http://hypoventure-capital.com/?p=32Manny Pacquiao lived on the streets as a child in Manila, fights for a living today, visited President Obama recently and will inevitably upgrade from congressman to presidential candidate in the Philippines in the next 10 years.
His days under cardboard on the streets of the sprawling city, after leaving home when his father allegedly slaughtered and cooked his pet dog, and his improbable rise to the Philippine congress, where he is the architect of new anti-sex slave legislation, make his story one of boxing’s most amazing.
Pacquiao will defend his World Boxing Organisation welterweight title tonight at the MGM in Las Vegas against the once brilliant but now slightly jaded Shane Mosley. He is unbeaten since 1995 and has added world titles at five weights since his last loss. As a fighter Pacquiao has won world titles at seven different weights and has a truly remarkable back catalogue of startling finishes in brutal fights. His savage series of meetings with Marco Antonio Barrera, Erik Morales and Juan Manuel Marquez, the finest Mexicans of this and arguably any generation, and his cold-eyed destructions of Ricky Hatton and Oscar de la Hoya guarantee Pacquiao a special place in boxing’s history books.
Last May he won a seat in the Philippine congress for the province of Sarangani and he has taken his congressional duties so seriously that his trainer, Freddie Roach, was convinced that he would walk away from the sport. “I think we will lose him to politics,” Roach told me last summer. However, Pacquiao is skilled at manipulating time and his entourage, which is a staggering moving, cooking, laughing and singing gang, and now includes his political chief of staff.
At his last fight in November against Antonio Margarito, he hired a 747 and flew in more than 200 people from Manila to Dallas. They disembarked to join his retinue in several plush suites, where Pacquiao always sleeps with a dozen or so close friends. The fighter and his people cook their own food, watch kung fu films and perform endless hours of karaoke in the days and hours before fights. His wife and any other women have their own rooms.
As a child in the Manila slums Pacquiao slept on the floors in gyms with dozens of other homeless and desperate little fighters. His passage from six-stone anonymity, fighting for peanuts in long forgotten Filipino outposts, to the smiling, bilingual boxer with a fortune estimated by Forbes magazine at $70m (£43m) is one of the legends of the boxing business. He had over 30 fights before turning professional, weighed less than 90 pounds and was unbeaten, always winning about $3 and enough rice to feed the other dwellers in the gym’s filthy bunk beds. He was just 16 when he turned professional, having lied about being 18 and he was still undoubtedly malnourished, often having to weigh in with lumps of metal in his socks. The $40 purses he received for his early fights meant he could eat and send money to his mother.
After 24 fights, and still when he was only 19, Pacquiao won and then lost the flyweight world title in bouts against the odds and against hometown favourites in Thailand. He was still well under boxing’s radar even when he won titles at super-bantamweight and reigned without equal for three years. In 2003 he arrived on the true international stage when he ruined Barrera in a non-title fight at featherweight, sending the exceptional Mexican staggering from corner to corner before the brutality ended in round 11.
Mosley will be Pacquiao’s 18th opponent since the night he dismantled Barrera; the list includes De la Hoya, left stunned on his stool at the end of seven rounds and looking like a man who had just glimpsed hell and not really fancied the journey very much. Hatton went down and out in two rounds and the Mexicans succumbed in slugfests that continually wrote and rewrote their way into the pantheon of great fights involving great fighters.
It is the quality of Pacquiao’s opponents over such a long period of time that places him with the modern giants; it is hard to mix talk about present-day and ancient fighters because of the way the sport operated before the 1960s. Pacquiao is one of the best boxers of the last 50 years.
Bob Arum, the promoter who travelled with Muhammad Ali and promotes Pacquiao, is convinced that he is a bigger star. “Ali never had this level of devotion,” Arum said. “In the Philippines he [Pacquiao] is the social welfare system – the best one. He helps everybody”.
The sharing of wealth is called balato and since his congressional victory it has become a lot more serious. The people of Sarangani do not have a hospital so Pacquiao went to see President Benigno Aquino III. “The sick had to travel for hospital care,” said Pacquiao. “I promised a hospital and they will get a hospital.” Pacquiao sat with Aquino and was given $5m to start the build. The ground will be broken in a ceremony when he returns after the Mosley fight. Aquino had pushed through legislation that guaranteed Pacquiao and his family military protection long before the new congressman sat with him and asked for a favour that he simply could not refuse.
“I want to achieve the same in politics that I have in boxing,” said Pacquiao. “I will start with what I know best and what I know needs to change.” He has personally written parts of the anti-human trafficking legislation that he is pushing through the Filipino congress.
At the same time, the 32-year-old has unfinished business inside the ring and is still hoping for a showdown with the evasive American Floyd Mayweather in a fight that would guarantee the pair $50m if it can possibly be made. The partial motivation for fighting Mosley is to try to beat him inside the distance and improve on the points win by Mayweather against Mosley last year. Meanwhile, Mayweather has to answer serious criminal charges in Las Vegas in July. All planned attempts to get them together have sadly faltered, the main stumbling block being the American’s insistence on Olympic-style drug tests before and after the fight. Pacquiao has passed every drug test he has ever taken.
Pacquiao’s road show shifted from Roach’s shabby Los Angeles gym to the opulent plastic-plant wonder of the MGM this week. The entourage was in tow, swiftly setting up music and food areas in his suites. Pacquiao’s latest CD was released last month and reputedly sold out immediately. It is called Sometimes When We Touch and is a compilation of power ballads from the Seventies and includes no fewer than seven versions of the title song. His love of music does not end there – Roach has continually to monitor the time spent by his fighter in the ring and at the microphone belting out Tony Christie numbers – and tonight Survivor’s Jimi Jamison will perform “Eye of the Tiger” live for Pacquiao’s ring walk.
“My heart is in focus,” insists Pacquiao. “I ignore distractions and do what I have to do in boxing and in life.” One thing is certain: the tiny genius with the gloves and the mission will be missed when he quits.
Saturday 28 May 2011
Hypo Venture Capital Headlines: Forget in-depth financial analysis- Now even Wall Street is turning to Twitter for clues on the stock market
http://hypoventurecapital-financialideas.com/?p=34Twitter may have finally found a real way to make money.
For years, analysts have predicted that the real value of the social networking service doesn’t lie in serving advertising to users, but rather in serving up millions of points of real-time data to anyone who can wring useful intelligence out of it.
A new paper published by an Indiana University professor, combined with recent practices on Wall Street, suggest that Twitter may be a goldmine of valuable financial information.
Power to the people: A professor’s analysis of Tweets proved 87 per cent accurate in predicting stock prices
Data: Social services like Twitter may prove invaluable when it comes to real-time financial information
Johan Bollen, a professor of informatics at Indiana, co-authored a study that linked a computerized assessment of the ‘mood’ of millions of Twitter posts with stock market performance.
Mr Bollen’s analysis of Tweets was said to have an 87 per cent chance of successfully predicting stock prices within three or four days of online discussion of the company in question.
To reach his conclusion, Mr Bollen analyzed a total of 9.6 million tweets over nine months in 2008, using two mood-tracking tools.
One program assessed whether a tweet about a particular company was positive or negative, while the other tried to drill down further and categorize tweets through six modifiers: calm, alert, sure, vital, kind and happy.
Mood tracker: By analyzing what people post to Twitter, scientists hope to gauge the mood of masses
Mr Bollen told USA Today: ‘If you would have told anyone 10 years ago that this data would be available, they would have called it science-fiction.
‘We know that emotions play a significant role in markets’.
Mr Bollen added that the process of analyzing millions of tweets is akin to a ‘large-scale emotional thermometer for society as a whole’.
USA Today wrote: ‘This incoming psychological snapshot of the Twitterati, digerati and average Joe could prompt a computer program interpreting the data at a hedge fund to place a trade without human intervention in an attempt to profit from the information’.
In fact, some financial companies are already incorporating analysis of Twitter and other social media into their decision-making strategies.
Data wizard: Twitter CEO Evan Williams demonstrates his site in this file photo
One such company, London-based hedge fund Derwent Capital Markets, has announced plans to step up the process.
In March, a study by a Ph.D. student at Pace University showed a positive correlation between social-media ‘popularity’ of Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Nike and their stock prices.
On several levels, the news that stocks can be affected by Twitter shouldn’t be surprising to anyone.
If the ‘micro-blogging’ service could play a role in the toppling of regimes in the Middle East, it stands to reason that it could affect the trading price of IBM or Bank of America.
The news may help further democratize information, and thereby the economy, and it is probably only a hint of the vast amounts of valuable info that are likely to be harvested from social networks.
Price signals: A study at Pace University showed a positive correlation between social-media ‘popularity’ of Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Nike and their stock prices
For years, analysts have predicted that the real value of the social networking service doesn’t lie in serving advertising to users, but rather in serving up millions of points of real-time data to anyone who can wring useful intelligence out of it.
A new paper published by an Indiana University professor, combined with recent practices on Wall Street, suggest that Twitter may be a goldmine of valuable financial information.
Power to the people: A professor’s analysis of Tweets proved 87 per cent accurate in predicting stock prices
Data: Social services like Twitter may prove invaluable when it comes to real-time financial information
Johan Bollen, a professor of informatics at Indiana, co-authored a study that linked a computerized assessment of the ‘mood’ of millions of Twitter posts with stock market performance.
Mr Bollen’s analysis of Tweets was said to have an 87 per cent chance of successfully predicting stock prices within three or four days of online discussion of the company in question.
More…
One program assessed whether a tweet about a particular company was positive or negative, while the other tried to drill down further and categorize tweets through six modifiers: calm, alert, sure, vital, kind and happy.
Mood tracker: By analyzing what people post to Twitter, scientists hope to gauge the mood of masses
Mr Bollen told USA Today: ‘If you would have told anyone 10 years ago that this data would be available, they would have called it science-fiction.
‘We know that emotions play a significant role in markets’.
Mr Bollen added that the process of analyzing millions of tweets is akin to a ‘large-scale emotional thermometer for society as a whole’.
USA Today wrote: ‘This incoming psychological snapshot of the Twitterati, digerati and average Joe could prompt a computer program interpreting the data at a hedge fund to place a trade without human intervention in an attempt to profit from the information’.
In fact, some financial companies are already incorporating analysis of Twitter and other social media into their decision-making strategies.
Data wizard: Twitter CEO Evan Williams demonstrates his site in this file photo
One such company, London-based hedge fund Derwent Capital Markets, has announced plans to step up the process.
In March, a study by a Ph.D. student at Pace University showed a positive correlation between social-media ‘popularity’ of Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Nike and their stock prices.
On several levels, the news that stocks can be affected by Twitter shouldn’t be surprising to anyone.
If the ‘micro-blogging’ service could play a role in the toppling of regimes in the Middle East, it stands to reason that it could affect the trading price of IBM or Bank of America.
The news may help further democratize information, and thereby the economy, and it is probably only a hint of the vast amounts of valuable info that are likely to be harvested from social networks.
Price signals: A study at Pace University showed a positive correlation between social-media ‘popularity’ of Starbucks, Coca-Cola and Nike and their stock prices
Hypo Venture Capital Zurich Headlines:Republicans Make Power Play To Gut Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
http://hypoventurecapital-news.com/2011/05/hypo-venture-capital-zurich-headlinesrepublicans-make-power-play-to-gut-consumer-financial-protection-bureau/On Thursday, while House Republicans were dealing with a small Medicare privatization snafu, their Senate counterparts laid down an impossible marker. Forty four of their 47 members have signed on to a letter threatening to filibuster any nominee to head the new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau unless it is dramatically weakened.
“We will not support the consideration of any nominee, regardless of party affiliation, to be the CFPB director until the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is reformed,” reads a letter, co-authored by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), ranking member of the Banking Committee.
Congress created the CFPB, despite GOP opposition, as part of the Wall Street reform law, to protect consumers from predatory actors in the financial industry. Its intellectual godmother is Elizabeth Warren, whom President Obama has tasked with standing up the agency. Despite her popularity, she’s been a long-shot to run the Bureau when it officially launches — largely because of financial industry and Republican (and even some Democratic) opposition. Indeed, former Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) — who poured cold water on the idea of nominating Warren — warned that if Democrats tried to jam a director through the Senate without bipartisan support, Republicans would go to war against the Bureau and try to gut it.
Turns out that’s what’s happening anyhow. Who could’ve predicted?
Specifically, Republicans want the CFPB subject to the appropriations process — something it avoids as an entity housed in the Federal Reserve. They also want to delegate more decision making authority away from the Bureau’s director, and give other regulators — many of which are captured by the financial industry — opportunities to block CFPB rules.
This shouldn’t be a winning fight, if Democrats don’t want it to be. The financial reform law is still fairly popular, and the CFPB is the most popular part of it. President Obama could use recess appointment to fill the vacancy, and take the fight public. At this point it’s a question of how he and Senate Democrats decide to handle it.
Note, not signing the letter were Sens. Scott Brown (R-MA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and John Ensign (R-NV), who stepped down before it was released. Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME), who along with Brown voted for the financial reform law, added their names to the roster.
“We will not support the consideration of any nominee, regardless of party affiliation, to be the CFPB director until the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau is reformed,” reads a letter, co-authored by Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL), ranking member of the Banking Committee.
Congress created the CFPB, despite GOP opposition, as part of the Wall Street reform law, to protect consumers from predatory actors in the financial industry. Its intellectual godmother is Elizabeth Warren, whom President Obama has tasked with standing up the agency. Despite her popularity, she’s been a long-shot to run the Bureau when it officially launches — largely because of financial industry and Republican (and even some Democratic) opposition. Indeed, former Banking Committee Chairman Chris Dodd (D-CT) — who poured cold water on the idea of nominating Warren — warned that if Democrats tried to jam a director through the Senate without bipartisan support, Republicans would go to war against the Bureau and try to gut it.
Turns out that’s what’s happening anyhow. Who could’ve predicted?
Specifically, Republicans want the CFPB subject to the appropriations process — something it avoids as an entity housed in the Federal Reserve. They also want to delegate more decision making authority away from the Bureau’s director, and give other regulators — many of which are captured by the financial industry — opportunities to block CFPB rules.
This shouldn’t be a winning fight, if Democrats don’t want it to be. The financial reform law is still fairly popular, and the CFPB is the most popular part of it. President Obama could use recess appointment to fill the vacancy, and take the fight public. At this point it’s a question of how he and Senate Democrats decide to handle it.
Note, not signing the letter were Sens. Scott Brown (R-MA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), and John Ensign (R-NV), who stepped down before it was released. Sens. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) and Susan Collins (R-ME), who along with Brown voted for the financial reform law, added their names to the roster.
Hypo Venture Capital Zurich: Try Investing In Foreign Markets For Exceptional Profits – HypoVen
http://www.investmentobjectives.info/hypo-venture-capital-zurich-try-investing-in-foreign-markets-for-exceptional-profits-hypoven.html
Foreign markets have been mostly referred to as rising markets if anything, though a European marketplace is included. Foreign batch markets have been charity incomparable earnings than a U.S. batch marketplace for many of this decade, partly given they begin out during a reduce base. Investors unprotected to unfamiliar marketplace expansion intensity of a rising countries, can bound upon a high-return gravy train, so prolonged as they equivocate a float off a precipice that has happened mostly with rising marketplace stocks.
Here during Hypo Venture Capital Zurich, Switzerland we have been committed to charity a clients entrance to a ultimate as good as broadest operation of monetary services as good as products upon a market. We know that selecting a right strategy, a right investment as good as a right product is no easy charge in this day as good as age! Whether a advice, investments or monetary formulation we have been here to answer all your questions as good as promote all your monetary needs.
Foreign Markets Include BRIC as good as Feeder Countries
Some of a unfamiliar rising marketplace countries embody Brazil Russia, India, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Israel, as good as even New Zealand as good as Australia can be included. Part of a captivate of multiform of these countries is that their altogether marketplace worth is significantly reduce than a US marketplace value. For example: trade a 5 dollar batch can suggest incomparable commission earnings formed upon a given collateral investment than a $50 batch given of a inlet of incomparable numbers contra not as big numbers.
Smaller numbers can enlarge some-more fast upon a commission basement than incomparable numbers with a given turn of investment. This actuality alone allows rising markets to suggest incomparable commission returns. For example, a complete US batch marketplace is valued over $21 trillion, where China’s complete batch marketplace is valued during we estimate $1.6 trillion. For a $21 trillion marketplace to stand in in worth to $42 trillion is a significantly some-more formidable attainment than a $1.6 trillion marketplace doubling to $3.2 trillion.
Foreign Emerging Markets with Manufacturing as good as Agricultural Power
Meanwhile a rising countries all have poignant rural prolongation as good as flourishing prolongation production. The turn of comprehensive prolongation is not as vicious as a expansion rate of a prolongation of assorted industries, both rural as good as manufacturing; given batch markets in a unfamiliar marketplace or an rising marketplace have been a destiny presaging device.
Foreign rising markets suggest poignant distinction intensity in a batch locus given their populations have been growing, mostly during a rate stand in or three times of a grown Western world, with a difference of Russia, additionally given they have been prolongation as good as flourishing agriculturally. Brazil, for example, has turn a single of a heading producers of cotton, corn, as good as soy even displacing a U.S. in a little markets.
One of a hurdles of investing in rising markets or unfamiliar markets is that these markets have significantly aloft marketplace sensitivity or risk. One process mitigating this risk is to occupy 15% stop loss, in all marketplace investments. With this stop detriment used for unfamiliar marketplace investing a extensive distinction intensity can be enjoyed whilst tying a contingent crashes that trouble unfamiliar rising markets frequently. Additionally, banking waste used to be a usual complaint with unfamiliar marketplace investing. The dollar for example has been shifting opposite many currencies, a worth of a unfamiliar banking has combined to a earnings upon unfamiliar marketplace investing. Ultimately, depending upon that markets we have been investing, with banking fluctuations it is probable to have income both upon a investment as good as upon a acclimatisation behind to your own currency.
About a Author: Stephen Holmes is a Senior Vice President during Hypo Venture Capital, with knowledge in a Financial Services attention travelling over 25ys as good as 3 Continents. Stephen now directs a Portfolio Risk Management Group after relocating from a Equity Derivatives Research Group 3yrs ago. He has a PhD in Experimental Particle Physics as good as has been operative in a pick investment attention given 1992. His interests embody exemplary music, celebration of a mass as good as he mostly is a guest orator during corporate functions with a concentration upon Technology in Society.
Want to know more?
Hypo Venture Capital Zurich, Switzerland is an eccentric investment advisory organisation that focuses upon tellurian equities as good as options markets. Our methodical tools, screening techniques, severe investigate methods as good as committed staff yield plain report to assistance a clients have a most appropriate probable investment decisions. All views, comments, statements as good as opinions have been of a authors. For some-more report go to www.hypovc.com.
Foreign markets have been mostly referred to as rising markets if anything, though a European marketplace is included. Foreign batch markets have been charity incomparable earnings than a U.S. batch marketplace for many of this decade, partly given they begin out during a reduce base. Investors unprotected to unfamiliar marketplace expansion intensity of a rising countries, can bound upon a high-return gravy train, so prolonged as they equivocate a float off a precipice that has happened mostly with rising marketplace stocks.
Here during Hypo Venture Capital Zurich, Switzerland we have been committed to charity a clients entrance to a ultimate as good as broadest operation of monetary services as good as products upon a market. We know that selecting a right strategy, a right investment as good as a right product is no easy charge in this day as good as age! Whether a advice, investments or monetary formulation we have been here to answer all your questions as good as promote all your monetary needs.
Foreign Markets Include BRIC as good as Feeder Countries
Some of a unfamiliar rising marketplace countries embody Brazil Russia, India, China, Vietnam, Taiwan, Israel, as good as even New Zealand as good as Australia can be included. Part of a captivate of multiform of these countries is that their altogether marketplace worth is significantly reduce than a US marketplace value. For example: trade a 5 dollar batch can suggest incomparable commission earnings formed upon a given collateral investment than a $50 batch given of a inlet of incomparable numbers contra not as big numbers.
Smaller numbers can enlarge some-more fast upon a commission basement than incomparable numbers with a given turn of investment. This actuality alone allows rising markets to suggest incomparable commission returns. For example, a complete US batch marketplace is valued over $21 trillion, where China’s complete batch marketplace is valued during we estimate $1.6 trillion. For a $21 trillion marketplace to stand in in worth to $42 trillion is a significantly some-more formidable attainment than a $1.6 trillion marketplace doubling to $3.2 trillion.
Foreign Emerging Markets with Manufacturing as good as Agricultural Power
Meanwhile a rising countries all have poignant rural prolongation as good as flourishing prolongation production. The turn of comprehensive prolongation is not as vicious as a expansion rate of a prolongation of assorted industries, both rural as good as manufacturing; given batch markets in a unfamiliar marketplace or an rising marketplace have been a destiny presaging device.
Foreign rising markets suggest poignant distinction intensity in a batch locus given their populations have been growing, mostly during a rate stand in or three times of a grown Western world, with a difference of Russia, additionally given they have been prolongation as good as flourishing agriculturally. Brazil, for example, has turn a single of a heading producers of cotton, corn, as good as soy even displacing a U.S. in a little markets.
One of a hurdles of investing in rising markets or unfamiliar markets is that these markets have significantly aloft marketplace sensitivity or risk. One process mitigating this risk is to occupy 15% stop loss, in all marketplace investments. With this stop detriment used for unfamiliar marketplace investing a extensive distinction intensity can be enjoyed whilst tying a contingent crashes that trouble unfamiliar rising markets frequently. Additionally, banking waste used to be a usual complaint with unfamiliar marketplace investing. The dollar for example has been shifting opposite many currencies, a worth of a unfamiliar banking has combined to a earnings upon unfamiliar marketplace investing. Ultimately, depending upon that markets we have been investing, with banking fluctuations it is probable to have income both upon a investment as good as upon a acclimatisation behind to your own currency.
About a Author: Stephen Holmes is a Senior Vice President during Hypo Venture Capital, with knowledge in a Financial Services attention travelling over 25ys as good as 3 Continents. Stephen now directs a Portfolio Risk Management Group after relocating from a Equity Derivatives Research Group 3yrs ago. He has a PhD in Experimental Particle Physics as good as has been operative in a pick investment attention given 1992. His interests embody exemplary music, celebration of a mass as good as he mostly is a guest orator during corporate functions with a concentration upon Technology in Society.
Want to know more?
Hypo Venture Capital Zurich, Switzerland is an eccentric investment advisory organisation that focuses upon tellurian equities as good as options markets. Our methodical tools, screening techniques, severe investigate methods as good as committed staff yield plain report to assistance a clients have a most appropriate probable investment decisions. All views, comments, statements as good as opinions have been of a authors. For some-more report go to www.hypovc.com.
Hypo Venture Capital Why Invest Offshore
http://www.sooperarticles.com/finance-articles/hypo-venture-capital-why-invest-offshore-201492.htmlHere at Hypo Venture Capital we are committed to offering our clients access to the latest and broadest range of financial services and products on the market. We know that choosing the right strategy, the right investment and the right product is no easy task in this day and age! Whether its advice, investments or financial planning we are here to answer all your questions and facilitate all your financial needs
What are the benefits available to you from the world of offshore savings, investment, finance and banking?
Even in this day and age of enlightenment thanks to the pervasive nature of information dissemination via the internet, some people are still concerned about the legalities and legitimacy of the offshore world of finance and banking. For some reason others simply assume that onshore equates to a 'safe haven' for money and offshore equates to a 'risky tax haven.'
Well, you and I know that that is simply not the case! However, even though it is now clearer to more people that the offshore world holds many potential taxation benefits, there are still questions to be answered about why one should invest offshore and in this article we explore the benefits.
First things first...here's another myth I wish to dispel – some people say that offshore investments and bank accounts are more lightly regulated than their entity-type-counterparts onshore...now, that's not necessarily true!
Yes, certain jurisdictions give fund managers, bankers and investors pretty much free rein so that the rewards and risks are potentially far greater – but some jurisdictions are very highly regarded among financial professionals simply because of the incredibly high standards of protection they afford investors and account holders through insurance schemes and government regulation requirements for example:
The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are examples of offshore jurisdictions where offshore investment and saving policy or bank account holders are afforded high levels of protection. Just taking the Isle of Man – it offers policyholder protection schemes, it also has the highest financial services rating issued by the OECD, FATF and FSF and it has an independent Financial Services Ombudsman scheme not to mention the fact that both Standard and Poor's and Moody's have given the Isle of Man AAA ratings.
So – myth dispelled, let's move on.
In terms of the benefits available when investing offshore they will always, always depend on the particular circumstances of the individual investor - but offshore financial services and structures can be used as part of an overall asset protection strategy for example, investing offshore can afford an investor greater flexibility in terms of international accessibility and the commodities, equities, derivatives, stocks, shares or companies they can invest in, plus there are of course sometimes significant taxation benefits available to an account holder depending on their countries of tax residence and domicile.
Other answers to the question posed by this article – namely 'why invest offshore?' – are because there are general benefits available including more efficient estate planning potential, privacy and confidentiality, better interest returns, the chance to exploit active business interests overseas in low or no tax locations and global access to assets and income.
So, while the internet has been fantastic in terms of allowing more people to become far more broadly informed - especially about subjects as seemingly taboo as all things offshore - it is still absolutely in a government's interests to avoid advising people that the offshore world is open and available to them because they may well lose out on taxation revenue as a result! This means it is up to independent websites such as World Financial Asset Advisory to give you free access to facts and general information and for you to then see how and why such information is or is not applicable to your own personal circumstances. At which stage you can then take specific and expert advice from a qualified individual as to how you can best utilize the offshore world.
And on that final note there is just one more thing to say! A potential investor (you) has to be absolutely sure that the actions they are about to take in terms of placing assets offshore will be of benefit to them. Additionally they need to make sure that they are acting legally, that a company they are entrusting with their money is legitimate and that they understand the risks associated with their decisions.
To that end we at Hypo Venture Capital will always advise that you should to do your own due diligence on the jurisdiction recommended to you or chosen by you, the company you are considering investing or banking with and the policy or account you are taking out. Common sense is the main key to ensuring you do not make a mistake when entering the world of offshore finance and common sense is something we here at Hypo Venture Capital pride ourselves on!
About the Author:
Stephen Holmes is a Senior Vice President at Hypo Venture Capital, with experience in the Financial Services industry spanning over 25ys and 3 Continents. Stephen currently directs the Portfolio Risk Management Group after moving from the Equity Derivatives Research Group 3yrs ago. He has a PhD in Experimental Particle Physics and has been working in the alternative investment industry since 1992. His interests include classical music, reading and he often is a guest speaker at corporate functions with a focus on 'Technology in Society'.
What are the benefits available to you from the world of offshore savings, investment, finance and banking?
Even in this day and age of enlightenment thanks to the pervasive nature of information dissemination via the internet, some people are still concerned about the legalities and legitimacy of the offshore world of finance and banking. For some reason others simply assume that onshore equates to a 'safe haven' for money and offshore equates to a 'risky tax haven.'
Well, you and I know that that is simply not the case! However, even though it is now clearer to more people that the offshore world holds many potential taxation benefits, there are still questions to be answered about why one should invest offshore and in this article we explore the benefits.
First things first...here's another myth I wish to dispel – some people say that offshore investments and bank accounts are more lightly regulated than their entity-type-counterparts onshore...now, that's not necessarily true!
Yes, certain jurisdictions give fund managers, bankers and investors pretty much free rein so that the rewards and risks are potentially far greater – but some jurisdictions are very highly regarded among financial professionals simply because of the incredibly high standards of protection they afford investors and account holders through insurance schemes and government regulation requirements for example:
The Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are examples of offshore jurisdictions where offshore investment and saving policy or bank account holders are afforded high levels of protection. Just taking the Isle of Man – it offers policyholder protection schemes, it also has the highest financial services rating issued by the OECD, FATF and FSF and it has an independent Financial Services Ombudsman scheme not to mention the fact that both Standard and Poor's and Moody's have given the Isle of Man AAA ratings.
So – myth dispelled, let's move on.
In terms of the benefits available when investing offshore they will always, always depend on the particular circumstances of the individual investor - but offshore financial services and structures can be used as part of an overall asset protection strategy for example, investing offshore can afford an investor greater flexibility in terms of international accessibility and the commodities, equities, derivatives, stocks, shares or companies they can invest in, plus there are of course sometimes significant taxation benefits available to an account holder depending on their countries of tax residence and domicile.
Other answers to the question posed by this article – namely 'why invest offshore?' – are because there are general benefits available including more efficient estate planning potential, privacy and confidentiality, better interest returns, the chance to exploit active business interests overseas in low or no tax locations and global access to assets and income.
So, while the internet has been fantastic in terms of allowing more people to become far more broadly informed - especially about subjects as seemingly taboo as all things offshore - it is still absolutely in a government's interests to avoid advising people that the offshore world is open and available to them because they may well lose out on taxation revenue as a result! This means it is up to independent websites such as World Financial Asset Advisory to give you free access to facts and general information and for you to then see how and why such information is or is not applicable to your own personal circumstances. At which stage you can then take specific and expert advice from a qualified individual as to how you can best utilize the offshore world.
And on that final note there is just one more thing to say! A potential investor (you) has to be absolutely sure that the actions they are about to take in terms of placing assets offshore will be of benefit to them. Additionally they need to make sure that they are acting legally, that a company they are entrusting with their money is legitimate and that they understand the risks associated with their decisions.
To that end we at Hypo Venture Capital will always advise that you should to do your own due diligence on the jurisdiction recommended to you or chosen by you, the company you are considering investing or banking with and the policy or account you are taking out. Common sense is the main key to ensuring you do not make a mistake when entering the world of offshore finance and common sense is something we here at Hypo Venture Capital pride ourselves on!
About the Author:
Stephen Holmes is a Senior Vice President at Hypo Venture Capital, with experience in the Financial Services industry spanning over 25ys and 3 Continents. Stephen currently directs the Portfolio Risk Management Group after moving from the Equity Derivatives Research Group 3yrs ago. He has a PhD in Experimental Particle Physics and has been working in the alternative investment industry since 1992. His interests include classical music, reading and he often is a guest speaker at corporate functions with a focus on 'Technology in Society'.
Want to know more?
Hypo Venture Capital is an independent investment advisory firm which focuses on global equities and options markets. Our analytical tools, screening techniques, rigorous research methods and committed staff provide solid information to help our clients make the best possible investment decisions. All views, comments, statements and opinions are of the authors.
Hypo Venture Capital Investing Money: Good Investments for the Investor Who Feels Clueless
http://www.thegetrichquick.com/hypo-venture-capital-investing-money-good-investments-for-the-investor-who-feels-clueless/Article by Stephen Holmes
Here at Hypo Venture Capital we are committed to offering our clients access to the latest and broadest range of financial services and products on the market. We know that choosing the right strategy, the right investment and the right product is no easy task in this day and age! Whether its advice, investments or financial planning we are here to answer all your questions and facilitate all your financial needs.
In 2011 and into the future most folks in search of good investments will again turn to mutual funds for investing money, and for good reason. These funds do the money investing for you and try to pick good investments for their (your) portfolio. It’s your money and you pick the funds, so in case you feel clueless, here we take the mystery out of investing for 2011 and beyond by getting back to basics.
In the process of investing money for the future you really only have 4 basic choices. That was true 100 years ago and still applies in 2011 and beyond. There are good safe investments that pay interest, bonds that pay more interest, stocks that grow in value most of the time; and alternative investments like gold & other commodities including real estate that offer growth opportunities sometimes when stocks don’t. Those are your basic choices when investing money unless you bury the stuff, in which case inflation and decomposition can eat away at your underground deposit.
Now let’s look at each of these 4 alternatives for investing money in search of good investments in mutual funds. Cash in the bank is safe and so are money market securities. These don’t look like good investments now because interest rates are near all-time lows. That won’t always be the case, so put some money in money market funds for safety.
Bond funds are a good way for most folks to invest money in bonds and they do pay higher interest income, but they are not really safe investments as most folks have been lead to believe. When today’s record low interest rates start to go up, most bonds and the funds that invest your money in them will be real losers. Memorize this statement: when rates go up bond prices (values) go down. The key to investing money in bond funds for 2011 and beyond is this: put money in short-term and intermediate-term bonds funds while avoiding long-term bond funds. The latter will get crushed if (when) interest rates turn around and go up.
Stocks are our third category, and stock mutual funds are the best way of investing money in them for average and especially clueless investors. The truth is that for 2011 and beyond this is the wild card. High unemployment and slow growth in the economy don’t paint a pretty picture here, but the other choices don’t look great either. Put some money in dividend-paying high-quality diversified stock funds. Avoid riskier growth funds that invest money in stocks that don’t pay dividends.
Investors who overlook other alternatives miss some good investments because of this oversight. Investing money in the likes of gold, oil, real estate and basic materials is greatly simplified by simply investing in specialty stock funds that specialize in these areas. The advantage here: these funds can add additional diversification to your portfolio because they sometimes produce profits when the stock market is weak.
We have covered your 4 basic choices starting with safe investments and getting progressively riskier. Investing money for 2011 and beyond simply amounts to covering all 4 bases, emphasizing the funds that best fit your risk profile. One year’s good investments might not be repeat performers the next year, but with a diversified portfolio of funds working for you you’ve got good odds for success.
Want to know more?
Hypo Venture Capital is an independent investment advisory firm which focuses on global equities and options markets. Our analytical tools, screening techniques, rigorous research methods and committed staff provide solid information to help our clients make the best possible investment decisions. All views, comments, statements and opinions are of the authors. For more information go to http://www.hypovc.com
About the Author
Hypo Venture Capital is an independent investment advisory firm which focuses on global equities and options markets. For more information go to http://www.hypovc.com
Here at Hypo Venture Capital we are committed to offering our clients access to the latest and broadest range of financial services and products on the market. We know that choosing the right strategy, the right investment and the right product is no easy task in this day and age! Whether its advice, investments or financial planning we are here to answer all your questions and facilitate all your financial needs.
In 2011 and into the future most folks in search of good investments will again turn to mutual funds for investing money, and for good reason. These funds do the money investing for you and try to pick good investments for their (your) portfolio. It’s your money and you pick the funds, so in case you feel clueless, here we take the mystery out of investing for 2011 and beyond by getting back to basics.
In the process of investing money for the future you really only have 4 basic choices. That was true 100 years ago and still applies in 2011 and beyond. There are good safe investments that pay interest, bonds that pay more interest, stocks that grow in value most of the time; and alternative investments like gold & other commodities including real estate that offer growth opportunities sometimes when stocks don’t. Those are your basic choices when investing money unless you bury the stuff, in which case inflation and decomposition can eat away at your underground deposit.
Now let’s look at each of these 4 alternatives for investing money in search of good investments in mutual funds. Cash in the bank is safe and so are money market securities. These don’t look like good investments now because interest rates are near all-time lows. That won’t always be the case, so put some money in money market funds for safety.
Bond funds are a good way for most folks to invest money in bonds and they do pay higher interest income, but they are not really safe investments as most folks have been lead to believe. When today’s record low interest rates start to go up, most bonds and the funds that invest your money in them will be real losers. Memorize this statement: when rates go up bond prices (values) go down. The key to investing money in bond funds for 2011 and beyond is this: put money in short-term and intermediate-term bonds funds while avoiding long-term bond funds. The latter will get crushed if (when) interest rates turn around and go up.
Stocks are our third category, and stock mutual funds are the best way of investing money in them for average and especially clueless investors. The truth is that for 2011 and beyond this is the wild card. High unemployment and slow growth in the economy don’t paint a pretty picture here, but the other choices don’t look great either. Put some money in dividend-paying high-quality diversified stock funds. Avoid riskier growth funds that invest money in stocks that don’t pay dividends.
Investors who overlook other alternatives miss some good investments because of this oversight. Investing money in the likes of gold, oil, real estate and basic materials is greatly simplified by simply investing in specialty stock funds that specialize in these areas. The advantage here: these funds can add additional diversification to your portfolio because they sometimes produce profits when the stock market is weak.
We have covered your 4 basic choices starting with safe investments and getting progressively riskier. Investing money for 2011 and beyond simply amounts to covering all 4 bases, emphasizing the funds that best fit your risk profile. One year’s good investments might not be repeat performers the next year, but with a diversified portfolio of funds working for you you’ve got good odds for success.
Want to know more?
Hypo Venture Capital is an independent investment advisory firm which focuses on global equities and options markets. Our analytical tools, screening techniques, rigorous research methods and committed staff provide solid information to help our clients make the best possible investment decisions. All views, comments, statements and opinions are of the authors. For more information go to http://www.hypovc.com
About the Author
Hypo Venture Capital is an independent investment advisory firm which focuses on global equities and options markets. For more information go to http://www.hypovc.com
Hypo Venture Capital Zurich Headlines: Minister not seen after apocalypse fails
http://hypoventurecapital-research.com/
The religious broadcaster who predicted the world would end Saturday — and convinced hundreds he was right — was nowhere to be seen publicly Sunday after his prediction didn’t come true.
2002 AP photoHarold Camping had forecast the world would end on May 21.
Minister Harold Camping, 89, founder of the Family Radio network, said the Bible and numeric analysis revealed that the Earth would be destroyed Saturday at 5:59 p.m. through a series of earthquakes. He said 200,000 believers would be sent to heaven in the Rapture.
On Sunday, Camping’s radio headquarters in Oakland was closed and nobody answered the door at his home a few miles away. The company’s website wasn’t responding. It wasn’t clear when the Christian network would return to the airwaves, where it is broadcast on 66 U.S. stations and in other countries.
Some Family Radio staff members said last week that most employees planned to be at work today and that most workers were skeptical about the doomsday prediction.
He had previously written a book saying the Rapture would occur in 1994 but, when that did not happen, revised his calculation to May 21, 2011. His method was a combination of Biblical analysis and numerology. He detailed his views in a booklet, We Are Almost There, available free to whoever wanted it.
Camping’s faulty prediction was met with a mixture of ridicule and sympathy.
“Only a fool would believe a fool saying the world is over and the Bible told me so,” said Rod Traylor, 56, eating lunch at a Pataskala, Ohio, fast food restaurant after church Sunday. He said he had joked with co-workers about the doomsday prediction.
But his mother, Jeanine, 81, was more forgiving. “We all believe something, and I think he was just trying to help people by warning that something bad may happen,” she said. The retiree said she didn’t believe the end was going to occur but thought there was a slight possibility.
James Ford, 34, watching his daughter play at the restaurant playground, said he was surprised people had time to worry about such predictions. “You know they’re wrong,” he said. “People are looking for excuses.”
Camping and his supporters had put up thousands of billboards and taken out advertisements announcing the apocalypse was near. His employees had been given Friday off with pay, and the minister said he planned to spend his final hours with his family.
The religious broadcaster who predicted the world would end Saturday — and convinced hundreds he was right — was nowhere to be seen publicly Sunday after his prediction didn’t come true.
2002 AP photoHarold Camping had forecast the world would end on May 21.
2002 AP photo
Harold Camping had forecast the world would end on May 21.
Harold Camping had forecast the world would end on May 21.
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On Sunday, Camping’s radio headquarters in Oakland was closed and nobody answered the door at his home a few miles away. The company’s website wasn’t responding. It wasn’t clear when the Christian network would return to the airwaves, where it is broadcast on 66 U.S. stations and in other countries.
Some Family Radio staff members said last week that most employees planned to be at work today and that most workers were skeptical about the doomsday prediction.
-
STORY: Apocalypse believers shocked
He had previously written a book saying the Rapture would occur in 1994 but, when that did not happen, revised his calculation to May 21, 2011. His method was a combination of Biblical analysis and numerology. He detailed his views in a booklet, We Are Almost There, available free to whoever wanted it.
Camping’s faulty prediction was met with a mixture of ridicule and sympathy.
“Only a fool would believe a fool saying the world is over and the Bible told me so,” said Rod Traylor, 56, eating lunch at a Pataskala, Ohio, fast food restaurant after church Sunday. He said he had joked with co-workers about the doomsday prediction.
But his mother, Jeanine, 81, was more forgiving. “We all believe something, and I think he was just trying to help people by warning that something bad may happen,” she said. The retiree said she didn’t believe the end was going to occur but thought there was a slight possibility.
James Ford, 34, watching his daughter play at the restaurant playground, said he was surprised people had time to worry about such predictions. “You know they’re wrong,” he said. “People are looking for excuses.”
Camping and his supporters had put up thousands of billboards and taken out advertisements announcing the apocalypse was near. His employees had been given Friday off with pay, and the minister said he planned to spend his final hours with his family.
Hypo Venture Capital Zurich Headlines:Obama sees China as a partner in Mars mission
http://hypoventurecapital-research.com/?p=29WASHINGTON — U.S. President Barack Obama views China as a potential partner for an eventual human mission to Mars that would be difficult for any single nation to undertake, a senior White House official told lawmakers.Testifying May 4 before the House Appropriations subcommittee on commerce, justice and science, White House science adviser John Holdren said near-term engagement with China in civil space will help lay the groundwork for any such future endeavor. He prefaced his remarks with the assertion that human exploration of Mars is a long-term proposition and that any discussion of cooperating with Beijing on such an effort is speculative.
“(What) the president has deemed worth discussing with the Chinese and others is that when the time comes for humans to visit Mars, it’s going to be an extremely expensive proposition and the question is whether it will really make sense — at the time that we’re ready to do that — to do it as one nation rather than to do it in concert,” Holdren said in response to a question from Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., a staunch China critic who chairs the powerful subcommittee that oversees NASA spending.
Holdren, who said NASA could also benefit from cooperating with China on detection and tracking of orbital debris, stressed that any U.S. collaboration with Beijing in manned spaceflight would depend on future Sino-U.S. relations.
“But many of us, including the president, including myself, including (NASA Administrator Charles) Bolden, believe that it’s not too soon to have preliminary conversations about what involving China in that sort of cooperation might entail,” Holdren said. “If China is going to be, by 2030, the biggest economy in the world … it could certainly be to our benefit to share the costs of such an expensive venture with them and with others.”
Wolf, who characterizes China’s government as “fundamentally evil,” said it is outrageous that the Obama administration would have close ties with Beijing’s space program, which is believed to be run primarily by the People’s Liberation Army, or PLA.
“When you say you want to work in concert, it’s almost like you’re talking about Norway or England or something like that,” an irate Wolf told Holdren, repeatedly pounding a hand against the table top in front of him. “As long as I have breath in me, we will talk about this, we will deal with this issue, whether it be a Republican administration or a Democrat administration, it is fundamentally immoral.”
“I am instructed, after consultation with counsel, who in turn consulted with appropriate people in the Department of Justice, that that language should not be read as prohibiting actions that are part of the president’s constitutional authority to conduct negotiations,” Holdren said. “At the same time there are obviously a variety of aspects of that prohibition that very much apply and we’ll be looking at that on a case by case basis in (the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy) to be sure we are compliant.”
Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas, who joined Wolf last fall in opposing an official visit to Beijing by Bolden, accused Holdren and the White House of plotting to circumvent the law.
“It’s not ambiguous, it’s not confusing, but you just stated to the chairman of this committee that you and the administration have already embarked on a policy to evade and avoid this very specific and unambiguous requirement of law if in your opinion it is in furtherance of negotiation of a treaty,” Culberson said. “That’s exactly what you just said. I don’t want to hear about you not being a lawyer.”
Holdren said a variety of opinions and legal documents indicate the president has exclusive constitutional authority to determine the time, scope and objectives of international negotiations and discussions, as well as the authority to determine the preferred agents who will represent the United States in those exchanges.
Culberson reminded Holdren that the administration’s civil research and development funding flows through Wolf’s subcommittee, and that funding could be choked off if the White House fails to comply with the law.
“Your office cannot participate, nor can NASA, in any way, in any type of policy, program, order or contract of any kind with China or any Chinese-owned company,” Culberson said. “If you or anyone in your office, or anyone at NASA participates, collaborates or coordinates in any way with China or a Chinese-owned company … you’re in violation of this statute, and frankly you’re endangering your funding. You’ve got a huge problem on your hands. Huge.”
“(What) the president has deemed worth discussing with the Chinese and others is that when the time comes for humans to visit Mars, it’s going to be an extremely expensive proposition and the question is whether it will really make sense — at the time that we’re ready to do that — to do it as one nation rather than to do it in concert,” Holdren said in response to a question from Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Va., a staunch China critic who chairs the powerful subcommittee that oversees NASA spending.
Holdren, who said NASA could also benefit from cooperating with China on detection and tracking of orbital debris, stressed that any U.S. collaboration with Beijing in manned spaceflight would depend on future Sino-U.S. relations.
“But many of us, including the president, including myself, including (NASA Administrator Charles) Bolden, believe that it’s not too soon to have preliminary conversations about what involving China in that sort of cooperation might entail,” Holdren said. “If China is going to be, by 2030, the biggest economy in the world … it could certainly be to our benefit to share the costs of such an expensive venture with them and with others.”
Wolf, who characterizes China’s government as “fundamentally evil,” said it is outrageous that the Obama administration would have close ties with Beijing’s space program, which is believed to be run primarily by the People’s Liberation Army, or PLA.
“When you say you want to work in concert, it’s almost like you’re talking about Norway or England or something like that,” an irate Wolf told Holdren, repeatedly pounding a hand against the table top in front of him. “As long as I have breath in me, we will talk about this, we will deal with this issue, whether it be a Republican administration or a Democrat administration, it is fundamentally immoral.”
Holdren said he admired Wolf’s leadership in calling attention to China’s human-rights record, but noted that even when then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan referred to the former Soviet Union as “the evil empire” in the late 1980s, he continued to cooperate with the communist bloc in science and technology if doing so was deemed in the U.S. national interest.
“The efforts we are undertaking to do things together with China in science and technology are very carefully crafted to be efforts that are in our own national interest,” Holdren said. “That does not mean that we admire the Chinese government; that does not mean we are blind to the human rights abuses.”
Holdren said that as White House science adviser, his capacity to influence the president’s diplomatic approach to Beijing is limited.
“I am not the person who’s going to be whispering in the president’s ear on what our stance toward China should be, government to government, except in the domain where I have the responsibility for helping the president judge whether particular activities in science and technology are in our national interest or not,” Holdren said.
Recently enacted legislation prohibits U.S. government collaboration with the Chinese in areas funded by Wolf’s subcommittee, whose jurisdiction also includes the U.S. Commerce and Justice departments, the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
When asked how he interpreted the new law, part of a continuing resolution approved in April that funds federal agencies through Sept. 30, Holdren said the administration will live within the terms of the prohibition.“The efforts we are undertaking to do things together with China in science and technology are very carefully crafted to be efforts that are in our own national interest,” Holdren said. “That does not mean that we admire the Chinese government; that does not mean we are blind to the human rights abuses.”
Holdren said that as White House science adviser, his capacity to influence the president’s diplomatic approach to Beijing is limited.
“I am not the person who’s going to be whispering in the president’s ear on what our stance toward China should be, government to government, except in the domain where I have the responsibility for helping the president judge whether particular activities in science and technology are in our national interest or not,” Holdren said.
Recently enacted legislation prohibits U.S. government collaboration with the Chinese in areas funded by Wolf’s subcommittee, whose jurisdiction also includes the U.S. Commerce and Justice departments, the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
“I am instructed, after consultation with counsel, who in turn consulted with appropriate people in the Department of Justice, that that language should not be read as prohibiting actions that are part of the president’s constitutional authority to conduct negotiations,” Holdren said. “At the same time there are obviously a variety of aspects of that prohibition that very much apply and we’ll be looking at that on a case by case basis in (the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy) to be sure we are compliant.”
Rep. John Culberson, R-Texas, who joined Wolf last fall in opposing an official visit to Beijing by Bolden, accused Holdren and the White House of plotting to circumvent the law.
“It’s not ambiguous, it’s not confusing, but you just stated to the chairman of this committee that you and the administration have already embarked on a policy to evade and avoid this very specific and unambiguous requirement of law if in your opinion it is in furtherance of negotiation of a treaty,” Culberson said. “That’s exactly what you just said. I don’t want to hear about you not being a lawyer.”
Holdren said a variety of opinions and legal documents indicate the president has exclusive constitutional authority to determine the time, scope and objectives of international negotiations and discussions, as well as the authority to determine the preferred agents who will represent the United States in those exchanges.
Culberson reminded Holdren that the administration’s civil research and development funding flows through Wolf’s subcommittee, and that funding could be choked off if the White House fails to comply with the law.
“Your office cannot participate, nor can NASA, in any way, in any type of policy, program, order or contract of any kind with China or any Chinese-owned company,” Culberson said. “If you or anyone in your office, or anyone at NASA participates, collaborates or coordinates in any way with China or a Chinese-owned company … you’re in violation of this statute, and frankly you’re endangering your funding. You’ve got a huge problem on your hands. Huge.”
Hypo Venture Capital Zurich: INVESTING MONEY FOR 2011 AND BEYOND – BEST INVESTMENT STRATEGY
www.moneybuzz.org/hypo-venture-capital-zurich-investing-money-for-2011-and-beyond-best-investArticle by Stephen Holmes
Here at Hypo Venture Capital we are committed to offering our clients access to the latest and broadest range of financial services and products on the market. We know that choosing the right strategy, the right investment and the right product is no easy task in this day and age! Whether its advice, investments or financial planning we are here to answer all your questions and facilitate all your financial needs.Investing money in 2011 through 2012 may require that most people change their thinking about the best investment strategy. Traditional investing strategy for average folks suggests an asset allocation of over 50% to stock funds, about 40% to bond funds, and the rest to perhaps a precious metals (gold) fund for added diversification. In the world of investing money, times are changing; especially for bonds and gold.In putting together your investment strategy one of the best ways to focus is to consider the flow of money between asset classes over the recent months and years. In the investing world money always goes someplace, and it tends to concentrates in different areas at different times. When money floods an asset class like bonds or gold, prices can rise dramatically. When it makes a grand exit prices can tumble. Extremes in price movements should grab your attention when investing money for 2011 and beyond, especially when you hear mention of the word “bubble”.In the months leading up to 2011, investors both large and small were investing money heavily in bonds and in precious metals like gold. This investment strategy was among the best as prices in both asset classes climbed to record or near record highs. Millions of everyday folks threw money at bond funds and some discovered gold funds. The question going forward: are prices at extremes, and is either investment a bubble waiting to deflate or burst? Let’s look at bonds first.Investors have flooded bond funds with an additional net inflow of hundreds of billions of dollars while pulling money out of stock funds in recent times. The bond funds have then taken this money and bought more bonds, in the process sending bond prices up to extremes. This has pushed bond yields (interest income as a percentage) to near-record lows. Looking back to 1981, the 10-year Treasury note (intermediate-term government bonds) hit a high yield of 14%. Today they’re paying less than 3%, near historical lows. The problem: investing money in bonds and bond funds carries a significant risk today. When interest rates go UP, bond prices (values) will FALL. If there is a bubble here it will deflate as investors rush to pull money out of bonds.The best investment strategy for 2011 in the bond department is to avoid long-term bonds and funds that invest in them because they will get hit the hardest when rates go up. Who wants to get stuck at a low fixed interest rate for 20 or so years when rates are going up? Go with shorter-term funds holding average bond maturities of 7 years or less. DON’T chase bond funds; consider cutting back your holdings. Investing too much money here has too much downside risk associated with it unless you’re willing to speculate that interest rates and our economy will stay depressed well beyond 2011.Now let’s get a perspective on gold prices that recently glittered at an all-time high of over 00 an ounce. In 1999 gold sold for as little as 3. Investing money in 2011 and beyond in gold or gold funds at these prices is as much speculation as it is hedging against disaster. The best investment strategy here is to take some profits if you have them. If you missed the boat in gold, wait for the next one. The price of gold has been unstable at best since the yellow metal resumed trading in the U.S. in the mid-1970s. Don’t view gold as the best growth investment. View it more as a speculative bubble with risk outweighing future profit potential. The price would have to go up 00 an ounce in order to double your money at recent prices. This is not a likely scenario.Now that you’ve cut back on bonds and precious metals, what’s the best investment strategy for the rest of your money? Unless you’re over the age of 80 and/or extremely risk adverse, you need stocks in your investment portfolio. There hasn’t been a real bubble in the stock market since 1999 when the Dow peaked and closed the year at 11,497. In late 2010 that ever-popular stock market barometer was fighting just to get back to its 1999 highs after the shock delivered to it by the financial crisis of 2008.In 2011 and beyond investing money in stock (equity) funds should focus on both those that invest in domestic (U.S.) stocks, and in international funds that invest money abroad as well. You need all of the diversification you can get. Go with funds that invest money in large well established companies with a good record for paying dividends. These are less risky and volatile than growth funds that pay little if any dividends. Plus, good reliable income from either dividends or interest is hard to come by these days.For the rest of your money you need good safe investments that pay interest. Here we face another of today’s extremes: historically low interest rates at the bank and in the money markets. Even though you’re looking at less than 1% a year in interest, you’ve got to go with the flow and continue investing money here because these are truly the best safe investments. The best investment strategy for mutual fund investors: money market funds. When rates go back up your money market fund yields will automatically follow and go up accordingly.The best investment strategy for 2011 and beyond will be to diversify broadly, leaning toward a defensive posture. Investing money across all of the investment classes mentioned is still the key to long term success as an investor. Sometimes like now it’s better to be more conservative when investing, and live to chase opportunity another day.Want to know more?Hypo Venture Capital Zurich, Switzerland is an independent investment advisory firm which focuses on global equities and options markets. Our analytical tools, screening techniques, rigorous research methods and committed staff provide solid information to help our clients make the best possible investment decisions.
Here at Hypo Venture Capital we are committed to offering our clients access to the latest and broadest range of financial services and products on the market. We know that choosing the right strategy, the right investment and the right product is no easy task in this day and age! Whether its advice, investments or financial planning we are here to answer all your questions and facilitate all your financial needs.Investing money in 2011 through 2012 may require that most people change their thinking about the best investment strategy. Traditional investing strategy for average folks suggests an asset allocation of over 50% to stock funds, about 40% to bond funds, and the rest to perhaps a precious metals (gold) fund for added diversification. In the world of investing money, times are changing; especially for bonds and gold.In putting together your investment strategy one of the best ways to focus is to consider the flow of money between asset classes over the recent months and years. In the investing world money always goes someplace, and it tends to concentrates in different areas at different times. When money floods an asset class like bonds or gold, prices can rise dramatically. When it makes a grand exit prices can tumble. Extremes in price movements should grab your attention when investing money for 2011 and beyond, especially when you hear mention of the word “bubble”.In the months leading up to 2011, investors both large and small were investing money heavily in bonds and in precious metals like gold. This investment strategy was among the best as prices in both asset classes climbed to record or near record highs. Millions of everyday folks threw money at bond funds and some discovered gold funds. The question going forward: are prices at extremes, and is either investment a bubble waiting to deflate or burst? Let’s look at bonds first.Investors have flooded bond funds with an additional net inflow of hundreds of billions of dollars while pulling money out of stock funds in recent times. The bond funds have then taken this money and bought more bonds, in the process sending bond prices up to extremes. This has pushed bond yields (interest income as a percentage) to near-record lows. Looking back to 1981, the 10-year Treasury note (intermediate-term government bonds) hit a high yield of 14%. Today they’re paying less than 3%, near historical lows. The problem: investing money in bonds and bond funds carries a significant risk today. When interest rates go UP, bond prices (values) will FALL. If there is a bubble here it will deflate as investors rush to pull money out of bonds.The best investment strategy for 2011 in the bond department is to avoid long-term bonds and funds that invest in them because they will get hit the hardest when rates go up. Who wants to get stuck at a low fixed interest rate for 20 or so years when rates are going up? Go with shorter-term funds holding average bond maturities of 7 years or less. DON’T chase bond funds; consider cutting back your holdings. Investing too much money here has too much downside risk associated with it unless you’re willing to speculate that interest rates and our economy will stay depressed well beyond 2011.Now let’s get a perspective on gold prices that recently glittered at an all-time high of over 00 an ounce. In 1999 gold sold for as little as 3. Investing money in 2011 and beyond in gold or gold funds at these prices is as much speculation as it is hedging against disaster. The best investment strategy here is to take some profits if you have them. If you missed the boat in gold, wait for the next one. The price of gold has been unstable at best since the yellow metal resumed trading in the U.S. in the mid-1970s. Don’t view gold as the best growth investment. View it more as a speculative bubble with risk outweighing future profit potential. The price would have to go up 00 an ounce in order to double your money at recent prices. This is not a likely scenario.Now that you’ve cut back on bonds and precious metals, what’s the best investment strategy for the rest of your money? Unless you’re over the age of 80 and/or extremely risk adverse, you need stocks in your investment portfolio. There hasn’t been a real bubble in the stock market since 1999 when the Dow peaked and closed the year at 11,497. In late 2010 that ever-popular stock market barometer was fighting just to get back to its 1999 highs after the shock delivered to it by the financial crisis of 2008.In 2011 and beyond investing money in stock (equity) funds should focus on both those that invest in domestic (U.S.) stocks, and in international funds that invest money abroad as well. You need all of the diversification you can get. Go with funds that invest money in large well established companies with a good record for paying dividends. These are less risky and volatile than growth funds that pay little if any dividends. Plus, good reliable income from either dividends or interest is hard to come by these days.For the rest of your money you need good safe investments that pay interest. Here we face another of today’s extremes: historically low interest rates at the bank and in the money markets. Even though you’re looking at less than 1% a year in interest, you’ve got to go with the flow and continue investing money here because these are truly the best safe investments. The best investment strategy for mutual fund investors: money market funds. When rates go back up your money market fund yields will automatically follow and go up accordingly.The best investment strategy for 2011 and beyond will be to diversify broadly, leaning toward a defensive posture. Investing money across all of the investment classes mentioned is still the key to long term success as an investor. Sometimes like now it’s better to be more conservative when investing, and live to chase opportunity another day.Want to know more?Hypo Venture Capital Zurich, Switzerland is an independent investment advisory firm which focuses on global equities and options markets. Our analytical tools, screening techniques, rigorous research methods and committed staff provide solid information to help our clients make the best possible investment decisions.
Hypo Venture Capital Switzerland Seizing Opportunities in Tough Economic Times
http://www.blochure.com/hypo-venture-capital-switzerland-seizing-opportunities-in-tough-economic-times-2529/Here at Hypo Venture Capital Zurich we are committed to offering our clients access to the latest and broadest range of financial services and products on the market. We know that choosing the right strategy, the right investment and the right product is no easy task in this day and age! Whether its advice, investments or financial planning we are here to answer all your questions and facilitate all your financial needs.
Many of us have concerns about staying on track in these uncertain economic times. Mounting layoffs, plunging home values and declining stock prices all have a way of generating fear and uncertainty.
"Even though things look bad sometimes, you need to remain focused on opportunities," says Andrew Bradley, HVC’s chief investment officer. "We like to say there's opportunity in every market."
Today's investors face unprecedented challenges
2009 got off to a rough start, with the economy and financial markets still reeling from last year's credit market meltdown and resulting financial crisis. The markets traded down in a painful, correlated fashion, while economic activity plunged.
But since the end of the first quarter, signs of improvement have emerged. The equity market has enjoyed a meaningful rally since mid-March, led by the financial and consumer discretionary sectors. There is still have a long way to go before things get considerably better and before the economic picture brightens considerably but overall the worst may be behind us.
The housing market remains a major thorn in the side of economic growth. Part of the problem is too much supply relative to demand. We are starting to see housing prices fall to the point where buyers are attracted into the market and transactions are occurring.
These imbalances go beyond housing to a worldwide perspective. For example, the United States consumes too much and saves too little, whereas developed and emerging Asian countries save too much and consume too little. We should see the impact of these imbalances play out in the coming months, as countries around the world tackle the mounting challenges.
A return to growth is on the horizon
We believe economic growth may resume in the fourth quarter of 2009. That doesn't necessarily mean things are going to rocket up in the markets, but it means we're setting the stage for better times ahead.
The federal government's stimulus package along with the Federal Reserve’s extraordinary expansion of its balance sheet will begin to show results.
Although the amount of federal stimulus is record-breaking, it's been necessary to combat the significant deflationary pressures triggered by the financial crisis. Once deflation takes hold, it's extremely difficult to counteract. In an environment in which consumers and businesses expect prices to fall, they begin to defer consumption, believing they will be able to make their purchases at a cheaper price down the road. Therefore, the government is doing everything it can to ward off deflation, even as it risks promoting inflation.
Opportunity is within your reach
As troubling as recent market events have been, it's important not to get consumed by the daily ups and downs. Instead, focus on factors that promote long-term financial success.
These factors are most evident when examining the philosophy and practices of those who have achieved financial comfort — people who possess the ability to tackle any tough financial situation and the insight to capitalize on opportunity. Author and TV commentator Jean Chatzky calls this phenomenon "the difference." "Whatever the economy, these are the people who have the skills and attributes necessary to move into lasting financial comfort and wealth."
What makes a financial difference
Recent research on American attitudes toward money and personal finances found that financially successful people exhibit several common factors, including happiness/optimism, resilience, connectedness and habitual saving.
These are the people who know the difference.
How you can stay on track
Based on the characteristics and experiences of financially successful Americans, there are several actions and strategies to help people stay on track, focus on saving and protect loved ones during good and bad economic times.
People who have goals for the short, medium and long term, research has shown, actually achieved their goals more often than people who don't plan. "Why? Because when you’re running a race, it helps to know where you're going.
Consider rebalancing your portfolio
As far as investment strategies go, in today's environment, consider rebalancing your portfolio with an emphasis on the bond market. The bond market — particularly investment-grade bonds and high-yield credit — is very attractive versus its historical pricing.
Build savings and cash reserves
As for savings, if you have a job and a steady income stream right now, you need to be saving, because you don't know when the tide may turn. For women, saving is even more important. A woman still earns on average only 80 cents for every dollar that a man earns, and they possibly take breaks from the workforce to care for children and older parents, which means that when they get to retirement, their account balances are substantially smaller. Plus, women generally need their retirement accounts to last longer because they live an average of seven years longer than men.
Building cash reserves is essential, too. In 'normal' times, you should have about six months of emergency expenses set aside in cash, given times are more difficult, and especially if you're two to three years away from retirement, we think you should have up to two years of expenses set aside in cash.
Have a solid protection plan
Protection planning doesn't end with cash reserves. It's also critical to have a will naming guardians for minor children, a health care proxy (someone to make your health care decisions if you are unable), a living will and a durable power of attorney for finances.
Everyone should also have life insurance — especially those who have dependents — as well as disability income insurance, homeowners or renters insurance, and personal liability insurance. Why? So that a disaster, a big one or a small one, can't come along and take everything you've built away from you.
It's also important to protect against taxation, with strategies designed to generate tax advantages for your financial future.
Avoid common investment mistakes
Staying on track also means avoiding some common investment mistakes. For example, it's critical to not focus on one or two investments, but to stay diversified instead. And people should also resist the urge to raid a retirement account when changing jobs because the tax implications could be significant, potentially derailing a long-term strategy.
Another common mistake, is attempting to time the markets. People don't know how to time markets. Professional investors have a hard time timing markets, so you can't possibly succeed by trying to figure out the right time to get into the market and the right time to get out. It's highly likely you’re going to miss a significant day in the market. And, as we all know, if you miss the 50 best trading days over a multiple-year period, you cut your returns by as much as one-third. Instead, we suggests implementing a dollar-cost-averaging strategy to remain committed to the market and maintain a long-term investment plan.
Work with a financial advisor
Finally, we cannot stress the importance of getting help. Not only do people who work with advisors reach their goals more often than those who do not, but having one in your circle provides the direction, help, motivation and support that we can all use at times like this.
The markets will continue to be extraordinarily volatile, offering you opportunities to get into the market or monetize trades work with your financial advisor to identify the opportunities most appropriate for you and your portfolio.
Make a difference in your financial situation
Whether the economy is roaring or retreating, you can prosper once you understand the characteristics of financially secure people and implement a series of commonsense strategies. Talk to your HVC financial advisor today about how you can build lasting financial comfort and wealth.
Many of us have concerns about staying on track in these uncertain economic times. Mounting layoffs, plunging home values and declining stock prices all have a way of generating fear and uncertainty.
"Even though things look bad sometimes, you need to remain focused on opportunities," says Andrew Bradley, HVC’s chief investment officer. "We like to say there's opportunity in every market."
Today's investors face unprecedented challenges
2009 got off to a rough start, with the economy and financial markets still reeling from last year's credit market meltdown and resulting financial crisis. The markets traded down in a painful, correlated fashion, while economic activity plunged.
But since the end of the first quarter, signs of improvement have emerged. The equity market has enjoyed a meaningful rally since mid-March, led by the financial and consumer discretionary sectors. There is still have a long way to go before things get considerably better and before the economic picture brightens considerably but overall the worst may be behind us.
The housing market remains a major thorn in the side of economic growth. Part of the problem is too much supply relative to demand. We are starting to see housing prices fall to the point where buyers are attracted into the market and transactions are occurring.
These imbalances go beyond housing to a worldwide perspective. For example, the United States consumes too much and saves too little, whereas developed and emerging Asian countries save too much and consume too little. We should see the impact of these imbalances play out in the coming months, as countries around the world tackle the mounting challenges.
A return to growth is on the horizon
We believe economic growth may resume in the fourth quarter of 2009. That doesn't necessarily mean things are going to rocket up in the markets, but it means we're setting the stage for better times ahead.
The federal government's stimulus package along with the Federal Reserve’s extraordinary expansion of its balance sheet will begin to show results.
Although the amount of federal stimulus is record-breaking, it's been necessary to combat the significant deflationary pressures triggered by the financial crisis. Once deflation takes hold, it's extremely difficult to counteract. In an environment in which consumers and businesses expect prices to fall, they begin to defer consumption, believing they will be able to make their purchases at a cheaper price down the road. Therefore, the government is doing everything it can to ward off deflation, even as it risks promoting inflation.
Opportunity is within your reach
As troubling as recent market events have been, it's important not to get consumed by the daily ups and downs. Instead, focus on factors that promote long-term financial success.
These factors are most evident when examining the philosophy and practices of those who have achieved financial comfort — people who possess the ability to tackle any tough financial situation and the insight to capitalize on opportunity. Author and TV commentator Jean Chatzky calls this phenomenon "the difference." "Whatever the economy, these are the people who have the skills and attributes necessary to move into lasting financial comfort and wealth."
What makes a financial difference
Recent research on American attitudes toward money and personal finances found that financially successful people exhibit several common factors, including happiness/optimism, resilience, connectedness and habitual saving.
These are the people who know the difference.
How you can stay on track
Based on the characteristics and experiences of financially successful Americans, there are several actions and strategies to help people stay on track, focus on saving and protect loved ones during good and bad economic times.
People who have goals for the short, medium and long term, research has shown, actually achieved their goals more often than people who don't plan. "Why? Because when you’re running a race, it helps to know where you're going.
Consider rebalancing your portfolio
As far as investment strategies go, in today's environment, consider rebalancing your portfolio with an emphasis on the bond market. The bond market — particularly investment-grade bonds and high-yield credit — is very attractive versus its historical pricing.
Build savings and cash reserves
As for savings, if you have a job and a steady income stream right now, you need to be saving, because you don't know when the tide may turn. For women, saving is even more important. A woman still earns on average only 80 cents for every dollar that a man earns, and they possibly take breaks from the workforce to care for children and older parents, which means that when they get to retirement, their account balances are substantially smaller. Plus, women generally need their retirement accounts to last longer because they live an average of seven years longer than men.
Building cash reserves is essential, too. In 'normal' times, you should have about six months of emergency expenses set aside in cash, given times are more difficult, and especially if you're two to three years away from retirement, we think you should have up to two years of expenses set aside in cash.
Have a solid protection plan
Protection planning doesn't end with cash reserves. It's also critical to have a will naming guardians for minor children, a health care proxy (someone to make your health care decisions if you are unable), a living will and a durable power of attorney for finances.
Everyone should also have life insurance — especially those who have dependents — as well as disability income insurance, homeowners or renters insurance, and personal liability insurance. Why? So that a disaster, a big one or a small one, can't come along and take everything you've built away from you.
It's also important to protect against taxation, with strategies designed to generate tax advantages for your financial future.
Avoid common investment mistakes
Staying on track also means avoiding some common investment mistakes. For example, it's critical to not focus on one or two investments, but to stay diversified instead. And people should also resist the urge to raid a retirement account when changing jobs because the tax implications could be significant, potentially derailing a long-term strategy.
Another common mistake, is attempting to time the markets. People don't know how to time markets. Professional investors have a hard time timing markets, so you can't possibly succeed by trying to figure out the right time to get into the market and the right time to get out. It's highly likely you’re going to miss a significant day in the market. And, as we all know, if you miss the 50 best trading days over a multiple-year period, you cut your returns by as much as one-third. Instead, we suggests implementing a dollar-cost-averaging strategy to remain committed to the market and maintain a long-term investment plan.
Work with a financial advisor
Finally, we cannot stress the importance of getting help. Not only do people who work with advisors reach their goals more often than those who do not, but having one in your circle provides the direction, help, motivation and support that we can all use at times like this.
The markets will continue to be extraordinarily volatile, offering you opportunities to get into the market or monetize trades work with your financial advisor to identify the opportunities most appropriate for you and your portfolio.
Make a difference in your financial situation
Whether the economy is roaring or retreating, you can prosper once you understand the characteristics of financially secure people and implement a series of commonsense strategies. Talk to your HVC financial advisor today about how you can build lasting financial comfort and wealth.
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