What to Look For in an Investor Profile?

Posted on January 21st, 2008 in Uncategorized by info

It is important to understand an investor’s need by clearly defining the investor by creating an investor profile as this helps a broker or trader understand the limits and boundaries, as well as what an investor is looking for. There are as many variations of profiles as there are investors, but the key elements to look for when making investment type decisions are their interest in buy and hold investments, active management trading, risk taking, varied investment types, varied types of stocks (defensive, value, growth, cyclical, etc.), stock cap size, derivatives, international investment, local investment, hands on investment or investment funds. However, there are more categories that are available.

What are LIBOR-Based Derivatives?

Posted on January 19th, 2008 in Uncategorized by info

LIBOR-based derivatives are forms of Eurodollar contracts. They involve three months of US dollar rates.
These are run by the Chicago Mercantile Exchange and are amongst the planet’s most vigorously and frequently traded futures. Usually they are short term trades with interest rate agreements that can be given lives of up to ten full years. However, there are other versions which include the Asian Time on the Singapore Exchange. Sometimes these are swapped for other interest rates with maturity dates of up to and including fifty years. There are ones for three and six months, as well as five years. All can be swapped for their maturity dates.

Your real mortgage interest rate; what to consider

Posted on January 12th, 2008 in Uncategorized by info

When you start looking for a mortgage loan, you will see a variety or advertised interest rates. These rates are usually only available to people with a decent amount of down payment and outstanding credit scores, among other things. You may wonder just what determines your interest rate in an effort to get it to the lowest possible rate for yourself.
The first factor will be the amount of your loan. While you may be approved for a loan up to 200,000 dollars, that doesn’t mean you have to use the whole thing. You may find a decent house you like for $150,000.00 and this can help lower your rate, as well as a larger down payment. A down payment of 20% or larger is what will get you the lowest possible rate for this area.
The higher your credit rating is the lower your interest rate can be. However, if your current debt is higher than 30% of your monthly income, then it will not matter how high your credit rating is.
Another factor that has a big role in determining your interest rate is the length of your loan term. If you have a longer loan term then you will be considered a higher risk for the lender and therefore will have a higher interest rate. At the same time the longer your loan term, the longer you are paying interest. So if you have a shorter term then you win by getting a lower rate as well as a shorter period of time paying interest which in turn can save you even more money.

What are Currencies?

Posted on January 12th, 2008 in Uncategorized by info

Currencies are units of trade used to facilitate the transfer or exchange of services and products. In most cases it refers to money, though it can refer to any exchange medium that is predominant in a market.
Currencies are valued by their location, rates of exchange and their value against other currencies on the open FOREX market. They are classified into two types: fixed or floating. The majority of currencies are floating which means their values fluctuate based on consumer use, but fixed currencies never change in value and do not compete in the same market as fluctuating ones. The US dollar fluctuates as does the British pound.

What are Leverage Strategies?

Posted on January 4th, 2008 in Uncategorized by info

Leverage strategies involve varied techniques. These may be done in many ways, including such things as short selling and marginal buying.
Short selling is the most common, allowing traders to borrow brokerage stock on behalf of its clients and sell them with the hope that prices may fall. Then the trader may purchase the same stock back at a better price or risk losing more money. To hedge against profit losses, some traders will use an exit point. However, too much of this can lower overall stock prices, something that is strictly regulated. Marginal buying lets traders buy stocks with borrowed funds and sell this to make a profit.