Thursday, February 28, 2008

Fair Value with Negative Growth

Our investing journey revolves around finding the fair value of a common stock. You can invest in companies that grow rapidly and lose money. On the other hand, you can also invest in companies in a declining industry, yet you can still make money. Investing profitably does not merely depend on what you invest in, but rather how much you pay for a given company.

Therefore, let's look at company with negative earning growth. How do we value them? For a 0% growth company, P/E ratio for the fair value is 13.4, which is equal to 7.45% return year in and year out. For negative growth company, P/E ratio should be lower of course, since it is giving less and less as the year goes by.

Let's try valuing negative growth with the following assumption. EPS growth is negative ten percent for the next five years and then stay constant. EPS for the current year is $ 1.00. So, after five years, EPS will come in at $ 0.59. Now, this is the constant $ 0.59 that we will get five years from now. The value of that cash flow today assuming 4.5% discounting rate is $ 0.47. Applying P/E of 13.4, this company is fairly valued at $ 6.34. Currently, earning per share comes in at $ 1.00 per share. If you look at the stock trading at $ 6.00, you may think that it is cheap since it is trading at a P/E of 6. But, if you expect it to have negative growth of negative ten percent for the next five years, this P/E of 6 doesn't sound cheap after all.

If you expect negative growth, even a seemingly low P/E ratio does not translate into profitable investment. The industry I can think of right now is the auto industry. The US auto maker has been struggling for years to compete with its Japanese counterparts. Investors has priced in negative growth for quite sometime now. If you look at say GM or Ford, they have been trading at a seemingly low P/E ratio for several years. Until this year, both of them has been able to post profits. This year, they are all expected to post a loss. The moral of the story here is to watch out for company with low P/E ratio.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Controversial Wealth Audit Reveals Over 90 Percent of Us Could End Up Working Forever...Are You One

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Friday, February 22, 2008

How to Buy a Home When Your in Your Twenties

A Single’s Game of Real Number Estate
(Getting started in your twenties)

Due to the fact that most of us turn up in either a rented flat or our parent’s single household home, it stand ups to ground that most people, when beginning to inquire themselves the inquiry of buying their ain dwelling, will come up to the decision that a condominium or small house is probably the manner to go. That’s A consequence of conditioning and it’s A hard mentality to break! After taking the clip to speak to or personally steer a respectable number of people in their twenties, I have got come up to happen that firm, direct and accurate information can really set the world of how existent estate can be acquired and used to their best advantage starting with property that sets the tone of voice for a much more than profitable and rewarding future.

Everyone understands the conception of paying rent, so to get with a great gap inquiry to our existent estate student is, “How would you like to accumulate that rent as opposing to pay it!” Naturally this inquiry gets their attention and we can get to open up the door of enlightenment. I like to utilize the duplex house illustration to illustrate the two homes under one roof concept. Some people are unfamiliar with what exactly a duplex house is and how it works, so I simply state that quite often you happen duplex houses composed of one edifice that have two sleeping rooms and one bath on each side, all under one roof, some larger, some smaller.

These are as easy to finance as a single household home and in many cases allow you to measure up for a larger loan amount which leads to using leverage and more than of other people’s money to get ahead faster in life. Using an illustration allows state you happen a duplex house for $150,000 (California is higher), your loans interest rate is 6% that would cost $899.33 a calendar month to pay rule and interest back on a 30 twelvemonth loan. They would have got to see it, so we utilize an average of $5 per $1000 of home value to average insurance costs. So $5.00 x $150.00 = $750.00 A twelvemonth for insurance. We split that by 12 calendar months to get a figure of $62.50 a calendar month for insurance. We also have got annual taxes that are based on what the home is deserving multiplied by a millage, or factory rate. Let’s usage A tax rate of $11.00 per $1,000 of the homes assessed value: $11.00 x 150 = $1,650.00 a year. Now split that by 12 calendar months to get a monthly tax of $137.50 and by adding principle, interest, taxes and insurance (P.I.T.I), we get a sum monthly mortgage payment of $1099.33.

Now when you lease one side out for (in many cases, approximately $750.00 a month) you are left to pay only $349.33 out of your ain pocket every month. When I get this point firmly affixed to the grey matter of their brain, it goes clear that this amount is much lower than the amount of rent they are now paying to dwell under person else’s roof and rules. Now the inquiries begin coming in the following order. Well? How make I purchase something like this? The reply most often gets with, “By getting pre-qualified for a loan,” and Iodine travel on to state you will need to garner and convey the following things to the bank loan officer to get started:

1. Copies of three old age of tax tax returns for first clip buyers + agendas and W2 forms

2. Copies of most recent wage stubs within the last 30 days

3. Copies of your most recent three calendar months of bank statements

4. A listing of all creditors with name, computer address and account numbers

With these initial written documents the lender can get to procedure your application for a loan. They will determine your assets and liabilities (net worth) as well as verify where you dwell now, your credit history and a host of other information that gets to validate your being and ability to borrow money now and in the future.

Once they’ve had a opportunity to reexamine and verify your information they can pre-approve you for a certain loan amount. Once your sanctioned you can get your search for a home of your own, typically as a first clip home buyer you will happen that there are programs that allow you set as small as 3-5% percent down in order to purchase a home that satisfies the lender’s guidelines according to its value and conformity. Now on a $150,000 loan the down payment can be anywhere from $4500.00 - $7500.00.

There are ways to lower these costs and a great topographic point to begin is by attending a first clip home buyer’s class. These social classes present you to the rudiments and give you further information on programs that are currently available that may offer you the chance to purchase with nil down! So with that said, the adjacent measure is to get to a free social class and get familiar with the process. Often I urge going to the social class before going to see a lender so you don’t look so greenish and unprepared upon your initial introduction.

Since I usually happen these poor psyches wondering and wandering in the land of the lost, the adjacent scowl I see come up over them is the realisation that they just don’t have got the money required to start. So the inquiry come ups up as to where to get it. I usually inquire about savings, whether parents or grandparents can help, if they can sell valuable ownerships or take second jobs, get grants, gifts, usage trust funds, personal loans or co-signers, or a combination of these options with a complimentary loan programme usually gets the ball rolling. Options and hard money lenders usually come up later as option support and acquisition sources, so I won’t mistake any 1 with those now.

The underside line is this: If person desires something bad adequate there is always a way! The nice thing about duplex houses is that the lender will take into account the fact that 75% of the rental income from the other side of the property can be used to offset your qualifying ratios, so in this lawsuit they can utilize 75% of the rentals $750.00 income to reduce the amount you must earn to measure up for what looks to be an unaffordable loan. Seventy-five percent of $750.00 bes $562.50. Now subtracting that amount from the original mortgage payment of $1099.33 leaves of absence you with a payment of $536.83 which the bank states you must be able to refund every calendar month out of your ain pocket. You can make this!

Can you get to see how with a small information, attempt and belief you can actually ain something and pay less than what you are currently paying in rent?

Let’s go on on with the manner things get to blossom once you get the journey. Starting with the twenty-four hours you close the deal and go the new proprietor you will see that you now have got just created a inactive income watercourse that gives you an extra $750.00 a calendar month without you having to plug a clock or trade a certain amount of hours to earn the money. Your new plus plant for you twenty-four hours in and twenty-four hours out constantly generating income for you while you travel and make other things. This is leveraging your clip and money in a very good way!

You also will detect that at the shutting of your purchase that the old proprietors who sold you this property had to prorate or give you a share of the rents owed and any security sedimentations that the tenants had given to them. Now add to that the likeliness that your first house payment won’t come up owed until about a calendar month and a one-half after you travel in and you happen yourself with, low and behold, extra money, probably for the first clip in quite a while!

Let’s cipher it using simple math. Assuming you close on the 15th of the month, you will have got got 45 years before your first payment come ups due, you will be credited with 15 years of rent, you will have all security sedimentations of the tenant and you will have another month’s rent on the first of the calendar calendar calendar month from your tenant and you yourself will have no rent or house payment of your ain to do for another whole month. What makes all that add up to? Let’s interruption it down:

1. Fifteen years of rent equal to $375.00

2. A one-half month’s rent as a security sedimentation equal to $375.00

3. A full month’s rent in another 15 years equal to $750.00

4. No payment to the bank for another 30 years and you’re not paying rent to anyone any longer, so you maintain whatever you normally would have got had to give to person else as rent that calendar month (let’s state that was $500.00).

5. Another payment to you for $750.00 from your tenant as well as you having to do your first mortgage payment of $1099.33 on the 1st of the calendar calendar month which come ups 45 years later.

Side note: If you decided to lease your second sleeping room to a roommate, they would pay $500.00 a month and one-half your public utilities as well, thus your basically living and owning this property for free. State adieu to all those student loans as you deviate all these freed up finances to pay off loans instead of a landlord!

Adding these up, we get $375.00 + $375.00 + $750.00 + $750.00 + 500.00 not paid to your old landlord. That bes $2,750.00 that you will now have got as a consequence of your first calendar month and a one-half of ownership. Now deduct your mortgage payment of $1099.33 and you are left with a modesty monetary fund of $1,650.67 in your account. Take your parents out to a steak dinner and celebrate - you’ve earned it!

Let’s review: You decided to purchase your ain home, you made the pick early to offset disbursals by looking at a multiple income property, you went to the homebuyer’s class, you went to see a lender and got pre-approved for a loan, you saved or arranged to have got the necessary amount required to purchase and you hunted, searched and analyzed more than than a few places in order to happen a good 1 that would fulfill your criteria.

Your adjacent form is to get to recognize that you are now responsible for the social welfare of another household or individual owed to your willingness to go a landlord. Your tenants pay rent and anticipate you to take care of their lodging needs. If you chose a good property by carefully looking at plumbing, warming & A/C, electrical, foundation, structure, roof, location and price, then you should be well positioned to be able to successfully manage these duties. Often, you as the new proprietor will get to do improvements to the property such as as painting, installing new carpet and doing some cheap landscape gardening and repairs. These are the things that add value to your property and maintain your tenants happy while at the same clip not breaking the bank!

With $1,650.67 in your bank account, you’re not exactly Donald Trump just yet, but you’re getting there! Smart landlords set up 6 calendar month modesty accounts and/or contingency funds, which protect them in modern times of vacancies or when expensive unanticipated repair measures protrude up in improver to regular planned-for care items. What I’m saying is don’t pass your militia frivolously. In my case, a steak dinner is a tradition but the major part of your finances should only be used to build, protect and heighten your asset’s ability to bring forth and prolong income generation.

By taking on duty in the lodging market at such as a immature age, you will have got some added benefits and chances coming to you. Let’s expression at what begins happening: the first thing is you have got defeat fearfulness and deficiency of apprehension by acquiring your first property. In addition, you have got begun to offset disbursals while economy more money, you are establishing first-class credit while edifice assets, and you’re gaining tax advantages while getting management, home purchasing and repair instruction at an early age. These are outstanding life accomplishments that you can utilize for the remainder of your life and the longer the clip period of time that you have got to use them, the additional the combination personal effects will assist you to go.

This type of initial home-buying strategy can and makes lead to additional chances to turn and accomplish additional benefits besides those already mentioned. Individuals who learn to accept duty early volition by nature turn more than mature throughout the procedure and in consequence make for themselves a higher status in the heads of others by being looked upon as a current homeowner and landlord. Once established, you will go known for what you can do. If you were single when you undertook these challenges, then you will look and go more than self-sufficient to the antonym sex.

What make I intend by that? What I’m saying is when you ran into person who may go your partner in the future, they will acknowledge your ability to supply for their safety and protection and they won’t inquiry or kick about your fooling around with wild ideas of becoming educated in existent estate now. They will accept that this is something you make and will esteem your ability to manage this portion of your life.

As clip go throughs on and you happen this love of your life and the eventual marriage proposal ensues, the clip will come up when you’re going to desire to separate business from pleasure. As a immature couple the clip will come up when you may desire to begin a household or at least separate yourself from your tenants while moving up to a nicer single household home that lawsuits your changing needs more than appropriately. Perfect, because now is the clip to see renting out both sides of the duplex house while you get to look into your new single household home.

How makes this form work? Hold on, I’m getting there! Okay, let’s presume its two old age later and you have got been life in and improving your duplex house all along. Now taking into account that you bought a nice property in a good vicinity and rising prices and grasp have been adding value in improver to your improvements, your $150,000 duplex house should command a new appraised value of $175,000. Let me explicate how the value grows: 3% annual rising prices multiplied by $150,000 bes $4500.00 the first year. Let’s also state that grasp owed to demand also adds 5%, sol 5% ten $150,000 bes $7500.00. Now $150,000 + $7500 + $4500 = $162,000, which stands for the new value for twelvemonth one. The second twelvemonth we make the same mathematics on $162,000 and we get $12,960 for twelvemonth two. Adding that to $162,000 bes $174,960. Okay, I was off by $40.00. Don’t forget any improvements and that you may have got got bought it at a price reduction because the old proprietors where motivated and you might happen its worth even more.

Now over those two old age you have also been paying that old mortgage of $1099.33 each calendar month and the rule amount that you owe on your loan have been reduced by an further $3,965.96, leaving you with a loan balance of $146,034.04. The difference between the new appraised value of $175,000 and the current amount of $146,034.04 which you owe bes $28,965.96. This number stands for the equity, or value, that you currently ain in the home. Knowing this, it is entirely possible to apply for and have a home equity line of credit up to the full value of the new appraisal! If you haven’t gone overboard on purchasing cars, boats and running up other rotating debt while at the same clip your important other or spouse-to-be have got a occupation and good credit with manageable debt, than the bank is going to O.K. this line of owner-occupied credit.

Now what you have done is put up a line of credit which can be used to purchase a $145,000 single household home with a 20% down feather payment. This allows you to avoid paying private mortgage insurance (PMI), thereby creating a very low-cost new mortgage on your new household residence.

NOTE: Make not mistake homeowner’s insurance with private mortgage insurance. PMI protects the lender while homeowner’s insurance protects you. When you set down 20% of value on a home’s purchase in the word form of a down payment, you are in consequence protecting the lender from yourself because if they foreclosed on you for non-payment, they could sell the home fast for less than full value and still be paid in full.

Don’t wage for private mortgage insurance if you can avoid it!

Let’s not forget that as the value of your duplex house have risen the rents should also be increasing along the same lines. Now instead of $750.00, you should reasonably anticipate to get $800.00 per month, per side, which now presents $1600.00 a calendar calendar month to your bank account. Unfortunately you still have got to pay for 28 more than old age on the original loan amount, so you will do that good old $1099.33 payment as usual. That leaves of absence you with $500.67 left over to pay that new equity line back with. Your new $29,000 equity line which you used as a down payment on your new home costs you $336.71 @ 7% for 10 years. Now $500.36 subtraction $336.71 leaves of absence you with $163.96 left over to keep a nice small modesty account for vacancies and maintenance/repairs. This is a good illustration of how to transition to a secure lifestyle while using your existent plus alkali to purchase more.

Review:

1. Interruption the cast and expression at multiple income property to start.

2. Go to a first clip home buyer social class to get ready.

3. Go to a lender prepared to measure up for an low-cost loan amount.

4. Focus your attempt on learning how existent estate works.

5. Recognize the sooner you start, the better off you will be.

6. Offset disbursals by renting to others.

7. Manage tenants, sedimentations and property responsibly.

8. Plan for the hereafter using assets and equity lines to start.

9. Keep reading and learning how to make new things with existent estate.

10. Find wise men and usage knowledgeable people to assist you along the way.

I trust this small program of entering into homeownership have given you some ideas in your pursuit for independence. Wishing you all the best! Your investing pal, Dan

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Why Is The Macedonian Stock Exchange Unsuccessful?

The Macedonian Stock Exchange (MSE) is not operating successfully. True, some of the parameters which we use to measure the success of a stock exchange have lately improved in the MSE. For instance, the monthly money volume has increased together with the number of transactions. But this is a far cry from success.

Who is to blame? Is the current management of the MSE incompetent?

I do not think so. Actually, I think the MSE has an excellent management team, doing their best to incorporate new trading techniques and to list new firms. The problems lie elsewhere.

A stock exchange is a very important financial market. It is a highly efficient and visible instrument of financing. In the West, it is used to finance most of the needs of corporations, way above financing available from banks. Individuals and firms save some of their income and invest it. The stock exchange is meeting grounds for savers wishing to invest their savings - and firms looking for investments.

Another function of stock exchanges is to assist governments in financing their internal borrowing requirements. Governments sell obligations (called bonds) to investors through the stock exchanges in their countries. A stock exchange is, therefore, an indispensable tool for re-financing national debt.

But a few conditions must prevail before a stock exchange functions properly.

The most important condition is the existence of a healthy, growing economy in the stock exchange's country. Investors flock to robust economies and shy away from sickly ones.

On the face of it, the Macedonian economy belongs to the latter category. High unemployment, low savings, retarded growth, a gaping trade and payments deficits. But this is an optical illusion. The economy is in much better conditions that most Macedonians would care to admit. The unemployment figures are skewed. They reflect efforts to evade paying social taxes - not real unemployment. The economy is growing, even by official estimates. The black economy is growing even faster. The deficits are covered by enormous capital infusions from donor countries. Macedonia is receiving more international credits per capita than Russia. It is always convenient to blame the worsening economic climate - but the cold, objective figures do not bear this out.

When an economy is growing - the profits of companies (including those listed in the MSE) will grow with it. This makes the shares of these companies an interesting buy.

Since no one is buying - we must look for the problem elsewhere.

A prospering stock exchange is linked to the existence of the right micro and macro economic management. Macedonia has more than its share of problems in this respect.

The process of transformation of businesses with social capital had four basic flaws:

first, it introduced no new management, ideas or capital to the beleaguered firms which were "transformed". The market simply does not believe that they were transformed. The same people run the same shows under a different hat.

Second, such transformation violates the concept of Hierarchy, a chain of command.

It blurs the distinction between labour (workers) and capital (owners). What is wrong with that is that a ship must have a captain - and only one. Someone must have the authority and the responsibility. Collective management is no management at all.

Moreover, innovation change and revitalization are all prevented. What change could come from the same set of worn out managers? How can thousands of owners decide to worsen the conditions of the workforce - if owners and labourers are one and the same? So, management is polluted by irrelevant, non-economic considerations: power struggles amongst groups of workers, social considerations and political ones.

We identified one villain. The other one is high (real) interest rates. When interest rates are high, three effects prevent the resuscitation of the stock exchange:

First, firms have high financing expenses (interest payments) - which reduces their profits. Second, it is not worthwhile to borrow money and to invest in shares.

Third, it is more tempting to invest money in bank deposits, yielding high interest rates - than in shares. High interest rates are the poison of stock exchanges.

The same is true for low savings rates. If people and firms do not save - there is no capital available for investment in stocks.

This, exactly, is the current situation in Macedonia : impossibly high interest rates coupled with exceedingly low savings. There is basic mistrust between clients and their banks. They prefer other ways of keeping their money.

But all the above is far from exhausting the list of pre-conditions for the proper functioning of a stock exchange.

Investors must have timely, accurate and full information about the firms that they invest in. This will allow them to respond in real time to developments in the company and to prevent losses. This will also make it difficult to cheat them - which is were we come to the question of accounting standards. Only lately have the accounting rules in Macedonia been revised to conform to the Western systems of accounting. Even now, the similarity is very slight. Macedonian firms maintain a double accounting system. One set of books is tax-driven. It is intended to show losses or profits at the whim of the management. An elaborate scheme of hidden reserves lies at the heart of the typical financial statements of the Macedonian firm. Another set of books - if they are kept at all - reflects reality. This is an enormous barrier to foreign investment - and foreign investors are the driving force in every modern stock exchange.

The trust of investors in the stock exchange is based on legislation to protect their property rights against the firm's management' against the authorities and against other investors who might wish to rig the market or manipulate the prices of stocks.

But legislation without an effective judicial and law enforcement systems is like a stock exchange without money. To enforce property rights in Macedonia takes ages and even then the outcome is not certain. Laws, regulations are in their embryonic stage and some of them seem to have had an abortion: they were hastily and unwisely copied verbatim from legal codices of other countries (Germany, Britain).

Last - but definitely not least - is the existence of a fair, transparent and non-corrupt marketplace. The stock exchange, the banks, the regulatory authorities, the police and the courts have to be above suspicion. For the market to be utterly efficient - it must be utterly free of any ulterior considerations and motives. Corruption distorts the market's allocative mechanisms and powers. It is easily discernible in dealings in the stock exchange for all to see. A stock exchange is, after all, the showcase of the local economy.

But there is a problem which towers above all other problems and it is almost endemic to Macedonia. It helps to explain much of the predicament of the stock exchange in Skopje. It is the fact that the market is missing its most important player: the Government.

Investors - both foreign and domestic - look for the Government to be active in the local stock exchange. Governments throughout the world use their stock exchanges to sell shares of state-owned enterprises to their populace. The stock exchange becomes a mechanism for the distribution of the national wealth - as embodied by the state owned enterprises - to all the citizens. As we said before, governments also use the stock exchange to borrow money from their citizens.

The Government of Macedonia does neither. It totally ignores the MSE. Not one company was privatized through the MSE. Not one Denar was borrowed from a Macedonian citizen through it. A government's activity in the stock exchange is proof that the government believes in it. Therefore, if it does not operate in the stock exchange - it proves that it does not believe in it. If the government does not believe in the stock exchange in its own country - why should the investors believe in it?

There are a few additional structural characteristics which are considered to be the hallmarks of a healthy stock exchange. But those are the by-products of all the above mentioned conditions.

A stock exchange must be liquid so that investors would be able to convert their shares into cash easily and expediently. It must include many investment options - professionally put, it must be diversified. This will allow the investors to choose from a variety of investments and also to reduce their risks by dividing their money among a few types of investments.

The management of the stock exchange can help it by introducing efficient trading techniques, computerized trading and settlement systems and so on. The faster investors meet their money when they sell their shares - the more they will be inclined to operate in the stock exchange that allows them that. The easier it is for them to liquidate their assets by meeting buyers - the more they will prefer to work in that stock exchange.

Investing in the stock exchanges in the markets of the emerging economies has been an unfortunate decision in the last three years. Stock exchanges from Russia to Hungary and from Lithuania to Poland have jeered wildly since the end of 1993.

They resembled a roller coaster in their performance, going up and down by tens of percents annually. There are exceptions to this rule. The Ljubljana Stock exchange, for instance. The trading volume there has gone up 10 times since December 1993 - and the market capitalization is up 30 times. But this is because of the performance of the general economy in Slovenia. In Croatia, the government is privatizing its holdings in state owned companies by auctioning shares to the public through the Zagreb Stock Exchange. This has helped it a lot.

Newly-established stock exchanges are highly volatile and very dangerous. Volatility goes hand in hand with risk. They are long term investments. Since 1988, they outperformed the more established stock exchanges in the world, like Wall Street.

But these stock exchanges are growing fast, they are cheap by any measure and they are the best investment that a country can make in its own future.

Saturday, February 16, 2008

The Funniest Real Estate Blunders

In existent estate it pays to maneuver clear of blunders. Every Agent will state you so, adding also with a very serious, monochromatic facial expression the similar normally reserved for wedding ceremonies or funerals, that bloopers in existent estate are very costly. What not every Agent will state you, however, is that sometimes we - the Agents - are the 1s making the blunders. I was reviewing the other twenty-four hours a aggregation of very amusing newspaper advertisements I have got gathered throughout my 18 old age of existent estate practice. Today it is very easy to rectify an mistake on the Internet with just a couple of chinks of the mouse. But only a few short old age ago we did not have got the benefit of computing machines with all the whistlings and bells like websites, blogs, electronic newssheets and ads. The electronic epoch was in its babyhood and the World of Real Number Estate was primarily a printed world. Which meant that a blundered newspaper ad, for example, was going to be delivered into each and every household in town before it could be corrected, much to the hurt of the author. And in the drift and emphasis of existent estate sales and sometimes merely for an copiousness of zeal, some of those advertisements did not attain the intended results. You be the judge ...

[] CENTRALLY LOCATED

"Location .. Location .. This property is conveniently located with Gross Canada only two short blocks to the south, the infirmary only one short block to the North and the graveyard right across the street."

[] CENTRALLY LOCATED ... IN THE INTERIOR

"This flat composite is located in the centre of town, surrounded by all modern comforts and with Safeway only a short two-hour drive away".

[] WHISTLES AND BELLS

"Furthermore this very mulct house come ups with all the whistlings and bells you tin possibly imagine, including the presence door".

[] HOW HIGH IS IT ?

"From the luscious life country measure outside the large, stone-covered, wrap-around balcony where you can enjoy the most amazing, breathtaking, 270-degree position of Canada".

[] LEAVE THEM IN THE CAR ...

"Additionally this unfastened layout flat come ups with the sole usage of one resistance parking where you can securely parkland your car with your inlaws".

[] ENGLISH arsenic Type Type Type Type A SECOND LANGUAGE ...

"The life room is bordered by the unfastened wall which coupled by the crystal floor-to-ceiling divisory divider heightens the capaciousness and brightness of the country so that practically anyone can be laid down".

[] PERFECT FOR Robinson CRUSOE ...

"Enjoy the sundowns from the acreage of this wonderful, pristine island estate, with the ferryboats passing on the apparent horizon once a week".

[] THE FASTEST guns IN THE West ...

"This dramatic house was built by the celebrated Sahota Brothers, Amrit and Jill, in less than a month".

[] A VERY SMALL MAID

"The kitchen communicates with an approximately 8' by 7' room that can be used as larder or can easily be adhibited as living living quarters for the maid".

[] SHE IS departure TO NEED A LADDER

"Grandma will no doubt enjoy the ceiling-mounted wall socket, perfect for plugging in the Fe while watching TV".

[] THIS ONE IS REALLY, REALLY NEW

"This mulct property is still on the drawing board, building will get in mid-June and it's never been used before".

[] LEAVE THEM IN THE GARAGE

"The detached garage is fully functional and self-sufficient and can be used to park your cars or as a invitee suite for the inlaws".

[] START YOUR HOME BUSINESS

"The manicured backyard which is second to none boundary lines with the United States and is, therefore, a smuggler's paradise".

[] A little TIGHT, PERHAPS ?

"Don't be fooled by the square footage. This studio will easily suit yourself, the wife, the children and your pets all in the same room".

[] HOW many bash YOU NEED ?

"There is a master sleeping room on the chief floor, a master sleeping room on the upper flooring and a master sleeping room downstairs. They will do a Frenchman pale".

And here are some very good grounds for hiring them:

"With me existent estate is not an art: it is an escapade !"

"List with British Shilling Bye - The Guy with the Tie".

"I am not only your Realtor! I am your boyfriend!"

"I am not only passionate about existent estate, not only passionate about your house: I am passionate about you !"

"My marketing program is very simple and efficient: I will show you the offers and then will dispose of them all".

"My slogan is not integrity, not credibility, not sincerity: my slogan is you and me !"

"Your friendly vicinity expert. And I cognize the whole town too !"

"I will get you the highest possible terms - if not, it could not be done".

"If I can' deoxythymidine monophosphate sell your house in four months, by then you will remain with me for another four months".

Luigi Frascati

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Buyback Versus Dividend

There are two ways company can give out its profit to shareholders. One is to give out dividends. The other is to buy back its own stocks. Which one is more appropriate? This article will explore the topic further.

The American tax law give a slight edge to stock buybacks. It is taxed once before the company decide to use its profit for stock buyback. (Every profit in a corporation is normally taxed). Dividend payment meanwhile is taxed twice. Once when the corporation reports a profit. Twice, when the shareholders receive it as an income. Most recently, investors receiving dividend income are taxed at rate of 15%.

So, does stock buy back is always advantageous to dividend payment? No, not really. It really depends on what price the company buys its own stock. If a company buys back its stock when the stock price is relatively overvalued, then it is better to distribute it as dividends. Shareholders can then appropriately invest it in undervalued investments.

So, at what point will dividend make much more sense? This all goes back to the fair value of the common stock itself. In a 4.5% interest rate environment, stock trading at a fair value is yielding 7.5% ( a Price Earning Ratio of 13.3 ). This assumes a 0% growth in earning. Therefore, it is desirable for companies to buy back its stock at a P/E of 13.3 or less.

But, wait. Since, dividend is taxed at a 15% rate, company that buys back its own stock at fair value will still saves shareholders 15%. Therefore, buyback still reward shareholder even when the common stock is 15 % overvalued. Based on this, company should continue buying back its stock only when the stock is trading at a P/E of (115% x 13.3) = 15.3. For a 0 % growth, it makes no sense for management to insist on buying back its stock that is trading at a P/E higher than 15.3.

One recent example is Intel Corporation (INTC) which initiates a $ 25 Billion intelligent stock buyback on Thursday Nov 10th 2005. At current price of $ 26.16 and $ 2.24 positive net cash on the balance sheet, Intel is buying back its stock at a forward P/E of 16.72. While this is a high P/E to buyback stock for a company that is not growing, Intel is not a 0% growth stock. Analysts generally expect Intel to grow its earning by 15.5% for the next five years.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Emotion In Investing

Humans are all emotional being. We do not always make decisions rationally. Emotion is part of us as investors. Investors might feel better towards stocks at certain point or they might feel that owning stocks are risky and avoid it at all cost.

Investors may also feel attached towards a specific company and continue owning the stock without regards to its fundamental. For example, you might like Google's search engine so much that you decide to buy the stock at $ 350 without doing any research. You figure that Google's search engine is so much better that buying the stock will give you profit, right? Wrong. Now, I am not here to bash Google as an investment, but analyzing an investment goes beyond the products and companies. Most investors can identify good companies and products. It is quite easy. You know that a Mercedes is a better car than a Ford or a Civic.

The next question is how much should you pay for a Mercedes or a Civic? This requires us to put aside our emotion for a second and think clearly. Sure, you'd like to have a Mercedes in your life. It is luxurious and have a lot more fancy features than a Civic has. But, that does not mean you should overpay for it. It works similar with stock investing.

Google is a good search engine, probably the best that is ever produced so far. Sure, you probably pay more for Google than other generic search engines. But, please don't over pay. You invest in Google to profit from it not because you like its products.

So, how do we eliminate emotion from our investing decision? We can't eliminate it completely but there are certainly tools that might help. One is to calculate the fair value of a common stock that you are investing in. I covered this plenty of times but basically, the fair value of an investment is dependent upon the streams of profit generated by it. In the long run, if company A earns more than company B, then company A will be valued more than company B.

For a company that is growing such as Google, you can incorporate its growth and calculate the fair value with growth. I have talked about this once and you are welcomed to check our commentary section.

I know I don't exactly give you the best solution to the problem. Emotion is hard to ignore. I am not immune to that. But following your emotion will cost you a lot of money. Just watch those investors that bought during the NASDAQ peak in 2000. Don't follow the herd and keep your focus on the fair value of your stock. You will do really really well.

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Salary and Benefits Basics

In today’s scenario when the escalating terms are touching the sky, it goes indispensable that your wage is able to supply you a satisfactory life in which all your basic necessities and a small more than than that are comfortably met. But this actually makes not happen. The wage construction comes on on a snail’s gait while the terms of trade goodss scale of measurement new heights. The inquiry is what an individual should make in such as a situation. The reply is the fringe benefits or the benefits that a company offers with the basic salary. The fringe benefits that are supplemented with the basic wage are a beginning of relief. A occupation that offers a basic wage of $90,000 per annum without any fillip should be discarded for a occupation that brings you $84,000 with monthly benefits.

These fringe benefits are of import not just for the money factor but for the important facets that they account for during our life. For case the dental insurance takes care for all the disbursals related to dental problems that the employee faces after joining the company. Thus, fringe benefits impart the employee a more than or less carefree life. They supply him with the biggest aid i.e. financial and that too in some of the most expensive areas. Hence, fringe benefits are unbelievably significant.

But all the companies and businesses make not offer these benefits. Moreover, the sorts of benefits change from workplace to workplace. Like the bank employees are benefited with medical assistance, travel fringe benefits during vacations, insurance etc. Whereas many a multinational companies and corps supply fringe benefits on day-to-day footing that primarily include the disbursal of nutrient and commuting charges.

Some of the chiefly important and common benefits are listed below-

• 401(k) plan—is meant to alleviate the employee from the load of taxation by the government. This program is too fruitful in the long tally for it enables the employee to do good stabilized nest egg throughout his job. This benefit is available lone to those workings in the private and not the authorities sector.

• 403(b) plan—is also of enormous assists in economy money for retirement that is purged of all taxation but only till the clip of its withdrawal. For once an individual retires and starts using the money from the 403(b) account, the income through it will be subject to regular taxation. There are certain other differences also between the 401(k) and 403 (b) plans. The 403(b) program is meant for those who are employed under as per the Internal Revenue Service definition of businesses that are organized and working specifically for the religious, charitable, public safety testing, scientific, literary or educational purposes. Besides this the 401(k) pan allows investing in pillory while the 403(b) makes not.

• Insurance facility- many employers bestow their employees with the insurance benefits. These benefits are extremely utile during the time period when the employee is incapable to work and needs financial assistance by sitting at home. Some companies offer full insurance coverage to their employees while there are others that supply with a comparatively limited coverage to the new recruitments. This coverage however gradually increases with the workings old age of the worker. Under the insurance installation are also included insurances like- disablement insurance, dental insurance, short and long term disablement etc.

• Healthcare benefits are included in the compensation package. There are assorted healthcare packages with different scope. The usual wellness care programs are HMOs, PPOs, and POSs.

• Vacation packages are also offered annually by some companies. In this benefit the company supplies you with a certain amount of money that you can use in holidaying with your family. In lawsuit a trip is not on your itinerary, the money can move as a saving, as per the regulations of the company.

• The Rupture Package is active under the state of affairs when the individual loses his occupation without any of his fault. This is not just extremely helpful to the employee but also salvages any sort of legal action against the employer.

• Besides these, many multinational companies function their efficient and important employees with a house, free phone phone calls and pick and driblet facilities.

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Greed Hits the Mailbox

Nearly every investor have them in the mail: glossy and usually colourful praseodymium pieces, disguised as investing research, which are really nil more than boosters out to convert you to purchase their stock “on the land floor.”

Many publicities offer unrealistic additions in very short amounts of clip to lure the reader to go on reading. Some suggest “if the thought of turning $1,000 into $11,200 entreaties to you, read this report.” Others claim “we believe this $10,000 investing in (for example, XYZ oil) will be deserving $30,000 this twelvemonth alone, and could turn to over $100,000 within the adjacent 2 to 3 years.”

Clearly these suggestions of great wealth are not made by legitimate investing advisors. Unfortunately, this underhand and misleading dohickey causes many eager investors to put in nearly worthless securities.

If you are bitten by the bug of quick profits, here are a few tips that could salvage you from a bad investment.

• First, understand the motivation of the mailing piece. Many mailing pieces are motivated by the need to pump up the stock terms so that person could sell their shares at a better price.

• Secondly, make your homework. Don’t take the mailing pieces claims as true. This is exactly what they desire you to do. Don’t trust investing research from an unknown region source. Bash your ain research. There are many online beginnings of information that you should check. If you utilize an online broker, you may be able to type in the stock symbol and draw up financial information, recent news, fourth estate releases, and authorities filings of the company (called 10q or 10k). Read the authorities filings first. These have got the best opportunity of being true about the company’s activities. You may happen that the huge oil resources the Mailer claims make not exist. Sometimes the company in inquiry have no proved militia and no cash to happen reserves. No matter the industry, companies need cash to develop merchandise and to operate.

• Next, check out a terms chart of the stock. If the terms plunged, there is most likely a good ground for that to have got happened. If the terms is increasing at a rapid rate, it could be a consequence of the ballyhoo generated by the mail piece. You may desire to give the stock a few hebdomads or calendar months to calm down down from the recent publicity before you buy.

If you happen that you still desire to have the stock, travel slowly. Everyone cognizes that investment takes time. Protect yourself. Never plunk down an amount of money that you cannot afford to lose entirely. Your initial purchase should be a small percentage of the overall amount you desire to invest. If the stock executes well, you could always purchase a small more. If the stock turns into a loser, stop. Don’t bargain more. “Penny” pillory can quickly go worthless.

Finally, analyse your actions. Are your pickings a businesslike attack to your investing or are you letting your emotions, particularly greed, determine your actions? Those who put too quickly or by greed are prostrate to making unsighted determinations and be given to panic when the market turns against them. When it come ups to investing, leave of absence your emotions somewhere else. Stay calm, be analytical, and don’t believe all the nonsensicality and rumours that come up your way.

In the end, boosters are paid to make what looks to be a great investing chance that waterfall directly into your lap. Just maintain in head that there are many good investing chances out there, but they don’t usually come up knocking on your door, especially not with vivacious colours and outrageous claims. Think about it: If these companies were this good, they wouldn’t need to make wild and misleading claims to get your attention. The best advice may be some of the oldest – If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Protect yourself by researching claims. We work hard to earn our money. There are many legitimate, solid growth companies with proved path records of success for you to put in. You really don’t need the hazards associated with doubtful penny pillory to do money.

Tuesday, February 05, 2008

The Stock Market Investor's Worst Enemy

Every stock market investor confronts one primal enemy. An enemy so perverse, it will drive thousands of investors from the stock market through its ability to overcome even the most adept investing strategy. Who is this enemy you ask? Your arch nemesis, in this case, travels by the name E. Motions…don’t inquire me what the “E” stand ups for.

Emotions are the drive military unit behind every stock market cycle. Quite simply, if they weren’t nowadays in the stock market, investors could be reaping rewards based solely on the expanding or receding economy, and professional bargainers wouldn’t have got any juicy net income from those emotional errors to grab.

Here is an illustration scenario:

Let’s state that you’ve done your homework, read the books, traded on paper, and now you’re making your fondest dreaming come up true by investment in the market and making money!

You maturely attack losings as portion of the learning curve. You’ve experienced your share of them but your wins are still in the lead, thanks to the committedness you made of not deviating from your chosen strategy. Euphoria sit downs on your shoulder.

One day, after 3 frustrating hours in traffic, you get home to happen changes. You cognize that you should follow your strategy, but Stress and Greed are in charge. You’re purchasing and merchandising outside your strategy, but are confident that it will be Oklahoma – just this once.

Now terms are dropping and Fear comes in the room.

Fear attacks every investor’s self-confidence with a rapacious need for control. You pass sleepless nighttimes listening to his mantra - you don’t cognize what you’re doing.

Fear and Greed are now dictating the strategy. Self-confidence is on the critical list. Reason and Caution are under attack and are losing.

You disregard the primary investing regulation of purchasing low, selling high because you’ve lost too much and have got to recoup. You close your eyes and honkytonk in to retrieve your losses. “It volition work,” states Greed on your right. “It have to work!” reacts Fear on your left.

Your spouse have now entered the affray and is hounding you about the lost money. Your capital is almost gone. You erred grievously and invested money that you need now. Margin phone calls are being made. You’re out of control.

While the constituents of the above scenario will change, the accelerator of this incubus stays the same – emotions. You’ll last the nightmare, but the experience will forever change you. Fear will shadiness every hereafter stock market determination and severely restrict your ability to objectively measure any investing chance out of fearfulness that you’ll lose again. But, it doesn’t have got to be that way.

Developing a strategy to deal with emotions can give you a winning edge.

Here’s how:

Don’t travel into the stock market to experience good about yourself.

Always expression outside of the stock market for self-gratification and affirmation.

Make a committedness to lodge to your chosen action program or strategy. Don’t deviate.

When a loss occurs, analyze it and learn from it. Don’t attempt to get even.

Think before you jump into anything

If you are stressed out, vulnerable, or overly emotional (high or low), make not trade. It’s not deserving the financial risk.

Remember, the cardinal isn’t denying or curbing your emotions, but instead understanding how they impact your investing determinations and developing a strategy to work with them.

Related Articles:

Are you overwhelmed by all of the online stock information on the net? One of these 2 articles may be of help:

Internet Stock Investing

Trading Pillory Online

Saturday, February 02, 2008

Are You Looking For A Financial Planner?

A financial contriver is an individual who manages the money of a family, a grouping or a business. They will supply you with the knowledge that you need about which are the right investments, how to manage them and what you need to make to be put for retirement, college, or to purchase your first home. A financial contriver is quite necessary in this twenty-four hours and age. If you make not have got one, though, you may not really cognize what to look for in those that you can take from.

Here are some helpful suggestions on things to see about the financial contriver for your needs:

• You need quality. Simply, you are putting your money into person else’s custody and you need to happen a professional who will make his or her best at managing it. They need to be able to supply you with a program that shows how they can assist you. They need to have got got experience and show you what they have done in the past for others.

• You need to be able to pass on with them on many levels. At first, you’ll need them to be able to understand your needs and desires and they need to supply you with a program that you can follow. They also need to be available if you have got inquiries or problems come up up. You can state if the financial contriver is committed to this just in your first meeting with them.

• You also need to hold on the same principals. If you experience that the financial contriver is simply trying to do money, you are less likely to swear them. Brand certain that you take the clip to happen those financial contrivers that are on the same page as you.

When you make all of these things, your experience in choosing a financial contriver will lead to a good choice.