Stock Investing For Dummies ( cd 1) part 1

Investing in Silver: Why, How and Tips

Silver is definitely a hot commodity today. There is an increasing trend in its intrinsic value making it a great investment. If you are looking for another way to invest your money, consider this precious metal. By adding this into your portfolio of bonds, stock, and mutual funds, you are introducing a tangible asset making your portfolio more diverse and helps protect it against fluctuations in value of just one asset. Here are other reasons why investing in silver are a great idea:

• Economics of precious metals - the economic forces that increase or decrease the value of silver is very different from those that affect other financial assets. Therefore, a decline in value of one of your assets will not affect the value of your silver because it works in a different economy. The independent movement of value of such precious metals over your other financial assets decreases the overall volatility of your portfolio helping promote balance.
• Declining value of dollar - the value of US dollar has consistently declined over the past years and is foreseen by some to continue to do so in the coming years. But even if this occurs, silver is said to have "hedge over inflation" ability. To state as an example, in the years 1971-1981, the value of US dollar declined more than half but at the same time the value of silver increased by over 5 times. This means that while economies fluctuate, recess, and expand, precious metals are not affected and can therefore help lower the risks of your investment portfolio.
• Importance in allocation of assets - no matter what type of investor you are, precious metals like this should have an important part in the allocation of your assets. Experts even suggest that 10-15% of your portfolio be dedicated to precious metals to have a secure foundation no matter how great or poor the economy is.
• Ownership with ease - there is convenience and ease with investing in silver bullions. There is always that sense of security when you actually have that physical and tangible silver bullion within your hands. You know you are secured no matter what because you can easily buy and sell your bullions and earn a good amount of money any time.
• Inexpensive investment - unlike many other investments, silver investing is definitely more affordable. It is more affordable than gold and it is often more affordable than buying stocks or bonds. But the great thing about this is that according to spot silver chart, silver's value is continuously increasing. Therefore, you may buy silver today at an affordable price and be able to sell it in the future for double, triple, quadruple the price.
• High demand in industries - silver among all the other precious metals is more in demand for industrial purposes which affects its value. It is used in imaging, jewelry, electronics, water purification, conductivity, and even in making coins. Hence, silver today is not only known as a precious metal or a piece of artwork. It is already all of these making it highly valuable in the market today.

How to Invest in Silver
Now that you know various reasons why you would want to invest in silver, listed below is how you do the investment properly.

• Education - it is very important that you educate yourself about the spot price of silver. Check out the silver spot chart regularly to check the trends and value of silver. You can easily find this online so you know that daily value of pure silver per troy ounce on a daily basis. The spot price fluctuates by the minute so checking it every now and then can be a good idea.
• Start shopping - online retailers and local shops usually have great silver items selections. Here you can find bullions or bars which are a great investment piece as they are pure silver - no alloys were mixed yet. Look for the.999 stamp on the silver item you are thinking of purchasing to guarantee its authenticity. The.999 stamp signifies that it is made of 99.9% pure silver.
• Look for rare items - the rarer your silver items are the more precious they become. This is why educating you about silver beforehand is considered necessary. This allows you to know what rare silver items there are, so when you start shopping you know what to look for. There are many rare silver coins out there which have the best value. For US coins, look for ones that were produced in 1964 and in earlier years. For Canada coins, look for ones that were produced in 1967 and earlier. For UK coins, look for ones that were produced in 1946 and earlier.
• Invest in stocks - if you do not want the hassle of buying and owning silver items, investing in silver stocks is an option you can take. This is called exchange-traded funds that allow you to own stocks of silver without ever owning the physical silver items.

Tips for Investing
Here are a few helpful tips to invest in silver:

• Always read the great silver spot chart so you are constantly updated to trends and current values of silver. Remember, the spot price of silver changes every minute so if you are serious about making an investment in silver, doing this can definitely help you.
• It may also be helpful to look on the history of the silver market and previous prices. This will help you create generalizations about the trend and forecast where the market is headed.
• When buying coins, make sure the price given to you is close to the spot price. It can be more than or less than but make sure they stay close to it.
• If you want to invest in exchange-traded funds instead, use the help of an online stock brokerage to minimize costs.

Silver is truly a great investment piece and helps create balance in your investment portfolio. So consider investing in this and you will certainly see a growth in your assets in the future.

The author has put together information for the novice to the knowledgeable silver investor.
Information is constantly being updated due to silver's volatility to keep you informed. Visit and bookmark.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7962994

Eric Sprott: Silver to Outshine Gold as the Investment of this Decade!

Why You Should Buy Silver Now Before the Price Goes Crazy High

"What's that you say? You're going to buy silver?" my friend of over 20 years replied, looking at me as if I were about to club her over the head and throw her in the back of my van. Actually, the verbal exchange wasn't exactly like that, but she did give me an odd look (and just for the record, we own a minivan with lots of windows and very comfortable seating). Think about it for a second, dear reader... if I were standing in front of you right now telling you that I was going to buy silver, how would you respond? First of all, you would certainly wonder who this stranger is and why is he talking to me about silver. Granted, but let's try to focus on the silver part, friend...

Do you know what the price of silver has done over the last 15 years or so? It went from around $4 an ounce in the very late '90s to almost $50 an ounce in 2011. That's quite a hefty return, no? And I can tell you that was only the beginning. "So what has silver done for you lately?" You ask. Well, it's kind of gone down a little. How "little?" Well, it's gone from about $50 to its current price of $19 or so. Alright, close your mouth. You can stop giggling too. I know it might sound crazy when I tell you that now is the perfect time to buy silver. Why? Simple - because the price has fallen from $50 to $19! Here's a little tip for ya' - Buy low; sell high? Heard that one already? Well, price is low, so it's time to buy. Could price go lower? Sure it could, possibly a buck or two, but odds are that the bottom is in for this correction and soon prices are going to start going up again. How high will they go? Well, there is plenty of talk these days of silver going to $60, $100, even $200 per ounce; and if our government and the Federal Reserve keep printing $118,000,000 an hour (that's right, per hour - they are creating $85 billion a month!) we might even might even see silver hit four figures before its all over.

Why is silver going to go up?

I am not a fortune teller, friends, nor I am not a financial advisor (who is basically a fortune teller in a suit, no?) I am not a silver salesman either. I am merely a husband and a father looking around at this world of ours; at the shaky governments and economies; at the bail outs and imminent bail ins; at the real inflation around us (not the inflation rate that the government tells us); at the incessant printing of dollars and euros and most all currencies world-wide, and I know that we cannot continue like this. There are some rough times a' comin' and when there is instability, people seek stability and security. In financial-speak, that means precious metals - silver and gold. The time is now to purchase your security in the form of silver and ride the wave of higher and higher prices to come.

This is obviously a light-hearted look at a serious topic, and there is much, much more to the story. Though what I am saying here is not to be construed as investment advice and should not be followed as such, I strongly encourage everyone to do some research, and learn more about the silver story. 

Your author, Joe (Silverheels) Paulson, has been following and investing in the precious metals market for over 30 years (!) now.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7874636

Million Dollar Traders- Episode 1: Make Me A Trader (Finance Documentary)

6 Tips On How To Choose The Best Binary Options Platform

Binary Options is one of the easiest ways to make money on the financial market. Its popularity lies in the fact that is accessible online, and an investor doesn't need to be highly skilled or experienced. At the same time, the investor does need to follow some basic strategies to make a profit. There are several online binary options trading platforms, or brokers, which can help traders do just that, but sometimes the sheer number can overwhelm the trader. When choosing one, the trader should ensure that it is financially stable, reliable and reputable. Here are some tips on how to choose the binary options platform that best suits the trader:

1. The trader should make sure the binary options platform they choose offers returns of at least 65-70 percent. The advantage of trading in binary options is that the payments are fixed so the trader knows what they will gain or lose even before the time frame expires. To earn a profit the investor needs to be "in the money" by at least 0.001. Being 'in the money' means the difference in the value of the asset and the strike price of the call option is in favor of the trader.

2. Look for a platform that offers a return even for 'out of the money' results. It is disappointing to lose money, so a trader should look for a platform that offers some sort of payment even for negative outcomes. There not many that do so but some of the platforms that do, offer up to 15 percent return on "out of the money" results.

3. Traders and investors should make sure that the platform they choose offers a variety of assets. Traders can now easily keep up with the movement of assets via the internet, business news channels and the papers. So a platform that offers a great selection of assets gives the trader better opportunities to make a profit.

4. Binary options platforms will charge some sort of a 'joining' fee, but the trader needs to careful of sites with hidden costs on other services which may pop up after they have started using the platform. So investors should make sure to inquire about all fees and additional costs before joining. Reputed platforms will have a page dedicated to this on their website.

5. It is very important that the binary options platform has good security measures in place. With such a lot of money being moved, traders should make sure to check out what kind of security measures and encryption the site uses to guard against online theft.

6. Traders also need look for platforms that have good customer support in place. Whether new or experienced at online trading, an investor might sometimes need technical or other assistance, so there should be a good customer support service to advise and help clients when required.

The binary options platform used by traders will be the difference between how successful they are or not. The above tips can help traders and investors choose the platform best suited for their needs.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/7868113

Stock Market Investing Tips : Online Stock Trading Advice