The billionaire businessman’s patience, discipline and willingness to act when others won't are what make him a superior investor.
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I got an email newsletter from the BKForex Advisor on Friday which is run by the tandem of Kathy Lien and Boris Schlossberg. In it there is an excellent article, which I agree with completely.
The philosophy they hold is similar to the one I have. Generally traders are beaten to death by information. Paralysis by over analysis rings true for traders in this day and age. Information, or too much of it, can be overwhelming.
With that I'll share the entire article that the BKForex Advisor put out, since I can't find it anywhere online.
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Learning By Doing
When it came to the subject of trading I used to read everything under the sun, but a funny thing happened to me this week. I received a notice to renew my subscription to Futures magazine and for the first time in more than a decade I actually thought to myself - "Ah why bother? It's a waste of time." Don't get me wrong - Futures is a fine publication but its usefulness died out for me a long time ago. Let's face it - I could easily do without one more article on a glorified moving average cross over system or another fluff profile of a CTA. Furthermore, my opinion did not just pertain to Futures but extended even to those magazines that I write for such as SFO and Active Trader. I still read them cover to cover but my enthusiasm for them has curbed significantly the longer I trade.
This is not an anti-intellectual rant. Quite the opposite. I continue to be a voracious reader of any news from Auckland to Zaire, but when it comes to financial literature I have simply become a lot more discriminate in my tastes. When you are first starting out in trading it is vital to read everything you can in order to build a foundation of knowledge. I once told Jack Schwager to his astonishment that I read Market Wizards 50 times, and I think I actually undercounted the number.
However, once you've build a solid base of knowledge true progress in trading only comes from doing. Many novice traders believe that all knowledge comes from doing and never bother to crack open a book or read an article. This is a huge mistake. Whatever trading proficiency they gain by simply staring at the screen will be minuscule and highly limited lacking depth and context. Imagine deciding to become a brain surgeon by slicing up hundreds of heads without any understanding of anatomy or neurology or biology. What a colossal waste of time and resources. Yet I've seen countless traders dive right in with predictably depressing results.
On the other hand I've never met a successful trader that did not continue to educate himself throughout his career. My point is simply this. Once you achieve a certain level of competency in this craft, additional knowledge tends to come more from work rather than academia. "You gotta be in it to win it" is an old trading adage that rings true to this day. Markets like all parts of human civilization continuously evolve and our mastery of them lies in our constant participation in the game. Ultimately you can't learn from the sidelines. So on this Labor Day week-end here is to work and more work - its what makes better traders every day.
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Pressure is mounting on Britsh Prime Minister Gordon Brown to find help for hard-pressed families as the new deputy governor of the Bank of England warned that the financial situation was at least as bad as the 1970s.
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by Steven McCarthy
Bank owned foreclosure Investing at a real estate auction can be a great deal if you have done your research and know when to stop bidding. On the other hand, if you only half heartedly did the minimum research you could find yourself in a very bad situation real fast. The way to purchase a property at auction is to be the highest bidder, the first time you attend an auction you will realize how quick a process it really is and why you need to be prepared in advance.
With foreclosed homes selling at below market values and interest rates at an all time low, many are looking to invest in the housing market. It is tempting to invest when the market is as attractive as it is now. Where do you find foreclosed homes? Depending on where you live, you may find foreclosure homes fairly easy.
For example, search for www.foreclosurehowtobuy.com you can use the foreclosure search engine to find properties in your area or across the country. With the ever increasing cost of property, buying foreclosed property has become much more socially acceptable and highly profitable.
The temptation to jump on a deal like that is almost impossible to pass up. The average price on bank owned property for sale is about five percent below market. There are some properties that have been selling as cheap as thirty to forty percent below market. Another advantage to buying foreclosed homes is that the banks are eager to get rid of the property. Work with the bank in coming up with the best deal possible. Sometimes a lender will waive portions of the closing costs. Some have even offered a deal on the down payment or interest rate.
Do your homework in the areas you are interested in purchasing a property. Real estate agents have come up with some unique ways to show their database to find foreclosed properties. It was rare that some realtors would have so many listings of this type at one time, but now it is becoming common.
This forced some creativity in their listing practices. Some have sought to offer tours through neighborhoods to show listed properties. It sounds silly, but actually it is a great way to get a look and feel of the neighborhood. If there are properties sitting unsold for long periods of time, you may want to stay away.
Another thing you will want to consider is the condition of the property. It has been said that people have completely trashed their homes after they were served the eviction notice. If you are going to have to go through a ton of repairs, the property may not be a good deal after all, especially if you are purchasing for the sole purpose of reselling.
Now I would like to explain some of the drawbacks to purchasing REOs. Although this method of real estate investing has minimal risks, the profits that come with the sale are equally low as well. The average investor can expect anywhere from five to fifteen percent below the market value. A savvy investor with years of experience in REOs will do much more research and point out why the property should be discounted even further and may be able to get as much as twenty five percent off market value for a bank owned foreclosure.
About the Author:
Foreclosure investing can be very profitable if done the correct way. If your looking for more information on foreclosure investing delivered correct to your inbox then
click here. or you can vcan beit
Foreclosure how to buy.com for more articles.
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It’s been a while since I closed my GalleonFX managed forex account, but once in a while I still visit their website out of curiosity to see how they’re performing. I was greeted with yet another huge drawdown figure. Check this out:
July 2008
EUR -24.8%
USD -24.0%
gross returns
Ouch!
Here is how GalleonFX staff rationalize yet another huge drawdown month.
Despite the very poor performance our fund has experienced this year, our fund is not going to go under. We have experienced a heavy drawdown,that is for sure, but it is due to the extended range-bound behavior of the market. We do not think it should last much longer, these things never do, and when the markets break, then we are poised to make a dramatic comeback.
That being said, We have developed an important update on all breakout related strategies to prevent them from falling prey to future range-bound periods. Breakout strategies are the ones that attempt to break out of the market’s predefined market ranges. Our breakout strategies attempted to break out of their long held ranges this July, but the ranges held firm, and the strategies were punished for their attempt, many hitting their stop losses when the markets reversed direction. This was the cause of July’s particular draw down. But now we have outfitted all these breakout strategies with an important exit, which we call a “Bailout Exit,” which forces them to exit the market when it is determined after X number of bars from entry that the ranges are still firm and not broken. This means that they will bailout of the market with a minor loss closer to entry (20-60 pips loss), instead of the full stop loss damage 170 pips from entry. If we had this exit in place, our draw down for July would have been significantly lower, as well as lower for many months in his past, without interfering with performance.
Galleon system developers and staff here at Galleon have a large amount of our own money in the fund at the moment. It accounts for about 25% of the fund’s equity size, and we are determined to keep it there to ride to take advantage of the inevitable come-back. The markets should breakout of their ranges any day or week now, and we are still poised to take advantage of that. And if the ranges still hold firm our bailout exits will prevent us from taking hard losses from the attempt to break out of them.
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Everybody seems to want to build apps for the iPhone. The best ones are likely to take a hint from Apple's own handiwork.
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by Jesse Profit
For many traders on the stock market, finding a system or information that helps them make better trading decisions can be a difficult task. With the multitudes of newsletters, internet sites, and newspapers dedicated to the art of trading stocks, people can be overwhelmed by the information available to them. But, there are 7 Rules for Better Stock Trading Results that can help traders get the most out of this information and be a better market player.
First, and perhaps most importantly, listen to where your information is coming from. Finding a reliable source for stock trading is vitally important. Internet sites, magazines and tv news all have programs with people who offer financial advice freely, but it is important to remember that these people might just be offering what amounts to nothing more than educated guesses.
A second tip for trading well on the markets is to ensure that you’re using a broker that fits your needs. Many traders should opt for a full service broker if they’re unable to keep tabs on their investments as they should, while those who do a lot of background research should focus on a discount broker who provides the ability to trade and not much else. Having the proper broker can mean the difference between a good portfolio and a great one.
A third rule to follow for better stock trading is to know your numbers. Many financial information websites throw figures, facts, and financial analysis at you and force you to make sense of them all. These numbers have an important bearing on the day to day operations of a company, and being able to interpret various ratios that are presented can give you more insight into a company’s activities.
With that in mind, let’s look at our fourth rule. Take some classes and become educated on stoke trading. The more you understand the marketplace, economics and the facts and figures, the more profitable your stocks will be. You’ll be empowered to make better choices and to see further into situations than many others.
A fifth rule of the 7 Rules for Better Stock Trading Results is to avoid churning your stocks. The term churning means to constantly buy and sell companies based on small market moves with the intention of capitalizing on the small upward moves of a stock’s price. In reality, this strategy fails for most traders as the profits that they might normally realize can be eaten away by the commissions of the brokerages, taking your profits often into losses.
That leads us into our sixth tip for better stock trading. Know when to sell. Keeping on top of your stocks and the different companies those stocks represent will give you the knowledge to know when you should sell. Keep in mind that a companies economic fortunes can change and while it is not wise to buy and sell frequently, there is a time when the best answer is to sell.
Finally, keep yourself well informed on the market activities of your companies. That is our final, and perhaps most important tip to follow. The more you know about who you are investing in, the better. Buy newspapers, subscribe to stock trading newsletters and follow the news. Being in the know can help you make better, and more profitable trading decisions.
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Yup, we had another position hitting the maximum profit target of
100 pips, following the earlier
success with the EUR/JPY trade. Those trades were opened from yesterday. It's good to see the
100-pip system to make a strong finish for the month.
I welcome all new ScoutForex members this month and am looking forward to a brand new trading month next week.
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by Jeff Kaller
Getting started as a Short Sale investor is a great way to supplement your income, or even replace your full-time job with a more profitable and less time-consuming alternative. But the huge potential income is just one of many reasons that you’re going to love doing short sales. Here are some other reasons that you may not yet have considered:
- The “Win-Win-Win” Situation. When you work with a lender to find an acceptable compromise on a price for a distressed property, you not only are obtaining a great investment property for yourself, you’re also helping a distressed homeowner move on with their life without the burden of a foreclosure on their credit and their mind and helping a lender recoup money that they otherwise might have had to wait months or even years to recover - if they ever recovered it at all! Of course, the investment property for you is the driving motivation here, but the other aspects aren’t so bad either. The other two parties may not thank you every time (if ever), but you are helping them both make the best of a bad situation, and you should feel better about that the more deals you do.
- You’re Solving Problems. And even more, you’re doing it quickly, efficiently and effectively! If a person has just agreed to a short sale, their mortgage is not their only problem, but once that particular problem is resolved, their stress-load is tens of thousands - if not hundreds of thousands - of dollars lighter. And that relief can spur them into the next stage of their life where they’ll be able to clean up their messes and start over fresh - and all this without the taint of a foreclosure on their credit.
- Reliable, Predictable and Repetitious Results. Once you’ve mastered the art of short sale dealing, you have a permanent source of income in. Short sale deals require you to take a certain number of specific steps, factor in certain and specific aspects of a property, then produce the offer and walk away with your new investment. Not all your offers will be accepted, and you’ll probably turn down some tempting deals because they’re just too risky, but once you know how to spot a good deal and negotiate successfully for it, your potential is limitless!
- Feeling Good. We have already talked about how you are helping other people while making money for yourself, but the other thing that’s going to make you feel good is your personal satisfaction in a job completed well. When you close your first deal, you’re going to feel like you won a marathon, and when you close your twentieth, you’re going to feel even better! Investing in short sales may be a totally new area of endeavor for you, or it may just be a new niche of your real estate investing portfolio, but either way, mastering a new skill and making lots of money at it is incredibly rewarding. And the looks of admiration and even envy on your friends and family’s faces when you break the news that you just doubled your annual income with one or two short sales will be priceless.
In my own opinion that if you fail to truly learn and utilize short sale investment strategies in your real estate career, you will easily never realize 80% of your income potential. Ask me how I know this… I could name a hundred students in every state who focus exclusively on short sales and preforeclosures as their sole means of income. What’s the difference between them and you?
With more than 1.2 million foreclosure, preforeclosure, bankruptcy, FSBO and tax lien listings, it’s important for training in the analysis and search of large and complex databases of foreclosed homes and investment property information. Being able to identify opportunities while researching top lending institutions and government agencies Real Estate Owned; Department of Housing and Urban Development, Department of Veterans Affairs, Fannie Mae, and other government agency and financial institution properties is essential.
Buying during the foreclosure period is one of the best ways for anyone to get involved in real estate investing. With a some specialized knowledge an investor can buy a house at a substantial discount and resell it retail gain up to 15% - 20% profit in the process.
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After turning in a strong second-quarter performance, the economy's stumbled out of the gates to start the third quarter, judging from new government data released Friday.
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