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There are times when you’re saving that you can take some risks and there are times when you need to be a little more careful with your investments. So what should you be doing when it comes time to put up money for your child’s college education? That’s a pretty simple one, but there are a few options that come to mind. First and foremost, you need to be a little more conservative with this part of your savings plan. This should be much more about saving than it should be about growth, but that doesn’t mean that your money has to sit idly. Quite the contrary, it can grow at a small, constant rate over the course of a couple of decades. You should put a great deal of it in a savings account, with the idea being that this account will offer a 3% or so interest rate over time. Though this doesn’t sound like a ton, it can really add up over the course of more than a decade. Additionally, there are few rules on when you can take this money out, so if you get a better opportunity, you will be able to withdrawal without some huge penalty. On top of simple savings accounts, you should concentrate on finding some bonds that run on a 5-year or 10-year basis. These can offer enhanced rates of return that come with no risk. Since you’re buying bonds from the government, they are insured and you know exactly what you are going to get. These will offer a higher return than savings accounts, but the money can’t be touched while they are in term. This should be a significant portion of your savings for college, since you aren’t going to be taking it out anyway. The key is to keep it safe and use a couple of different types of investment and look around for the best saving rates. Earn a small percentage, and put a little bit away each and every month leading up to your child’s college career.

According to Morgan Stanley research, last year was a banner year for life insurance. According to The Wall Street Journal, Morgan Stanley’s Nigel Dally has followed life insurance companies since 2000 and has never seen a year like 2008, thanks to the highly volatile nature of the weakening economy and a dropping stock market.

Dally told The Journal, “The industry used to be very stable, very predictable … Now it’s about who can weather the storm.” Dally only upgraded one of the beleaguered insurance firms to a “buy” rating last year, MetLife - which net a return of 18%. The bottom line is that this is a very difficult time to invest in what was once seen as a safe-haven for your investment money.

The fact that the experts specializing in the sector are having a hard time deciphering what will and what will not happen should be a good sign that the future will remain rockyPossibly one of the better ways to investment your money this year (along with making sure your van insurance is in order) is to think about investing in wine. This year wine investment looks like being a great way to make money over the long term. One word of advice is that you should always think about investing with a reputable company.

The Prime Minister of Great Britain has published a new recovery package to facilitate the stability of the financial system, in order to push lending. The new financial bailout has an insurance scheme to protect the banking system from potential new a new collapse of the banking system. The UK banks will have to pay for the cover, full stop. However all that signifies the cost of living would fall, deflation will help saving and this could further diminish the British economic recovery.

House costs are supposed to plunge drastically in the last months, and the country’s largest mortgage lender, Halifax, forecasting, a sixteen per cent year per year decline in during 2008. Property prices have fallen 0.2 since 2007 and further declines are expected as authorizations for home loans are very low, as reported by data.

The number of unemployed people surged up to 1 million in in the last months of 2008. climbing super fast since the recession of the early 1990s. The financial crisis has pushed lots of professions cuts in different sectors, with forecasts of three million unemployed by the end of 2010. Lots of High Street stores have gone out of business recently. Stores have also been cutting prices to pay last year bills. Foreign currency fluctuates in value all the time - being able to spot the trends can pay serious dividends.

The monetary policy solutions of the UK government are mainly concentrated on pushing the economy and do nothing to the pound. Which means the pound is most likely continue to go down. Markets may be seeing the pound being stable around one euro but forecasts for the GB pound is very pessimistic.

Recent stats amongst financial analysts showed an 80% chance the Bank of England will slice interest rates to 1.25 % from today’s 2 %, putting the bank interest rate to the lowest since the seventeen century.

Lower interest rates mean a lower return for investors who then invest in other currencies, because of the decline of the pound.

Policymakers have said the CBE will cut bank interest rates to nearly zero and opt the last resort, basically producing fresh money to encourage the recession. This would seem to tie in nicely with Gordon Brown’s plans of spending their way out of the financial crisis, the exact opposite of most Western nations decisions, hence a possible reason for the big fall in Sterling against to the and American Dollar.

Buying a property in Morocco follows the French process very closely, which is not surprising, given that Morocco was formerly a French colony and maintains close relations with France to this day.

After you have made an offer on a home and it has been accepted, an initial contract is drawn up. This contract is known as a “Compromis de Vente” and it is customary for a 10% deposit to be paid at this time. This deposit is fully refundable if the Compromis de Vente has the appropriate clauses included when the buyer and seller sign it. It is usual for the contract to include a clause that the purchase is conditional upon arranging a mortgage, so it is essential that you ensure that you have an “escape” clause in the event a mortgage cannot be finalized.

Arranging a mortgage in Morocco is slow and painful, and although a decision in principle may be obtained, the mortgage can only be granted after the contract is signed. Therefore, it is even more essential to ensure you have the “escape” clause included in the Compromis de Vente.

Mortgages are typically offered for 15-year terms. However, you can frequently get this extended to 25 years, although usually with a higher interest rate applied. Interest-only terms for the first six months of the loan are also offered, but not for the whole mortgage term. You are strongly advised to have professional help when arranging a mortgage in Morocco, as the application process is cumbersome and bank staff are not very experienced in handling applications for non-resident applicants.

Once the Compromis de Vente is signed, searches will be conducted and if satisfactory, a notary will sign the completion document. You should budget for approximately 5% of the purchase price to cover the additional costs and fees that will be levied. There will also be a monthly mortgage tax of 10%, which is charged each month over the life of the mortgage.

Appointing a lawyer as the notary is strongly recommended as under Moroccan practice, the notary acts for both the buyer and seller. Therefore, you need to be sure the title deeds and mortgage documentation are properly checked in your own best interest. You also should make certain that the lawyer checks what works are expected to take place in the area, as the bank may not do so and this may adversely affect the property or your ability to sell it in future.

Some developers will provide complete packages for buying Moroccan property. However, you should be aware that although the lawyers and notaries they appoint may provide you with a degree of convenience, you would need to protect your own interests.

Appointing an independent lawyer or expert on Moroccan Mortgages to advise you is strongly recommended, no matter who is acting as the notary, as they will be able to handle the language, local customs and have a good working knowledge of the whole property purchasing experience that will prove invaluable.

If you are reading this article there are only two reasons, either you want to be wealthy of you are an investigative regulator working at the FTC and you are targeting American small businesses and Biz Op type Internet sellers. If you are regulator you wasting your time, as the purpose of this article is not to sell anything but rather educate, but perhaps you might learn something so either way read on. If you want to be wealthy I have some advice, which you may wish to think on.

Wealth is something that most Americans want because it gives us options in life, allowing us to pursue our interests without being over burdened by the stresses of the common man in our civilization. One interesting thing I find with people who desire wealth is they do not respect money. They often desire to be wealthy yet condemn the haves as unjustly exerting their control over the have nots. Additionally they do not respect the hard work it takes to accumulate wealth and piss away the money they make on superfluous material items, things they really do not need, yet buy anyway on impulse. Such instant gratification seeking is exactly what is keeping you from getting there. Indeed so many folks these days have huge credit card debt and charge up a storm on all kinds of consumer items always wanting the latest new trendy thing.

You need to break yourself of these bad habits and perhaps go pick up a copy of the “Millionaire Next Door” and read through it and the examples therein to see if all this starts to make sense to you, then you need to come up with a strategic plane to help yourself into a better situation so you can become wealthy too. Think on this.

“Lance Winslow” - Online Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance; www.WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/

Have you had one of those huge investment winners - a stock that went from $2.00 to $80.00? Or any other numbers you want that gave you a gigantic percent profit?

Did you take the profit or did you watch the equity drop back down to what you paid for it? I hope you sold and kept the money. That’s what it is all about. So many times when I was a broker I have seen customers make large profits and then think they were omniscient about trading and within a short period give back what they had made.

As a brokerage company owner I had seasoned brokers do the sane thing. One of my men made $150,000 in a short time. I called to congratulate his performance and suggested he take a vacation from trading for a while. He said, “No, Al, I know what I am doing”. The very next month he lost $155,000. What happened?

Listen carefully as I am going to tell you one of the great truisms not found in the trading training manuals. If you are doing any trading whether in stocks, mutual funds, real estate, currencies, whatever, this applies. Print this out, frame it and put it up on your office wall.

“Making a lot of money is just as upsetting to your mind as losing a lot of money”.

A big score destabilizes thinking. Many people want to do it again and again so they immediately plunge back into their investments with their winning cash and make bigger bets. It is almost without exception that they become losers and give back their winnings.

For many years I have advocated taking time off after a big profit. It takes time to get your head on straight again. As a former floor trader I would have about 6 or 8 times during the year when I made a good “hit”. Then I would immediately call my travel agent to ask where I could go for a week. I knew I must get away because my investment strategy would be clouded by success.

Too many of the big winners seem to alter their basic trading plan because they now had a large amount with which to trade causing them to deviate from their successful pattern. They then became losers. Because of their success their thinking changed and they were not aware of what had happened. The trader must get away and let his emotions down.

A disturbing event, even a positive one, can alter up your thinking. If you want to keep your investment profits you must keep your emotions under control.

Al Thomas’ best selling book, “If It Doesn’t Go Up, Don’t Buy It!”
has helped thousands of people make money and keep their profits with his simple
2-step method. Read the first chapter at http://www.mutualfundmagic.com
and discover why he’s the man that Wall Street does not want you to know. Copyright 2005

I use the P/E ratio as a secondary indicator for buying and selling stocks but I don’t use the ratio in the same a manner as many value investors teach. I will explain the difference in my methodology for using the P/E ratio to your advantage.

Many value investors will pass on a growth stock that has a P/E ratio higher than a predetermined level. For example, they may discard all stocks that have a ratio of 15 or higher, no matter what industry group they come from. Some investors will discard any stocks that have P/E ratios above the industry group averages, concluding that they are grossly overvalued. I am not saying that this method doesn’t work, because it does but it will not work when you focus on buying young innovative small cap stocks that are growing at tremendous rates, rates that “big caps” can no longer sustain.

I have never passed on buying a stock due to its P/E ratio being too high. What is too high? Too high to one investor may be low to another investor. This is the same logic that I use when speaking of stock’s prices. One problem that have with some value investors is their lack of understanding of the movement of the P/E ratio line on a chart. As a stock begins to move 100% or 200% from its pivot point, the P/E ratio will also move higher over the course of time. Plotting the P/E ratio on a chart will show you how much of a gain the ratio has made as the stock continues its up-trend.

Value investors that pass on buying stocks with P/E ratio’s above a certain threshold have missed some of the biggest winners of all time (the 10-baggers as Peter Lynch would say). Analysts frequently downgrade stocks when their P/E ratios cross what they believe to be fully valued thresholds.

Some things in life are worth more than other things although they offer the same use, such as a car. I tend to use this example often but I would rather own a Mercedes for $50k over a Pinto for $10k. They will both take me where I want to go but I value the amenities that the Mercedes gives me and the added comfort, quality and style that comes with the luxury vehicle. The same holds true for stocks, certain companies offer greater appeal and are valued at higher ratios than their competitors. The best materialistic things in life, including growth stocks, are usually bought at a premium.

The P-E ratio uses a stock’s current price and divides it by total earnings per share over the past four quarters. For example, currently GDP has a P/E ratio 51.06 with a share price of $24.00. Its last four quarters of EPS add up to $0.47. Its P-E ratio is $24.00 divided by $0.47, or 51.06. MSN Money Central has the P/E ratio listed at 51.30.

Growth stocks usually sport higher P/E ratios than the rest of the general market, even at the start of up-trends. A high P/E ratio typically means that the stock is enjoying strong demand. If a stock climbs in price from 40 to 60, its P/E ratio also gains 50%. Even though the P/E ratio may be high according to some analysts and value investors, the stock may be about to breakout from a cup-with-handle and go on to double from this point. Would you want to miss out on a possible 100% gain because the P/E ratio is too high?

Investor’s Business Daily conducted an excellent case study in 1996-97: “The 95 best small- and mid-cap stocks of 1996-97 had an average P-E of 39 at their pivot and 87 at the peak of their run-ups. The 25 best large caps of those years began with an average P-E of 20 and rose to 37. To get a piece of these big winners, you had to pay a premium.”

When I purchase a stock, I note the current P/E ratio and chart it along with the price. Historically, P/E’s that move up 100%-200% or more while the stock is advancing, usually become vulnerable stocks and can start to become extended and flash sell signals. It holds true for a stock with a P/E starting at 15 and going to 40 or a stock with a P/E of 50 and going to 115. Don’t skip over EXCELLENT companies that are growing at amazing clips because of a high P/E ratio. What may seem high now, may be low later on! Earnings and Sales are much more important. Price and volume are the most important. The P/E ratio is just a secondary indicator that can be used to further analyze the stocks in your portfolio.

Always use price and volume as your first line of offense and defense. From this point, turn to some dependable secondary indicators to confirm your original analysis and then make a decision. I would never throw out a stock because its P/E ratio is too high. Take GOOG for example, every value investor missed the 100% gain that this stock boasted after the release of its IPO. Growth stocks are expensive for a reason, don’t forget the analogy to a Mercedes.

Chris Perruna - http://www.marketstockwatch.com

Chris is the Founder and President of MarketStockWatch.com, an internet community that teaches you how to invest your money with solid rules. We don’t stop at just showing you our daily and weekly screens, we teach you how to make your own screens through education. Through our philosophy, you will be able to create your own methods and styles to become successful.

When talking about investment management firms, it is very important to understand profit maximization and wealth maximization. According to the objective of profit maximization, the ultimate goal of a business enterprise is to maximize its profits. All the efforts of the organization are to be directed to achieve this goal. The profit maximization objective is justified, as business is conducted for earning profit. When profit earning is the aim of the business, profit maximization should be the obvious objective. Profitability is an indicator of the efficiency with which the firm is managed. The higher the profit, the better the efficiency. For growth and expansion, profit is the main source of finance. To meet unforeseen contingencies reserves are necessary, which is possible only if there is enough profit.

However, the profit maximization objective is objected to on some grounds. The term profit is vague. It may assume different meaning in different contexts. It may be short-term or long-term. The concept of profit maximization generally ignores the time value of money. All profit gained in different time periods are taken together. The risk involved in any given project and the uncertainty of return are not at all considered. Accounting bias influences profit.

On the other hand, according to the objective of wealth maximization the ultimate goal of a business enterprise is to maximize the wealth of the shareholders, which is represented by the market value of the shares of the firm. Wealth is defined as the net present worth of the firm, i.e., the present value of all future returns.

Though the wealth maximization objective seems superior to the profit maximization objective, it is to be noted that the former is based upon the latter. The market price of shares, which is the indicator of the wealth of the firm, is based on the long-term returns of the firm. The returns that accrue to the investor would be a function of the earnings of the company. Thus it can be said that these objectives are not competing.

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