Finance
Small Business Finance
Every organization regardless of its size and mission may be viewed as a financial entity. Management of an organization, particularly a business firm, is confronted with issues and decisions that have important financial implications. Questions must be answered like:
o What kind of plant and machinery should the firm buy?
o How should the firm raise finances?
o How much should the firm invest in inventories?
o What should the firm’s credit policy be?
o How should the firm gauge and monitor its financial performance?
Business finance is broadly concerned with the acquisition and use of funds by a business firm. Its scope may be defined in terms of the following questions: How large should the firm be and how fast should it grow? What should be the composition of the firm’s assets? What should be the mix of the firm’s financing? How should the firm analyze, plan and control its financial affairs?
In general, business finance rests on the premise that the objective of the firm should be to maximize the value of firm to its equity shareholders. What is the justification for this objective? It appears to provide a rational guide for business decision-making and promote efficient allocation of resources in the economic system. Savings are allocated primarily on the basis of expected return and risk and the market value of a firm’s equity stock reflects the risk-return trade-off of investors in the market place.
Hence when a firm maximizes the market value of its equity stock, it ensures that its decisions are consistent with the risk-return preferences of investors. This suggests that it allocates resources optimally. If a firm does not pursue the goal of shareholder wealth maximization, it implies that its actions result in sub-optimal allocation of resources. This in turn leads to inadequate capital formation and lower rate of economic growth.
By: Kristy Annely
Tax Savings For Homeowners
The government is making it easy for homeowners to save on their taxes this year. Whether you’re a first time buyer, or just renovating, there are a number of savings out there.
Save The Environment and Money Too!
Thanks to the $700 billion bailout plan, going Green in 2009 can net you some juicy tax credits. A number of incentives that are especially helpful for people living in older homes, include:
- Credit for 30 percent of the cost of a photovoltaic solar energy system. For a wind energy system a homeowner could receive up to $4,000 or 30 percent of the cost of installation of a home windmill system.
- A $1,500 credit for installing energy efficient windows, doors, water heaters, roofs, insulation, heating, or a central air system in 2009 or 2010.
Sell Your Home and Pocket the Profit
Selling your home at a profit provides a juicy tax break if it was your main residence for at least two of the past five years. Singles don’t pay taxes on profits of up to $250,000, and married couples have a $500,000 threshold. If, you owned the home for less than two years you may still qualify for gain exclusion if you sold your home due to job, health or unforeseen circumstances (such as divorce or death). Ensure that you have the necessary documents to back up your claim, such as a doctor’s letter.
Your First Home Tax Credit/Loan
First time home buyers are entitled to a $7,500 tax credit if they earn less than $75,000 a year (couples may earn up to $150,000). If a buyer has not owned a home in the past three years, and falls in the eligible income range, they can take a tax credit worth 10% of the home’s sale price, up to a maximum of $7,500. This applies to homes that have closed between April 9, 2008 and before July 1, 2009, and can be applied to either the 2008 or 2009 taxes.
The really nice part of this tax perk is that it is a true credit. If you owe $8,500 in taxes, the $7,500 credit comes off the top, leaving an amount owing of only $1,000. In addition, it is refundable, which means if you owe less than $7,500 in taxes, the government will send you a check for the difference.
Now, the clincher. Not only is this a refundable tax credit, but it’s also a loan. This means that within two years buyers must begin paying it back at no more than $500 per year for 15 years. If the home is sold during that time, the amount is withdrawn from the profit. If there is no profit, the loan slate will be wiped clean.
Save on Property Taxes
There are a few things a homeowner can do to potentially save on property taxes:
Look for errors – up to half of property assessments are inaccurate. Ensure that your ? acre property is not being assessed at 1 3/4 acre, or that you aren’t being charged for 4 bathrooms when you only have 2. What seems like a small difference could add up to big savings at tax time.
Property assessments are generally based on market value. If your home was evaluated before housing prices fell, it should be re-assessed based on today’s market value. Do some investigating and find out what similar homes in your area have been selling for. They should be in the same school district, have a similar lot size, same number of bedrooms and bathrooms. You will need to demonstrate that these comparable houses have sold for less than the city’s assessed value of your home.
If you are over paying, file an appeal with your town. This is something you can do on your own, without spending money on lawyer’s fees. Pick up a property tax-reduction kit from the American Homeowners Association or the National Taxpayers Union and it will guide you through the process.
By: Mark Hostetler
Estate Planning – Finding A Home For Your Collection – Charitiable Donation, Trusts
This is a transcript of a presentation delivered by Certified Manuscript Appraiser Brian Kathenes, May 23, 2003 at the Library of Congress, Manuscript Society Annual Meeting.
Moderator— Steve Carson: with: Chris Coover, Christie’s auction House
and Dr. James Hutson, Director Library of Congress
Presenter:
Brian Kathenes, ISA CAPP
Managing Partner
National Appraisal Consultants
Hope, NJ
It is an honor to speak here at this wonderful institution and before my friends and colleagues of The Manuscript Society.
Thank you for allowing me to be a part of the program.
“Finding a home for your collection.” — an interesting phrase.
Depending upon the “home” you are considering for your collection, the services of a professional appraiser may be beneficial, or even required.
By the end of my short presentation, you will have a better idea of:
? how an appraiser can help you find your collection’s home
? when you might need an appraiser
? how select the right appraiser.
And, interestingly enough, you’ll probably know more about the appraisal process than most people who call themselves appraisers.
Now, before you even consider retaining the services of an appraiser you need to know one important fact.
Anyone can call himself or herself an appraiser. There are no laws or licensing requirements in any US state pertaining to personal property appraisers. That may seem unusual, especially with the antiques road show craze, but it’s true. It seems that anyone who ever bought or sold an antique or a manuscript is an appraiser.
There are dozens of recent incidents, and court cases, of unqualified people that got themselves and their clients into big trouble by calling themselves appraisers.
You’ve probably read about a few of them in Manuscripts News. We do a great deal of litigation support work in appraisal related law suits and you’d be amazed at what our research reveals.
So for starters, let’s cover what an appraisal is and what it isn’t.
An appraisal is a formal, written document, prepared by a qualified appraiser. The report contains an unbiased, opinion of value along with the documentation to support that value conclusion.
Every appraisal has a purpose and an intended use. The use is the reason the appraisal is being conducted. Perhaps the use for insurance coverage, charitable contribution, equitable distribution, estate planning or pending sale.
The purpose is the value being provided: Retail replacement value, fair market value, liquidation value. We’ll talk more about values later.
Now, before you consider an appraisal, consider your needs.
? What do you want to do with your collection? Sell it, keep it, gift it? donate it?
? Would knowing its value help you in your decision?
? Does anyone else need to know the collection’s value? Family – distribution, IRS tax deduction?
Let’s look at a few “homes” for your collection.
If you wish to sell your collection (I guess that means the new home of your collection will be someone else’s home). You have several options.
You can sell it to a dealer. In this case you don’t need an appraisal because the dealer will tell you what he or she is willing to pay. (Now if your not sure it’s a fair offer, an appraisal might help), but if you select a reputable dealer, you’ll get a fair offer.
You can consign it to auction. Again you don’t need an appraisal. The auction representative will provide with a pre-auction estimate and associated fees as part of the service.
People call us all the time and tell us they want to sell their collection at auction and need an appraisal. As much as we’d like to relieve them of their money and do the appraisal, we tell if that’s what they wish to do, then they don’t need an appraisal. The auction rep will provide them with all the information they need.
You can consign it to an agent for sale – same story. The agent provides an agreed-upon selling price and the fees associated with the transaction.
Naturally, you need to have a great deal of trust in the dealers, agents and auction representatives, as well as their market knowledge.
You can shop a variety of auction houses, dealers and agents to get the best offer, pre-auction estimate and terms.
If you don’t have the time or the desire to shop your collection, an appraiser can provide you with the data you need to better understand markets and optimal methods of sale.
If you are planning to sell your collection, I believe there are specific advantages to each method: dealer, auction or agent. But that’s beyond the scope of today’s program.
Another “home” for your collection can be a gift to family or friends. You can gift all or a portion of your collection. You can equitably distribute the collection among several parties or give it to one person. You can gift the collection all at once or over a period of time. Each of these decisions may require an appraisal, in order to equitably distribute the assets. You may also need the appraised value in order to stay below the maximum non-taxable gift amount.
Your collection can find a home in various family trusts, which can be used to mitigate tax liability in estate planning situations. An appraisal is almost always required in this scenario.
You can also donate your collection. (I’ll bet Dr. Hutson was wondering if when I was going to mention that “home.”) Again, like with a gift, you can donate all of it, or a portion of the collection. There may be tax advantages to donating an entire collection in one charitable contribution transaction, or over a period of time.
In charitable donations, an appraisal is almost always required in order to establish fair market value for potential tax deductions.
Before, I mentioned the appraisal terms purpose and intended use. In a charitable contribution, the purpose of the appraisal is to report Fair Market Value. FMV is a legal definition derived from Treasury regulations and revenue procedures as: the price at which the property would change hands between a willing buyer and willing seller, neither being under any compulsion to buy or sell and both having adequate time and reasonable knowledge of relevant facts.
Appraisers identify the most common market and then research value.
You see appraisers don’t really determine value — Appraisers report value. The market determines value. Appraisers research the appropriate market, then report their opinion of value in a qualified report for their client. Most of the appraiser’s value conclusions however are reported as a value determinations for legal reasons.
They back up their opinion with documented research, which is contained in the report.
Professional appraisal societies, the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice, and the IRS dictate what information is required in an appraisal report.
Typically, the first 9 to 12 pages of a charitable contribution report contain required information on the appraisal process, market research, methodology used, markets selected and the appraiser’s qualifications. The balance of the report is the detailed description of the items being donated and the value conclusions.
These reports are quite complex and always include detailed photographs, all of which is required by the IRS. An IRS 8283 form is also signed by the appraiser, and completed by the donor.
Sometimes our firm, National Appraisal Consultants, is retained to provide preliminary research in order to help the donor establish how the collection should be donated.
All in all, the donor works with the institution, the appraiser, and usually a tax professional to ensure the donation becomes a win/win for all parties involved.
If your collection needs protection until it finds a new home, an insurance appraisal may help. As you know, manuscripts are not typically covered under the standard home owner’s policy. They are considered by most insurance companies to be fine art and must be scheduled.
An insurance appraisal properly identifies the collection and establishes a retail replacement value. The report provides the basis for coverage. The insurance coverage can extend to shipping, storage and a loan of the collection, should its new home be out of your home.
So, there are several common applications for appraisals. To be sure there are others, but I think these are the most common uses and pertain to today’s topic.
Now if you do decide you might wish to consult an appraiser, I have a few thoughts.
1. Appraising is not an art. It is a science. There is formal training, testing and certification available through a variety of organizations. Anyone that holds themselves out as an appraiser should have been trained, tested, and certified through one of three professional personal property appraisal organizations. Personal property refers to anything that is not real estate.
There is the AAA — Appraisers Association of America, based in NY
The ASA — American Society of Appraisers, based in DC, the NAJA, National Association of Jewelry Appraisers in New York, And the ISA — International Society of Appraisers, headquartered in Seattle. The ISA is the largest professional organization of personal property appraisers. I am a Certified Member of the ISA with a Specialist Certification in Autographs Manuscripts and Historical Documents, and the Chairman of the ISA Appraisal Ethics Committee.
Check the qualifications of all potential appraisers. And seek out appraisers that have the highest level of certification and training. Don’t let anyone tell you there’s no place to learn to be a certified appraiser
2. Do not use an appraiser that has an interest in your collection. Professional appraisers are unbiased and will not offer to buy anything they appraise and they don’t appraise anything they intend to buy. You can’t wear two hats in this business and not get into trouble. Remember the Pickett papers.
3. Do not accept any appraisal fee that is based upon a percentage of the value of the items being appraised. It is unethical for an appraiser to base fees upon a percentage of value reported. Appraisers must always be and remain unbiased.
4. When making a charitable contribution, be certain the items have a related use. The IRS frowns upon allowing tax deductions for items that are unrelated to the purpose of the institution. Donating a cow to the Gemological Society of America is probably an unrelated use.
One quick appraisal story:
We talked about appraisers reporting value not determining value. Well one of our gems and jewelry appraisers was retained as an expert in a California court case involving a jewelry store theft. (story)
Fill-ins: Pre- Colombian art story: Three approaches : comparable sales, income, reproduction cost. Use moon rock Value and date. Indy 500 tkts.
Now you know perhaps a bit more about how an appraisal can help you find the best home for your collection.
If I can ever be of assistance don’t hesitate to call.
Thanks!
By: Brian Kathenes
Property Tax Valuation – How to Calculate
How exactly does your city come up with your property tax value? Are you concerned that your real estate taxes might be unfairly high and want to see if you are eligible for a reduction? That is what we discuss here.
First of all, no matter how confusing your property tax statement is, with all of the various terms, ratios, millage rates, etc calculating your real estate taxes really boils down to only a few factors: the market value of your property, your cities assessment ratio and the tax rate.
The market value is what your property would sell for on the open market, without any “undue influences,” like being in a state of foreclosure, structural issues with the property, short sales time frame, etc. Again it’s what your property sells for under a normal sale.
Property Tax Valuation
The assessment ratio is very important to calculating your real estate taxes and is what is sometimes referred to as your “property tax value”. What cities do is multiple your market value, by the assessment ratio, the resulting number is the assessed value.
For example if your properties market value is $500,000 and your cities assessment ratio is 80% your property tax value would be: $500,000 x.80= $400,000 assesed value. Assessment ratios vary from state to state and from jurisdictions. Your assessment rate could be totaling different than your neighboring town.
Tax Rate
The tax rate is also known as a millage rate and is the actual rate that property owners pay in their given town. Like the assessment ratio the tax rate varies from town to town and also from building types. For example a commercial building will be taxed at a different rate than a single family home.
In addition, a single family home used as a rental property will normally be taxed at a high rate than a single family home that is occupied by the owner.
To figure out your annual taxes you multiple the tax rate by the assessed value. For example take the assessed value of $400,000 x.020 (tax rate/millage rate) = $8,000 in annual property taxes.
Property Tax Valuation
On a real estate tax appeal you can only debate the fair market value of your property. You cannot argue the tax rate or the assessment ratio (unless they made a mistake and recorded your property in the wrong category). But again, you can only argue the assessors opinion of your properties value. Keep in mind that most cities assessors are over worked and or under qualified, so they very often make outright mistakes. If you know of other similar properties in your area that sold for less than what they have recorded your property at, than you most likely have a case and could save a lot of money.
Don’t be like the 98% of property owners that don’t bother to appeal their real estate taxes. They are leaving thousands of dollars on the table for no reason. The process to appeal is really not complex and won’t eat that much of your time.
By: Jeff Rauth
How to Inventory and Assign Value to Estate Personal Property
There is an old saying that goes: What is the best way to eat an elephant? One bite at a time!
Personal property is the elephant of an estate. It is the responsibility that can take up most of your time, and it provides the estate with the least amount of money for the effort involved. But, dealing with the personal property cannot be avoided. The property must be inventoried, valued, distributed, or sold. Let us start our analysis by looking at what property we have (inventory); then we will determine what it is worth (valuation). In a future post, we will determine what to do with it (distribution/sale).
When you go to the courthouse, the clerk will provide you with the form you will need to fill out for the inventory. The form will ask you to provide general categories and a value for each category you have listed. For example, you would list: furniture, $1500; office equipment, $300, etc.. You will not have to list the items separately, such as sofa, $100; chair, $5; typewriter, $25. I suggest that you do keep a list of the individual items, though. Although you will not have to go into a lot of detail for the court, you will likely want a more detailed inventory for yourself. You will want this for two reasons: to track the sale of estate property, and to protect yourself against claims of heirs and/or creditors.
You do not have to get real fancy with with the inventory; pencil and paper will do. If you are so inclined, there are home inventory record books available at office supply stores, or you can purchase software online. There are also companies that specialize in taking home inventories.
You will need a helper. One person sorts and counts while the other writes. Start inside the house, and work your way from the top of the house to the bottom. Go room to room with a consistent pattern so that you do not miss anything: always clockwise or counter-clockwise around the room. Write down what is on the walls as well, not just what is on the floor. For small goods, write down identifiable groups of items such as 200 hardcover books, 100 paperback books, 42 nick-knacks, etc.. On your list, put a star next to any item that you think may be valuable. If the nick-knacks are porcelain and the books are first editions, they are valuable items. When you are finished, follow the same procedure for the outbuildings: the garage, shed, workshop, or whatever. If there is a rented self-storage unit, vacation home, recreational vehicle or boat, they will need to be inventoried as well.
When you file the inventory at the courthouse, you will need to state a value for the personal property. For run-of-the-mill household items, a good resource for determining the value is the software program It’s Deductible that comes bundled with the income tax program Turbo Tax. It’s Deductible can also be purchased separately. The software lists the thrift shop value for most household items, and it is easy to use.
For the items that you have identified as being valuable, It’s Deductible will not work. There are several ways to determine the value of single items or collections. A good place to start is eBay ( http://www.ebay.com ). To use eBay to help set your values, you will need to be a registered user. Registering for eBay is free; just follow the instructions when you get to the website. Once registered, type in the item you are researching, and eBay will search for the item. When the search results come up, scroll down and look on the left side of the page to where it says Search Options, click on completed listings, then scroll down further and click on Show Items. The search results displayed will be for completed auctions, not for auctions in progress. The prices listed in green are items that actually sold; the prices in red are for items that did not sell. If you find your item listed, and the price is green, you have a good value. Compare the details of the item you found on eBay with the details of the item you have. Use the closest match as your value.
If you are unable to find your item listed on eBay, it is time to go to the library or bookstore. There you will find an assortment of price guides for every sort of antique or collectible. You will also find blue books for automobiles and equipment.
If you have lots of items and no time to research, then it is time to call in an expert. In your local phone book you will find jewelers, antique dealers, auctioneers, appraisers, and other professionals who will tell you what the property is worth. What they will offer you is an opinion of value, not an appraisal. An appraisal is based on actual sales data, not an opinion. I will cover appraisals below; for now, just be aware that there is a difference. For probate valuation purposes, the value placed must be the fair market value at the time of the decedents death. This is the value you should ask your expert to provide.
In my home state of Virginia, individual items or collections that are valued over $500 must have an appraisal. Personal property appraisers are not licensed like real estate appraisers, but the content of their reports is regulated. For a personal property appraisal to be valid and accepted for tax purposes, it must be performed by a qualified expert and follow the federal guidelines of the Uniform Standards of Professional Appraisal Practice. Most real estate appraisers do not appraise personal property. You can find a personal property appraiser online by checking the websites of the Certified Appraisers Guild of America, the National Association of Auctioneers, or the American Society of Appraisers.
Estate Executors will find that the inventory and valuation of estate personal property is their most time-consuming task, but there are resources available to help.
By: Wayne Jordan
Forex Secret – Trend Definition at Forex Market
To ensure steady profits at Forex a trader is supposed to pinpoint faultless entries and exits. It’s common knowledge, that a trend is the principal and the most compromising relevant area.
Hence, trend detection is the trader’s PRIMARY target. If “The Trend Is Your Friend”, entries should be executed trendwise and the profit should be allowed to flow, etc., there emerge questions to touch every live Forex trader:
- what are the trend’s criteria (bullish or bearish) – once known, it is a trader’s conventional job to enter trendwise and let the profit flow?
- if the Forex major rule quintessence is as simple as that, why 90-99% of traders suffer losses with enviable permanence?
Book I Chapter XI “Where trends are to be chased at Forex or the trader’s faultless profit segments”, http://www.masterforex-v.su/001_011.htm analyses the Forex scholars’ and modern forum-speaker traders’ overwhelming chaos in the field, ranging:
- from the Charles Dow classical definition that “a trend constitutes a vectored price travel, where each consecutive high is higher/lower than the foregoing one with each consecutive low being higher/lower than the foregoing one” (my opinion: the definition is obsolete and does not fit new Forex realities)
- to some traders’ purely absurd opinions on no trends at modern markets along with Eric Nayman’s thinking of his trend varieties built upon no distinct criteria (“There are none of any strict rules, once forever established”, – E. Nayman stipulates).
One of the factors responsible for traders’ en-mass deposit losses is fairly understandable from the above. If there’s no distinct definition of trend – then the question is: should entries be effected bullish or bearish trendwise and where should the profit be allowed to flow?
Masterforex-V TREND DEFINITION
From Masterforex-V standpoint a trend is a vectored price travel between two opposite reversal patterns. In-trend movement is of zigzag nature, i.e. there is a recovery wave following each pulse wave. The pulse/recovery ratio is indicative of the trend direction. Thus:
- under a bullish trend, the uprising pulse length exceeds the corrective bearish wave one;
- under a bearish trend, the bearish pulse length exceeds the corrective uprising wave one;
- under a sideways flat, the pulse and recovery durations are equal.
Figure 1. Trend and recovery (For view picture see notes in end of article)
Figure 2. (For view picture see notes in end of article)
Head’n'shoulders is a USDCAD reversal pattern with a bearish trend startup, where a downward pulse is longer than an upward corrective action. Respectively, a USDCAD W1 bearish trend is alive till there is a reversal pattern.
Figure 3. (For view picture see notes in end of article)
As obvious from USDCAD W1 chart, there was no upward reversal pattern in 2003-2006. Hence the W1 bearish trend continues.
Figure 4. (For view picture see notes in end of article)
Later on in Book II “Technical Analysis in Masterforex-V trading concept” I will stage a detailed description of each component, attributable to the trend change, but for the time being only the critical ones will be referred to.
1. A trend continues till there’s a swivel, thus increasing the importance of reversal patterns, discussed hereinafter.
Reversal patterns are found at any trend’s origination and termination. Thereby a trend constitutes the distance from one reversal pattern to another, being opposite:
- the start of a bullish trend is a reversal pattern of the preceding bearish or sideways trend;
- the bullish trend continuation is a trend continuation pattern (see Book II “Trend continuation patterns http://www.masterforex-v.su/book2.htm)being a retracement variety calling for a trendwise entry.
- the bullish trend termination being a bullish trend reversal pattern.
Here are the examples:
2. There is an arbitrary fall of classical bullish and bearish trend reversal patterns into:
a). reversal patterns resulting from a non-breakthrough of a next in turn resistance or support on a bullish or a bearish trend respectively:
- double top;
- triple top;
- double bottom;
- triple bottom.
with reference to drawings of classical trend reversal patterns from the following books by Forex scholars:
John J. Murphy “Futures markets Technical Analysis: theory and practice”
D. Schwagger “Technical Analysis, comprehensive course”
A. Elder “How to gamble and win at the exchange”
A. Elder “Basics of exchange trading”
Larry Williams “Long-term secrets of short-term trading”
K. Lukas “Using Technical Analysis at the world Forex market”
A. Nayman “Minor trader’s encyclopedia”
A. Nayman “Master trading. Secret materials”
Figure 5. (For view picture see notes in end of article)
Figure 6
Figure 7 (For view picture see notes in end of article)
b). reversal patterns resulting from a false breakthrough of a next in turn resistance or support level:
- head’n'shoulders
- inverted head’n'shoulders
- spike.
And hereinafter in details:
A head’n'shoulders:
Figure 8. An inverted head’n'shoulders. (For view picture see notes in end of article)
Figure 9. A spike. (For view picture see notes in end of article)
Figure 10
3. Classical trend continuation patterns.
The centerline is that any trend is of zigzag nature:
- there is a counter-trend pullback following a trendwise pulse;
- the pulse is always longer than the retracement being the axiom of the Elliott’s WA;
- a trend continuation pattern is but the Elliott’s corrective waves variety
Therefore, each trend continuation pattern is integrated into a corrective model, whereupon a next in turn trendwise wave follows:
- a gap
- a quadrangle
- a triangle
- a flag
- a pennant
- a wedge
Below is a sample bullish flag. It is to be noted, that the bullish pulse is much longer than the bearish pullback.
Figure 11. A bullish pennant. (For view picture see notes in end of article)
Figure 12 A bullish wedge. (For view picture see notes in end of article)
Figure 13 The gap. (For view picture see notes in end of article)
Figure 14 (For view picture see notes in end of article)
A quadrangle with the pulse and corrective waves equal to each other
Figure 15 (For view picture see notes in end of article)
Below are several sample trend continuation models within a single trend. Of interest is the bullish wave transfiguration into a pulse and the bearish wave one – into a corrective action, thus governing a bullish trend continuation.
Figure 16 (For view picture see notes in end of article)
Figure 17 (For view picture see notes in end of article)
CRITICISM OF CHARLES DOW’S CLASSICAL TREND DEFINITION
In last century thirties Charles Dow has proposed a trend definition up to now wandering from manual to manual and injuring traders in an irremediable manner. Please, once again go through Charles Dow’s definition: “a trend constitutes a vectored price travel, where each consecutive high is higher/lower than the foregoing one with each consecutive low being higher/lower than the foregoing one”.
Is it clear why his definition fails to properly account for modern trend realities?
According to Charles Dow, the trend core criterion is restricted to the fact that “each consecutive high is higher/lower than the foregoing one with each consecutive low being higher/lower than the foregoing one”.
It leads to erroneous logics of stops allocation (“safety cushions” per Bill Williams) offered in practically all Forex manuals: one to several points lower the previous low at uptrend or the previous high at downtrend.
Various timeframe figures below are illustrative of how this classical trick is used by the Forex Game Organizer to blow off traders’ stops, positioned in strict accordance with Dow’s trend rules, included into the world’s Forex manuals.
What type of trend is here, proceeding from Charles Dow’s provisions? Please, take pain to calculate how many highs are higher than the previous ones and how many lows are lower than the previous ones. And above all! How many traders’ stops have been shot down here?
Figure 18 (For view picture see notes in end of article)
Figure 19 (For view picture see notes in end of article)
GENERAL TREND DEFINITION OUTLINE AS SEEN BY Masterforex-V TRADING CONCEPT.
1. A trend is a vectored price travel between two opposite reversal patterns.
2. In-trend movement is of zigzag nature, i.e. there is a recovery wave following each pulse wave. The pulse/recovery ratio is indicative of the trend direction.
3. Classical patterns are incorporated within a recovery (pullback) model, followed by a new trend wave.
And now, assuming these pares 1-3, we will analyze the above figure 18.
By all classical canons the previous low of 1.9647 is to be followed by:
- the preceding trend denial according to Charles Dow’s “uptrend tops and bottoms being higher than the previous ones”;
- stop-loss orders placement.
Instead of stop-loss orders I resort to hedging.
I am always putting a series of questions to staunch supporters of stops being placed in conformity with Forex canons:
- Are You sure that the trend won’t reverse at that point?
- If negative, why should You be placing a stop?
- But if You are certain, why don’t You effect a concurrent opposite entry?
- What is Your piece of mind on how many traders in the world have placed stops along with You?
- Are You sure that the Forex Game Organizer will not be tempted to knock down all the world traders’ stops by way of a single gesture and to continue urging the previous trend further on?
The above sample chart of dated 01.12.2006 furnishes strong evidence of:
- WHAT FOR the world traders are trained to place stop-loss orders at the same point;
- WHAT FOR obsolete theories of Charles Dow and other Forex scholars are published in millions of copies, being sufficient for ALL the traders throughout the world;
- WHY the 97-99% traders’ loss statistics is identical through all the countries.
So, what’s to be done to avoid plopping down into losers’ swamp?
AT LEAST, You are to try to get the understanding of WHERE and WHY traders loose their deposits whereas, AT MOST, You are to attempt to elaborate Your own entry and exit algorithm.
To this end You are to give scrutiny to the chapters on reversal patterns and trend continuation, incorporating a detailed investigation of:
- shadow details of each trend retracement (recovery) – see the chapter on trend continuation patterns;
- shadow details of each trend swivel – see the chapter on trend reversal patterns;
- inaccuracies, innuendos and direct errors committed by Forex scholars on the issue.
Putting it otherwise, You will have to find problems solution, many of the scholars (John J. Murphy, D. Schwagger, B. Williams, A. Elder, K. Lucas, A. Nayman, etc.) have failed to find.
AND BY WAY OF A PROMPT FROM Masterforex-V…
A head’n'shoulders reversal pattern should take shape to ensure trend reversal.
Figure 20 (For view picture see notes in end of article)
Options A and B are indicative of the points where the head’n'shoulders reversal pattern could be feasible.
Note:
Full text of this article and pictures of examples http://www.masterforex-v.su/002_000_01.htm”> http://www.masterforex-v.su/002_000_01.htm
If you wish to be trained on Trading System Masterforex-V – one of new and most effective techniques of trade on Forex in the world visit http://www.masterforex-v.su/
By: Vyacheslav Vasilevich
Home Equity Loans: Showing The Advantage Of Equity
So, do you want to avail a loan to meet your financial needs? Do you want to get the loan with better terms and conditions? Do you possess a home? If yes, then you can avail loan against your home equity. With home equity loans, a homeowner can take the advantage of his home in order to avail a loan.
Before we start our discussion about home equity loans, first we need to understand what home equity is. Usually, equity of a home is judged by deducting the outstanding mortgage with the present market value of the home.
Home equity loans, however, are a sort of secured loans. In this option, borrowers’ home equity plays the role of security. With these loans, a borrower can borrow the amount, ranging from ?5000-?75000. These loans are mainly offered for 5-25 years.
Since, these loans are secured on borrowers’ home equity and the presence of security covers the risk of lending amount; hence, lenders do not hesitate to offer these loans at a better interest rate. Besides, if you want to get a pocket friendly deal, you need to make some efforts. Various lenders like, banks, financial institutions, lending companies offer home equity loans. Meet all those lenders personally, collect their loan quotes and compare them minutely. It will enable you in getting home equity loans at an attractive interest rate. In such cases, online option could be the best choice. With this option, borrowers can get a better deal within a limited span of time and without taking much initiative.
At the same time, it is recommended to borrowers to avail the amount that can suit their economical condition. Remember, these loans are secured on your home equity, so if you cannot repay the amount, your home will be repossessed by lenders. Therefore, borrow the amount that is repayable for you.
By: Peter Taylor
The Difference Between the Stock Market and the Forex Market
What is the Stock Market?
The definition of the stock market is simply the business of trading stocks for the financial aspect. Stock refers to a supply of money that a company has raised. Investors give the company this supply of money in order to help that company grow, therefore increasing the value of their stock and in turn making a profit.
The stock market is one of the more traditional ways to create a profit from an investment… even without having much knowledge about it. A person with little experience can make decent profits with no much effort with traditional investments, such as stocks or bonds.
There is always a risk that a company will go bankrupt at any time
There can be a lot of risk involved when trading large gains in short amounts of time. It can be difficult to develop a trading system that can provide a consistent 10 to 15% profit on a yearly basis.
The stock market is country specific, and deals only in business and currencies within that region. There are set business hours that typically follow the more traditional business day, and is closed on Holidays and weekends.
Let’s check out the forex market for a change
The forex market, also known as the foreign exchange or the fx market, is the place where currencies are traded. It is the largest, most liquid market in the world with an average traded value of over 4 trillion per day and includes all of the forex currencies in the world. Compare that to the $25 billion per day that the New York Stock Exchange trades and you can easily see how enormous the forex market really is.
What exactly is traded on the forex market? It is the simultaneous buying of one currency and the selling of another. Currencies are traded through a broker and are always traded in pairs, EUR/USD or GBP/JPY. Think of it as buying a traditional ‘share’ in a particular country. Let’s say you buy British Pound, you are essentially buying a share in the British economy as the price of the GBP is a direct reflection of what the market thinks about not only the current, but future health of the British economy.
Unlike the traditional stock market, the forex market is open 24 hours a day. At any time, somewhere around the world, a financial center is open for business and is exchanging currencies every hour of the day and night.
It follows the sun around the world, so you can trade late at night or early in the morning. Keep in mind that these additional hours also add additional risk for us since we aren’t able to monitor our investments 24 hours every day. There are several safety options, such as limit that we will discuss in another chapter.
Forex Trading In Multiple Currencies
One of the most critical things that you must understand in forex trading is hour to correctly determine the value of multiple currencies.
Obviously not everyone will trade in US dollars.
But with so many variables, how can you tell a good buy or sell without complete understanding of the value of foreign currencies?
Your first step is to figure out the current exchange rate between the currencies in question.
Currency conversion is usually expressed in a ratio known as the cross rate. Normally you will see them listed in pairs in a xxx/yyy manner, with the xxx referred to as the ‘base’ currency (or home currency).
The base currency is usually always listed as a whole number, while the converted currency will be expressed with a decimal that is as close as possible to the base rate.
EXAMPLE: 1 US dollar = 0.61484 British Pound.
You’ll notice that the base currency is almost always in single units (such as one dollar instead of ten). And since the whole number (often referred to as the ‘big’ figure) of the secondary currency almost never changes, it is usually only referred to at the decimal point.
Also with the consolidation of most of the European market using the Euro, many currencies such as franc or the lira have been eliminated, making trading currencies much less complicated.
It will take a bit of time, but once you get used to the base values of each currency, the changes will become more obvious to you, therefore making it easier and less confusing to monitor and you’ll be making profitable trading decisions right along with the pros.
By: Roman Sadowski






