Online Investing Daily

Investing your funds can be creepy particularly in this revolutionary economic state. One of the most well-liked system to invest your money is through money market accounts. They are ordinarily a shared fund that you invest in shorter investments.

The goal of money market accounts is to invest while terminating the chance that you have to run into losses due to the market fluctuating. All money market accounts are supervised by the SEC, the Securities and Exchange Commission.

The SEC set out policies in the early 1940’s that gave out provisions as to how they may be invested. These same guidelines state that an investors’ money market accounts must have a Weighted Average Maturity less than 90 days, and that the funds must be distributed so that no more than 5% is dedicated to one specific issuer.

Some of the most ordinary money market accounts securities are short-term bonds, repurchase agreements, or even commercial paper. The SEC has also assured that all securities must be liquid with a steady monetary value.

A great thing regarding money market accounts is that they offer the account holder a great interest rate than a typical bank account. But, it is worth noting that for many money market accounts you might be needed to maintain a minimum balance in your account, and we could only be able to have so many transactions throughout a specific statement period.

We have all heard of chapter 7 bankruptcy, although many of us if asked probably could not give a precise answer to what exactly it entails. Every day people make mistakes when filing for bankruptcy that probably could have been avoided if they had better understood the different types of bankruptcy.

Certainly no one wants to become involved in bankruptcy proceedings. Anyone who does will have to have debts that greatly exceed his or her net worth and, in addition, have no visible or viable means of paying back the debts.

There are a number of different forms of bankruptcy such as chapter 11 bankruptcy and the more common chapter 7 bankruptcy. Since chapter 7 bankruptcy is more common for individuals, it is the one we will focus on here.

Chapter 7 bankruptcy explained

According to the law and the United States court system, Chapter 7 bankruptcy refers to liquidation of assets that are not legally exempt from liquidation in order to pay off creditors and debtors.

If you are a corporation, business and or partnership you will also be able to apply for this chapter like an individual. Chapter 7 bankruptcy is however different for individuals in that they have open to them a special extra clause in the bankruptcy filing framework.

The special clause for the public is called a discharge. What it basically means is that the public are able to free themselves totally from some of their debts.

Filing Chapter 7 Bankruptcy

On a baseline level, those filing for Chapter 7 must provide copies of tax returns; executed contracts and leases that have been expired; financial affairs statements; proof of assets and liabilities; and copies/schedules of current expenditures and income.

For individuals there are additional items that must be provided to the court as well. These items include copies of credit counseling reports and repayment plan programs, employer payments and statements of income, interest payments on student loans, etc.

This is, of course, a brief overview and more detailed information is provided by the government and federal courts at the website uscourts [dot] gov. However, remember filing for Chapter 7 protection by yourself is not advised, you should get professional help from a lawyer.

Self-directed IRA investing is becoming more and more popular now for the 60 million Americans who have funds in retirement account.

Major banks are falling by the wayside; the credit markets are tightening worldwide; the sub-prime mortgage mess has crippled the housing market; and even Wall Street, the ultimate symbol of financial largesse, is broke. What does all of this spell out for the average worker with years of retirement funds tied up in a regular retirement account?

Self-Directed IRA Investing: Can It Save Your Retirement Account?

What it means is that retirement accounts, which are traditionally invested in the stock market, are plunging fast. Many accounts have lost as much as half of their value in this economic crisis - with no end in sight.

Man investors are seeking safer havens for their retirement savings, and self-directed IRA investing is one way to get it. More and more workers are shifting their retirement funds to hard, tangible assets in lieu of investing in the volatility that is the stock market these days.

Self-directed IRA investing gives investors the right to purchase real estate and other alternative assets with their retirement funds. Traditional retirement accounts don’t allow this type of investing. They tend to stick to so-called “safe” investments, eg, the stock market, mutual funds, and bonds. But, these are the very financial instruments that are losing value right now.

Real estate, however, is a tangible investment that doesn’t “disappear.” With self-directed IRA investing, you get an investment you can see, touch and feel. It’s not paper money, so to speak. Real estate is a sound investment in a recession or an economic boom. It’s an investment that stands the test of time. And, now is the time to capitalize on it. For, when good economic times return, your investment will have appreciated all the more. What better way to protect - and grow - your retirement funds?

The International Energy Agency (IEA) warns that the recent oil price collapse has triggered a significant decrease in exploration and and new field development. In essence, market players are using market information (price decline) to signal that there is already enough supply capacity to satisfy demand for the coming decade or so.Well, the IEA seems to think that recent market information has provided the exact opposite feedback needed to ensure the world’s future energy needs are met. How does this impact you and your portfolio?

There is good reason to suspect a peak oil scenario in the relatively near future. The majority of the world’s oil comes a few old fields whose output is already declining. In Twilight in the Desert, Matthew Simmons shows how the world’s largest oil producer, Saudi Arabia, is likely obscuring its reserve data and hiding the fact that its biggest fields are experiencing peak production.

Global supply and demand estimates by the IEA paint a gloomy scenario. Demand is expected to rise 45 million b/d, going from its present level around 85 million b/d to 106 million b/d by 2030. But the scary thing is that production from the world’s major fields is actually decreasing at an annual rate of 6.7 per cent!

So where do we stand? The bulk of the world’s oil comes from several key mega-fields that are declining at a rate of AT LEAST 6.7 per cent per year (this assumes Saudi Arabia is telling the truth), and required minimum capital investments needed to appropriately scale up production are not being met. My bet is that this will culminate in a future crisis for several reasons:

1. Required investment schedules needed to increase production are not being met: The IEA estimates that in 2007, when oil prices were rising, the world needed to invest $450bn to develop capacity, whereas only $390bn made it. With collapsing prices you can bet this figure will decrease substantially. 2. Increased international government control of the oil business is eroding efficiency. Look at Venezuela’s production declines as an example. 3. Political risks are decreasing investment decisions domestically and abroad-think “wind-fall profits” taxes.

Prices are down in the short term because of a slumping economic outlook. At some point international commerce will recover and we will realize that we have a dire oil problem. When this happens prices will skyrocket. If you lack the risk tolerance to make blatant long bets on price appreciation, at least do yourself a favor and hedge this risk out of your portfolio.