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When we walk down the street and encounter a stray cat, it is hard for us to imagine that this seemingly healthy and vibrant kitty might actually be very sick. This phenomenon is true with even our human counterparts. Part of this deceiving reality is the Feline Immunodeficiency Virus, or FIV. This virus affects more than 11% of cats worldwide.

The probable immediate association, once a person hears this, is with HIV or Human immunodeficiency Virus. The two are very similar in how they are transmitted and also how they affect the body. It seems, though, that cats are better able to deal with the disease in terms of life expectancy after it has been contracted.

Contracting FIV is not a death sentence for a cat. In fact, most cats go on to live happy and healthy lives and carriers and transmitters for several years. FIV attacks the body much more slowly than HIV does. Transmission usually takes place in the form of deep bites or scratches, although other forms of transmission do occur, as traces of the virus are found in other areas of the body such as the vagina, the rectum, and the mouth.

The disease occurs in three stages: the Acute stage, the Subclinical stage, and the Chronic stage. The first stage, acute, happens immediately after transmission, during which time the cat experiences fever and depression. Once the cat has survived the first stage, it goes into the second stage, Subclinical, when the cat appears to be completely healthy for an extended period of time. At the third and final stage, Chronic, the cat suffers from the effects of the disease, developing one or several other nonrelated diseases that it would not have contracted were it able to maintain a healthy immune system.

Despite the fact that cats, especially those house kept, can survive for very long periods of time without treatment, many cat owners insist on treating the symptoms of their pet. A new treatment, released in 2006 and sold exclusively through, IMULAN Bio Therapeutics, LLC, has been developed to counter some of the internal symptoms of the disease, like anemia and thrombocytopenia, a small amount of blood platelets.

FIV affects the entire cat family and is found in numerous big cat species found all over Africa. It seems though that these cats have developed a certain evolutionary resistance to the disease over time. If you think your cat might have FIV, be sure to contact a veterinarian in your area. For more information, consult us at http://houstonveterinarianclinics.com/

Joseph Devine

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

Pivot point trading can greatly simplify Forex day trading. Pivot points provide good reference points at which to enter or exit trades as well as give an indication of the market bias.

You can either go online and download a pivot point calculator or use the free one referenced in the resource box below.

Simply get the High, Low, Close, Open figures from the daily chart by checking the previous day’s candle values and enter them into the calculator.

You can then draw horizontal lines on your chart marking the Central Pivot Point and then the other reference levels such as S1, S2, R1, R2 (S for support, R for resistance).

When pivot point trading it is also a good idea to put the mid reference points in also, M1, M2, M3, and M4 as price often will respect these levels.

The Indicators You Need For The Setup

It is good to have the 15 minute, 60 minute, and 4 hour charts displayed.

After marking the pivot point levels on your 15 minute chart, also show the following on the three time frames:

• The 200 EMA (Exponential Moving Average)
• Do Fibonacci calculations on the most significant highs and lows on the three time frames
• Mark significant previous support and resistance on the 60 minute and 4 hour charts with a horizontal line

Time Of Day

Look for this setup around two time periods:

• London Open (700 GMT)
• London Close (1500 GMT)

The Asian session does not generally cause price to make new highs or lows. Trading orders and flows build up after the open of the European session in Frankfurt and take on new momentum once London opens an hour later.

Similarly, price action often slows considerably around the time of London closing.

Look For This Setup At London Open

Check to see if price is anywhere near M4 or M3 on the upside or M1 or M2 on the downside on your 15 minute chart.

Next consult your higher time frames, the 60 minute and 4 hour to see if any of those M levels coincide with a Fibonacci retracement or extension level, or the 200 EMA, or a previous support resistance line.

If you get a combination of those factors, there is a high probability price will test the M levels and then reverse and go in the opposite direction for the day.

Of course, nothing is guaranteed but the more factors you have coinciding at a specific level around a pivot point, the more likely price will react at that point.

Check to see where a 20-30 stop will put you and whether there are other levels of support and resistance nearby to offer protection and start taking profit as price approaches the other pivot levels either on the way up or on the way down.

Remember, pivot point trading suggests that when price is around M4 or M3 you are in a sell area and when price is around M1 or M2 you are in a buy area.

Look For This Setup At London Close

Now we come to the other end of the trading day which also lends itself to pivot point trading.

Often price will have done its run for the day by the time of London close and a retracement can be expected. However, you need to consider other factors.

Again check to see if price has reached a key level by the end of London close. This level could be around a pivot point which also coincides with your other indicators:

• 200 EMA
• Fibonacci retracement extension levels
• Previous strong support or resistance

Next check your Average True Range indicator for the last 5 or 10 days and see what kind of range price has been moving in. This will vary according to the currency pair. The EUR/USD cross for example often puts in between 76 and 100 pips per day.

Now check the range of the current day’s trading. Has it equaled or exceeded the average range for the last few days?

If so, and if price is at a strategic pivot point which also matches with other indicators, you can enter a high probability trade and catch between 20 and 30 pips on the retracement.

These two pivot point trading strategies occur with surprising frequency a number of times a month.

Practice these methods, get your eyes used to looking for the combination factors surrounding pivot points, and trade with confidence.

Most definitely add pivot point trading to your list of trading strategies!

For a free pivot point calculator, Fibonacci calculator and the best free economic calendars click here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/tools.html

The powerful 200 EMA strategy – easy for newer traders:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Advisor/200EMA-forex-strategy.htm

Do you know the important lesson Mohammed Ali teaches us about Forex trading? Read it here:

http://www.vitalstop.com/Forex/Advisor/forex-online-trading-mohammed-ali.htm

Merchant cash advances help business owner’s open doors for better types of funding opportunities. The business cash advance industry is climbing at a continuous rate. This ever increasing growth is because traditional bank loans are not meeting the demands of small business owners.

Business cash advances are a unique funding method. It’s a purchase of future credit card sales, not a loan, so we have to use specific language consistent with purchase of future credit card sales, like payback rate and discount rate instead of commonly used interest rate on bank loans. Merchant cash advances are a lot like factoring but are based on a sale that hasn’t happened just yet.

A business cash advance lender gives business owners a sum of cash advance up front. In exchange, the business owner agrees to pay back the principal amount plus the fee, by giving the lender a daily percentage of their visa and master card sales until the payback is completed.

The daily payback percentage won’t be higher than 10% of daily gross sales, the daily percentage is based on the monthly credit cards sales volume and the amount of cash advance required. The payback time-frame is structured for a 6-9 months term, but it’s not fixed, and there won’t be any penalties if it takes longer.

Business owners usually must switch the credit card processor because the advance is paid back automatically as a percentage of each batch’s proceeds, but the rates will be the same if not better. Just a small number of merchant cash advance lenders don’t require the merchant to change their credit card processors company. Most time this won’t be a problem at all since the rates will be matched.

Business cash advances differ a lot from the traditional bank funding programs. In essence a merchant cash advance lender purchases a small percentage of future Master Card and Visa sales, and the business owner pays back this as a daily percentage of such sales.

Obtaining cash from the bank can be difficult for most business owners, but particularly retail businesses, restaurants, store franchisees or seasonal businesses. These merchants mostly use credit card processing, making a merchant cash advance program a great funding opportunity for them.

What are some of the benefits?

The money is available much faster than it is with a bank loan. Unsecured merchant cash advances are specially a great option for retail and restaurant merchants, not only because these types of businesses can hardly be funded by the traditional bank, but also because of the immediate liquidity and simple process.

Many merchant cash advance lenders advertise that the money will be available in as fast as 10 days, and unlike a bank loan that have a fixed interest rate, as the amount due and due date are fixed each month, no matter if your sales drop. Instead, with a merchant cash advance the payback comes from future credit card receivables, not straining your business cash flow.
Fast merchant cash advance programs are cash flow friendly, during seasonally slow periods specially.

Traditional bank loans require a fixed set of payments every month, whether the business has made a sale or not. But if you choose a merchant cash advance, payments are calculated as a percentage of credit card sales, and if the sales are growing, the re-payment could be quicker, but if the business owner experiences some interruption or sales drop in the business, the payments will drop with it.

Another great advantage of a merchant cash advance, is that the business owner won’t risk he’s personal assets, because there’s no collateral required.

David Castro often writes articles about Merchant Cash Advance and Small Business Loans for Merchant Resources International – To Learn more Visit Us at http://www.cashprior.com

How many times have you come across a new Forex expert advisor that claims to make you overnight riches within the Forex market. These trading systems are being pumped into the industry at excessive levels and unfortunately they have saturated the market and in turn given the automated Forex trading industry an abysmal reputation.

Most of these Forex Expert advisors have computer software they have programmed within their system which they claim will make you money – however the vast majority of them are based on unsound logic which has no chance of working and producing consistent winning trades.

The major issue concerning these phony expert advisors is the fact that most of them will present you with a hypothetical back test as evidence of the systems money making power. These records are basically made up and simulated to fit the creator’s needs and they prove absolutely nothing. The vendor clearly knows all the opening and closing prices, the exact tops and bottoms, and therefore knowing all these facts he is easily able to simulate a dodgy track record to prove his system is making immense profits. Obviously the main problem is that these records are not real and just a tactic to steal your hard earned money.

Most of these systems are released by those extra savvy marketing gurus, who have only one thing on their mind, SELL SELL SELL, and they don’t care if their product works or if it is actually beneficial, they just want to make that sale. Their sites are fairly easy to spot out, as they will have pictures of tons of cash, Ferrari’s, mansions etc. and also don’t forget about that “ever convincing” backtest record. If you come across an expert advisor vendor who has all of the above elements on his site then you should leave the site immediately, it is 99% likely the trading system is a scam.

So forget those get rich quick methods that don’t work and seek out a Forex expert advisor which has a real track record or something worthwhile to teach you so you can devise your own. Legitimate Forex expert advisor will always show you proof of their results, and yes all of them will incur losing trades, there is no trading system out there that doesn’t ever lose, if you have found one then please let me know. However the best expert advisor will consistently produce a lot more winning trades than losing ones and will have a very low drawdown level, in turn assuring you make some decent long term profits off the market.

When searching for a good Forex expert advisor always look for live forward test statements, these tests are conducted in real market conditions with real money, therefore they actually let you know how the EA will perform in real live market conditions. These tests are probably the closest things to letting you know how profitable the expert advisor is and they should be the basis of your selection criteria when looking for a legitimate expert advisor.

If you do manage to find a mechanical Forex trading system with a real track record over a few years, just check the logic, make sure you understand it and can trade it with discipline through losing periods. Make sure it is suited to your risk and money management levels and do your research before making any final decisions. Also ensure that the vendor provides regular ongoing after sales support, so you know you are in good hands and will be looked after shall you encounter any problems.

Just remember most phony vendors will attempt to fraud you out of your money by hoping you fall for their simulated track records, and then one day get wiped out of your trading account. Don’t fall for their trap, shop around and find a real Forex expert advisor vendor, who provides legitimate live forward test statements, and is well recognized in the industry as a legitimate seller.

It is no secret that in order to succeed in the world of Forex Trading You must follow a good trading system and adhere to strict money management techniques. An Expert Advisor can seriously simplify the process and get you well on your way. If you wish to automate your Forex Trading Decisions by using a Forex Expert Advisor then check out this Collection of The Best Expert Advisors available for Forex Trading.

Intuitively, you would think that everyone cares about the price of stocks that they own. After all, no one like to lose money, right? Who likes to see the market go down?

Well, one category of investors cares a lot less when their stocks go down: Dividend investors.

Dividend investors focus on the dividend–and especially its growth–far more than they do on the stock’s price.

Investors in strong dividend-paying stocks are doing just fine in 2008. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been distributed to dividend stockholders this year, and they will continue to be paid every month and every quarter.

But this cash reward from dividend stocks is ignored by most of Wall Street and the financial media. There is no “Dividend Index” reported minute-by-minute the way the Dow, NASDAQ, and S&P 500 are reported.

But those are all price indexes. They reflect price changes only and therefore give an incomplete picture of “how stocks are doing.” After all, total returns (the ultimate goal of every investor) are made up of price returns plus dividends. Price indexes such as the Dow do not reflect dividends.

Dividends are stocks’ secret weapon. They operate in the background. They are not sexy enough to get much attention. They don’t involve IPOs, takeovers, “the next big thing,” or making millions in a couple of weeks.

But dividends are extremely important to total returns. They should not be ignored. According to Morningstar, S&P 500 companies have grown their dividends at a 16% annual clip for the past three years, 12% in the past 12 months. If there were a Dividend Index based on the S&P’s 500 stocks, it would be up 9 to 10% this year.

So dividend investors focus on increasing dividends as much or more than the stock’s price. Two main metrics for dividend investors thus become: (1) initial yield at time of purchase, and (2) dividend growth rate.

As to initial yield, according to Morningstar, the dividend yield on the S&P 500 right now is 2.6%, which is higher than it has been in a few years. (That yield has been inflated by the general drop in stock prices this year.) Many stocks, of course, yield much more than 2.6%. Reasonable minds can differ as to what an acceptable minimum initial yield should be for a dividend stock. I set a floor of 2.5% (or 1.9% for stocks with an uninterrupted 25-year history of dividend growth). Others may set other floors, such as 4%, to stay even with or ahead of inflation right from the moment of purchase. The point is, each investor can set his or her own minimum acceptable dividend yield as part of the stock selection process.

As to dividend growth, the key number is the rate of increase in the annual money-per-share paid to stockholders. The best dividend companies increase their dividends every year like clockwork. Many have done so for decades, without a freeze or a cut. My personal minimum growth requirement is 5% (as demonstrated by the average of the last three years). I’m sure that many dividend investors demand a higher minimum. Again, the important point is that you can set your own standard, and then look for stocks that meet or beat it.

My Easy-Rate™ point system for evaluating dividend stocks awards higher scores for both greater initial yields and faster rates of growth than my minimums. So I would never buy a dividend stock with both an initial yield and historical dividend growth rate right at my two minimums. Either one or the other would have to be higher for me to consider purchasing the stock.

The two measures–initial yield and rate of growth–are essential to a good dividend-stock selection process, along with your normal fundamental checks for company soundness.

There are plenty of solid dividend-paying candidates. Here are just a few examples (all figures from Morningstar as of 9/2/2008):

–Abbott Laboratories (ABT): initial yield 2.4%, 3-year growth rate 7.4%
–Coca-Cola (KO): 2.8% and 10.8%
–GlaxoSmithKline (GSK): 4.7% and 5.4%
–Kinder Morgan Energy Partners (KMP): 6.5% and 6.5%
–Sunoco Logistics (SXL): 7.3% and 12.7%

As stated earlier, the best dividend companies increase their payouts every year or nearly every year. Dividend increases mean that the yield on your original investment goes up over time. (That is, the “current yield” stated in the newspaper or online does not apply to you any more, just to new purchasers.) At an average annual increase of:

–6%, your dividend doubles about every 12 years
–10%, every seven years
–12%, every six years
–15%, every five years

Now it is certainly true that many dividend-paying companies have not escaped the bear market. Indeed, some of them-the financials-have been especially hard-hit. Dividend-paying stocks are not immune from market risk.

But the really committed dividend investor does not care as much about this–which is the exact point of this article. The committed dividend investor becomes accustomed to varying principal, and cares little more about it than a bondholder cares that his or her bond trades on the open market at varying prices. The investor is focused instead on the cash the investment is bringing in. In fact, if the dividend investor is not using that cash as current income, but is instead accumulating assets to fund a future goal such as retirement, he or she sees price drops as an opportunity to purchase more shares at better prices and yields than before.

That does not mean that dividend investors never sell. But they are probably less likely to sell than investors focused on capital appreciation alone, because dividend “disappointments” are pretty rare in well-selected dividend stocks. Dividend investors’ reasons for selling may include a cut in the dividend; a slowing in its growth rate; or a chance to swap for a higher-yielding stock or one with a faster-growing dividend.

Dividends and dividend-paying companies have lots of positive attributes. Here are my top six:

1. Dividends are cash in your pocket. You can re-invest that money in the company, or in another company, or nowhere. You can spend it.

2. You do not have to sell a share of stock to get it. They credit it to you each month or quarter.

3. Most dividend programs are persistent. Companies with well-established programs rarely cut or eliminate their dividends. Many have uninterrupted, decades-long histories of paying and raising dividends. It is their ability to do this that separates them from “fixed income” investments like bank accounts and bonds.

4. Studies show that over long periods, dividend-paying stocks have had the highest total returns of all. According to Ned Davis Research, from 1972 to 2006 (a period that includes the tech bubble, when dividends contributed little), non-dividend-paying stocks gained an annual average return of 4.1%. But dividend-paying stocks returned 10.1%, an enormous 6%-per-year difference. Wharton Professor Dr. Jeremy Siegel’s research showed that 97% of the stock market’s return from 1871 to 2003 can be traced to re-invested dividends.

5. Dividends are closely watched and reported, so information about them is easy to obtain. Over time, companies establish dividend patterns that are consistent. Significant changes in the pattern are reported instantly.

6. If you build a strong portfolio of dividend-paying stocks that regularly increase their dividends, you can arrive at retirement with a significant income stream paying an enormous yield on your original investment. You may be able to make a transition from a salary paycheck to a “dividend paycheck” seamlessly.

Dave Van Knapp is the author of two books on stock investing.

The first is “Sensible Stock Investing: How to Pick, Value, and Manage Stocks.” Click on this link to go directly to the book’s page on Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Sensible-Stock-Investing-Manage-Stocks/dp/1605280100/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1205616037&sr=1-3

The second is “The Top 40 Dividend Stocks for 2008: How (and Why) to Build a Cash Machine of Dividend Stocks.” Over time, studies show that dividend stocks have the best total returns. To see a complete description of this exciting e-book, or to learn more about Dave’s Web site devoted to the success of the individual investor, please visit: http://www.SensibleStocks.com

Thank you, and best of luck in your investing.

This article is all about forex trading for beginners and facts you need to know before you start trading. You can make a lot of money but keep in mind most traders lose but by being aware of these facts and getting the right forex education, you can win…

Let’s look at our list of key facts for forex traders for beginners.

1. Forex Robots are NOT a Route to Success

More novices buy a robot and think it will give them riches with no effort and they end up disappointed – Why? Because most have never even been traded and present worthless paper simulations which mean nothing in the real world. There not real profits so avoid them at all costs.

2. Forex Day Trading Doesn’t Work

It’s obvious that you can’t tell what countless millions of traders, will do in short time spans. It’s a good story and vendors know this but like the robots they only have paper simulations.

3. Anyone Can learn to Succeed

This the good news! Forex trading is a learned skill and if you get the right forex education, you can win.

4. You Need to Have Confidence and Discipline

This means accepting responsibility and learning the right information. Only then will you have the confidence to trade with discipline. So by all means get education from other – but success rests on your shoulders.

5. Big Forex Trends are Always Present

They last for weeks, months or years and if you use a long term forex trend following strategy, you can make huge gains.

6. Leverage is an Advantage and Disadvantage

Forex brokers will give you 200:1 as standard and most traders use it all. This is a mistake, over leverage simply wipes out more traders than any other reason. 10 – 20: 1 is plenty for most traders.

7. Markets Don’t Move to Science

You will read a lot about how they do and how you can follow a system that predicts and win, no you can’t. Markets don’t move to science, they are simply an odds based game and you need to trade the odds to win.

8. You are Going to Face Periods of Losses

All the best traders do and it’s how you handle them that will determine your trading destiny. Make sure you have strict money management and the confidence and discipline, to ride these periods out.

9. You Don’t Need to be Clever or Work Hard

It’s a fact that a simple trading strategy can be developed by anyone and you can make a lot of money with it. A few weeks to learn and about 30 minutes a day is all you need – if you get the right education. No other business, gives you such great rewards for your effort. You get rewarded for being right, not effort in forex trading and that means working smart NOT hard.

10. Ignore the Majority View and You Will be Successful

Forex trading success is all about ploughing your own path and ignoring the frequent myths you see online and also be prepared to not run with the majority – the majority of course lose, go your own path.

You Can Achieve What You Want

Want a good second income or even a life changing one? Well the opportunity is there for you and it’s up to you what you achieve. Forex trading for beginners, sometimes seems daunting – but if you have read the above, you know what to do and can get on the road to financial success.

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Where is it that most of us learn about history? For many it is just a class we have to take in school to graduate. For others it is in their blood and they are history buffs. Many are content to learn from books or History TV. Then there are others who for one reason or another are drawn to a simpler and more exciting way of life. These are the folks who get involved and love reenacting history and discover the rewards and challenges of those who lived in earlier days.

Reenacting is a hobby where the people who participate live out history as they portray the people of the past. It may be as early pioneers, civil war battles, the Medieval period, or even World War I and II periods. You can find re-enactors in all the time periods of history.

Fleshing out history as you reenact it is one of the greatest learning tools you will ever experience. Whether you are actively involved in reenactment attire or just going to be a spectator at a reenactment such as are held in Mackinaw City, MI or Gettysburg, PA you will discover what it was like to live in the past.

Those who take part in living out history dress in authentic reenactment clothing and costumes. They do very accurate research in the time period that they find most interesting for them to pursue. There is no arm chair quarterbacking when it comes to being involved in reenacting history. You will feel what it is like to have lived in the time period you have chosen. A re-enactor will wear the clothing of the times and eat the food of the day. You will cook on open fires (depending on the era) with dated cookware. None of this Teflon coated stuff but real cast iron pots and pans or even your helmet if you are into WWII.

Alistair Hammell, is a free lance writer about reenactment attire and history. You can visit his website at http://reenactmentattire.com

With oil prices seemingly reaching new highs daily, a lot of Forex market participants have been trying to use this fact as a proxy for currency trading. General consensus is that some national currencies are correlated, to some degree, to major commodities and can be taken advantage of. Most experts, however, have never been able to agree on which currency would be the best crude play. Until now.

Number of oil rich countries are small states located around the Persian Gulf. Outside of crude production, their economies are not large, in line with small populations. This countries formed a Gulf Cooperation Council, both economic and, to a lesser degree, military organization. Saudi Arabia is the largest member state, with Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates and Oman making the list. Yemen is a pending member.

Since oil is priced in US dollars, respective currencies of the member states have been pegged to dollar. Over last few years this arrangement created certain problems for the Council states: very high crude prices and weak dollar caused huge inflation pressures. In spite of that, central banks had to lower rates in line with FED, due to dollar pegs, furthering inflationary threats. For example, Qatar’s inflation exceeded 13% in 2007. Not a welcome development.

After years of discussions and planning, central banks of Gulf Cooperation Council,
have approved a draft of a charter for a central monetary authority. This agreement moved the group closer toward a goal of establishing a single currency for the member states. The launch of the new currency is set for 2010, but most experts expect it to be delayed. In project of this complexity and scope working out all the issues almost always takes longer than expected. We all remember Euro.

For example, Kuwait severed its dollar link last year and started tracking its dinar against a basket of currencies to help ease inflation that was driven in part by higher import costs – a decision that could be a major obstacle to reaching the 2010 target date for monetary union. Kuwait has not disclosed composition of the currency basket used for the new peg. Every member would also have to cap inflation within certain range, before the the union can proceed.

Despite set backs like this, at a recent meeting in Qatar, central bank governors reaffirmed the aim of monetary union in 2010 as Gulf states sought to avert additional unilateral decisions on currency policy that could jeopardize the project. Gulf Cooperation Council countries would “push ahead with the implementation of single currency on time”, stated one official.

Once the new currency is introduced, it would likely become available for trading very quickly. Most brokers would like to capitalize on the initial interest as soon as possible. Cost of trading would be another story, however, with rich spread and some illiquid time periods throughout the trading day. Nonetheless, it is certain there are scores of traders eagerly awaiting this yet unnamed currency.

Gulf Cooperation Council members believe that new monetary union will help curb inflation. Among many other stated benefits are increased economic cooperation in the region, easy in money and goods flow. Single currency should also place Persian Gulf States in better position in increasingly border less world economy. And perhaps help them to prepare them for the next big step – life after oil.

Mike P. Kulej is a Chief Forex Strategist for Spectrum Forex LLC. He specializes in mechanical trading systems as explained on http://www.spectrumforex.com Spectrum Forex LLC offers numerous services to individual traders. With questions and comments e-mail him at kulej@spectrumforex.com

Are you looking for ways to increase your wealth? If you are you will have already heard a lot about Online Forex Trading. Today I delve a bit deeper into what it is and whether automated trading might be for you.

Forex Trading – What Is It?

Forex Trading is the trade in foreign currencies in such a way as to make a profit whether the exchange rate is moving up or down. This is done by basically predicting what the exchange rate will do and then placing sell/buy orders for when the currency reaches a certain point. When the currency reaches that point the trade is made and the profit is received.

Automated Trading – What Is It?

Traditional foreign currency trading involved well educated and mathematically talented people predicting what movements they thought the markets would make.This all changed when computers became common place. Very quickly large corporates such as banks and currency traders began to take advantage of the power of computers. Computers were able to spot trends and do thousands of calculations in an instant – simply put, they made it easier to make money out of foreign currency trading.

Online Forex Trading – What Is It?

The increasing power of home computers has allowed software to be developed that allows everyday people to take part in the massive foreign currency trading market from the comfort of their own homes. This software is a lot more automated than the software that the big corporates use. It is designed to sit there and analyse the markets thoroughly, and then only place a trade order when it believes a profit is possible. It bases its decisions on trends and cycles – exchange rates go up and down every second of the day, so there is always a chance to make money. The software is designed to be “set and forget”, however any smart trader should always keep an eye on how the software is performing.

Is Automated Online Forex Trading For You?

If you have been seeking ways to make money at home then Online Forex Trading is a real possibility. The software is designed so that even those who struggle with computers are able to use it. One of the most important things to look for in such software is that the software allows you to use it in demo mode so you can properly test the system before using it. It’s also a good idea to purchase software that has a good refund period so that you have peace of mind.

If you want to make it rich (who doesn’t!) then Forex Trading might be for you. I strongly recommend only using products with demo modes and refund periods. Forex Funnel is one such piece of software that is totally automated and has a proven history. Find out more at Forex Reviews.