A Guide to Gold Basics

By Lawrence Reaves

With the soaring prices of gold it is a good time to consider buying or selling your gold jewelry. You need to have some basic knowledge to make smart decisions. Gold jewelry seems like it never goes out of style. This is because it is beautiful and easy for most people to afford and wear.

Pure gold will not tarnish, rust or corrode and is the most malleable of all metals. Pure gold is too soft for jewelry so it is mixed with other metals, including silver, copper, nickel and zinc to give it strength and durability. The color of gold is determined by the type of metal alloys it is mix with and the percentage of each metal alloy.

Most people think all gold is yellow, but the fact is there are many variations of color that gold can be. Colored gold is just as "real" as golden colored gold. The color depends on what the gold is mixed with. Other alloys are mixed with gold to make it strong and to hold up under every day wear and tear that jewelry goes through. Craftsman learned through the ages that mixing gold with copper, silver and platinum would increase its durability. When gold is alloyed with other metals it changes the color of the finished product. An alloy of 75% gold, 16% silver and 9% cooper makes yellow gold. White gold is 75% gold, 4% silver, 4% copper and 17% palladium. Other combinations of alloys can make pink, green, peach and even black gold.

The alloys of gold have a lesser value per unit weight than pure gold. The standard in the gold trade is known as karatage which is commonly called karat. Pure gold is known as 24 karat gold and is usually marked with 24K. An alloy that is 50% gold is 12 karat gold and is marked with a 12K. An alloy that is 75% gold is 18 karat gold and is marked with 18K. High karat gold jewelry is softer and more resistant to tarnish; on the other hand, lower karat jewelry is stronger, but less resistant to tarnish.

Gold is highly valued and there is a limited supply and has been used as a medium of exchange or money for centuries. 6000 years ago is when the first transaction was done using pieces of gold and silver. The reason that gold has been used for this purpose for so long is because it has high value, durable, portable and can be divided easily. At one time the United States used a gold standard and maintained a stockpile of gold to back every dollar in circulation. It became too cumbersome and is no longer used by any nation. Gold coins were commonly used in transactions. Gold coins were issued in two types of units. Some were units of currency and some were issued in standard weights.

Today gold coins are no longer in wide use for financial transactions. Gold coins issued in specific weights are popular for people who want to purchase and invest in a small amount of gold. Gold coins are also collected and issued as commemorative coins. These types are a good investment because gold retains its value overtime. These are just some informative basic facts about gold. As you can see gold is a good investment whether it is in fine jewelry or coins. - 23309

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Strategic Investing Tips and Advice

By Lennie Mclucas

My husband and I actively purchase and trade stocks and bonds. We are trying to save even more to retire and figure we should add to our savings as much as possible by doing investment research.

In the past, we used a major brokerage to handle all of our trading needs. We decided that the service that was provided to us was vary general. When we asked for advice, we were given general market summaries that had no real market direction outlined. We noticed that their financial newsletters were describing the market the same way it was a few months prior. New trends and current market reports were not provided to us.

We realized the brokerage's research was not good enough to invest our money off of. Then we realized that the research needed to be done by us to be able to secure our stock portfolios position.

Shortly after we started doing our own research we realized we did not need to be in business with the brokerage at all, we just felt like we were not gaining enough to be paying out for a lower level of service then we could provide ourselves. If you were doing all of the research, and coming up with your own plan of attack, you would also feel resentful if someone was taking a huge cut of your pay.

Our financial outlook has changed recently. We found great new tools on MyStrategicForecast.com's website. With the accurate investment research from My Strategic Forecast you really can succeed with investing. When we first contacted them, they provided us with a sample financial newsletter that concisely outlined the direction that the market was taking. Once we were sure their research was accurate we decided to turn to them for research and investment advice. We then felt we could start investing strategically investing of trying to guess if our research was complete and accurate.

My Strategic Forecast offers investment research in the form of financial newsletters, stock newsletters, and investing newsletters. We were thrilled to discover the research analysis not only covers current trends but backs it up with historical fact to show the markets direction. We felt well prepared for what the market may bring.

With My Strategic Forecast providing our investment research, I felt that I was receiving information that wasnt just a prediction or a hunch. Things like economic trends, political conditions and other interesting elements go into their financial forecast newsletters. I mean, why should non-economic factors really be part of investment research? My Strategic Forecast realized that financial markets are not only driven by economics, and that other investment analysts seem to forget that fact. - 23309

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My husband and I are confident that our decision-making has been enhanced through the research provided by My Strategic Forecast. You can't afford to not look into it. Check out www.MyStrategicForecast.com and start benefiting today.

Forex Trading Is Easier With The Right Software

By Corey Knapp

Forex trading involves the exchange of international currencies in the world market. For example, purchasing the American Dollar in exchange for the British Pound. The equivalent value used in this transaction is one unit to the other currency.

Every trade on the Forex market consists of two parts, the buying and selling of specific country's currencies. When one is bought, another is sold. The two currencies that are involved in each trade are referred to as the cross. While every country has currency that is able to be exchanged on the Forex market, the biggest crosses that are traded daily are the U. S. Dollar and U. K. Euro, the Japanese Yen and the U. S. Dollar and the Great Britain Pound and the U. S. Dollar. These and other currencies are traded at a rate of over three trillion dollars each and every day.

The Forex is the largest and most liquid market on the planet. There's no actual building you can walk into to witness the Forex in action. Unlike the stock exchanges in New York and Chicago, the Forex takes place completely in a virtual world. Banks, governments and large corporations trade constantly, all day and night, over the opening and closings of other countries markets. The Forex, itself, is a series of computer networks and systems.

There are a lot of players in the Forex trade. Big corporations, small and medium sized businesses, and individuals. Big companies obviously play a large role in this trade. These include financial lending institutions, private companies, and banks. Companies with a high liquid capability are often seen on the foreign exchange market. However, the forex market has opened its doors to small players and the common man in the street who wants to participate. Indeed, forex is said to be the number one trade in home business.

Fixed exchange rates govern the Forex market. Countries agree on trade rates and apply them accordingly. However, the ministry of finance and national banks have certain rules which control the value of the exchange rate. The value of the exchange rate is determined by the volume of goods imported and exported between the countries. The international trade and conditions also determine the value of the exchange rate. The floating currency system is used in Forex.

The twentieth century has seen the introduction of forex trading software. These software robots have taken on some of the taxing tasks in forex trading. Trading software can be found online. Web marketers and affiliates make a living from selling forex software. There is a wide variety of forex software on the market. Software calculates the probabilities of making a gain or loss depending on past performance and current trends. They also take into consideration the future values of each scene.

Better decisions are made with forex software. They also make it easy to trade online. They also take care of management of your portfolio and strategies.

Forex software goes beyond managing your investment and searching for deals. It also teaches you and shows you the best ways of handling the trading game. With feedback from the software, you can change variables to the suit the prevailing conditions.

So if you are going to start trading with Forex, then get trained. Get really good training. Get more training than that. It is your key to start making money off of the Forex trading. Many people who first start trading on the Forex market find that they need more training than they thought. It can be quite confusing and intense when you first begin. Overall, the Forex market will give you a lot of excitement. Find out what your Forex trading profit can be and have some fun.

The slower you go the easier it will be to do forex trading. Don't try and make money by going too fast. Trading all day doesn't mean that you will make a lot of money. - 23309

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It is just good sense to invest in the hottest markets. Forex System Pdf Security in the form of political stability is important to the value of the currency on the foreign exchange market. This means that if you see a voltage drop and want to blow, you can easily do so.

The Stock Market Guru's Didn't See It Coming

By Roger McBridge

If you are investing in the market, chances are that you are subscribing to newsletters from names that are know for their investment strategies, the so called "gurus". Well, none of them saw the recession coming and a lot of them lost money like the rest of us. The market is capricious and difficult to predict, especially if your into high risk, high gain stock trading.

If your ready to try a new approach, give up the high risk, high yield strategy for a new idea, I suggest you take a look at ETFTradingSignals.com. Instead of high risk investments, ETF Trading Signals follows EFTs which are traded just like stocks but are very low risk. Do you think you can't get a good return on a low risk investment?

EFTs are like mutual funds, usually considered a low risk, long term investment. ETF Trading Signals has proprietary software that tracks the trends in the EFT market. They send members a monthly newsletter and email alerts advising them of the best EFTs to follow, when to get in and when to get to maximize profit and minimize losses. You only need to make ten or twelve trades a year to realize of profits of at least twenty percent.

The program follows the same principle as stock trend following, but with EFTs, because they are a less risky investment strategy. EFTs are still subject to trends and by tracking those trends, and knowing when to buy and sell, you can maximize the yield on your investments.

I was looking for trend following strategies and advice when I found this site. That was about six months ago. The investment strategies I was using weren't working for me. The site offers a money back guarantee if you're not satisfied, so I figured I had nothing to lose. I didn't start by investing real money, for the first month I just tested the advice. It appeared to be working so I went ahead and started buying and trading with the advice I got from my membership.

That was a good move on my part. This is one program that really works. They aren't always right, but I haven't taken any heavy losses and my profits are up to twenty five percent. This site is my new best friend.

ETFTradingSignals.com has changed my attitude about investing. I thought I had to stay on top of the market and buy and sell every day to make money. Now I may go a month or more without making a single trade and I'm still making more money than I was before. Not only that, I'm saving a fortune in broker fees.

If you are looking to turn your investments around, try ETFTradingSignals.com. Hey, if you're not happy, they give you back your money. You can't ask for fairer than that. You've got nothing to lose here, so give it a try, you may be surprised at what you gain. - 23309

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Getting the Best Valuation For Your Home

By Susana Perez

If you are trying to sell your home, you might have a difficult time getting a great price for it unless it is in tip-top condition. Buyers these days want the home they purchase to be picture perfect and ready for occupancy immediately. Unless you have painted the entire home inside and out, replaced aging electrical appliances, and footed the bill for a new roof, you may not get your asking price.

It can be difficult to get potential buyers to see what a gem your home is unless it looks absolutely perfect. They cant see and dont care how great the living room would look with a different colored carpet. They arent interested in how much safer the yard would be for their kids if it was surrounded by a chain-link fence. They are bringing their hard-earned money to the table and expect to get something thats already suited to their wants and needs.

Before putting your home on the market, you must correct every flaw if you expect to get top dollar for it. Paint the inside and outside, replace the roof if its worn, re-carpet where necessary, and enhance every little detail. Look at your home through a potential buyers eyes to determine what things they would like to see in place. You should expect to spend some money getting your home in order before you sell it.

Some people just dont have the time or money required to prepare their houses for the real estate market. They may be forced to move unexpectedly due to a job transfer or they may be in financial trouble, which pretty much prevents them from investing any more money into their homes.

If you are in any of the above circumstances, then you need to consider selling your home to a private real estate investor or real estate investment firm. If you can get one of them interested in purchasing your home, you will be able to move right away without having to make any further mortgage payments. Of course, you might not get top dollar for it but you wont get it anyway unless you are willing to pay the price ahead of time by repainting, re-carpeting, re-roofing, and fixing anything that needs repair.

Real estate investors can see beyond the normal wear and tear your home has undergone. They will not expect you to sink thousands of dollars into the home so that it will look perfect. They will buy your home the way it is and do all the work before putting it out there on the real estate market.

Selling to a real estate investor will be your best option if you need to sell your home as quickly as possible. He or she will buy it outright and you will not have to make any special arrangements, make any more payments, correct any of the problems it has, or pay anyone a commission. All you must do is find an interested investor and your - 23309

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Discover today how you can find the best construction lawyer in you area, when ever you are looking to Purchase a house in Australia.