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Archive for retirement
Mar
16
Short Selling Without Knowing Short Interest Ratios Can Be Dangerous!
Posted by: | CommentsEveryone wants to ride the rising tide in the stock market by buying stocks and later on selling them at a higher price to make a capital gain. However, can you make money when the tide in the stock market is going down? Yes, you can with short selling. In short selling, yo borrow a stock from your broker and sell it. Later on you buy it back at a much lower price and return it your broker making a good capital gain.
Short selling works if the price continues to fall. If the price does not fall or retraces after sometime, you can make a hefty loss on your short position. The loans that are taken in order to go short have to be repaid! If the lender asks them or the price goes up, the trader has to buy back shares in order to make the repayment. Now, the harder it becomes to get the right number of shares in the market, the more desperate the trader will become and the higher the prices can go.
Short selling in stocks is done by investors with the expectation of a making a capital gain when they expect that stock price to go down in the near future. Short selling is also done by the fund managers to hedge their stock portfolios. Now, in other markets like the currencies, futures or the options market, you don’t have to borrow the security in order to go short. You can straight away go short by selling that security or currency in the market.
There is something very important that you need to keep an eye on when you go short selling. It is known as Short Interest Ratios. This will help you monitor the rate of short selling in the market. If the rate is too high, it means that too many investors are taking short positions and you need to avoid it. New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) and NASDAQ, both report the short interest in stocks listed on them,however, this is done on a monthly basis as brokers need sometime to collect the data of shares that they have lended to their clients for shorting.
Now this number is known as the Short Interest Ratio. Short Interest Ratio is a very important number for short sellers as it can give important clues about the investor expectation to the short sellers.
Short Interest Ratio reports the number of shares of a particular stock that has been shorted, the percentage change from the previous months, the average daily volume for that stock in the same month and the number of days of trading at the average volume that it would take to cover the short positions.
The problem with Short Interest Ratio is that it is not calculated frequently. It is calculated on monthly basis. So, the trader cannot use it to gauge the short positions in the market on a daily or weekly basis. However, it can give you the general trend in the market. A high short interest ratio should make you nervous if you have taken a short position in that stock as most of the investors who are short will soon become desperate to dump that stock in the market and cover their short positions.
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Mar
05
Trading The Economic Reports Like The Non Farm Payroll Report Can Be Highly Profitable
Posted by: | CommentsIf you are a trader than you will be knowing how important news is for the markets. Breaking news can move the markets upside down in matter of few minutes. But breaking news cannot be predicted. You can only hope to avoid it when you are trading. However, there are certain economic reports that are released periodically that have the potential of moving the markets. There are traders popularly known as the news traders who trade these economic reports and make a lot of pips or ticks or points whatever!
The most market moving reports are the Federal Reserve’s Beige Book, The Consumer and the Producer Price Index, The Gross Domestic Product (GDP). the monthly Employment Reports or what you call the NFP Report, the Institute for Supply Management (ISM). Now as said before if these reports have no surprise for the markets, nothing will happen. But in case if there is a surprise, markets can turn upside down in matter of minutes! Now when these economic reports are released, market compares the expected with the unexpected. The more these reports have the element of the unexpected, the more the markets become nervous. So, if you are a news trader or an economic report trader, you need to watch CNBC and Bloomberg constantly to know what the market is expecting.
Now, you can know the date of release of these economic reports by looking at the Economic Calendar. By looking at the Economic Calendar, you can know these dates as it provides the listing of dates when these reports will be released. Each month, most of these reports are released by the different agencies that includes both public as well as private at fixed dates.
Now, you never know how markets are going to react to each one of these economic reports. Some are given more importance by the markets. But this preferrence also keeps on changing. Now, FOMC Meeting Minutes are considered to be very important as interest rate changes are decided in the FOMC Meeting. FOMC stands for the Federal Open Market Committee. The other important reports can be the CPI ( Consumer Price Index) and the PPI ( Producer Price Index).
The US Department of Labor’s Non Farm Payroll (NFP) Employment Report is considered to be a major market moving report. It is released on the first Friday of each month at 8:30 AM EST. You should try to avoid trading at this time. However, there are many currency traders who now specialize in trading the NFP Report.
These types of reports can also start a news trend in the market that might last for quite sometime! Now as said before, the market reaction is dependent on how muc surprise there is in the report. If there is no element of unexpected in the report, the market may react mildly. But if there is a big surprise in the report that the market did not anticipate, markets can be volatile for hours or even days before the importance of the surprise is digested by the market.
NFP Report has become important in the last few years keeping in view the slow economic growth. Now, as the economy shifts gear from slow growth to high growth the state of employment figures can become highly important for the economy. This report is used by the traders, investors and Wall Street Analyst to anticipate any interest rate changes in the economy. In the end, it is the interest rates that stand at the center of the financial universe!
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Mar
02
Bullish Or Bearish Engulfing Candlestick Patterns Can Be Highly Profitable
Posted by: | CommentsEngulfing candlestick pattern is a double stick pattern. Double stick candlestick patterns do not appear frequently but when they do appear, it can mean a trend reversal is about to take place. Spotting a trend reversal before it happens is something that can be highly profitable in trading.
Now two stick candlestick patterns are more complex. It takes two trading days for the two sticks to form on the daily charts. On the first day if you find a two stick pattern forming, you will have to wait for the end of the second trading day for confirmation. Most of the time, it will happen that you find the pattern forming on the first day. But on the second day, your hopes get dashed when the pattern fizzles out and there is no trading signal for you!
There are trend continuation patterns and trend reversal patterns. An Engulfing Candlestick Pattern is a very important trading signal about the reversal of a trend. Two stick patterns are rare! However, it doesn’t mean that these two stick candlestick patterns do not form at all. They do! But don’t frequently. So if are able to spot a two stick pattern correctly, you can make a highly profitable trade.
Bullish Engulfing Candlestick Pattern is formed when the first day candle is completely covered by the body of the second day candle. The first day candle is bullish. The second day trading starts with an open lower than the previous day.
Thus indicating that the bears are still in control but soon these bears are overcome by the bulls. Selling is soon reversed by the emergence of buying. Infact so much buying takes place that both the previous days open and high both are surpassed.
On the other hand, in case of the bearish engulfing pattern on the first day, the bulls are in control of the market. However, on the second day or the signal day, the bears have had enough. Sellers or short sellers think that the price has gone too high and it is the time to take profit and exit. They start selling in large numbers.
A massive chain reaction starts in the market. Everyone wants to sell and sell quick. The second day bearish candle covers the first day bullish candle meaning that bears have taken hold of the market and uptrend is reversing itself.
Never ever trade without putting the stop loss because nothing is 100% certain in trading. A candlestick pattern has to be confirmed by the subsequent price action on the following days. Now, the most important thing for any trader is where to place the stop loss. In case of a bullish engulfing candlestick pattern, place ths top loss on the low of the first day to be on the safe side. And in case of a bearish engulfing pattern, place the stop loss near the open of the second or signal day. This way even if the pattern is not confirmed with the subsequent price action, you are on the safe side. Happy trading!
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Dec
18
All Investments Have Gone Down In This Economy
Posted by: | CommentsWith the stock market going down so much over the last couple of years, many people have become gun-shy about buying stocks. This is understandable since most every stock had done nothing but go down for so long. However, there is signs of life and the market has moved back up somewhat.
Even though the market has made a small comeback, it does not guarantee that it will not start to head back down again. This is where you start to wonder whether you are missing out by not being in the market or whether this is just a false upward move before heading back down again. Professional investors have a slight advantage here because they are trained to understand market tendencies and to analyze the market.
Many people have thought about averaging down during this bear market, which just means they would buy more stock of what they already have but at lower prices. That would in effect lower the cost per share of the stocks they have but they would of course have more of them. This is a great thing to do if you can catch the market at the bottom but if the market has further to fall, then you just end up losing more money.
Although it may be tempting to buy more of what you have and to average down, it might not be the smartest choice. Most economists and stock market analysts agree that you should be diversified in your investments and that might mean buying other company stocks instead of the ones you already own. It also could be done by buying other types of financial investments such as treasury bills or bank CDs. A good investor never has too much in one asset as that would expose them to too much risk.
Even if you have been properly diversified, you have most likely lost money in this terrible environment. All investments types have suffered as well as jobs and anything else related to the economy. This will not last forever though, and at some point it will be the right time to get back in. Those that are able to recognize the correct reentry point will stand the best chance of cashing in and actually making money.
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Dec
16
Investing – 10 Common Mistakes You Should Avoid
Posted by: | Commentssafe high return investments Downers Grove
While it can seem very difficult to put money away each month for retirement or savings, not doing so can leave you with a lifetime of living paycheck to paycheck with no possibility of retirement. Just putting the money away, though, is not enough. You have to invest that money in something that will put your money to work for you, earning money on its own. The stock market, retirement plans, mutual funds, and other investment vehicles offered through banks and investment companies are great ways to do this. Be sure to avoid these common pitfalls when considering how to invest that money:
1. Don’t ignore your employer’s 401k plan, if it is offered. Most employers do have such a plan, and many match the funds you put in in some way. By not taking advantage of the 401k, you may be giving up free money, and you are definitely giving up one of the best possible investment vehicles around. If this is available to you, be sure to take advantage of it as soon as you are eligible.
2. Lack of some kind of investment and savings plan. Your age, budget, family situation, and other economic factors will determine how much you can invest each month, and what kind of investments you should make. Familiarize yourself with basic investing philosophies and then invest according to your needs and situation.
3. Being too conservative with your investments. If your timeline to retirement or other financial need is more than 20 years away, you need to consider maximizing your returns through riskier investments. While you may lose some money, at least on paper, in the short term, history has proven again and again that you will make significant returns over the long term. Riskier investments invariably provide higher returns.
4. Taking too much risk with your investments. As you get closer to retirement, you will need to start taking a different outlook on your investing. The name of the game here will be capital preservation, rather than high returns. As a result, you will want to start moving your portfolio to less risky investment vehicles such as money market funds, bond funds, and CDs.
5. Investing too heavily into one sector or type of investment. The best way to preserve capital, while at the same time earning high returns, is to diversify your portfolio. This will allow your money to grow regardless of current economic conditions and keep you from suffering the consequences of knee-jerk market reactions to short-term economic factors.
6. Getting involved in get rich quick scams. Once you’ve established investment accounts, you will be continually bombarded by less-than-honest people trying to get you to buy into their “hot stocks” tip sheets, and other investment advisory information. Don’t fall for it. Chances are, these opportunities are outright fake or just short of impossible to get them to actually work.
7. Hanging on to a hot investment for too long. From time to time, you will find a stock or other investment that pays very high returns. Keep in mind that it will not stay that way, and set a goal to get out before you lose money on it (double or triple your money, whatever makes sense). Once you’re out, don’t look back. Be happy that you made good money on it, not sad that you might have made more.
8. Information overload. You can spend way too much time on analyzing an investment, and by the time you are ready to make a move, it’s too late. Don’t let this happen to you. Lots of money is lost everyday because people were unwilling to make a move in time. Get just enough information to confirm your hunch and then just do it. If you don’t know enough about the investment or the industry, use an investment advisor to limit any mistakes you might make.
9. Investing while being saddled with debt. Your debt will accrue interest charges much faster than your investments will make money. Before investing your first dollar, get out of debt, particularly credit cards and other revolving debt instruments. A mortgage is just fine, as that will likely make you money in the long term, but revolving credit is just not necessary for most people.
10. Paying too much in commission fees. Few things will eat into your investment returns faster than commissions. Unless you are already very rich, and you’re constantly trading in and out of stocks and bonds, you should not be paying high commissions. For most people a discount broker is the way to go. For the cheapest possible commissions, consider using one of the online investment brokers, and be sure to compare commission structures before deciding which broker to use.
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