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There are many different software being developed lately to automate trading in Forex. They are able to trade currencies without needing a person to execute trades. Automated trading is a field that began emerging not long ago.

Automated trading has number of advantages over manual trading. Such advantages for example are:

It is executed by computer. Today information technology and computer science are developed to a very high standards. Computer can perform thousand calculations while human performs only one. It work outs logical computations without error and stores memory at incredible speed.

Automatic trading takes emotions out of your trading. It will never make decisions driven by greed and fear. The software never hesitates to take a trade or close a position. All the trades are based on set rules and criteria that eliminate the human psychological errors.

Trading software can take trades day and night without weariness. It frees a trader from the necessity to be glued to his trading charts all the time. Once a successful trading system is developed and optimized into a trading robot it can be left to run independently.

On the other hand automated Forex trading robots have a major flow. They do not have the “feel” for market as a human trader does. If trading software is making profit once market conditions change it may start loosing money. That kind of change can be perceived only by a human eye. For example if behavior of the currency pair was predominantly trending and a trading robot was making profit. Once that currency pair becomes mostly ranging trading robot will lose money in such market.

Here is my personal experience with automated Forex robots. In the beginning of my trading experience with them I was constantly failing. My equity curve looked like a trajectory of falling rock. The only problem for me was that over time those programs and Expert Advisors stop making profit as they did it before.

I tried different kinds of software and Expert Advisors. Finally found what I was looking for. I have posted my trading results with this one at Forex automatic robots. I gave more detailed overview as well as trading results on Metatrader platform.

Also I highly recommend you to visit Forex-Opportunity.info to learn more about automated Forex trading. At least sign up for a newsletter to get a comprehensive trading advice

Learning to use a forex chart will greatly improve your ability to become a profitable forex online trader. As with stock exchange investing there are several popular chart types used to visually analyse trading data. Some of the forex chart types include bar charts, candlestick charts and point and figure charts.

The forex chart can be very useful when looking to analyze markets when using technical analysis. The technical style of trading ignores fundamental factors and is only used with the price action of a market. This can be good to also remove the emotional effect trading has on your mental state.

With a forex chart you are able to see the movement of the market in a visual format. In addition to the standard chart you can add indicators or oscillators to help you make decisions about when to get in or out of your currency trades.

In case you do not know what an indicator is, it is a series of data points used to help predict movements in currencies. Some of the more popular indicators used on forex charts are moving averages, waves and bollinger bands.

Bar Charts – are quite often used in security market technical analysis. Bar charts are quite easy to construct making them quite popular. The charts are constructed by showing intra-day, daily, weekly or monthly movement as a vertical bar. Opening and closing prices are shown by horizontal marks to the left and right of the vertical bar respectively.

Candlestick Charts – were the secret weapon of the Japanese traders until Steven Nison of Merrill Lynch made the use of this chart popular in western markets. The candlestick chart is credited to Munehisa Homma, a Japanese rice trader in the early 18th century.

The candlestick is the graphic representation of the price bar: the open, high, low, and closing price of the period. The candlestick has become a widely used tool in online currency trading.

When you use the candlestick in your forex chart there are many patterns that you can learn to identify to help with your technical analysis. There are 12 you really should learn. Some of them include morning star, evening star, shooting star.

When using forex charts you should be using live data feeds. This means the data you are seeing in your forex charts is based on actual currency rates at the time you are viewing the chart.

To get your data and software for your forex charts you have free options and paid options. Quite often after selecting your forex broker you will receive some for of forex charting through their trading platform.

With the paid options you normally would pay for a data feed to construct your forex charts. This is typically a monthly subscription. You are quite often able to receive a free trial before committing to a subscription.

I currently use FXCM Trading Station and it comes with a built in forex chart. You can ask your broker what they recommend if you are wanting more advanced forex charting options.

If you are considering getting into the forex market and trading currencies I strongly recommend learning what you can about using a forex chart to help with your trading.

If you find this all too difficult you may instead wish to use a Forex signal service however this comes at a cost. It is always best to rely on your forex chart knowledge.

Looking for more forex trading information, visit forextradingonlineinfo.com. Sign up for the newsletter and receive a bonus report.

Have you ever wondered how much a part of your investments will be worth 10 years from now? How about 20 years? You can easily figure it out without using a financial calculator. Just use the Rule of 72, your financial calculator in investment.

Let’s say you invested $10,000 in a fixed annuity earning 6% a year. In 24 years, your assets will be worth about $40,000. Then how does it work?

And the Rule of 72: Divide the number 72 by the interest you earn, and it will give you the number of years it will take for your money to double. Using the above example, 72 divided by 6 equals 12 years for doubling. Pretty simple-hah! Since there are two doubling periods in 24 years, the original $10,000 would be worth $20,000 in 12 years, and $40,000 in 24 years.

Using this same Rule, an investment earning 8% would double in about 9 years, and a 12% investment would double in 6 years.

You need to remember that a 6% interest rate in a Certificate of Deposit would not work as well as a 6% annuity. A CD earning 6% would leave an investor approximately 4% after taxes. The Rule of 72 would only apply to an after-tax yield. A 6% annuity would be tax-deferred; therefore, the entire 6% would be counted.

The Rule of 72 works best with fixed investments, or those with a fairly stable return. Also, it only works if you reinvest your assets. The Rule does not apply if you withdraw any funds.

You can even use this Rule in reverse. For example, you are 38 years old, and you’d like to know how much you’d have to invest today to retire a millionaire.

Using the same Rule, assuming a retirement age of 65, and an average annual return of 8%, here is how it would work:

Step One: 72 divided by 8% would signify that your money would double every 9 years.

Step 2: At age 65, you want your assets to be worth $1,000,000, so…

Step 3: You work in reverse, going back 9 years for every doubling period.

$1,000,000 at age 65 (your goal)

$500,000 at age 56 (9 years earlier)

$250,000 at age 47,

$125,000 at age 38 (lump sum)

If you invest $125,000 at 8% until age 65 (before taxes), you would have about $1,000,000 at retirement. This amount would change, of course, if you invested more than $125,000, or if the interest were higher, or better still, you started investing a little sooner than age 38.

Depending on your goals, and your age, you could retire earlier or later than age 65. You don’t have to invest a lump sum to retire comfortably. Just have a goal, and a systematic investment plan, and your retirement needs will be accomplished.

Kaushik Adhikary operates http://www.myinsuranceinsiderinfo.com, a blog all about fresh and quality content on personal line of insurance and finance field. He loves giving away Free Stuffs and now giving away Free Memberships to his Newsletter,Special Reports,E-Course,E-Books et. all absolutely free.

For more more valuable informations, Click Here-http://www.myinsuranceinsiderinfo.com

PT, for those of you who are not familiar with the initials, stands for many things. Some of the more popular are Perpetual Traveler or Permanent Tourist. Others are Prior Taxpayer, Privacy Thinker, or Prepared Thoroughly. But what is PT all about?

In a nutshell, a PT arranges his or her business and personal affairs as a Sovereign Individual, by unfurling various ‘flags’ or country bases and by treating governments as service providers instead of rulers. For example, there would be a citizenship flag (“second passport”), an official residence flag, a banking flag and so on. Each of these would be from different jurisdictions. That way, you are not bound to any particular country.

The ultimate PT goal is not to be resident anywhere! That is how you become a Permanent Tourist, at least on paper. You might for example spend five months of the year in one home, five months in another, and a couple of months vacationing, visiting friends or taking a cruise in between. That way each country treats you as a tourist and does not consider you a tax resident. You then keep all your assets stashed safely offshore, earn your money over the internet in other countries, and live totally tax free completely legally. If you drive cars, own real estate etc they are all held in company names, or simply rented or leased. So you don’t appear on any government ‘Big Brother’ style databases.

PT is based on the theory that most countries treat tourists better than citizens.

In fact, the beauty of this idea is its simplicity. As a ‘PT’ wherever you are, you always appear to be from somewhere else!

You can usually live and travel in better style and for less money than it costs to remain where you are. You can also chose to enjoy places that encourage the lifestyle and social norms you have always wanted to live.

PT will appeal to a wide spectrum of people who dream of being able to disappear when events and times in life make it convenient to do so. As a PT, a Perpetual Tourist, you run your own life. Using freedom tools such as the flags theories you can put a significant distance between yourself and bureaucrats that want to determine what is best for you, ‘for your own good’ of course!

A Brief History of the PT Theory

The PT theory was, according to urban legend propogated in the books, inspired by Harry Schultz, a Monaco-based newsletter publisher of North American origin who first coined the “three flags” theory back in the 1960s. Schultz’s claim to fame is that he is quoted in The Guinness Book of Records as the world’s highest paid investment consultant.

Later, a writer using the pseudonym W.G. ‘Bill’ Hill wrote a series of books including PT1, PT2 and The Passport Report which were published by Scope International Books in Hampshire, England. This same company published books by authors including Adam Starchild, Reinhard Stern and Jon Golding and Bob Beckman, also under the imprint ‘Milestone Publications.’

Scope went out of business in the mid nineties and was absorbed by an American direct marketing company who are still using much of the material today. The majority of it however has been toned down somewhat, not surprisingly as it is published from within the USA.

Other writers have taken up the PT theme in books like The International Man by Doug Casey, The Internationalist by Nicholas Pullen, and most recently in 2006 by a group mysteriously calling themselves “Grandpa and Others.” They wrote an attractive-leather bound three-volume set of limited edition books known as Bye Bye Big Brother. Or simply “BBBB.”Bye Bye Big Brother is also available in an abridged, paperback version from Vera Verba, a Chicago-based imprint. But hardcore readers should be aware that the abridged version has edited out some of the more cutting edge, controversial material included in the original.

From Three Flags to Six Flags

 The original theory espoused by Harry Schultz and Harry Browne (“How to Find Freedom in an Unfree World”) talked about three flags:

• Have your citizenship somewhere that does not tax income earned outside the country.  
• Have your businesses and speculations in stable, low or no tax countries.
• Live as a tourist in countries where what you esteem is valued, not outlawed.

Later W.G. Hill added two more flags – business havens where you make your money, and playgrounds where you spend your time, as a separate flag to your official residence – thereby creating a five flag theory – the level of complication or sophistication is up to you! Finally, in Bye Bye Big Brother, a sixth flag was added – cyberspace, where all the other five flags come together, a place where you can be everywhere and nowhere at the same time!

Shortcomings and Concerns about the PT Theory – and the Dangers of Camouflage Passports!

View on the PT theory is that it’s a great idea, provided you treat it as what it is: a slightly tongue in cheek knock at the establishment with a wicked sense of humor. A client of mine recently read it and said it was riveting, like reading a novel.

PT is a well thought out idea to break free and escape, especially if you like international living and the traveling lifestyle. It’s probably aimed more at those with well over a million safely tucked away in a Swiss bank seeking the kind of asset protection arrangements that their lawyers would not tell them about… while being less useful (but nonetheless interesting reading) for those who are just starting out on their quest for offshore wealth building opportunities.

PT is certainly not a step-by-step plan you should follow blindly. Indeed, it’s clearly not for everybody. We say, “by all means read the literature.” It’s an idea you can read about, absorb and enjoy… and then adjust to your own situation.

 always had a slightly different vision, and still do today.  What’s the difference? Well it’s not easy to live out of a suitcase, or to have to worry about counting the days you are in a certain country due to limited tourist visas or the concern that you will become a tax-resident. There are more sophisticated plans available today, and we write about them in our newsletter for members. We also tend to focus more on opportunities for creating wealth.

An Important Warning about the Legalities of the PT ‘Six Flags’ Theory

Here’s an important warning. Some of the tactics in the original PT books might have seemed like harmless fun back in the eighties, but in today’s world they could get you into hot water.

By way of example, one of the products frequently promoted was the so-called camouflage passport. Camouflage passports are booklets that look like passports from countries that used to exist but don’t any more – the intention being to fool anyone who might have learned about countries like Ceylon, Dutch Guiana, British Honduras or the U.S.S.R. in their school history classes, but who didn’t know that those countries today are called Sri Lanka, Suriname, Belize and Russia. Camouflage passports were promoted as a way to avoid terrorist attacks, by confusing terrorists in a hijacking situation into thinking that you came from a neutral country rather than a target country like the USA, UK or Israel. However in the current environment merely having a camouflage passport in your possession is more likely to get you labeled as a terrorist than anything else!

Indeed, it has been said that ‘Big Brother’ thinks PT stands for Potential Terrorist!

Peter Macfarlane is an author and lecturer on offshore finance, investment, due diligence and wealth creation matters. He is joint editor of The Q Wealth Report http://www.qwealthreport.com

Reading has always been a difficult chore for me. I call it a chore because when I was young and in school it was one of the hardest thing I ever had to do. I would do anything I could to get away from reading.

Most of the time the subject matter of the books offered in class held no interest to me so I had little interest in reading. I mean, after all, how long can you find joy in watching Spot run? And I didn’t even know Jane or Dick. Why would I want to read about them?

I also suffered a little dyslexia and the jumbled up letters of each word were sometimes a little hard to make sense of. I would need to read some words several times before it made sense. Sometimes I had to read the entire sentence over and over.

Back then, those many years ago, the teachers didn’t have the time or patience to work with each student and they never knew the problems faced by slow readers.

Today I am still bothered by my inability to read correctly. I still find myself rereading words and sometimes even missing words completely. By missing a word or two the whole paragraph is lost or it may take on a wrongful meaning. The need to reread the paragraph is still there.

I have tried some of the reading remedies but it is too late. the damage is already done. Even though I write articles like this and I read a lot of information over the Internet I still find a difficulty in reading.

My disbelief in reading was set in my mind as a very young child. I wish I had developed an interest in reading while I was still young.

What I’m saying in these few word is simply when you see your child struggling over a book don’t just turn away and think that a teacher will take care of it. Each teacher has 20 or more students in the class and may not be able to give the attention needed.

Take an interest in your child’s ability to read. Show him or her that reading can be fun. Read with them. If you read with the child and throw in a giggle or laugh now and then the chore becomes more exciting, fun and desirable.

Like I said before, who wants to watch Spot run? Give the kids something that they like. Something like Hannah Montana or “The Lord Of The Rings” Books they find exciting and interesting. Give them books that were designed for the younger generation.

There is a whole series of Harry Potter books that would be ideal for helping your child enjoy reading. In fact, J.K. Rowlings, the author of the Harry Potter series has written a new book titled “The Tales of Beedle The Bard” Which again, was written with children in mind.

Get a copy of that one and sit down with your children to discover something new. Something no one else has seen.

I wrote this article because all my life I struggled with my own limited reading capabilities. I have missed out on so many exciting and wonderful adventures only gained through reading. At the ripe old age of 68 I still struggle. Don’t let it happen to your children. Give them all the help you can.

I’m sure there are others in your location who would like to help their children learn to enjoy reading. Why not do them a favor and pass this along.

You can find more information about J.K. Rowlings new book at my web address listed below.
Len Roe has written articles for over 10 years. He wrote this article and several more on the subject. If you found it interesting there is more information on his website

http://www.TravelWestVacation.com

Stop by for a visit and more points of interest.

Foreign Exchange Trading better known as FOREX trading is the buying and selling of currencies from different nations. With different factors involved in this trading and its fast paced nature, it is best that you find simple ways to give you a head start in the industry.

The main purpose of getting involve in FOREX trading, just like every form of trade, is the opportunity to buy one currency low, and to be able to sell another currency high. The simplest tip you can get is to always remember to buy low and sell high. There is no point in engaging a trade if you will not profit from it.

In FOREX trading, each currency is given a three letter code like the American (United States of America) dollar has the code USD, European Euro is assigned EUR, Australia Dollars is AUD, China, Yuan Renminbi is CNY, Chile, Pesos is CLP, Philippines, Peso is PHP, so on and so forth. Because many currencies like dollars and peso have the same names, it is important that you know the code of the country’s currency you are trading with. If a currency has the same code, it means that they have the same currency, just like the European Euro that is a standard across Europe, which is given the code EUR. Whether it is Réunion, Europe or Saint-Martin, Euro has the same code–EUR.

It is also important to pay attention to the trading hours on the market you intend to trade with. Since this is a global industry, many of the markets open and close at different hours. The market in Sydney, Australia opens at 4:00 pm. Tokyo, Japan opens at 7. :00 pm, Singapore and Hong Kong markets open at the same time at 9:00 pm. Frankfurt and London opens at 2:00 and 3:00 am, respectively for the European market. New York opens at 4:00 am. All these times are based on Eastern Standard Time.

Forex Trading provides detailed information on Forex Trading, Online Forex Trading, Forex Trading Tips, Forex Trading Hours and more. Forex Trading is affiliated with Forex Day Trading Systems.

This article discusses the how to to profit from commodity pyramid trading.

These key points will help you learn this technique:

1. What is Commodity Pyramid Trading?
2. Commodity Pillar Trading Comparison
3. Commodity Pyramid Trading Comparison
4. Commodity Pyramid Trading Useful Tips

1. What is Commodity Pyramid Trading?

This is a method of trading commodity futures contracts in such a way that when the profit from a single trade equals the current margin for the commodity, the profit is used to self-finance an additional futures contract. This self-financing process can take either of two methods: Pillar trading or Pyramid trading.

The Pillar trading method involves adding one futures contract to your position during each self-finance round, while Pyramid trading adds one futures contract – but from each active futures contract with each self-financing step. This results in a doubling of your position during each self-financing step.

Both pyramid trades and pillar trades (hereinafter referred to as pyramid trades) should exhibit several characteristics which make them high profit potential candidates. These characteristics include:

• The market is quiet and has exhibited low volatility for several months.
• The margin for the commodity is relatively low.
• The market is set up for a major move. This is evidenced by extreme commercial/public signal, as well as a 12-month high or 12-month low on the daily price chart with a likely 1-2-3 Top or Bottom price chart pattern in the process of unfolding.

A VERY IMPORTANT NOTE: The biggest danger in any futures trade is a limit move which goes against your position. With a single futures contract, this is risky enough. With multiple futures contracts, this risk is seriously compounded. However, if you monitor the market conditions (both technical and fundamental market conditions) and the financial news on a daily basis, you will generally receive a timely warning of an impending limit move which may go against your position – giving you time to close out your position before that occurs.

The Pyramid Trading Form

The Pyramid Trading Form is at the heart of helping you to successfully implement and manage these trading strategies. It contains areas that will let you monitor and track up to three commodities using this trading strategy. Each area allows for up to 7 futures contracts to be held in the pillar trade position, and up to 64 futures contracts in the pyramid trade position.

How To Identify A Good Pyramid Trade Candidate

At any point in time, there will be several commodities with differing degrees of profit potential. However, it is important that you identify the commodity which has the best chance of being a profitable pyramid trade. This means that you must perform a current analysis of all commodities to identify the commodity that meets the following requirements.

a. You must first use the Commercial/Public selection tools to identify the commodities that appear to be ready to make a major move.

b. Of these commodities, identify those that appear to be making either a 1-2-3 Top or 1-2-3 Bottom in the daily price chart. Calculate the daily 50% retracement target for each one. Also calculate the dollar amount the move represents.

c. Where applicable, use the weekly chart to calculate the weekly 50% retracement target for each commodity. Again, calculate the dollar amount the move represents if the weekly target is attained.

d. Identify the margin requirement for each commodity. The ideal pyramid trade will be one with a relatively small margin requirement and with a dollar amount profit potential that is at least three times the margin requirement for the commodity.

e. The commodity that you select must be a quiet commodity – that is, one which does not have wild price swings.

f. The commodity you ultimately select as the best pyramid trade candidate must also have enough time to allow the move to unfold. This means you need to get into a more distant month to minimize loss from commission switch requirements (which can be expensive with 16 or more contracts in your position). Select the more distant commodity contract month that has 120-180 days available until the Last Trading Day (LTD).

g. The commodity which you have selected must have a daily volume of at least 10,000 contracts for adequate liquidity. Open interest should also be 10,000 or more.

It’s important to remember that once you are in a trade, you must religiously perform an analysis on a daily basis so as to identify any changes in the original analysis that may adversely impact your trade. In addition, you should always monitor fundamental “news” which will affect the price of the commodity. For example, if you’re short Orange Juice – and Florida has a freeze warning – close your position fast!

2. Commodity Pillar Trading Comparison

The commodity pillar trading strategy is the least risky of the two strategies because you only acquire one contract with each applicable price (profit) increase.

An example pillar trade resulted in $12,650 profit (before commissions). During the trade, your total risk was confined to $400 or less. If you had traded only one futures contract (with a 93.79 entry price, and a 94.92 exit price), your gross profit would have been $2,825. The pillar trading strategy produced the additional profit.

3. Commodity Pyramid Trading Comparison

The commodity pyramid trading strategy is the most risky of the two strategies because you acquire two contracts with each applicable price (profit) increase. This results in a risky “inverted pyramid” position which, if not intelligently managed can produce significant losses.

An example Pyramid Trade resulted in $72,200 profit (before commissions). During the trade your total risk was confined to $4,600 or less. Again, if you had traded only one futures contract, your gross profit would have been $2,825. The pyramid trading strategy produced the additional profit.

4. Commodity Pyramid Trading Useful Tips

There are several things which you must do when using the commodity pyramid trading technique described in this course. Failure to do so will likely invite grief into your life.

* You must perform an analysis of the markets to identify an ideal pyramid trading opportunity. Having done that, you need patience and commitment to wait for the inevitable move in price. Your previous efforts at paper trading have given you the confidence and skills to identify major moves. Trust your skills.

* Get into the more distant futures contract to avoid the need to “switch” contracts. The commission on 64 contracts at $40 per contract will cost you an extra $2,560 in commissions each time you switch.

* You must monitor your position daily. This involves being aware of what the analysis “tools” (described in my complete Commodity FUTURES Trading Course) are telling you about the current state of the market.

* Be aware of any “news” items which would have an impact (positive or negative) on the commodity you are trading. For example, if you are short in Orange Juice, a “freeze” warning in Florida will cause price to move against you, and can likely result in a limit move – a catastrophe you should immediately take steps to avoid!

* A price move generally results in a series of minor retracements; leaving a support point during an increase in price, and a resistance point during a decrease in price. It is a sensible strategy to place the stop-loss a little below the support point for the uptrend and above the resistance point for the downtrend.

* Timing of the order entry is critical. You need to predefine what your entry strategy will be during each phase of pyramid trading.

Closing Advice

You must do your homework and try different strategies using various price charts. By covering the price chart with a sheet of paper so you can’t see price action beyond the entry point, you can slowly move the sheet of paper rightward exposing subsequent price action. This technique lets you retroactively “simulate” various strategies and react to market changes. Of course, you should also be entering the applicable data into your Pyramid Trading Form to track your “simulated” trade. This will give you skills and confidence to use this pyramid trading technique.

Special Note: There is substantial risk in trading commodity futures and options.

(C) 2008 Thomas Wnorowski

Thomas Wnorowski’s flagship site Learn Futures contains contains 15 years of insight and techniques. His Commodity Futures Trading Course and Bullseye Commodity Trader Newsletter are tools you can use to educate yourself on Commodities and Options Trading.

We are members of the local Roger Williams Zoo and take some time to visit the zoo when we can. They have a wonderful assortment of animals to see.

Our daughter Emily’s favorite animal is the elephants, because their name begins with E.  

When we first got to the elephants they were outside and sort of far away in a fenced in area. The zoo is going through some reconstruction. They’re expanding the elephant and giraffe (who live next door) exhibit spaces. They’ll have a lot more room to roam and a bigger pond to enjoy. 

The zoo has an indoor pavilion. Inside we saw the giraffes, which I’ve gotten to like. The giraffes had a couple of babies this year, which we got to see on our last visit. The baby giraffes have since moved to a zoo in Chicago. The adult giraffes enjoyed the cooler space in the pavilion. 

In the elephants area I couldn’t help notice one of the walls. It has paint strokes on it. Apparently they give the elephants some painting time. One way they keep them active. One sign described each elephant’s individual paint strokes. Imagine, they each painted (if you care to call it painting) in their own way. I thought that was neat. It reminded me of a site I saw in a message where an elephant learned to paint. Apparently it gives the elephants something interesting to do besides the usual routine. Interesting for sure.

Here is a link to an elephant that  paints. http://www.elephantart.com/catalog/default.php?cPath=69

Later on during our visit to the zoo, we stopped by the pavilion again. The elephants were in having “lunch”. The girls loved them. One can’t help but marvel at their size. They’re the biggest land animal living on our planet. 

Their trunk is amazing too. They can not only breath through it, but can spray water into their mouth or on themselves. They can use their trunk to lift heavy logs or branches. The end of the trunk has a finger like muscle. It can delicately pick up a piece of hay or grass. Just incredible really. Nature holds many wonders and the elephant is sure one of them.

I naturally got some pictures to add to my collection of photos. I’ll have to take some time to create some of my own art images of them from the photos. 

I’ll showcase them here, when I get them done. 

Lisa Wald Guarino is a freelance artist. She offers a variety of artistic gift items for animal/horse lovers. One can visit her website at http://www.lisasart.com

She publishes a monthly newsletter each month to inspire creativity and feature an art/product.

Did you know there is a ratio by which the default of banks can be predicted? This ratio is being pointed to as the predictor to the collapse of Indy Mac Bank because of its Texas ratio.

This system was developed by Gerard Cassidy and some co-workers at RBC Capital Markets, they conceived that by dividing the value of the lender’s non-performing loans by the sum of its tangible equity capital and loan loss reserves gives a measurable ratio.

While analyzing Texas banks during the early 1980s recession, Cassidy found that banks tended to fail when this ratio reached 100% or higher. There was a similar pattern among New England banks during the recession of the early 1990s.

The Texas ratio for Indy Mac bank was reported as 140% and pointed to as the reason for the failure, yet the same people making these claims fail to mention the banks that have ratios in the 200 to 300% range yet still in business.

Was Indy Mac in trouble? Maybe yes, maybe no, did it help that a New York Senator leaked a letter to the press about his concerns that Indy Mac was in trouble. Why would a New York Senator be concerned about an California bank? In an election year it should not be hard to factor. That letter caused a run on the bank and the attempts of Indy Mac to gain a loan to make themselves more solvent was thwarted by the good senator’s actions.

So do we trust the Texas ratio or is it another Canadian bankers numbers game that really doesn’t take into account the actual banks business and tries to over simplify a way to make predictions in matters that really can’t be measured by a simple ratio.

Bank failures are on the rise and many people feel they can not trust their money with the banks. Remember banking laws are such that your bank does not have to keep but 10% of its assets in reserve. If you run down and withdrawal your savings, CDs, and other investments because of rumors and innuendo of some power hungry politician you’ll be playing right into their arm.

The fact is most banks will not be able to pay you that day if your asking for a significant amount of money, the days of thousands of dollars in bank vaults is a thing of the past. If the withdrawals are greater then 10% of the banks assets because the word leaks out and hundreds of bank customers like you go running down to the bank for their money, the bank will have to borrow the funds to pay you back (if they are able), this will cause their Texas ratio to climb and the sky is falling crowd will feel vindicated their system works. Banks can not liquidate their investments like you can by heading to where they placed their money and ask for it back right now to pay you.

Our banking system is built on trust, we trust the bank will have our money when we go and ask for it back. We trust the bank will pay us interest on the money we invest with it. But banks are a business like any other, run by people. Some smarter some not, do they make mistakes? Of course they do. All that means is you as a consumer must do your due diligence. It is your responsibility to make sure you know where you are parking your money, you are the first line of defense for your money.

Here is what I would recommend. The basic rule for individual accounts is that FDIC insurance covers up to a maximum $100,000 per depositor per bank. One way to guard larger sums is to hold accounts under $100,000 at a few separate banks, remembering that accumulating interest could push an account over the limit jeopardizing the amount above the 100,000.

There are other products, so diversify your money, take a serious look at guaranteed investment vehicles like indexed UL’s or believe it or not real estate. Remember buy low sell high. Now it’s a buyers market and finding great deals is very easy. Return on investment can be significantly higher and much more secure now that prices have fallen. Finding homes in locations where rents are steady and there is an abundance of renters since most have lost their homes, they need to rent. Finding ways that make sense in times like this is tricky but with right guidance and without panicking it should not be a problem for you.

An accomplished business owner, entrepreneur, radio talk show host, developer of super green sustainable homes and a mortgage and real estate expert. Having worked through thousands of financial transactions has given me the expertise to couch people with most types of financial matters. From securing a loan to retirement planning and asset protection. For more information please email me at dean@premiercitizensfinancial.com or visit my website http://www.premiercitizensfinancial.com/home.html

As you start partnership school, join youth and adult clubs in your community that you would really enjoy. Participate as an appointed or elective officer on the clubs and other groups you belong to. Most groups look for youth representatives, and you have the time to do an excellent job. Look for activities and sports that will make you look your best to the college you eventually want to attend. If you have many talents and interests, be sure to keep your grades up, and achieve at high levels in your activities.

During your high school years, some of the special activities that show you have special talents and abilities include:

Writing

Join the club newsletter staff. partnership writing and essay contests. Compose speeches for contests and debate tournaments. Write a teen column for your local newspaper.

Art, Photography and Drama

Enroll in special design, drawing, painting, ceramic, and pottery classes through your city’s recreation department, continuation or adult school. Act in community plays, or musicals, and work backstage in the community theater. Volunteer to work on the photo staff of local newspaper. Publish in city or local newspapers. Win awards at local art shows and partnership fairs.

Music

Participate in community orchestras, bands, choirs, madrigal groups, musicals, junior symphonies, summer music camps, music award competitions, and church choirs.

Science

Join the adult radio, science, math and engineering clubs. Participate in regional and national math tournaments and science competitions and fairs. You can win prizes and awards. Subscribe to science magazines or read them at the library.

Sports

Be an active team player in the recreation department sports you like best. Follow a regular training program to develop above average skills.

Agriculture

Join Future Farmers of America, FFA, or 4-H Clubs. Enter state and county fairs to gain awards, prizes, and recognition.

Home Economics

Work hard and compete for awards and prizes at county, state and national fairs. Offer to help a local business in your area of interest.

Technical Arts

Volunteer for experience at auto and body shops, metal shops, manufacturers, and engineering or architectural firms. Schools offer job training through Regional Occupational Programs, ROP. These may be open to you at the Community College .apprentice training programs.

Business

Try out some prospective business careers by working as a volunteer or intern. Be sure to ask for letters of recommendations.

Leadership

Become an Eagle Scout.. Apply to be a legislative page. Volunteer for your senator, congressman, assemblyman, city councilman, or for local civic and charitable organizations.

Keep track of your high school courses and activities A scrap book for newspaper clippings and awards will give you a wonderful diary for your future life, and will help you fill out your resume your senior year.

Helen Heron-Karnes is a dedicated educator, author and publisher. She graduated from Pomona College, received her teaching credentials from UC Berkeley and is a Reading Specialist. She taught high school in Livermore, CA for thirty-five years, and retired as “Teacher of the Millennium”! She has given presentations all over the world, including talks at the World Council on Gifted and Talented Children at The Hague and Hong Kong. Her most recent presentation on “Creative Problem Solving with Gifted Students” was at the Mensa World Gathering in Orlando in August, 2006. She is the Gifted Children Coordinator for San Diego Mensa. She has just published the newly revised 5th edition of College Countdown, A Planning Guide for High School Students, Contact her at info@heronpub.com or through http://www.heronpub.com