Gold has always been a highly valued commodity, and because it is especially desired during periods of high inflation, it's about to become the next big thing in the investment world. Many may be able to recall its extreme demand in late 1979 and early 1980. As interest rates and inflation headed well into the double-digits, there were lineups outside of coin and bullion dealers. Gold reached a record of $1012 US an ounce. Gold has long been used as a traditional hedge against inflation and naturally, the demand for gold tends to pick up when inflation does. If you look at the world's current financial climate, it becomes obvious that we will soon be entering a period of severe inflation. As such, people should really be considering investing in gold now, rather than later.

According to Gold De Royale (http://www.goldderoyale.com.au), Australia's leading online bullion dealer, the gold business in Australia is booming in anticipation. This is expected to soon be a world-wide trend. It is likely that this scenario will continue over and over for hundreds of years. Inflation will recur as more paper money is printed. Yet, because of its relative stability, the value of gold will remain much the same in terms of its purchasing power.

There are several ways to invest in gold, some better than others. Buying gold coins, gold bars, gold certificates or investing in companies that mine gold are all options. Bullion in particular, whether it be gold bars or gold coins, has a long history of remaining stable. It has the benefit of being actual gold rather than simply a representation of it, providing investors with the assurance that it will retain its long term value even when there is another stock market downturn or an economic recession. Because gold coins and gold bars can be easily bought, transported and stored, bullion is a good option for many investors. There is always the possibility of banks or gold companies filing for bankruptcy therefore people tend to feel the most comfortable buying gold bars because they can be physically held onto with little risk.

Adding to gold's appeal as an investment is the fact that certain hobbyists, such as coin collectors, will remain loyal to it regardless of whether there happens to be a short term spike or decline in its market price. A gold piece may be recognized as highly sought after collectable because of historical significance, or simply because of its beauty and quality. For many, gold is much more than just a sound financial investment; it's also something that may be treasured for its decorative appeal or valued as an heirloom to pass on to future generations.

The price of gold has jumped to an average of US $970 per ounce so far in 2009 compared with US $550 in 2006. With inflation on the rise, experts like Meryl Lynch predict this price could exceed $1800. To take advantage of this, people are rushing to buy gold, just like they were in 1979. If financial trends continue on as they have for hundreds of years in the past, this cycle is certain to continue and gold is certain to remain a wise long term investment.


About Gold De Royale:

Whether you are looking to purchase gold to use as a hedge fund, or simply for your own enjoyment as a decorative collectors item, Gold De Royale, Australia's leading online bullion store, offers clients only the finest quality gold as well as silver bars, coins and other products. For more information about Gold De Royale visit the website at http://www.goldderoyale.com.au or contact Customer Care by phone at 07 31628845 or email customercare@goldderoyale.com.au.





Contact Information

Gold De Royale Pty Ltd

Suite 103

192 Ann Street

Brisbane, Queensland 4000

Australia

Phone: 07 31628845

Fax: 07 30365787

http://www.goldderoyale.com.au

customercare@goldderoyale.com.au





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For more information about Gold De Royale visit the website at http://www.goldderoyale.com.au or contact Customer Care by phone at 07 31628845 or email customercare@goldderoyale.com.au.

Labels: gold, gold prices

Bloomberg provides a score for companies within the S&P 500 based on an average of all analyst ratings from the street. Below is a table highlighting companies with the best analyst ratings, largest increase in rating, highest price targets, and worst analyst ratings and the valuation attractiveness of each of these companies based on The Applied Finance Group's (AFG) valuation model.

Companies within each of these groups are ranked from most attractive from a valuation perspective to the least attractive. VE.com will actively track the performance of these recommendations and see how they stack up to the analyst recommendations in each group. AFGview.com, AFG's professional investor website allows you to compare any company using their rating versus the consensus ratings of the sell side. If you are interested in an analysis on a specific company, contact afgsales@afgltd.com.

Stock Research Rating

AFG's Valuation Model - Using AFG's modified discounted cash flow model to measure the intrinsic value of a firm compared to its peers. AFG's Value Score - A score which represents the ranked percent to target (deviation between stock's current trading price and AFG's current default target price) or attractiveness (upside) relative to the universe. A Value Score of 100 is the most undervalued and 0 is the most overvalued company in the universe.


ValueExpectations.com, by the founders of The Applied Finance Group and Toreador Research and Trading, provides institutional quality research to the investment community. Select Research Topics Include: Equity Valuation Analysis; Management Quality; Market Outlook and Impact Discussions; Recent Market Movement Reviews; Macro Valuation Trends; Sector Analysis; Political Impact on Markets; and Special Studies. The term Value Expectations is derived from our ability to calculate market expectations embedded in stock prices, sectors and indexes.

Labels: stock investing, stock investments, stock research, stocks

Forex trading has become one of the prominent commodity trading businesses in the world today. Forex or Foreign Exchange trading is one of the oldest methods of commodity trading in the world. But the present mode of trading is quite new and much more advanced. These days, it has become a prominent part of the world economy.

Trading forex through an introducing broker

An Introducing broker is the commodity broker who will arrange your Forex deals. As a rule, such brokers do not take any fee, security, guarantees etc. from you. All the money for trading exchanges is put under the control of a futures Commission merchant (clearing firm) which does all the trading.

In short, an introduction broker is the link between you and future commission merchant and facilitates Forex trading by literally "introducing" you to a future commission merchant. Introducing broker remains your point of contact, which in turn, remains in contact of the future commission merchant. Thus, whenever you feel like you should trade in your commodity, you can contact the IB and he will talk to the future commission merchant and convey your thoughts.

Until few years back, most people who wanted to do Forex trading didn't have much choice amongst Introducing brokers. But now, this profession has become much more formal and dealers can now hire qualified and registered IBs. Some people think that IBs are the middlemen between them and clearing firms. But this is not true. An IB is not a middleman as he never holds any of the dealer's money and does not interfere in his dealings.

Hiring an introducing broker has numerous benefits.

Hiring an IB increases your value in the clearing firm. As most such firms deal in millions of dollars, they don't generally pay much attention to smaller clients. You will have a hard time getting your grievances addressed if you are a small individual dealer. Suppose, you have only invested a small amount like $1,000 then you will not be in the priority list as a client of the clearing firm. But if you are associated with an introducing broker who has given them clients worth $100,000, then your value will increase manifolds.

Extra Services

Most introducing brokers offer many other value added services to their customers. They generally give these services to keep you with them, as they are getting paid by the clearing firm according to the numbers of clients they bring. Therefore, they offer their clients added services like advanced charting software and free eSignal to improve your trading performance. But make sure that you use the software intelligently and cautiously.

Trading with Rebates

As most introducing brokers get paid on each round turn traded by their clients, many such brokers give forex rebates to their clients on every transaction done by them. This can be extremely beneficial for you as even a small rebate on every trade, can add up to a big amount at the end of the month. This is because of the high frequency of trades in Forex markets.

If you are not new to the Forex trading world, then you must have heard about cash backs or rebates on them. Getting cash backs on Forex trading is a new concept, but has become very popular. In fact, there are many companies out there that only and expressly work towards providing cash backs or rebates to their clients such as ForexCashBack.com.

As the world of Forex trading expands, the competition in it has also increased. There are many introducing brokers in the market these days and all of them are in search of big and regular clients. Cash backs or rebate is a way to promote the services of a particular clearing firm. This is a tool to get more clients and increase the business.

Benefits of trading forex with cash back rebates

Even though the saying goes that "there are no free lunches in the world," rebates on Forex trading can be an exception. These cash backs can become a great comforter, in case your Forex trading doesn't turn out the way you wanted them. Clearing firms give you cash backs even if you lose money in the market.

The world of Forex trading has become extremely big in the last few years. Earlier,this used to be the forte of highly qualified and rich businessmen. But with the introduction of IB's and clearing firms, anybody and everybody can venture into this market.


Find more about forex rebates at forexcashback.com.

Labels: cash rebate, currency trading, forex

Below is a summary of 22 AFG Buy Recommendations from the S&P500 Index. The report highlights the 2 companies from each sector (ex. financials) that have the most attractive value score and are currently rated Buys by The Applied Finance Group, Ltd. (AFG). Factors used to derive a AFG’s recommendation include: Expected change in Economic Margins, Intrinsic Value, and Management Quality.

We also ran a VE analysis and provided the results. The VE analysis of each company is used to identify implied sales growth expectations versus what the company has delivered historically in sales growth over the past 5 years. Measuring the spread between a company’s VE sales growth expectations and what it has historically delivered should give you a good idea of which companies have the best chance of meeting or exceeding those expectations, and thus are more likely to outperform.

Cheapest Companies In The S&P 500 By Sector (ex. Financials)

View Stocks Here

Click Here, to see results of our portfolio performance using AFG's Buy/Sell criteria

A brief description of AFG's buy criteria variables is below:

• Economic Margin - A corporate performance measurement that addresses the gaps in GAAP, eliminating distortions caused by accounting policies to measure what a company is truly earning above or below their cost of capital.

• Valuation Model – Using AFG’s modified discounted cash flow model to measure the intrinsic value of a firm compared to its peers.

• Management Quality – Assess management’s ability to make wealth creating decisions.

Applied Finance Group’s (AFG’s) Value Score defined - A score which represents the ranked percent to target (deviation between stock’s current trading price and AFG’s current default target price) or attractiveness (upside) relative to the universe. A Value Score of 100 is the most undervalued and 0 is the most overvalued company in the universe.

VE Sales Growth - AFG’s Value Expectations allows us to understand the Sales Growth, EBITDA Margin, and Asset Turnover a company has to deliver in the future to justify its current trading price. In theory, if the imbedded future performance is very conservative relative to the company’s historical performance, the stock is regarded as undervalued. The VE Sales Growth displays the implied future Sales Growth of the company assuming their EBITDA Margins and Asset Turnovers stay at the 5 year historic median levels.


ValueExpectations.com, by the founders of The Applied Finance Group and Toreador Research and Trading, is a stock blog and investment newsletter that provides institutional quality equity research using AFG’s proprietary Economic Margin framework.

Labels: investing, stock investing, stock investments, stocks

Another month, another statement showing your savings aren't earning much interest. Maybe it's time you thought about investing your money in something solid?

When recessions hit, the one reliable asset has always been gold - and in recent months, it's outperformed almost every other form of investment.

But if you want to jump on the golden bandwagon, where do you start and how safe is it?

Why invest in gold?

It's not just pirates who want to get their hands on gold coins these days. As stocks and property prices plummet, demand for the precious metal has rocketed.

The price of gold has been on the up since 2001, spiking at more than $1000 an ounce in March 2008. At the time of publishing, the gold price was $925.15 per ounce (£610.86)*.

The price of gold has been on the up for several years. In 2001, the gold price went as low as $255 per ounce. But the price spiked at more than $1000 an ounce in March 2008. At the time of writing, the gold price was $925.15 per ounce (£610.86)*.

Gold has been the traditional bell weather for investors over the centuries, particularly in times of economic stress. As governments around the world are spending more to prop up their economies, many people worry about inflation and whether the pound or the dollar will keep their value. If you can't rely on paper money, the logic goes, rely on metal.

It's also relatively easy to buy and sell and has a high unit value, which means a small amount is worth a lot! But it's definitely not a short-term investment and remember, valuations can go down as well as up!

Six ways to invest in gold

1. Gold bars

If you've ever fancied getting your mitts on a real gold bar, this could be the one for you. You can buy them in kilos or troy-ounce bars, the traditional measurement for gold. Both depend on that day's gold price. You pay a small mark up for buying small amounts. At the time of writing, a troy-ounce bar (weighing just over 31g) would cost you around $925.15 per ounce (£610.86)*.

2. Krugerrands

South Africa is the world's largest gold exporter, producing the popular Krugerrand gold coins. The smallest measure is a 0.1 ounce coin (just over 3g). Expect to pay around 7% above the day's gold price for the privilege of owning the coin (this can be negotiated down if buying in bulk).

3. Sovereigns

These 22-carat coins, minted by the British government, are perhaps the most popular for British investors. Those dating from 1887 to 1982 are the best investments at the moment. Their face value is only £1, but they cost more than £100!

4. Certificates

If you don't want the hassle of looking after your gold, get a certificate instead. The Perth Mint, established in 1899, is one of the largest gold refiners in the world, where they fabricate bars and coins that are .999 pure. Perth Mint Certificates are guaranteed by the government of Western Australia and easy to sell. You simply sign the back and send it to the broker.

5. Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs)

Another easy way to invest in gold, ETFs were first released in 2003. You can buy a share in ETFs from a stockbroker, which represents around a 10th of an ounce of gold that's held in a bank vault.

6. Gold Shares

You can buy individual shares in companies that trade in, or mine, gold. However, share prices of the companies could lose value, so they're riskier than solid gold.

You can buy individual shares in companies that trade in, or mine, gold. However, share prices of the companies obviously move with their success or failure in their operations, so they're riskier than solid gold.

If all that seems too complicated remember there's always good old savings accounts and ISAs to boost the interest you earn.

*For up-to-the-minute gold prices, log on to the World Gold Council.


Find out more about investing in gold at http://www.confused.com/savings

Labels: gold, gold investment, gold prices

Investing in bonds can be very simple yet equally as profitable as risking your money on the stock market. A bond is, in effect, a loan that a person makes to a company in exchange for the promise that they will receive back their full initial investment plus interest. If a person buys into a bond and then holds onto it, it can be a very simple investment with no surprises. There are a few different types of bond, one of the most popular being insurance bonds which can offer the plan holder a guaranteed income for life.

There are two main ways to make money from a bond. The first and most simple way is to hold onto it until it matures. This is the stage where you will receive back your initial investment, plus regular interest payments as long as you keep hold of it. The alternative way is to sell the bond for a higher price than you paid for it. Bond prices go up when interest rates drop, so you can make money early, by selling it before it matures. You should get more than you initially paid for it, plus the interest you’ve accrued until that date.

However, there are ways in which you can lose money on bonds, just as with any investment you make. The opposite to what was mentioned previously is that if interest rates rise, bond prices will fall and if you have to sell your bond for some reason, you are likely to make a loss. If you invest in bonds that are issued by a financially unstable company, there is no guarantee that you will receive the full repayment of your investment or the interest. If the company comes under serious financial difficulty, then you might not receive anything back of what you initially invested.

Before purchasing a bond, you should always seek legal advice as it is quite a considerable investment and you need to be fully aware of the problems you might encounter, only two of which are mentioned in this article. However, on the whole, bonds are a safe investment and you can make good money if you invest wisely and keep a close eye on the stock market. Being aware of market changes, and potential market changes, is crucial, because the sooner you can make a decision to buy or sell a bond, the better.

There are also a few types of bonds that aren’t designed with the intention of making money. People invest in these as a form of guarantee; such as if they have hired a contractor to complete a job, then the bond will ensure their performance so that the investor does not lose any money on the project.

The author of this article recommends the experts at Bryant Surety for all types of bond such as surety bonds, performance bonds and mortgage bonds.

Labels: bonds, investing, investment advice, mortgage bonds, surety bonds

Most people understand what a mutual fund is and think a hedge fund investment is the same thing. They are correct in that a hedge fund is a group of investors that pool their money, just like a mutual fund. Hedge funds, however, don’t have the same type of regulation that the mutual fund has. In fact, you have to have a specific amount of wealth to invest in a hedge fund and a required amount of investment savvy. A hedge fund investment is not a public offering, but often a private limited partnership with the fund manager as the general partner.

Hedge funds do things because it is a private investment, which regular mutual funds can’t do. One example is the ability to sell short. This is a risky technique especially if it’s a naked short sale. The short sale is when you sell a stock in hopes of purchasing it later at a cheaper price to fill the sale.

A naked sale is one where you sell a stock you don’t own. To comply with government regulations you must be able to borrow it from someone before you sell it. The reason that it’s so risky is that the price could skyrocket after you sell the stock. Then you must pay huge amounts to fulfill your obligations to the buyer.

When large hedge funds use the techniques, often they drive the price down artificially in the sale of the stock and minutes later, can make a quick profit with the purchase and delivery of the cheaper stock. This is one way a hedge fund investment brings higher income than the traditional mutual fund.

The original purpose of a hedge fund was to hedge against the market’s swings. The combination of different types of investments provided an equation against falling markets. The change came as hedge funds became more popular. Today, they provide not just a hedge against loss but an edge for gain.

The typical hedge fund investment contains derivatives that are high yield and debt from companies considered risks, so they have to pay more to borrow, or their loans sell at discounted rates which means the yield on the return is higher. If you use a $1,000 loan as an example, with the company loan rate at 8%, that is a decent comfortable return. Now, if that same company gets behind on the loan and the lending institution panics, they might sell it at a 50 percent reduction of the balance to the hedge fund. This in effect means that not only does the fund get 16 percent interest, but if the company actually pays the loan in full, they make a 100 percent gain on that money.

If you have plenty of money already, you may be the perfect candidate for a hedge fund investment. These types of investments are supplementary to normal investments. They attempt to defeat bear markets and bring in money while they also take advantage of the bull market and yield a higher return. There are risks in a hedge fund, ones that the average investor would never take. With the onset of a bear market, the technique of short selling is one of the best ways to hedge the bad market and take the lemon that the economy handed you and make lemonade.

For more insights and additional information about profits in a Hedge Fund as well as getting free reports about hedge fund investing, please visit our web site at http://www.hedge-fund-advice.com

Labels: hedge fund, investing, investment advice