spreads

This year I’ve been working at eating healthier while trying to lose weight. In the past I’ve relied on highly processed foods to do so, but now I’m trying to eat a more “natural” diet and include heart healthy foods...

Intervalhehehe is a new malware that has been packaged with WinRAR. Those that have downloaded WinRAR from Google Sponsored Links should take note. Have you downloaded WinRAR Free Edition from Google Sponsored Links lately? If you have, then I have some bad news for you. Your WinRAR may have... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

LONDON/TOKYO (Reuters) - Japan became the latest major economy to fall into recession on Monday with France close behind, and the IMF said it needed at least $100 billion to fight the billowing economic crisis enveloping the world.

Enthusiasm spreads at the thought of finding more water to tap into for Albuquerque West side developers. Following Sandoval County helps these developers with the possibility of moving forward in drilling in the Rio Puerco Valley. Even though brackish water drilling and filtering is a particularly expensive process, just the thought of plentiful water supply for future Albuquerque home owners a

U.S. military helicopters have carried out a raid inside Syria along the Iraqi border, killing eight people including four children, Syrian officials say.

East Europe has a sudden awakening these days. After a decade long shopping spree mainly focused on cars and home improvements consumers in the Baltic and Balkan countries are tripping over loan payments and sustaining inflation. Edward Hugh's blog Global Economy Matters leads the blogging pack with an unsurpassed depth of information on Hungary's economic situation as the country is sucked into t

The market is starting to make higher lows and may be showing signs of making a base...at least a temporary one. Ratio spreads may be appropriate in this environment if the following describes you:You don't want to miss a move upward but think one is comingDownside risk still makes you nervousYou don't think the market will explode higherIf in fact a short/intermediate term base is forming in the

It's anybody's guess these days but I think before heading lower there's a good chance to the upside. It's still pretty hard to justify trading options but using spreads will make the risk manageable while still allowing for some profits. In this example, consider US Steel with a short-term price target of low 60s.Volatility has come off its highs... relatively speaking of course.Trade calc scre

Is it possible that the LIBOR rate, TED and Commercial Paper spreads are simply telling us that, prior to this momentous unwind, rate spreads were just too low?What makes the Fed think it can bully the market into taking on significant risk for just 15 – 30 basis points over its target rate?

The yawning is a reflex caused due to excess of carbon dioxide and lack of oxygen in the blood. The brain stem detects this and triggers the yawn reflex, through its non vital nuclei in medulla oblongata.Recently it has been suggested by some scientists that yawning is used for regulation of body temperature, too. The yawns are also caused by the same chemicals produced in human nervous system of

Please pray for Peterborough, New Hampshire which will be hosting a major Wiccan festival soon. Occultists will be gathering in that town on October 25th for "Celebrate Samhain: A Celebration of the Final Harvest and Ancestors Past." See: Peterborough, as some of you may know, was the inspiration for Thornton Wilder's play "Our Town." Let's make it our town again as Christians.As the darkness con

Rubella share few symptoms of measles, but both are different health conditions caused by different types of virus. Rubella, commonly known as German measles or 3-day measles, is highly infectious viral illness that can be easily passed from infectious person. However, it is less contagious than measles or chicken pox. But if a [...]

So I took a major departure in shape, but kept within my concept.  What happens in ripples?  Something expands from a particular point of origin.  How else could I use that idea?  We have two spiky, branching versions.Then a failed circle movement trial.  This REALLY didn't work.  Then the growth of a snowflake.These explorations into the undergrowth weren't satisfyin

Fallout hits inboxes A widespread spam campaign claims that a nuclear power plant on the outskirts of London exploded on Tuesday afternoon.… Read more…

Baby dies as new milk powder scare spreads across China. A health scare in China involving babies developing kidney stones after drinking possibly fake milk formula has spread across the country, state media said on Thursday. One baby had died from kidney stones in northwest Gansu province, Xinhua quoted health officials as saying, but it was not clear if there was any link to milk powder in that

Election-related campaign kicks off False claims that presidential candidate Barack Obama is a sex tourist are being used to trick users into getting infected by malware.… Read more…

In 1984 the non-profit National Arthritis Foundation opened with the purpose of advocating for arthritis patients and arthritis research. With branches all over the world, the organization is really making a difference. The foundation works to educate the public about arthritis and its causes as well as to garner support for their research programs. In addition, it works with pharmaceutical compan

As I moved forward in my moleskine I continued playing with color a bit, first going back to the elongated circles, which a friend thought looked like peacock feathers in the black and white version, and then trying a looser, sketchier style with the Art Stix, instead of the markers which I'd previously attempted.  Neither enthused me.So I took a little different path.  I had been thinki

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The first page was an attempt to take a looser approach with the pen.  I was not pleased.  It just looks sloppy to me.  With the second page I returned to familiar ground in a different variation, some areas of circle spaced further apart and some with them closer together.  The trick this time was the river boundary lines and then all of the dense circles had their center poin

“The rate at which delinquent customers advance to write- offs has increased,” Chief Financial Officer Gary Crittenden said last week. “This is especially true in certain geographic areas where the impact of events in the housing market has been greatest.”

I decided to try another page where the ripple pattern was contained within a shape. The butterfly worked really well, especially since I carefully chose where to put the origination points.  Then I wondered what would happen if one ripple set off the other ripples as it expanded to touch the origination points.  This page was my first try and I wasn't pleased with the effect.For the sec

Business Times - 07 Jul 2008 Property yield spreads widen but investors wary Optimistic outlook for Asia-Pac market, says DTZ report By ARTHUR SIM (SINGAPORE) Institutional investors are seeing some property yield spreads over 10-year bond rates widen globally but DTZ Research believes the correction in real estate markets has some way to go.According to a recent DTZ Research report, Money Into Pr

Property yield spreads widen but investors wary - Singapore Optimistic outlook for Asia-Pac market, says DTZ report By ARTHUR SIM   (SINGAPORE) Institutional investors are seeing some property yield spreads over 10-year bond rates widen globally but DTZ Research believes the correction in real estate markets has some way to go. According to a recent DTZ Research report, Money Into [...]

Color again - but this time colored pencil instead of markers.  I love how this medium lays down on the paper of the moleskine sketchbook.  It gives me a lot more room for shading if I want to make the pieces appear more three dimensional than the overlapping does on its own.  The design element of having one circle be squiggly lines instead of smooth also seemed to work well.I coul

I did go back to patterns for some of these drawings.  I wondered what would happen if I expanded one ring and added designs to it and also what would happen if I divided the field of the drawing, so I tried two of each.My mind drifted and I tried something intended to be a landscape.  It was okay, but not impressive, so I abstracted and rounded the idea further for the next page. 

Kirsten Dunst Picture - view the rest here >> Here’s Kirsten Dunst in a pseudo topless photoshoot in Maxim (year 2000 if not mistaken). It may revert to something more natural, when a soft, bra-less, real-time bosom briefly made an appearance, housed in chiffon, charming and feminine. In her latest news : Kirsten Dunst went to rehab for depression only. Kirsten Dunst told E! that she ch

These days, open the internet and you will find loads of forex brokers claiming to be the one to offer the tightest spreads in the industry. But watch out! The marketing babble can be deceiving. To find out the forex broker with the small or the tightest spread one must understand the spread first.The topic of spreads is rather complex and nothing affects your trading profitability more than this.

I began adding color by extending the largest expanding circle with the greens, deliberately not letting it intersect the centers of the other circles for more interest.  That wasn't quite enough, so I made the center green as well.  I was really pleased with this one.  The next page I tried to have red and blue intersecting circles make purple.I added colored lines inbetween black

A Trojan is reported to be spreading it self by using grand theft auto IV according to various reports, the malware in question is the Trojan-Downloader.Win32.VB.dck.Security firm Sophos scanned the Gnutella network and found an archive claiming to contain the soundtrack of the game. However, the archive had 113.3kb in size, which should be the first sign of foul play.Further down the road, the ar

A Trojan is reported to be spreading it self by using grand theft auto IV according to various reports, the malware in question is the Trojan-Downloader.Win32.VB.dck.Security firm Sophos scanned the Gnutella network and found an archive claiming to contain the soundtrack of the game. However, the archive had 113.3kb in size, which should be the first sign of foul play.Further down the road, the ar

This databook is a detailed information resource covering all the key data points on Spreads in Bulgaria. It includes comprehensive value volume segmentation and market share data. The databook supplies actual data to 2006 and full forecasts to 2011. Scope of this report Contains information on 5 categories: Chocolate Spreads, Honey, Savory Spreads, Jams & Preserves and [...]

This databook is a detailed information resource covering all the key data points on Spreads in Morocco. It includes comprehensive value volume segmentation and market share data. The databook supplies actual data to 2006 and full forecasts to 2011. Scope of this report Contains information on 5 categories: Chocolate Spreads, Honey, Savory Spreads, Jams & Preserves and [...]

I continued with rings of asymmetric growth from the origination points, altering which direction the objects grew in.  I really like the movement in these and will probably return to this variation of the motif.But the next day I felt like combining circles with ovals, or origination dots with origination lines.  The ovals made me think of eye, so I played that up a bit on the next dood

join the offical land of the banned messageboard Does Al Gore know about this? While the former vice president is leading the charge for drastically changing the way humans do business in a bid to avert catastrophic, man-made global warming, scientists reported today there is noticeable climate change taking place on Jupiter, too. The news follows reports as [...]

Join the offical land of the banned Messageboard Does Al Gore know about this? While the former vice president is leading the charge for drastically changing the way humans do business in a bid to avert catastrophic, man-made global warming, scientists reported today there is noticeable climate change taking place on Jupiter, too. The news follows reports as [...]

Barack Obama is sounding more and more like a Far Left loon.Mr. “I’ll meet with Mahmoud anywhere-anytime” is now claiming that hate crimes against Hispanics doubled last year.He said this while attacking Rush Limbaugh and Lou Dobbs.The Palm Beach Post reported: In a speech to the crowd, Obama sharpened his rhetoric against some of the [...]

Astronomers from SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research have discovered mysterious pulses that are being emitted by an extremely magnetic star. The magnetic star, a magnetar, emits the pulses as very high energy X-rays. The astronomers made their observations using the ESA space telescopes INTEGRAL and XMM-Newton and the NASA satellite RXTE. Sometimes observations confirm a scientific theo

Whether you work from home or have an office to go to, chances are if you are in marketing, you would notice that video marketing is becoming popular especially if you want to reach a certain target audience. Plus, some of these marketing methods don’t cost an arm or an leg (like traditional advertisement in [...]

Alhough most German Muslims have not shown any major interest or support for islamic militants, they are more prone to tap into the spread of anti-Jewish feeling within their country. Farfur is a carbn copy of the Walt Disney Mickey Mouse character but he spouts anti-Jewish feeling as part of the comedy associated with the [...]

South African police fired rubber bullets on Thursday to quell anti-foreign violence that has rattled officials and raised fears of wider clashes in the nation’s restive townships. There is considerable unemployment in South Africa and the presence of refugees from other African nations who are seeking work has aroused anger among many sectors of [...]

Most people think of terms like “bear” and “bull” when they think of vertical spreads.  That is because they are commonly seen as directional plays.  However, vertical spreads do have other uses.  They can be used for both volatility trading opportunities and time decay trading opportunities. Although at-the-money clearly has more value than in-the-money or out-of-the-money [...]

The expanding circles doodle that I used in Taking a Line for a Walk stuck in my brain so much that I decided to commit an entire moleskine to elaborating and varying the idea.  I've never tried to stick with a series that long and this is going to be a bit of a challenge for me.  The idea is mutating already and I have no idea what the last page in the sketchbook will look like.I began

Most people think of terms like “bear” and “bull” when they think of vertical spreads.  That is because they are commonly seen as directional plays.  However, vertical spreads do have other uses.  They can be used for both volatility trading opportunities and time decay trading opportunities. Although at-the-money clearly has more value than in-the-money or o

The race is on at Titan Poker to reach the billionth hand and for players to get a piece of the $350,000 in cash the poker site is giving away during milestone hands. The countdown began when the 950 millionth hand was dealt last week and the players in the hand were awarded hundreds of dollars. Now [...]

SEOUL (Reuters) - South Korea's worst outbreak of bird flu has spread to the capital with agriculture ministry officials saying on Tuesday four dead birds raised at a Seoul district government office had tested positive.South Korea has confirmed 24 cases of the deadly H5N1 strain in poultry in about a month. It has killed more than 5 million chickens and ducks but that has not stopped the virus from spreading at its fastest rate since the country reported its first case in 2003.The four birds were among 57 chickens, ducks and turkeys raised in pens at the district office in the eastern part of Seoul. The ministry said it would take about a day to confirm if the dead birds had contracted the H5N1 strain.The city had culled all the birds at the site and was limiting access to a nearby zoo an

Care Bears Presents Mazaradi Fox - Dumout Movement Spreads (Hosted By Mazaradi Fox) 01. Mazaradi Fox Intro 02. Two Twelve 03. Transporter 04. Thicker Than Water 2007 Feat. Law & Grease 05. We Warring Feat. Prodigy & Spider Loc 06. Baby, I Want You Interlude 07. Baby, I Want You 08. Confrontation Feat. Arliss Michaels & Billionz 09. Check Feat. Topadalyne & M-Stars 10. Torn Up Feat. Tone Mac & Rich Deniro 11. One Flip Feat. Gillie Da Kid & Hot ...

Obviously a significant technical day today with several 'key' levels being breached to the upside. The strong finish was also impressive for the indices. Of course buying now seems a little risky with the unemployment data (8:30 ET) coming out tomorrow morning. Overall, I would like to see the market pullback here... as to present me with a much better entry point. I will continue to look to buy the dips on some individual stocks/ETFs.I will be keeping POT on my watchlist. I think the pullback (almost touching its 50 day MA today) will still present a good buying opportunity. Commodities as a group have taken a beating lately, both in the media and in price. Keep in mind though that some commodities, like potash, and unlike gold, have an actual use and thus justify a higher price.N

Zafira was recently added to Barely Legal galleries, and what a savory addition that is! This tall brunette, born in Budapest, has a perfectly formed body, with all natural breasts and a meaty slit that she loves to keep almost completely hairless. During her photo shoot, Zafira confessed to BarelyLegal.com that she loves to have sex with all kinds of men. Being so young, Zafira is not ready to settle for just one type of guy and definitely settling down is not in her near future. She is also open to experimentation, and admits that fucking with both a guy and another female is her biggest sex fantasy. Can I get a woot woot for Zafira?

Suppose you think that SPY is finally ready to break through resistance at 140. Here are a few ways to play it. First, I'm going to set a realistic price target and then build strategies around it. In this example, I think SPY could realistically get to 144 by June's expiration.Credit Spread Debit SpreadRatio Spread

One of the big oil pipelines in the UK has been shut down by a strike giving oil bulls another reason to predict higher crude prices. According to Reuters "A... [[ This is a content summary only. Visit my website for full links, other content, and more! ]]

Selecting a strategy for that next option trade can be a difficult choice. This example will focus on Semiconductor HOLDRS Trust (SMH). I am bullish on SMH in the long-term and I'm trying to decide whether I want to buy outright calls or do a debit spread.Start with the chart. I think SMH bottomed on Jan 22 and is grinding its way back up. If it breaches the trendline I have drawn I will abandon the trade and cut my losses; otherwise, I think it will keep following this trend upward. I think it has the potential to retest 35.50.Expiration. Since I'm leaning toward buying options on SMH I want to give myself a few extra months. I'm picking Nov 08 as my time frame even though I have no intention of holding onto the calls until then. ITM, ATM, OTM. This again has a lot to do with you

Product Description Trading Spreads and Seasonals is a powerful, profit enhancing trading course based on Joe Ross' years of personal trading experience and remarkable trading success. These days, it seems most traders are focused on outright futures or options trading strategies. You hardly ever hear of anyone who trades spreads or seasonal spreads, or outright seasonal futures - especially

All Shahid Kapoor fans can breath a sigh of relief ‘coz all that Sherlyn has been blabbering about being Shahid’s co-star is untrue. The outrageous liar used Shahid’s and Yash Raj’s name to gain some indecent publicity but the truth finally prevailed. A source from Yash Raj Films said, “Shahid has been paired with Rani Mukherjee in the movie. Sherlyn is just making a brief appearance in the film. The report of Shahid acting opposite Sherlyn is false. Sherlyn is doing it just to gain mileage for her and some cheap publicity”.Now what do we call her? Outrageously cheap??Del.Icio.Us Tags: Sherlyn Chopra spreads false rumorsTechnorati Tags: Sherlyn Chopra spreads false rumors

All Shahid Kapoor fans can breath a sigh of relief ‘coz all that Sherlyn has been blabbering about being Shahid’s co-star is untrue. The outrageous liar used Shahid’s and Yash Raj’s name to gain some indecent publicity but the truth finally prevailed. A source from Yash Raj Films said, “Shahid has been paired with Rani Mukherjee in the movie. Sherlyn is just making a brief appearance in the film. The report of Shahid acting opposite Sherlyn is false. Sherlyn is doing it just to gain mileage for her and some cheap publicity”.Now what do we call her? Outrageously cheap??Del.Icio.Us Tags: Sherlyn Chopra spreads false rumorsTechnorati Tags: Sherlyn Chopra spreads false rumors

I hope you can join me tomorrow for my Favorite Ingredients Friday- Spreads & Dips Edition! I always need help in this area! :)

Point-Spreads.comAmerican Idol betting odds for Mariah Carey weekPoint-Spreads.com, FL - 29 minutes agoDavid Archuleta has distanced himself from second runner David Cook according to odds makers at online wagering house Bodoglife.com . Archuleta, the 17 year ...

Excelente disco de los Ex-Warlock! uff que puteria a la primera que lo escucha te va a encantar, a mi me tramo mucho y esa "Dirty Road", "Wicked Romeo", mejor dicho todo el disco!! Hard Rock a la Vena!! no desaprovechen este discazo! en los Comentarios! Pendejo Hp rata imunda asquerosa no podes sapo ladron abrite de aquí gonor***!! A robar a otro lado.

3 Apr 2008 - The WSJ’s article last night entitled" U.S. Slump Takes Toll Across Globe" gives a pretty good summarization of how the U.S. slowdown is already spreading to foreign economies.  These effects were obviously predictable but the WSJ does do a good job of putting some hard numbers behind how China is getting hit in comparison to Brasil.  "The U.S., the economy at the center of the turmoil, is dragging down world growth. On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke gave his most pessimistic assessment to date of the U.S. economy’s outlook, strongly suggesting that a recession is likely. In testimony before Congress, he also said the Fed projects slower global growth over the coming quarters." The dichotomy that the WSJ points out be

Shai Agassi's innovative grid of battery supply for electric cars is now set to be launched in Denmark as well. This is a leap forward for electrical cars. In Sweden emissions from cars and trucks increased by nearly 3% last year even though more people tend to buy cleaner cars. To reduce the emissions significantly we probably need to go electric.clipped from www.iht.comCOPENHAGEN, Denmark: Denmark's DONG Energy A/S and a Silicon Valley-based startup firm on Thursday said they would install an electric car network in the Scandinavian nation with some 20,000 recharging stations.The grid, which is set to be in place by 2011, will be operated by Project Better Place, an initiative by Israeli-American entrepreneur Shai Agassi, using excess power from DONG Energy's wind turbines.A fleet of ba

Arbitrage Spreads On Pending Mergers & Acquisitions -5- Last Update: 4/1/2008 10:07:44 AM The following provides information on selected mergers and acquisitions. All figures are updated by Dow Jones Newswires, with share prices as of 10 a.m. Tuesday EDT. Annualized rate of return is based on Tuesday’s date and the expected closing date and isn’t compounded. Expected closing dates are compiled [...]

Major indexes continue to be temporarily directionless. Of course that’s good if you’ve been long theta (profit from time decay, i.e. you sold options).Economic data continues to be negative; however, none of it is shocking and the market has priced most of this into current prices. It will take another major event to drive this market into the ground, which these days always seem around the corner.I still feel confident in recommending OTM credit spreads on one of the major index ETFs (SPY, IWM, DIA, QQQQ, etc). Keep in mind that currently you will get better pricing on the downside - due to market bias and volatility skew. If you’re looking for a good probability play, look to sell options with a delta of .07 (although with only 21 DTE (days to expiration) that will be tough).

Don’t you get jealous of people who seem to be binging on high calorie food all day and don’t even put on a shred of weight? Why is it that some people eat little and put on the maximum weight while others just don’t seem to get heavier no matter how they eat? The secret [...]

Arbitrage Spreads On Pending Mergers & Acquisitions -5- Last Update: 3/11/2008 10:32:55 AM The following provides information on selected mergers and acquisitions. All figures are updated by Dow Jones Newswires, with share prices as of 10 a.m. Tuesday EDT. Annualized rate of return is based on Tuesday’s date and the expected closing date and isn’t compounded. Expected closing dates are compiled [...]

Guardian Unlimited - economy, which has been slammed by a worsening housing slump, saw the dollar crash to a record low last week against the euro appeared in the Observer on Sunday March 16 2008 on p2 of the News section. It was last updated at 00:04 on March 16 [...]

A bi-annual report from Nielsen Mobile found that 58 million, that is about 23%, of all U.S. mobile phones users have viewed mobile advertising in the last 1 month. Of these, 28 million subscribers say they responded to the ad in one way or another. The findings are based on a study of over 22,000 mobile [...]

No eye see... Investors sell Malaysian stocks on political uncertainty.Bursa Malaysia halted trading at 3pm after the Kuala Lumpur Composite Index (KLCI) fell 10% (131 points) today, which reached the maximum limit and resumed an hour later.The price of political-related and federal government-linked stocks such as MRCB, UEMWRLD, KPS, EQUINE etc. fallen "freely" and horribly today. Overall the underlying of the market is still bearish as investors remain fear on the political uncertainties in the near term. Buffet once said: when in doubt, stay out!The heavy fall was a knee-jerk reaction to the unexpected polling results in which the ruling coalition BN has suffered its biggest election setback in history.

This is not a short term hiccup, as the Long Term Capital Management collapse was in late 1998. The credit markets have been showing signs of extreme distress for more than six months now (more on that below). Everyone is crying uncle–Uncle Sam, that is. Wall Street and Main Street, alike, have begged for various [...]

In what seems like a never ending march higher (and we #39;re not talking about oil or gold), high yield spreads (based on the Merrill Lynch High Yield Index) rose yesterday to 775 basis points above Treasuries which is the highest level ...

Forex Foreign Exchange SpreadsBy: Paul BryanForex trading is one of the most popular and fastest growing financial trading opportunities. Exchange rates for currencies in the forex market are quoted as 'bid/ask' rates. The difference between the purchase (ask) and the sale (bid) rates is called the 'spread'. Forex spread is one of the most important single parameter to make the difference between a successful and losing trading. Forex spread is expressed in percentage in point (pip) which is the smallest measure of price move. For example, if the currency pair EUR/USD is trading at 1.3000 and then changes to 1.3020, the pair is said to move by 20 pips. A pip in most currencies is 1/10,000 of an exchange rate, but in USD/JPY, it is 1/100.The bid/offer spread is the difference between the bu

My Sweet Emila, my dear uncle Bok Jae and my BF Lady Java pass this cute dove to spread peace and global unity. I am so honored because these great people remember to include me in this peace spreader meme. Zari who lives in Lebanon, a country in the midst of political turmoil and violence, created this beautiful dove icon to spread the message of love and peace to fellow bloggers around the world. The rules: 1. If you get tagged or not (and want to play along), take some minutes to meditate about love and peace, pray for countries that are facing troubles, for those people you love and those you don’t.2. Write a post with links to blogs that you think would like to participate3. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme. Now this little dove will soa

From polidics: Bayer AG has sent a drug that is infected with the HIV virus to France, Japan, and, Spain and is being used by and infecting children in those counties with HIV. The stench doesn’t stop there. Congress has knowingly allowed Bayer to continue to sell this death product to Europeans without conscience in the [...]

If you cannot see the image on this page, you are either a Fox News debate coordinator, or afflicted with RPS. The inability to see Dr. Paul is one baffling aspect of what scientists have dubbed "The Ron Paul Syndrome.""We are unsure what cause RPS, but its existence is undeniable. It definitely affects members of the main stream media. For some reason, they are completely unable to see Dr. Paul," said Dr. Ramir Patel of Chicago University. "When he appears on televised debates, it is clear that he is not seen by the commentators. The total absence of any coverage by most major news media also lends credence to the existence of RPS."Prevalent primarily in the main stream media, RPS also has extremely hazardous effects on progressive feminists."I was down at the salon the other day gett

When it comes to the cost of trading most investors only think of the direct costs, also known as the commissions. However there is another more important indirect cost know as the bid/ask spread premium. This is especially important when investing in illiquid stocks or products. On an illiquid company or product, the bid/ask spread can [...]

By Rich MillerJan. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The U.S. economy may already be in recession; other countries might not be far behind.Japan, Britain, Spain and Singapore, which together represent about 12 percent of the world economy, are vulnerable as fallout from the U.S. worsens their economic weakness. Even emerging markets, including China, are likely to suffer as exports to the U.S. wane.The result: Global growth may decelerate close to the 3 percent pace economists deem a worldwide recession, from a 4.7 percent rate in 2007. ``Some form'' of global recession ``is inevitable at some point,'' former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said in a speech in Vancouver last week.The developing slump puts pressure on central bankers in Japan, the U.K. and the euro region to follow the lead of Fed

Original Article Isn't it remarkable that Christians would like to use atheists as scapegoats for every evil action throughout history instead of admitting their own complicity? After all, they are the ones who are constantly reminding us that the inhumane actions committed by their predecessors don't necessarily reflect upon them, so why can't they just admit that the christians of the past were complicit in some of these atrocities? I don't know that I need to move beyond the first sentence to prove the absurdity of his assertion. Apparently, Mr. D'Souza has forgotten about the atheists and deists who were the true impetus for ending slavery-like Abraham Lincoln! As far as we can tell from the biographies written about Lincoln, particularly those written by some

The Sell A Double Vertical Spread strategy offers an alternative to traders who are not comfortable with the unlimited risk associated with selling a straddle/strangle. Selling a straddle/strangle strategy consists of selling an out-of-the-money call and put. The Sell A Double Vertical Spread strategy does this and also purchases a further out-of-the-money call and put. The advantage is that this

Today's headline shouldn't come as too much of a shock to those readers who have been paying attention to the English Courtesan. However it's not actually that sort of spreading to which she's referring... :-) 'No, my lovelies, it's here but it's also there!', said the English Courtesan, striking a Le Penseur pose and giving her readers a mysterious smirk... This week's hot news is that the English Courtesan has trotted off with her basket of snacks to Spread Magazine! It seems that Vixen and the readers of Spread are hungry too (must be all the Spreading) so the English Courtesan is on a mission of mercy to spread meaty treats amongst international madams and mistresses across the Pond (see below).Those of the readers who have yet to acquaint themselves with Spread Magazine might like to

Rebtel is all over the news today. After offering 2 for 1 offer for users today, I find that now it is spreading it's VoIP wings in China. With China adding it's population to the ever expanding Internet, controlled or not, they will be using the methods of communications to reach one another and beyond. Just imagine a billion people doing so! Here is the Rebtel Press Release;Stockholm, Sweden - December 20, 2007 - Rebtel, the people's global communications company, today announced low cost and free international calling to and from China.Starting Friday, December 21, residents of Shanghai can use their mobile phones to call any phone, anywhere in the world for just pennies per minute, and make free calls to friends, family, and work colleagues in 39 countries."Entering the Chinese market was not easy, but we're finally in - just in time for ex-pats to call home for the holidays - and we plan to open service in more Chinese cities in the New Year,” said Hjalmar Winbla

Yesterday Secretary Rice, speaking in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, called for more peacekeeping forces to bail out the Ethiopian troops in neighboring Somalia. Ms. Rice, however, has learned little from recent history: Ethiopian troops marched into Somalia a year ago to help Somalia’s UN-backed interim government oust Islamist forces. The US supported the intervention which has proven unpopular, with insurgents continuing to stage attacks. The UN says that one million Somalis have been displaced by the fighting, including 60% of the capital’s residents. The war in Somalia is not some obscure “African tribal conflict” - it is a direct result of international political maneuvering, just like Afghanistan. The similarities between the two countries, in fact, are striking. Both fell apart during the Cold War endgame. Afghanistan, invaded by the Soviets in 1979, has seen near-continuous warfare ever since, with some participants funded by the US. Somalia, after switching it

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In my last options posting, I talked about call spreads. Put spreads are remarkably similar except that you are expecting a downturn in that underlying security. Put spreads, like call spreads, minimize the risk to the investor, because they allow your initial investment to be reduced. Note here that it is important to always use the same expiration date on both the put that you buy to open and the put that you sell to open. So the put spread is buying a put close to the money (or in the money) and selling a put further away from the money. For example: I have been watching another stock that is currently trading at $82.65, up a $1.50 on Friday. It is somewhat near the high end of it’s 52 week high/low. I am considering buying a put spread on this stock. The JAN $80 put is selling for $2.10. The JAN $75 put is selling for $0.80. So if I were to buy into this trade, it would cost me a total of $1.30 per share. So for my 10 contracts, it would cost me $2,100 ($2.10 x 100 shares per

A new and potentially deadly strain of adenovirus, a virus which frequently causes the common cold, has spread in parts of the United States. It has already killed 10 people and put dozens more into hospitals. Two of the 10 people who have died from the new strain, a variant of adenovirus 14, were infants. This strain of adenovirus 14, however, can also make even healthy young adults severely ill. About 140 people have been sickened by the virus and more than 50 hospitalized, including 24 admitted to intensive care units.Sources:Reuters November 15, 2007

So I mentioned call spreads a few times in my last few posts. What are those you might be asking? As I mentioned in my earlier posting titled Options are a Viable Option Right Now, options were created to reduce risk. Call spreads and put spreads (sometimes called vertical spreads) are the next step. When options are referred to, they are referred to in one of a couple ways. They are either “in the money” or “out of the money.” As you can probably guess, “in the money” means that the stock has intrinsic or real value (i.e. a $25 call when the underlying stock’s market price is $28.) An “out of the money” derives its’ only value from the time value (i.e. a $50 call when the underlying stock is valued at $46.) We have talked about buying calls and puts. Today we will move into the category of both buying and selling calls of different strike prices at the same time. So the call spread is buying a call close to the money

It looks like that time of year before the elections has come when each of the candidates is the target of a wave of unsubstantiated claims. The most curious thing about these rumors is how so many conservatives are gullible enough to believe them and pass them on as truth. The rumors, generally spread by email, sometimes with the help of The National Enquirer, claim that both John Edwards and Hillary Clinton are having affairs with women. As far as I know, Obama has been spared from these attacks but has been the target of many others, such as the claim that he is Muslum or went to a Madrassa. Obama is currently being subjected to an email campaign claiming he refused to say the pledge of allegiance. The Fact Checker at The Washington Post (Hat tip to Think on These Things) debunks this one: The photograph was taken on September 16, 2007, at Senator Tom Harkin’s annual steak fry festivities in Iowa, an important ritual for Democratic presidential hopefuls. Contrary to the e-mai

Thomas Kirk has made a wonderful Real Estate Show to raise money for a charity he believes in. I especially like his Show because it walks us through the process of how his neighbors, the Johnsons, first became involved in the charity. In the Details of his Show, Thomas tells how the Johnsons attended an Aaron Tippin concert. They saw him put together a bike on stage, then donate it to Toys for Tots. The idea hooked them, but good. The wonderful thing about giving is that most people WANT to give, but sometimes they just need to be told HOW. The Johnsons saw this act of kindness and wanted to keep it going. When you view the Show, I think you’ll see they’re doing a fine job of it. Thomas is helping to spread this news as well, through Real Estate Shows and the power of the internet. Online, there are less than six degrees of separation between us all. You can get to anyone and everyone, if only your message is one that people will want to spread. Thomas’ message is of hop