Currently, it has been forecasted that there is anywhere between a 60-80% Debt-to-GDP ratio in Spain. This means that sixty cents on every dollar of income in the country is tied to government bonds. That being said, this ratio is 20% less than that of Germany, France, or the USA, … [Read more...]
How does the Spanish Debt Crisis Impact a Personal Investment Portfolio?
Filed Under: Personal Finance by
Portfolio Balancing Part 1 – What’s in Your Portfolio?
Filed Under: Portfolio Balancing by
There are many essential factors to generating returns in your personal investments portfolio. Over the course of this periodical, we’ll be describing how you can learn simple strategies for getting the best results through all of them. This week will have a three-part series that … [Read more...]
How Zynga Generates Revenues
Filed Under: Business Value by
The last company I want to discuss in this series is the one with the most direct-to-consumer model of business. Zynga’s business model specifically surrounds directly engaging consumers with their line of social gaming products, but then creates income for investors through both a … [Read more...]
Credit Score Factors: Access to Credit
Filed Under: Personal Finance by
One of the most significant aspects of a credit application comes down to a question of whether or not the applicant already has access to the funds necessary to pay off the loan itself. A borrower that already has $100,000 available in their accounts is much better able to pay off a … [Read more...]
An Alternative to Options Strangles
Filed Under: Investing Strategies by
In the last post I outlined all the theoretical benefits of a position known as an ‘Options Strangle’. Don’t get me wrong, this is an excellent position to enter, but only under very specific circumstances. From the perspective of costs and rewards, it’s extremely effective in the way … [Read more...]
Corporate Bonds and High Yield Bonds
Filed Under: Investing Trends by
The next major investment trend that I want to point out surrounds debt, but in a different way than previously discussed. Granted, most of us don’t even want to think about debt after such a terrible decade for mortgages and credit cards, but it is important to remember the … [Read more...]
2012 Investing Trends: Bargain Shopping
Filed Under: Investing Trends by
Similar to the last post’s discussion of how American consumers are switching to lower cost housing options, the second major trend for 2011 that columnists are suggesting will be a major investing opportunity relates to discount stores. Specifically, deep discount dollar stores … [Read more...]
Applying Value Analysis to Assets
Filed Under: Value Investing by
Ben Graham defines the costs of investing in being what you pay, and the value of an investment as being what you receive in return for your cost. Despite haven written an entire book on the topic of value investing, his entire philosophy can be summed up in that one phrase. Value … [Read more...]
Doomsday Scenario The Risk of Municipal, State or Federal Collapse
Filed Under: Doomsday Scenarios by
In the last post, I stepped you through a couple of fairly basic strategies for hedging your portfolio against the risk of discrete corporate bankruptcy. While posing a significant financial risk to your investment, corporate bankruptcy is generally considered to be a fairly minor … [Read more...]
Why Computer Manufacturers are Targeting Specific Niches Now
Filed Under: Business Value by
Earlier this decade we saw an explosion in the profitability associated with the manufacture and distribution of personal computer. Companies like Dell, HP, and Apple have made fantastic returns from producing their hardware systems to consumers. However, over the years, competition … [Read more...]
Averaging Down for Cash Flow Reasons
Filed Under: Investing Strategies by
In my last post about averaging down without risk, I showed you a basic method of using derivatives to average down an adjusted cost base during a short-term price drop in a stock that is already in your portfolio. However, this strategy required that you put some cash on the line for … [Read more...]
Why Computer Chip Manufacturers are Traded Like Commodity Producers
Filed Under: Business Value by
Something that’s always intrigued me about the technology sector is the cyclical nature of chip products. These are the companies that manufacture the highly complex computer chips that go into the hardware into our phones and computers, and yet they are treated by the market like … [Read more...]
Understanding Credit Card Rate Structures
Filed Under: Personal Finance by
I had lunch with my company’s manager of credit card sales today. He knows his products inside-out, and is always full of amazing tips for customers on how to take advantage of their credit-card features to get the most out of them. Needless to say, buying this man lunch always … [Read more...]
Broad Market Mutual Fund Returns of WPFRX & FDSAX
Filed Under: Fund Analysis by
Funds Name: Westport Funds: Westport Fund; Class R Shares Symbol: WPFRX Nav: $24.18 Name: Sunamerica Focused Series, Inc: Focused Dividend Strategy Portfolio; Class A Shares Symbol: FDSAX Nav: $11.77 Objective & Strategy WPFRX: Westport funds pursues capital … [Read more...]
Investing In Real Estate Income Trusts: Commercial
Filed Under: Investing Trends by
In the last article I went through a couple of reasons why it is that Apartment REITs showed some fantastic returns after the 2009 recession. However, moving forward, we might have seen the best of times already. While this doesn’t necessarily exclude them from future inclusion in our … [Read more...]
Doomsday Scenario The Risk of Corporate Bankruptcy
Filed Under: Doomsday Scenarios by
Corporate bankruptcy is a major underlying risk associated with every single security in an investor’s portfolio. However, it is only really the fixed-income holders that take it seriously. While this is likely due to the way in which bonds and preferred shares have fewer other risks … [Read more...]
Understanding Economies of Scale: Liquidity Costs
Filed Under: Economics of Scale by
I’m usually pretty supportive of Mutual Funds in my articles, but that doesn’t mean that they’re perfect. Because we’re talking about how economies of scale impact funds or comparable portfolios, it’s important that we examine the downside risks of a fund. Specifically, I’m going to … [Read more...]
How an Online Business Creates Value for an Investor
Filed Under: Business Value by
A fascinating new trend from the last three years has been the emergence of social media. Having created value through serving advertisements on a scale comparable to Google (sort of), companies like Facebook have created all sorts of amazing business opportunities for aggressive … [Read more...]
Where Does Linkedin’s Value Come From
Filed Under: Business Value by
The first major social media company to go public this year was LinkedIn. This offering was a major event in the stock market, because it created a reference point against which other social media companies to could be valued. Specifically, people are always interested in trying to … [Read more...]
The Relationship Between ETFs and Their Assets
Filed Under: Personal Finance by
One of the more exciting innovations in the financial markets has been the Exchange Traded Fund. By acting as a publically traded fund without redemption, ETFs have given investors access to extremely cost effective diversification, indexing, and even analytical expertise. This allows … [Read more...]
