Small Business Marketing - Are You Making These 3 Mistakes?
Small Business marketing is growing. No wonder, with more people trying their hand at going it alone in the business world.
As a result more and more novices are entering the game and wondering where they "should" spend money. The trouble is with very little knowledge many small businesses are unaware of exactly where they should start. This article outlines a few areas to think about that will potentially save you a fortune and make your small business marketing budget reap the rewards you deserve.
1. Selling something your market does not want
Now this is a habit that is easy to slip into in the thrill and excitement of setting up your first business. Classic business training will highlight the need for a proven concept. If you don't have that you are not going to sell much. Let's use an example. There has to be a demand for your product or service and it has to work. A coffee stand at a seminar event will go down well. A captive audience with a necessary product.
2. Not having an income goal
When you first start in business often any customer or client is welcomed with open arms and yet how much revenue might they bring for your business. It is so easy to take on a customer and under price your product or service. If you set an income goal and work back you soon start to realise that you will need an active funnel of new clients and how many you have to convert to hit your goals. For example if your goal is 100.000, dollars or pound and each customer is worth £1000 per year you know what you are striving for. It does not matter what your goal is. At least start with one that you can buy into.
3. Not having an online presence
Traditional businesses will often shy away from having an online presence. Thinking that a small business marketing budget will not allow for it. You could not be further from the truth. Online marketing can potentially be you're most cost effective marketing channel when it comes to small business marketing. Over 80% of customers now search online for service providers. These are local service providers as well. By having an online presence with even a simple website or blog you can capture this traffic and the new sales leads.
So provide a service people want, set yourself a target and an online marketing presence to help capture leads.These key small business marketing strategies alone will put you ahead of the pack.
Monday, March 15, 2010
Mobile Marketing
How to Profit From Mobile Marketing For Your Business
Mobile marketing is a huge potential source of traffic, customers and profit for your business, but as yet fairly untapped. Yet, over the next three years, it is predicted that more than half current internet users will be accessing the web via mobiles and other handheld devices.
Mobile marketing offers a very personal kind of interactivity for relationship building with your prospects. It's not just about bombarding folk with text SMS marketing messages. Mobile friendly web sites and mobile applications mean marketers can reach a much greater target audience.
The statistics are pretty convincing and competition in the mobile direct marketing arena is still comparatively low.
Growth in mobile customers
World wide there are 4 billion people with mobile phones. In fact, there are almost five times more cell phone owners than laptops and computer owners, especially home internet ready.
Gartner, the IT research company, predicts that over the next three years over half current internet users will be accessing the web via mobiles and other handheld devices.
"There are clear opportunities for mobile transactions to grow as users, in this and previous surveys, indicate that they want to be able to use their mobiles to buy more goods, such as books, music, travel services, household utilities and electronic appliances," says BuzzCity CEO, KF Lai.
It's a very global trend. BuzzCity's recent survey questioned 1,798 mobile users across the Americas, Asia, Africa, Western Europe and the Middle East and showed that 90% had directly purchased products or services via their mobile.
The trend towards mobile marketing
It's no surprise really that the fastest growing marketing technologies and emerging channels are mobile, rich media and social media. You only have to do a search on some of the popular keywords for the internet marketing and online home business industry to see how these methods are all being adopted with enthusiasm by marketers.
Unica just released its "The State of Marketing 2010" results from the latest Global Survey of Marketers and there are some astounding findings.
The survey reported that "Nearly half of marketers surveyed have already embraced social media marketing, and adoption is healthy across most social media outlets, such as blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. However, marketers need to think more about integrating social media with other marketing tactics."
Despite the rapid increases in the potential audience, "mobile marketing" is a relatively new practice. The term describes marketing on or with a mobile device, such as a cell phone using WAP or text messaging to communicate between the business and the customer.
Mobile marketing is increasing in significance with over 30% of marketers surveyed already using some form or other of mobile marketing and many sources of information (magazines, and services available to support them.
Nevertheless, mobile advertising has grown over the past 1-2 years (almost 100% in the UK), despite the economic recession. The total is pretty small compared to advertising on the internet, which last year was higher than that spent on TV.
However, the Mobile Marketing Association suggests the growth in mobile marketing is likely to accelerate as handsets equipped with new technology, including mobile broadband, become ubiquitous and consumer behaviour changes.
The response from marketing vendors isn't far behind. For instance, 84444.com recently launched its Do-it-Yourself mobile marketing campaigns that can be run from the convenience of a desktop computer. YouTube is making huge changes to its mobile web presence and has now begun incorporating adverts throughout its mobile site.
How to tap into the mobile market
Anyone in business should always be looking for new ways to reach out and touch their customers and build attention from new prospects. And mobile marketing may just be the golden ticket.
Your mobile user is permanently switched-on, impulsive and ready to interact at the drop of a hat. Who wouldn't want to tap into mobile marketing? It's the ultimate direct response tool.
Mobile marketing, you could argue, is perhaps a rather more captive audience. When someone has their phone in their hand and downloads a page, they are much engaged than on a desktop based website. It's a much more powerful direct response tool than the internet.
Conversions from mobiles compared to web or email marketing are five times higher. And, obviously competition is much lower because nobody really knows about this yet.
So what changes do you need to make in your business to attract mobile clients?
Well, first you should make sure your website is mobile friendly, especially if you are sending text SMS messages with active web links to your mobile contacts. There's a tonne of reasons why this is important, but mostly because mobile is an instant and impulsive kind of medium, so you want the recipient to be able to follow the link and get to a useful page and quickly.
Consider that subscriber on your email list may well be reading their messages on their phone. So you want to keep your main message and link 'above the fold' to use a newspaper term. To clarify: when you're accessing emails from a mobile, sometimes the longer ones will get truncated so put your link early on and remember the rules of compelling headlines.
But also, as with the SMS, your mobile user should be able to click your call to action link in the email and bring up the page right there and then from their phone's web browser. The chances they will visit your website when they get back to their PC are far lower.
Google is actively hunting for decent mobile enabled sites to feature in its search results, since this is a huge source of revenue for them if their users are happy. There's not enough mobile sites out there. So learn how to create a Google-friendly mobile version of your site and you could rank higher than for your regular desktop site.
There's a whole spectrum of solutions for making your webpage mobile friendly. These range from the simple and cheap like adding a bit of code you add to your wordpress blog to a more complex and expensive decision to create a complete and total mobile website.
Getting your site indexed by Google on the mobile search engine?
Google have mobile site maps distinct from the usual site maps. Check out their webmaster tools for help on that. And get yourself listed in the Google local business listings. Google has a way you can build a mobile landing page within that tool. It works best for brick and mortar businesses, but it's all good web presence.
Google knows that people search differently on their mobiles than they do on their desktop. They actually have a specific mobile keyword research tool. Not a bad idea, then, to clue up the whole different algorithms search engines are using for mobile searching.
Another thing to remember to keep your mobile text ads short, mirroring the style of social networking conversations. Opera (one of the mobile browsers) statistics show that 41% of people accessing the mobile web are going to social network sites, so MySpace, Facebook, twitter. These are intertwined and meshed together as a tool, so these ads need to work together.
Automating the SMS text marketing process
You want to add a mobile phone field to your web page capture form if you currently capture your visitors' names and email addresses. With a list of numbers, you can unleash your mobile direct marketing power by sending automated, scheduled SMS or text messages to your subscribers.
Internet marketers have known for years the money is in the relationship with your email list. As mobile marketing gets unleashed, it's likely your phone list will become the gold standard.
SMS has an astounding 97% open rate - and usually within the first 5 minutes of receiving the message. That's powerful to marketers! If the "autotexter" replaces the autoresponder, do you have a business strategy for that dramatic change?
Early adopters ALWAYS make the most money. So go check out mobile marketing and see what a difference it can make in your business.See my related post here
Mobile marketing is a huge potential source of traffic, customers and profit for your business, but as yet fairly untapped. Yet, over the next three years, it is predicted that more than half current internet users will be accessing the web via mobiles and other handheld devices.
Mobile marketing offers a very personal kind of interactivity for relationship building with your prospects. It's not just about bombarding folk with text SMS marketing messages. Mobile friendly web sites and mobile applications mean marketers can reach a much greater target audience.
The statistics are pretty convincing and competition in the mobile direct marketing arena is still comparatively low.
Growth in mobile customers
World wide there are 4 billion people with mobile phones. In fact, there are almost five times more cell phone owners than laptops and computer owners, especially home internet ready.
Gartner, the IT research company, predicts that over the next three years over half current internet users will be accessing the web via mobiles and other handheld devices.
"There are clear opportunities for mobile transactions to grow as users, in this and previous surveys, indicate that they want to be able to use their mobiles to buy more goods, such as books, music, travel services, household utilities and electronic appliances," says BuzzCity CEO, KF Lai.
It's a very global trend. BuzzCity's recent survey questioned 1,798 mobile users across the Americas, Asia, Africa, Western Europe and the Middle East and showed that 90% had directly purchased products or services via their mobile.
The trend towards mobile marketing
It's no surprise really that the fastest growing marketing technologies and emerging channels are mobile, rich media and social media. You only have to do a search on some of the popular keywords for the internet marketing and online home business industry to see how these methods are all being adopted with enthusiasm by marketers.
Unica just released its "The State of Marketing 2010" results from the latest Global Survey of Marketers and there are some astounding findings.
The survey reported that "Nearly half of marketers surveyed have already embraced social media marketing, and adoption is healthy across most social media outlets, such as blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. However, marketers need to think more about integrating social media with other marketing tactics."
Despite the rapid increases in the potential audience, "mobile marketing" is a relatively new practice. The term describes marketing on or with a mobile device, such as a cell phone using WAP or text messaging to communicate between the business and the customer.
Mobile marketing is increasing in significance with over 30% of marketers surveyed already using some form or other of mobile marketing and many sources of information (magazines, and services available to support them.
Nevertheless, mobile advertising has grown over the past 1-2 years (almost 100% in the UK), despite the economic recession. The total is pretty small compared to advertising on the internet, which last year was higher than that spent on TV.
However, the Mobile Marketing Association suggests the growth in mobile marketing is likely to accelerate as handsets equipped with new technology, including mobile broadband, become ubiquitous and consumer behaviour changes.
The response from marketing vendors isn't far behind. For instance, 84444.com recently launched its Do-it-Yourself mobile marketing campaigns that can be run from the convenience of a desktop computer. YouTube is making huge changes to its mobile web presence and has now begun incorporating adverts throughout its mobile site.
How to tap into the mobile market
Anyone in business should always be looking for new ways to reach out and touch their customers and build attention from new prospects. And mobile marketing may just be the golden ticket.
Your mobile user is permanently switched-on, impulsive and ready to interact at the drop of a hat. Who wouldn't want to tap into mobile marketing? It's the ultimate direct response tool.
Mobile marketing, you could argue, is perhaps a rather more captive audience. When someone has their phone in their hand and downloads a page, they are much engaged than on a desktop based website. It's a much more powerful direct response tool than the internet.
Conversions from mobiles compared to web or email marketing are five times higher. And, obviously competition is much lower because nobody really knows about this yet.
So what changes do you need to make in your business to attract mobile clients?
Well, first you should make sure your website is mobile friendly, especially if you are sending text SMS messages with active web links to your mobile contacts. There's a tonne of reasons why this is important, but mostly because mobile is an instant and impulsive kind of medium, so you want the recipient to be able to follow the link and get to a useful page and quickly.
Consider that subscriber on your email list may well be reading their messages on their phone. So you want to keep your main message and link 'above the fold' to use a newspaper term. To clarify: when you're accessing emails from a mobile, sometimes the longer ones will get truncated so put your link early on and remember the rules of compelling headlines.
But also, as with the SMS, your mobile user should be able to click your call to action link in the email and bring up the page right there and then from their phone's web browser. The chances they will visit your website when they get back to their PC are far lower.
Google is actively hunting for decent mobile enabled sites to feature in its search results, since this is a huge source of revenue for them if their users are happy. There's not enough mobile sites out there. So learn how to create a Google-friendly mobile version of your site and you could rank higher than for your regular desktop site.
There's a whole spectrum of solutions for making your webpage mobile friendly. These range from the simple and cheap like adding a bit of code you add to your wordpress blog to a more complex and expensive decision to create a complete and total mobile website.
Getting your site indexed by Google on the mobile search engine?
Google have mobile site maps distinct from the usual site maps. Check out their webmaster tools for help on that. And get yourself listed in the Google local business listings. Google has a way you can build a mobile landing page within that tool. It works best for brick and mortar businesses, but it's all good web presence.
Google knows that people search differently on their mobiles than they do on their desktop. They actually have a specific mobile keyword research tool. Not a bad idea, then, to clue up the whole different algorithms search engines are using for mobile searching.
Another thing to remember to keep your mobile text ads short, mirroring the style of social networking conversations. Opera (one of the mobile browsers) statistics show that 41% of people accessing the mobile web are going to social network sites, so MySpace, Facebook, twitter. These are intertwined and meshed together as a tool, so these ads need to work together.
Automating the SMS text marketing process
You want to add a mobile phone field to your web page capture form if you currently capture your visitors' names and email addresses. With a list of numbers, you can unleash your mobile direct marketing power by sending automated, scheduled SMS or text messages to your subscribers.
Internet marketers have known for years the money is in the relationship with your email list. As mobile marketing gets unleashed, it's likely your phone list will become the gold standard.
SMS has an astounding 97% open rate - and usually within the first 5 minutes of receiving the message. That's powerful to marketers! If the "autotexter" replaces the autoresponder, do you have a business strategy for that dramatic change?
Early adopters ALWAYS make the most money. So go check out mobile marketing and see what a difference it can make in your business.See my related post here
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Forex Strategy
People need to make money in order to live a comfortable life. They need it in order to pay for the utility bills, pay for food, for education and other things that are necessary in life. This is why people tend to do anything to make money. Some people work in a company, some people prefer putting up their own business and some people trade in the financial market as a career.
One such financial market that you can really make money from is the Forex market. The Forex market is the largest and the most liquid market in the world with trades open for 24 hours a day and exchanges that amounts to trillions of dollars each trading day.
In order for you to be successful in this market, you need to know the basics about the Forex market. You need to be able to know how to trade, when to trade and what to trade. You will also need to know the different trading strategies in the largest financial market in the world which is the Forex.
Knowing about the different trading strategies in Forex will allow you to minimize the risk of losing money and increase your chances of making huge profits.
First of all, it is important that you should remember that the Forex market can give you the chance to earn a lot of money. It is a known fact that people who have traded in this very liquid market have made millions of dollars almost overnight. You also have to know that the Forex market is also a very risky market to be in. It is also a known fact that many traders in this market have experienced losing a lot of money even to the brink of bankruptcy or beyond.
This is why you should know the different strategies that are necessary in the Forex market. Without these strategies, you will be like a blind man crossing a busy intersection with no one to guide you.
First, you need to realize that Forex trading strategies are very different from the strategies used in stoke trading. If you know about the different trading strategy in Forex, then you will really earn a lot of money from this very large financial market.
One of the most useful strategies that you can apply in the Forex market is called leverage. This is one of the most common strategies that you can use in the Forex market and most Forex traders are familiar with the leverage strategy and many have made large profits from this strategy.
If you already have a funded Forex account, you can use the leverage strategy to help you trade more effectively in the Forex market. Leverage strategy works by giving you 100 times the amount of money that you can trade in your deposited account. Therefore, if you do win, your income will also increase 100 times. This will allow better results in your trades.
Another strategy that is commonly used in the Forex market is called the stop loss order. This strategy is used to protect you from potentially losing a lot of money. This works by letting you choose a predetermined point in the trade where you will not trade. Therefore, it will eventually minimize the risks. However, if the movement of the currency is not like what you actually predicted, you will end up losing potential money making opportunity with this kind of trade.
Automatic entry order is another Forex trading strategy that you can use when you trade in the Forex market. This will allow you to enter the Forex market automatically when the price of a particular currency is right for you. The price is predetermined and once it reaches that predetermined price, you will be automatically entered into the trades.
These strategies will help you trade in the Forex market more effectively. It will eventually help you minimize the risk and maximize your income earning potential. However, you should always remember that you should know when you should use these strategies. It is also important that you should remember that there is always the risk of losing money when trading in Forex. These strategies will not necessarily eliminate the risk but will minimize it.
In almost any business endeavor, strategy is an important element that can help in its success or failure. Forex trading is an international, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, over-the-counter exchange financial market where different nation's currencies are being bought and sold. Here, your strategy can quickly make you a rich man or let you lose your money in a single trade.
Forex trading is always done in pairs. It is well-known to be the largest financial market in the world; therefore, a single investor can't possibly influence the market, which means that your every decision will drive you to either success or failure and you can't blame anyone else.
Forex trading has two kinds of investing strategies, namely: technical analysis and fundamental analysis.
Technical Analysis
Technical analysis is the method of forecasting future movements of the price (securities, commodities, etc); it is based on a chart analysis, technical indicators, and pattern formations. Some people claim that forex trading are quite predictable, technically speaking.
What you need is proper money management because not all strategies work at a 100% rate. Technical analysis will help you determine when to enter/exit positions and where the price of the different currencies is going.
Most technical forex traders use technical indicators, this is a very common technique. A few indicators will do, compared to dozens of them. Quality is what matters and not the quantity. These technical indicators will help in forecasting currency market prices.
Here is a list of the common technical indicators:
- average directional index or ADX; determines the strength of prevailing trends
- exponential moving average or EMA; weight is given to latest data, moving average similar to simple moving average
- moving average convergence divergence or MACD; momentum indicator showing relationships between two average prices on the move
- Fibonacci; this can include Fibonacci time zones, Fibonacci channel, Fibonacci fan, Fibonacci arc and many more.
- Bollinger band; a band is plotted in two standard deviations away from simple moving average
- Relative strength index or RSI; compares the magnitude of recent gains against recent losses to determine the overbought/oversold asset conditions
- Stochastic oscillator; compares closing price of security to price range over a specific period of time
- Williams %R; measures overbought and oversold levels, somewhat similar to stochastic oscillator
Technical analysis systems make use of a combination of a few technical indicators to arrive at a realizable market forecast.
Fundamental analysis
Fundamental analysis strategy studies economic factors of a certain country to forecast its future currency value. It focuses on studies regarding economic, political and social factors that affect supply and demand.
Here is a list of fundamental analysis indicators:
- consumer price index or CPI; measures price changes in consumer services and goods, this is referred to as headline inflation
- gross domestic product or GDP; usually calculated on annual basis, this is the monetary value of a country's finished goods/services that is produced within its boundaries
The financial news is also necessary when making use of fundamental analysis. You should pay attention more especially if you're active on the trade. There different websites that offers up to date financial news, check out the different sites because it can help you a lot in arriving at a good fundamental analysis.
Whatever analysis you choose to use is up to you. Remember that these strategies will only aid you in making sound trading decisions. Perhaps a combination of the two strategies will do you better.
If you're an individual trader, you can check on available internet sites that have further discussions regarding these two strategies. Further research is good for you to get a good grip about the subject matter.
Applying these strategies together with good money management might be your doorway to forex trading success.
One such financial market that you can really make money from is the Forex market. The Forex market is the largest and the most liquid market in the world with trades open for 24 hours a day and exchanges that amounts to trillions of dollars each trading day.
In order for you to be successful in this market, you need to know the basics about the Forex market. You need to be able to know how to trade, when to trade and what to trade. You will also need to know the different trading strategies in the largest financial market in the world which is the Forex.
Knowing about the different trading strategies in Forex will allow you to minimize the risk of losing money and increase your chances of making huge profits.
First of all, it is important that you should remember that the Forex market can give you the chance to earn a lot of money. It is a known fact that people who have traded in this very liquid market have made millions of dollars almost overnight. You also have to know that the Forex market is also a very risky market to be in. It is also a known fact that many traders in this market have experienced losing a lot of money even to the brink of bankruptcy or beyond.
This is why you should know the different strategies that are necessary in the Forex market. Without these strategies, you will be like a blind man crossing a busy intersection with no one to guide you.
First, you need to realize that Forex trading strategies are very different from the strategies used in stoke trading. If you know about the different trading strategy in Forex, then you will really earn a lot of money from this very large financial market.
One of the most useful strategies that you can apply in the Forex market is called leverage. This is one of the most common strategies that you can use in the Forex market and most Forex traders are familiar with the leverage strategy and many have made large profits from this strategy.
If you already have a funded Forex account, you can use the leverage strategy to help you trade more effectively in the Forex market. Leverage strategy works by giving you 100 times the amount of money that you can trade in your deposited account. Therefore, if you do win, your income will also increase 100 times. This will allow better results in your trades.
Another strategy that is commonly used in the Forex market is called the stop loss order. This strategy is used to protect you from potentially losing a lot of money. This works by letting you choose a predetermined point in the trade where you will not trade. Therefore, it will eventually minimize the risks. However, if the movement of the currency is not like what you actually predicted, you will end up losing potential money making opportunity with this kind of trade.
Automatic entry order is another Forex trading strategy that you can use when you trade in the Forex market. This will allow you to enter the Forex market automatically when the price of a particular currency is right for you. The price is predetermined and once it reaches that predetermined price, you will be automatically entered into the trades.
These strategies will help you trade in the Forex market more effectively. It will eventually help you minimize the risk and maximize your income earning potential. However, you should always remember that you should know when you should use these strategies. It is also important that you should remember that there is always the risk of losing money when trading in Forex. These strategies will not necessarily eliminate the risk but will minimize it.
In almost any business endeavor, strategy is an important element that can help in its success or failure. Forex trading is an international, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, over-the-counter exchange financial market where different nation's currencies are being bought and sold. Here, your strategy can quickly make you a rich man or let you lose your money in a single trade.
Forex trading is always done in pairs. It is well-known to be the largest financial market in the world; therefore, a single investor can't possibly influence the market, which means that your every decision will drive you to either success or failure and you can't blame anyone else.
Forex trading has two kinds of investing strategies, namely: technical analysis and fundamental analysis.
Technical Analysis
Technical analysis is the method of forecasting future movements of the price (securities, commodities, etc); it is based on a chart analysis, technical indicators, and pattern formations. Some people claim that forex trading are quite predictable, technically speaking.
What you need is proper money management because not all strategies work at a 100% rate. Technical analysis will help you determine when to enter/exit positions and where the price of the different currencies is going.
Most technical forex traders use technical indicators, this is a very common technique. A few indicators will do, compared to dozens of them. Quality is what matters and not the quantity. These technical indicators will help in forecasting currency market prices.
Here is a list of the common technical indicators:
- average directional index or ADX; determines the strength of prevailing trends
- exponential moving average or EMA; weight is given to latest data, moving average similar to simple moving average
- moving average convergence divergence or MACD; momentum indicator showing relationships between two average prices on the move
- Fibonacci; this can include Fibonacci time zones, Fibonacci channel, Fibonacci fan, Fibonacci arc and many more.
- Bollinger band; a band is plotted in two standard deviations away from simple moving average
- Relative strength index or RSI; compares the magnitude of recent gains against recent losses to determine the overbought/oversold asset conditions
- Stochastic oscillator; compares closing price of security to price range over a specific period of time
- Williams %R; measures overbought and oversold levels, somewhat similar to stochastic oscillator
Technical analysis systems make use of a combination of a few technical indicators to arrive at a realizable market forecast.
Fundamental analysis
Fundamental analysis strategy studies economic factors of a certain country to forecast its future currency value. It focuses on studies regarding economic, political and social factors that affect supply and demand.
Here is a list of fundamental analysis indicators:
- consumer price index or CPI; measures price changes in consumer services and goods, this is referred to as headline inflation
- gross domestic product or GDP; usually calculated on annual basis, this is the monetary value of a country's finished goods/services that is produced within its boundaries
The financial news is also necessary when making use of fundamental analysis. You should pay attention more especially if you're active on the trade. There different websites that offers up to date financial news, check out the different sites because it can help you a lot in arriving at a good fundamental analysis.
Whatever analysis you choose to use is up to you. Remember that these strategies will only aid you in making sound trading decisions. Perhaps a combination of the two strategies will do you better.
If you're an individual trader, you can check on available internet sites that have further discussions regarding these two strategies. Further research is good for you to get a good grip about the subject matter.
Applying these strategies together with good money management might be your doorway to forex trading success.
Tips And Trick Success In Forex
To succeed in forex trading a trader needs a smart forex trading strategy. Individuals who enter the market in the hope of making quick money invariably end up getting their fingers burnt. The same is true of forex traders who trade without a clear strategy. They either exist on the margins or make frequent losses.
The trading strategy varies from trader to trader. A day trader is more concerned about the day-to-day market fluctuations than a long term or a swing trader. Therefore, the first thing that a trader needs to decide is what kind of trader he is, or wants to be, and then plan the trading strategy.
An important goal should be to limit the losses. This is an important part of any trading strategy, and must be followed religiously. A day trader may place smaller stops while swing traders may adopt less restrictive stops. Such a strategy helps traders cut their losses significantly.
It also makes sense to plan the transaction sizes so that multiple trades can be transacted on any given trading day instead of placing all the bets on one transaction. Such a strategy reduces the chances of making losses, and brings in more discipline in trading.
A trader must remember that foreign trade is all about timing. Those who understand the market better do well; the others end up making losses. Since the market does not always provide good trading opportunities, a trader should follow his trading strategy in a disciplined way. After all it is no use losing money by transacting wrong trades.
Finally, the successful traders are those who treat forex trading as a business. They spend time and effort acquiring knowledge about the way the forex markets work, factors that affect forex trade, and the software and services they need to chart market movements.
They also keep track of what other forex traders are doing. Such a strategy provides them useful insights, and enables them to plan their trade better.
The trading strategy varies from trader to trader. A day trader is more concerned about the day-to-day market fluctuations than a long term or a swing trader. Therefore, the first thing that a trader needs to decide is what kind of trader he is, or wants to be, and then plan the trading strategy.
An important goal should be to limit the losses. This is an important part of any trading strategy, and must be followed religiously. A day trader may place smaller stops while swing traders may adopt less restrictive stops. Such a strategy helps traders cut their losses significantly.
It also makes sense to plan the transaction sizes so that multiple trades can be transacted on any given trading day instead of placing all the bets on one transaction. Such a strategy reduces the chances of making losses, and brings in more discipline in trading.
A trader must remember that foreign trade is all about timing. Those who understand the market better do well; the others end up making losses. Since the market does not always provide good trading opportunities, a trader should follow his trading strategy in a disciplined way. After all it is no use losing money by transacting wrong trades.
Finally, the successful traders are those who treat forex trading as a business. They spend time and effort acquiring knowledge about the way the forex markets work, factors that affect forex trade, and the software and services they need to chart market movements.
They also keep track of what other forex traders are doing. Such a strategy provides them useful insights, and enables them to plan their trade better.
What is Forex??
What Is Forex?
Forex (which is also known as the “Foreign Exchange Market,” “currency,” or “FX”) is the market where buyers and sellers complete transactions in foreign currencies. Investors strive to make money in this market according to the fluctuations in the values of different foreign currencies. It also exists to provide a way for banks and other institutions to have ready access to foreign currencies.
The foreign exchange market is a boon to international trade and investment. The presence of a foreign exchange market helps businesses convert their assets from one currency into another.
The Forex is a global market that exists because foreign convertible currencies are traded, and their rates of conversion can be measured against each other. The Forex market makes up the largest financial market in the world. It is so large that on an average day, Forex trades comprise roughly three trillion dollars worth of currencies! From this enormous amount, it is estimated that approximately 15 percent of that value is actually traded for goods or services. The remaining 85 percent of Forex activity is traded by speculators in the market. These speculators may be either individuals or financial institutions.
The foreign exchange market is different than other markets not only because it involves such high volumes of daily turn over. Foreign currencies provide a very liquid market with comparatively lower profit margins, and the nature of foreign currencies means that it is spread geographically throughout the world. Similarly, the Forex market is open for exceptionally long hours, opening at 22:00 on Sunday evening (UTC) and remaining open until the weekend begins at 22:00 on Friday evening (UTC).
Forex (which is also known as the “Foreign Exchange Market,” “currency,” or “FX”) is the market where buyers and sellers complete transactions in foreign currencies. Investors strive to make money in this market according to the fluctuations in the values of different foreign currencies. It also exists to provide a way for banks and other institutions to have ready access to foreign currencies.
The foreign exchange market is a boon to international trade and investment. The presence of a foreign exchange market helps businesses convert their assets from one currency into another.
The Forex is a global market that exists because foreign convertible currencies are traded, and their rates of conversion can be measured against each other. The Forex market makes up the largest financial market in the world. It is so large that on an average day, Forex trades comprise roughly three trillion dollars worth of currencies! From this enormous amount, it is estimated that approximately 15 percent of that value is actually traded for goods or services. The remaining 85 percent of Forex activity is traded by speculators in the market. These speculators may be either individuals or financial institutions.
The foreign exchange market is different than other markets not only because it involves such high volumes of daily turn over. Foreign currencies provide a very liquid market with comparatively lower profit margins, and the nature of foreign currencies means that it is spread geographically throughout the world. Similarly, the Forex market is open for exceptionally long hours, opening at 22:00 on Sunday evening (UTC) and remaining open until the weekend begins at 22:00 on Friday evening (UTC).
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Learn more about FOREX
What's Forex?
"Forex" stands for foreign exchange; it's also known as FX. In a forex trade, you buy one currency while simultaneously selling another - that is, you're exchanging the sold currency for the one you're buying. The foreign exchange market is an over-the-counter market.
Currencies trade in pairs, like the Euro-US Dollar (EUR/USD) or US Dollar / Japanese Yen (USD/JPY). Unlike stocks or futures, there's no centralized exchange for forex. All transactions happen via phone or electronic network.
Who trades currencies, and why?
Daily turnover in the world's currencies comes from two sources:
Foreign trade (5%). Companies buy and sell products in foreign countries, plus convert profits from foreign sales into domestic currency.
Speculation for profit (95%).
Most traders focus on the biggest, most liquid currency pairs. "The Majors" include US Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar. In fact, more than 85% of daily forex trading happens in the major currency pairs.
The world's most traded market, trading 24 hours a day
With average daily turnover of US$3.2 trillion, forex is the most traded market in the world.
A true 24-hour market from Sunday 5 PM ET to Friday 5 PM ET, forex trading begins in Sydney, and moves around the globe as the business day begins, first to Tokyo, London, and New York.
Unlike other financial markets, investors can respond immediately to currency fluctuations, whenever they occur - day or night.
Understanding Forex Quotes
Reading a foreign exchange quote is simple if you remember two things:
The first currency listed is the base currency
The value of the base currency is always 1.
As the centerpiece of the forex market, the US dollar is usually considered the base currency for quotes. When the base currency is USD, think of the quote as telling you what a US dollar is worth in that other currency.
When USD is the base currency and the quote goes up, that means USD has strengthened in value and the other currency has weakened. Rising quotes mean a US dollar can now buy more of the other currency than before.
Majors not based on the US dollar
The three exceptions to this rule are the British pound (GBP), the Australian dollar (AUD) and the Euro (EUR). For these pairs, where USD is not the base currency, a rising quote means the US dollar is weakening and buys less of the other currency than before.
In other words, if a currency quote goes higher, the base currency is getting stronger. A lower quote means the base currency is weakening.
Cross currencies
Currency pairs that don't involve USD at all are called cross currencies, but the premise is the same.
Bids, asks and the spread
Just like other markets, forex quotes consist of two sides, the bid and the ask:
The BID is the price at which you can SELL base currency.
The ASK is the price at which you can BUY base currency.
What's a pip?
Investment Technology Group Inc. also known as ITG, is a brokerage firm based out of New York City that is also international that became profitable by being one of the original initiators of providing trading services electronically. They provide national and international support and ability to localize technology to the consumer. Investment Technology Group is an advanced technology investment company that understands the power of technology in today’s global market. They have developed technology that improves performance and while at the same time minimizing the costs to the consumer.
By researching prospective technologies the company is able to stay ahead of the every changing market. They have realized that the best way to control a greater portion of the market is by staying ahead of the curve. Top investing professionals refer to Investment Technology Group in order to gain or maintain a professional advantage because of their ever changing and evolving technology. This is why continuing to stay on top of the technology world is so vitally important. The growing technology of ITG is competitive mainly because it is equally accessible to both high level managing investor and novice investors alike.
Health Technology Investment Forum
The health technology investment forum is a one day conference aimed at connecting the top health care technology companies and the top investment technology companies together to understand the potential benefits of working together. The growing national crisis with economic troubles and heath care problems alike, there is a real opportunity for major breakthroughs in the technology world. Prospective technology has the potential to become the saving grace of the problems ever present in today’s world. Healthcare until this point has been an extremely untapped resource in the investment technologies world.
Investment Technology Group has the potential more than anybody to take advantage of the growing investment potential in the health care industry. ITG’s company history has proven it to be a true innovator in the growing technology of today’s market. It seems only natural that they could become and have the greatest potential of leading the way in the health care investment revolution. Whether or not they become the leader in health care investments, ITG has proven the great potential and profit that comes from being a leader and innovator in today’s growing market. The most important understanding of Investment Technology Group is that the world of technology in investing is ever-changing. The only way to stay on top is continually cater to the investors. The technology of today will only be the cutting edge for a minimal amount of time. This is the concept that ITG understands so well and this is the concept that drives them to excellent performance.
"Forex" stands for foreign exchange; it's also known as FX. In a forex trade, you buy one currency while simultaneously selling another - that is, you're exchanging the sold currency for the one you're buying. The foreign exchange market is an over-the-counter market.
Currencies trade in pairs, like the Euro-US Dollar (EUR/USD) or US Dollar / Japanese Yen (USD/JPY). Unlike stocks or futures, there's no centralized exchange for forex. All transactions happen via phone or electronic network.
Who trades currencies, and why?
Daily turnover in the world's currencies comes from two sources:
Foreign trade (5%). Companies buy and sell products in foreign countries, plus convert profits from foreign sales into domestic currency.
Speculation for profit (95%).
Most traders focus on the biggest, most liquid currency pairs. "The Majors" include US Dollar, Japanese Yen, Euro, British Pound, Swiss Franc, Canadian Dollar and Australian Dollar. In fact, more than 85% of daily forex trading happens in the major currency pairs.
The world's most traded market, trading 24 hours a day
With average daily turnover of US$3.2 trillion, forex is the most traded market in the world.
A true 24-hour market from Sunday 5 PM ET to Friday 5 PM ET, forex trading begins in Sydney, and moves around the globe as the business day begins, first to Tokyo, London, and New York.
Unlike other financial markets, investors can respond immediately to currency fluctuations, whenever they occur - day or night.
Understanding Forex Quotes
Reading a foreign exchange quote is simple if you remember two things:
The first currency listed is the base currency
The value of the base currency is always 1.
As the centerpiece of the forex market, the US dollar is usually considered the base currency for quotes. When the base currency is USD, think of the quote as telling you what a US dollar is worth in that other currency.
When USD is the base currency and the quote goes up, that means USD has strengthened in value and the other currency has weakened. Rising quotes mean a US dollar can now buy more of the other currency than before.
Majors not based on the US dollar
The three exceptions to this rule are the British pound (GBP), the Australian dollar (AUD) and the Euro (EUR). For these pairs, where USD is not the base currency, a rising quote means the US dollar is weakening and buys less of the other currency than before.
In other words, if a currency quote goes higher, the base currency is getting stronger. A lower quote means the base currency is weakening.
Cross currencies
Currency pairs that don't involve USD at all are called cross currencies, but the premise is the same.
Bids, asks and the spread
Just like other markets, forex quotes consist of two sides, the bid and the ask:
The BID is the price at which you can SELL base currency.
The ASK is the price at which you can BUY base currency.
What's a pip?
Investment Technology Group Inc. also known as ITG, is a brokerage firm based out of New York City that is also international that became profitable by being one of the original initiators of providing trading services electronically. They provide national and international support and ability to localize technology to the consumer. Investment Technology Group is an advanced technology investment company that understands the power of technology in today’s global market. They have developed technology that improves performance and while at the same time minimizing the costs to the consumer.
By researching prospective technologies the company is able to stay ahead of the every changing market. They have realized that the best way to control a greater portion of the market is by staying ahead of the curve. Top investing professionals refer to Investment Technology Group in order to gain or maintain a professional advantage because of their ever changing and evolving technology. This is why continuing to stay on top of the technology world is so vitally important. The growing technology of ITG is competitive mainly because it is equally accessible to both high level managing investor and novice investors alike.
Health Technology Investment Forum
The health technology investment forum is a one day conference aimed at connecting the top health care technology companies and the top investment technology companies together to understand the potential benefits of working together. The growing national crisis with economic troubles and heath care problems alike, there is a real opportunity for major breakthroughs in the technology world. Prospective technology has the potential to become the saving grace of the problems ever present in today’s world. Healthcare until this point has been an extremely untapped resource in the investment technologies world.
Investment Technology Group has the potential more than anybody to take advantage of the growing investment potential in the health care industry. ITG’s company history has proven it to be a true innovator in the growing technology of today’s market. It seems only natural that they could become and have the greatest potential of leading the way in the health care investment revolution. Whether or not they become the leader in health care investments, ITG has proven the great potential and profit that comes from being a leader and innovator in today’s growing market. The most important understanding of Investment Technology Group is that the world of technology in investing is ever-changing. The only way to stay on top is continually cater to the investors. The technology of today will only be the cutting edge for a minimal amount of time. This is the concept that ITG understands so well and this is the concept that drives them to excellent performance.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Be a Smarter Investor
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HARDING & SHELTON, INC. v. THE PROSPECTIVE INVESTMENT AND TRADING COMPANY, LTD.
2005 OK CIV APP 88
123 P.3d 56
Case Number: 100424 (consol. w/ No. 100959)
Decided: 09/20/2005
Mandate Issued: 11/10/2005
A, DIVISION IV
IN THE COURT OF CIVIL APPEALS OF THE STATE OF OKLAHOMA, DIVISION IV
AFFIRMED IN PART, REVERSED IN PART,
AND REMANDED WITH INSTRUCTIONS
Gregory L. Mahaffey, Lee D. Groeneveld, MAHAFFEY & GORE, P.C., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, for Plaintiff/Appellee/Counter-Appellant Harding & Shelton, Inc., and Third-Party Defendant/Appellee/Counter-Appellant Consolidated American Resources, L.L.C.
Frank D. Spiegelberg, John L. Randolph, Jr., PRAY WALKER JACKMAN WILLIAMSON & MARLAR, Tulsa, Oklahoma, for Defendant/Third-PartyPlaintiff/Appellant/Counter-Appellee The Prospective Investment and Trading Company, Ltd.
RONALD J. STUBBLEFIELD, JUDGE:
¶1 These are multiple appeals from judgments in the third of a series of lawsuits dealing with ownership of a leasehold interest and resulting liability. Defendant and Third-Party Plaintiff Prospective Investment and Trading Company, Ltd. (PITCO), appeals from the Trial Court's money judgment in favor of Plaintiff Harding & Shelton, Inc. (Harding & Shelton) and Third-Party Defendant Consolidated American Resources, L.L.C. (Consolidated or, jointly, Operators). Operators appeal from the Trial Court's post-judgment order severely limiting their recovery of attorney fees and costs. 1 Based on our review of the record and applicable law, we affirm the principal judgment in favor of Operators, reverse the Trial Court's order on attorney fees and remand with instructions.
FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY
¶2 PITCO acquired an interest in mineral leases covering the Metzler and Holcomb properties (the Metzler leases) in 1996. The leases contained one well, the Metzler No. 1-13, and production from that well ceased in 1997. Harding & Shelton became the operator of the Metzler leases on January 1, 1999, and Consolidated purchased "top leases" from the mineral owners on March 25, 1999. 2 The interplay between PITCO's interest in the "base leases," Consolidated's interest in the "top leases" and Harding & Shelton's interest as operator has led to the three lawsuits.
¶3 The mineral interest owners, with Operators' backing, filed a lawsuit (Lawsuit #1) against PITCO and other lease holders to have the base leases declared terminated for lack of production. While Lawsuit #1 was pending, Consolidated filed a pooling application with the Oklahoma Corporation Commission to conduct a workover of the Metzler well. While both Lawsuit #1 and the Commission proceedings were pending, PITCO filed another lawsuit to force Operators to offer it an interest in the top leases on the grounds they were renewals of the base leases (Lawsuit #2).
¶4 The Commission entered a forced pooling order on February 20, 2001, for the workover, by deepening and recompletion of the Metzler well, naming Harding & Shelton operator. The order required interest owners to elect to participate in the workover, by paying their proportionate share of the estimated costs, or alternatively by accepting a royalty interest. It did not address the uncertain status of PITCO's interest.
¶5 Thereafter, PITCO filed a motion to reopen and correct the pooling order to allow for "deferred payment of cost for formations currently behind pipe in the Metzler . . . well." PITCO wanted to participate in the "recompletion" of the Metzler well into producing formations at depths it already reached, but not in the "deepening" of the well into other formations. PITCO withdrew its request when it reached an agreement with Operators. The letter agreement, dated April 4, 2001, allowed PITCO to defer prepayment until Operators were ready to recomplete the well into the shallower zones and provided that PITCO's prepayment would be placed in an escrow account "dedicated to re-completion" of the Metzler well. The letter agreement stipulated that Operators did not admit the validity of PITCO's interest.
¶6 Lawsuit #1 resulted in a judgment declaring the base leases cancelled for lack of production. The judgment did not determine the effective date of the cancellation. PITCO continued to pursue Lawsuit #2, unsuccessfully seeking a partial summary adjudication to fix the termination date of the base leases to support its argument that the top leases were renewals of the base leases.
¶7 On May 29, 2001, PITCO tendered its share of the estimated recompletion costs, $44,375.54, to Operators with a letter attempting to place a condition on its participation:
As [Operators] are also claiming the interest shown above and per the terms of the OCC order as amended by letter agreement dated April 4, 2001, we expect one of these companies to match these funds in the escrow account. Evidence supporting the deposit of like funds by [Operators] should be included in the escrow account information provided to PITCO. Should the dispute regarding ownership in the Metzler be dismissed by action of the court or by PITCO the funds submitted herewith shall be returned to PITCO within forty-eight (48) hours of written notice . . . .
Operators refused to accept PITCO's condition and, in a response letter dated May 29, 2001, stated:
[W]e can only accept your prepayment under the terms of the above Order and the April 4, 2001, Letter Agreement. We cannot accept your prepayment under any caveat of PITCO's disputed ownership . . . . If you do not wish to submit this prepayment under the terms of the above Order and the Letter Agreement as it currently exists, notify us within 48 hours and we will return the check to you. Otherwise we will consider your prepayment as being submitted under the terms provided under OCC Order No. 449256 and the April 4, 2001, Letter Agreement as they currently exist and none other. Also, to reiterate, there should be no inference in our acceptance of your funds that we in any way recognize any ownership you may claim.
PITCO does not deny receiving the letter, but did not request the return of its prepayment.
¶8 It became apparent in early 2002 that the workover had yielded disappointing results at a higher than estimated cost. Operators capitulated to PITCO's demand on April 22, 2002, and offered it an interest in the Metzler leases upon payment of its share of the excess costs and $75 per acre. Without responding to the offer, PITCO dismissed Lawsuit #2 with prejudice, and demanded the return of its "conditional" prepayment, which Operators refused.
¶9 Harding & Shelton filed this lawsuit (Lawsuit #3) on May 10, 2002, seeking a judgment for $10,934.11 for PITCO's share of the excess expenses, and also seeking foreclosure of its statutory lien (42 O.S.2001 § 145) against PITCO's interest in the Metzler leases. PITCO denied liability and filed a counterclaim for the prepayment. 3 PITCO then filed an amended answer, counterclaim and third-party petition against Consolidated on the same claim it had stated against Harding & Shelton.
¶10 The Trial Court conducted a bench trial and later issued judgment in favor of Operators on all claims. It granted Harding & Shelton a judgment for $8,265.49 and foreclosed the lien on PITCO's interest in the Metzler leases. Although the judgment does not specify the basis for the holding, the Trial Judge stated his reasoning in an earlier hearing: "PITCO elected to participate and as such obligated themselves for certain expenses." Thereafter, the Trial Court awarded Operators attorney fees and costs of $1,056.44, although they had sought an award of $39,803.72.
¶11 PITCO appeals from the Trial Court's judgment. Operators appeal from the amount of the order awarding attorney fees.
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