Don’t let the prevailing depressed atmosphere get you down—in fact, keep it at bay and keep moving forward. It is a down time, but make the best of it.
How in the world can one do that? Well, it’s not easy. Competition for jobs is fierce, to put it mildly. One is responsible more than ever [...]
With all the attention given to to the exploding passive indexation movement, be it through Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs) or Index Mutual Funds, much praise has been given to the low fees and full market participation during bull runs. There have been countless studies that extol the virtues of investing in indexed products over long periods of time for the average investor, but the last bastion of hope for the active management proponents has been the claim that "active managers can protect in a down market". There has never been any supporting evidence that has really backed up these claims (other than the odd cherry-picking comparison), yet this remains a firm battle-cry for active-management nonetheless.Well, as Allan Roth points out, we're in a down market so let's ante
When stocks are falling, take these steps. They'll keep you from doing things you'll be sorry for later.1. Paste this to your computerHad you invested in an S&P 500 index fund in August 1997 and sat tight for 10 years, you'd have racked up an 88% return. Had you missed just the 20 best days in the market over that period, you would have had a 20% loss, according to Chicago's Altair Advisers. Moral: Stock returns come in bursts. Step out of the market, even temporarily, and you may miss the whole point of owning stocks.By Janice Revell2. Get your emotions out of the pictureInvest via an automatic plan that moves money into mutual funds every month. Then have your portfolio rebalanced automatically - lifestyle or target-date retirement funds can do the job. Some 401(k) plans offer a reba
Swooping Girls in a Down Market
It is no secret that the US economy sucks right now. All kinds of Indices of Leading Economic indicators are falling. Residential Real estate is in a tail spin (except the extremely high-end market). We are seeing sharp drops in building permits. Consumer Confidence is low coupled with the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance rising. Orders for
If you are planning to sell your home, you may have realized that the process might not be easy as it would have been even a couple of years ago. The good news; however, is that there are some positive steps you can take to make your home stand out, even if the market is somewhat crowded.A few years ago, back when the market was sizzling, homeowners mistakenly believed that putting a lot of money into their homes would pay off big time when it came time to sell. Unfortunately, they failed to realize that upgrading and remodeling are really only mediocre investments. In reality, very few projects actually pay for themselves, let alone bring in a profit.So, what should you concentrate on when preparing your home for today's market?First, before you take on any projects, make sure they are th
NOTE: If you are a Realtor who reads this blog this may be the most important article I have ever written about your industry. If you wish continued success, survival in a very down market environment, or if you wish to flourish while your competition flounders then please read this article and consider the suggestions and data presented.
In “Realtor’s Down Market Tip#7: If You Refuse To Blog Make Your Website A Problem Solver!” I outlined marketing strategies for Realtors, thanks to Walt Goshert, who would not adopt blogging. For those Realtors who will never create their own blog, I strongly urge them to ask their brokers to create a company branded blog.
Broker’s next generation online marketing presence will be accomplished through what Pat Kitano and Kevin Boer of Domus Consulting Group call Local Blog Networks. The power of this blogging platform and strategy will change the face of the real estate industry as you know it now. The era of your local newspa
Courtesy wiki-collossus
Many Realtors remain on the blogishpere sidelines by refusing to acknowledge the incredible value that creating a blog would represent to their business marketing, lead generation, and overall industry knowledge. Instead these Realtors stick with the tried and formerly true method of a staid “non moving” web site. These web sites utilize a “electronic brochure” Web 1.0 presentation of services and products with a heavy dose of salesmanship sure to turn off any consumer-or put them to sleep. For an example of why to blog see Pat Kitano’s “Blogging Primers.”
Meanwhile this group of low tech Realtors are losing market share, Google Search placement aka The Google Land Grab, as well as the opportunity to create value for prospective clients and networking partners. Their competitors gleefully blog, socially network within the industry creating alliances, and generate an ongoing “moveable” resume that adds valu
The following was written to illustrate the power of networking which produced a wonderful “chance” meeting in a winery tasting room between myself, my business partner, and a Director of Human Resources for a Silicon Valley based bio-tech company. Allow me to outline the components that led to us making a great contact.
In Survival Kit Tool #2 Networking , the idea is to bring awareness to Realtors that networking is to Realtors’ marketing campaigns what location, location, location is to the industry: the main focus and most vital aspect of success. But in order to understand networking and how it works you must first understand three simple facts: time, location, and preparedness.
1. Time: More precisely as in almost any time is the right time to network. If you adopt this anytime rule then you must recognize that your business success becomes a part of who you are when you “show up” in the world. This simply means that when you engage people you keep
Realtors no longer have to stay on their proverbial “local” porch in hopes of generating new business or fostering new business alliances. The explosion of online marketing through blogging has expanded the scope of a Realtor’s business to the point of world wide reach. Simply stated, Realtors now have the opportunity to reach out to a new market with growing buying power, through a weakened dollar, and heightened interest.
One of the newest tools to research property in Europe as well as look for investor interest for U.S. real estate is the United Kingdom search engine Nestoria. Tech Crunch’s Mike Butcher wrote an excellent article “Nestoria to offer average house price data via API” which outlines Nestoria. Nestoria lists properties in England as well as their other market Spain.
The idea for Realtors in the U.S. is to remain active researching the possible European investor wave that may be coming to the US to buy. Tom over at therealestate
The sell off in stocks hit Chevron (CVX) in mid-July, but since the initial two week slide, CVX has quickly recovered and continued on a positive track. Chevron has long been one of the best performers in the oil patch. Now, it appears as though the stock should be considered a safe haven in today’s market, up 80 cents while the Dow Jones Industrial Average is down about 130 points.
Chevron continues to be the best performer in a large part, because of its tremendous 2.79 percent dividend yield that continues to be increased year over year and its value based P/E of 9.5. Earnings estimates have continued to increase for the Full Year 2007, and investors should expect continual increases in estimates as oil continues to be volatile.
To understand the true nature of oil stocks and the investors that enjoy the benefits of investing in such companies, it’s important to read our article on The One Common Sector in the Portfolios of Buffett, Icahn, and Soros.
Disclosure: No Conf
Applied Materials (NASDAQ:AMAT) reports on Tuesday, August 14. This will be interesting for chip...
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Back on February 7th, in my post labeled Markets Marking Time, I said:Every month that the market moves forward gives me more reason to be less bullish. I am still cautious going into Feb and March and I recommend investors lock their gains before the selling hits - the market has to correct 5% or more before I can get all-hands-on-deck bullish. Back on that day, the Dow hit 12749 before closing at 12666. Today, a little over 3 weeks later, Dow closed at 12114, down 4.4% from the levels where I advised profit taking. The Nasdaq is down even further, down 4.9% .While I was right this time about the market direction, I was wrong about it from September through January, where on at least 2 occasions, I cautioned readers that the market had run up too much too fast. Just want to put that out there so you don't think I highlight just my good calls.What happens next? I mentioned yesterday not to trade this volatility and I maintain that you need to build your shopping list. Don't go shoppi
