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Help Understanding Market/Limit Orders and Bid/Ask Price
At any point of time, buyer wants to purchase a stock at lesser price and seller wants to sell the stock at a higher price. Let's consider this scenario Company XYZ is trading at 100$, as stated above buyer wants to purchase at lower price and seller at higher price, this information will be available in Market depth...
Difference between Edward Jones or Betterment
Instead of saying which one is better, which is too subjective, I think it is more important to understand what these institutions are. They are kind of different animals. Edward Jones pretty much a full service wealth manager. They meet with you in person, advise you on what retirement and savings accounts to get, t...
What is the p/e ratio?
The price to earnings ratio is a measure of the company's current share price compared to the annual net earnings per share. The other way to think about this is the number of years a company would take to pay back the share price if the earnings stay constant. This ignores factors like inflation and can be used as a...
company market capitalization to total (annual) stock market capitalization
Market cap is speculative value, M = P * W, where W is stock (or other way of owning) percentage of ownership, P - price of percentage of ownership. This could include "outside of exchange" deals. Some funds could buy ownership percentage directly via partial ownership deal. That ownership is not stock, but fixed-type ...
When paying estimated quarterly taxes, can I prorate the amount based on the irregular payment due dates?
Varying the amount to reflect income during the quarter is entirely legitimate -- consider someone like a salesman whose income is partly driven by commissions, and who therefore can't predict the total. The payments are quarterly precisely so you can base them on actual results. Having said that, I suspect that as lo...
still have mortgage on old house to be torn down- want to build new house
I could be wrong, but I doubt you're going to be able to roll the current mortgage into a new one. The problem is that the bank is going to require that the new loan is fully collateralized by the new house. So the only way that you can ensure that is if you can construct the house cheaply enough that the difference b...
Is it unreasonable to double your investment year over year?
Wealth gained hastily will dwindle but whoever gathers little by little will increase it. Proverbs 13:11 (ESV) Put another way... "Easy come, easy go" You cannot sustain 100% annual ROI. Sooner than you think you will hit a losing streak. Casinos depend on this truth. You may win a few rolls of the dice. But betting ...
Do real nappies (reusable / cloth diapers) really save money?
I only used disposable diapers for my baby's first month. However, I now use half disposable diapers (for part-time daycare) and half cloth. My son is now 1 year and during a normal weekday, I go through 4 disposable diapers and 3-4 cloth diapers (this count includes a double thick cloth diaper for night). On the we...
Debt collector has wrong person and is contacting my employer
You are talking to the wrong people. Debt collectors are not intimidated by anything you say. Call and tell them that, before you pay the debt, they need to get the paperwork from the company to verify that you actually owe them the money and the amount. You need copies of the original paperwork. This alone may resol...
What college degree should I pursue to learn about stock and forex markets?
There are several paths of study you could undertake. If you want to learn the fundamentals of the stock market and become a financial analyst, then finance, economics, and accounting (yes, accounting) are all good to study either on your own or in an institution. Furthermore, if you want to study a specific industry, ...
How can I compare the risk of different investing opportunities?
Let us consider the risks in the investment opportunities: Now, what are the returns in each of the investment: What are the alternatives to these investments, then?
Friend was brainwashed by MLM-/ponzi investment scam. What can I do?
If this 'scam' has a name, address and/or phone number, I forward it to the FBI anonymously. That is my advice. You may also wish to consult a lawyer.
What exactly is the profit and loss of a portfolio?
When we 'delta-hedge', we make the value of a portfolio 0. No - you make the risk relative to some underlying 0. The portfolio does have a value, but if whatever underlying you're hedging against changes slightly the value of your portfolio should not change. But, what is the derivative of a portfolio? It's the inst...
How to pick a state to form an LLC in?
Generally, you pick the State which you're located at, because you'll have to register your LLC there in any case. In your case that would be either Colorado or Oklahoma - register as domestic in one, as foreign in the other. If your concern is anything other than mere convenience/costs - then you need to talk to a law...
Ghana scam and direct deposit scam?
It's a scam. Here's someone who paid "Josie" 2000 pounds and lost it all Here's a Google search result list of how this softcore porn actor, Josie Ann Miller, is being used as the face and name of scams
What happens to public shareholders when a public stock goes private?
If a deal is struck, you're part of that deal because you own shares. If someone offers $10/share for the entire company, you'll get that. If the stock price is $1.50 and someone offers $2/share, you'll get that.
Calculating savings from mortgage interest deduction vs. standard deduction?
It's true that the standard deduction makes the numbers less impressive. I ran your scenario through my favorite, most complete rent vs buy calculator, and your math isn't far off. However, there are a lot of deductions only available if you itemize. Medical expenses, moving expenses, job expenses, charitable contribut...
Is Bogleheadism (index fund investing) dead?
It's incredibly difficult to beat the market, especially after you're paying out significant fees for managed funds. The Bogleheads have some good things going for them on their low cost Vanguard style funds. The biggest winners in the financial markets are the people collecting fees from churn or setting up the deals ...
How to reconcile a credit card that has an ongoing billing dispute?
What I would prefer is top open a new category charges under dispute and park the amount there. It can be made as an account as well in place of a income or expenses category. This way your account will reconcile and also you will be able to track the disputes.
What's are the differences between “defined contribution” and “defined benefit” pension plans?
Defined Benefit Plans: Defined benefit plans are disappearing because of their high cost to the companies that provide them. When an employee retires, the company must pay his pension for the rest of his life, even longer if the pension includes a survivor option. Thus the company's financial burden grows as more emp...
My bank often blocks my card during purchases - what is the most reliable bank card? (UK)
Having worked in the financial industry, I can say 9:10 times a card is blocked, it is not actually the financial industry, but a credit/credit card monitoring service like "Falcon" for VISA. If you have not added travel notes or similar, they will decline large, our of country purchases as a way to protect you, from w...
Equity prices during currency devaluation — Mexico 1994
Yes, this phenomenon is well documented. A collapse of an economy's exchange rate is coincidented with a collapse in its equities market. The recent calamities in Turkey, etc during 2014 had similar results. Inflation is highly correlated to valuations, and a collapse of an exchange rate is highly inflationary, so ...
Which kind of investment seems feasible to have more cashflow every week or month?
Ignoring the wildly unreasonable goal, I'll answer just the Headline question asked. It's possible to choose dividend paying stocks so that you receive a dividend check each month. Dividends are typically paid quarterly, so 3 stocks chosen by quality first, but also for their dividend date will do this. To get $2000/mo...
How can a Canadian get exposure to safe haven currencies?
If S&P crashes, these currencies will appreciate. Note that the above is speculation, not fact. There is definitely no guarantee that, say, the CHF/CAD currency pair is inversely linked to the performance of the US stock market when measured in USD, let alone to the performance of the US stock market as measured in CAD...
Should I replace bonds in a passive investment strategy
No. That's the point of a passive strategy: you maintain a more or less constant mix of assets and don't try to figure out what's going to move where.
Why is it possible to just take out a ton of credit cards, max them out and default in 7 years?
I should apply for everything I can on the same day, get approved for as many as I can First it may not sound as easy. You may hardly get 2-3 cards and not dozens. Even if you submit the applications the same day; If you still plan this and somehow get too many cards, and draw huge debt, then the Banks can take this se...
What is the equivalent of the QQQ in the UK for the FTSE 100?
I searched for FTSE 100 fund on Yahoo Finance and found POW FTSE RAF UK 100 (PSRU.L), among many others. Google Finance is another possible source that immediately comes to mind.
Can a bank hold my deposit on a closed account?
What I'm reading is that they subtracted the $85 you owe them and they're cutting you a cashier's check for the rest. Ethically speaking, you owed them the money, they subtracted it and made you a check for the rest. Once you cash that check, nobody owes anyone anything in this equation. Sounds like they're in the cl...
Can you use external money to pay trading commissions in tax-free and tax-deferred accounts?
Nice idea. When I started my IRAs, I considered this as well, and the answer from the broker was that this was not permitted. And, aside from transfers from other IRAs or retirement accounts, you can't 'deposit' shares to the IRA, only cash.
Online transaction - Money taken out late
When processing credit/debit cards there is a choice made by the company on how they want to go about doing it. The options are Authorization/Capture and Sale. For online transactions that require the delivery of goods, companies are supposed to start by initially Authorizing the transaction. This signals your bank t...
Can a husband and wife who are both members of the same LLC file a joint tax return?
Since from the question it seems that you're talking about the US taxation, I'll assume that. You can definitely continue filing jointly. Being members of a partnership has no bearing on how you file your own tax return. The partnership will distribute K-1 to each of you separately, but you'll report both of them on th...
Why do gas stations charge different amounts in the same local area?
I'll echo: many factors. Brand: There are generally two levels of pricing: "major brand" and "discount brand". You can generally expect the "discount brand" to cost about 5-10 cents less per gallon in the same neighborhood as "major brand" gas. This is for a number of sub-factors; chief among them is that not all gasol...
Car finance, APR rates and per week in adverts; help understanding them
Easier to copy paste than type this out. Credit: www.financeformulas.net Note that the present value would be the initial loan amount, which is likely the sale price you noted minus a down payment. The loan payment formula is used to calculate the payments on a loan. The formula used to calculate loan payments is e...
US tax for a resident NRI
If you are tax-resident in the US, then you must report income from sources within and without the United States. Your foreign income generally must be reported to the IRS. You will generally be eligible for a credit for foreign income taxes paid, via Form 1116. The question of the stock transfer is more complicated,...
IS it the wrong time to get into the equity market immediately after large gains?
Past results are not a predictor of future results. There is no explicit upper bound on a market, and even if individual companies' values were remaining unchanged one would expect the market to drift upward in the long term. Plus, there's been some shift from managing companies for dividends to managing stocks for gr...
Why buy insurance?
There's an old saying among commodities producers... If it's likely to happen, but won't kill you, you hedge (save/"self-insure", options, futures). If it's not likely to happen, but would kill you, you insure. Hedging and insuring are both about managing risk. If you feel there is no risk at all, you don't need to do...
My account's been labeled as “day trader” and I got a big margin call. What should I do? What trades can I place in the blocked period?
The SEC considers a day trade to be any trade that is opened and closed within the same trading day, and considers a day trader to be any trader that completes 4 or more day trades within 5 business days. If so they would label you day trader and in the US you are required to have at least $25K in your account. Maybe t...
What are institutional investors?
Professional investors managing large investment portfolios for "institutions" -- a college, a museum, a charitable organization, et cetera. I'm not sure whether those managing investments for a business are considered institutional investors or not. The common factor tends to be large to immense portfolios (let's call...
Are warehouse clubs like Costco and Sam's Club worth it?
Also don't just assume that everything that Costco or Sams (we use Costco) sells is cheaper. Still shop around and look for the best price. For us it is definitely worth it.
How to calculate a mutual fund's yield
If the expense ratio of the fund is 0.00% then yes. However, if the fund has expenses of 1% then if the NAV of the fund is $10/share the expenses would cause you to see only $.002 a share and thus you'd have $.10 in total as the expenses first cut down the yield.
Short-term robots and long-term investors in the stock market
....causes loses [sic] to others. Someone sells you a stock. The seller receives cash. You receive a stock certificate. This doesn't imply a loss by either party especially if the seller sold the stock for more than his purchase price. A day trading robot can make money off of the price changes of a stock only if th...
Why would a company care about the price of its own shares in the stock market?
Stock price is an indicator about the health of the company. Increased profits (for example) will drive the stock price up; excessive debt (for example) will drive it down. The stock price has a profound effect on the company overall: for example, a declining share price will make it hard to secure credit, attract fur...
What is the valuation of a company based on?
There is no such thing as a correct value. There are different ways to calculate (read: guess) an anticipated value, but neither of them is the "correct" one. Last not least this depends on your interpretation of the term "correct" in that context. Why do you think paid Facebook such a huge amount for WhatsApp? Surely...
What's the point of a benchmark?
Markets tend to go up over time, so most things you could buy would make money. A benchmark is meant to represent the market as a whole (or a subset that is relevant to what you are trading), so you can tell if your specific choices helped or hurt your return. As an example, say you pick two financial stocks, Citi and ...
Is it bad etiquette to use a credit or debit card to pay for single figure amounts at the POS
Intellectually and logically, it shouldn't bother me for a second to charge something for a buck. It's a losing proposition for the merchant, but their immediate business costs should be of little concern to me. (They're making a choice to sell that item to me at that price and by accepting that means of payment, rig...
Paying Off Principal of Home vs. Investing In Mutual Fund
I'm probably going to get a bunch of downvotes for this, but here's my not-very-popular point of view: I think many times we tend to shoot ourselves in the foot by trying to get too clever with our money. In all our cleverness, we forget a few basic rules about how money works: It's better to have 0 debt and a small am...
What happens if I just don't pay my student loans?
Never forget that student lenders and their collection agencies are dangerous and clever predators, and you, the student borrower, are their legal prey. They look at you and think, "food." My friend said she never pays her student loans and nothing has happened. She's wrong. Something has happened. She just doesn't kn...
Repaying Debt and Saving - Difficult Situation
She seems to be paying an inordinate amount of money for car payments. $850/month is just too high. She may be able to get by on public transit, depending on where she lives, but if not, she needs to look at selling her car and picking up a cheap second-hand vehicle. Public transit would probably save her $750/month. G...
Why do people take out life insurance on their children? Should I take out a policy on my child?
My parents and I were suckered into buying this kind of thing when I was in high school. The sales people literally told us that it could be used to pay off student loans - they left out the "in the event of your death" part. We knew it was a life insurance policy, but were told that it would "mature" 6 months after gr...
Why small retail stores ask for ID with a credit card while big don't
Probably because large chains can absorb the loss from fraud better than small stores do. Thus, small stores want to ensure that the person holding the card is the same as the name on the card.
Why does ExxonMobil's balance sheet show more liabilities than assets?
Exxon Mobil is one of the most profitable corporations in the world. Their annual earnings are typically in the $10s of billions of dollars. They have revenues in the hundreds of billions of dollars per year. They also return $10+ billion dollars to their stockholders each year in dividends and stock purchases. Tha...
When can we exercice an option?
American options (like those on ADBE) can be exercised by the holder anytime before expiration. They will be exercised automatically at expiration if they are in the money. However, if there is still time before expiration (as in this case), and they are not extremely in the money, there is probably extrinsic value to ...
Shares; are they really only for the rich/investors?
As a matter of fact, I invest small sums in stable stocks every month (in fact, much lesser than the $50 you are talking about). More than the return on investment, I gained a lot of knowledge keeping track of my stocks and this now helps me pick my stocks better. And the portfolio is doing great too. So, it is a good ...
How can I deposit a check made out to my business into my personal account?
I have checked with Bank of America, and they say the ONLY way to cash (or deposit, or otherwise get access to the funds represented by a check made out to my business) is to open a business account. They tell me this is a Federal regulation, and every bank will say the same thing. To do this, I need a state-issued "d...
Friend was brainwashed by MLM-/ponzi investment scam. What can I do?
If this is your friend, and he that convinced he will "get rich" from this then there's really nothing you CAN do. You've obviously done your best to explain the situation to him, but he's been caught up in their sales pitch, and that's more convincing to him. I worked in sales for many years, and the answers he gives...
Why does my car loan interest go up despite making payments on-time?
The interest probably accrues daily, regardless of whether your payments are on time.
What are the downsides that prevent more people from working in high-income countries, and then retiring in low-income (and cost of living) ones?
A lot of good answers, but there’s one more factor: ignorance. The majority haven’t considered it, or considered it and assumed it’s not an option without investigating. PLUS, the widespread myth that every other country is primitive, unhealthy, and dangerous.
What happens to an options contract during an all stock acquisition?
Depends on your contract, cash or shares delivered? If shares, then you get 5 BIG shares. Theres no longer any options. If you sell instantly, theoretically you will net the $10 difference + profit above strike. If cash, same thing just that you get cash $50 less strike. Applies to cash and stock deals Options are...
Freelancing and getting taxes taken out up front instead of end of year?
Maybe I can explain a little clearer: Your LLC is not a person, and cannot have taxes withheld on its behalf. Therefore, anyone paying your company should not withhold taxes. If they are paying you directly, and withholding taxes, they are treating you as an employee, and will probably issue a W2 instead of a 1099. Pu...
Why are stocks having less institutional investors a “good thing”?
Because someone smarter than you by 50 IQ points (a quant) will depart their larger position long before you have a chance to see it coming. Your stop losses are useless as the market will open with the issue below your sell price. Your trade even if place at the same mine would settle after theirs. don't piss in the t...
Is it legal if I'm managing my family's entire wealth?
My answer is with respect to the United States. I have no idea about India's regulatory environment. You are opening yourself up to massive liabilities and problems if you deposit their money in your account. I managed investment accounts as a private investment advisor for years (those with less than 15 clients were n...
I'm upside down on my car loan and need a different car, what can I do?
I am new to the site and hope I can help! We just purchased a used car a few weeks ago and used dealer's finance again so that's not the issue here. I want to focus on what you can do to resolve your issue and not focus on the mistakes that were made. 1 - DO NOT PURCHASE A NEW CAR! Toyota Camrys are great cars that wi...
If I have $1000 to invest in penny stocks online, should I diversify risk and invest in many of them or should I invest in just in one?
There's a grey area where investing and speculating cross. For some, the stock market, as in 10% long term return with about 14% standard deviation, is too risky. For others, not enough action. Say you have chosen 10 penny stocks, done your diligence, to the extent possible, and from a few dozen this is the 10 you lik...
Get interest on $100K by spending only $2K using FOREX rollovers?
I work at a FOREX broker, and can tell you that what you want to do is NOT possible. If someone is telling you it is, they're lying. You could (in theory) make money from the SWAP (the interest you speak of is called SWAP) if you go both short and long on the same currency, but there are various reasons why this never ...
Why invest in becoming a landlord?
As a landlord for 14 years with 10 properties, I can give a few pointers: be able and skilled enough to perform the majority of maintenance because this is your biggest expense otherwise. it will shock you how much maintenance rental units require. don't invest in real estate where the locality/state favors the tenant...
Automate Savings by Percentage on varying paychecks?
When I have been faced with this sort of situation I have done the split at the bank. They had the ability to recognize the deposit as a payroll transfer and split it the way I wanted. I put a specific amount of money into checking, another amount of money into the mortgage, and a specific amount of money into another...
How does it work when the same ETF is listed on several stock exchanges?
If I buy VUSA from one exchange, can I sell it in a different exchange, assuming my brokerage account lets me trade in both exchanges? Or is it somehow tied to the exchange I bought it from? This doesn't happen for all securities and between all stock exchanges. So that is dependent on broker and country. I checked for...
Loan to son - how to get it back
Seems fair. I think this is a real subjective thing. Financially lets get rid of that line before interest rates get too high. Maybe have him pay you the $200 he is paying towards the interest each month.
Can written options be exercised against you prior to expiry when they become “in-the-money”?
Yes, if it's an American style option. American style options may be exercised at any time prior to expiration (even if they're not in-the-money). Generally, you are required to deliver or accept delivery of the underlying by the beginning of the next trading day. If you are short, you may be chosen by the clearinghous...
List of web sites or online forums for stock picking and security analysis
This is a great forum, mostly focused around mutual funds though: http://www.bogleheads.org/
Can I transfer my Employee Stock Purchase Plan assets to a different broker?
I have an ESPP with E*Trade; you can transfer stock like that via a physical (paper) asset-transfer form. Look for one of those, and if you can't find it, call your brokerage (or email / whatever). You own the shares, so you can generally do what you want with them. Just be very careful about recording all the purchase...
What is a good way to save money on car expenses?
Do your own oil change! If you are a hands-on person, you could also avoid the cost of the semi-annual oil change, by doing it yourself. Edmunds.com has a great how-to to help you accomplish this. Be prepared for dirty fingernails! But savings, you will realize, as an oil change will run you anywhere from $20 - $200...
Do I make money in the stock market from other people losing money?
In gambling, the house also takes a cut, so the total money in the game is shrinking by 2-10 percent. So if you gain $100, it's because other people lost $105, and you do this for dozens of plays, so it stacks up. The market owns companies who are trying to create economic value - take nothing and make it something. ...
Are Certificates of Deposit worth it compared to investing in the stock market?
For the specific example you gave, a CD with a 0.05% rate of return, I'd shop around some more, that's a VERY low rate of return. A more realistic one would be 0.5%, depending on the terms. As has been mentioned, CDs are good when you need to preserve your capital. What might be a situation for that? They are great for...
401k Option - Lifecycle or S&P Index - what are pros and cons?
I think we resolved this via comments above. Many finance authors are not fans of target date funds, as they have higher fees than you'd pay constructing the mix yourself, and they can't take into account your own risk tolerance. Not every 24 year old should have the same mix. That said - I suggest you give thought to...
Does being involved in the management of a corporation make me ineligible for a workshare program?
Assuming you are paying into and eligible to collect regular Employment Insurance benefits for the job in question, I don't see how owning a side business would, by itself, affect your ability to participate in the workshare program. Many people own dormant businesses ($0 revenue / $0 income), or businesses with insig...
If I helped my friend to file taxes; can I represent her on a phone call with FTB?
In order for you to be able to talk to the FTB on someone's behalf, that someone has to submit form 3520. Note that since you're not a professional, this form must be paper-filed (CRTP, EA, CPA or attorneys can have this filed on-line). Once the form is accepted by the FTB, you can contact the FTB on behalf of your fri...
CD interest rate US vs abroad, is there a catch?
Part 1 Quite a few [or rather most] countries allow USD account. So there is no conversion. Just to illustrare; In India its allowed to have a USD account. The funds can be transfered as USD and withdrawn as USD, the interest is in USD. There no conversion at any point in time. Typically the rates for CD on USD accou...
How does a bank make money on an interest free secured loan?
Very good answers as to how 0% loans are typically done. In addition, many are either tied to a specific large item purchase, or credit cards with a no interest period. On credit card transactions the bank is getting a fee from the retailer, who in turn is giving you a hidden charge to cover that fee. In the case of...
How quickly will the funds be available when depositing credit card checks?
For those who don't know, credit card checks are blank checks that your credit card company sends you. When you fill them out and spend them, you are taking a cash advance on your credit card account. You should be aware that taking a cash advance on your credit card normally has extra fees and finance charges above ...
Do I pay a zero % loan before another to clear both loans faster?
Wow, you guys get really cheap finance. here a mortage is 5.5 - 9% and car loans about 15 - 20%. Anyway back to the question. The rule is reduce the largest interest rate first ("the most expensive money"). For 0% loans, you should try to never pay it off, it's literally "free money" so just pay only the absolute minim...
How to make money from a downward European market?
What you do is you create an infomercial where you sell a booklet about junk investments that you are absolutely certian may survive an end of the world scenerio. Then you sell that booklet to people who fear for their family. It is basically a tax on stupidity but works because it prays on the fears of the stupid. ...
How can I diversify $7k across ETFs and stocks?
An index fund is inherently diversified across its index -- no one stock will either make or break the results. In that case it's a matter of picking the index(es) you want to put the money into. ETFs do permit smaller initial purchases, which would let you do a reasonable mix of sectors. (That seems to be the one adva...
is the bankruptcy of exchange markets possible?
You seem to think that stock exchanges are much more than they actually are. But it's right there in the name: stock exchange. It's a place where people exchange (i.e. trade) stocks, no more and no less. All it does is enable the trading (and thereby price finding). Supposedly they went into mysterious bankruptcy then ...
Cheapest way to “wire” money in an Australian bank account to a person in England, while I'm in Laos?
I successfully used Currency Fair a few times, they seem to cater for both Australia and the UK. If I remember correctly, you can set everything up via Internet. As they explain on their website, first you open an account with them, then you transfer AUD to an Australian bank account that they will give you, then you e...
Interactive Brokers Margin Accounts
You have to call Interactive Brokers for this. This is what you should do, they might even have a web chat. These are very broker specific idiosyncrasies, because although margin rules are standardized to an extent, when they start charging you for interest and giving you margin until settlement may not be standardized...
How to sell option with no volume
Volume @ 0 doesn't mean that there are no buyers and sellers, it just means that there hasn't been any trades done yet. What you need to look for are the bids and offers (for selling and buying, respectively). For further expiration and NTM or IT options there will almost always be a bid and an offer (but it may be ver...
How do you measure the value of gold?
Gold may have some "intrinsic value" but it cannot be accurately determined by investors by any known valuation techniques. In fact, if you were to apply the dividend discount model of John Burr Williams - a variation of which is the basis of Discounted Cash Flow (DCF) analysis and the basis of most valuation technique...
Are there any catches with interest from banks? Is this interest “too good to be true”?
The 1.09% is per year, not per month, so you will be getting about 1K per year just for sitting around on your backside. Some important things. It is almost certain that you can earn a better interest rate elsewhere, if you are prepared to leave your 100K untouched. For example, even in Natwest you can earn 3.2% over t...
What's best investment option? Mutual fund or Property [duplicate]
nan
Value of a call option spread
You have to look at the real price of the share to calculate the value of the spread. 42$ at the start, 46$ at the end. Think of it this way: When price was 42$ the call 45$ was out of the money, worth 100$ of time value only=100 the call 40$ was in the money and worth 200$ of intrinsic + 100 time value=300 the differ...
Any tips for asset allocation across multiple retirement accounts?
I have a similar situation -- five different accounts between me and my wife. Just as you and @Alex B describe, I maintain my asset allocation across the combination of all accounts. I also maintain a spreadsheet to track the targets, deviations from the targets, amounts required to get back in balance, and overall per...
Should I always hold short term bonds till maturity?
Risk is reduced but isn't zero The default risk is still there, the issuer can go bankrupt, and you can still loose all or some of your money if restructuring happens. If the bond has a callable option, the issuer can retire them if conditions are favourable for the issuer, you can still loose some of your investment....
Diversify my retirement investments with a Roth IRA
Without making specific recommendations, it is worthwhile to point out the differing tax treatments for a Roth IRA: investments in a Roth IRA will not be taxed when you withdraw them during retirement (unless they change the law on that or something crazy). So if you are thinking about investing in some areas with high...
Pay off car loan entirely or leave $1 until the end of the loan period?
There's two scenarios: the loan accrues interest on the remaining balance, or the total interest was computed ahead of time and your payments were averaged over x years so your payments are always the same. The second scenarios is better for the bank, so guess what you probably have... In the first scenario, I would pa...
Why is everyone saying how desperately we need to save money “in this economy”?
I would add to the other excellent answers that another factor besides just high unemployment numbers is the fear people have regarding the "financial" aspects of the country, that is the value of stocks and the value of the dollar. When the economy is sluggish it means people aren't buying enough, therefore companies...
I carelessly invested in a stock on a spike near the peak price. How can I salvage my investment?
Some financial planners would not advise one way or the other on a specific stock without knowing your investment strategy... if you didn't have one, their goal would be to help you develop one and introduce you to a portfolio management framework like Asset Allocation. Is a two of clubs a good card? Well, that all de...
When the market crashes, should I sell bonds and buy equities for the inevitable recovery?
The problem with the proposed plan is the word "inevitable". There is no such thing as a recovery that is guaranteed (though we may wish it to be so), and even if there was there is no telling how long it will take for a recovery to occur to a sufficient degree. There are also no foolproof ways to determine when you ha...
What is the difference between hedging and diversification? How does each reduce risk?
The difference is in the interrelation between the varied investments you make. Hedging is about specifically offsetting a possible loss in an investment by making another related investment that will increase in value for the same reasons that the original investment would lose value. Gold, for instance, is often rega...
In a competitive market, why is movie theater popcorn expensive?
Movie theater popcorn concessions are not really a competitive market.