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There is currently a genuine state of confusion regarding commercial loan rates. The confusion is not just restricted to borrowers, either. Brokers, lenders and professional investors are all struggling to get a handle on what is going on with commercial loan rates.

Borrowers are under the impression that we’re at historic lows. They hear about the feds lowering rates and also hear national banks quote ridiculously low rates. What these national banks aren’t advertising is that their decline rates are at historic highs. Is difficult to be able to track a statistics like this but my friends and associates that work at intuitions like Bank of America, CITI etc tell me that there decline rate are at 95% or so.

So what that means is that they are cherry picking to an incredible degree (can you blame them?). The low commercial loan rates that they are advertising are only relevant for 5% of the borrowers that apply. Think about that for a moment, for every 100 people that fill out those 6 page applications, provide their tax return, etc, 95 of them are getting declined. As a comparison the decline rates are normally more like 50%.

The confusion is not just restricted to borrowers but to professionals in the industry as well. The spreads or margin are varying from one lender to the next more than we have seen. People in the business are struggling to understand why. Normally if you were to get 10 quotes on the same deal the commercial loan rates would be within .25 -. 35% of each other. Perhaps a few would tweak the prepayments or term, etc but their rates would be close. Now we are seeing commercial loan rates on the same deal varying between 2% -3%…

Part of the problem is that some of the lenders and banks themselves are having their cost of capital increase. Some of their credit rating are being lowered, as their balance sheets are scrutinised. So despite the Feds lower their rates, the margins that the banks charge (in order to cover their costs, risk and make a profit) go up as their cost of capital go up. So as one bank is more financial healthy than the next its costs of capital varies.

So what’s the happy ending? We currently don’t have one. If you’re thinking of buying or refinancing a commercial property in the next few months we would suggest getting it done now as in maybe a while before things re-stabilize and commercial loan rates become more universal.

Jeff Rauth is President of Commercial Finance Advisors, Inc out of Birmingham, Michigan. He has a STORE for commercial loan brokers. Contracts, spreadsheets, books, etc. Products starting at $4.95! Check it out commercial mortgage broker store or commercial loan rates

Frederick H. Ecker became President of the Metropolitan on March 26, 1929, and associated with him as Vice Presidents were Robert L. Cox and Leroy A. Lincoln. Mr. Cox died in January of the following year, and Mr. Lincoln immediately assumed the position of second in command. He succeeded to the Presidency in March 1936, when Mr. Ecker became Chairman of the Board. When the new administration took office in 1929, the country was enjoying what appeared to be great prosperity.

Many men in business and in public life believed that we had attained a depression less economy. Corporate earnings were at a high level. There was frenzied activity in the stock market and in the flotation of new securities. Prices of common stocks reached dizzy peaks. Credit was easy to obtain. The growth of the Metropolitan and of other life insurance companies reflected the optimistic spirit of the times. All prospered as a result of the great business activity and the high rate of employment at good wages then prevalent throughout the country.

The first hundred billion dollars of life insurance rates in force had been attained; predictions were being confidently made that within another 10 years the second hundred billion would be added. But in October 1929 came the first manifestation of a series of cataclysms which shook the country and the world. The first stock market crash came almost out of a clear sky. The full significance of this indication of economic distress was little understood at the time. Many people suffered immediate losses. Many held on to their securities while prices were dropping sharply, only to sell them at even lower figures at a later date, or to be closed out for lack of margin.

Nevertheless, there were many in high places that refused to believe that this was more than a temporary financial setback. Although the national income fell in 1930 and 1931, it was still at a fairly high level. Because of the low prices to which common stocks had fallen, various recommendations were made in the late autumn of 1929 urging the life insurance companies to make such purchases in anticipation of rapid economic recovery.

The State laws governing life insurance investments specifically forbade such venturing. Undoubtedly great havoc would have been wrought in the financial structures of many companies and great losses suffered by policy holders if such advice could have been taken. The market quotations as they dropped from month to month thoroughly confirmed the prophetic warnings of Mr. Ecker, and justified his insistence that the law limiting the character of the investment portfolio of Life insurance companies should remain essentially unchanged.

The life insurance companies stood firm. Because of the character of their portfolios, they were not seriously affected by the declining values. In some respects, the very nature of the upset at the close of 1929 reacted favorably upon the companies. Many individuals who had lost heavily in the stock market felt called upon to increase their Life insurance in order to make good the losses to the estates which they had hoped to build up for their families.

Thus, in the years immediately following the first stock market crash, ordinary insurance made unparalleled gains and was becoming closer and closer to offering term life insurance without exam. In 1930 the Metropolitan issued, exclusive of business revived or increased, close to $1,400,000,000 of ordinary insurance, the highest annual figure in the history of this department up to that time. But even this figure was exceeded by a considerable margin the following year, when a total of more than $1,460,000,000 was achieved. In fact, 1931 has remained the banner year for the writing of ordinary insurance in the Metropolitan.

Even in the industrial department there was an issue of $1,110,000,000 in 1930, only 8% less than in its peak year of 1929. In 1931 the industrial insurance issued still exceeded $1,000,000,000. In both the ordinary and the industrial departments, the total insurance in force continued to increase without interruption through the year 1931. Apparently, the economic situation up to that time had not yet seriously affected the ability of the American people to purchase or maintain life insurance.

Sarah Martin is a freelance marketing writer based out of San Diego, CA. She specializes in finance, business, and different types of insurance. For a free term life insurance quote, please visit http://www.equote.com/.

Forex: To trade or not to trade? Many are reluctant to associate with Forex trading because of its risks. Generally speaking, there are risks everywhere in our lives: May factories fails, not a customer May appointment if you open a store, stock market May crush, and if you are an employee, you get fired May undertaken during reduction. There are risks everywhere! The important question here is how you learn and maintain your own risk. So if you plan to participate in the Forex market, you have to learn risk management, instead of being terrified.

Picking Up the forex dealer right

One of the best ways to avoid unnecessary risks is to avoid fraud dealer.

Forex is a special market operations without centralized. Thus, unlike regulated futures, there is no central Forex market for buyers or sellers, therefore the price offered by different dealers Forex May vary widely. When you’re negotiating Forex market, you are totally relying on the integrity of the concessionaire for fair treatment.

Besides, you must select a right Forex dealer to avoid scams. It May be Forex dealers who are not legally regulated and perhaps investment scams, especially on the Internet. Be very careful about who you’re dealing with Forex and always check carefully on investment offers.

Stop order

The Forex market can move against you. No one can predict with certainty how the exchange rate will, and the Forex market is volatile. The fluctuations in the exchange rate between the time you place the trade and when you try to liquidate it will affect the price of your contract Forex and the potential profits and losses thereof. To avoid losing all your investment capital, you must have a pre-arrangement on your risk profile. A solid risk profile is limited forex dealer not to exceed the risk that you can not handle. For example, if you have 100000 to invest, you can say you’re willing to risk 10000 of this capital with the possibility of winning another 100000. This can be easily implemented by a fund manager so that your losses can be limited to 10% or 5% of capital invested.

Avoid excessive margin trading

Another way to manage your risks well Forex market is trade without overleveraged. Forex dealers offer high leverage* which in turn allows clients to trade more volume. Also, trade highly leveraged in May to increase your profit or your loss. It is high possibilities that are losing money more than he or she can afford a room for negotiation.

Forex can be extremely beneficial to a variety of people. It gives enormous leverage* rate, it gives incompatible liquidity of your money it gives to facilitate commerce on the Internet, and it can certainly give you a lot of money if you trade intelligently. Like any other business trade, if you’re new, the best advice you can get is to learn and practise more before you test your “wings”. Seminars, e-books, Internet, documents, video courses – all these are good for your loan. You can also test your skills on the free demonstration. After all, Forex trades 24 hours a day and it is always to make money on the market, so why not be patient until you’re quite ready for it?

The diversification in Forex trading

Diversification is another way to manage risks in Forex market. Trading a currency pair will generate little input signals. If you want to reduce your risk of Forex market, it would be better to diversify your transactions between different currencies.

Try trade at the same time on different pair of currency. Say you have a capital of $ 1000, instead of putting all your money in the long EUR / USD, you can split the money half long EUR / USD and GBD / USD ($ 500 each) that these two currencies are strongly correlated and tends to move in the same direction.

Conclusion

It goes without saying that knowledge is another key to managing your risk. Before arriving in Forex market, the best thing you should do is educate yourself. What drives the currency price trends? How to read data analysis? How to read indicators table? To find out details on how the currency price and how to trade foreign exchange in order to avoid unnecessary risks.

You come to this article probably because you are new to FOREX and the search for lectures on the Internet. To be frank, Forex can be very profitable but the risk is below is equally great. But what else in life does not present a risk? You can be fired from your job, a plant malfunction of May, stock market collapse of May, your boss May fugue with your salary, and hey! These are all risks. Learning in risk management is the key to managing your life.

Commerce intelligently, and get the maximum Forex – good luck!

* Without proper risk management, this high degree of leverage can lead to large losses as well as gains.

http://www.autotradingfx.com

http://www.autotradingfx.com/articles/understanding-risks-forex-trading

Currency trading has gained much popularity in recent years. Once thought to be the playground of the rich investor, it has become apparent lately that the currency trading market is accessible by investors of all levels.

Forex has now become an often-used term as opposed to just a few years ago when most people had never heard it. Now, the advantages of Forex trading are readily appreciated as more and more investors devote the major portion of their investing activity to the Forex market. The trading of currency involves simultaneous purchasing of one currency and selling of another.

It is the world’s largest market, with trades every day totaling over three trillion dollars, a staggering amount. It’s no wonder then that investors have flocked to it given the enormous amount of money changing hands and the opportunities presented by that volume.

One of the best things about this arena is that one can practice at will and play games online to improve skills and knowledge. Pretend, or phantom trading is referred to as ‘the game’ in the Forex field. This, of course, allows you to risk no funds while you thoroughly learn techniques through constructive practice.

To locate sites that supply practice training simply do a Google search for ‘Forex Trading’ and many sites will be presented. By the way, the term ‘Forex’ is derived from the formal name of the trading type, Foreign Exchange. The trading practice is also sometimes referred to as just ‘FX’.

For a complete overview of the Forex market, visit my web site through the link in my resource box below.

A major difference in this market, as opposed to the stock market, is that trading is not accomplished through a central point, such as the New York Stock Exchange. Trading in the Forex market is done on a direct basis, that is, between the two parties who are making the trade. Another major difference is that trading takes place twenty-four hours a day, through trading centers all over the world. The market trades continuously from Sunday night at 20:00 GMT to Friday night at 22:00 GMT. That gives investors a chance to make trades based on financial developments in the news without having to wait for a market to open the next day.

Many times, trades are done without commissions coming into play, a distinct advantage over the stock market. Still another advantage is the liquidity of the market, which translates into a constant supply of sellers and buyers, so there’s always a trade in the making around the clock. The market is constantly in flux and presents trade opportunities no matter whether a particular currency is moving up or down. The Forex market also offers the investor great leverage. An investor can control a position that is as much as one hundred to one more than his margin deposit.

Currency trading is a fascinating field and one that should be looked into if you are searching for an opportunity to invest and a chance to seriously increase your net worth. Check it out carefully and do practice investing before you make the plunge. And, of course, never risk money you can’t afford to lose. Visit my site listed below for much more information.

Good luck.

About the author:

Jim Nettleton is a radio and TV professional with wide-ranging interests. Visit his thorough Forex site for information in depth and real time quotes on currency pairs.

http://www.jaynetinc.com/ForexMaster

Known as equity swaps in the institutional market, they originated in the UK in the 1980s. Contracts for Difference (CFDs) are an agreement between the investor and the CFD provider to settle the difference in cash between the price at which the CFD trade position is opened and the price it’s closed.

On The Positive side

A CFD will mirror the performance of a stock without owning them, and the profit/loss is determined by the difference between the buy and the sell price. Because contracts for difference trade on margin, investors only need a small proportion of the total value of a position to trade.

A CFD will also mirror any corporate actions that take place. The owner of a share CFD will receive cash dividends and participate in stock splits. Traders use CFDs as they allow them to leverage into “stocks” for little upfront cost. Moreover, in a falling market, you can sell the CFD you don’t own and buy back when it has slipped in price value enough for you to pocket the difference and make a profit.

On The Downside

There are some significant disadvantages to trading CFDs, many of which are based around the fact that they are an OTC (over the counter) derivative. That means that the CFD provider, not a Securities Exchange, is the counterparty to your contract and it is their terms and conditions, designed to benefit them, that you agree to. The downside to CFDs include;

• The deposit is not a down payment for the balance of the CFD trade, but rather a margin held by the provider as protection against any possible losses. This means that an investor may receive a margin call demanding more money if they have bought into the stock thinking it was heading up and the share price falls.
• Given this, we suggest the use of a stop loss that is activated by the CFD Provider (broker) at a % move in the underlying share price against the trade. You would adjust this according to your individual leverage scenario. This should quash any margin call demands.
• You are liable to pay interest on the total transaction amount, regardless of the amount of margin that you have contributed.
• As an OTC (over the counter) derivative you are not offered the same protection as when you purchase shares. For example, some CFD providers are not obliged to use the stop losses you specify, they may also ‘bundle’ together orders from other traders and give you an average price.

Why Contracts for Difference

Leverage.

The leverage level offered by the CFD provider magnifies the underlying movement of the stock. Most providers set differing leverage levels and you can find the best level that suits you trading style. By using a Guaranteed stop Loss (GSL) it is possible to effectively increase leverage levels by capping the margin requirement held against you.

Control of Risk.

If you have ever traded, you know how important it is to use stop losses for capital preservation, especially when using a leveraged product.

• CFDs allow you to cut your losses quickly and leave your profits to run. This ability to quickly exit at the prevailing market price allows for greater risk control.
• CFDs reflect the price of the underlying equity, therefore, you will always know what the market price is of your shares and know what you can sell out for, provided you choose a CFD Provider who uses “at market” prices. Some CFD providers (market makers) may only give spreads, which have the potential to force you in at higher prices and out and lower prices.
• Placing automated Stop Loss orders can exit you out of suggestions that go against you while you are busy in your day-to-day activities.

Other things you may want to consider about CFDs

Hedging

Another application of CFDs, as an alternative to using Exchange Traded Options (ETO’s), is to use CFDs to hedge positions in your equity portfolio.

As with all hedging there is a cost. i.e. the commission you pay to open the CFD position, however, you will receive a net interest payment from the CFD provider as you are shorting the stock. Additionally, there is the indirect cost of depositing a margin payment with your provider to cover the CFD.

Duncan Hickman is an Analyst with Share Select http://www.shareselect.com.au who offer advice on Stock investment and trading, including derivatives such as CFDs

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.

In early September 2008, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) passed new regulations that will cause small engine makers like Briggs and Stratton to rethink how they make and market their engines.

The design of new laws that seek to reduce small engine emissions by 35% is to ensure a smaller carbon footprint and save Americans money, but it will cost them initially. This is justified by the promise of a savings of 190 million gallons of gasoline each year once all small engines are converted to emission-busting standards in 2011.

As with almost any advancement in lowing lawn mower emissions the consumer will see an increase in cost with the new systems. While we may think of this change in relation to lawn mowers we can’t forget gas powered weed trimmers, hedgers and recreational watercraft.

The truth is marine equipment that relies on small engines will have to meet the new requirements by 2010. They will also be required to reduce marine motor emissions by 70%.

Most analysts are agreed that any small engine change that could affect this kind of reduction in emissions would likely require the use of a catalytic converter.

Small engine manufacturers have opposed these rules for years, and had the backing of Senator Kit Bond from Missouri who sided with manufacturers who may have considered the proposed regulations as too restrictive and feared a larger price tag might mean dissatisfied customers. Many now believe the change was either inevitable or timely depending entirely on perspective.

It has been estimated by the EPA that the changes will likely cost about $235 million a year. Most of that increase will be passed on to the consumer. Briggs and Stratton officials have made it clear the cost of their motors will go up when these new regulations take effect.

Many lawn care professionals have expressed concern over the inevitable price increase leaving some to wonder if they can continue in a business that, for some, has been a life long love affair with the outdoors. To put this in perspective a lawn care provider has already accepted the loss of revenue from higher fuel prices, but even if they replaced older equipment with lesser quality new equipment it will still cost from $35-$180 more per mower. This has the potential of eroding an already slim profit margin.

As with any report there is always another perspective. The news that excites many is a statement made by Bill Becker who heads the National Association of Clean Air Agencies. Becker stated, “This rule will be the air pollution equivalent of removing one out of every five cars and trucks on the road.”

Analysts further expect fewer deaths associated with lawn mower emissions as well as other small engine carbon based discharge.

Many retailers have already concluded that when it comes to small engine machinery they will not likely see a drop in sales, at least when it comes to mowers. The prevailing belief is that while a jet ski might be a luxury a mower is often a necessity.

Some retailers are also stocking up on existing mowers due to the fact they will be grandfathered in. Existing units will not be subject to the new EPA rules so some business owners will attempt to stockpile older units for sale even after the new regulations go into effect.

Small engine manufacturers have expressed a commitment to work with regulators to find solutions to a drop in overall emissions and will be aiming at the target dates set by the EPA.

~Ben Anton, 2008

Ben Anton lives in Portland, OR and writes for Repower Specialists, LTD.
Learn more about lowering lawn mower emissions by visiting the Repower Specialists site specializing in Vanguard repower kits for small engine vehicles.

Your hands are sweating; your stomach is in knots. Once again you need to sit down and discuss your project requirements document with that obnoxious team member. The one who just drives you crazy. If you say left, they say right. But that’s OK because you put it off until the very end of the day. You immersed yourself in other work and did not bother to think about this conversation. After all why waste time on a no-win situation? You are going to stop by their desk, tell them how it will be and then go home.

But what if there were another way? It is not likely that the difficult person will change for you, but you can change the way the two of you interact. You can take more control of the situation and work towards a positive outcome.

Consider this approach:

• Prepare for the conversation in advance. Identify what you hope to gain from the interaction and begin with this end in mind.
• Be flexible; do not be so focused on your end goal that you cannot take a detour in the conversation. This detour may help you understand the perspective of your difficult person.
• Select a time that is convenient to both of you. A time when you can both listen and exchange information without additional pressures or distractions.
• Listen; really listen to what they are saying. If they say something like, ‘I cannot do that’ or ‘That will not work’; ask them why. Whatever issue they have may not be about you. Try to get the real problem out in the open.
• Maintain emotional objectivity. Remember, whatever drives them to be difficult is about them, not about you.
• An individual who is upset may become defensive and verbally attack you. Stay calm, take a deep breath and pause before responding.

If the discussion gets too heated, recommend that you both take some time to cool off. Then agree upon a time when you will reconvene. No matter how difficult, deal with the situation. Agree to stick with the situation until you have both been able to understand one another. You do not have to agree, but you want to work toward a relationship where you can respect each other as individuals and professionals.

Margaret Meloni helps professionals create career strategies that bring them success and enhance their work experiences. She helps her clients focus on the importance of professional brand and reputation management.

Margaret is a people oriented leader with over eighteen years experience in Information Technology. She holds a B.S. in Business Administration and an M.B.A. from California State University, Long Beach. She is also a certified Project Management Professional (PMP) through the Project Management Institute and an instructor at the University of California Los Angeles.

A dynamic speaker who combines inspiration, common sense and a dash of humor; Margaret has spoken at technology conferences and events hosted by the Association of Information Technology Professionals; The Project Management Institute and The International Institute of Business Analysis.

This same style keeps her UCLA and UC Irvine students and seminar attendees actively engaged during their learning experience.

To learn more please visit: http://www.melonicoaching.com

Trading Algorithms are relatively new to the Forex Market and there are a few products on the market which now incorporate these Algo trading detection mathematics into their software. One of these is the New Forex Tracer. Released on to the market in June 2008 this new software comes with the following trading system set up.

A sophisticated strategy developed to analyze currency markets, it combines break out systems with an indicator based system to confirm the market and is analyzed and set up the way it should be. A risk management tool, that calculates the amount of lots related to the risk associated with each trade and shields against excessive losses and margin calls.

A market engine strategy where an automatic engine enters the market as safely as possible, which through its algorithms protects the trade from unpredictable behavior and/or the brokers false doings. A set of money management tools that exit each trade as safely as possible to make the most of multiple trades.

Forex Tracer also trades their system live so traders who use the algorithm trading software can publish their live trades online. The Forex Tracer also runs a Blog where traders offer there day to day trading stats from up to 11 currency pairs available within this Algo trading software.

The Foreign Exchange Market is a relatively new trading platform and as this unpredictable market continues to be sourced and scalped with difficulty, only a few Forex Algorithm Trading Products have been released on to the market.

For beginners wanting to get ahead in this market it is strongly advised you trade on a play account before you get involved for real.

You can put this system to the test on a Demo account. You can do that here at http://www.forextracertrading.com which allows you to trade with play money, so you won’t be risking a penny. After you’ve tried, tested and retested, you can then open your real account where you can collect $100 and start trading on Autopilot immediately. A Final Note for Beginners: Stay focussed, be extremely disciplined, and you will succeed.

Has the world gone mad? I find it amazing that when people look at the ingredients and nutrition label of a packaged food they are more engrossed in the nutrition label rather then the actual food content. When I ask people what do they look for when they look at the label of the food they are buying they tell me they look for the saturated fat content, or the amount of salt or whether there is enough protein or what the fat and sugar content is and even the vitamins and minerals as is the case with milk and calcium. Very few are interested in the actual ingredients. Modern thinking finds that a food is OK as long as the nutrition label and the components of food are in the right amounts deemed by the scientific community and taught to the public by propoganda and advertising.

In other words if you’re on a protein diet, you look for high protein foods. If you are on a low fat diet you look for low fat foods. If osteoporosis is a concern then foods high in calcium such as milk are what people consider. If you are a diabetic you make sure there is no sugar in the food and if you have hypertension then salt content is important. Or if you’ve been told by your doctor that you should lower your cholesterol and don’t eat any foods high in cholesterol then you look for the cholesterol content.

To create a nutrition label is really easy. You go to nutriondata.com and you plug in the ingredients of your food, (for instance any recipe you are making), and a nutrition label is produced. It doesn’t ask if the food is organic or for what type of soil it was grown in or how rich in minerals the soil is, or if you boiled the food to death or if you used sea salt, or raw milk as opposed to modified milk. It merely generalises. So don’t ever for a minute think that a nutrition label is accurate… it is NOT.

But that is not the biggest problem. The problem is that we look at the nutritional facts and we forget to look at the ingredients.

Nutritionisim

No longer are we interested in what the food is, but rather what it has in it. When most people look at a food label, they are more interested in the amount of macro nutrients (carbohydrates, fats and proteins) rather then looking at what the actual ingredients are. People select foods on micro (vitamins and minerals) and macro nutrient status even if the food does not resemble real food. Protein bars, breakfast cereals, margarine, modified milk, diet foods and muesli bars are prime examples. These foods look good in the nutrient department, but when you look at the actual ingredients you find that there are a bunch of numbers, soy protein isolates, hydrogenated vegetable oils and other non-real food items.

This not only is the case with packaged foods but other foods as well. Tomatoes are now being eaten for their lycopenes rather than a food that tastes good and goes well with many other foods. Carrots are known for their b-carotene status. Avocado’s are avoided on a strict diet because of fat content but little do people know that when you put avocados in a salad it helps in the increased absorption of many of the minerals and vitamins in the salad. Even wine is being drunk for the antioxidants. Meat for Protein, milk for calcium, bread for carbohydrates and oils for fats. This ideology has been termed Nutritionism and has taken over our way of thinking about the food we eat. To quote a well used phrase; “If it’s something your great-grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food, don’t eat it”.

Vitalism

I’ve always lived my life with a vitalistic health point of view, which is the power that made the body will heal the body as long as there is no interference and the right resources are given (good food, exercise, rest, clean air and sunlight). Health these days is practiced more in a mechanistic point of view, where the body is made up of the sum of all its parts and if a part goes wrong then get rid of it, believing the body will be better or treat the part that has gone wrong, rather then the whole person.

It seems now that this view point can be stretched towards food. Real food from nature is vitalistic, it is healthy and there is a symbiotic relationship between all the parts of the food that make it perfect, as long as it has not been interfered with and been given the right resources (water, nutrient soil and sunlight). If we look at food in a mechanistic way then food is made up of parts, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and minerals and if we can twist them to be what science deems to be right then we can make the food better, so science thinks! This is called as we have already discussed, Nutritionism.

Live a vitalistic, non nutritionism life. A life where you know that the power that made the body can heal the body and the power that made real nature based foods is the perfect food for your body.

Cyndi O’Meara

Cyndi O¼Meara lives in Australia on Queensland¼s Sunshine Coast with her husband and three children. Renowned for her successful and unconventional approach to health, Cyndi provides new truths on food, lifestyle and wholistic wellbeing.

A qualified Nutritionist with a Bachelors degree in Science and post graduate studies in the human anatomy, diagnosis and health management, she is consistently called upon to share her health insights and has contributed to a host of National magazines, publications and newspaper articles. In addition Cyndi has also been featured on numerous TV Programs such as Today Tonight, 9am with David and Kim, Brisbane Extra and Nourish of which she is host. Well regarded for her immense knowledge, entertaining and enthusiastic approach to well being, she is regularly interviewed on talkback Radio programs nationally as well as being the weekly Nutritional expert for the ABC. A fabulous role model for healthy living, Cyndi is not your typical nutritionist: she disagrees with boring tasteless low-fat, low-calorie diets; she knows chocolate can be good for you.