Today, Wednesday, gold continued it’s climb on making a new high. today’s gold price is $1663.09 I expect it to continue to gain momentum over the remaining part of 2011 and quite possibly all the way to the elections.

Throughout the rest of this week, economic reports will be released and I wouldn’t expect anything good out of any of them. Initial claims, non-farm payroll, unemployment rate and consumer credit are the last of the major ones to come out this week. With these reports coming out as well as the looming condition of the country’s rating, gold will continue to climb and make wise investors a ton of money. Friday’s U.S. GDP data showed the economy stumbled in the first half of 2011 and came close to contracting in the first quarter.

We are not even into the recovery stage of this recession no matter what any politicians tells us. Some investors worried about the risk of a recession that could prompt the Fed to use more stimulus, feeding inflation. As it is, the Federal Reserve is already talking about what they can do to help get the economy moving again. With that thought alone with the possibility of QE3 and keeping interest rates low, investors are moving into the commodity sector. Silver has gained 3% in the last few trading days as well as other precious metals. The commodity (mainly gold) has always been a safe-haven for investor who are concerned about economic havoc.

The DOW has lost a lot of it’s gains made this year. The DOW lost 266 points on Tuesday and only gained back 30 point today. So now is the time to stop thinking about investing in silver and gold start owning silver and gold today.

If you’re not sure where to start with your precious metal purchases, take a look at a company I’ve been using for some time. Click here for my review of Straight Silver.

Related posts

• Beginner Investing: Gold (0)
• Investing As A Beginner In A Recession (2)
• Why Are People Buying Stocks In This Bad Economy? (0)

Bonds come in many types and names. There are treasury bills (T-Bills), municipal bonds (government bonds), corporate bonds (loaning to a company), asset backed bonds (like a mortgage), and odd ones like convertible bonds (which have the option of turning into the company stock.)

If you’re not looking to scalp the bond market your main concerns with bond investing are:

What is the rate of return I will be getting versus inflation? Inflation is the increase in prices of goods you buy everyday from year to year. If you earn 1% per year on your money, but what you buy goes up 3% you really just lost 2% this year. You need to estimate inflation each year not by what the government says it is, but by what you actually spend most of your money on.

How safe is the bond? All bonds are rated from AAA like the treasury bonds from the federal government to junk bond status. The safer the bond investment the lower yield it tends to return. However, this isn’t always true, sometimes you can find safer investments that are offering more or companies that are rated lower than they should be driving their rate of return up.

What do I think interest rates are going to do in the future? Right now interest rates in the United States are extremely low. Therefore, odds are interest rates will rise over the next 5 to 10 years. This means any bond I purchase now will likely go down in value over time. This doesn’t mean I shouldn’t buy the bond, I’ll still get my payment every month or year, but it does mean I likely won’t sell the bond early to get my money back. In this case I know I will be holding the bond a long time. If you think interest rates will be dropping then you are at the best time to buy bonds because you’ll be getting a higher rate of return, plus you’ll get more money back if you sell early.

Related posts

• Tax Free Municipal Bonds Or Taxable Bonds? (1)
• Property Investment Tips: Finding the Best Mortgage Rates (0)
• Gold Is On The Run (6)

If you are in the market for a new commercial or residential investment property, there are several things you can do to aide in getting the best mortgage rates possible. The current state of the real estate market can be a real estate investors dream come true, but if your financial situation is not quite up to par, you will need to do your homework before deciding about financing, to make sure you are getting the best rate possible for your needs.

Tip # 1:

Check your credit report before even contacting a mortgage company, because that is one of the first steps they will take to see if you qualify for financing. Many times consumers are not even aware that there may be mistakes on their credit report, so before buying a home, it is best to look at it thoroughly. There are three major companies that will allow you to check your credit report once a year at no charge. Keep in mind though, that each time you or someone else, such as a finance company, checks your credit report, it will show up and may even drop your score due to excessive inquiries. If you do happen to find a mistake or two, there is a form that can be filed that allows the companies to investigate and possibly have the mistakes erased from your report. Even a small mistake can cause you to pay a higher interest rate, so it is worth the extra time it takes to check it out.

Tip # 2:

After deciding on the home you would like to purchase, be cautious about accepting the first rate that you are given. When you are looking forward to owning a new home, everyone may be anxious and sometimes tempted to grab up whatever offer that is given first. This is not a wise thing to do. It is always best to shop around for other offers from various finance companies. Take the time to compare notes on the different companies or banks, and compare the rates they are each offering. There are many lenders, especially with the current state of the economy, that are willing to finance those wishing to buy a new home.

Tip # 3:

If possible, before you apply for financing, try to pay off or at least pay down the amount you owe on credit cards. Your credit score is largely based on how much credit you have already used. If you have a credit card with a five thousand dollar limit, and you owe four thousand, this may have a negative impact on your credit score, thus making you possible have to pay a higher mortgage rate. If you owe more than half of your available credit limit on a card, it will count against you, so if at all possible, try to pay off as much debt ahead of time, before applying for financing.

Tip # 4:

Use a mortgage repayment calculator. This handy payment calculator can help you figure out an estimate of what your mortgage payment will be. By using this tool, you will be better able to calculate exactly how much you can afford to spend on a new home. The calculator uses items such as the home’s value, what the total loan amount is and the interest rate that you are given by the financial institution. If you are working with a realtor, they will use the calculator to help you determine the costs, or you can easily use one yourself.

Related posts

• So You’ve Decided To Become A Real Estate Investor (0)
• The Market For Panama City Apartments In 2010 (0)
• Learn to Invest, Not to Gamble (0)

The Rule Of Thumb:

The rule of thumb is that bonds go in tax-deferred accounts and more tax-efficient equity funds should go in taxable accounts (assuming you don’t have enough room for both in your 401k).  The reason for this is that taxable bonds have much higher yields than even the most generous high yield municipal bonds.  That said, most investors will eventually hit a point where they simply don’t have enough room in their tax-deferred accounts for the quantity of bonds required to fill out their asset allocation.  Part of this is due to the fact that the longer you invest, the larger your portfolio will naturally become.  But most of it is due to the simple fact that as we grow older, we usually become more conservative and wish to allocate a larger percentage of our portfolio to bonds.

The Taxable-Equivalent Yield Formula:

So you have no choice but to own bonds in a taxable account.  How do you decide which is better, tax free municipal bonds or taxable bonds?  The formula is actually pretty simple.  Note: If you buy municipal bonds from the state you live in (for example California if you live in California, etc), the interest earned on them is also exempt from state income tax, which you should factor into the formula below.

Taxable-Equivalent Yield = municipal bond interest rate / 1 – (federal tax rate)

If the taxable-equivalent yield of a particular muni bond fund is greater than the yield on a comparable taxable bond fund, you are better off owning municipal bonds.  If it’s lower, you’re better off owning taxable bonds even after paying tax on the income.

Related posts

• Roth IRA Benefits Compared to a Traditional IRA (0)
• Who to Trust: Where to Invest Your Money Online (0)
• What Beginner Investors Should Know About Commodity Mutual Funds (0)

Bullion market trades the gold at the major stock exchanges of the world. Investment in commodity market will require the user to get a Demat account, which is used to trade commodities like gold and metals. The Demat account will be associated with your online bank account and the bank will charge certain brokerage amount on the transactions made through this account. Once you have the logon details, you can start trading in gold at the concerned stock exchange of your country.

Investing in gold will require you to study the market trends and the demand of gold in the near future. You can study online reviews, read online journals and also check out Jim Cramer‘s site to get an idea about the gold investment. Remember to invest at the lower levels and sell at the higher price to earn maximum profits. The share markets must be monitored while investing in gold because whenever the stock markets crash or go low, gold prices automatically increase and any fall in the share or equity markets can be the right moment to enter the gold investment. The timing is very important while investing in gold and the right entry and exit timings will determine the amount of profit you make in the commodity market. Gold investment can do wonders, provided the investor take calculated risk and manages his portfolio in an organized manner.

Related posts

• Beginner Investing Hosts The Investing Carnival (0)
• Financial Blog Carnivals (1)
• Beginner Investing: Mutual Funds (0)