Archive for January, 2011
News of the World is facing new claims as legal documents have come to light which allegedly show phone hacking could have been occurring as late as last year. The Met police are also facing criticism in regards to their handling of the initial investigation.
The EU has their M3 Money Supply at 9am this morning, but that is it in terms of European data. Yesterday we saw Industrial Confidence come out at 6.0, this was good news for the euro as it was significantly higher than expected. However it was not good enough to wipe out the damage caused by the drop in Consumer Confidence and Economic Confidence, also released yesterday. This saw sterling euro push back up over the 1.16 level, but this was tentative as we can see this morning.
SMART Goals
SMART stands for specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and timely. The acronym is significant because a good goal is one that incorporates each of those characteristics. (there are some versions of that acronym that swap out words but the basic gist is the same)
It’s important to set goals in the first place, SMART or otherwise, because it’s always valuable to have a target. Without a target, you don’t know what you’re aiming for. The other characteristics that make a goal SMART will help maintain motivation, which is absolutely crucial.
How do we turn a not-SMART goal into a SMART one? Let’s take the old classic, “lose weight.” Lose weight lacks all of the characteristics of a SMART goal. It’s not real
Store credit cards charge high interest, have limited use, and provide fewer benefits than traditional credit cards. Are they ever a good idea?
How many times have you been in a store and the cashier asks if youd like to save 10 percent today?
It sounds like a good deal everyone wants a discount. The catch? You have to open a store credit card. Cashiers are trained, and typically required, to present the offer as a smart move. You were going to pay $50 anyway, so why not open the card, save 10 percent, then send in your payment?
More often than not, a consumer will sign up for the card, save 10 percent on their original purchase (plus a few other items theyll buy to really wring the value from the one-time discount), and thene back to buy from the store again, since they have the credit line.
Ask anyone in personal finance about financial planners and the first few words out of their mouth better be “go with fee only, watch out for those commissioned guys.” The only people who don’t say that are the commissioned planners!
That said, I’ve never actually met with a financial planner before. I don’t count the one time I met for lunch with a guy who wanted to sell me his company’s mutual funds (he was a commissioned planner) where we just talked generally about my plans, about retirement, and about insurance. He was a nice enough guy and lunch was pleasant (though I did pay for myself, so it wasn’t a date), but it wasn’t really a “meet” with a financial planner.
I also found it funny that the GAO issued a report that said the status quo on regulations for financial advisers (financial adviser, broker, and wealth advisers) was adequate and that, basically, they’re not pros. The article is intere
All Things Forex
Become a better Forex trader, learn from our daily All Things Forex broadcast. Jan. 21, 2011 (Allthingsforex.com) – The first FOMC monetary policy meeting for 2011 and the main gauge of economic activity and growth in the world’s largest economy will take the center stage in a busy trading week filled with important economic data from major industrialized nations.
In preparation for the new trading week, here is a list of the Top 10 spotlight economic events that will move the markets around the globe.
1. AUD- Australia CPI- Consumer Price Index, the main measure of inflation, Mon., Jan. 24, 7:30 Read more…