Stock Market Has a Small Gain!

Twenty odd point increase may not seem like much, but I gained back all I lost yesterday! I traded about 40% of GOLD postion for Natural Gas!

I love commodities.

Finally got a commision for some Web work, designing some web marketing materials for a "Sports Bar".

I am working on a "Twitter" page, Web page, slogans, advertising, etc. My creative juices are flowing again.

It is fun to get "back in the saddle"! It' almost feels like a "job"...........LOL

Obama Speaks, Market Falls!

The best thing that could happen for the stock market is for President Obama to never give another speech!

Every speech causes negative reaction on the stock market. Since Wednesday 10/2/09, my portfolio has fallen 10% on his "Job's Speech". Thanks Mr Obama!

Jobs data released today appears in error and subject to retraction. I think it should have been 140,000, not 14,000.

President Obama, pick and issue and complete it, move on to the next one........don't do a half-ass job on multiple issues at once!

One of my favorite commercials!

Happy Thanksgiving

Silver Bullion Compared To Gold Bullion

Many precious metal investors commonly compare silver bullion to gold bullion, especially since both safe-haven metals tend to follow each others movement when spot prices are fluctuating. Precious metals have increased in popularity considerably in the past few years, especially since many investors have seen both gold and silver bullion prices skyrocketing while everything from stocks to bonds and real estate suffered amidst a contracting economy. Below I have further explained both of these precious metals in order to give you a better sense of direction when comparing silver bullion to gold bullion:

Silver Bullion = Considered an industrial metal with safe-haven properties, silver bullion is sought after by many investors because of its undervalued price that has risen considerably in the past decade. In 2001, silver bullion was trading around $4.25 per ounce, and as of November 2009, the metal is trading around $17.30 per ounce.

Gold Bullion = Considered an investment-grade metal with safe-haven properties, gold bullion is sought after by many investors because it is known as the ultimate store of wealth that tends to thrive when other assets flounder. In 2001, gold bullion was trading around $260 per ounce, and as of November 2009, the metal is trading around $1105.

When purchasing gold and silver bullion, one of the best ways to ensure investment success is by fully researching the market, then making wise diversifications with reputable advisors by your side. Since 1992, the Certified Gold Exchange has set the standard for gold and silver bullion investing, offering investors the highest quality service and pricing backed by their PriceMatchPlus Guarantee. If you seek success with your investment, request your free “Insider’s Guide To Gold And Silver Investing” by visiting https://www.certifiedgoldexchange.com/goldrequest/article/Silver-Bullion-Gold-Bullion

MT4/Currenex Integration

by Michael Markarian


MetaTrader 4 (MT4), arguably one of the most popular retail Forex trading platforms, is now FIX compliant and being made available through DivisaFX for Straight Through Process (“STP”) trading to Currenex.


MT4, a favorite among traders since it offers an easy to use interface, comprehensive charting and most of all the ability to run automated trading systems (Expert Advisors or EA's). The system has not been as well liked by the brokers offering MT4 because of the systems shortcomings from an administrative standpoint specifically reporting and risk management. The MT4 system was originally designed as a stand alone system and cannot be easily interfaced with other systems which would allow brokers the ability to automate their risk management. Hence, MT4 has been primarily used by brokers that act as market makers for their client orders acting as the counterparty to their trades. This is commonly known as the "Dealing Desk" model as the firm acts as a dealer selling to the client when client buys and buying from the client when the client sells.

In the past, many third party companies have offered "bridge" solutions which basically pass the trade from the MT4 to a liquidity source. However, these so called solutions have limitations on the order capabilities that could limit some of MT4 functionality including the functionality of EA trading systems. Another issue with using this "bridge" technology, there can be dramatic increases in latency for trade execution which can be costly for the client. Lastly, there are the risks associated with dealing with a third-party software provider. These risks range from stability of their software (the bridge) to the integrity and safekeeping of customer information.

The MT4/Currenex integration offers to solve the problems associated with the current bridge technologies currently in use today. Currenex offers a comprehensive network infrastructure which provides for rapid execution speeds with low latency messaging. The speed of the network is constantly monitored with an SNMP [Simple Network Management Protocol]. Currenex is also constantly upgrading their infrastructure. Core servers are upgraded every 16 months and networks every 2 years.

Here are some of the important benefits of the MT4/Currenex integration:

Complete market transparency of prices and trade execution for the trader.

The ability for Expert Advisors (Automated Trading Systems) to work without interference on the part of the broker.

The use of the industry standard FIX (Financial Information Exchange) protocol messaging to execute transactions. Prior to this MT4/Currenex integration, MT4 was not FIX compliant.

Elimination of the risks associated with using a third-party software provider. The MT4/Currenex integration was developed by MetaQuotes specifically for Currenex.

From Logo to Legend - In 10 Simple Steps

by Karen Saunders


Think of any large company, and I'll bet you can picture its logo. It seems like they must have been born with it, but they weren't. Every logo had to start somewhere. And you can start building recognition right now that will continue for years when you create a strong visual brand.

A good logo will be visually captivating, and will tell people what your company does and what it stands for. And then you can carry that logo onto just about everything that leaves your office, from flyers, to business cards, stationary, shipping cartons, invoices…on anything that your customers see.

So how do you go about creating this masterpiece?

First of all, you don't want to overload the eye with too much “busy”. A smart combination of symbol, color, and positive and negative space are key. This is a case where “less is more”. Play around with a few designs, try different color schemes… before you know it, you'll have the right look.


Here are 10 tips to get you started:

1. You want to keep it simple, yet sophisticated.

2. Graphics should be bold and distinctive. Stay away from thin lines - they're hard to see!

3. Not too tall - and not too wide.

4. Don't go for a trendy look - or an old-fashioned look, either. You're going for timeless.

5. It needs to look balanced.

6. Remember, you're going to be putting this logo on every piece of your business. Make sure it will work for everything from an envelope to a banner.

7. Pick a logo that will transfer easily from color to black and white.

8. The graphic has to be in keeping with your type of business, and also has to work well with the name of your business. It's a whole look you're going for.

9. The logo also should tell people what your business does. Graphics are great, but not if they leave your target market guessing.

10. Choose an appropriate font for your business. There are thousands to pick from - just find the right fit.


And here's a bonus tip: When you are set on a color - or colors - make sure you keep note of the ink formula. That special blend of inks has its own PMS number, and that's what your printer will need. That way, all your print jobs have the same great color you love - and your logo will be consistently beautiful on every print job!

Designing your winning logo is only the first step in pulling together your visual brand. Now you need a good tag line. And a memorable tag line is just as important as the logo. It puts the finishing touch on your mini ad to anyone who sees it.

Article Source :
http://www.bestmanagementarticles.com
http://advertising-and-promotion.bestmanagementarticles.com

About the Author :
Karen Saunders is the owner of MacGraphics Services, a unique design firm for today's entrepreneur. Whether you outsource your promotional pieces or are a do-it-yourselfer, Karen takes the mystery out of marketing. Learn the Top 5 Mistakes that can cost you money by signing up for her FREE e-course, available for a limited time. To take advantage of this e-course and find out how easy it can be to attract more clients, go to http://www.macgraphics.net/FreeStuff.php

Moving Averages And Their Uses In Commodity Trading

Author: Dave Rivera


A key component of technical analysis and perhaps one of the oldest indicators around, moving averages are time-tested and affective indicators. There are many types of moving averages with varying indicators, but the primary purpose of all types of moving averages remains the same. Their purpose is to reduce or remove noise from the daily price movements and attracted trends of stocks, commodities or any thing you can plot or chart.

Moving Averages: How Do We Use them?

Moving averages identify trends and trend reversals, give a measure of a commodities’ strength, and help you arrive at support and resistance levels. Essentially, moving averages are indicators with lag, which is to say that they do not identify new trends but are useful in trend following. One of the most useful ways in which you can use moving averages as buy or sell indicators, is to have three moving averages running at the same time on the same chart. The idea is to have a short, an intermediate and a longer term time frame. When the first two move upwards and cross above the longer term one, it indicates an uptrend and one can buy. The reverse happens if the first two move below the third moving average. In that case, you can sell, as the commodity is in a downtrend. A good example of this would be a 10, 20, and a 30 day period moving average, plotted on a commodity chart.

Moving averages are also used by traders to determine support and resistance of a commodity. When the commodity reaches a moving average and struggles to move above it, you might have found resistance. If a commodity stops falling at a key moving average, it can be deemed to have found support. A prime example of this is a 200 day moving average, which is used to calculate long-term trend directions, and to find support and resistance in them.

Types of Moving Averages

There are different types of moving averages. The simplest one is the simple moving average (SMA), which is calculated by taking the normal arithmetic mean of a specified set of numbers. The exponential moving average (EMA) is calculated by giving weightage to more recent data. The EMA is regarded to be a better moving average compared to the SMA. Both of these moving average variants become very useful when used for trend following with moving average crossovers. Indicators such as the moving average convergence divergence (MACD) and Bollinger bands use moving averages as key components. The MACD shows the price divergence of two moving averages, by subtracting a 26 period EMA from the 12 period EMA. A third 9 period EMA is used to give us buy or sell signals when it moves above or below this MACD. Bollinger bands, so named after their creator, use two standard deviations plotted away from a 21 period SMA.

Whichever way you look at it, one cannot deny that using moving averages by themselves may not make you a millionaire in a hurry, but are brilliantly useful in helping you follow trends and plan your commodity trading strategy.

The Roller Coaster Economy

Up - down, up and down. The only reason the stock market is up is not essential actualup market forces, but rather "market manipulators"...the same scam artists that caused the recession in the first place. Unemployment continues to rise, with no end in sight, some saying recovery won't happen until 2016!

A similar prediction is made for the stunted housing market, with the commercial real estate bubble still to burst!

So recovery? Hardly. Optimism does not pay the bills.

10-30-09 24 hours after the "Recovery" all market indicators are down over 2%....DOW down 240+ points. Recovery my ass!

Top 10 Most Useful Websites for Small Businesses

by KAIZ KAREN



Here is a list of top 10 websites which any small business can use to its advantage and to conduct business in the post web 2.0 world.
Twitter: Twitter is a free social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length. Twitter is an amazing tool that can expand your reach to customers and potential customers. It can allow you to stay in touch and connect with thousands of people instantly. It can help drive your brand and communicate with customers in a way that you’ve never been able to before, and so much more.

Google: Google offers a wide variety of products aimed at small business owners, and many of them are free or very low-cost. Google is the top most global website in the world which enables users to search the Web, Usenet, and images. Features include Page Rank, caching and translation of results, and an option to find similar pages. The company's focus is developing search technology.

AdsGlobe.com: Adsglobe is the popular free classifieds website around the globe. Adsglobe serves variety of users ranging from individuals to all types & sizes of business entities addressing their unique advertising needs. Adsglobe is featuring free online classified advertisement site with sections devoted to Real Estate/Rentals, Local Events, Yellow Pages, Jobs, Autos, Items for Sale, Dating/Personals, Services, Pets and Travel where users can search or post free ads.

Amazon: Amazon.com seeks to be Earth's most customer-centric company, where customers can find and discover anything they might want to buy online, and endeavors to offer its customers the lowest possible prices. The new e-tailer's all Business Center will be targeted at helping entrepreneurs find the products they need to service their small- and medium-sized businesses. Amazon's new offering will include quick and easy access to small- and medium-business products. Site has numerous personalization features and services including one-click buying, gift certificates, wish lists, travel, and photo processing.

Wikipedia: Wikipedia is a popular Web site that allows users to create entries in a massive online encyclopedia, can be collaboratively created and maintained by thousands of users worldwide. Any article contributed to Wikipedia becomes free content that may be used, edited, copied and redistributed by users. All materials contributed to Wikipedia must be verifiable by other users.

Facebook pages: Anyone with a Facebook profile has had the ability to add something called a Page to extend some content beyond the profile page. This was a smart thing for businesses to do as you could control the content and fans could subscribe to the content. The functionality, however, was pretty limited and these pages were more like static web page brochures than anything else.

Alibaba.com: Alibaba.com Limited is the global leader in business-to-business (B2B) e-commerce and the flagship company of Alibaba Group. Alibaba.com makes it easy for millions of buyers and suppliers around the world to do business online through three marketplaces: a global trade marketplace for importers and exporters, a Chinese marketplace for domestic trade in China, and, through an associated company, a Japanese marketplace facilitating trade to and from Japan.

DealsGlobe.com: Any small business can find cool deals and coupons on DealsGlobe.com and save lot of time and money. DealsGlobe.com allows to find hot online deals and coupons from top online merchants in many countries around the globe. DealsGlobe.com also presents latest sales that are going with various merchants.

EBay: EBay offers small businesses a way to buy or sell practically anything to anyone, anywhere. EBay is The World's Online Marketplace, enabling trade on a local, national and international basis. With a diverse and passionate community of individuals and small businesses, eBay offers an online platform where millions of items are traded each day. International person to person auction site, with products sorted into categories.

Craigslist: Craigslist is a prevailing tool featuring classified ads about almost anything and everything. Craigslist provides local classifieds and forums for jobs, housing, for sale, personals, services, local community, and events almost everything, whatever you can think of, not only this but also discussion on local current events. This is a website where you can advertise to buy and sell things.

This article is sponsored by ForumsGlobe.com

Affiliate Marketing......Not a Scam, Everytime

I have used Affiliate Marketing for over four years to no avail. Major retailers like Amazon, Dell Computers, Franklin Covey, etc. And yet never made 10 cents.

Now, I m pretty sure I know why...too many scams on the Internet. Even though "Clicking" does not involve giving out personal info, I believe folks think it will take them to a scam type link or download damaging malware!

I also used "Donations" and "Tweet-Tips", but to no avail. Again, I think people see this and think "scam alert" . It's unfortunate for honest people like myself, who are blogging and trying to create a small income stream. I would never scam anyone or put anything malicious out there. It is not in my character. Unfortunately for honest folks, the unscrupulous have ruined the internet marketing arena for us all!

Thinking of Buying Gold? - Gold Eagles

By Bill Haynes


If you are thinking of buying gold and end up with 1-oz American Eagle coins, it would be difficult for anyone to say that you could have done better. These U.S. Mint products have become the most popular one-ounce bullion coins in the world.

Gold Eagles, as they are commonly called, were introduced in 1986, and they were unique to the U.S. Mint, being the first 1-oz bullion coins ever minted by the Mint. Further, they were the first 22-karat (91.67% pure) precious metals coins ever minted by the Mint. Because of the copper added to make the coins 22-karat, the gross weight of the 1-oz Eagle is 1.0909 oz.

Today, 1-oz Eagles dominate the new gold bullion coin market in the U.S., claiming some 80% of the market. Since their introduction in 1986, nearly 12 million have been sold. In 2008, the Mint sold 710,000, but through the first nine months of 2009 the Mint sold right at 940,000.

Eagles are bullion coins, which sell for the value of their content plus a small premium over spot. Spot is the price at which large commercial quantities of the yellow metal changes hands in raw form for 48-hour settlement. Spot gold is the benchmark for the price of this most senior of the precious metals.

During normal times, the Mint turns out four sizes: 1-oz, ½-oz, ¼-oz and 1/10-oz. However, the Mint has yet to sell any of the fractional-ounce Eagles in 2009 and is not expected to sell them until December. Investors wanting fractional-ounce 22-karat bullion coins now will have to buy Krugerrands.

The one-ounce coin is, by far, the biggest seller in total ounces of all four sizes. Some years, more 1/10-oz Eagles were sold than 1-oz coins; but in total ounces of metal, the one-ounce coin is the biggest seller.

The 1-oz Eagle carries a $50 nominal face value, which means that it could be used as money at a value of $50. However, because the coin is sold at the spot price of gold plus a small premium, the cost of one coin greatly exceeds the nominal $50 face value.

Gold Eagles were given legal tender status to make them "legal tender coins." There is a much greater demand for legal tender coins than for straight bullion products, such as 1-oz bullion bars. The ½-oz Eagles has a face value of $25, the ¼-oz $10 and the 1/10oz $5.

They are packaged twenty coins to a tube, twenty-five tubes to a Mint box, which weighs right at forty pounds. Most investors buy 1-oz Eagles in multiple tubes. However, it is becoming increasingly common for large investors to take delivery of Mint boxes.

Bill Haynes heads CMI Gold & Silver Inc, one of America's oldest precious metals dealers. See CMIGS' website for more information about gold investments. This article may be reprinted provided this signature remains intact, including the direct links to CMI Gold & Silver Inc.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Haynes

12 Ways To Do Social Media Marketing With Twitter

by: Ron Knight

Twitter is a wildly popular microblogging service. It involves writing Tweets, which are short updates of a maximum of 140 characters that tell your followers what you are up to. Although your Tweets are technically supposed to answer the question, “What are you doing?” Twitter has moved far beyond that. Tweets are used to share stories, link to photos, promote content, break news, and a whole lot more. Twitter has also become an incredibly important tool for social media marketing professionals. Here are 12 ways in which Twitter can be used in your social media marketing campaign.

1. Sharing Links to Items of Interest

As soon as you read something online that you think is interesting, it is easy to share it on Twitter with all of your followers. Twitter is highly effective in this manner because it is such a quick way to be able to reach a large group of people. You can also get a lot of great ideas for blog posts from Twitter since many new ideas and stories are floating around that haven’t even made it to the blogosphere and definitely not to mainstream media.

2. Building Your Network

Using Twitter is a great way to build your network because it allows you to find and follow people with similar interests. You can use Steeple to find people who live in your geographical area. You can also use other tools that help you find new people to follow based upon who your Twitter friends follow.

3. Build Relationships within Your Current Network

People in different networks often use Twitter to connect with their contacts instantly rather than using instant messaging for that purpose. Furthermore, many people use Twitter to connect with their network during events like conferences.

4. Re-Distributing Content from Your Blog or Website

Twitter can be used to redistribute content from your blog or website. However, you should take care to do this thoughtfully since many of your Twitter followers may already read your blog. For that reason, you may want to avoid using a blog plug-in that automatically Tweets your posts. Your best bet is to Tweet your content manually and customize each Tweet so it doesn’t get old.

5. Get Involved in Live Tweeting Events

Twitter launched at SXSW last year, catapulting microblogging conferences to fame. Live Tweeting events are great because they are a form of citizen journalism that allow you to connect with several new people in your niche while making active and valuable contributions to current discussions in your community.

6. Pitching Stories to Journalists on Twitter

You can send a direct message to a journalist who is following you on Twitter to pitch a story idea.

7. Communicating with Your Team

You can use Twitter as a company intranet that connects all of your employees. Twitter can be particularly useful in this regard if you have a virtual business with employees in different geographical locations. You can set your updates to private for security reasons. Anytime you are working on group projects, you can stay in touch with your team members using Twitter.

8. Brand Monitoring

Stay up to date with any mentions of your business on Twitter. If there is anything negative, you will be able to counter it quickly. You can also use Twitter as a way to receive feedback from your customers and improve your business. Just ask your followers to give their opinion on something. For example, if you designed a new website, ask your followers what they think about it and get their constructive criticisms so you can make your site design even better.

9. Acquire More Votes on Social Media Websites

If you have submitted a story to Digg, Reddit, StumbleUpon, or any other social voting website, tweet a link to that submission to try to score more votes from your followers. If your followers like what they see, they are sure to vote for your content.

10. Hiring People

Looking for a programmer, designer, or writer? Whatever type of professional you seek, try finding them on Twitter. Simply send your followers a tweet telling them you are looking for someone for a job. They can either recommend someone to you or offer themselves for the job. Using Twitter in this way is ideal for finding qualified freelancers. It is much more convenient than putting out a classified ad.

11. Build Your Personal Brand

When you use Twitter to talk about things as mundane as what you ate for breakfast or how you are going to sleep early tonight, you make your followers feel like you are casual and approachable. Even those with running a company that has a cold, corporate brand image could create more appeal and build a unique personal brand using Twitter.

12. Streamline Electronic Communications

When you use Twitter, you’re likely to find yourself using IM, email, and other electronic communication methods less. Twitter not only provides public chatting through Tweets, it also allows you to send direct messages. Twitter will help you streamline your electronic communications, allowing you to scale back online.



About The Author

Ron Knight is a India based Internet Solutions consultant with many years of experience helping people and businesses out in establishing a stronger presence on the web. Many Internet Marketing Services India companies have benefited immensely from his advice. (http://www.empoweredseo.com/)

The Recession is NOT Over!

Market tanks 200 points; 50,000+ looming layoffs at now closed Pontiac and Saturn plants, along with the domino effect of such massive plant closings.

Commercial real estate, the next bubble to burst, will have a huge surplus of massive factories, empty stores, malls, etc. for the next 10 years! A news piece last night said job recovery in the 20% range by 2016.....what are people to do in the mean time?

And yet the large layoffs from state and local governments are just now beginning...teachers. city workers, construction, all will increase in the next 12 months.

"It's not over till the fat lady sings"....and I think she has laryngitis!