How to be Rich, Happy and Free from Scams

This is an article about Nicolas Darvas....who sort of defied most proponents of fundamental analysis.... :) Are you tired of doing fundamental analysis...and realise the results are not worth the effort? =================================== By Paul Katzeff Nicolas Darvas was a renaissance man. Literate as well as athletic, he was good at a wide range of activities. He trained to be an economist at the University of Budapest. He earned a living at occupations as disparate as creating crossword puzzles and sportswriting. He played championship pingpong. He toured Europe and the U.S. as one of the world's highest paid ballroom dancers, book publisher Lyle Stuart noted in the preface of one of Darvas' works. Darvas' most enduring feat was conquering Wall Street -- in his spare time. Still dancing full time, he parlayed a $3,000 bet on a speculative Canadian mining stock into a series of investments that culminated in a $2.25 million portfolio. That success earned him a profile ...

Alan R. Elliott You can't hear it often enough: Sell any stock that drops 7% to 8% below your purchase price -- no ifs, ands, or buts. It's tempting to believe that a stock, particularly one with strong fundamentals, will recover. Sometimes they do; sometimes they don't. But the rule book says sell. Stocks that fall tend to keep falling. It only takes a 9% gain to recover from an 8% loss. But if you let the stock fall further, it could crush your portfolio, and your confidence. After all, you'd need to double your money just to get back to square one on a 50% loser. On the same day that China's Shanghai exchange crumbled 8% in a single session in February, bulk container maker Greif showed the value of cutting losses short. Things looked good when Greif broke out of a seven-week, cup-with-handle base on Feb. 20. Volume was strong as shares spiked 6% above a 59.12 buy point 16oint 1). But five days later, the Shanghai market sold off, dragging U.S. indexes along with...

Dear all, A timely news article for all to consider...look out for the words in bold and feel free to give me your comments. ================================ By Jan Dahinten REUTERS SINGAPORE – Singapore's trade minister warned banks on Friday to be extra vigilant in the current environment of ample liquidity and bullish markets to spot economic and financial risks and be prepared to handle shocks. “It is important for banks not to become complacent. As banks pursue the many opportunities that lie ahead, we must not let our guard down,” Trade and Industry Minister Lim Hng Kiang said, according to the text of a dinner speech to bankers. “Banks must not be lulled into a false sense of security by the external environment's bullishness and resilience to shocks so far. We must not allow ourselves to get overconfident with our knowledge and analyses of the risks out there.” Lim, who is also the deputy chairman of the Monetary Authority of Singapore, Singapore's central bank, war...

by Roger Overanout When you first consider investing in the stock market it can seem to be a very intimidating prospect, one of the most important things that you have to do is research into the stocks you're considering investing in. The following five vital tips about stock market will help you. 1. The saying "knowledge is power" is exceptionally true when it comes to being successful at stock market investing, it is vital to find out as much as possible about the company you are considering investing in and developing an understanding of the factors that affect the profitability of that company, here are two freely available resources where you can obtain this important information. (a) The financial press, by studying newspapers such as the Wall Street Journal or if you come from the UK, or want to invest in UK Stocks, the Financial Times, you will be able to keep up-to-date on all the latest information that might affect the stocks you are considering. Also these new...

ok...finish reading the article on my previous post? Now read this one :) and see what conclusion you derive for yourself.... ===================================== By Dennis Ng Recent plunge in China stock market and Dow didn’t trigger any effect on Asian Stock Markets, in my opinion, this is a sign of market going crazy. Even recent plunge in China market, DOW and other global markets also didn't react as well. This is a global bull run driven by liquidity......however, when things turn around, it will be a BIG, BIG Crash becos much of the liquidity is attributed to Leverage by Hedge Funds, Private Equity, Yen Carry Trade etc, etc.... when liquidity tide turns and risk premium increases.....the crash would be like an avalanche.... The Crash would occur in both Global Stock Markets and Global Property Markets....remember the global stock market crash in year 2000 to 2002 was buffered by rise of global property markets.....so if BOTH Stock and Property markets crash, it will not b...

Hello all, Below is a news article about every investor's concern now....has the bull slowed down? Be sure to catch the next article on my next blog post, after you finish reading this article. ==================================== By Katie Benner, Fortune reporter (Fortune Magazine) -- Oh, what a glorious first half it was for the stock markets this year! Share prices shrugged off recession warnings, they brushed off the subprime loan meltdown, and they scoffed at the Shanghai stock scare. By June 4 the S&P 500 index was up 9.4 percent for the year. Then came the market equivalent of kryptonite - inflation! rising bond yields! - and the markets staggered before regaining form. As the second half of the year begins, stockholders are skittish, so we decided the time was right to consult Wall Street's top sages and pose the question on every investor's mind: Has the bull market run its course? Not just yet. At least, that's the consensus of the strategists we interview...

by Nicole Bullock and Janet Paskin We all make financial mistakes, and they add up. Consider: From 1986 to 2005, the Standard & Poor's 500 returned 12% annually, but thanks to overzealous trading, the average investor in stock mutual funds made just 4%, according to Dalbar, a Boston-based financial-services research firm. Homeowners pay high insurance premiums to keep deductibles low, but only 7% report claims each year. And 74% of Americans overpaid their taxes in 2005 -- essentially giving the government an interest-free loan. Why? A developing discipline known as behavioral economics seeks to answer that question, but it boils down to this: Academic research tells us that emotions and experiences can distort our financial decisions. While our mistakes are rarely the result of a single mental error, our feelings can make us fumble. Below, seven big financial mistakes and the psychology behind them. 1. Saving with the right hand and spending with the left DIAGNOSIS: Men...

Hi all.... Another timely finance article below.....:) ========================= By Alexandra Twin, CNNMoney.com senior writer First it was a selloff in Chinese markets. Then it was subprime. And now it's the runup in Treasury bond yields that's become Wall Street's latest bogeyman. Funny how these issues seem to send stocks tumbling right around the time that the major gauges have just made new highs. That was the case last week, when worries about an overheating global economy sent the benchmark 10-year Treasury yield - which impacts mortgage rates and other consumer loans - to a 5-year high above 5.3 percent. Stocks tanked in response, with the major gauges sinking some 3 percent over three sessions on worries about the impact of rising rates. But the slump also came right after the Dow industrials, the S&P 500 and the Russell 2000 small-cap index all closed at record highs. The tech-fueled Nasdaq composite had hit a 6-year high. All that during the seasonally weake...

Very insightful article below...enjoy :) ======================== By Doug Casey, Editor, International Speculator Almost everyone, probably including yourself, gets held back by inertia at one time or another. It can happen with anything, including investments. Inertia weighs on an investor, trapping him in a state of paralysis and freezing his portfolio, almost forcing him to hold on to whatever he already owns – for no better reason than that he already owns it. He hopes that every one of his old shoes will go up, even if the reason for the purchase is long forgotten or the environment in which the investment might have prospered has vanished. People who substitute hope for cold-blooded analysis almost inevitably wind up losing money. So, for the sake of argument, let’s look at where you might best put your money for the rest of the year 2007. To keep things simple, let’s assume you start by liquidating all the cats and dogs populating your portfolio, so that you have just a pile of ...

Hi all... The article below is extremely useful for fresh grads going into their first job. I have personally realised and used some of these tips myself (years before such an article was written) and yes, I have benefited tremendously in my career. I wouldn't have been where I am now, if not for the things I did since my first day of work in my first job :) ==================================== by Jim Citrin Job opportunities abound across all sectors for the graduating class of 2007. According to Job Outlook 2007, employers plan to hire 17.4 percent more new college graduates this year than from the class of 2006, the fourth straight year of double-digit growth according to the National Association of Colleges and Employers. Many of the approximately 3 million students graduating from U.S. colleges this year will enter the workforce for the very first time. They'll have to adapt to new cultures, expectations, and schedules. And while success will no longer be about getting g...

Author:Julia Hanna How "sleepy" or "awake" are you when it comes to your stock portfolio? If you're like most people, you probably don't spend a great deal of time monitoring your investments. So when another company uses stock to acquire a firm in which you hold a stake, what do you do with the new shares you suddenly own of a company that you never intended to buy in the first place? Logic suggests that you would be likely to sell those shares. But research by Associate Professor Malcolm Baker, Professor Joshua Coval, and Harvard University professor Jeremy C. Stein shows that 80 percent of individual investors and 30 percent of institutional investors appear to be more inertial than logical. They take the default option, passively accepting the shares offered as consideration in stock mergers and acquisitions. In "Corporate Financing Decisions When Investors Take the Path of Least Resistance," a paper forthcoming in the Journal of Financia...

By Mark Nestmann At least once a week, I receive a call from someone who's invested in a Ponzi Scheme, lost everything they invested, and is now asking for help. Less often, I receive a call from someone who's invested in an arrangement promising fantastically high returns, and wants assistance protecting the proceeds. In the former case, my standard answer is to contact a private investigator, although in most cases, nothing can be done to recover the money. In the latter case, my standard answer is to contact me once the money is in the bank. I have yet to receive a single call back. These experiences led me to investigate the life of Charles Ponzi, and I recently began reading a biography of the famous Boston swindler. Beginning in 1920, Ponzi offered investors in an "international postal coupon scheme" a 50% return on their money in 45 days, or a doubling of their money in 90 days. Within months of unveiling the scheme, investors were lining up to give Ponzi money...

This million dollar secret below is courtesy of: Enjoy reading! You not only get paid to read emails...but also get paid to receive such priceless advice! ================================ I believe most of our members are in their 20s and 30s. If you are one of them, this secret is going to turn you into a Millionaire. If you are in your 40s and 50s, you may be a little too late to benefit from this secret, unless you are already prepared. Here's the secret: The economy works in a predictable cycle. Let's start from the end of a depression. When the market revives from a depression, stock prices will be the first thing that climbs up. Then, all kinds of interest rates will increase. This is followed by a drop in unemployment rate and companies posting good annual report. Stock prices begin to skyrocket and everyone starts to talk about how much they make in stocks. Those who have earned enough from the stock market will start to pump their money into properties. Property hype b...

This time...with more devastating effects! Could Swisscash be the next?! Below is a news article link to one of Singapore's Mandarin Newspaper. http://www.zaobao.com/sp/sp070610_524.html 本地不少人将钱投入名为Buyebarrel的美国快速致富投资网站，结果在网站突然关闭后血本无归。网站声称利用所收取的款项进行石油与外汇投资。设局者会先给投资者利息，让他们尝到甜头，然后向其他人宣传。实际上，这点甜头是来自投资者的钱，并非投资利润。 　　只要投入1000美元（约1500新元），100天内可获近两倍回报，但你所投入的钱，也可能随时化为乌有。这样的投资，你会冒险尝试吗？ 　　如果你的答案是“会”，那请三思而后行，否则你很有可能成为网络投资骗局的下一个受害者。 　　…… ========================= For those who don't understand Mandarin, please feel free to do an internet search on Buyebarrel and I think you can get lots of information on it also. Online Investors...remember to use your brain!! Buyers beware!! Out of the all these internet money making opportunities, I still prefer internet marketing which is a true business on its own and not some ponzi scheme. Below are those that I have been embarking on and received sustainable monthly cash:- - The Rich Jerk - Builds knowledge in marketing leading to wealth - Email Ca...

Below is an interesting article about Agloco from someone who bothered to do some analysis and thinking.... For me...I was initially not comfortable with it because I am not comfortable with downloading the software and have it sit on my computer collecting data.... now more reasons for me not to regret not joining and promoting it...like what my other friends have been doing... ================================== What Everyone Ought to Know About Agloco Agloco is a pay to surf MLM scheme that exploded onto the interwebs late last year. It is backed by the same team as AllAdvantage which crashed and burned in the bubble years. Check out this article from Business 2.0 on AllAdvantage (pdf). AllAdvantage had a simple proposition: pay people a fixed hourly rate for the hours they spent browsing the internet with their software and use an MLM structure to attract new users. As you’d expect, this lead to legions of bots that pretended to surf. In contrast, Agloco uses a tortuously roundab...

Greetings! Following on from my previous posting on internet scams revealed by Singapore newspaper... Here's a more detailed description of stock market scams encountered by people and tips on how to avoid them...useful for those involved with the stock market :) ======================= by John Mussi It seems that there are more and more scams and dishonest deals in the news every day... and it may appear that no one is safe. Many people put off making investments that could make a lot of money down the road because of the fear of stock market scams, but with a little bit of care and common sense they don't have to. It's possible to easily avoid most stock market scams, if you take the time to do a little bit of research before making your investments and avoid the lure of "fast money." Here are some basic tips that can help you to avoid stock market scams and keep your money safe and secure while enabling you to make the investments that you want to make. Know th...