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Stocks Decline in Late Afternoon Trading (ABC News)
Dow, Nasdaq Slide in Late Afternoon Trading on Weakness in Regional Manufacturing

The Risks And Benefits Of Corporate Bonds

By: Bill Dufrane

Rarely will you find an investment where you gain a substantial reward without an equally substantial amount of risk. Let’s face it - the odds are stacked against you. Not only are there other huge banks and multinational corporations you have to compete against that have more capital than you will ever have, but there are millions of other investors trying to test their luck in the same market. Your choice of where to invest your money is therefore highly important. This is where corporate bonds come into play.

1. Corporate Bonds

Many times, corporations have great sales and service records but just don’t have the funds needed for a particular initiative. A corporate bond is high yield as essentially you are lending the company your money.

2. Credit Risk

Of course, you have to consider that many companies seek bonds because they are in financial trouble and need a quick cash injection to keep themselves afloat. It will be up to you to differentiate that companies are looking for a handout and that legitimately have a quality operation and simply need funds to expand and grow their business.

3. Corporate Bond Ratings

Credit risk on bonds is actually rated in an easily understandable fashion. Triple A bonds are very low risk, and similarly low yield. BB is considered junk - very risky but potentially insane payouts, all the way to D (avoid these at all costs).

4. Interest Rates

If you are going to be acquiring a bond, of the things you should look for, the interest rate is high on the priority list. Getting a bond with even a 1% better rate of interest can result in hundreds of additional dollars in your pocket each year. Since general interest rates can change, a bond purchased today offering 5% is worth less if interest rates in general rise to 8% a year later.

5. Life To Maturity

Many corporate bonds come with the option to be callable. This means that they can be redeemed prior to the date of maturity. Companies do this when interest rates fall, and they wish not to continue making high interest payments to bondholders. In essence, this is a form of corporate re-financing similar to that done by homeowners with their home equity. That callable feature represents the risk to an investor that, though initially receiving high interest payments, they may not be able to enjoy that same rate for the life of the bond. As a consequence, those bonds are often less expensive and have lower interest rates.

Article Source: http://www.noviceinvesting.com/Article

For more great corporate bond related articles and resources check out bondsadvisor.info

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Friedman, Billings, Ramsey settles trading charges (Market Watch)
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Broker-dealer Friedman, Billings, Ramsey settled charges that it engaged in insider-trading and other activities while working on behalf of CompuDyne Corp., securities regulators said Wednesday.

Kimberly-Clark Options Trading Surges on Buyout Talk (Update3) (Bloomberg.com)
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) — Trading in options to buy shares of Kimberly-Clark Corp., the maker of Huggies diapers and Kleenex tissue, rose 24-fold, the most in more than six years, on speculation the company may be bought.

Bonds - Are They Right For Your Portfolio?

By: Bill Dufrane

For those wishing to invest their money - usually those wishing to put away a tidy nest egg for retirement or their children for school - there are a lot of decisions to make. You can’t jump into just any arrangement, and especially not the first offer that comes your way. Perhaps the most pertinent question you might ask yourself when investing is, what should oneu invest in - in other words, what’s good to invest in right now?

1. Put Your Money First

The final aspect of investing in bonds shouldn’t be the qustion as to what you should buy or sell, but rather, how much capital you are going to gain in the form of dividends. Remember, you aren’t buying stocks, you are investing. This means you expect a return on your investment.

2. Stocks

If you plan on investing in stocks, a general rule is to hold them for at least 10 years. Stocks will, over this period of time, outperform any other possible investment. Don’t even think about real estate, bonds, or commodities, stocks are definately the way to go, and it is not uncommon to see returns of up to or over 10%.

Of course, that is not to say that stocks are always the safest choice. Few investors actually buy stock and hold it for ten or more years. Also, with the exception of mutual funds individuals tend not to invest in stocks in general, but rather in a particular company. Also, even then, times change because new and better technologies come to pass. General Electric no longer makes most of its revenue from light bulbs, for example.

2. Bonds

If youre going to go with a bond, first of all, expect to pay a minimum of $5,000. You will definately want to invest in a bond that is rated AA or higher, and stick to a well known, major brokerage to handle your investment. Even with inflation you can expect to make only 4% profit per year. Of course, 4% of $5,000 is only $200, but over a period of 10 years that turns into $2,000. Of course, in today’s economy $2,000 won’t even last a month for rent, food, utilties, etc. Even so, bonds have advantages no other instrument enjoys. Since they have a set interest rate and maturity date, their behavior is much more readily predictable, given plausible assumptions about interest rate changes and other economic factors. You can’t attribute this kind of reliability to stocks, for example.

3. Currencies Or Commodities

The beginning investor should never engage in trading commodities or currencies, such as FOREX. Don’t believe the hype surrounding these investments - there is a reason why so much money is floating around out there - people are losing it!

4. Real Estate

If you think that the value of real estate is always on the rise, think again. Although a great way to make substantial gains, if you are going to make any real money you have to be able to invest a lot of your capital - more than any other variety of investing. Many simply can’t do it part time and try to make it their full time job. Some succeed, many fail.

5. Funds

If you are looking to make some quick cash, funds offer a great alternative to direct investing. Mutual funds, one of the more common types, pool investor money and diversify investment (usually) into a variety of instruments - stocks, bonds, currency, commodities, etc. Investors save money by not incurring a fee for every trade, but pay management fees of one kind or another (usually annual), and those can eat substantially into overall return on your investment.

Article Source: http://www.noviceinvesting.com/Article

For more great bond related articles and resources check out www.bondshq.info

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Asian Stocks Fall in U.S. Trading, Led by BHP, Commodity Shares (Bloomberg.com)
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) — Asian stocks fell in U.S. trading as reports showed U.S. economic growth slowed and manufacturing in the Philadelphia region contracted by the most in more than three years. BHP Billiton and other commodity shares led the decline.

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Emissions trading - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Emissions trading (or cap and trade) is an administrative approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants . In such a plan …

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Top Rated Investment Bonds

By: Derek Marsh

Your typical independent investor will never be able to understand every aspect of bond investing. Research on bonds fills volumes. It is for this reason, therefore, that you do as much research as you can prior to investing, and if you can, take advantage of professional investors that can manage a portfolio for you.

1. Bond Ratings

Not all stocks are created equal - some are a strong buy whereas others are holds or sells. Bond ratings get assigned over 20 different possible designations, from AAA (Highest Grade) to C (May Be In Default) or worse. Also, those designations are backed by some of the most thorough historical and technical research on the planet.

2. High Predictability Makes A Safe Investment

Bonds always have an associated interest rate and a set maturity date. This makes bonds more predictable. Those two factors alone makes possible the use of an array of mathematical tools to provide predictions of future yields and price with a confidence unmatched by any other investment.

3. AAA Bonds

The absoulte best quality of bonds are ones that are rated AAA. They carry the smallest degree of investment risk, and thus, the least amount of reward. Interest payments are typically protected by a large or exceptionally stable margin and the principal is believed secure.

4. BAA Bonds

These are medium grade bonds and as such they are neither highly protected nor yeild a very high amount of return on your investment. BAA rated bonds are considered medium-grade obligations (i.e., they are neither highly protected nor poorly secured). Interest payments and principal security are thought adequate at the time the rating is made, but might prove unreliable in the long run.

5. B Bonds

Bonds with B rating are generally considered speculative. Interest and principal payments are not assured. In other words, invest at your own risk. In general, bonds with higher ratings tend to have lower yields, so B bonds can actually give you a higher return on your investment. In 1991, for example, those who gambled on lower rated bonds reaped the highest total returns.

6. Are Bonds Better Than Stocks?

Even at the lowest end of the scale, bonds outpace quite a few stocks. Of course, this is all averaged out, and some stocks do much better than even the highest bonds. Bonds also have a large minimum investment in capital - $5,000 dollars, and so arent for your entry-level investor.

Article Source: http://www.noviceinvesting.com/Article

For more great bond investing related articles and resources check out INVESTMENT-PORTAL.INFO

The Basics Of Investing In Stocks And Shares

By: Joseph Kenny

Stocks can be considered a tool for building wealth, as they are a part of almost every investment portfolio. They represent the ownership of a company and are bought in the form of shares. Shares refer to the stock of a particular company. Your stake in a company depends on how many shares you possess, because these are considered a part of the companys capital.

The popularity of investing in the stock market is increasing constantly. Today, investment in stocks and shares is not limited to the well to do; even the average middle-class is getting into it in droves. The opening up of markets with advanced trading technologies has made owning shares easy for everyone. However, if you are planning to invest, do not depend on luck to get you returns. Investment in stocks is considered a very risky affair. It requires a high rate of return. You need to use a well thought out strategy and necessary tools to invest in the share market.

The allure of investing in shares and stocks, however, does not mean that every would-be investor has the know-how of this often-slippery market. If you feel that the get-rich-quick theory applies to stocks and shares, then it is a misguided notion, because stocks are not the answer to instant wealth. Just like the real estate market, the share market also involves a lot of risk. Yet, people are often under the misconception that they will get rich instantly if they invest in shares.

You can buy a share in a stock when a company first enlists on the stock market that is, at flotation or privatization. Alternatively, you can purchase shares once they are in circulation and are traded.

You could go to a stockbroker if you want to buy stocks. Stockbrokers do business with the stock exchange. They hold the shares in an account that is created in the name of the nominee. You can also keep your shares in the form of a paper certificate. Once the buying and selling of shares is over the transaction is made complete through an electronic system. This system is responsible for linking all the banks along with the stockbroker and registrars of the respective companies.

You can invest in international stocks as well. When a company performs trading in a stock market of another country, their stocks are known as International stocks. These stocks are traded like the UK stocks or, for that matter those traded in the Nasdaq in the US. All the stock exchanges in the world work in the same manner.

There is no guarantee when it comes to Investment in stocks but if you are ready to take a big risk then you can expect great returns on your investment. Despite the risk factor this form of investment has outperformed other investment options like bonds or saving accounts. So if you have the right strategy and you make the right moves in the stock market then nothing can stop the money from rolling in.

Article Source: http://www.noviceinvesting.com/Article

Joe Kenny writes for the UK Loans Store where you will can compare UK loans and offer more information on UK secured loans and other loan topics available on site. Visit Today: www.ukpersonalloanstore.co.uk

Stocks higher in early trading (AP via Yahoo! News)
U.S. stock headed higher on Thursday in what could be thin pre-holiday trading, with results from Nike Inc. and a second look at third-quarter growth in the U.S. likely to feature.

Asian Stocks Fall in U.S. Trading, Led by BHP, Commodity Shares (Bloomberg.com)
Dec. 21 (Bloomberg) — Asian stocks fell in U.S. trading as reports showed U.S. economic growth slowed and manufacturing in the Philadelphia region contracted by the most in more than three years. BHP Billiton and other commodity shares led the decline.

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Friedman, Billings, Ramsey settles trading charges (Market Watch)
WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) — Broker-dealer Friedman, Billings, Ramsey settled charges that it engaged in insider-trading and other activities while working on behalf of CompuDyne Corp., securities regulators said Wednesday.