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2013 And 2014: Where to Invest and Where Not To

Watch out - if you have money to invest for 2013 and 2014 and think you know where to invest it. If you plan on investing money in bond funds be very careful, because you may end up watching your money evaporate. Here's why, and where you might want to consider investing for both income and growth. Before we get into where to invest and where not to invest you need to understand something. The central bank of the USA (the FED) has employed "quantitative easing" in recent times in order to inject money into the system and stimulate the economy. They are considering doing it again by buying even more of our own longer-term debt securities called T-bonds and T-notes as well as other longer term debt obligations, or bonds. Meanwhile we still have an unemployment rate of over 8%, and a lackluster economy with a record $16 trillion in national debt. As a result of heavy buying in these debt securities bond prices have gone up and interest rates have hit record lows - which have made bonds and bond funds a good place to invest money in recent times. Meanwhile, the credit rating for the USA's debt was recently downgraded for the first time in modern times, and at least one major independent rating service has warned it could be downgraded further. If this happens interest rates could zoom upwards in 2013, 2014 and you better know where not to invest money. Investing money just got more difficult, especially if you have been investing money in bonds and bond funds for higher interest income and relative safety. IF or WHEN interest rates start to climb significantly, bonds and bond funds will lose money. That's the way it works, period. Where not to invest money now: long-term bonds and long-term bond funds. In the summer of 2012, the 30-yr U.S. Treasury bond (T-bond) was yielding less than 2 ½%. That's a record low and hardly worth taking any risk to get when investing money. Where to invest for safety and income: short-term CDs or shorter-term bond funds and money market funds. Where to invest for higher returns, good income and growth if interest rates start to climb: real estate in the form of real estate equity (stock) funds. These are specialty stock funds that are offered by many of the larger fund companies. As interest rates start moving back up it is likely people (including the big investors) will start to chase both low mortgage rates and low real estate prices. They won't want to miss out on what could be the opportunity of a lifetime. Investing money for 2013 and 2014 amounts to comparing your investment options. In a rising interest rate environment bond investing is a losing proposition. Investing more money in stocks or diversified stock funds is questionable at best, since stocks doubled in value between early 2009 and 2012. Meanwhile, real estate prices have fallen since 2007 and appeared to be on the rebound in mid-2012. Where to invest money for good income: real estate funds. Where to invest for growth and higher returns: real estate funds. In regard to investing money in any mutual fund - don't waste your money on sales charges and funds with high fees. Here's where to invest at low cost: go with a large no-load fund family and work with them directly. The two biggest fund companies in the USA are Fidelity and Vanguard, and they both offer good service and funds with ZERO sales charges and lower than average fees and expenses. Go to their websites and check them out. Give them a call (toll-free). Good luck investing money for 2013 and 2014, and keep an eye on interest rates. Watch out. Bond funds in general are NOT where to invest your money if (when) interest rates turn around.

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Investment Help 101

So you are thinking of investing. If you are like most people in the workforce, it will be a way for you to achieve financial independence. But where do you start? There are endless possibilities out there... some good, some bad, some in between. Well, lets go through some very basic points to get started. First and foremost, do your research. I cannot stress this enough. The last thing you want to do is dump your money into some worthless project, never to be seen again. This is investing, it is NOT gambling. If you intend to dump your money into something without researching it first, then head to the slot machines and tables and at least have some fun while you are kissing your money goodbye. Second, you want to find an investment that you don't have to dump a ton of money into. And yet, it should return a significantly greater amount of money back to you in a relatively short period of time. Never go dumping all of your life savings into a project. Whoever said you have to spend money to make money was full of it. Get that toxic idea out of your head. You don't have to go for broke here, despite the popular misconception. Third, find a very low risk investment. "But wait, I thought, in order to get a high rate of return, I had to make a high risk investment?" Wrong! That is yet another popular misconception that has lost many people a great deal of money. However, I must admit, this type of investment can be much harder to find. However, these type of investments are definitely out there. But there again, as stated earlier, that is yet another good reason why you do your research. And lastly, find yourself and investment that you can easily get your initial money back on. This way you can reinvest that money. You should also be able to easily access your interest earned. Never get into any type of investment that will penalize you for withdrawing your initial investment or your interest earned. The goal here is to make money, not to lose money. The goal is also to be able to use and enjoy your money anyway that you so choose, whenever you so choose. So, never forget to research. Find an investment that you don't have to spend your very last pennies on. Make sure that investment is low risk. And be absolutely sure you can get your initial investment back and access your money whenever you like without penalty.

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Investing Your Money

So you came across a decent chunk of change and you may be wondering about ways you could be investing your money. Or maybe you don't have very much spare change and you are struggling to get by on a day to day basis and know that it is time for a change. Sound all too familiar? The fact of the matter is, we could all use a little more money. Money isn't everything. However, if you stop to think of it, if you had enough money, it would solve the majority, if not all of your problems. Think of it, what is the endless fight that most couples have together in their relationships? What if you could buy that second car or pay your rent on time? Wouldn't that solve many of your stresses and arguments that stem from that stress? Maybe your child is struggling in school and acting out due to their frustration from lack of spending time with you because you are always at work scraping for pennies to provide for them. What if you could invest your money and quit your job(s) and give your child the attention they so desperately need and deserve? What if, for once, you could just relax and enjoy your life the way that it was meant to be enjoyed? What if, we stopped wondering "what if?" and just make it happen? How do we make our money work for us rather than us working for our money? We can make our money work for us by investing it. It doesn't have to be thousands of dollars. It doesn't even have to be a thousand dollars. Not even five hundred dollars. It could in fact be, one dollar at a time. You simply find yourself a niche. Research your investment thoroughly. Make sure your niche is something that the general public is looking for. You buy product from wholesalers for pennies on the dollar and sell them for at least double and sometimes even more than that. These products are available online from thousands of different companies all day long. Like I said, you just have to do your due diligence to find them. It is more than possible to achieve financial independence for yourself and your family. It is up to you to invest your money wisely. Only you can make it possible. Only you can take the first step toward freedom.

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Farmland Investments in Africa - Can They Be Both Profitable and Sustainable?

As global stock markets fluctuate wildly, individual investors, private equity funds and other large institutions are increasingly looking to alternative investments to provide balance and stability to their portfolios. Given the rapid run-up in agricultural commodities and food prices recently, farmland investments are becoming an increasingly attractive asset class. For both institutional and individual investors with long time horizons, agricultural land is an ideal method for diversifying beyond a portfolio of purely stocks and bonds, whilst also providing a steady stream of good dividend income and offering excellent upside potential for capital gains due to the ongoing agricultural "super cycle" as coined by noted farmland and commodities investor Jim Rogers. In the UK for example, over the last ten years, agricultural land has appreciated roughly 13 per cent per year in the according to Investment Property Databank (IPD). The US and other Western countries have seen similar farmland investment returns. Farmland prices have therefore skyrocketed, reaching as high as £17,300 (approximately $30,000) per hectare in the northwest of England to take just one example. As a result, investors are increasingly turning their interest in agricultural land investing to areas of the world where farmland prices are starting from a much lower base, thereby providing much greater upside potential. One area where this has been particularly prevalent is Africa, where hedge funds and other large institutions have been making large agricultural farmland investments. Hedge funds and private equity funds alone have purchased 148 million acres of farmland in just the last three years. Just to take one example, the UK's well known Guardian newspaper just outlined how major a full 5pc of African agricultural land had been purchased or leased by outside investors, and that more than 200m hectares (495m acres) of land - roughly eight times the size of the UK - were sold or leased between 2000 and 2010. Given the long history of colonial exploitation in Africa, there has been increasing resistance to what is perceived by many western Non-Governmental Organisations as well as Africans as a "foreign land grab." Whilst some of these feelings may be based on old stereotypes rather than current conditions, there is no question that some abuses have occurred. Just to take one example, farmlandgrab.org just published an article arguing that a US firm was running roughshod over the local population in Cameroon with one of its agriculture investment. It is undoubtedly true that frequently large institutional investors make deals directly with the central governments of African countries. Given the amount of corruption and generally poor governance that still exists in Africa, the investment capital frequently disappear into the pockets of corrupt local officials whilst local farmers are forcibly removed from their homes and lands. By the same token, it is far from true that all foreign investments in African farmland are predatory and exploitive. Global consultancy McKinsey recently produced a report on the future of Africa which noted that the continent had over 25 per cent of the globe's arable land yet produced only ten per cent of agricultural output. McKinsey argued that up to $50bn/year of African agricultural farmland investment would be needed to bring the sector up to global standards and allow African agriculture to maximize its potential output. One reason to consider outside investments in African farmland is that the amount arable land globally has been decreasing. As farmland continues to be lost to urbanization, transportation networks and real estate development, the world must try to feed more people on less farmland. Africa, however, holds approximately 60% of the world's remaining uncultivated land that is suitable for farming, so looking at food security from a broader perspective, Africa has a an opportunity to feed both itself and the world in the coming decades. Given the need for investment in African agriculture, there is no reason that foreign farmland investments on the continent cannot be structured as a win-win for both private investors and the host country populations. With the right guidelines and intentions, foreign investment in African farmland can be both ethical and profitable. The major issue is whether a set of basic principles for "win-win" farmland investment in Africa can be developed. Just as an example, we believe that the following principles can be used to evaluate the fairness of foreign farmland investment in Africa: 1. The investment was directed at completely unused land, and none of the local population has been removed from any of the land since it was not in use as a food source; 2. The farmland investment was negotiated directly with local villagers and tribal chiefs, so there was no chance for corruption at senior government levels; 3. Farmland investments in developing countries should not simply be premised on food security concerns by the foreign investors, who may want to simply ship the entire crop production back to their home countries; 4. The workforce should as much as possible be local hires who should be paid a fair wage well above the minimum for that country; and 5. Finally, foreign investors in African farmland should also have at least some kind of community re- investment programme in the host country. Whilst these principles will not solve every concern of local African NGOs, they are at least a starting point for considering examining whether a farmland investment is structured as a win-win for both the investor and the local population, or if the investor is behaving in an inherently exploitative manner. One other interesting factor is that when farmland investment projects are structured such that retail investors can participate, we have seen that these types of individual investors demand that any project they are involved with be both ethical and profitable.

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New Business Investments

As an investor or potential investor, we are always looking for new ways of investing our money. The reason for this is simple: we need new, fresh ideas and products to keep up with the ever growing demand of the general population. This alone ensures that our profit margin continues to grow. So what is this demand that we need to fill by searching for new business investments? Ask yourself what it is that all the things you personally need or like to buy have in common. Simply answered, people are on a never ending search for new products that will make their lives easier and make daily tasks more convenient in this fast paced world. They are searching for products that are practical, economical, and relatively cheap. Investing in new business opportunities allows us to find an investing niche. An investing niche is something new that not that many people are informed enough to invest in. In other words, an investing niche has very little competition, therefore resulting in higher profits for those involved in that investing niche. Sounds nice right? Who wouldn't love to invest in a product that many other investors don't know how to or are too invested in their other investments to be able to attempt to be invested in your particular investment niche? That is every investor or potential investor's goal... to find an investment niche. An investment niche is the key to every successful investment endeavor. The main step to take in finding your investment niche is by researching new business product investment opportunities. That is likely how you ended up reading this article. You are already researching this topic. That puts you one step ahead in the game. It will make all the difference in your success. You are on the right track. Just keep it up. So when you find your new business to invest in, be sure it is a low risk investment. You do not have to throw away your money with a small, unlikely chance of getting it back, let alone receiving a return on your investment. Unfortunately, that is a widespread popular misconception that has sent many new investors into financial chaos. It is not true investing. That is just gambling and in most cases, foolishness. Investing in a new business opportunity is not a hit or miss game. It is not a matter luck. It is a matter of well researched, well calculated low risk.

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Internet Investing

Do you ever just dream of working for yourself? Have you ever wished you could tell your boss goodbye for good? Do you wish you would never have to worry about money again? You should consider internet investing. Who makes the majority of the money where you work? I would be willing to bet that it is not you. It is not the employees that make the money. It is not the supervisors, the manager, the district manager, or the regional managers either. It is the owner of the company that makes the majority of the money and does the least work. Why? Because the owner of the company can pay the employees to do all the work at a low flat rate while the owner keeps all of the profits. The reason the owner is able to do this is that the owner made an investment. The owner bought the products and formed a business with their own money. The owner buys products from wholesalers for pennies on the dollar. Then the owner turns around and sells those products to the general public at a much higher rate than what it was originally bought for, therefore acting as the middleman. The owner's initial investment was returned, plus the owner could pay the employees at a low flat rate, and then the owner rakes in all the profits for him/herself. What makes these people so different? Is it luck? No. These people invested their money and it was returned to them time and again. And now, more than ever, it is becoming easier and easier for the average person to do the same if they so choose. The internet gives us more access to countless products to invest in than ever before! The internet is quite quickly becoming the future of all investing. Everywhere you turn you can find an opportunity on the internet to invest your money. However, you must do your research. Make sure it is a low risk investment with a money back guarantee. Ensure that you make large profits in a short period of time without putting out thousands of dollars to start with. Ensure that you can access your initial investment and your profits without penalties and fees. And more important than anything else, make sure your money is working for you, not the other way around. That gives you time to enjoy your life and your newfound wealth.

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Risk Free Investments - Is There Such A Thing?

Is there such a thing as risk free investments? How about very low risk investments? After all, who wants to put their personal money at risk of never being seen again? Unfortunately, there is no investment that is absolutely guaranteed to be a zero risk investment. Even when you put your money in a bank savings account there is a very low risk of losing it. Of course the bank would have to go out of business, but even then, our money that we put in the bank is backed and refundable by our government. Only if our government went down, then we would lose our money. By now, maybe you can see where I'm heading with this. There is always going to be a risk no matter where you decide to place your money. However, it is entirely up to you as to how high or low that risk will be. The goal here is to put your money in the lowest risk investments possible. The bigger question here is, can I put my money in a very low risk investment and still gain a large amount of interest in a short period of time? The answer is, "YES!" You have to do your research, but low risk, high return investment opportunities are absolutely out there. You want to put your money in a place where it compounds interest in days and months, not years. After all, who wants to wait twenty or thirty years to compound a decent amount of interest on their money. By then, we will be so old we can't even enjoy it. Another thing is this, you want to be able to receive your initial investment back quickly so you can turn around and invest it again. You never want your investment capital to just be sitting around for years waiting to build up interest. What if, by some off chance, something called real life happens and you need access to that initial money you invested and maybe even to some of your interest you gained on it? On that note, you never want to make an investment where you receive any kind of penalties for needing to use YOUR money. That is an example of a medium to high risk investment in my book. Any investment where you can't have access to your money immediately and where you cannot pull out your money without being penalized is not worth the risk. The whole point of investing is to be able to use and enjoy your money whenever and however you please.

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Forex Traders and the Fibonacci Method

Traders in various markets like commodities, stocks or Forex can make use of the Fibonacci method in their trading activities. They can learn how to make use of it together with other tools that are used in making market trend analyses. New Forex traders may find it a little difficult at first but once they get used to its application, they may find it relatively easy to work on especially with the aid of software programs that are available today. What is important is that they know how to make use of the retracement levels in order for them to make the right trading moves at the right time. Forex traders may be able to win more and lose less especially if they know which calls or orders to make. They may decrease their risk of losing if they have placed their stop loss orders at specific points in the Fibonacci method where the retracements may happen. They would also be able to determine if they are running their trade against the line of support. In such cases, traders have to take the necessary steps to prevent loss of profit as much as possible. They may also gain by locking their profits at certain points indicated by the Fibonacci ratios. The Fibonacci method is one of the effective tools that Forex traders can use for their analysis of the market trends. Their knowledge and experiences with the use of this method can be beneficial for their trading business. They can predict where the prices will go at a given period of time. The accuracy of their prediction will determine their success in their trading as well. They will have to expect that at certain points, there will be movements in prices either continuing it to the next Fibonacci point or it may start going to the opposite direction until it finally goes back to its original course. Forex traders have to study the trends of the pair of currencies that they are trading. They will have to take note of the completed cycles of the two currencies so that they may know when they can buy or when they will have to sell instead. They may opt to buy if they expect the prices to move steadily upward over a period of time. On the other hand they can opt to sell if they are expecting a reversal and the prices start moving downward. The key to the success of Forex traders can be attributed to a great deal on how they can make market trend predictions accurately.

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Cutting Your Losses: A Prerequisite For Building Wealth

There is one skill that all of us must learn if we want to build wealth. The skill is so critical that without it, it would be very difficult, if not impossible to build wealth. Worse, it may lead us to lose whatever we may already make. The skill is this - cut your losses. Sadly, though it is critical, hardly anyone talks about it. Even the many investment books that I read hardly ever mention it. They share about the 'what', the 'why' and perhaps even the 'how to'. But they hardly ever talk about what to do when the investment does not perform as well as it should. I think one reason for this is because the concept is not sexy. By its' very nature, the concept of cutting your losses is admitting that you have been wrong. And that is about as much fun as a visit to the dentist! But just as visiting the dentist is important to our well-being, so is learning to cut our losses. Why is that so? See, common sense will tell us that we cannot win all the time. We cannot get it right 100 percent especially when it comes to investments. In fact, especially when it comes to investments! Investments, by its very nature, involves risks, which in English means that there is a chance that things will not turn out as we planned. Yes, we can increase our chances of winning by doing our homework about the investment before parting with our money. However, the fact still remains that the risk is still there no matter how much research you and I do. So, we cannot win all the time. In fact, if we get our investment choices right 80 or 90 percent, that is a very good batting average. You and I will be very wealthy indeed with that kind of average. Still, that means that some 10 or 20 percent of our investment choices will not turn out the way we planned. In fact, it may turn out to be total losers. By the way, and this is another important skill, when some of our investments turn south, it does not mean that we are less of a man. All it means that we have just made an error in judgment about that particular investment. In fact, we may have chosen correctly when we made the investment. However, recent events may have annulled all the good skills, and so the investment is now a loser. When it happens, and it happens to the best of us, we must cut the losses. Sell them off, salvage what's left, learn the lesson and get ready for the next investment. In case anyone missed it - cutting our losses mean we will lose money, which is perhaps another reason why the concept is hardly talked about. Telling investors that they will lose money is the equivalent of asking them to change their loyalty to a different football team! Sacrilegious! But you must do so if you want to build wealth. You must learn to accept that (a) you cannot win all the time, (b) some of your investments will turn out to be losers, and most important of all, (c) you must sell them even at a loss. If you cannot or will not do this, it is a very unlikely that you will build wealth. If you hang on to the losers, there's no telling how much money you will lose. Worse, it will reduce or perhaps even eliminate the capital you have for the next investment. And if you hang on to enough of these losers, it will seriously dent your finances. I mentioned earlier that you may get one or two wrongs when it comes to investments. Actually, I'm being kind! The reality is that most people will get it wrong at least half the time when it comes to investments! So you now you see why refusing to cut losses will do serious damage to one's finances. If it will help, you should know that even millionaires, multi-millionaires and billionaires lose money. Yes, even Warren Buffett, Peter Lynch and George Soros have lost money. They have accepted the fact that they cannot get it right all the time, so they build in safety margins which include selling off losing concerns. Of course, they are not happy about it but they accept that is a part of building wealth. So if an investment is not performing as it should, they will sell it off even at a loss, and put it to better use in other investments. So to summarize, if an investment is not performing as it should, sell it, even if it means you have to take a loss. Salvage the money, learn the lesson and get ready for the next investment. It is a prerequisite for building wealth.

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Alternative Market Data Solutions To Reduce Data Costs

Market data owns a large piece of operational expenses and this expense is becoming harder to ignore. In today's unsteady economy, reducing costs has been a concern RIAs (registered investment advisors) and wealth management firms have been dealing with. Fortunately, it is possible to find alternative market data solutions that are cost efficient yet effective in predictive analysis, historical data research as well as can provide access to accurate information for better decision making. Internal Data Display Solution This solution can store, transport and display financial market real-time data and is able to handle several information providers in a single interface. This refers to an application that can handle several 3rd party real-time data feeds from suppliers as well as an organization's internal information feeds. Services with this solution usually provide access to their real-time "mark to market" and "end of day" database which can be integrated into an organization's own hosted solutions. The application for this solution can then be utilized to display data across an organization's authorized users. Hosted Data Display Solution This alternative market data solution is perfect for users who only require a particular set of information. It reduces data costs since organizations are not obliged to pay for the information they do not really need. Services for this solution have data that can be acquired from several suppliers in which users are allowed to choose from among these suppliers. Some services supply the needed infrastructure to maintain and supply real-time data solutions as well as the data needed for an organization. This solution allows organizations to reduce costs by not requiring them to host their own hardware solution. Highly Configurable Solution This solution is intended to cater for the different data requirements and purposes of market participants. A solution should not have an inflexible format where the data outline is set or the supplied data quantum is unsuitable for different users' needs. This solution's flexibility allows users to create data displays that can match their individual needs. Some tools for this solution can simultaneously display up to nine windows in a template of a user's browser in which are all completely configurable. These tools can display different templates in Java of various asset classes in which each template is configurable to suite every user's workspace. There are alternative market data solutions for corporate treasurers, brokers, traders and other financial market participants who aim to reduce data cost as well as increase analysis' accuracy. These solutions have the capacity to display market data from various sources as well as display data that resulted from a user's calculations on spreadsheets.

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Top 3 Common Benefits Of The Publish Real Time Data Method

The ability to publish real-time data is gaining a reputation in the field of programming distributed systems. The main idea behind publish and subscribe is not complicated. The application just needs to be programmed in a way that it is separated from the information exchange itself. Separating the application from the information exchange enables the middleware to be more equipped by storing all the essential resources thus allowing access to information to be less difficult or more efficient. When it comes to the method of publish and subscribe, the application needs to affirm its plan of writing data as well as able to identify which among the data items it plans to write before the actual writing of data. The application also needs to affirm its plan of reading data as well as identify which among the data items it plans to read before the actual reading of data. The publish real-time data model has become a necessity to organizations that wish to share data to their workforce as well as to clients. Below are the top three common uses of the method: 1. Access To The Actual Price In a dealing room setting, traders consider it a necessity to view the real-time prices that other traders are quoting since this allows them to understand the cost of their hedges. Traders who have gained access to the actual price that is measured by other traders' spreadsheets can identify their costs in real-time as well as eliminate the requirement of having to refer every trade to each of these traders' associate trader. 2. Access To Available Limits In cases of quoting market prices, many consider it a necessity to identify the existing limits of dealing with a particular counterparty. These limits are coordinated and supervised by a division that is situated outside the dealing room environment. Instead of referring to coordinators of the limit of every trade, the transactions can be completed with lesser delay and supervision if traders have access to the existing limits in real-time. 3. Real-time data in Excel Not all members within an organization require constant access to real time quotes. These casual users tend to pay for the full cost of the 3rd party real-time terminal without actually making the full use of it. An alternative solution for these casual users is to subscribe to only the data that these users require and then allow this data to be presented in Excel sheets for more efficient computations. A publish real-time data model can enhance an establishments' efficiency in updating data across various users of Excel. Using spreadsheets to create comprehensible charts and graphs has not only enhanced efficiency and comprehensibility of establishments' communication with members and clients but also has reduced data costs.

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4 Top Benefits Of A Hosted Market Data Service

Market data services continue to supply futures traders' demands on higher global access, extra functionality and higher efficiency. Being aware of the effects of economic unsteadiness or uncertainty on several establishments, services are aiming to create something that will provide more yet with lower cost. This led them to create solutions such as a hosted market data service. How Does A Hosted Market Data Service Work? The infrastructure required for electronic futures trading is not that easy to create. Aside from complete access to the data inside a certain provider's historical database, traders' need to be provided with the software, equipment and communication protocols for publish and subscription of real-time data. Service providers can outsource the operation, maintenance and ownership of the electronic trading infrastructure using a hosted market data service. These services can provide both the front-end trading software and the infrastructure needed to direct trades to an exchange. These services are equipped with the necessities for electronic trading such as servers, telecom services, customized software tools and communication hardware. To recover the expenses incurred on the necessities of electronic trading as well as earn money, these services may require payment for the front-end software as well as access to their data. This way, service providers are able to create a global network of exchange gateways in which traders can easily connect to various exchanges. In addition, a hosted market data service has been able to enhance efficiency, increase productivity and reduce costs by creating massive exchange connections that have a sturdy telecom network. Benefits Of A Hosted Market Data 1. Performance - As the electronic trading grows so has the need for speed and accuracy. It is expensive to create a trading infrastructure that can work with low-latency connections supplied by exchanges. However, this is possible to various providers or services. A hosted service or provider can connect directly to exchanges then lease and assemble trading infrastructure at the exchange matching engine setting. Furthermore, it can create various exchange gateways all over the world thus providing market participants the quickest route to an exchange. 2. Scalability - Hosted solutions supply services or providers with a convenient way to scale both the traders' and exchanges' access. After a service or provider connects with an exchange, traders will just undergo a few system configurations as well as documentations until they can perform trade on a new exchange. 3. Maintains Quality - These services or providers are able to reduce cost without sacrificing quality. In addition, their solutions allow an immediate access to the global market. 4. Account Management - They have built-in management tools. They allow users to conveniently access these providers' or services' database as well as access users' personal accounts. Many companies or establishments consider acquiring aid from a hosted market data service one of the solutions to cut costs. A certain service or provider can supply satisfactory value and functionalities such as access to worldwide exchanges as well as the capacity to adjust as needs develop.

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Forestry Investments - Two Successful Tropical Tree Species

The forestry sector in Costa Rica has been influenced for many years by two commercially viable and vital tree species, Teak and Melina. Offered to both national and international investors, both species are highly sought after and have become a favourite as species of choice within sustainable tree farms. Teak and Melina originated in Asia but over the last 30 years have been planted in many regions of Costa Rica. This is mainly due to the trees adaptability to the climate and environment. Therefore, as non-native trees, they are the two most widely established tropical tree species in the Costa Rican forestry sector. Teak started to be planted in Costa Rica during the 1920′s. Teak was strongly marketed for being a sought after and important tropical hardwood. There is still a massive demand for tropical hardwood especially from India, where teak is known as the hardwood of choice. Teak as a tropical hardwood, is one of the most used woods worldwide. Teak is in demand, in considerable amounts, by the worlds markets with stable and generally increasing prices. This non-native tree has been intensively grown in forestry plantations due to its hardy nature and natural resistance to flood and pest. Larger teak tree farms are generally in the hands of large international organisations while smaller plantations up to 40-60 hectares are controlled by national producers and professional project managers. The timber derived from tree plantations is mostly exported internationally, in form of raw-logs or as a planned and processed product. The main consumer countries are the population rich India, Indonesia and China. Both countries are the two main importers of tropical wood while Europe and America are also big markets. Much later, Melina was starting to be introduced and planted with the aim to help pulp paper production. Afterwards, the importance of Melina has climbed considerably in the territory of Costa Rica. This is due to its short harvesting cycle which is unusually short for a hardwood. After 12 years a healthy Melina tree stands just short of 100 feet tall. Melina is the most consumed type of tropical tree in Costa Rica. Currently, both species benefit from sustainable demand. Lastly, it is worth noting importers of teak and melina have strict rules in terms of certification (e.g. certified by the FSC)The FSC is an international charity that has been working locally in-country but outside of national governments for nearly twenty years to ensure the most rigorous codes of practice in the management of the forests of the World. The main thrust of FSC work is of course to protect, for our children, grandchildren and all generations yet to come, the timber resources of this precarious planet. When you invest in certified wood you can be sure that you are not contributing to global warming through thoughtless deforestation.

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The Reasons Behind The Rise In Timber Investment

It has become increasingly clear in recent years that more and more people are looking to the ethically and financially sound benefits that timber investment provides. While some are still sceptical that 'trees' can provide anywhere near the benefits of other, more traditional commodities, the number of people that are now open to the new opportunities available is higher than ever, and it is easy to see why. While volatility in the stock market is leading to severe fluctuations in the value of some major organisations and commodity investments both in the UK and across the globe, the stable rise in the value of timber has provided positive returns for its investors that have avoided the pitfalls of the recent recession and continued offering healthy returns across the sector. As a raw material for furniture production and within the building industry, hardwood is a sustainable resource that has its place carved out for many years to come, and with investment woodlands providing a renewable and reusable source for the global market, any investor who includes such an opportunity within their portfolio is likely to see significant projections both in terms of short and long term growth. The demand for high quality hardwood is higher than ever and, as the global population expands, the demand for this essential resource is set to increase in line with this general rise in populace which is projected by the United Nations to be growing by up to 55% before the end of 2050. Most financial experts will advise you that one of the best ways to find a solid investment for the future is to look at performance in the past, and when you see that the value of timber has consistently risen above the global inflation rate, you gain confidence that your savings are going to build and provide the returns you require to make your future more comfortable. Though many commodity investments may be difficult to comprehend, to understand the process of the timber investment, you simply have to put a seed in the ground and watch it grow. As each hardwood tree grows and expands, so does the value it creates, which is directly reflected in the wealth you hold within the investment. There is no impact from the value of the Dow or any decline when profits are announced; the tree simply carries on growing, as does your capital. In fact, the value of timber has risen throughout three of the four market collapses this century and is the only asset on record to have done so. And when you have accepted the financial benefits of such an investment, the environmental advantages that are also obtained make timber investment such an attractive proposition. By protecting the natural forests of the earth and providing a greener and healthier environment for each and every person, it is easy to see why so many people are now including forestry investments in their pension funds, savings plans and family trusts for an environmentally friendly investment that is going to provide for both their moral and financial futures.

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Diversifying Is Vital With High Risk Investments Too

While it may sometimes be wise to stick with what works for you when you invest, you need to be careful about increasing your risk through lack of diversification. Buying into what is already working can lead to over-investing in single stocks or single investing methods. Inevitably, those wins can turn to loses once they're over-invested and their value crashes down. While diversification may create a slower climb, that climb will then be more steady and reliable. Stocks If you do manage to develop your own consistent trick for creating high return investments with specific stocks, you could make a killing on your own and you may be find a new profession advising others. It is unlikely but not impossible to create consistent earnings through individual stock investments. Most often this occurs when you find an unknown company doing everything right in an industry where the other companies have a long and consistent history of producing high returns, or by finding a stable company that has steady, consistent returns. Mutual Funds When it comes to mutual funds, it often will behoove you to work with a personal broker. While some may frown at the notion of someone taking a cut of your returns, remember that this motivates them to make sure you succeed. And a professional financial advisers often have the time, connections and tools to work the market in a way you can't with your limited experience, time and resources. Other Investment Options To earn a high return on a loan, you need to face down either urgency or high risk. When you find an individual or company who is urgent or are deemed high risk, they won't be able to simply find a low interest rate with any lender; they will need to settle for a higher interest rate loan. One way to sort of split the different is to loan to high need businesses or individuals. High need doesn't necessarily require either risk or urgency, but it means the entity involved is likely making their own aggressive growth moves, which mean you can profit from their leaps in profitability. For example, some lenders have made good money by lending to real estate development companies. Real estate projects often take more time and money than anticipated. Thus real estate developers are often looking for quick loans to finish their projects. Because they're nearing completion and the worst possible thing they could do is not complete something they've already put a ton of time and money into, they are willing and often able to take higher interest loans. The other benefit is that these developers will often cash out as soon as the project is done. if you obtain these sorts of lenders repeatedly, you can score constant high return investments through high interest lending. Weigh The Reward Versus The Risk If you really want to wade into wade into the waters of high return investments, you will need to brace yourself for some more risky endeavors. Sprinkling a few higher risk investments into your portfolio isn't necessarily a bad thing as long as you are deliberate and don't make those risky investment the centerpiece of your portfolio. I like options as they tend to trend with their underlying stock, which I've already researched and priced. Other may choose the high leverage FOREX trading field, although that has become full of corruption in the online world lately. Another favorite area are commodities, which feature high volatility (which can be good and bad) and complicated but common sense pricing factors. So consider all these individual approaches to high return investments as you build your own strategy. Don't proceed unless you're comfortable with the risk and you have plenty of liquid capital in the bank, but sometimes you need to row out past the safe boat to earn the highest returns.

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How to Use an Option Calculator

Are you trying to determine the value of your options? To do so, you need to use an option calculator and input a variety of information about the option. Today, we are going to discuss what information you need to obtain and input into a calculator for options so you can obtain the value of those options and see how movements within those certain fields will affect your option's price over time. Obtaining Your Option's Price When you enter all of this data into the option calculator, you simply have to click a few buttons to determine its value. If you want to see how changes to your interest rates, volatility, and currency can affect the value, you can tweak the numbers. This tool is easy to use, and is essential for anyone wanting to buy or sell options.

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Can We Control Our Investments, or Is It All a Game of Chance?

In life and also in investing, we don't always have control. Although we can create goals and take concrete steps to achieve them, live within our means, try to manage risk, this doesn't always protect us. There are too many other unknowns: the government, the ever-changing tax code, other investors, and the market as a whole. It's like acknowledging the futility of eating healthy and buckling up, since on your daily jog, even if you run facing traffic in your reflective vest, you risk getting run over by a drunk driver. So what can we do to protect ourselves and our future? Do we just leave everything to chance or are there reasonable steps that we can take to help our investments succeed? Work hard at the right things Don't just sit back and wait for things to happen. Get working. There is a difference between being busy and looking busy. Make sure the work you do is effective work, and not just an activity to fill your time. Be efficient. As Tim Ferris in The Four Hour Work Week says, work smart, not hard. Working hard just to earn more money and put it into dubious investments may not be the smartest use of your time. Deciding where to allocate your investments may be just as important as, if not more so, than deciding to invest in the first place. Therefore it is well worth the time and energy to investigate the best investment for your particular situation, and not commit to the first cold-caller who interrupts your dinner hour. Doing plenty of research and due diligence can only help you. You work hard and so should your money. Sometimes a high-risk, high-potential return option may be the best choice for you. Other times, more conservative investments may be more suitable. And still, there are times when your portfolio should be balanced between conservative and risky positions. Preservation of capital and peace of mind are both important concerns. All of these factors are dependent on your personal situation, so examine your options with a clear head and an open mind. And of course, don't despair while reading this. Although so much in life is out of our control, there is one sphere where you can have influence. Monitor your work habits, your investments, and your stress levels. The outside world may attempt to dominate you, but you alone dictate your reaction. You can choose how to react to a down market: with despair or looking at it as a new opportunity.