China Stocks Make Wonderful Investments

By Michael Swanson

It is surprising with how long the Chinese economy has taken to strengthen to its current position. Indeed, it could be argued that China, as an economy and therefore an investment opportunity, has simply been treading water for the last two decades. As growth explodes now however; rich pickings are available for those with money to invest in China.

Early investors are obviously reaping the benefits from the manufacture and distribution of fundamentals such as clothing and computers. Furniture too is a profitable investment; though this has been checked somewhat by recent stories of spurious materials and the consumer effect of moving towards "greener" and home grown manufacture.

Conversely, (and possibly the best market to consider when looking at viable opportunities to invest in China), is within the toy industry. The culture of the western world to pander to its offspring shows no signs of abating any time soon. That the most popular toys can be produced in high numbers, at low cost makes for a great investment.

Many other opportunities to invest in China are out there and clearly signposted. For example, China is second only to the US in its consumption of oil; whilst being both the biggest consumer and producer of coal. Indeed, investment in this sector is booming despite the global collective towards environmental concerns.

Assisted by the awarding of contracts to tenders from the west, an area already ripe and only ripening further is to be found in the national railway infrastructure, operations and rolling stock. Whilst not the most environmentally focused of countries, China does at least realize the potential of railway travel for its immense populous.

Before you invest in China, a word to the wise; do be prepared to take a major hit occasionally. Emerging markets are notorious for their volatility and vulnerability. Whilst recovery continues, China are still reeling from a 65% stock market loss at the end of 2008; indicative of how the global economy is having an effect in even growing markets. - 23200

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Forex Option Trading - Fixed Prices to Shield a Trading Account

By Steve Maenshel

Forex option trading is often used by large financial institutions for their hedging strategy implementation, as well as it is used by a large number of day traders as a speculative instrument. Forex options are a specific type of a trading instrument, which has its upsides and downsides. One of the special features of Forex option trading is that it's extremely liquid. Forex option buyer is called a holder, while Forex option seller is called the granter.

The forex option holder receives the right to exchange a predefined amount of currency at a predefined date and price. The option buyer is obligated to pay a premium to the seller of the option. In fact, this is the only liability of the buyer, making Forex option trading a field with very limited liabilities. The forex option seller has two ways to precede with his/her option - to buy the contract back or to hold it until its expiration.

Forex option trading can protect you from unfavorable fluctuations, which could eat up your whole account, since the amount that you may lose is fixed in advance.

Exercising of the Forex options does not always occur with Forex option trading. In fact, it does not occur more often than it does. The options are usually offset until they expire. Every time the option does get exercised, the option holder is said to be assigned a spot position. In case the final strike price is below the initial purchase price, the option expires and becomes worthless.

As mentioned before, options in Forex option trading have a fixed price. This special feature shields you from losing all of your capital with a particularly unfavorable market move. You will profit when the strike price is higher than your initial purchase price, and you will incur a loss when its lower.

Forex option trading can only be applied on the international markets, since it's a hedging instrument. Forex option trading is generally considered very risky, but also with higher potential of profits.

Call options grant their owners the right to buy the currency. Put options grant their owners the right to sell the currency. Both call and put Forex option prices are predominantly influenced by volatility. Increasing volatility results in both call and put options to grow in price. There are two types of put and call option contracts in Forex option trading. Common (plain) options are called "plain vanilla" options and customized ones are called "exotic" options.

Are there any ways to make your Forex option trading less risky? Yes, for that try to follow the below general guidelines:

1. Only place a small portion of your account into option trading.

2. Use only the proven signals with your Forex option trading.

3. Try your Forex option trading first on a demo account, in order to gain a valuable practical experience without risking any money.

Forex option trading is an additional Forex trading strategy. In order to become better diversified, you may wish to learn more about Forex option trading in addition to regular Forex trading. - 23200

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About the author: Steve Maenshel can you help you understand forex option trading. For more forex trading information, visit his forex resource center.

What is Market Sentiment (Part V)?

By Ahmad Hassam

When you look at the COT report, you should focus on the non-commercial participants rather than on the commercial participants. You would want to know the reason. Commercial participants are mostly trading forex futures for hedging purposes. They keep on rolling on their positions from month to month for hedging even though they maybe taking losses.

However, large speculators like the hedge funds, the banks, big institutional investors and so on, trade currency futures contracts for speculation and pure capital gains only. Hedge funds are a major player in this category. Most of the large speculators will immediately close their losing position instead of rolling it over to the next month. Non-commercial participants do not have any intention of taking delivery of the currency in cash like the commercial participants.

By gauging market sentiment in the forex futures market, you can also gauge the market sentiment in the spot forex market. There is a close correlation between the currency futures market and the spot forex market.

Forex futures are basically spot prices adjusted for the forwards to arrive at the future delivery price based on the interest rate differentials. Near the maturity of the forex futures contract, both the prices converge. Prices become equal on maturity.

The main difference between the spot forex market and the forex futures market is that the spot forex market is Over the Counter (OTC) market. It is not centralized. However, Forex futures are traded on a Centralized Exchange Chicago Mercantile Exchange (CME).

There are some differences in price quotation system used in both the markets that you should become familiar with. However, the spot and futures prices of a currency tend to move in tandem. When either the spot or the future price of the currency rises, the other also tends to rise and when either falls, the other also tend to falls. For example, if GBP futures price goes up spot GBP/USD goes up too.

By subtracting the total long positions from the total short positions, calculate the net position of the non-commercial contracts in the COT report. The non-commercials tend to register a net long position when a particular currency is trending up against the US Dollar. This is due to the fact that the large speculators mostly hedge funds like to continue riding the trend as long as it lasts.

The opposite is also true when a particular currency is trending down against the US Dollar. The non-commercials will have a net short position when the market is trending down against USD. You can tell if the latest net positioning is skewing towards an extreme reading by comparing the latest net positioning with that of the past few weeks or months.

You can detect turning points in the spot forex market with the COT reports by keeping an eye on the net directional positioning and net contract volume in the non-commercial category. When the majority of the market is positioned incorrectly, dramatic price moves like the major turning points tend to occur.

You can use your COT report analysis to optimize your trading strategies. Entry and exit cannot be timed solely based on COT report but it can generate warning signals of a possible turn ahead in the spot forex market. What deters many traders from using the COT report is its raw organization of data. COT report is a treasure trove. - 23200

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Mr.Ahmad Hassam has done Masters from Harvard University. He is interested in day trading stocks and currencies. Trade The Forex News! Learn Forex Trading.

Which Mutual Fund?

By Bob Jones

For the person who is interested in investing in the stock market there are various funds that can be worth investigating. When you are carrying out this sort of research, it is best to choose a couple of different mutual funds. To compare mutual funds you will need to keep various goals in sight. The first one is comparing the performance of the various companies that you have chosen.

This means looking to see how the company has weathered the ups and downs of the stock market over a period of years. While this is not an indication of future success, it will let you know if the mutual funds company is capable of performing well, even if there is no clear indication of the prices of stocks changing. You can find this information in various financial guides.

You will gain an idea of how the stock market affects different sorts of mutual funds from these various data sources and, once you have understood these changes and the way your portfolio is affected, you will know which funds are best avoided and which ones are alright to invest with. However, it takes more than merely looking through financial reviews to compare mutual funds effectively.

You will also need to see what kinds of costs are listed by the different mutual companies. These costs will include administrative costs, advertising costs, buying and selling of stocks and bonds and also the types of load costs. As most of these expenses need to be borne by the customer, it is best for you to research this information thoroughly.

You will find this information in newspapers and on Internet sites. However, make sure that you fully understand all of the information that is given, as this makes investing in a mutual fund less risky. In addition to these ideas on how to compare mutual funds, you will also discover lots of comprehensive articles.

These articles will explain the various terminology used in some of the mutual fund brochures. You will also be given information about the types of mutual funds that are currently available on the market.

By looking at all of this information, you can make a well-balanced decision about which mutual funds are worthwhile investing in. Be sure that you examine all of these details before you start investing. The details gained from investigating the mutual funds will give you the best chance for investing wisely in the very risky world of mutual funds. - 23200

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If you are interested in Investing in Mutual Funds or investing in general, please go along to our web site entitled Investing in Mutual Funds

Finding A Builder In Costa Rica If On A Budget

By Randy Berg

Many people are investing their hard-earned money in properties in the mainland, even though it is about three hours interior, due to the affordable costs. None of the surrounding areas or countries has land available at such reasonable prices. Finding a builder in Costa Rica within your budget is another proposition altogether. Considering the location and vulnerability with regard to volcanoes and earthquakes, one cannot play around when building any structure in Costa Rica.

Apart from finding a builder in Costa Rica who can fit into your budget, you have to ensure that the person in question is capable of getting the necessary permits and documents for building on your premises. He should be up to date with the current policies and regulations. He has to reckon with the climatic conditions, including the heavy rainstorms, when building for you. Most of the houses use cement and iron unlike other areas in North America.

Download all the necessary information you require from the internet and use this knowledge to your advantage even before finding a builder in Costa Rica. Remember you are at the receiving end and it is up to you to play your cards right and take interest in the project. That way you can be the proud owner of a wonderful piece of investment.

You will have to think of the cost of your property and your budget, and while finding a builder in Costa Rica ensure that he can give you the best within your stipulated budget. Many builders can give you a beautiful home on a really affordable budget, while there are others who can splurge on the most expensive material and still not give you what you want.

There are a lot of developers working on large properties in Costa Rica and they often hand out smaller assignments to other builders. See if you can get one of these who are not as rich and famous as the big builders and less expensive to do your job for you. You can search on the internet while you are finding a builder in Costa Rica and do some research on their reputation before you finally hire them

Beware of frauds when finding a builder in Costa Rica. Though developers may charge more than some smaller builders, be wary of those who quote low prices just to get the contract. The material they use may not be of good quality therefore it is best if you do your study before venturing on building on your property.

Some builders import their materials from America whereas others make their own wood work etc. in Costa Rica. Discuss the cost of building your home or refurbishing it before you settle for a builder after finding a builder in Costa Rica. - 23200

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Let Randy Berg help you find stunning and gorgeous properties at Costa Rica Real Estate. Interact with us through our forum.