, warehouses, materials etc. to set up the new construction. But, this may not be the case for an online business. In another terms, this can be said that you don’t require a huge capital to be successful in an online business.
To start an internet related business, the major investment is nothing but your efforts towards it. Even, you may not require a separate office room to conduct your business.Can it be considered as a business inspiration? Of course yes.One more business inspiration factor is the risk associated with these kinds of businesses. If you can keep your efforts on track, then success is sure to come in your way.The possibility of going viral is very much high in an online business. It takes very less time to draw the required exposure, which eventually diminishes the risk of going unnoticed.
The technologies used in online businesses are changing very rapidly. Every day, a new kind of innovative theme comes into existence. Among these, social networking, social bookmarking etc. are the concepts which have got some immense responses from the global audience.
Gone are the days, when one had to depend on its neighbors and relatives to get leads and sell the products. In this online world, you are not confined to a geographical area. Anybody from any part of the globe may become your client and raise your business to the peak level. And who knows, someday Google may fetch you some aliens to become your customers, everything is possible in this virtual world.Are these enough reasons to go for an internet related business? Or, are you still searching for some more business inspiration? If this is the case then just give your business a trial, you will automatically find out the possibilities. Good Luck!
US Markets in green on Friday; Dow 30 up over 345 points, Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500 up nearly 1%
US Markets were trading in the green on Friday with Dow 30 trading at 30,678.80, up by 1.14%. While S&P 500 was trading at 3,701.66, up by 0.98% and Nasdaq Composite 10,690.60 was also up by 0.71 per cent
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US Markets in green on Friday; Dow 30 up over 345 points, Nasdaq Composite, S&P 500 up nearly 1%
Earlier today, Indian stock markets ended the week on a winning note. It was the sixth straight gains for equity markets. Source: Reuters
US Markets were trading in the green on Friday with Dow 30 trading at 30,678.80, up by 345.25 points or1.14 per cent. While S&P 500 was trading at 3,701.66, up by 35.88 points or 0.98 per cent and Nasdaq Composite 10,690.60 was also up 75.75 points or 0.71 per cent. A Reuters report said that today’s strength was on the back of a report which said the Federal Reserve will likely debate on signaling plans for a smaller interest rate hike in December, reversing declines set off by social media firms after Snap Inc’s ad warning.
Source: Comex
Nasdaq Top Gainers and Losers
Source: Nasdaq
Earlier today, Indian stock markets ended the week on a winning note. It was the sixth straight gains for equity markets. The BSE Sensex ended at 59,307.15, up by 104.25 points or 0.18 per cent from the Thursday closing level. Meanwhile, the Nifty50 index closed at 17,590.00, higher by 26.05 points or 0.15 per cent. In the 30-share Sensex, 13 stocks gained while the remaining 17 ended on the losing side. In the 50-stock Nifty50, 21 stocks advanced while 29 declined.