Negotiating with Your Lender
Produced By: moneytalks on 21 Apr 2008
Tags: news money talks personal (more...)finance save loan lender debt credit investing negotiate mortgage (less)
Description: You're behind on your mortgage, and you (more...) want to save your house. It's time to talk turkey with your lender. But what do you say and who do you say it to? (less)

Paying Down Mortgage vs Investing Your Money
Produced By: moneytalks on 04 Feb 2008
Tags: news money talks consumer (more...)finance personal save mortgage invest house (less)
Description: You've got a little extra cash coming (more...) in...do you invest it, or would it be smarter to pay extra on your mortgage? Let's find out: simple answers to complex questions: that's coming up on Money Talks. (less)

Freeing Yourself of Credit Card Debt
Added on: 15 May 2008
Tags: Marketplace Marketplace Money (more...) Tess Vigeland Chris Farrell taxes money public radio business economics finance investing marketplace takeout work jobs video (less)
Description: Chris Farrell shares some creative tips (more...) on how to get out and stay out of debt from overusing the plastic. One idea: Make your credit card a frozen asset. (less)

CARE About Bankruptcy
Produced By: moneytalks on 30 Jan 2008
Tags: news bankruptcy education care (more...)students learning family debt (less)
Description: There's been a lot of talk...and some (more...) action...lately when it comes to helping people over their heads in debt. But maybe if these lessons were learned earlier, there would be less need for intervention today. (less)

Changing Your Credit Score
Produced By: moneytalks on 19 Mar 2008
Tags: news money talks consumer (more...)finance personal fiar issac credit score fico banking (less)
Description: If you borrow money, you probably know (more...) that your credit score is important. The company behind credit scoring, Fair Issac, recently announced changes in the way they'll soon be doing it. (less)

49. Trading The Martingale and Anti Martingale Strategies
Produced By: InformedTrades on 24 Jan 2008
Tags: howto trade trading martingale (more...)antimartingale daytrade investing money forex futures stockmarket informedtrades (less)
Description: http://www.informedtrades.com A lesson (more...) on the two different categories that position sizing strategies fall into when used in the forex, futures, and stock market. ur last lesson we looked at how most traders pick a standard amount to trade per certain amount of equity in their account and how this probably isn't the best way to maximize profits and minimize losses of a potential strategy. In today's lesson we are going to look at the two categories that most position sizing strategies fall into which are known as martingale strategies and anti martingale strategies. A position sizing strategy which incorporates the martingale technique is basically any strategy which increases the trade size as a trade moves against the trader or after a losing trade. On the flip side a position sizing strategy which incorporates the anti martingale technique is basically any strategy which increases the trade size as the trade moves in the traders favor or after a winning trade. The most basic martingale strategy is one in which the trader trades a set position size at the beginning of his trading strategy and then double's the size of his trades after each unprofitable trade, returning back to the original position size only after a profitable trade. Using this strategy no matter how large the string of losing trades a trader faces, on the next winning trade they will make up all their losses plus a profit equal to the profit on their original trade size. As an example lets say that a trader is using a strategy on the full size EUR/USD Forex contract that takes profits and losses both at the 200 point level (I like using the EUR/USD Forex contract because it has a fixed point value of $1 per contract for mini forex contracts and $10 per contract for full sized contracts but the example is the same for any instrument) The trader starts with $100,000 in his account and decides that his starting position size will be 3 contracts (300,000) and that he will use the basic martingale strategy to place his trades. Using the below 10 trades here is how it would work: example As you can see from the above example although the trader was down significantly going into the 10th trade, as the 10th trade was profitable he made up all the his losses plus a brought the account profitable by the equity high of the account plus original profit target of $6000. At first glance the above method can seem very sound and people often point to their perception that the chances of having a winning trade increase after a string of loosing trades. Mathematically however the large majority of strategies work like flipping a coin, in that the chances of having a profitable trade on the next trade is completely independent of how many profitable or unprofitable trades one has leading up to that trade. As when flipping a coin no matter how many times you flip heads the chances of flipping tails on the next flip of the coin are still 50/50. The second problem with this method is that it requires an unlimited amount of money to ensure success. Looking at our trade example again but replacing the last trade with another loosing trade instead of a winner, you can see that the trader is now in a position where, at the normal $1000 per contract margin level required, he does not have enough money in his account to put up the necessary margin which is required to initiate the next 48 contract position. Example So while the pure martingale strategy and variations of it can produce successful results for extended periods of time, as I hope the above shows, odds are that it will eventually end up in blowing ones account completely. With this in mind the large majority of successful traders that I have seen follow anti martingale strategies which increase size when trades are profitable, never when unprofitable, and these are the methods which I will be covering starting in tomorrow's lesson. (less)

55. The Business Cycle and Fiscal Policy - What Traders Know
Produced By: InformedTrades on 12 Feb 2008
Tags: howto trade trading economy (more...)fundamental analysis daytrade investing business forex futures stockmarket informedtrades (less)
Description: http://www.informedtrades.com/ A lesson (more...) on the business cycle and how the government uses fiscal policy to try and keep growth going and inflation in check and what this means for traders of the stock, futures, and forex markets. Fiscal policy can be defined for our purposes very simply as anything relating to government spending and taxation. Before looking at the fiscal policy role of government in trying to influence the economy, one must first have an understanding of the business cycle. For a number of reasons which are widely debated the economy goes through repeated periods of growth and contraction over time which can be broken down into the following phases. 1. A Contraction where economic activity and growth slows and can turn negative 2. Trough where the economy stops contracting and a new expansion begins 3. An Expansion or the speeding up of economic growth. 4. A Peak where the growth of the economy maxes out and begins to turn downward We could spend many months going over and debating why this is but for our purposes it is simply important to understand that, while the timing and length of each of these phases has varied widely, the above pattern repeats itself over and over again throughout history. This is important for us as traders to understand as different phases of the business cycle and changes in peoples forecasts of where the economy is in those cycles is arguably the greatest factor which effects the price level of every market. Prior to the great depression the US Government had a pretty hands off approach in regards to the business cycle. Since the great depression however the government has played a much more active role in the economy with its stated goals being to act to facilitate full employment and price stability. To help understand these goals and the balancing act that goes on between them as they often conflict, lets look at how each relates to the different phases of the business cycle. 1. During an expansion we start to see more people employed as companies begin to sell more goods and services and need to hire more people to keep up with the demand. As economic growth picks up and more people are employed there are more people spending their paychecks which can cause prices to rise, something also known as inflation. Because of this effect on prices the government's primary concern here will normally be trying to keep prices stable and inflation in check without hurting economic growth. The two things they can do in regards to Fiscal Policy to try and keep prices in check and inflation at bay are: a. Raise Taxes: By raising taxes money is taken away from the consumer who now has less money to spend helping to counteract the demand that is pushing prices up and causing inflation. and/or (less)

50. How to Set Trade Position Size for Maximum Profits
Produced By: InformedTrades on 25 Jan 2008
Tags: howto trade trading position (more...)sizing daytrade investing money finance business forex futures stockmarket informedtrades (less)
Description: http://www.informedtrades.com/ A leIn (more...) yesterday's lesson we talked about the martingale and anti martingale methods of trading which are the two categories which position sizing methodologies fall into. In today's lesson we are going to talk about one of the most basic anti martingale strategies, which is discussed in Dr. Van K. Tharp's book Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom, the Percent Risk Model. The first step in determining your position size using this method is to decide how much you are going to risk on each trade in terms of a percentage of your trading capital. As we have discussed in our previous lessons on setting stop losses, studies have proven that over the long term traders who risk more than 2% of their capital on any one trade normally are not successful over the long term. Another factor to consider here when setting this percentage are things such as the win rate (how many winning trades) your system is expected to have versus the number of losing trades as well as other components which we will discuss in future lessons. Once this loss in percentage terms has been determined, setting your stop then becomes a function of knowing how large a position can be traded while still being below your maximum risk level. As an example lets say you have $100,000 in trading capital and you have determined from analyzing your strategy that 2% or $2000 (2%*$100,000) of your trading capital is an appropriate amount to risk per trade. When analyzing the Crude Oil Futures market you spot an opportunity to sell crude at $90 a barrel at which point you feel there is a good chance it will trade down to at least $88 a barrel. You have also spotted a strong resistance point at just below $91 a barrel and feel that 91 is a good level to place your stop and also gives you a reward to risk ratio of 2 to 1. From trading crude oil you know that a 1 cent or 1 point move in the market equals $10 per contract. So analyzing further to determine your position size you would multiply $10 times the number of points your stop is away from your entry price (in this case 100) and you would come up with $1000 in risk per contract. Lastly you divide the total dollar amount you are willing to risk by your total risk per contract ($2000 total risk/$1000 risk per contract) to get the number of contracts which you can place on this trade (in this case 2 contracts) As Dr. Van K. Tharp Points out in his book Trade Your Way to Financial Freedom, the advantages of this style of position sizing are that it allows both large and small accounts to grow steadily and that it equalizes the performance in the portfolio by the actual risk. As he also points out the disadvantages of this system are that it will require you to reject some trades because they are too risky (ie you will not have enough money in your account to trade the minimum contract size while staying under your maximum risk level) and that there is no way to know for sure what the actual amount you are risking will be because of slippage which can result in dramatic differences in performance when trading larger positions or using tight stops. That completes our lesson for today. In tommorow's lesson we will look at another position sizing model which is known as the Percent Volatility Method. sson on the % Risk Model of setting position sizes for active traders of the forex, futures, and stock markets. (less)

Mortgage Help: Talk is Cheap
Produced By: moneytalks on 18 Apr 2008
Tags: news money talks personal (more...)finance mortgage real estate home foreclosure bankruptcy government house (less)
Description: With foreclosures and bankruptcies (more...) soaring nationwide, both government and private industry have been promising help to homeowners. But is that help materializing? (less)

53. A Simple Explanation of the US Economy for Traders
Produced By: InformedTrades on 31 Jan 2008
Tags: howto trade trading economy (more...)fundamental analysis daytrade investing business forex futures stockmarket informedtrades (less)
Description: http://www.informedtrades.com/ An (more...) overview of the US Economy and the first two components of the economy which are natural resources and the labor force. Explanation meant for traders of the forex, futures, and stock markets. In our last lesson we gave an introduction to fundamental analysis with an introduction to the top down approach to analyzing fundamentals and the US Economy. In today's lesson we are going to expand our discussion on the US economy by looking at the different pieces which make up the economy and how each piece is relevant to us as traders of the stock, futures, and/or forex markets. The first component of any economy is its natural resources. One of the key factors that allowed the United States to grow so quickly and become one of the world powers that it is today, is that it is a land that is rich in natural resources from oil which drives our industry, to lumber to build our houses, to our large coastlines, great lakes, and rivers which provide shipping access and move goods throughout the country. Understanding what natural resources are most important to a country and understanding what affects the prices of those resources is beneficial to not only commodities traders who trade the actual commodities such as oil and gold but also to traders of the stock and forex markets. We will go into these correlations in more detail in later lessons but a short example is that the US economy relies heavily on oil, so when the price of oil goes higher this is normally seen as a negative for the US Economy as it then costs more for companies to ship their goods, and for individuals to fill up their cars leaving them less money to spend. Similarly, as the US Imports much of its oil, when the price of oil goes up this means that more dollars are being sold and converted into the currencies of the countries which are exporting the oil to the US, therefore all else being equal weakening the US Dollar and strengthening the currency of the exporting country. The next component of any economy is its labor force, or the individuals who are working in that economy to produce goods and services from the countries natural resources. As the labor force in an economy gets paid for their labor, and then spends that money on the goods and services they and other components of the labor force have produced, they are an important driver of growth in any economy. The components which are watched in regards to labor are the size of the labor force in an economy, its rate of growth, its productivity level, and its skill level, and its mobility or ability to adapt to changing conditions. Another reason why the United States has the largest economy in the world is the size of its labor force is constantly growing allowing the economy to produce and sell more goods and services, it is a relatively mobile labor force which has allowed it to increase productivity faster than other nations through things such as early adoption of new technology, and it is an educated labor force. Why is this important from a trading standpoint? Here again we will go into more detail on this when we look at important economic numbers but a short example is if the labor force becomes more productive, this means that they are able to produce more goods in the same amount of time. This not only makes companies more profitable but it holds down prices for the consumer, giving them more money to spend on other goods and services, which drives growth, which means a higher stock market all else being equal. This increased growth can cause higher demand for commodities therefore causing the commodities markets to rally all else being equal, and can also have interest rate implications, something we will learn about in later lessons, which can affect the US Dollar. (less)

Cutting Debt: Tips From Pros
Produced By: moneytalks on 14 Jan 2008
Tags: news debt saving money (more...)finance investing new year secret (less)
Description: Was one of your resolutions to pay off (more...) some debt this year? Secrets to pay off that debt from some of the pros... (less)

Lending Money to Family: The Legal Way
Produced By: moneytalks on 25 Jan 2008
Tags: news family loans investing (more...)money finance friends (less)
Description: There are few people who haven't (more...) considered a loan from a family member. But before you tread this potentially perilous path, consider getting some outside help... (less)

Debit vs Credit
Produced By: moneytalks on 25 Nov 2007
Tags: debit credit money finance (more...)interest dollar shopping (less)
Description: 2006 was the fist year that saw debit (more...) card purchases topped the 1 trillion dollar mark. But when you head to the store, which kind of plastic is best...debit or credit? According to money reporter Stacy Johnson, it's a question of interest. (less)

Home Equity vs Line of Credit
Produced By: moneytalks on 07 Apr 2008
Tags: news money talks personal (more...)finance save home equity credit mortgage investing loan real estate (less)
Description: While the credit crunch has made (more...) borrowing for... or against... your home more difficult, home equity loans and lines of credit remain popular for those with equity. Stacy Johnson explains what these loans do and if you should consider them. (less)

Finding Help With Your Money
Produced By: moneytalks on 11 Jan 2008
Tags: news finance fiscal fitness (more...)finding help debt saving credit investing money (less)
Description: If your list of New Year's resolutions (more...) includes 'Paying Down Debt', or 'Saving More Money', then you're in the right place. Today money reporter Stacy Johnson begins his series on Fiscal Fitness '08 with some advice on finding help. (less)

Determining the Fate of the US Dollar, Part III
Produced By: InformedTrades on 05 Jun 2008
Tags: currency trading forex foreign (more...)exchange us dollar value monetary policy rate (less)
Description: http://www.informedtrades.com A look (more...) at the US dollar and the primary factors that traders need to consider when evaluating its long term value. The final video in our three part series on this subject. (less)

Barometre des taux de credit immobilier
Produced By: empruntis on 10 Jun 2009
Tags: credit argent (more...)immobilier consommation (less)
Description: la baisse des taux de credit immobilier (more...) semble se confirmer pour le mois de juin 2009 (less)

Subprime Crisis: The Role of Off Balance Sheet Entities
Produced By: InformedTrades on 19 Mar 2008
Tags: mortgage housepricecrash subprime sub-prime (more...)cdo crash offbalancesheet stockmarket financial (less)
Description: http://www.informedtrades.com The first (more...) lesson in a three part mini course on intermediate topics relating to the subprime financial crisis. In this lesson we cover the basics of what are off balance sheet entities? (less)

58. What Traders Need to Know About The Structure of The Fed
Produced By: InformedTrades on 18 Feb 2008
Tags: howto trade trading economy (more...)fed federalreserve daytrade investing business forex futures stockmarket informedtrades (less)
Description: http://www.informedtrades.com A lesson (more...) on the structure of the Federal reserve for traders and investors in the stock, futures, and forex markets. In our last lesson we finalized our discussion on the importance of interest rates and introduced the Federal Reserve. In today's lesson we're going to continue our discussion on the Federal Reserve by looking at the parts of the Fed which are relevant to us as traders so we can begin to understand how this one institution is able to create drastic moves in the markets. The Federal Reserve has many responsibilities which include regulating banking activity, playing a major role in operating the nation's payments system, and maintaining the stability of the financial system. The role that is most important to us as traders and therefore the role in which we will concentrate on in our lessons, is its role in conducting the nation's monetary policy. ***As a side note here the Federal Reserve is also the Central Bank of the United States. I say this here because most countries have something which operates in much the same way as the Fed which is many times referred to in other countries as the Central Bank. While these institutions may be structured differently from the Fed, from a broad perspective many of the things you learn in our lessons on monetary policy will apply to any central bank. While the Fed's objectives are set by law, its day to day activities are not subject to government approval. This is an important point to understand as it means that unlike Fiscal Policy, which must be approved by both Congress and the President, monetary policy can be enacted as the Fed pleases. This gives the Fed much more control over the economy at least in the short term, and is the reason why some people consider the chairman of the Federal Reserve to be more powerful than even the President. There are many interesting details about The Fed and its structure that I encourage everyone to explore, however the primary components which move markets, and are therefore the ones that we will focus on, are: 1. The Board of Governors: Located in Washington DC the Board of Governors is at the top of The Fed's food chain. It is made up of 7 members who are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. To help keep The Fed from being influenced by political factors, 5 of the Fed Governors are appointed to staggered 14 Year terms. The Chairman and the Vice Chairman are appointed to 4 year terms and can be reappointed should the President wish to have them. 2. The Regional Federal Reserve Banks: This is a network which includes the 12 regional Federal Reserve Banks, and 25 Branches. As most of you already know, different areas of the United States are comprised of different industries. As an example the New York area economy is influenced heavily by what is going on in financial services, while the San Francisco area economy is influenced heavily by what is happening in the technology sector. As this is the case, each of the regional banks are strategically located throughout the country so that the can stay abreast of current economic conditions in each area. (less)

Bad Insurance Buys
Produced By: moneytalks on 29 Oct 2007
Tags: insurance unncecessary save money (more...)news (less)
Description: Modern life isn't cheap... so it pays to (more...) make sure you're not wasting money on anything. And that includes insurance. Are you paying for unnecessary insurance? Money reporter Stacy Johnson helps you find out. (less)

52. Fundamental Analysis and The US Economy
Produced By: InformedTrades on 30 Jan 2008
Tags: howto trade trading economy (more...)fundamental analysis daytrade investing business forex futures stockmarket informedtrades (less)
Description: http://www.informedtrades.com/ A (more...) lesson on the basics of fundamental analysis, the top down and bottom up, and the US Economy for traders of the stock, futures, and forex markets. there are two ways that traders analyze the markets which are known as technical analysis and fundamental analysis. As I also mentioned in that lesson while most people who buy and sell over the short term focus on technical analysis and most people who buy and sell over the long term focus on fundamental analysis, in my opinion both technical traders, fundamental traders, and investors can all benefit from at least having an understanding of both types of analysis even if they prefer one or the other as their primary tool they use to make their trading decisions. While technical analysis focuses solely on the analysis of historical price action, fundamental analysis focuses on everything else including things such as the overall state of the economy, interest rates, production, earnings, and management. When analyzing a stock, currency or commodity using fundamental analysis there are two basic approaches one can use which are known as bottom up analysis and top down analysis. Bottom up analysis very simply means looking at the details such, as earnings if we are talking about a stock, first and then working one's way up to the larger picture by looking at things such as the industry of the company who's stock you are trading and then finally the overall economic picture. Top down analysis on the other hand means looking at the big picture things such as the economy first and then working one's way down to the details such as earnings if we are talking about a stock. While there is some debate about which method is best my personal preference is for Top Down analysis and since by starting this way we can start with the things that apply to all markets and not just the stock market this is how we will start. The first thing that it is important to understand from a fundamental standpoint is what the economic situation is as it affects the financial instrument you are trading. As I am based in the US and the US is the World's largest economy this is what I am going to talk about, however most of the things I discuss here apply in a broad sense to any economy. When we begin to discuss the foreign exchange market in later lessons we will go into specific details of the other major and emerging market economies from around the world. According to Investopedia.com the definition of an Economy is 'the large set of inter-related economic production and consumption activities which aid in determining how scarce resources are allocated. The economy encompasses everything relating to the production and consumption of goods and services in an area' People often refer to the US Economy as a capitalist or free market economy. A capitalist or free market economy in its most basic sense is one in which the production and distribution of goods and services is done primarily by private (non government) companies and the price for those goods is set by the free market. This is in contrast to a socialist or planned economy where production and distribution of goods and services as well as the pricing of those goods and services is handled by the government. (less)

Credit Counseling or Debt Settlement?
Produced By: moneytalks on 02 Apr 2008
Tags: news money talks personal (more...)finance save credit counseling debt settlement interest rate (less)
Description: You've seen the ads: credit counseling (more...) companies say they can help by getting your payments and interest rates lowered. Others claim they can get your debts wiped out entirely by settling them for pennies on the dollar. Money reporter Stacy Johnson takes an inside look at these companies. (less)

Best Gas Credit Cards
Produced By: moneytalks on 17 Aug 2007
Tags: Price gallon news money (more...)gasoline cost (less)
Description: You've tuned up your car, checked your (more...) tire pressure and done everything else you can think of to use less gas. Well, there may be a simple way to shave your bill by an additional 15 - 30 cents on every gallon. (less)

Credit Cards for Teens?
Produced By: moneytalks on 26 May 2008
Tags: news money talks consumer (more...)finance credit debt family teens card shopping (less)
Description: Want your teen to learn to use credit (more...) without risking a debt dilemma? Get a credit card with training wheels. (less)

57. What Traders Know About Interest Rates Part 2
Produced By: InformedTrades on 14 Feb 2008
Tags: howto trade interestrates economy (more...)fundamental analysis investing business forex futures stockmarket informedtrades (less)
Description: http://www.informedtrades.com/ The (more...) second lesson of two on interest rates, why they are so important to the stock market and to traders and investors in the stock, futures, and forex markets with an introduction to the Federal Reserve. In yesterday's lesson we began our discussion on Monetary Policy with a look at one of its primary components, interest rates. In today's lesson we are going to continue this discussion with another look at how interest rates affect the economy and therefore the markets, and by introducing the institution which implements Monetary Policy, the Federal Reserve. As we saw in our example yesterday, small movements in interest rates can have dramatic effects on the economy. Just as small changes in interest rates can dramatically increase the costs for individuals to own a home or borrow money to purchase other goods, they can also have a dramatic affect on the cost of doing business. It is for this reason that when interest rates rise, making borrowed money more costly, that people will also be less likely to start or expand a business. This not only has an effect on the business owner themselves but filters throughout the entire economy as less businesses being started and expanded means less jobs, which means less people getting paychecks, which means less people spending money and on and on down the line. The opposite is of course also true for when interest rates fall and business owners take advantage of access to cheaper borrowed money. In addition to interest rates affecting the stock market, interest rates also have direct and indirect affects on the bond, foreign exchange, and futures markets. Here are a couple of quick examples of this which we will expand on in later lessons: The Bond Market: When interest rates rise the value of existing bonds fall as investors can now purchase the same bond with a higher interest rate and vice versa. The Forex Market: When Interest rates it becomes more attractive from a yield standpoint to own the dollar against other currencies or to invest in interest bearing dollar based assets. This creates a demand for dollars which will many times cause the dollar to strengthen. The reverse is also true when interest rates fall. The Commodities Market: When economies grow at a greater rate as a result of lower interest rates this will mean a greater demand for commodities so their value will rise and vice versa. (less)